奥巴马就职演说中英文对照版.doc

奥巴马就职演说中英文对照版

My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and co-operation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land — a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America — they will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted — for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things — some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labour, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and travelled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sanh.
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions — that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act — not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun, and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account — to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day — because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control — and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favours only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart — not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defence, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort — even greater co-operation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the spectre of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defence, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus — and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honour them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment — a moment that will define a generation — it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence — the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed — why men, and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have travelled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
"'Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive ... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it].'"
America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

同胞们：

今天，我站在这里，面对眼前的诸多困难，深感重任在肩，我被你们的信任所感动，亦为我们先辈的付出铭感于怀。感谢布什总统的勤恳服务，感谢他在整个交接过程中所表现出的宽容与风度。

历史上曾有四十四位美国公民宣誓就任美国总统。誓言回荡在这个国家澎湃如潮的繁荣时期以及平静如水的和平年代。这些誓言往往伴随着些许阴霾更或凄风骤雨。但是，每当危机来临之时，我们的国家总能克复匹敌，这不仅仅是因为身居高位者的运筹帷幄、远见卓识，更因为我们的人民对先辈的理想坚定不移，对这个国家的建国纲领矢志不渝。

所以我们能风雨无惧，所以我们必须要将这种精神传承下去。

我们确确实实地处于危机之中。这个国家正在经历战争，抵抗一张由暴力与仇恨交织而成的巨网。我们的经济已是病骨支离，一方面是由于贪婪和失责，另一方面则是长久以来在某些重要问题上、在迎接新时代挑战过程中的屡屡失策。流离失所、民生凋敝、百业俱废，我们的健康得不到保证，我们的教育亦难当重任。每一天，不尽合理的能源消耗方式让我们的敌人愈强，却将我们共同的家园至于危险境地。

看得见的危机，我们可以用数据和统计来加以衡量。但是不可名状却又显而易见的危机正在动摇这个国家的信心——一种悲观而恐惧的声音徘徊着，惶言美国的衰落积重难返，我们的后代将失掉自信。

听我说，这些威胁并非子虚乌有，它们不仅迫在眉睫而且多乱如麻。要想一挥而就解决这些问题绝非易事。但是请相信，我们的国家总能披荆斩棘，转危为安。

今天，大家相聚于此，是因为我们不惧危险，义无反顾地选择了希望，选择同舟共济的方式来消解分歧和对抗。

今天，我们相聚与此，向那些斤斤计较的宿怨说再见，向失信于民的承诺说再见，向唾沫横飞的争吵说再见，向陈腐不堪的教条说再见。长久以来，正是这些流毒让我们的政治步伐举步维艰。

我们的国家还很年轻，但我们信条却巍然永隽。就让我们摒弃那些幼稚的行为，代之以成熟和坚毅。让我们重申那经久不灭的伟大精神；让辉煌的过去历久弥新；让我们继承这份珍贵的遗产、高尚的思想，代代传承上帝的旨意：众生平等、万物自由，人人可奋而自助，极乐怡怡。

重申这个国家的伟大让我们明白，所谓伟大并非不劳而获的天赐，它需要我们为之殚精竭虑。一路征途并无投机取巧的捷径，亦不应被困难所吓倒，退而求其次。我们不需要胆小鬼，不需要好逸恶劳之人，更不容趋炎附势、贪慕虚荣之辈。与我们同行的必是不惧危险、勤勤恳恳的实干家——这些人有的为大家所熟知，但更多人选择不计名利、埋头苦干，正是他们，铺平了崎岖蜿蜒的征途，带领我们通向繁荣和自由。

为了我们，他们收拾起简朴的行囊，跨越大洋寻找新的生活。

为了我们，他们在血汗作坊里任劳任怨，愿开西进之先，头顶毒辣皮鞭，俯首寒耕暑锄。

为了我们，他们奋起反抗、死而后已，鲜血洒满康科德和葛底斯堡，洒向诺曼底到溪山（越南地名）的寸寸土地。

抗争、牺牲，一次又一次，为了我们能过上更好的生活，他们筋疲力尽。在这些人的眼中，美国的名字高过个人的欲望，高过与生俱来的贵贱之分抑或派系之别。

今天，我们沿着先辈开创的征途继续前进。我们的国家因繁荣和富强屹于地球之颠、群国之林。危机的来临并非因为工人不勤奋、科技欠创新，并非因为我们的产品和服务质量每况愈下，缺乏竞争力。事实上，我们的能力从未被削弱。问题的根源在于我们长久以来固步自封、被狭隘的利益所牵制，对苦口良药反而嗤之以鼻——但是，这样的时代已经过去。今天开始，我们将重拾信心、掸去阴霾，与民更始，再造美国！

放眼望去，任务艰巨。不断恶化的经济环境需要我们采取行动，大胆而迅速的行动，行动的目标不仅仅是创造新的工作岗位，而是为经济增长夯实基础。我们要铺路架桥、建设电网和宽带，它们不仅是经济的血脉更是连系你我的纽带。我们要让科学技术回归正途，用科技奇