奥巴马就职演讲稿(中英文对照)(2)

　　我们也理解，时代在变化，我们同样需要变革。对建国精神的忠诚，需要我们肩负起新的责任，迎接新的挑战。保护我们的个人自由，最终需要所有人的共同努力。

　　因为美国人不能再独力迎接当今世界的挑战，正如美国士兵们不能再像先辈一样，用步枪和民兵同敌人(法西斯主义与共产主义)作战。一个人无法培训所有的数学

　　与科学老师，我们需要他们为了未来去教育孩子们。一个人无法建设道路、铺设网络、建立实验室来为国内带来新的工作岗位和商业机会。现在，与以往任何时候相比，我们都更需要团结合作。作为一个国家，一个民族团结起来。

　　This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled our

　　resolve and proved our resilience. A decade of war is now ending. An economic

　　recovery has begun. America’s possibilities are limitless, for we possess all

　　the qualities that this world without boundaries demands: youth and drive;

　　diversity and openness; an endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention.

　　My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it – so long

　　as we seize it together.

　　这一代美国人经历了危机的考验，经济危机坚定了我们的决心，证明了我们的恢复力。长达十年的战争正在结束，经济的复苏已经开始。美国的可能性是无限的，因为我们拥有当今没有边界的世界所需要的所有品质：年轻与活力、多样性与开放、无穷的冒险精神以及创造的天赋才能。我亲爱的同胞们，我们正是为此刻而生，我们更要在此刻团结一致，抓住当下的机会。

　　For we, the people, understand that our country cannot succeed when a

　　shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it. We believe that

　　America’s prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middle

　　class. We know that America thrives when every person can find independence and

　　pride in their work; when the wages of honest labor liberate families from the

　　brink of hardship. We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the

　　bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else,

　　because she is an American, she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes

　　of God but also in our own.

　　因为我们，美国人民，清楚如果只有不断萎缩的少数人群体获得成功，而大多数人不能成功，我们的国家就无法成功。我们相信，美国的繁荣必须建立在不断上升的中产阶级的宽阔臂膀之上，我们知道美国的繁荣只有这样才能实现。只有当每个人都能找到工作中的自立与自豪时才能实现。只有当诚实劳动获得的薪水足够让家庭

　　摆脱困苦的悬崖时才能实现。我们忠诚于我们的事业，保证让一个出生于最贫穷环境中的小女孩都能知道，她有同其他所有人一样的成功机会。因为她是一个美国人，她是自由的、平等的。她的自由平等不仅由上帝来见证，更由我们亲手保护。

　　We understand that outworn programs are inadequate to the needs of our

　　time. We must harness new ideas and technology to remake our government, revamp

　　our tax code, reform our schools, and empower our citizens with the skills they

　　need to work harder, learn more, and reach higher. But while the means will

　　change, our purpose endures: a nation that rewards the effort and determination

　　of every single American. That is what this moment requires. That is what will

　　give real meaning to our creed.

　　我们知道，我们已然陈旧的程序不足以满足时代的需要。我们必须应用新理念和新技术重塑我们的政府，改进我们的税法，改革我们的学校，让我们的公民拥有他们所需要的技能，更加努力地工作，学更多的知识，向更高处发展。这意味着变革，我们的目标是：国家可以奖励每个美国人的努力和果断。这是现在需要的。这将给我们的信条赋予真正的意义。

　　We, the people, still believe that every citizen deserves a basic measure

　　of security and dignity. We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of

　　health care and the size of our deficit. But we reject the belief that America

　　must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and

　　investing in the generation that will build its future. For we remember the

　　lessons of our past, when twilight years were spent in poverty, and parents of a

　　child with a disability had nowhere to turn. We do not believe that in this

　　country, freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few. We

　　recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us, at

　　any time, may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a

　　terrible storm. The commitments we make to each other – through Medicare, and

　　Medicaid, and Social Security – these things do not sap our initiative; they

　　strengthen us. They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the

　　risks that make this country great.