英语听力：奥巴马缅甸仰光大学历史性演讲.doc

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英语听力：奥巴马缅甸仰光大学历史性演讲
【President Obama Speaks at the University of Yangon】
奥巴马缅甸仰光大学历史性演讲

Myanmar Naingan, Mingalaba! (Laughter and applause.) I am very honored to be here at this university and to be the first President of the United States of America to visit your country.
 Naingan,Mingalaba !
(笑声和掌声)很荣幸莅临贵校，并成为首位访问贵国的美国总统。
I came here because of the importance of your country. You live at the crossroads of East and South Asia. You border the most populated nations on the planet. You have a history that reaches back thousands of years, and the ability to help determine the destiny of the fastest growing region of the world.

我来到这里是因为你们国家的重要地位。缅甸位于东亚和南亚的十字路口，毗邻世界上人口最密集的国家。你们有数千年的历史，有能力引导世界上发展最快地区的命运。
I came here because of the beauty and diversity of your country. I have seen just earlier today the golden stupa of Shwedagon, and have been moved by the timeless idea of metta -- the belief that our time on this Earth can be defined by tolerance and by love. And I know this land reaches from the crowded neighborhoods of this old city to the homes of more than 60,000 villages; from the peaks of the Himalayas, the forests of Karen State, to the banks of the Irrawady River.

我来到这里，因为这个国家的美丽和多样性。今早我刚参观了瑞光大金塔，慈经永恒的思想打动了我，这种信念如今可以用宽容和爱来定义。我知道这片土地从古老城市的拥挤地区演变成60,000多户村庄的安家之处，从喜马拉雅山之巅、克伦邦的森林到伊洛瓦底江畔。
I came here because of my respect for this university. It was here at this school where opposition to colonial rule first took hold. It was here that Aung San edited a magazine before leading an independence movement. It was here that U Thant learned the ways of the world before guiding it at the United Nations. Here, scholarship thrived during the last century and students demanded their basic human rights. Now, your Parliament has at last passed a resolution to revitalize this university and it must reclaim its greatness, because the future of this country will be determined by the education of its youth.

我来到这里，因为对这所大学的敬意之情。在这个学校，反抗殖民统治运动开始兴起；在这里，昂山素季在领导独立前编辑了一部杂志；在这里，吴丹在联合国任职前习得了世界风云变幻。在这里，上世纪学术兴旺，学生要求基本人权。现在，国会最终通过了一项决议以振兴这所大学，重塑它的伟大，因为这个国家的未来取决于对年青一代的教育。
I came here because of the history between our two countries. A century ago, American traders, merchants and missionaries came here to build bonds of faith and commerce and friendship. And from within these borders in World War II, our pilots flew into China and many of our troops gave their lives. Both of our nations emerged from the British Empire, and the United States was among the first countries to recognize an independent Union of Burma. We were proud to found an American Center in Rangoon and to build exchanges with schools like this one. And through decades of differences, Americans have been united in their affection for this country and its people.

我来到这里，因为我们两国间的历史情结。一个世纪前，美国商人、零售商和传教士来到这里建立了两国信仰，商业和友谊的纽带。二战期间，从这些边境内，我们的飞行员驶入中国，许多士兵献出了自己的生命。我们两国都摆脱了大英帝国的统治，美国是第一批承认缅甸联邦独立的国家。在仰光成立美国中心并与这样的学校建立交流，我们倍感骄傲。经过数十年的分歧，美国人民已经深爱这个国家及其民众。
 Above all, I came here because of America’s belief in human dignity. Over the last several decades, our two countries became strangers. But today, I can tell you that we always remained hopeful about the people of this country, about you. You gave us hope and we bore witness to your courage.

重中之重，我来到这里因为美国对人类尊严的信仰。在过去的几十年里，我们两国形同陌路。但是今天，我们对这个国家的人民，对你总是充满希望。你向我们展现了希望，我们见证了你的勇气。
We saw the activists dressed in white visit the families of political prisoners on Sundays and monks dressed in saffron protesting peacefully in the streets. We learned of ordinary people who organized relief teams to respond to a cyclone, and heard the voices of students and the beats of hip-hop artists projecting the sound of freedom. We came to know exiles and refugees who never lost touch with their families or their ancestral home. And we were inspired by the fierce dignity of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, as she proved that no human being can truly be imprisoned if hope burns in your heart.

我们看到身着白色衣服的积极分子周日拜访那些政治犯的家属，僧侣身穿橘黄色僧袍在街上和平抗议；我们记得了普通民众组织救援小组应对飓风灾害、听到了学生们的声音以及嘻哈艺术家发出的自由之声；我们知道那些一直与家人和老家保持联系的流亡者和难民。我们被昂山素季崇高的尊严所鼓舞，她向我们证明只要心中燃起希望之火，没有人可以真正的被囚禁。
When I took office as President, I sent a message to those governments who ruled by fear. I said, in my inauguration address, “We will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.” And over the last year and a half, a dramatic transition has begun, as a dictatorship of five decades has loosened its grip. Under President Thein Sein, the desire for change has been met by an agenda for reform. A civilian now leads the government, and a parliament is asserting itself. The once-outlawed National League for Democracy stood in an election, and Aung San Suu Kyi is a Member of Parliament. Hundreds of prisoners of conscience have been released, and forced labor has been banned. Preliminary cease-fires have been reached with ethnic armies, and new laws allow for a more open economy.

当我担任美国总统，我向那些在恐惧统治下的政府发出这样的信号。我在就职演说中说过，“如果你能张开紧握的拳头，我们也将伸出情谊之手。”在过去的一年半里发生了戏剧性转变，独裁统治五十载的政权放松了管制。在总统登盛领导下，求变的愿望已经形成改革议程。现在平民领导政府，议会自动生效。曾今非法的国家民主联盟展开了选举，昂山素季是议会的一员。数百名有良心的囚犯被释放，强迫劳动已经被禁止，与少数民族武装组织间的初步停火协议已经达成，新的法律体系允许更为开放的经济。
So today, I’ve come to keep my promise and extend the hand of friendship. America now has an Ambassador in Rangoon, sanctions have been eased, and we will help rebuild an economy that can offer opportunity for its people, and serve as an engine of growth for the world. But this remarkable journey has just begun, and has much further to go. Reforms launched from the top of society must meet the aspirations of citizens who form its foundation. The flickers of progress that we have seen must not be extinguished -- they must be strengthened; they must become a shining North Star for all this nation’s people.

直至今日，我一直信守我的承诺，伸出友谊之手。现在在仰光有一名美国大使，制裁已经有所缓解，我们将帮助你们重建经济为人民提供机会，推动世界经济增长。但这段非凡的旅途才刚刚开始，还有很长的路要走。从上层社会着手进行的改革必须满足公民的愿望，因为他们是改革的基础。我们所见的进步之星火一定不能熄灭，必须得到加强。他们必须成为指引全面人民的闪亮北极星。

And your success in that effort is important to the United States, as well as to me. Even though we come from different places, we share common dreams: to choose our leaders; to live together in peace; to get an education and make a good living; to love our families and our communities. That’s why freedom is not an abstract idea; freedom is the very thing that makes human progress possible -- not just at the ballot box, but in our daily lives.

你们那方面的努力取得的成功对美国意义非凡。尽管我们来自不同的地方，但我们都拥有共同的梦想：选择我们的领导人、和平共处、接受良好的教育过上舒适的生活、热爱我们的家庭，社区。那就是为什么自由不是个宽泛的概念。因为唯有自由才有可能引导人类进步--不仅仅是在选票箱上，还在日常生活中。
One of our greatest Presidents in the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, understood this truth. He defined America’s cause as more than the right to cast a ballot. He understood democracy was not just voting. He called upon the world to embrace four fundamental freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. These four freedoms reinforce one another, and you cannot fully realize one without realizing them all.

美国最伟大的总统之一，富兰克林·德拉诺·罗斯福深知这个真理。他明确的阐明美国的追求不只是投票的权利。他明白民主不仅仅是投票。他呼吁世界遵循四大基本自由：言论自由、信仰自由、免于匮乏的自由、免于恐惧的自由。四项自由相互补充，只有都得以实现才能确保每条得以实现。
So that's the future that we seek for ourselves, and for all people. And that is what I want to speak to you about today.

我们为自己，为所有的人寻求这样的未来。那就是今天我想对你们说的。
First, we believe in the right of free expression so that the voices of ordinary people can be heard, and governments reflect their will -- the people's will.

首先，我们坚信言论自由的权利，这样普通人的心声才能背听到，政府表达他们的意志--即人民的意志。

In the United States, for more than two centuries, we have worked to keep this promise for all of our citizens -- to win freedom for those who were enslaved; to extend the right to vote for women and African Americans; to protect the rights of workers to organize.

在美国，两个多世纪以来，我们一直奉行这一承诺--为被奴役的人们赢得自由、扩大妇女和非裔美国人的选举权利、保护劳工组织的权利。
And we recognize no two nations achieve these rights in exactly the same way, but there is no question that your country will be stronger if it draws on the strength of all of its people. That’s what allows nations to succeed. That’s what reform has begun to do.

我们都认识到，任何两个国家都不能通过完全相同的方式赢得这些权利，但毫无疑问，如果你们国家借众家之所长必将变得更加强大。那就是国家成功所需，那就是改革的开始。
Instead of being repressed, the right of people to assemble together must now be fully respected. Instead of being stifled, the veil of media censorship must continue to be lifted. And as you take these steps, you can draw on your progress. Instead of being ignored, citizens who protested the construction of the Myitsone dam were heard. Instead of being outlawed, political parties have been allowed to participate. You can see progress being made. As one voter said during the parliamentary elections here, “Our parents and grandparents waited for this, but never saw it.” And now you can see it. You can taste freedom.

不应镇压，人民集会的权利现在必须完全被尊重；不应扼杀，媒体审查制度的面纱必须继续被解除。当你采取这些步骤，进步才能得以临近。不再忽视，公民抗议密松大坝的建设被听到；不再非法，政党已经被允许参加。你可以可到取得的进步。就如议会选举中的一选民所说，“我们的父母和祖父母都期待已久，但从未实现。”现在你可以实现自由并享有自由。
And to protect the freedom of all the voters, those in power must accept constraints. That's what our American system is designed to do. Now, America may have the strongest military in the world, but it must submit to civilian control. I, as the President of the United States, make determinations that the military then carries out, not the other way around. As President and Commander-In-Chief, I have that responsibility because I'm accountable to the people.

为了保护选民的自由，当权者必须受到约束。那就是美国制度体系的职责。现在，美国可能拥有世界上最强的军队，但它必须服从非军队管制。我作为美国总统，作出决定后军队再执行，而不是反其道而行。作为总统和总指挥，我身肩职责，我要对人民负责。
Now, on other hand, as President, I cannot just impose my will on Congress -- the Congress of the United States -- even though sometimes I wish I could. The legislative branch has its own powers and its own prerogatives, and so they check my power and balance my power. I appoint some of our judges, but I cannot tell them how to rule, because every person in America -- from a child living in poverty to me, the President of the United States -- is equal under the law. And a judge can make a determination as to whether or not I am upholding the law or breaking the law. And I am fully accountable to that law.

现在，另一方面，作为总统，我不能将自己的意志强加于国会--美国国会---尽管有时候我希望我能。立法部门有自己的权利和特权，因此他们核查我的权力并与之平衡。我可以任命我们的一些法官，但我不能告诉他们如何行事，因为在美国--从生活在贫困里的小孩到身为总统的我--每个人法律之下都是平等的。法官能判断我是否遵循法律抑或违反法律。我完全服从那项法律。
And I describe our system in the United States because that's how you must reach for the future that you deserve -- a future where a single prisoner of conscience is one too many. You need to reach for a future where the law is stronger than any single leader, because it's accountable to the people. You need to reach for a future where no child is made to be a soldier and no woman is exploited, and where the laws protect them even if they're vulnerable, even if they're weak; a future where national security is strengthened by a military that serves under civilians and a Constitution that guarantees that only those who are elected by the people may govern.

我之所以向你们描述美国的体系，因为那就是你们必须追寻的未来--单一的政治犯是多余的。你需要达到这样的未来，法律强于任何单一的领导人，因为这是对人民负责；你需要达到这样的未来，儿童不能当兵，妇女不再被剥削，尽管他们是脆弱的，是弱势群体；这个未来，军队服务平民，巩固国家安全，宪法用以保护那些由人民选举出来的人。
On that journey, America will support you every step of the way -- by using our assistance to empower civil society; by engaging your military to promote professionalism and human rights; and by partnering with you as you connect your progress towards democracy with economic development. So advancing that journey will help you pursue a second freedom -- the belief that all people should be free from want.

改革的道路上，美国将一路上给予你支持--通过我们的帮助授权民间社会；通过提供军事援助促进专业化及人权；通过与合作促进经济发展推向民主。因此改革推进之路将帮助你们追求第二个自由，每个人都应免于匮乏的信念。
It's not enough to trade a prison of powerlessness for the pain of an empty stomach. But history shows that governments of the people and by the people and for the people are far more powerful in delivering prosperity. And that's the partnership we seek with you.

交替无为的政府却还是饱受空腹之苦是远远不够的。但历史表明，民有、民治、民享的政府移交繁盛更加强胜。那就是我们和你寻求的伙伴关系。
When ordinary people have a say in their own future, then your land can’t just be taken away from you. And that's why reforms must ensure that the people of this nation can have that most fundamental of possessions -- the right to own the title to the land on which you live and on which you work.

当普通民众谈及自己的未来，那么你的土地不能只从你自己身上拿走。这就是为什么改革必须确保这个国家的人民拥有最基本的财产——工作、生活所在地的土地所有权。
When your talents are unleashed, then opportunity will be created for all people. America is lifting our ban on companies doing business here, and your government has lifted restrictions on investment and taken steps to open up your economy. And now, as more wealth flows into your borders, we hope and expect that it will lift up more people. It can't just help folks at the top. It has to help everybody. And that kind of economic growth, where everybody has opportunity -- if you work hard, you can succeed -- that's what gets a nation moving rapidly when it comes to develop.
But that kind of growth can only be created if corruption is left behind. For investment to lead to opportunity, reform must promote budgets that are transparent and industry that is privately owned.
To lead by example, America now insists that our companies meet high standards of openness and transparency if they're doing business here. And we'll work with organizations like the World Bank to support small businesses and to promote an economy that allows entrepreneurs, small businesspeople to thrive and allows workers to keep what they earn. And I very much welcome your government’s recent decision to join what we've called our Open Government Partnership, so that citizens can come to expect accountability and learn exactly how monies are spent and how your system of government operates.
Above all, when your voices are heard in government, it's far more likely that your basic needs will be met. And that’s why reform must reach the daily lives of those who are hungry and those who are ill, and those who live without electricity or water. And here, too, America will do our part in working with you.
Today, I was proud to reestablish our USAID mission in this country, which is our lead development agency. And the United States wants to be a partner in helping this country, which used to be the rice bowl of Asia, to reestablish its capacity to feed its people and to care for its sick, and educate its children, and build its democratic institutions as you continue down the path of reform.
This country is famous for its natural resources, and they must be protected against exploitation. And let us remember that in a global economy, a country’s greatest resource is its people. So by investing in you, this nation can open the door for far more prosperity -- because unlocking a nation’s potential depends on empowering all its people, especially its young people.
Just as education is the key to America’s future, it is going to the be the key to your future as well. And so we look forward to wor