2008奥巴马就职演讲稿 [奥巴马就职演说（节选）]

　　2009年1月20日,美国第44任总统、也是美国历史上第一位黑人总统巴拉克・奥巴马正式宣誓就职,并在就职仪式上发表了下面这篇演说,呼吁全体美国人民提高公民责任感,为振兴国家贡献自己的力量。这篇演说虽用词简练,但大量排比句的使用使得文章激情四溢,极富感染力,大大提振了美国人们迎接挑战的信心!限于篇幅,这里仅节选了其中一部分内容,和大家一起品读奥巴马的精彩演说,感受其语言的独特魅力!
　　
　　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.
　　Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential 2)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 3)forebears, and 4)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 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 5)shed, businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly, our schools fail too many. These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable, but no less profound, is a 6)sapping of confidence across our land; a 7)nagging fear that America’s decline is inevitable, that the next generation must lower its 8)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.
　　…
　　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 9)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 our economy calls for action: 10)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 11)electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and 12)bind us together. We will restore science to its 13)rightful place and 14)wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will 15)harness the sun and the winds and the 16)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. All this we will do.
　　…
　　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 17)levees break; the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job, which 18)sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter’s courage to 19)storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent’s willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
本文为全文原貌 未安装PDF浏览器用户请先下载安装 原版全文 　　Our challenges may be new, the instruments with which we meet them may be new, but those values upon which our success depends, honesty and hard work, 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 20)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 21)price and the promise of citizenship.
　　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 60 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 traveled. In the year of America’s birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots 22)huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was 23)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 24)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 25)falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s 26)grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
　　Thank you.
　　
　　各位同胞:
　　我今天站在这里,因面临的重大责任而深感卑微,对各位予以的信任心怀感激,心头铭记我们祖辈作出的牺牲。
　　迄今为止,已有44任美国总统宣誓就任。这些誓词或曾在繁荣富强及和平宁静之际被发表,也往往会在乌云密布及风雨大作之时被宣读。在这些时刻,美国之所以能够勇往直前,不仅仅是因为领导者们的才干和卓识,也是因为我们人民始终坚守先辈们的理想,并忠于我们的建国理念。
　　以往如此,到了我们这一代美国人,亦应如此。
　　众所周知,我们现在身处危机之中。我们的经济严重衰退,这不仅仅归咎于部分人的贪婪和不负责任,更是由于我们作为一个整体未能在艰难时刻做出抉择,未能为国家走进新时代做好准备。如今,房产不保,职位锐减,企业倒闭,医疗成本飞涨,教育状况令人堪忧。这些都是危机的迹象,可从统计数据中显示出来。然而,更加难以度量但同样严重的,是这片土地上人们信心的动摇以及人们挥之不去的恐惧心理――认为美国的衰落不可避免,担心下一代人必须降低对生活的期望。
　　今天,我要告诉大家,我们所面临的挑战真实、严峻且为数众多。解决这些问题并不容易,也不能一蹴而就。但是,美国人民,要记住:难题,总会被一一解决。
　　……
　　与危机初露端倪之时相比,我们人民的生产力依然旺盛;我们的头脑依然富有创造力;与上周、上个月乃至去年相比,我们的商品和服务依然很有市场;我们的实力未曾削弱。但是,固步自封、着眼狭隘利益以及决策时畏首畏尾的时代无疑已成为过去。从今天起,我们必须振作起来,掸去身上的尘土,开始承担重塑美国的重任。
　　无论我们把目光投向何处,都有工作亟待完成。现有经济形势要求我们果敢而迅速地采取行动。我们将不辱使命――不仅要创造新的就业机会,而且要为未来的经济增长打下新的基础。我们将修建道路和桥梁,铺设电网和数字线路,为商业提供便利并将人们紧密联系起来。我们将重树科学的合理地位,利用科研技术的新突破提高医疗保健的质量,并降低其成本。我们将利用太阳、风和肥料为车辆和工厂提供能源。我们将改革中小学和高等院校以适应新时代的要求。这一切我们都能做到。这一切我们必将做到。
　　……
　　尽管政府能够有所作为且必须有所作为,但美国人民的信念和决心才是这个国家成败的最终依归。堤坝崩缺,洪灾泛滥之际,人们会收留陌生灾民;不愿看到朋友失业,人们会自愿减少自己的工时,正是这些善举和无私精神伴随着我们度过最黯淡的时光。最终决定我们命运的既是消防队员毅然冲进浓烟滚滚的楼道的勇气,也是父母栽培养育孩子的心愿意志。
　　我们所面临的挑战或许前所未有,我们应对挑战的手段或许也是崭新的,但那些我们赖以成功的价值观――诚实、勤勉、勇敢、公正、宽容、好学、忠诚和爱国精 神――它们历久弥新、真实纯粹,它们一直是贯穿我国历史的无声的进步力量。我们必须重拾这些价值观。我们现在需要一个勇于负责的新时代――每一个美国人都认识到我们对自己、对国家、对世界负有责任,不是勉强接受这些责任,而是欣然争取,并坚信没有什么能比全力以赴解决难题更能获得满足感,更能展现我们的品性。
　　这就是作为公民的义务和承诺。
　　这就是我们的自由和原则其真谛所在,也是不同种族、不同信仰的男女老幼能够在这宏伟的广场上聚集庆祝的原因,也是我现在能站在你们面前做最神圣的宣誓的原因――而在50多年前,我的父亲甚至还不可能走进当地的餐馆用餐。
　　所以今天,让我们铭记我们的身份,镌刻我们的足迹。在美国诞生之年,在最寒冷的季节,一小群爱国志士围着微弱的营火聚集在冰封的河边。首都被迫弃守,敌人步步进逼,鲜血洒染白雪。当革命的出路遭到严重质疑时,我们的国父下令向人民宣读了下面这段话:
　　“我们要让后世知道,在寒冷的深冬里,在万物殆尽,只有希望和勇气剩存之际,我们全民勇往直前,去迎战我们面临的共同危险。”
　　美国人民,在我们共同的危险面前,在这个艰难的寒冬,让我们牢记那些永恒的话语;怀着希望与勇气,让我们再次勇敢地面对寒流,挺过可能会出现的暴风雪。让我们的子孙传颂:当面临考验时,我们拒绝结束征程,我们没有转身回头,我们没有犹豫畏缩;相反,在上帝的庇护下,我们眺望远方,弘扬自由精神,并将这一伟大赐礼安然顺利地传给子孙后代。
　　谢谢。
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