奥巴马在2012美国新公民在入籍仪式上的讲话

 　　US President Obama's Remarks at July 4 Naturalization CeremonyEast Room, the White HouseJuly 4, 2012奥巴马总统在美国新公民在入籍仪式上的讲话白宫东厅2012年7月4日THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) Good morning, everybody.

　　奥巴马总统：谢谢你们。(掌声)大家早上好。

　　AUDIENCE: Good morning, Mr. President.

　　仪式现场观众：总统先生，早上好。

　　THE PRESIDENT: Secretary Napolitano, Director Mayorkas, distinguished¹ guests, family and friends -- welcome to the White House. Happy Fourth of July. What a perfect way to celebrate America’s birthday -- the world’s oldest democracy, with some of our newest citizens.

　　总统：纳波利塔诺部长、马约尔卡斯局长、贵宾们、家属和朋友们——欢迎你们来到白宫。7月4日快乐!这是一个庆祝美国诞生日的多么理想的方式——与我们一些最新的公民一起庆祝世界上最老的民主国家。

　　I have to tell you, just personally, this is one of my favorite things to do. It brings me great joy and inspiration because it reminds us that we are a country that is bound together not simply by ethnicity or bloodlines, but by fidelity² to a set of ideas. And as members of our military, you raised your hand and took an oath of service. It is an honor for me to serve as your Commander-in-Chief. Today, you raised your hand and have taken an oath of citizenship³. And I could not be prouder to be among the first to greet you as "my fellow Americans."我还要告诉各位，就个人来说，这是我最喜欢的事情之一。它给我带来巨大的喜悦和灵感，因为它提醒我们，我们不是一个单纯靠种族或血缘组成的国家，我们是以对一套理念的忠贞不渝结合在一起。作为军人中的一员，你们曾举手宣誓效忠。作为你们的总司令，我荣幸之至。今天，你们举手宣誓成为公民。能第一个欢迎你们，称你们为“我的美国同胞”，让我无比自豪。

　　Looking back, it was an act of extraordinary audacity⁴ -- a few dozen delegates, in that hall in Philadelphia, daring to defy the mightiest⁵ empire in the world, declaring "that these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States."回顾历史，当时是一个非同寻常的大胆举动——数十名代表，在费城的那个大厅里，敢于反抗世界上最强大的帝国，宣布“这些殖民地的联合体是、而且按其权利应该是自由和独立的国家”。

　　Two hundred and thirty-six years later, we marvel⁶ at America’s story. From a string of 13 colonies to 50 states from sea to shining sea. From a fragile experiment in democracy to a beacon⁷ of freedom that still lights the world. From a society of farmers and merchants to the largest, most dynamic economy in the world. From a ragtag army of militias⁸ and regulars to you -- the finest military that the world has ever known. From a population of some 3 million -- free and slave -- to more than 300 million Americans of every color and every creed⁹.

　　236年后，我们为美国的历史而惊叹。从一串13个殖民地到从太平洋到大西洋的50个州。从一个脆弱的民主实验到至今仍照亮世界的自由灯塔。从一个农民和商人社会到一个世界上充满活力的最大经济体。从一支衣衫褴褛的民兵和正规兵队伍到你们这支世界迄今所知最优秀的军队。从包括自由人和奴隶的约300万人到包括各种肤色和信仰的3亿美国人。

　　With this ceremony today -- and ceremonies like it across our country -- we affirm another truth: Our American journey, our success, would simply not be possible without the generations of immigrants who have come to our shores from every corner of the globe. We say it so often, we sometimes forget what it means -- we are a nation of immigrants. Unless you are one of the first Americans, a Native American, we are all descended¹⁰ from folks who came from someplace else -- whether they arrived on the Mayflower or on a slave ship, whether they came through Ellis Island or crossed the Rio Grande.

　　通过今天这个仪式——以及全国类似的仪式——我们证明了又一个事实：我们美国的历程、我们的成功，如果没有来自地球每个角落的代代移民，是完全不可能的。我们将这样一句话如此频繁地挂在嘴边，以致有时会忘记其含义： 我们是一个移民国家。除非你是这里最早的居民， 是原住民，否则我们就都是来自他方的移民后裔——无论他们是乘“五月花号”或是奴隶船，无论他们是通过埃利斯岛还是越过格兰德河。

1 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

2 fidelity   

n.忠诚，忠实；精确

参考例句：

• There is nothing like a dog's fidelity.没有什么能比得上狗的忠诚。
• His fidelity and industry brought him speedy promotion.他的尽职及勤奋使他很快地得到晋升。

3 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

4 audacity   

n.大胆，卤莽，无礼

参考例句：

• He had the audacity to ask for an increase in salary.他竟然厚着脸皮要求增加薪水。
• He had the audacity to pick pockets in broad daylight.他竟敢在光天化日之下掏包。

5 mightiest   

adj.趾高气扬( mighty的最高级 )；巨大的；强有力的；浩瀚的

参考例句：

• \"If thou fearest to leave me in our cottage, thou mightiest take me along with thee. “要是你害怕把我一个人留在咱们的小屋里，你可以带我一块儿去那儿嘛。 来自英汉文学 - 红字
• Silent though is, after all, the mightiest agent in human affairs. 确实，沉默毕竟是人类事件中最强大的代理人。 来自互联网

6 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

7 beacon   

n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔

参考例句：

• The blink of beacon could be seen for miles.灯塔的光亮在数英里之外都能看见。
• The only light over the deep black sea was the blink shone from the beacon.黑黢黢的海面上唯一的光明就只有灯塔上闪现的亮光了。

8 militias   

n.民兵组织，民兵( militia的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The troops will not attempt to disarm the warring militias. 部队并不打算解除战斗中的民兵武装。 来自辞典例句
• The neighborhood was a battleground for Shiite and Sunni militias. 那里曾是什叶派和逊尼派武装分子的战场。 来自互联网

9 creed   

n.信条；信念，纲领

参考例句：

• They offended against every article of his creed.他们触犯了他的每一条戒律。
• Our creed has always been that business is business.我们的信条一直是公私分明。

10 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。