不论你的生活志向是什么，我敢肯定你必须接受教育才能实现它。你想当医生、教师或警官吗？你想当护士、建筑师、律师或军人吗？你必须接受良好的教育，才能从事上述任何一种职业。你不能指望辍学后能碰上个好工作。你必须接受培训，为之努力，为之学习。

　　And this isn't just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. The future of America depends on you. What you're learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.

　　这并非只对你个人的人生和未来意义重大。教育给你们带来的益处将完全可以决定这个国家的未来。美国的未来取决于你们。你们现在在校学习的知识将决定我们作为一个国家是否能应对我们未来所面临的最严峻的挑战。

　　You'll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You'll need the insights and critical-thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You'll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.

　　你们将需要利用你们通过自然科学和教学课程所学到的知识和解决问题的能力来治愈像癌症、艾滋病之类的疾病，开发新的能源技术和保护我们的环境。你们将需要利用你们在历史学和社会学课堂上所获得的知识和批判性思考能力来解决贫困和无家可归的问题，打击犯罪，消除歧视，使我们的国家更公正、更自由、你们将需要利用你们在所有课堂上培养的创造力和智慧来创办新公司，增加就业机会，振兴我们的经济。

　　We need every single one of you to develop your talents and your skills and your intellect so you can help us old folks solve our most difficult problems. If you don't do that—if you quit on school—you're not just quitting on yourself, you're quitting on your country.

　　我们需要你们每个人都发挥聪明才智和技能，以便帮助我们老一辈人解决我们最棘手的问题。如果你们不这样做——如果你们辍学——你们不仅仅是放弃自己，也是放弃自己的国家。