正文
I’ve
talked about your parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on
track, and you get your homework done, and don’t spend every waking hour
in front of the TV or with the Xbox.
我谈到过家长们有责任看管你们认真学习、完成作业，不要成天只会看电视或打游戏机。
I’ve
talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high
standards, and supporting teachers and principals, and turning around
schools that aren’t working, where students aren’t getting the
opportunities that they deserve.
我也很多次谈到过政府有责任设定高标准严要求、协助老师和校长们的工作，改变在有些学校里学生得不到应有的学习机会的现状。
But
at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the
most supportive parents, the best schools in the world -- and none of it
will make a difference, none of it will matter unless all of you
fulfill your responsibilities, unless you show up to those schools,
unless you pay attention to those teachers, unless you listen to your
parents and grandparents and other adults and put in the hard work it
takes to succeed. That’s what I want to focus on today: the
responsibility each of you has for your education.
但哪怕这一切都达到最好，哪怕我们有最尽职的教师、最好的家长、和最优秀的学校，假如你们不去履行自己的责任的话，那么这一切努力都会白费。——除非你每天准时去上学、除非你认真地听老师讲课、除非你把父母、长辈和其他大人们说的话放在心上、除非你肯付出成功所必需的努力，否则这一切都会失去意义。
I
want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. Every
single one of you has something that you’re good at. Every single one of
you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself
to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can
provide.
而这就是我今天讲话的主题：对于自己的教育，你们中每一个人的责任。首先，我想谈谈你们对于自己有什么责任。你们中的每一个人都会有自己擅长的东西，每一个人都是有用之材，而发现自己的才能是什么，就是你们要对自己担起的责任。教育给你们提供了发现自己才能的机会。
Maybe
you could be a great writer -- maybe even good enough to write a book
or articles in a newspaper -- but you might not know it until you write
that English paper -- that English class paper that’s assigned to you.
Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor -- maybe even good enough
to come up with the next iPhone or the new medicine or vaccine -- but
you might not know it until you do your project for your science class.
Maybe you could be a mayor or a senator or a Supreme Court justice --
but you might not know that until you join student government or the
debate team.
或许你能写出优美的文字——甚至有一天能让那些文字出现在书籍和报刊上——但假如不在英语课上经常练习写作，你不会发现自己有这样的天赋;或许你能成为一个发明家、创造家——甚至设计出像今天的iPhone一样流行的产品，或研制出新的药物与疫苗——但假如不在自然科学课程上做上几次实验，你不会知道自己有这样的天赋;或许你能成为一名议员或最高法院法官，但假如你不去加入什么学生会或参加几次辩论赛，你也不会发现自己的才能。
And
no matter what you want to do with your life, I guarantee that you’ll
need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a
police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a
member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every
single one of those careers. You cannot drop out of school and just drop
into a good job. You’ve got to train for it and work for it and learn
for it.
而且，我可以向你保证，不管你将来想要做什么，你都需要相应的教育。——你想当名医生、当名教师或当名警官?你想成为护士、成为
建筑设计师、律师或军人?无论你选择哪一种职业，良好的教育都必不可少，这世上不存在不把书念完就能拿到好工作的美梦，任何工作，都需要你的汗水、训练与学习。
And
this isn’t just important for your own life and your own future. What
you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of
this country. The future of America depends on you. What you’re learning
in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our
greatest challenges in the future.
不仅仅对于你们个人的未来有重要意义，你们的教育如何也会对这个国家、乃至世界的未来产生重要影响。今天你们在学校中学 习的内容，将会决定我们整个国家在未来迎接重大挑战时的表现。
You’ll
need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and
math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy
technologies and protect our environment. You’ll need the insights and
critical-thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight
poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation
more fair and more free. You’ll need the creativity and ingenuity you
develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new
jobs and boost our economy.
你们需要在数理科学课程上学习的知识和技能，去治疗癌症、艾滋那样的疾病，和解决我们面临的能源问题与环境问题;你们需要在历史社科课程上培养出的观察力与判断力，来减轻和消除无家可归与贫困、犯罪问题和各种歧视，让这个国家变得更加公平和自由;你们需要在各类课程中逐渐累积和发展出来的创新意识和思维，去创业和建立新的公司与企业，来制造就业机会和推动经济的增长。
We
need every single one of you to develop your talents and your skills
and your intellect so you can help us old folks solve our most difficult
problems. If you don’t do that -- if you quit on school -- you’re not
just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country.
我们需要你们中的每一个人都培养和发展自己的天赋、技能和才智，来解决我们所面对的最困难的问题。假如你不这么做——假如你放弃学习——那么你不仅是放弃了自己，也是放弃了你的国家。
