奥巴马给女儿的一封信

Dear Malia andSasha,

I know that you‘ve both had a lot of fun the last two years onthe campaign trail, going to

picnics and parades and state fairs,eating all sorts of junk food your mother and I probably

shouldn‘thave let you have. But I also know that it hasn‘t always been easyfor you and Mom, and

that as excited as you both are about that newpuppy, it doesn‘t make up for all the time we‘ve been

apart. I knowhow much I‘ve misd the past two years, and today I want to tellyou a little more

about why I decided to take our family on thisjourney。

亲爱的马莉亚和莎夏：

我明白这两年你们俩随我一路竞选都有过很多乐子，野餐、游行、逛州展览会，吃了各类或许我和你妈

不该让你们吃的垃圾食物。可是我也明白，你们俩和你妈的日子，有时候并非惬意。新来的小狗虽然令你们兴奋，

却无法弥补咱们不在一路的所有光阴。我明白这两年我错过的太多了，今天我要再向你们说说为何我决定率领咱

们一家走上这趟旅程。

When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me—about howI‘d make my way in the

world, become successful, and get the thingsI want. But then the two of you came into my world with

all yourcuriosity and mischief and tho smiles that never fail to fill myheart and light up my day. And

suddenly, all my big plans formylf didn‘t em so important anymore. I soon found that

thegreatest joy in my life was the joy I saw in yours. And I realizedthat my own life wouldn‘t count for

much unless I was able toensure that you had every opportunity for

happiness and fulfillmentin yours. In the end, girls, that‘s why I ran for

President:becau of what I want for you and for every child in thisnation。

当我还年轻的时候，我以为生活就该绕着我转：我如安在这世上驾轻就熟，成功立

业，取得我想要的。后来，你们俩进入了我的世界，带来的各类好奇、顽皮和微笑，总能填

满我的心，照亮我的日子。突然之间，我为自己谱写的伟大打算显得再也不那么重要了。我

专门快便觉察，我在你们生命中看到的欢乐，确实是我自己生命中最大的欢乐。而我也同时

体认到，若是我不能确保你们此生能够拥有追求幸福和自我实现的一切机缘，我自己的生命

也没多大价值。总而言之，我的女儿，这确实是我竞选总统的缘故：我要让你们俩和那个国

家的每一个小孩，都能拥有我想要给他们的东西。

I want all our children to go to schools worthy of theirpotential—schools

that challenge them, inspire them, and instill inthem a n of wonder about the

world around them. I want them tohave the chance to go to college—even if their

parents aren‘t I want them to get good jobs: jobs that pay well and give

thembenefits like health care, jobs that let them spend time with theirown kids and

retire with dignity。

我要让所有儿童都在能够挖掘他们潜能的学校就读；这些学校要能挑战他们，鼓励

他们，并灌输他们对身处的那个世界的好奇心。我要他们有机缘上大学，那怕他们的父母并

非富有。而且我要他们能找到好的工作：薪酬高还附带健康保险的工作，让他们有时刻陪小

孩、而且能带着尊严退休的工作。

I want us to push the boundaries of discovery so that you‘ll liveto e new

technologies and inventions that improve our lives andmake our planet cleaner

and safer. And I want us to push our ownhuman boundaries to reach beyond

the divides of race and region,gender and religion that keep us from eing the

best in eachother。

我要大伙儿向觉察的极限挑战，让你在有生之年能够看见改善咱们生活、使那个行

星更干净、更平安的新科技和发明。我也要大伙儿向自己的人际界限挑战，跨越使咱们看不

到对方优势的种族、地域、性别和宗教樊篱。

Sometimes we have to nd our young men and women into war andother

dangerous situations to protect our country—but when we do, Iwant to make sure

that it is only for a very good reason, that wetry our best to ttle our differences

with others peacefully, andthat we do everything possible to keep our rvicemen

and womensafe. And I want every child to understand that the blessings thebrave

Americans fight for are not free—that with the greatprivilege of being a citizen of

this nation comes greatresponsibility。

有时候为了珍惜咱们的国家，咱们不能不把青年男女派到战场或其它危险的地址，

可是当咱们这么做的时候，我要确保师出出名，咱们尽了全力以和平方式化解与他人的争吵，

也想尽了一切方式保障男女官兵的平安。我要每一个小孩都明白，这些勇敢的美国人在战场

上捍卫的福祉是无法平白取得的：在享有作为那个国家公民的伟大特权之际，重责大任也随

之而来。

That was the lesson your grandmother tried to teach me when I wasyour

age, reading me the opening lines of the Declaration ofIndependence and telling

me

about the men and women who marched forequality becau they believed

tho words put to paper twocenturies ago should mean something。

这正是我在你们这年纪时，外婆想要教我的作业，她把独立宣言开头几行念给我听，

告知我有一些男女为了争取平等自告奋勇游行抗议，因为他们以为两个世纪前白纸黑字写下

来的这些句子，不该只是废话。

She helped me understand that America is great not becau it isperfect

but becau it can always be made better—and that theunfinished work of

perfecting our union falls to each of us. It‘s acharge we pass on to our children,

coming clor with each newgeneration to what we know America should be。

她让我了解到，美国因此伟大，不是因为它完美，而是因为咱们能够不断让它变得

更好，而让它更好的未竟工作，就落在咱们每一个人的身上。这是咱们交给小孩们的责任，

每过一代，美国就更接近咱们的理想。

I hope both of you will take up that work, righting the wrongs thatyou e

and working to give others the chances you‘ve had. Not justbecau you have an

obligation to give something back to thiscountry that has given our family so

much—although you do have thatobligation. But becau you have an obligation

to yourlf. Becauit is only when you hitch your wagon to something larger

thanyourlf that you will realize your true potential。

我希望你们俩都愿接下那个工作，看到不对的事要想方式更正，尽力帮忙他人取得

你们有过的机缘。这并非只因国家给了咱们一家这么多，你们也当有所回馈，虽然你们的确

有那个义务，而是因为你们对自己负有义务。因为，唯有在把你的马车套在更大的东西上时，

你才会明白自己真正的潜能有多大。

The are the things I want for you—to grow up in a world with nolimits on

your dreams and no achievements beyond your reach, and togrow to

compassionate, committed women who will help build thatworld. And I want every

child to have the same chances to learn anddream and grow and thrive that you

girls have. That‘s why I‘vetaken our family on this great adventure。

这些是我想要让你们取得的东西：在一个妄图不受限制、无事不能成绩的世界中长

大，长成具慈悲心、坚持理想，能帮忙打造如此一个世界的女性。我要每一个小孩都有和你

们一样的机缘，去学习、妄图、成长、进展。这确实是我率领咱们一家展开这趟大冒险的缘

故。

《奥巴马给女儿的信》咱们一家的大冒险

I am so proud of both of you. I love you more than you can everknow. And

I am grateful every day for your patience, poi, grace,and humor as we prepare to

start our new life together in the WhiteHou。

Love, Dad

我深以你俩为荣，你们永久可不能明白我有多爱你们，在咱们预备一同在白宫开始

新生活之际，我没有一天不为你们的忍耐、沉稳、明理和幽默而心存感激。

爱你们的老爹