05　To Make the World a Better Place:Go Beyond the Boundary of Material Comfort
跨越物质的藩篱，让世界今非昔比

巴拉克·侯赛因·奥巴马的演讲

名人简介

巴拉克·侯赛因·奥巴马二世（Barack Hussein Obama II），美国第44任总统，1961年8月4日出生于美国夏威夷州火奴鲁鲁。1979年进入加州西方学院攻读，1981年转至哥伦比亚大学学习，并于1983年获得文学学士学位。在1988年下半年，进入哈佛大学法学院，1991年获得“极优等”法学博士学位。他也是第一个担任《哈佛法律评论》主编的非洲裔美国人，并在此期间获得了全国范围的认可。奥巴马是首位拥有黑人血统，并且童年在亚洲成长的美国总统，他有着与不同地域、不同文化背景的人共同生活的经历。

奥巴马具有强大的人格魅力，包括优秀的演讲能力、草根背景、平民色彩、乐观的精神、诚实的外表和品质等。2012年，奥巴马成功连任美国总统。

背景资料

非常感谢克罗校长，感谢您非常精彩的介绍，感谢您对亚利桑那州立大学的卓越领导。

Well, thank you, President Crow, for that extremely generous introduction, for your inspired leadership as well here at ASU.

同时，我要感谢贵校以我的姓名命名学校的一个奖学金项目，这一项目将有助于使高等教育的大门对来自不同背景的学生敞开，这令我倍感荣幸。这个礼物真是太棒了！谢谢你们。

And I want to thank the entire ASU community for the honor of attaching my name to a scholarship program that will help open the doors of higher education to students from every background. What a wonderful gift. Thank you.

给予每个人同等机会，是贵校的核心使命；也是我担任总统期间的核心使命。我希望贵校的这个项目能为全美国的其他高校树立榜样。为此，我非常感谢你们。

That notion ^[注] of opening doors of opportunity to everybody, that is the core ^[注] mission of this school; it's a core mission of my presidency ^[注] ; and I hope this program will serve as a model for universities across this country. So thank you so much.

2009届的毕业生们，我要祝贺你们取得了令人难以置信的成绩。我要感谢你们的父母、叔伯、祖父母、表兄弟表姐妹以及你们的好友，感谢所有帮助你们这些杰出的年轻人顺利完成学业的人。我还要向亚利桑那州的所有人致歉，因为我调走了你们杰出的前任州长珍妮特·奈帕利塔诺。但你们现在拥有另一位出色的州长，而我还知道，珍妮特现在担任国土安全部部长，她正在用自己非凡的才智服务于全国人民，确保美国国土的安全。她工作得非常出色。

I want to obviously congratulate the Class of 2009 for your unbelievable achievement. I want to thank the parents, the uncles, the grandpas, the grandmas, cousins— Calabash cousins — everybody, who was involved in helping these extraordinary ^[注] young people arrive at this moment. I also want to apologize to the entire state of Arizona for stealing away ^[注] your wonderful former governor, Janet Napolitano. But you've got a fine governor here and I also know that Janet is now applying her extraordinary talents to serve our entire country as the Secretary of Homeland Security ^[注] , keeping America safe. And she's doing a great job.

现在，在我开始演讲之前，我想澄清一点，几周以来，人们一直在争论贵校是否应授予我荣誉学位，我真的觉得这有点儿小题大做了，但我的确认为大家都从中得到了很宝贵的教训。我得到的教训是，我再也不会在我的美国大学联盟锦标赛对阵竞猜表上，将别的球队排在太阳魔队前面了。这样的事绝不会再发生了。而克罗校长和董事也会因此很快受到国税局的审查。

Now, before I begin, I'd just like to clear the air about that little controversy ^[注] everybody was talking about a few weeks back. I have to tell you, I really thought this was much ado ^[注] about nothing, but I do think we all learned an important lesson. I learned never again to pick another team over the Sun Devils in my NCAA bracket. It won't happen again. President Crow and the Board of Regents will soon learn about being audited ^[注] by the IRS.

现在，我要很严肃地告诉大家，我并不是来这儿争论业绩多寡的。首先，米歇尔就认为我做的还不够。她那儿有一大堆我还未完成的事情等着我回家去做呢。

Now, in all seriousness ^[注] , I come here not to dispute ^[注] the suggestion that I haven't yet achieved enough in my life. First of all, Michelle concurs ^[注] with that assessment ^[注] . She has a long list of things that I have not yet done waiting for me when I get home.

不仅如此，我还欣然接受自己做的不够这种看法。我由衷地赞同这一观点。我想申明一点，一个人的头衔，即使是美国总统的头衔，也不能说明他在生活中有多么成功——无论你做了多少，无论你有多成功，也总还有更多的事情要做，更多的东西要学，更多的目标要去实现。

But more than that, I come to embrace ^[注] the notion that I haven't done enough in my life; I heartily concur. I come to affirm that one's title, even a title like President of the United States, says very little about how well one's life has been led — that no matter how much you've done, or how successful you've been, there's always more to do, always more to learn, and always more to achieve.

今天，我想跟你们说，2009届的毕业生们，虽然你们在自己的生命中已经到达了一个重要的里程碑，虽然你和你的家人都理所应当地为此感到自豪，你们也不能自满于这些已经获得的荣誉。甚至先前介绍过的那些杰出的年轻人也不能就此满足，包括那位迄今为止已获得四个学位的年轻女士。你们不能停滞不前。因为你们自己的工作任务还尚未开始。

And I want to say to you today, graduates, Class of 2009, that despite having achieved a remarkable ^[注] milestone ^[注] in your life, despite the fact that you and your families are so rightfully proud, you too cannot rest on your laurels ^[注] . Not even some of those remarkable young people who were introduced earlier — not even that young lady who's got four degrees yet today. You can't rest. Your own body of work is also yet to come.

如今，一些毕业班是在轻松安逸的时代迈进了这座场馆——那是和平稳定的时代。在这个时代我们只需要他们保持现状，不要把局面搞砸就可以了。

Now, some graduating classes have marched into this stadium in easy times —times of peace and stability when we call on our graduates simply to keep things going, and don't screw it up ^[注] .

而有些毕业班却赶上了艰难动荡与时局变革的年代，生活的基础和旧的秩序被动摇了，陈旧的观念和体系崩溃坍塌，这一切要求新的一代重新改造这个世界。大家此刻都应该清楚自己现在所处的形势。因为今晚我们聚集在这里，面对的是一个困难重重的时期，不管是对于美国还是对于整个世界来说，都是如此。经济正处于历史性的衰退期，整个国家面临着自“大萧条”以来最严重的经济危机。这一局面从某种程度上来说要归咎于从华尔街和华盛顿散播开来的贪婪和不负责任的现象，归咎于我们的过度消费和决策失误。我们参与了两场战争，还肩负着反恐的重任。气候变化、核扩散和流行疾病所带来的威胁无视国界，我们无法轻松地解决这些问题。

Other classes have received their diplomas in times of trial and upheaval ^[注] , when the very foundations of our lives, the old order has been shaken, the old ideas and institutions have crumbled ^[注] , and a new generation is called upon to remake the world. It should be clear to you by now the category ^[注] into which all of you fall. For we gather here tonight in times of extraordinary difficulty, for the nation and for the world. The economy remains in the midst of a historic recession, the worst we've seen since the Great Depression; the result, in part, of greed and irresponsibility that rippled ^[注] out from Wall Street and Washington, as we spent beyond our means and failed to make our choices. We're engaged in two wars and a struggle against terrorism. The threats of climate change, nuclear proliferation ^[注] , and pandemic ^[注] defy ^[注] national boundaries and easy solutions.

你们中的许多人也已经感受到了这些挑战对你们自身的影响。也许你们还在找工作，也许你们还在苦苦思考：在这个经济局面混乱的时期，走什么样的职业道路才明智。或许你们获得了助学贷款，不，你一定是有了学生贷款或是欠了信用卡债务，而你不知道如何去偿还这些债务。或许，你需要养家糊口，却不知道如何确保你的孩子能像你一样拥有接受教育和追求梦想的机会。

For many of you, these challenges are also felt in more personal terms. Perhaps you're still looking for a job — or struggling to figure out what career path makes sense in this disrupted ^[注] economy. Maybe you've got student loans —no, you definitely have student loans or credit card debts, and you're wondering how you'll ever pay them off. Maybe you've got a family to raise, and you're wondering how you'll ensure that your children have the same opportunities you've had to get an education and pursue their dreams.

现在，面对这些挑战，很容易就会落入最近几年常被宣扬的成功俗套。这个套路大概是这样的：你被教育去追逐功名利禄；想方设法跻身“名人录”或者“前100强”名单；你总想着赚大钱，想象自己的高级办公室该有多大；此外，你还要担心自己有没有足够尊贵的头衔或者一辆极昂贵的高级轿车。这些就是我们衡量成功的标准，日复一日，我们都会收到这样的讯息，这已在我们的文化中根深蒂固——通过物质财富的占有，通过仅仅为了一己之利的残酷竞争来衡量成功与否。

Now, in the face of these challenges, it may be tempting to fall back on the formulas ^[注] for success that have been peddled ^[注] so frequently in recent years. It goes something like this: You're taught to chase after all the usual brass rings; you try to be on this “who's who” list or that top 100 list; you chase after the big money and you figure out how big your corner office is; you worry about whether you have a fancy enough title or a fancy enough car. That's the message that's sent each and every day, or has been in our culture for far too long — that through material possessions, through a ruthless ^[注] competition pursued only on your own behalf — that's how you will measure success.

当然，你们可以选择这条路——或许这条路对一些人来说行得通。但是，在我们国家历史上的这一关键时刻，在这个困难时期，我要说，这种选择无法带你到理想的彼岸；它只能表明你缺少雄心壮志——事实上，正是你们这一代人需要去帮助摒弃这样的风气：重表面而轻实质，重名气而轻品质，重短期利益而轻长远发展。

Now, you can take that road — and it may work for some. But at this critical juncture ^[注] in our nation's history, at this difficult time, let me suggest that such an approach won't get you where you want to go; it displays a poverty of ambition — that in fact,the elevation ^[注] of appearance over substance ^[注] , of celebrity ^[注] over character, of short-term gains over lasting achievement is precisely what your generation needs to help end.

现在，亚利桑那州立大学的同学们，关于这种过时的、陈腐的、以自我为中心的人生观，我想重点说明所存在的两个问题。首先，这种人生观会使你无法集中于真正重要的东西，还会导致你的价值观、做人的原则和责任心大打折扣。仔细想想，正是因为只是追逐头衔和地位，只是担心下次的选举而非国家和你所应该代表的人民的利益，致使华盛顿的政客们经常迷失他们的方向。这些政客花时间考虑的是投票问题，而不是治国方略。正是因为对虚浮的短期收益和红利的追逐让众多民众迷失在华尔街上，冒着巨大的风险用他人的金钱谋取私利。

Now, ASU, I want to highlight ^[注] — I want to highlight two main problems with that old, tired, me-first approach to life. First of all, it distracts ^[注] you from what's truly important, and may lead you to compromise your values and your principles and your commitments. Think about it. It's in chasing titles and status— in worrying about the next election rather than the national interest and the interests of those who you're supposed to represent— that politicians so often lose their ways in Washington. They spend time thinking about polls ^[注] , but not about principle. It was in pursuit of gaudy ^[注] short-term profits, and the bonuses that came with them, that so many folks lost their way on Wall Street, engaging in extraordinary risks with other people's money.

相反，我们所尊敬的领导者，那些经营持久的企业和社会机构，却通常不会仅仅去狭隘地追求知名度或个人的升职，而是投身于更伟大的目标，比如维护联邦的利益；或是决心让国家摆脱经济萧条；开发优质产品；恪守对顾客、员工、股东和社区的承诺。这样的承诺使得亚利桑那州立大学这样的机构具有包容性和多样性，使其能给予所有人平等的机会。这才是真正成功的标志。

In contrast, the leaders we revere ^[注] , the businesses and institutions that last— they are not generally the result of a narrow pursuit of popularity or personal advancement, but of devotion to some bigger purpose — the preservation of the Union or the determination to lift a country out of a depression; the creation of a quality product; a commitment to your customers, your workers, your shareholders ^[注] and your community; a commitment to make sure that an institution like ASU is inclusive ^[注] and diverse ^[注] and giving opportunity to all. That's a hallmark of real success.

而其他的东西——那些成功的表象只是这一伟大使命的副产品，但绝不可能成为其核心。问问金融巨骗伯尼·麦道夫，你们就明白了。这就是因循守旧的人生态度所存在的第一个问题。

That other stuff — that other stuff, the trappings of success may be a byproduct ^[注] of this larger mission, but it can't be the central thing. Just ask Bernie Madoff. That's the first problem with the old attitude.

这种因循守旧的成功方式的第二个问题在于：过多地看重成功的表象会使人骄傲自满，不思进取。我们过多地把那些外在的、物质的东西看成是我们取得成就的标志，虽然我们心里明白自己并没有尽全力；自己正在逃避必须经历的磨难；自己面对时代的挑战，没有勇敢面对，而是选择了退缩。问题是，在这个竞争异常激烈的新时代，我们中没有任何人能够付得起自满的代价。

But the second problem with the old approach to success is that a relentless ^[注] focus on the outward markers of success can lead to complacency ^[注] . It can make you lazy. We too often let the external, the material things, serve as indicators that we're doing well, even though something inside us tells us that we're not doing our best; that we're avoiding that which is hard, but also necessary; that we're shrinking from ^[注] , rather than rising to, the challenges of the age. And the thing is, in this new, hyper-competitive ^[注] age, none of us —none of us — can afford to be complacent.

无论选择何种职业，都不能自满。教授们可能会获得终身职位的荣誉，但这并不能保证他们夜以继日潜心工作——用自己的激情与动力——去成为了不起的教育工作者。这一原则也适用于你的个人生活。父母的职责不只是支付账单、做最低限度的事情，也不仅仅是把孩子带到这个世界上来，而是要用爱和奉献来抚养教育孩子，并给他们提供机遇。纵使对于总统也是如此。你们想想看，亚伯拉罕·林肯和米勒德·菲尔莫尔有着相同的头衔，他们都曾是美国总统，但他们在总统任期内的作为和流传给后世的影响却有天壤之别。个人如此，国家亦然。近些年，我们在许多方面沉湎于曾经取得的成功，并为我们自己所取得的辉煌成就而沾沾自喜。

That's true whatever profession you choose. Professors might earn the distinction ^[注] of tenure ^[注] , but that doesn't guarantee that they'll keep putting in the long hours and late nights — and have the passion and the drive— to be great educators. The same principle is true in your personal life. Being a parent is not just a matter of paying the bills, doing the bare minimum — it's not just bringing a child into the world that matters, but the acts of love and sacrifice it takes to raise and educate that child and give them opportunity. It can happen to Presidents, as well. If you think about it, Abraham Lincoln and Millard Fillmore ^[注] had the very same title, they were both Presidents of the United States, but their tenure in office and their legacy could not be more different. And this is not just true for individuals — it's also true for this nation. In recent years, in many ways, we've become enamored with ^[注] our own past success — lulled ^[注] into complacency by the glitter ^[注] of our own achievements.

我们习惯了被称为“超级军事大国”，却忘记了我们之所以得到这个头衔不只是因为武器的威力，还有美国军人严守纪律、英勇无畏的品质和行为准则。马歇尔计划、维和部队，以及所有那些致力于与其他国家积极合作的项目，都是在追求创造机遇、平等与自由的理想，这使得我们获得了今天的荣誉，使我们成为超级大国。

We've become accustomed to the title of"military super-power,” forgetting the qualities that got us there — not just the power of our weapons, but the discipline and valor ^[注] and the code of conduct of our men and women in uniform. The Marshall Plan, and the Peace Corps, and all those initiatives that show our commitment to working with other nations to pursue the ideals of opportunity and equality and freedom that have made us who we are. That's what made us a super power.

我们习惯了在世界经济领域占主导地位，却忘记了一点：我们获得这一地位不是依靠草率的交易和快速致富计划，而是通过努力的工作、睿智的创意、优质的产品和英明的投资来实现的。之后，我们开始寻找捷径，开始超前消费，而不是积累储蓄。我们还看到，企业已不再去为改善生活而进行产品创新和创意开发，而是把重点放在了品牌重塑和重新包装上。

We've become accustomed to our economic dominance ^[注] in the world, forgetting that it wasn't reckless ^[注] deals and get-rich-quick schemes that got us where we are, but hard work and smart ideas, quality products and wise investments. We started taking shortcuts. We started living on credit, instead of building up savings. We saw businesses focus more on rebranding and repackaging than innovating and developing new ideas that improve our lives.

一直以来，其他国家都在如饥似渴、永不停歇地创造和发现，他们不满足于现状，决心要努力取得更大的发展。这些国家正在赶超我们。

All the while, the rest of the world has grown hungry, more restless in constant motion to build and to discover, not content with where they are right now, determined to strive for ^[注] more. They're coming.

因此，同学们，很明显，我们现在需要开始稍微改变一下做事的方式了。就个人的生活而言，你们需要不停地去适应一个在时刻改变的经济环境。你们一生中可能会从事不止一项工作或者职业。你们还需要不断地学习新技能，甚至可能还要考取新的学位。当新的机遇出现时，你们还要冒险去接受挑战。

So graduates, it's now abundantly clear that we need to start doing things a little bit different. In your own lives, you'll need to continuously adapt to a continuously changing economy. You'll end up ^[注] having more than one job and more than one career over the course of your life. You'll have to keep gaining new skills, possibly even new degrees; and you'll have to keep on taking risks as new opportunities arise.

作为一个国家，我们需要从根本上改变我们的观念和态度。很明显，为了经济的繁荣，我们需要建立一个崭新的、更加坚实的基础，重新思考如何发展经济、如何使用能源、如何教育孩子、如何照料病人以及如何对待我们的环境。

And as a nation, we'll need a fundamental ^[注] change of perspective and attitude. It's clear that we need to build a new foundation ^[注] —a stronger foundation — for our economy and our prosperity, rethinking how we grow our economy, how we use energy, how we educate our children, how we care for our sick, how we treat our environment.

我们目前面临的许多挑战都是前所未有的。这一次我们没有标准的补救措施，也没有力挽狂澜的手段。所以，2009届的毕业生们，我们需要你们的帮助。我们需要你们这样的年轻人站出来。我们需要你们的果敢、热情、活力和想象力。

Many of our current challenges are unprecedented ^[注] . There are no standard remedies ^[注] , no go-to fixes this time around. And Class of 2009 that's why we're going to need your help. We need young people like you to step up. We need your daring, we need your enthusiasm ^[注] , we need your energy, we need your imagination.

说得更清楚一点，我所指的“年轻”，并不是你们出生证明上的日期。我所指的是一种生活方式、一种思想和心态，一种跟着自己炙热激情走的意愿，不管它是否能带来财富和名望，一种质疑传统智慧、重新思考陈旧教条的意愿，还要蔑视一切代表地位和声望的传统标志，和投身于去做那些对自己有意义的事，去做对他人有益的事，去做让世界改变的事。

And let me be clear, when I say young, I'm not just referring to the date of your birth certificate. I'm talking about an approach to life, a quality of mind and a quality of heart, a willingness to follow your passions regardless of whether they lead to fortune and fame, a willingness to question conventional wisdom and rethink old dogmas, a lack of regard for all the traditional markers of status and prestige, and a commitment instead to doing what's meaningful to you, what helps others, what makes a difference in this world.

正是由于这种精神，才涌现出了一群爱国者，那时他们并不比你们大多少，却肩负了国家的使命，开始在这个我们称之为美国的国家试行民主。正是这种精神促使年轻的拓荒者向西部挺进，走向亚利桑那和更远的地方。正是由于这种信念，年轻的妇女开始争取选举权。这种力量还激励了一名30岁的逃亡奴隶通过地下交通网争取自由；促使一位名叫西泽的年轻人挺身而出去帮助农场工人；促使一位26岁的牧师为正义而发起了一场公共汽车抵制运动。这种精神促使风华正茂的消防队员和警察冲向熊熊燃烧的双子塔的楼梯；也使得全国的年轻人扔下手中的工作前来支援遭受洪灾的新奥尔良。这种精神引领两个年轻人——休利特与帕卡德——在车库中组建了一个公司（注：今天的惠普公司），从而改变了我们生活和工作的方式；这种精神鼓舞着实验室里的科学家们和咖啡厅里的小说家们默默无闻地辛苦工作，直到他们最终成功地改变了我们看待这个世界的方式。

That's the spirit that led a band of patriots not much older than most of you to take on an empire, to start this experiment in democracy ^[注] we call America. It's what drove young pioneers west, to Arizona and beyond. It's what drove young women to reach for the ballot ^[注] ; what inspired a 30 year-old escaped slave to run an Underground Railroad to freedom; what inspired a young man named Cesar to go out and help farm workers; what inspired a 26 year-old preacher ^[注] to lead a bus boycott for justice. It's what led firefighters and police officers in the prime of their lives up the stairs of those burning towers; and young people across this country to drop what they were doing and come to the aid of a flooded New Orleans. It's what led two guys in a garage — named Hewlett ^[注] and Packard ^[注] — to form a company that would change the way we live and work; what led scientists in laboratories, and novelists in coffee shops to labor in obscurity ^[注] until they finally succeeded in changing the way we see the world.

这就是伟大的美国故事：这些像你们一样的年轻人，带着激情，下定决心用自己的方式去迎接时代的挑战。他们这样做不是为了金钱。他们也没有响亮的头衔——他们是从前的奴隶、牧师、学生和公民。他们很多人没有得到过荣誉学位。但他们改变了历史的进程——亚利桑那大学的同学们，你们也可以！2009届的毕业生们，你们也可以！

That's the great American story: young people just like you, following their passions, determined to meet the times on their own terms. They weren't doing it for the money. Their titles weren't fancy — ex-slave, minister, student, citizen. A whole bunch of them didn't get honorary degrees. But they changed the course of history — and so can you, ASU, So can you Class of 2009. So can you.

凭借从这所著名学院获得的学位，你们具备了起步的一切条件。你们没有理由不去改变这个世界。

With a degree from this outstanding institution, you have everything you need to get started. You've got no excuses. You have no excuses not to change the world.

你们是商学专业的吗？那就去开家公司吧。或者帮那些不景气的非盈利机构找到更好、更有效的方法，去帮助那些处于困境中的人。

Did you study business? Go start a company. Or why not help our struggling non-profits find better, more effective ways to serve folks in need.

你们是学护理专业的吗？那就去国内一些人手不够的诊所和医院，那里正迫切需要你们的加入。

Did you study nursing? Go understaffed clinics ^[注] and hospitals across this country that are desperate fof ^[注] your help.

你们是学教育专业的吗？那就去那些师资力量严重匮乏的学校吧，那里的孩子真的需要你们。给这些孩子一个机会——他们无法从邻居甚至家人得到他们所需要的一切，但我们不能因此而放弃他们。我们应该给予他们在世界任何地方可以竞争任何工作的资本。

Did you study education? Teach in a high-need school where the kids really need you; give a chance to kids who can't —who can't get everything they need maybe in their neighborhood, maybe not even in their home, but we can't afford to give up on them. Prepare them to compete for any job anywhere in the world.

你们是学工程专业的吗？那就去帮助我们领导一场绿色革命——去开发既能推动经济增长又能保护我们地球的清洁的新能源。

Did you study engineering? Help us lead a green revolution — developing new sources of clean energy that will power our economy and preserve ^[注] our planet.

你们还可以用更渺小、更人性化的方式去服务社会，有所作为。这也是你们中的许多人在这儿读大学期间就已经正在做出力所能及的贡献，比如，辅导孩子、进行选民登记，用自己微薄的力量去帮助那些食不果腹和无家可归的人，帮助人们战胜艾滋病和癌症。

But you can also make your mark in smaller, more individual ways. That's what so many of you have already done during your time here at ASU — tutoring children, registering ^[注] voters, doing your own small part to fight hunger and homelessness, AIDS and cancer.

一个学生在谈起她参与过的为非洲一个小村庄中的残疾人建造医疗设施的高级工程项目时，说过一段很精彩的话。在她的教授播放了一段他们帮助过的那些人的录像后，那个女生说：“当我们看到录像上的那些人时，就感觉到自己与他们有着某种联系。这种感觉使得我们想为了他们而成功。”想想那句话：“这种感觉使得我们想为了他们而成功。”

One student said it best when she spoke about her senior ^[注] engineering project building medical devices for people with disabilities in a village in Africa. Her professor showed a video of the folks ^[注] they'd been helping, and she said, “When we saw the people on the videos, we began to feel a connection to them. It made us want to be successful for them.” Think about that: “It made us want to be successful for them.”

这句话对于我们所有人来说都是至理箴言，去寻找那个你想为之成功的人。燃起他们的希望，满足他们的需求。

That's a great motto ^[注] for all of us— find somebody to be successful for. Raise their hopes. Rise to their needs.

当你们考虑毕业后的人生时，当你们今晚在聚会之后对镜自照时——好像不应该如此欢呼——你们在镜中看到的也许是一个真的不确定该如何应对生活的人。或许你是这么看自己的，但当一个困惑迷茫的孩子看着你时，他看到的也许是一位良师益友；一个困居家中的老人看到的也许是生命的希望；当地收容所里的那些人看到的也许是一个朋友。

As you think about your life after graduation, as you look into the mirror tonight after the partying is done — that shouldn't get such a big cheer— you may look in the mirror tonight and you may see somebody who's not really sure what to do with their lives. That's what you may see, but a troubled child might look at you and see a mentor ^[注] . A homebound ^[注] senior citizen might see a lifeline. The folks at your local homeless shelter ^[注] might see a friend.

他们不会去考虑你银行账户里有多少钱，或者你在工作上是否重要，或者你在镇里是否很有名气——他们只知道你是一个关心他们的人，是一个改变他们生活的人。

None of them care how much money is in your bank account, or whether you're important at work, or whether you're famous around town — they just know that you're somebody who cares, somebody who makes a difference in their lives.

所以，2009届的毕业生们，这就是成就一番事业所需要的全部——每天的辛勤工作，各种大大小小的个人行为，长期的、甚至是长期以来全部的选择，这一切都构成了一种永久的馈赠。这才是你们想要的墓志铭。

So Class of 2009, that's what building a body of work is all about — it's about the daily labor, the many individual acts, the choices large and small that add up over time, over a lifetime, to a lasting legacy. That's what you want on your tombstone ^[注] .

这就要求我们不要满足于自己目前取得的成就，不要满足于刚刚获得的金星荣誉奖章——因为我知道这样的事业是永无止境的。它需要日积月累，随着你每日竭尽全力地回报祖国并为社会作贡献而不断深化、拓宽。你们也许会遇到挫折和失败，但这并不意味着你们的工作就结束了——你们甚至还没有开始，远远没有。

It's about not being satisfied with the latest achievement, the latest gold star— because the one thing I know about a body of work is that it's never finished. It's cumulative ^[注] ; it deepens and expands with each day that you give your best, each day that you give back and contribute to the life of your community and your nation. You may have setbacks, and you may have failures, but you're not done — you're not even getting started, not by a long shot ^[注] .

如果你忘记这一点，就请回顾一下历史。托马斯·潘恩曾经是一个失败的紧身衣制造商，一个失败的老师，一个失败的税务员，但他最后却名垂青史，他的那本名叫《常识》的小书引发了一场革命。朱莉娅·蔡尔德直到将近50岁时才出版了她的第一本烹饪书。桑德斯上校直到六十多岁才开了他的第一家肯德基餐厅。

And if you ever forget that, just look to history. Thomas Paine was a failed corset ^[注] maker, a failed teacher, and a failed tax collector before he made his mark on history with a little book called Common Sense that helped ignite ^[注] a revolution. Julia Child didn't publish her first cookbook until she was almost 50. Colonel Sanders didn't open up his first Kentucky Fried Chicken until he was in his 60s.

温斯顿·丘吉尔（注：英国政治家及作家）在担任首相之前曾因思想过时而被免职，他有点太过于偏爱苏格兰威士忌了；接任首相后，他却带领英国步入了全盛时期。

Winston Churchill was dismissed ^[注] as little more than a has-been, who enjoyed scotch ^[注] a little bit too much, before he took over as Prime Minister and saw Great Britain through its finest hour.

谁也没有想到，整天忙着给超市货架上货的前橄榄球运动员会重返他喜爱的赛场，一举成为美国橄榄球超级杯大赛最佳选手，然后来到亚利桑那，带领你们的红雀队首次冲进超级杯。所以，你们的事业永无止境。

No one thought a former football player stocking shelves at the local supermarket would return to the game he loved, become a Super Bowl MVP ^[注] , and then come here to Arizona and lead your Cardinals to their first Super Bowl. Your body of work is never done.

他们中的每一个人，在生命中的某一时刻，都没有响亮的头衔和显赫的地位值得炫耀。无论在什么地方，他们都投入激情，并在整个过程中努力走好每一步。而你们不仅要努力过好自己的生活；更重要的是，还要努力让美国的生活水平今非昔比。

Each of them, at one point in their life, didn't have any title or much status to speak of. But they had passion, a commitment to following that passion wherever it would lead, and to working hard every step along the way. And that's not just how you'll ensure that your own life is well-lived. It's how you'll make a difference in the life of our nation.

先前，我谈到了由于华尔街和华盛顿的自私和不负责任而致使今天我们面临着诸多问题。我也谈到了过分看重成功的外在标志会令我们误入歧途。

I talked earlier about the selfishness and irresponsibility ^[注] on Wall Street and Washington that rippled out and led to so many of the problems that we face today. I talked about the focus on outward markers of success that can help lead us astray ^[注] .

但是，2009届的毕业生们，反过来也一样。正直无私的奉献，从不考虑自己能从中得到什么——这种行为也会产生涟漪效应——这种效应能鼓舞家庭和社会；可以传播机遇，繁荣经济；能影响世界上那些被遗忘在角落里的人们的生活，让他们从像你们这样具有奉献精神的年轻人身上看到真实的美国，看到我们的力量、我们的美德、我们的多元化、我们持久的动力以及我们的理想。

But here's the thing, Class of 2009: it works the other way too. Acts of sacrifice ^[注] and decency ^[注] without regard to what's in it for you — that also creates ripple effects ^[注] —ones that lift up families and communities;that spread opportunity and boost ^[注] our economy;that reach folks in the forgotten corners of the world who, in committed young people like you,see the true face of America: our strength, our goodness, our diversity ^[注] , our enduring power, our ideals.

我知道，对你们来说，在复杂的形势下开创事业是一个挑战，但也是一种殊荣。因为，只有在这样的时刻，我们才会更加努力，去发掘更深刻的东西，去发现自己从未发掘的天赋，发现我们每个人内心中的伟大之处。所以，千万不要逃避这种尝试。不要停止，为自己的事业增光添彩吧！我可以保证，通过不断地努力，你们将会有所进步，我们所挚爱的祖国也会变得更加美好。

I know starting your careers in troubled times is a challenge. But it is also a privilege. Because it's moments like these that force us to try harder, and to dig deeper, and to discover gifts we never knew we had — to find the greatness that lies within each of us. So don't ever shy away from that endeavor ^[注] . Don't stop adding to your body of work. I can promise that you will be the better for that continued effort, as will this nation that we all love.

祝贺你们，2009届的毕业生们，祝贺你们顺利毕业！

Congratulations, Class of 2009, on your graduation.

上帝保佑你们！

God bless you.

上帝保佑美利坚合众国。

And God bless the United States of America. hD8kdnONMEBPi2x73vgAN2UTXpdS88jPuOraMrGtE+luyFol4N6TyAoOWuhdi0aN