【英語演講】奧巴馬2014國情咨文(視頻) (二)

Five years ago, we set out to change the odds for all our kids. We worked with lenders to reform student loans, and today, more young people are earning college degrees than ever before. Race to the Top, with the help of governors from both parties, has helped states raise expectations and performance. Teachers and principals in schools from Tennessee to Washington, D.C., are making big strides in preparing students with skills for the new economy - problem solving, critical thinking, science, technology, engineering, and math. Some of this change is hard. It requires everything from more challenging curriculums and more demanding parents to better support for teachers and new ways to measure how well our kids think, not how well they can fill in a bubble on a test. But it's worth it - and it's working.

5年前，我們竭盡所能為孩子們努力，我們和貸款者一起改革學生貸款。今天，越來越的年輕人能夠獲得大學學位。在兩黨領導人的幫助下，我們力爭上游，讓各個州提升了期望值和表現(xiàn)。從田納西州到華盛頓，從校長到老師，都在盡最大的努力讓學生學習當今社會的技能——解決問題、批判性思維、科學、技術、工程和數(shù)學。其中一些改變是很困難的，需要更多挑戰(zhàn)性的課程，需要更多要求高的家長給教師更好的支持，需要新的方法去檢驗孩子的學習成果，而不僅僅是考試分數(shù)。但是這一切都是值得的——也正在進行中。

The problem is we're still not reaching enough kids, and we're not reaching them in time. That has to change.

問題是，我們沒有把這件事覆蓋到所有的孩子，也不是很及時。我們必須要進行改變。

Research shows that one of the best investments we can make in a child's life is high-quality early education. Last year, I asked this Congress to help states make high-quality pre-K available to every four year-old. As a parent as well as a president, I repeat that request tonight. But in the meantime, thirty states have raised pre-k funding on their own. They know we can't wait. So just as we worked with states to reform our schools, this year, we'll invest in new partnerships with states and communities across the country in a race to the top for our youngest children. And as Congress decides what it's going to do, I'm going to pull together a coalition of elected officials, business leaders, and philanthropists willing to help more kids access the high-quality pre-K they need.

調(diào)查研究顯示，我們能為孩子們做的最好的投資之一就是給他們高質(zhì)量的學前教育。去年，我要求國會幫助各州為4歲小孩提供高質(zhì)量的學前教育。作為一名總統(tǒng)，也作為一名家長，今晚，我再次重申這個要求。但與此同時，已經(jīng)有30個州用自己的預算開展學前教育了，他們知道我們不能再等了。因此，就讓我們與各州同行，改革我們的教育吧。今年，我們將會在全國范圍內(nèi)投資各州和社會團體的學前教育，努力達到最高標準。國會將決定下一步的行動，而我將聯(lián)合官員、商界領袖和慈善家們，讓更多的孩子接觸到必須的高質(zhì)量的學前教育。

Last year, I also pledged to connect 99 percent of our students to high-speed broadband over the next four years. Tonight, I can announce that with the support of the FCC and companies like Apple, Microsoft, Sprint, and Verizon, we've got a down payment to start connecting more than 15,000 schools and 20 million students over the next two years, without adding a dime to the deficit.

去年，我呼吁在未來4年里實現(xiàn)99%的學生能夠接入寬帶。今天，我宣布，我們已經(jīng)獲得了聯(lián)邦通訊委員會(FCC)和像蘋果、微軟、斯普林特、威瑞森電信等公司的支持，在不增加一分財政赤字的情況下在未來兩年內(nèi)讓1.5萬多所學校和2000多萬學生用上寬帶。

We're working to redesign high schools and partner them with colleges and employers that offer the real-world education and hands-on training that can lead directly to a job and career. We're shaking up our system of higher education to give parents more information, and colleges more incentives to offer better value, so that no middle-class kid is priced out of a college education. We're offering millions the opportunity to cap their monthly student loan payments to ten percent of their income, and I want to work with Congress to see how we can help even more Americans who feel trapped by student loan debt. And I'm reaching out to some of America's leading foundations and corporations on a new initiative to help more young men of color facing tough odds stay on track and reach their full potential.

我們正在重新規(guī)劃高中教育，讓高中與大學、公司真正的連接起來，給學生提供社會所需的教育和實習培訓，能他們能夠直接適應工作。我們正在重組高等教育體系，給家長們更多的訊息，激勵大學提供更有價值的教育，不會讓任何一個中產(chǎn)階級的小孩因為高昂的學費不能讀大學。我們給上百萬學生提供了只需支付自己每月收入10%的貸款機會，我希望和國會一起合作來幫助更多的學生，即使越來越多的學生因為債務而陷入困境。在一項新倡議中，我會和一些美國頂尖的基金會和公司做一個新項目，即幫助更多不同膚色的年輕人能夠繼續(xù)努力、發(fā)揮最大的潛力、實現(xiàn)個人價值。

The bottom line is, Michelle and I want every child to have the same chance this country gave us. But we know our opportunity agenda won't be complete - and too many young people entering the workforce today will see the American Dream as an empty promise - unless we do more to make sure our economy honors the dignity of work, and hard work pays off for every single American.

歸根結(jié)底，米歇爾和我希望每個孩子都能享受國家給予的同等機會。但是我們都知道我們關于機會的這項議程尚不完善——現(xiàn)在許多已經(jīng)具有勞動力的年輕人認為美國夢只是一張空頭支票——除非我們采取更多措施來確保經(jīng)濟能夠尊重勞動的價值而且讓他們相信，努力工作能夠使每一個美國人受益。

Today, women make up about half our workforce. But they still make 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. That is wrong, and in 2014, it's an embarrassment. A woman deserves equal pay for equal work. She deserves to have a baby without sacrificing her job. A mother deserves a day off to care for a sick child or sick parent without running into hardship - and you know what, a father does, too. It's time to do away with workplace policies that belong in a "Mad Men" episode. This year, let's all come together - Congress, the White House and businesses from Wall Street to Main Street - to give every woman the opportunity she deserves. Because I firmly believe when women succeed, America succeeds.

如今，女士是勞動力的半邊天。但是相同的工作，她們只能得到男士們薪酬的77%。這是不合理的，在2014年，這是一個讓人尷尬的情況。女士們應該獲得與她們工作等價的酬勞。她應該有個孩子但這不是以犧牲她的工作為代價。一位母親理應有一天的休假去照顧她生病的孩子或者生病的父母而不是陷入工作家庭難兼顧的境地——而且，眾所周知，父親也應該是這樣。是時候遠離類似《廣告狂人》某一集里的工作場所政策了。今年，讓我們一起呼吁國會，白宮和來自華爾街或緬因街的企業(yè)——給予每位女士應有的權利。因為我堅信，當女士們的事業(yè)成功時，美國就成功了。

Now, women hold a majority of lower-wage jobs - but they're not the only ones stifled by stagnant wages. Americans understand that some people will earn more than others, and we don't resent those who, by virtue of their efforts, achieve incredible success.

 

現(xiàn)在，女士們占了低收入工作者的大半，她們也不是唯一的被停滯不前的工資困擾的。美國人理解那些高收入者，我們不會嫉妒那些用自己的工作成果創(chuàng)造了令人難以置信的成功的人。