评论
打印
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
今天，我们宣布要为无谓的摩擦、不实的承诺和指责画上句号，我们要打破牵制美国政治发展的若干陈旧教条。
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things.
美国仍是一个年轻的国家，借用《圣经》的话说，放弃幼稚的时代已经到来了。
The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift,
重拾坚韧精神的时代已经到来，我们要为历史作出更好的选择，我们要秉承历史赋予的宝贵权利，
that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
秉承那种代代相传的高贵理念：上帝赋予我们每个人以平等和自由，以及每个人尽全力去追求幸福的机会。
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned.
在重申我们国家伟大之处的同时，我们深知伟大从来不是上天赐予的。伟大需要努力赢得。
Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less.
我们的民族一路走来，这旅途之中从未有过捷径或者妥协。
It has not been the path for the faint-hearted for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame.
这旅途也不适合胆怯之人、或者爱安逸胜过爱工作之人、或者单单追求名利之人。
Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labour, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
这条路是勇于承担风险者之路，是实干家、创造者之路，这其中有一些人名留青史，但是更多的人却在默默无闻地工作着。正是这些人带领我们走过了漫长崎岖的旅行，带领我们走向富强和自由。
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
为了我们，先辈们带着微薄的细软，横渡大洋，寻找新生活；
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the west; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
为了我们，先辈们忍辱负重，用血汗浇铸工厂；
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.
为了我们，先辈们在荒芜的西部大地辛勤耕作，定居他乡；为了我们，先辈们奔赴（独立战争中的）康科德城和葛底斯堡、（二战中的）诺曼底、（越战中的）Khe Sahn，他们征战、死去。
Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life.
一次又一次，我们的先辈们战斗着、牺牲着、操劳着，只为了我们可以生活得更好。
They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
在他们看来，美国的强盛与伟大超越了个人雄心，也超越了个人的出身、贫富和派别差异。
This is the journey we continue today.
今天我们继续先辈们的旅途。
We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth.
美国依然是地球上最富裕、最强大的国家。
Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began.
同危机初露端倪之时相比，美国人民的生产力依然旺盛；
Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year.
与上周、上个月或者去年相比，我们的头脑依然富于创造力，
Our capacity remains undiminished.
我们的商品和服务依然很有市场，我们的实力不曾削弱。
But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions that time has surely passed.
但是，可以肯定的是，轻歌曼舞的时代、保护狭隘利益的时代以及对艰难决定犹豫不决的时代已经过去了。
