經典兩分鐘演講稿———奧巴馬就職演講稿(中英文對照)

MR. OBAMA: Thank you. Thank you so much. Vice President Biden, Mr. Chief

Justice, Members of the United States Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow

citizens:

謝謝，非常感謝大家。拜登副總統(tǒng)、首席大法官先生、國會議員們、尊敬的各位嘉賓、親愛的公民們。

Each time we gather to inaugurate a president, we bear witness to the

enduring strength of our Constitution. We affirm the promise of our democracy.

We recall that what binds this nation together is not the colors of our skin or

the tenets of our faith or the origins of our names. What makes us exceptional –

what makes us American – is our allegiance to an idea, articulated in a

declaration made more than two centuries ago:

每一次我們集會慶?？偨y(tǒng)就職都是在見證美國憲法的持久力量。我們都是在肯定美國民主的承諾。我們重申，將這個國家緊密聯(lián)系在一起的不是我們的膚色，也不是

我們信仰的教條，更不是我們名字的來源。讓我們與眾不同，讓我們成為美國人的是我們對于一種理念的恪守。200多年前，這一理念在一篇宣言中被清晰闡述：

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,

that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that

among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

“我們認為下述真理是不言而喻的，人人生而平等。造物主賦予他們若干不可剝奪的權利，包括生存、自由和追求幸福的權利。”

Today we continue a never-ending journey, to bridge the meaning of those

words with the realities of our time. For history tells us that while these

truths may be self-evident, they have never been self-executing; that while

freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by His people here on Earth. The

patriots of 1776 did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with the

privileges of a few or the rule of a mob. They gave to us a Republic, a

government of, and by, and for the people, entrusting each generation to keep

safe our founding creed.

今天，我們繼續(xù)著這一未竟的征程，架起這些理念與我們時代現(xiàn)實之間的橋梁。因為歷史告訴我們，即便這些真理是不言而喻的，它們也從來不會自動生效。因為雖然自由是上帝賦予的禮物，但仍需要世間的子民去捍衛(wèi)。1776年，美國的愛國先驅們不是只為了推翻國王的暴政而戰(zhàn)，也不是為贏得少數(shù)人的特權，建立暴民的統(tǒng)治。先驅們留給我們一個共和國，一個民有、民治、民享的政府。他們委托每一代美國人捍衛(wèi)我們的建國信條。

For more than two hundred years, we have.

在過去的200多年里，我們做到了。

Through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword, we learned that no

union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half-slave

and half-free. We made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together.

從奴役的血腥枷鎖和刀劍的血光廝殺中我們懂得了，建立在自由與平等原則之上的聯(lián)邦不能永遠維持半奴隸和半自由的狀態(tài)。我們贏得了新生，誓言共同前進。

Together, we determined that a modern economy requires railroads and

highways to speed travel and commerce; schools and colleges to train our

workers。

我們共同努力，建立起現(xiàn)代的經濟體系。架設鐵路與高速公路，加速了旅行和商業(yè)交流。建立學校與大學，培訓我們的工人。

Together, we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are

rules to ensure competition and fair play.

我們一起發(fā)現(xiàn)，自由市場的繁榮只能建立在保障競爭與公平競爭的原則之上。

Together, we resolved that a great nation must care for the vulnerable, and

protect its people from life’s worst hazards and misfortune.

我們共同決定讓這個偉大的國家遠離危險，保護她的人民不受生命威脅和不幸的侵擾。

Through it all, we have never relinquished our skepticism of central

authority, nor have we succumbed to the fiction that all society’s ills can be

cured through government alone. Our celebration of initiative and enterprise;

our insistence on hard work and personal responsibility, these are constants in

our character.

一路走來，我們從未放棄對集權的質疑。我們同樣不屈服于這一謊言：一切的社會弊端都能夠只靠政府來解決。我們對積極向上與奮發(fā)進取的贊揚，我們對努力工作與個人責任的堅持，這些都是美國精神的基本要義。

But we have always understood that when times change, so must we; that

fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges;

that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action.

For the American people can no more meet the demands of today’s world by acting

alone than American soldiers could have met the forces of fascism or communism

with muskets and militias. No single person can train all the math and science

teachers we’ll need to equip our children for the future, or build the roads and

networks and research labs that will bring new jobs and businesses to our

shores. Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation,

and one people.

我們也理解，時代在變化，我們同樣需要變革。對建國精神的忠誠，需要我們肩負起新的責任，迎接新的挑戰(zhàn)。保護我們的個人自由，最終需要所有人的共同努力。

因為美國人不能再獨力迎接當今世界的挑戰(zhàn)，正如美國士兵們不能再像先輩一樣，用步槍和民兵同敵人(法西斯主義與共產主義)作戰(zhàn)。一個人無法培訓所有的數(shù)學

與科學老師，我們需要他們?yōu)榱宋磥砣ソ逃⒆觽?。一個人無法建設道路、鋪設網絡、建立實驗室來為國內帶來新的工作崗位和商業(yè)機會?，F(xiàn)在，與以往任何時候相比，我們都更需要團結合作。作為一個國家，一個民族團結起來。