经典2分钟英语演讲稿——奥巴马西点军校2014年毕业演讲

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you, General Caslen, for that introduction. General Trainor, General Clarke, faculty and staff at West Point, you have been outstanding stewards of this proud institution and outstanding mentors for the newest officers in the United States Army.

美国总统奥巴马：谢谢!非常感谢!谢谢!谢谢卡斯兰将军的介绍!特雷纳将军、克拉克将军、西点军校的教职工们，你们一直以来都是这所令人自豪的学府的优秀管理者，也是美国陆军新晋军官的杰出导师。

I’d like to acknowledge the Army’s leadership -- General McHugh -- Secretary McHugh, General Odierno, as well as Senator Jack Reed who is here and a proud graduate of West Point himself. To the class of 2014, I congratulate you on taking your place on the Long Gray Line.

我要向陆军领导层表示感谢，包括陆军部长麦克休将军以及参谋长奥迪耶诺将军，同时也要感谢到场的杰克-里德参议员，他是西点军校引以为荣的毕业生之一。2014级的毕业生们，祝贺你们承接了西点军魂的使命。

Among you is the first all-female command team: Erin Mauldin and Austen Boroff. In Calla Glavin, you have a Rhodes Scholar, and Josh Herbeck proves that West Point accuracy extends beyond the three point line. (Laughter.)

在你们当中，有美国首支女子指挥团队，包括艾琳-墨登和奥斯丁-波洛夫。卡拉-格莱文展现了一位罗兹学者的风采，而乔希-赫贝克则证明了西点的精准度远在三分线之外。(笑声)

To the entire class, let me reassure you in these final hours at West Point, as commander in chief, I hereby absolve all cadets who are on restriction for minor conduct offenses. (Laughter, applause.)

全体学员们，请安心度过你们在西点的最后时光，我以最高统帅的名义在此赦免所有因犯轻罪而关禁闭的学员。(笑声、掌声)

Let me just say that nobody ever did that for me when I was in school.

容我说一句，我当学生的时候，可从未有人这么做过。

I know you join me in extending a word of thanks to your families. Joe DeMoss, whose son James is graduating, spoke for a whole lot of parents when he wrote me a letter about the sacrifices you’ve made. “Deep inside,” he wrote, “we want to explode with pride at what they are committing to do in the service of our country.” Like several graduates, James is a combat veteran, and I would ask all of us here today to stand and pay tribute not only to the veterans among us, but to the more than 2.5 million Americans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as their families. (Applause.)

我知道，你们和我一样都要向自己的家人表示感谢。乔-狄摩斯是本届毕业生詹姆斯的父亲，他给我来信讲诉你们所作出的牺牲，也道出了许多父母的心声。他写道： “在我们的内心深处，我们为他们立志报效国家而感到无比自豪。”和多位毕业生一样，詹姆斯也是位战场老兵。我请今天在座的各位起立，向我们当中的老兵，也向250多万曾在伊拉克和阿富汗服役的美国人及其家属致敬。(掌声)

It is a particularly useful time for America to reflect on those who’ve sacrificed so much for our freedom, a few days after Memorial Day. You are the first class to graduate since 9/11 who may not be sent into combat in Iraq or Afghanistan. (Cheers, applause.)

这是继数天前阵亡将士纪念日后的又一个极有意义的时刻，让美国人民得以回想那些为我们的自由作出巨大牺牲的英雄。你们将是自911恐怖袭击以来，第一届不会被派到伊拉克或阿富汗参战的毕业生。(欢呼声、掌声)

When I first spoke at West Point in 2009, we still had more than 100,000 troops in Iraq. We were preparing to surge in Afghanistan. Our counterterrorism efforts were focused on al-Qaida’s core leadership -- those who had carried out the 9/11 attacks. And our nation was just beginning a long climb out of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

2009年，我首次在西点发表演讲时，我们仍有10万多名士兵驻扎在伊拉克，也正准备增兵阿富汗。而我们的反恐重心则是基地组织的核心头目——正是他们发动了911恐怖袭击。此外，我们的国家正开始一段摆脱大萧条以来最严重经济危机的漫长历程。

Four and a half years later, as you graduate, the landscape has changed. We have removed our troops from Iraq. We are winding down our war in Afghanistan. Al-Qaida’s leadership on the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan has been decimated, and Osama bin Laden is no more. (Cheers, applause.) And through it all, we’ve refocused our investments in what has always been a key source of American strength: a growing economy that can provide opportunity for everybody who’s willing to work hard and take responsibility here at home.

四年半以后，就在你们毕业之际，情况已发生了转变。我们已从伊拉克撤军，正逐步结束阿富汗的战争。潜伏在巴基斯坦和阿富汗边境地区的基地组织头目已被斩草除根，而奥萨马-本-拉登也早已命丧黄泉。(欢呼声、掌声)在经历了这一切之后，我们又将关注重心调整到美国实力的重要源头上来，这个源头就是不断发展的经济，为每一个愿意努力工作并愿意承担起家国责任的人提供机会。

In fact, by most measures America has rarely been stronger relative to the rest of the world. Those who argue otherwise -- who suggest that America is in decline or has seen its global leadership slip away -- are either misreading history or engaged in partisan politics.

事实上，与世界上其他国家相比，美国在很多方面都处于强势地位。有些人持不同观点，他们认为美国正在衰弱或正失去世界的领导地位，这些人不是对历史存在误读，就是陷入了党派政治的泥潭.