我們?yōu)槭裁匆蠈W(xué)?（節(jié)選）

編輯點(diǎn)評：在這個“一年之計在于春”的季節(jié)，讓我們重溫奧巴馬的著名演講《我們?yōu)槭裁匆蠈W(xué)》，該演講特點(diǎn)在于，詞句大都比較簡單，因為對象是中小學(xué)生；為了使演講更親和，奧巴馬使用了很多口語化表達(dá)，同時，談及深刻話題時，用詞則嚴(yán)謹(jǐn)規(guī)范。

?  學(xué)會對自己負(fù)責(zé)

We can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, the best schools in the world - and none of it will make a difference，none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities.

哪怕我們有最盡職的教師，最好的家長和最優(yōu)秀的學(xué)校，假如你們不去履行自己的責(zé)任的話，那么這一切努力都會白費(fèi)。

Every single one of you has something that you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That's the opportunity an education can provide.

你們中的每一個人都會有自己擅長的東西，每一個人都是有用之材，而發(fā)現(xiàn)自己的才能是什么，就是你們要對自己擔(dān)起的責(zé)任。教育給你們提供了發(fā)現(xiàn)自己才能的機(jī)會。

Maybe you could be a great writer - maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper - but you might not know it until you write that English paper - that English class paper that’s assigned to you.

或許你能寫出優(yōu)美的文字——甚至有一天能讓那些文字出現(xiàn)在書籍和報刊上——但假如不在課堂上經(jīng)常練習(xí)寫作，你不會發(fā)現(xiàn)自己有這樣的天賦。

Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor - maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or the new medicine or vaccine - but you might not know it until you do your project for your science class.

或許你能成為一個發(fā)明家、創(chuàng)造家一一甚至設(shè)計出像今天的iPhone這樣流行的產(chǎn)品，或研制出新的藥物與疫苗一一但假如不在自然科學(xué)課程上做上幾次實驗，你不會知道自己有這樣的天賦。

Maybe you could be a mayor or a senator or a Supreme Court justice - but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.

或許你能成為一名議員或最高法院法官，但假如你不去加入什么學(xué)生會或參加幾次辯論賽，你也不會發(fā)現(xiàn)自己的才能。

?  成功不在朝夕

No one's born being good at all things. You become good at things through hard work. You're not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don't hit every note the first time you sing a song. You've got to practice.

沒有哪一個人一生出來就擅長做什么事情的，只有努力才能培養(yǎng)出技能。任何人都不是在第一次接觸一項體育運(yùn)動時就成為校隊的代表，任何人都不是在第一次唱一首歌時就找準(zhǔn)每一個音，一切都需要熟能生巧。

The same principle applies to your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right. You might have to read something a few times before you understand it.

對于學(xué)業(yè)也是一樣，你或許要反復(fù)運(yùn)算才能解出一道數(shù)學(xué)題的正確答案，你或許需要讀一段文字好幾遍才能理解它的意思。這都是很正常的。

Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who've had the most failures. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. He lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that's why I succeed.

因為在這個世界上，最最成功的人們往往也經(jīng)歷過最多的失敗。邁克爾?喬丹上高中時被學(xué)校的籃球隊刷了下來，在他的職業(yè)生涯里，他輸了幾百場比賽、投失過幾千次射籃，知道他是怎么說的嗎？“我一生不停地失敗、失敗再失敗，這就是我現(xiàn)在成功的原因?！?

And even when you're struggling，even when you're discouraged，and you feel like other people have given up on you, don't ever give up on yourself, because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

你要記住，哪怕你表現(xiàn)不好、哪怕你失去信心、哪怕你覺得身邊的人都已經(jīng)放棄了你一一永遠(yuǎn)不要自己放棄自己。因為當(dāng)你放棄自己的時候，你也放棄了自己的國家。

（整理自奧巴馬2009年演講《我們?yōu)槭裁匆蠈W(xué)》）