用良好的教育武装自己

⊙ By Michelle Obama

翻译：旭文

用良好的教育武装自己

1)Empower Yourselves with a Good Education

⊙ By Michelle Obama

翻译：旭文

刚刚卸任的美国总统奥巴马是大家公认的演讲好手，从他参加总统竞选伊始到在位的八九年间，他的讲话一直受到大家的追捧。其实，他的夫人米歇尔·奥巴马也同样是演讲高手，只不过露面的机会远远不如她丈夫多罢了。现在我们来欣赏一下米歇尔作为第一夫人的最后一次正式讲话吧。

口语指南针

与许多男性政治家或励志演讲家相比，米歇尔的演讲与激越高亢、抑扬顿挫沾不上边。在这段对美国年轻人的讲话中，她更像是一位谆谆善诱的长辈，态度亲切、诚恳。她联系自己与丈夫出身贫寒，经过奋斗获得成功的经历来勉励年轻人，在对话般的讲话中道出自己对年轻人的殷殷期望。建议同学们反复听，仔细体会这种更贴近生活的演讲风格。

And as I end my time in the White House, I can think of no better message to send to our young people in my last official remarks as First Lady. So, for all the young people in this room and those who are watching, know that this country belongs to you—to all of you, from every background and walk of life. If you or your parents are immigrants, knowthat you are part of a proud American tradition—the2)infusion of new cultures, talents and ideas, generation after generation. That has made us the greatest country on Earth.

If your family doesn’t have much money, I want you to remember that in this country, plenty of folks, including me and my husband, we started out with very little. But with a lot of hard work and a good education, anything is possible—even becoming President. That’s what the American Dream is all about.

Right now, you need to be preparing yourself to add your voice to our national conversation. You need to prepare yourself to be informed and3)engaged as a citizen, to serve and to lead, to stand up for our proud American values and to honor them in your daily lives. And that means getting the best education possible, so you can think4)critically, so you can express yourself clearly, so you can get a good job and support yourself and your family, so you can be a positive force in your communities.

And when you encounter5)obstacles—because I guarantee you, you will, and many of you already have—when you are struggling and you start thinking about giving up, I want you to remember something that my husband and I have talked about since we first started this journey nearly a decade ago, something that has carried us through every moment in this White House and every moment of our lives, and that is the power of hope, the belief that something better is always possible if you’re willing to work for it and fight for it.

It is our fundamental belief in the power of hope that has allowed us to rise above the voices of doubt and division, of anger and fear that we have faced in our own lives and in the life of this country; our hope that if we work hard enough and believe in ourselves, then we can be whatever we dream, regardless of the6)limitations that others may place on us; the hope that when people see us for who we truly are, maybe, just maybe, they, too, will be inspired to rise to their best possible selves.

That’s the kind of hope that every single one of us—politicians, parents,7)preachers—all of us need to be providing for our young people. Because that is what moves this country forward every single day—our hope for the future and the hard work that hope inspires.

1) empower [Im5paJE(r)] v. 授权，赋权

2) infusion [In5fju:V(E)n] n. 输入，灌输

3) engaged [In5^eIdVd] adj. 活跃的

4) critically [5krItIkElI] adv. 批评地，用钻研眼光地

5) obstacle [5ɒbstEk(E)l] n. 障碍，困难

6) limitation [7lImI5teIF(E)n] n. 限制

7) preacher [5pri:tFE(r)] n. 讲道者，说教者

推荐背诵

So, that’s my final message to young people as First Lady. It is simple. I want our young people to know that they matter, that they belong. So don’t be afraid—you hear me, young people? Don’t be afraid. Be focused. Be determined. Be hopeful. Be empowered. Empower yourselves with a good education. Then get out there and use that education to build a country worthy of your boundless promise. Lead by example with hope, never fear. And know that I will be with you,8)rooting for you and working to support you for the rest of my life.

背诵理由

本段语句简洁有力。通过七个只有两三个词的祈使短句，从否定到肯定，像一连串有力的鼓点直击人心，让听者把注意力集中在关键词上，突出中心，干净利落，有明显的警醒作用。

8) root for 鼓劲，支持

习语学习：walk of life

我们非常熟悉的walk在作名词用时，除了“散步，步行”等与走路相关的意思外，还有“行业，职业，社会地位”的意思，因此就有了walk of life这个习语。这个习语最常见的用法是all walks of life，指社会各界、各阶层人士，视上下文而定，可强调差异性或包容性；另一个用法是every walk of life，作用及用法与前者相同，只不过在形式上略有差异罢了。相比之下，前者比后者更常见，如：

l My favorite part of the job is that I can meet people from all walks of life.（这份工作我最喜欢的地方就是可以接触到社会各阶层人士。）

l There were people at the meeting from every walk of life.（参加会议的人来自社会各阶层。）

在我即将离开白宫之际，在我作为第一夫人的最后一次正式发言中，没有比向年轻人说几句话更合适的了。所有在这个房间里的年轻人和那些正在观看直播的年轻人，你们要明白这个国家是属于你们的，属于你们所有人——包括来自各种背景和各社会阶层的年轻人。如果你或你的父母是移民，你要明白，你们正是美国引以为傲的传统的一部分——新文化的融入、新鲜人才的输入和新想法的注入，一代接一代，源源不断。正是这一传统把我们打造成世界上最伟大的国家。

如果你来自并不富裕的家庭，我希望你记住：在这个国家里，有很多人，包括我和我丈夫，我们开始的时候也没有几个钱，但通过大量辛勤的工作和良好的教育，任何事情都是有可能的，甚至是成为总统。这就是美国梦的意义所在。

现在，你要打好基础，准备好让你的想法成为我们全国性对话的一部分，你要打好基础，做到广闻博识，并且当一个积极参与的公民为大众服务、当一名领导者，拥护我们引以为豪的美国价值观，并且在日常生活中践行这些价值观。这就意味着你要尽可能得到最好的教育，这样你才可以进行批判性的思考，可以清晰地表达自己，可以得到一份养家糊口的好工作，可以成为社区里的正能量。

当你遇到困难时——我向你们保证，这一定会发生，你们当中许多人已经遇到过困难了——当你在苦苦挣扎，已经开始考虑放弃的时候，我希望你记住一点。我丈夫和我在近十年前刚开始这个旅程的时候就已经谈过这一点，这一点始终伴随着我们在白宫度过的每时每刻和我们人生的每时每刻，那就是希望的力量——就是相信如果你愿意付出努力，愿意为之奋斗，事情总会变得更好这样一个信念。

正是因为我们拥有这个基本信念，在我们的生活和国家的历史中，在面对怀疑与分歧对立、愤怒与恐惧时，我们才能克服重重困难，重新振作。我们希望，如果我们努力工作，相信自己，那么我们就可以不理会他人给我们设置的种种限制，实现任何梦想。我们希望，当人们看到真实的我们时，也许，仅仅是也许，他们也将会受到鼓舞，尽最大努力做到最好。

我们每一个人，包括政治家、父母和布道者，我们所有人都需要向我们的年轻人灌输这种希望的信念。因为正是我们对未来的希望，以及由希望激励的辛勤工作，每一天都在推动着这个国家不断前进。

好了，这就是我作为第一夫人对年轻人最后要说的话。话很简单。我希望我们的年轻人知道他们很重要，他们属于这个国家。所以不要害怕，年轻人，你们听到我的话了吗？不要害怕，要专注，要坚定，要满怀希望，要自强，用良好的教育武装自己。然后走上社会，用你们学到的知识去建设一个值得你们对其抱有无限希望的国家。要以身作则，怀揣希望，永不害怕。要知道，我会永远与你们在一起，为你们鼓劲加油，在我的余生为支持你们而一直努力。