公众人物毕业演讲第385期:奥巴马2012年哥伦比亚大学毕业演讲(3)

 　　The first year women were admitted to Columbia Sally Ride was the first American woman in space Music was all about Michael and the Moonwalk.

　　哥伦比亚大学开始录取女生的第一年当时萨莉.莱德成为第一位进入太空的美国女性那时的音乐全是麦克尔和太空步

　　We had the Walkman No. No Moonwalking. No Moonwalking today.

　　我们当时有随身听不走太空步 今天不走太空步

　　We had the Walkman, not ipods Some of the streets around here were not quite so inviting¹ Times Square was not a family destination.

　　我们当时有随身听 没有IPod这四周的一些街区没有现在这样诱人时报广场不是适合全家人去的地方

　　So I know this is all ancient history Nothing worse than commencement speakers droning on about bygone days.

　　我知道这一切都属于古老的过去了毕业典礼演讲人絮叨旧事是再糟糕不过的

　　But for all the differences the Class of 1983 actually had a lot in common with all of you For we, too, were heading out into a world.

　　但是 尽管有种种差别1983年毕业班其实与你们各位有许多共同之处这是因为 当时我们踏入社会的时候

　　At a moment when our country was still recovering from a particularly severe economic recession² It was a time of change. It was a time of uncertainty³.

　　也正值国家从一场特别严重的经济衰退中恢复那是一个变革的时期 一个充满未知的时期

　　It was a time of passionate⁴ political debates You can relate to this because just as you were starting out.

　　一个政治辩论激情高涨的时期你们能够体会到这一点因为在你们刚开始熟悉

1 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。

2 recession   

n.（工商业的）衷退（期），萧条（期）

参考例句：

• Manufacturing fell sharply under the impact of the recession.受到经济萧条的影响，制造业急剧衰退。
• A rise in interest rates plunged Britain deeper into recession.利率的提高导致英国经济更加萧条。

3 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

4 passionate   

adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的

参考例句：

• He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
• He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。