奧巴馬開學演講經典語句：我們爲什麼要上學

And no matter what grade you’re in， some of you are probably wishing it were still summer and you could’ve stayed in bed just a little bit longer this morning。

不過，我想無論你有多大、在讀哪個年級，許多人都打心底裏希望現在還在放暑假，以及今天不用那麼早起牀。

And my mother， she didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school， but she thought it was important for me to keep up with an American she decided to teach me extra lessons herself， Monday through Friday。 But because she had to go to work， the only time she could do it was at 4：30 in the morning。

而我媽媽沒錢送我去其他美國孩子們上學的地方去讀書，但她認爲必須讓我接受美式教育。因此她決定從週一到週五自己給我上課。不過因爲她要上夜班，所以只能在凌晨4點半給我上課。

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。

我們需要你們中的每一個人都培養和發展自己的天賦、技能和才智，幫助老一輩人解決我們面臨的最棘手的問題。假如你不這麼做——假如你放棄學習——那麼你不僅放棄了自己，也放棄了你的國家。

But at the end of the day， the circumstances of your life -- what you look like， where you come from， how much money you have， what you’ve got going on at home -- none of that is an excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude in school。 That’s no excuse for talking back to your teacher， or cutting class， or dropping out of school。 There is no excuse for not trying。

但歸根結底，你的生活狀況——你的長相、出身、經濟條件、家庭氛圍——都不是疏忽學業和態度惡劣的藉口，這些不是你去跟老師頂嘴、逃課、或是輟學的藉口，這些不是你不好好讀書的藉口。

Where you are right now doesn’t have to determine where you’ll end up。 No one’s written your destiny for you， because here in America， you write your own destiny。 You make your own future。 That’s what young people like you are doing every day， all across America。

你的未來，並不取決於你現在的生活有多好或多壞。沒有人爲你編排好你的命運，在美國，你的命運由你自己書寫，你的未來由你自己掌握。而在這片土地上的每個地方，千千萬萬和你一樣的年輕人正是這樣在書寫着自己的命運。

That’s why today I’m calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education -- and do everything you can to meet them。 Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework， paying attention in class， or spending some time each day reading a book。

因此，在今天，我號召你們每一個人都爲自己的教育定下一個目標——並在之後，儘自己的一切努力去實現它。你的目標可以很簡單，像是完成作業、認真聽講或每天閱讀。

And along those lines， by the way， I hope all of you are washing your hands a lot， and that you stay home from school when you don’t feel well， so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter。

當然，除此之外，我希望你們都多多洗手、感到身體不舒服的時候要多在家休息，免得大家在秋冬感冒高發季節都得流感。

But whatever you resolve to do， I want you to commit to it。 I want you to really work at it。

不管你決定做什麼，我都希望你能堅持到底，希望你能真的下定決心。

I know that sometimes you get that sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star。 Chances are you’re not going to be any of those things。

我知道有些時候，電視上播放的節目會讓你產生這樣那樣的錯覺，似乎你不需要付出多大的努力就能腰纏萬貫、功成名就——你會認爲只要會唱rap、會打籃球或參加個什麼真人秀節目就能坐享其成。但現實是，你幾乎沒有可能走上其中任何一條道路。

No one’s born being good at all things。 You become good at things through hard work。 You’re not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport。 You don’t hit every note the first time you sing a song。 You’ve got to practice。

沒有哪一個人一生出來就擅長做什麼事情的，只有努力才能培養出技能。任何人都不是在第一次接觸一項體育運動時就成爲校隊的代表，任何人都不是在第一次唱一首歌時就找準每一個音，一切都需要熟能生巧。