华盛顿——下周二，奥巴马总统将在告别国家演讲中展现出积极的态度，呼吁美国人民作为公民一同努力，而他自己也将“告老还乡”成为他们中的一员。

　　"The running thread through my career has been the notion that when ordinary people get involved, get engaged, and come together in collective effort, things change for the better," Obama said in a Saturday radio address previewing the speech on Tuesday in Chicago.

　　周六，奥巴马在广播演讲上预演了下周二在芝加哥的演讲：“贯穿我职业生涯的一直是这样一个理念，当普通人参与其中并集体努力时，一切会变得更好。”

　　"It’s easy to lose sight of that truth in the day-to-day back-and-forth of Washington and our minute-to-minute news cycles. But remember that America is a story told over a longer time horizon, in fits and starts, punctuated at times by hardship, but ultimately written by generations of citizens who’ve somehow worked together, without fanfare, to form a more perfect union."

　　“在日夜交替的华盛顿和生生不息的新闻界，很容易忽视那一事实。但是你们要记住，美国是一个时好时坏的、悠久的故事，有时被困难打断，但是最终被那些默默无闻一起努力地世世代代所书写，形成一个更加完美的联盟。”

　　White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Friday that Obama would talk about his accomplishments, but the farewell address would be mostly "forward-looking."

　　周五，白宫新闻秘书厄尼思特称，奥巴马将谈谈自己的成就，但是卸任演讲主要是“向前看”。

　　Every president since George Washington has delivered a farewell address, usually in Washington. Obama’s will be unusual in that he’ll return to his hometown of Chicago, addressing supporters at the McCormick Place convention center just a few miles from Grant Park, where he celebrated his election victory in 2008. First lady Michelle Obama and Vice President Biden will also attend.

　　自乔治华盛顿以来，每个总统通常都会在白宫发表卸任演讲。奥巴马的演讲不太寻常，因为他将返回自己的家乡芝加哥，在距离格兰特公园仅几英里的麦考密克会议中心向支持者发表演说，2008年时，他在这里庆祝选举胜利。第一夫人米歇尔·奥巴马和副总统拜登也将出席。

　　In an interview with Chicago’s WBBM television on Thursday, Obama said he was returning to Chicago because it was where he first discovered his public service mission.

　　在周四接受芝加哥WBBM电视台的采访时，奥巴马说，他之所以回到芝加哥，是因为那是他第一次发现自己服务公众这一使命的地方。

　　"Everything that I have done subsequently — all the way through my presidency — was a direct outgrowth of what I learned in Chicago. I always say Chicago’s got challenges, but it really is really a microcosm of the country. There is no city is some ways that is more representative of both the difficulties, but more importantly, the promise of America," he said.

　　他说：“那之后我所做的一切——在我担任总统期间——是我在芝加哥所学的直接成果。我常常说，芝加哥充满挑战，但它真的是这个国家的缩影。没有任何一座城市，能以某些更好的方式同时代表挑战，还有更重要的——美国的未来。”

　　Alluding to one of his favored metaphors for the presidency — a relay race — Obama said he was now ready to hand over the baton. "We’ve run our leg in our long journey of progress, knowing that our work is and will always be unfinished," he said.

　　对于担任总统，他顺便提到了自己喜欢的隐喻之一——一场接力赛——奥巴马说，自己如今已经准备好交出接力棒。他说：“我们在自己漫长的进步之旅中奔跑，明白我们的工作现在没有、将来也不会终结。”