Jenny老師的~Sweet~部落格之痞客精華

【聯合新聞網／寶瓶文化提供】
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. 
在這一天，我們聚在一起，因為我們選擇希望而非恐懼，選擇追求共同目標而非紛爭和不合。

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.
在這一天，我們來此宣示，那些小心眼的抱怨和虛偽的承諾已終結，那些扭曲我們政治已久的相互指控和陳舊教條已終結。

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, 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. 
我們仍是個年輕的國家，但借用《聖經》的話，擺脫幼稚事物的時刻到來了，重申我們堅忍精神的時刻到來了，選擇我們更好的歷史，實踐那種代代傳承的珍貴權利，那種高貴的理念：就是上帝的應許，我們每個人都是平等的，每個人都是自由的，每個人都應該有機會追求全然的幸福。 

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the fainthearted－for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things－some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor－who have carried us up the long, rugged path toward prosperity and freedom. 
settle for less（片語）降低標準；輕易滿足。 
再次肯定我們國家的偉大，我們了解偉大絕非天生具備，而必須努力去求得。我們的旅程從來就不是抄捷徑或很容易就滿足。這條路一直都不是給不勇敢的人走的，那些偏好逸樂勝過工作，或者只想追求名利就滿足的人。恰恰相反，走這條路的始終是勇於冒險的人，做事的人，成事的人，其中有些人很出名，但更常見的是在各自崗位上的男男女女無名英雄，在這條漫長崎嶇的道路上支撐我們，邁向繁榮與自由。

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life. 
為了我們，他們攜帶很少的家當，遠渡重洋，追尋新生活。

For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth. 
sweatshop（n.）「血汗工廠」，指剝削勞力的工作環境（工時長、環境差，雇用廉價勞工的工作場所） ── 美國的新移民往往必須在此種工作環境中謀生。 
為了我們，他們胼手胝足，在西部安頓下來；忍受風吹雨打，篳路藍縷。

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn. 
Concord（n.）（美國麻州）康科特──一七七五年美國獨立戰爭首役戰場。 
Gettysburg（n.）（美國賓州）蓋茲堡──一八六三年美國南北戰爭決定性戰役之主戰場。林肯總統（Abraham Lincoln）在此發表著名之「蓋茨堡宣言」（Gettysburg Address），力倡解放黑奴。 
Normandy（n.）（法國）諾曼第──二次世界大戰聯軍登陸歐陸之地。 
Khe Sahn（n.）（越南）溪山──一九六八年越戰的主戰場之一。 
為了我們，他們奮鬥不懈，在康科特和蓋茲堡，諾曼地和溪山等地葬身。

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. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction. 
前人不斷的奮鬥與犧牲，直到雙手皮開肉綻，我們才能享有比較好的生活。他們將美國視為大於所有個人企圖心總和的整體，超越出身、財富或派系的分別。

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America. 
stand pat（片語）守舊不肯嘗新；固執不肯變通。 
這是我們今天繼續前進的旅程。我們仍舊是全球最繁榮強盛的國家。這場危機爆發時，我們的勞工生產力並未減弱。我們的心智一樣創新，我們的產品和勞務和上週或上個月或去年相比，一樣是必需品。我們的能力並未減損。但是我們墨守成規、維護狹小利益、推遲引人不悅的決定，這段時期肯定已經過去。從今天起，我們必須重新出發，再次展開再造美國的工程。