[轉載] https://blog.csdn.net/istrangeboy/article/details/53891985
Hello, everybody! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, everybody. All right, everybody go ahead and have a seat. How is everybody doing today? How about Tim Spicer? I am here with students at Walked field High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we've got students tuning in from all across America, from kindergarten through 12th grade .And I am just want to thank Wake field for being such an out standing host. Give yourselves a big round of applause.
嗨，大家好！你們今天過得怎樣？我現在和弗吉尼亞阿林頓郡韋克菲樂德高中的學生們在一起，全國各地也有從幼兒園到高三的衆多學生們通過電視關注這裏，我很高興你們能共同分享這一刻。
I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it's your first day in a new school, so It’ s understandable if you're a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now--(applause)--with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you're in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer and you could've stayed in bed just a little bit longer this morning.
我知道，對你們中的許多人來說，今天是開學的第一天，你們中的有一些剛剛進入幼兒園或者升上高中，對你們來說，這是在新學校的第一天，因此，假如你們感到有些緊張，那也很是正常的。我想也會有很多畢業班的學生們正自信滿滿地準備最後一年的衝刺。不過，我想無論你有多大、在讀哪個年級，許多人都打心底希望現在還在放暑假，以及今天不用這麼早起牀。
I know that feeling .When I was young, my family lived overseas. I lived in Indonesia for a few years. And my mother, she didn't have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school, but she thought it was important for me to keep up with an American education. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday. But because she had to go to work ,the only time she could do it was at 4：30 in the morning.
我可以理解這份心情。小時候，我們家在大洋彼岸——我們在印度尼西亞住過幾年。我媽沒錢送我去其他美國孩子們上學的地方讀書，因此她決定自己給我上課——時間是每週一到週五的凌晨4點半。
Now, as you might imagine , I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early, And a lot of times, I'd fall asleep right there at the kitchen table, But whenever I'd complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and she'd say, “This is no picnic for me either ,buster." (Laughter)
顯然，我不怎麼喜歡那麼早就爬起來，很多時候，我就這麼在廚房的桌子前睡着了。每當我埋怨的時候，我媽總會用一副表情看着我說：“小鬼，你以爲教你我就很輕鬆?”
So I know that some of you are still adjusting to being back at school, but I'm here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I'm here because I want to talk with you about your education and what's expected of all of you in this new school year.
所以，我可以理解你們中的許多人對於開學還需要時間來調整和適應，但今天我站在這裏，是爲了和你們談一些重要的事情。我要和你們談一談每個人的教育，以及在新的學年裏，你們應當做些什麼。
Now, I‘ve given a lot of speeches about education .And I’ve talked about responsibility a lot. I’ve talked about teachers’ responsibility for inspiring students and pushing you to learn.
我做過許多關於教育的講話，也常常用到“責任”這個詞。我談到過教師們有責任激勵和啓迪你們，督促你們學習。
I've talked about your parents' responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and you get your homework done, and don't spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with the Xbox.
我談到過家長有責任看管你們認真學習、完成作業，不要成天只會看電視或打遊戲。
I've talked a lot about your government 's responsibility for setting high standards, and supporting teachers and principals, and turning around school that aren't working , where students aren't getting the opportunities that they deserve.
我也很多次談到過政府有責任設定高標準嚴要求、協助老師和校長的工作，改變在有些學校裏學生得不到應有的學習機會的現狀。
But at end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, the best school in the world -- and none of it will make a difference, none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities,unless you show up to those schools, unless you pay attention to those teachers, unless you listen to your parents and grandparents and other adult sand put in the hard work it take to succeed. That's what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education.
但哪怕這一切都達到最好，哪怕我們有最盡職的教師、最好的家長、和最優秀的學校，假如你們不去履行自己的責任的話，那麼這一切努力都會白費。——除非你每天準時去學校上學、除非你認真地聽老師講課、除非你把父母、長輩和其他大人說的話放在心上、除非你肯付出成功所必需的努力，否則這一切都會失去意義。
I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. Every single one of you has something that you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That's the opportunity an education can provide.
而這就是我今天講話的主題：對自己的教育，你們中每一個人的責任。首先，我想談談你們對於自己有什麼責任。你們中的每一個都會有自己擅長的東西，每一個都是有用之材，而發現自己的才能是什麼，就是你們要對自己擔起的責任。教育給你們提供了發現自己才能的機會。
Maybe you could be a great writer –maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper –but you might not know it until you write that English paper –
That English class paper that’s assigned to you. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor –maybe even good enough to come to with the next IPhone or the new medicine or vaccine –but you might not know it until you do your project for your science class.maybe you could be a mayor or senator or Supreme Court justice –
But you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.
或許你能寫出優美的文字——甚至有一天能讓那些文字出現在書籍和報刊上——但假如不在英語課上經常練習寫作，你不會發現自己有這樣的天賦；或許你能成爲一個發明家、創造家——甚至設計出像今天IPhone一樣流行的產品，或者研製出新的藥物與疫苗——但假如不在自然科學上做幾次實驗，你不知道自己有這樣的天賦；或許你能成爲一名議員或最高法院法官，但假如你不去加入什麼學生會或參加幾次辯論賽，你也不會發現自己的才能。
And no matter what you want to do with your life, I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer？You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military？You’re going to need good education for every single one of those careers, you cannot drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’re got to train for it and work for it and learn for it.
而且，我可以向你保證，不管你將來想要做什麼，你都需要相應的教育。——你想當名醫生、當名教師或當名警官?你想成爲護士、成爲建築師、律師或軍人？無論你選擇哪一種職業，良好的教育都必不可少，這世上不存在不把書唸完就能拿到好工作的美夢，任何工作，都需要你的汗水、訓練與學習。
And this isn’t just important for your own life and your own future .what you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country, the future of America depends on you. What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.
不僅對於你們個人的未來有重要意義，你們的教育如何也會對這個國家、乃至世界的未來產生重要的影響。今天你們在學校中學習的內容，將會決定我們整個國家在未來迎接重大挑戰時的表現。