奥巴马民主党大会演讲

 　　'America, you have vindicated¹ that hope these past eight years. And now I’m ready to pass the baton² and do my part as a private citizen,' he said. This year, in this election, I’m asking you to join me – to reject cynicism, reject fear, to summon what’s best in us; to elect Hillary Clinton as the next President of the United States, and show the world we still believe in the promise of this great nation.'

　　“美国，这八年来你维护了人们的希望。现在，我要将接力棒传递下去，并做好一个美国公民应有的本分。”他如此说道，“今年，此次竞选中，我请求你们能够与我一起反对犬儒主义、抵制恐惧，去召唤我们中最出色的那个人，去选择希拉里·克林顿作为美国的下一任总统，并告诉全世界：我们仍旧相信我们伟大祖国的承诺。”

　　'Hillary knows we can insist on a lawful³ and orderly immigration system while still seeing striving students and their toiling⁴ parents as loving families, not criminals or rapists.'.

　　“希拉里明白，我们能够在坚持合法有序的移民制度的同时、见证勤奋刻苦的学子和辛勤耕耘的父母组成美满家庭——没有不法之徒，也没有骇人色魔。”

　　'She knows their dream is quintessentially American, and the American Dream is something no wall will ever contain.'

　　“她明白他们的梦想是典型的美国梦，而美国梦是无边无际的。”

　　'And no matter how daunting⁵ the odds⁶; no matter how much people try to knock her down, she never, ever, quits.'

　　“无论获胜的可能性有多微小，无论有多少人想要击垮她，她永远都不会放弃。”

　　Obama also backed up Clinton's 'judgement' - which is evidenced by her selection of Tim Kaine to be her vice⁷ president, he said.

　　奥巴马对于克林顿的“意见”也给予了支持——将选择蒂姆·凯恩作为她的副总统。

　　'Tim Kaine is as good a man, as humble⁸ and as committed a public servant as anybody that I know. I know his family. I love Anne. I love their kids. He will be a great vice president,' Obama said, vouching⁹ for the U.S. Senator.

　　“和我认识的每一个人民公仆一样，蒂姆·凯恩是一个谦虚忠诚的好人。我和他家人也很熟悉。我爱安妮。我爱他们的孩子。他将会是一个出色的副总统。”奥巴马这样向美国参议院担保道。

　　Returning to Clinton, Obama said: 'Hillary has got her share of critics. She has been caricatured by the right and by some on the left. She has been accused of everything you can imagine - and some things that you cannot. But she knows that’s what happens when you’re under a microscope for 40 years.

　　说回克林顿，奥巴马又说：“希拉里遭到过批评家的指责。她曾经被右翼和一些左翼分子画成漫画嘲讽过。她曾经被扣上了所有你们能想象的到的罪名——其中甚至有一些你们连想也想不到。但是她知道在显微镜下生活四十年意味着什么。”

　　'She knows that sometimes during those 40 years she’s made mistakes - just like I have; just like we all do,' he said. 'That’s what happens when we try.'

　　“她知道在这40年里她曾犯过错——我也不例外，我们每个人都会犯错。”他说，“只要作出尝试，错误在所难免。”

　　Obama said: 'You’ve got to get in the arena¹⁰ with her, because democracy isn’t a spectator sport. America isn’t about “yes he will”, It’s about “yes we can”. And we’re going to carry Hillary to victory this fall, because that’s what the moment demands.'

　　奥巴马说：“你一定要和她一起走上这个竞技场，因为民主不是观赏性的运动。在美国，不存在‘是的，他会’，而只有‘是的，我们可以’。这个秋天，让我们响应时代的需求，一起帮助希拉里赢得这次战役！”

　　And after a short wind-up he moved on to praising Hillary Clinton, his 2008 rival and her level-headedness.

　　短暂停顿过后，他又一次对他2008年的竞争对手——头脑清晰的希拉里·克林顿给予了赞许。

　　'You know, nothing truly prepares you for the demands of the Oval Office. You can read about it. You can study it. But until you’ve sat at that desk, you don’t know what it’s like to manage a global crisis, or send young people to war,'

　　“没有什么能够帮你达到能够当上美国总统需求做准备，你们懂的。你们可以阅读相关书籍，也可以做有关研究。但是唯有真正坐在总统办公室的办公桌前，你们才能明白治理全球危机或是派兵应战是怎样一种感受。”

　　Clinton is as prepared as she could possibly be, however, he said. 'Hillary has been in the room; she’s been part of those decisions.'

　　“而克林顿已经尽己所能做好了准备。”他说，“希拉里曾经就是这里的一员，参与了那些决策的制定。”

　　'That’s the Hillary I know. That’s the Hillary I’ve come to admire. And that’s why I can say with confidence there has never been a man or a woman – not me, not Bill, nobody more qualified¹¹ than Hillary Clinton to serve as President of the United States of America.'

　　“那就是我认识的希拉里，让我渐渐产生钦佩之情的希拉里。这也是为什么我能如此自信地说：没有任何一个人，包括我，包括比尔，能比希拉里·克林顿更适合当选美国总统。”

 

1 vindicated   

v.澄清（某人/某事物）受到的责难或嫌疑( vindicate的过去式和过去分词 )；表明或证明（所争辩的事物）属实、正当、有效等；维护

参考例句：

• I have every confidence that this decision will be fully vindicated. 我完全相信这一决定的正确性将得到充分证明。
• Subsequent events vindicated the policy. 后来的事实证明那政策是对的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 baton   

n.乐队用指挥杖

参考例句：

• With the baton the conductor was beating time.乐队指挥用指挥棒打拍子。
• The conductor waved his baton,and the band started up.指挥挥动指挥棒，乐队开始演奏起来。

3 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

4 toiling   

长时间或辛苦地工作( toil的现在分词 )； 艰难缓慢地移动，跋涉

参考例句：

• The fiery orator contrasted the idle rich with the toiling working classes. 这位激昂的演说家把无所事事的富人同终日辛劳的工人阶级进行了对比。
• She felt like a beetle toiling in the dust. She was filled with repulsion. 她觉得自己像只甲虫在地里挣扎，心中涌满愤恨。

5 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

6 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

7 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

8 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

9 vouching   

n.（复核付款凭单等）核单v.保证( vouch的现在分词 )；担保；确定；确定地说

参考例句：

• These are references vouching for his ability. 这些都是证明他能力的介绍信。 来自互联网
• If you want to test, to test a Vouching Clerk is also more useful to some. 你如果要考，去考个单证员还更有用一些。 来自互联网

10 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

11 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。