英语美文点亮智慧人生30：A Letter to the Daughters by Barack Obama 奥巴马给女儿们的一封信（MP3+双语字幕）

Learn English free online - how to pronounce word in English - English Learning Online- www.pronounceword.com

[by:www.pronounceword.com]
[00:00.00]Dear Malia and Sasha,	亲爱的马莉娅和萨莎：
[00:10.31]I know that you've both had a lot of fun	我知道这两年你们俩随我
[00:12.70]these last two years on the campaign trail,	一路竞选都有过不少乐子，
[00:15.55]going to picnics and parades and state fairs,	野餐、游行、逛州博览会，
[00:19.60]eating all sorts of junk food your mother and I	吃了各种或许我和你妈
[00:22.60]probably shouldn't have let you have.	不该让你们吃的垃圾食物。
[00:24.12]But I also know that	然而我也知道，
[00:26.11]it hasn't always been easy for you and Mom,	你们俩和你妈的日子，有时候并不惬意。
[00:28.75]and that as excited as you both are about that new puppy,	新来的小狗虽然令你们兴奋，
[00:32.93]it doesn't make up for all the time we've been apart.	却无法弥补我们不在一起的所有时光。
[00:36.45]I know how much I've missed these past two years,	我明白这两年我错过的太多了，
[00:39.94]and today I want to tell you a little more about	今天我要再向你们说说为何
[00:43.77]why I decided to take our family on this journey.	我决定带领我们一家走上这趟旅程。
[00:47.80]When I was a young man,	当我还年轻的时候，
[00:50.16]I thought life was all about me--	我认为生活就该绕着我转：
[00:52.99]about how I'd make my way in the world,	我如何在这世上得心应手，
[00:55.57]become successful, and get the things I want.	成功立业，得到我想要的。
[00:59.18]But then the two of you came into my world	后来，你们俩进入了我的世界，
[01:02.46]with all your curiosity and mischief and those smiles that never fail	带来的种种好奇、淘气和微笑，
[01:07.14]to fill my heart and light up my day.	总能填满我的心，照亮我的日子。
[01:09.39]And suddenly, all my big plans for myself	突然之间，我为自己谱写的
[01:13.37]didn't seem so important anymore.	伟大计划显得不再那么重要了。
[01:16.10]I soon found that	我很快便发现，
[01:17.67]the greatest joy in my life	我在你们生命中看到的快乐，
[01:19.81]was the joy I saw in yours.	就是我自己生命中最大的快乐。
[01:22.61]And I realized that	而我也同时体会到，
[01:25.37]my own life wouldn't count for much unless	如果我不能确保你们此生能够
[01:28.28]I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity	拥有追求幸福和自我实现的一切机会，
[01:32.11]for happiness and fulfillment in yours.	我自己的生命也没多大价值。
[01:35.12]In the end, girls,	总而言之，女儿们，
[01:36.82]that's why I ran for President:	这就是我竞选总统的原因：
[01:39.54]because of what I want for you	我要让你们俩和这个国家的每一个孩子，
[01:41.38]and for every child in this nation.	都能拥有我想要给你们的东西。
[01:43.96]I want all our children	我要让我们的所有儿童都在
[01:46.36]to go to schools worthy of their potential--	能够发掘他们潜能的学校就读――
[01:49.44]schools that challenge them, inspire them,	这些学校要能挑战他们，激励他们，
[01:52.58]and instill in them a sense of wonder about the world around them.	并灌输给他们对身处的这个世界的好奇心。
[01:57.40]I want them to have the chance to go to college--	我要他们有机会上大学，
[02:00.56]even if their parents aren't rich.	哪怕他们的父母并不富有。
[02:02.99]And I want them to get good jobs:	而且我想要他们能找到好的工作：
[02:05.50]jobs that pay well and give them benefits like health care,	薪酬高还附带健康保险的工作，
[02:09.92]jobs that let them spend time with their own kids	让他们有时间陪孩子、
[02:13.41]and retire with dignity.	并且能带着尊严退休的工作。
[02:15.28]I want us to push the boundaries of discovery	我要大家向发现的极限挑战，
[02:18.66]so that you'll live to see new technologies and inventions that	让你们在有生之年能够看见改善我们生活、
[02:23.57]improve our lives and make our planet cleaner and safer.	使这个地球更干净更安全的新科技和发明。
[02:27.21]And I want us to push our own human boundaries	我也要大家向自己的人际界限挑战，
[02:31.80]to reach beyond the divides of race and region,	跨越使我们看不到对方长处的种族、
[02:34.65]gender and religion that keep us from seeing the best in each other.	地域、性别和宗教藩篱。
[02:39.49]Sometimes we have to send	有时候为了保卫我们的国家，
[02:42.90]our young men and women into war	我们不得不把青年男女
[02:44.32]and other dangerous situations to protect our country--	派到战场或其他危险的地方――
[02:47.97]but when we do,	然而当我们这么做的时候，
[02:49.70]I want to make sure that it is only for a very good reason,	我们确保师出有名，
[02:54.28]that we try our best to settle our differences with others peacefully,	我们竭尽全力以和平方式化解与他人的争执，
[02:59.40]and that we do everything possible to keep our servicemen and women safe.	也想尽一切办法保障男女官兵的安全。
[03:04.74]And I want every child to understand that	我要每个孩子都明白，
[03:08.63]the blessings these brave Americans fight for	这些勇敢的美国人在战场上
[03:11.31]are not free--	捍卫的福祉是无法平白得到的。
[03:12.87]that with the great privilege of being a citizen	在享有作为这个国家公民的伟大特权之际，
[03:16.90]of this nation comes great responsibility.	重责大任也随之而来。
[03:19.24]That was the lesson your grandmother tried to teach me	这正是我在你们这个年纪时，
[03:23.18]when I was your age,	你们的祖母想要教给我的功课，
[03:24.94]reading me the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence	她把独立宣言开头几行念给我听，
[03:29.77]and telling me about the men and women who marched for equality	告诉我有一些男女为了争取平等而游行抗议，
[03:34.67]because they believed those words	因为他们认为两个世纪前
[03:36.94]put to paper two centuries ago	白纸黑字写下来的这些句子，
[03:39.41]should mean something.	不应只是空话。
[03:40.93]She helped me understand that	她让我了解到，
[03:43.12]America is great not because it is perfect	美国之所以伟大，不是因为它完美，
[03:46.64]but because it can always be made better--	而是因为我们可以不断让它变得更好――
[03:49.76]and that the unfinished work of perfecting our union	而让我们的国家变得更加完美的未竞工作，
[03:53.32]falls to each of us.	就落在我们每个人的身上。
[03:55.36]It's a charge we pass on to our children,	这是我们交给孩子们的责任，
[03:58.42]coming closer with each new generation to what we know America should be.	每过一代，美国就更接近我们的理想。
[04:04.72]I hope both of you will take up that work,	我希望你们俩都愿意接下这个工作，
[04:08.26]righting the wrongs that you see	看到不对的事要想办法改正，
[04:10.61]and working to give others the chances you've had.	努力帮助别人获得你们有过的机会。
[04:14.22]Not just because you have an obligation	这并非仅仅因为你们应该对于
[04:17.32]to give something back to this country that has given our family so much--	给了我们家这么多的国家有所回馈――
[04:22.76]although you do have that obligation.	虽然你们的确有这个义务，
[04:25.87]But because you have an obligation to yourself.	而是因为你们对自己负有义务。
[04:29.45]Because it is only when you hitch your wagon	因为，唯有在把你们的马车
[04:32.57]to something larger than yourself that	套在更大的东西上时，
[04:35.20]you will realize your true potential.	你才会明白自己真正的潜能有多大。
[04:37.70]These are the things I want for you--	这些是我想要让你们得到的东西：
[04:40.14]to grow up in a world	在一个梦想不受限制、
[04:42.19]with no limits on your dreams	无事不能成就的世界中长大，
[04:44.42]and no achievements beyond your reach, and to grow into compassionate,	成为具有慈悲心、坚持理想，
[04:49.47]committed women who will help build that world.	能帮忙打造这样一个世界的女性。
[04:52.64]And I want every child to have the same chances	我要每个孩子都有和你们一样的机会，
[04:56.10]to learn and dream and grow and thrive that you girls have.	去学习、梦想、成长、发展。
[05:00.70]That's why I've taken our family on this great adventure.	这就是我带领我们一家展开这趟冒险的原因。
[05:05.50]I am so proud of both of you.	我深以你俩为荣，
[05:07.89]I love you more than you can ever know.	你们永远不会明白我有多爱你们，
[05:10.44]And I am grateful every day for your patience,	在我们准备一同在白宫开始新生活之际，
[05:14.53]poise, grace, and humor as we prepare	我没有一天不为你们的忍耐、
[05:19.20]to start our new life together in the White House.	沉稳、明理和幽默而心存感激。
[05:21.95]Love, Dad	爱你们的父亲

Our dictionary

英语美文点亮智慧人生30：A Letter to the Daughters by Barack Obama 奥巴马给女儿们的一封信（MP3+双语字幕）