I believe that each country must chart its own course. China is an ancient nation, with a deeply rooted culture. The United States, by comparison, is a young nation, whose culture is determined by the many different immigrants who have come to our shores, and by the founding documents that guide our democracy.
我认为每个国家都应该勾画出自己要走的路,中国是一个文明古国,它有着博大精深的文化。相对而言,美国是一个年轻的国家,它的文化受到来自许多不同国家移民的影响,还受到我们民主制度文件的影响。
Those documents put forward a simple vision of human affairs, and they enshrine several core principles -- that all men and women are created equal, and possess certain fundamental rights; that government should reflect the will of the people and respond to their wishes; that commerce should be open, information freely accessible; and that laws, and not simply men, should guarantee the administration of justice.
我有一个非常简单的向往,代表了一些核心的原则,就是所有的人生来平等,都有着基本的权利,而政府应当反映人们的意志,贸易应该是开放的,信息流通应当是自由的,而法律要保证这个公平。
Of course, the story of our nation is not without its difficult chapters. In many ways -- over many years -- we have struggled to advance the promise of these principles to all of our people, and to forge a more perfect union. We fought a very painful civil war, and freed a portion of our population from slavery. It took time for women to be extended the right to vote, workers to win the right to organize, and for immigrants from different corners of the globe to be fully embraced. Even after they were freed, African Americans persevered through conditions that were separate and not equal, before winning full and equal rights.
当然,我们的国家历史也不是没有过困难的地方,从很多方面来讲,很多年以来,我们是通过斗争来促进这些原则或者使所有的人民能够享受到。为了缔造一个更完美的联合,我们也打过一个很痛苦的内战,把一部分我们被奴役的人口释放出来,经过一段时间才能使妇女有投票权,劳工有组织权,包括来自各地的移民能够全部被接受。即使他们被解放以后,非洲裔美国人也和美国人经过一些分开的、不平等的条件,经过一段时间才争取到全面的平等权利。