Remarks of President Barack Obama as Delivered
Weekly Address
The White House
January 7, 2017
Since the days of George Washington, presidents have delivered some form of final message while in office – a farewell address to the American people.
自華盛頓時代起,歷任總統(tǒng)都在任期內(nèi)以某種形式發(fā)表告別語--向美國人民發(fā)表告別演說。
On Tuesday night, in Chicago, I’ll deliver mine. I chose Chicago not only because it’s my hometown – where I met my wife and we started a family – but also because it’s really where my career in public service began.
周二晚上,在芝加哥,我發(fā)表了我的告別演說。我選擇芝加哥不僅僅因為它是我的故鄉(xiāng)--我與我的妻子在能力相遇、相知、相愛--還因為它的的確確是我公共服務生涯的發(fā)祥地。
The running thread through my career has been the notion that when ordinary people get involved, get engaged, and come together in collective effort, things change for the better.
貫穿我的生涯的一條主線、就是這樣的觀念:如果普通大眾全身心投入我們的共同努力,那么這件事就一定越來越好。
That’s the belief at the heart of this precious American experiment in self-government. It’s what gives work and purpose to each new generation.
這就是對自治政府這一寶貴經(jīng)驗、發(fā)自內(nèi)心的堅信。它賦予每一代新人任務和使命。
It’s easy to lose sight of that truth in the day-to-day back-and-forth of Washington and our minute-to-minute news cycles. But remember that America is a story told over a longer time horizon, in fits and starts, punctuated at times by hardship, but ultimately written by generations of citizens who’ve somehow worked together, without fanfare, to form a more perfect union.
這個真理在日復一日、進進出出的華盛頓,和分分鐘刷新的新聞中很容易迷失。但是不要忘了、美國是個歷久彌新的故事,一次次被艱難困苦打斷,但是最終被一代代團結(jié)一心、踏踏實實的公民們續(xù)寫,打造了更加完美的聯(lián)邦。
Over the past eight years, we’ve added our own new chapter to that story.
Together, we’ve turned an economy that was shrinking and losing jobs into one that’s growing and creating jobs, with poverty falling, incomes rising, and wages that have jumped faster over the past few years than at any time in the past four decades.
在過去8年里,我們?yōu)檫@個故事書寫了新的篇章。
我們齊心協(xié)力、將衰退的、減少就業(yè)機會的經(jīng)濟,變成了發(fā)展的、創(chuàng)造就業(yè)機會的經(jīng)濟,貧困人口減少、人均收入增長,過去幾年工資增長比過去40年里任何時候都快。
Together, we’ve achieved what eluded politicians of both parties for a century – we’ve moved 20 million more Americans from uninsured to insured, ended the days of discrimination against the up to half of Americans who have a preexisting condition, and secured new rights and protections for everybody with health insurance.
我們齊心協(xié)力、實現(xiàn)了一個世紀以來兩黨避免政治斗爭的一件大事--我們使2千萬美國人得到了醫(yī)保,結(jié)束了對多達半數(shù)的已有疾病的美國人的歧視,給予和維護了每個有醫(yī)保人員的權(quán)利。