演讲稿特别注重结构清楚，层次简明。在现实社会中，演讲稿应用范围愈来愈广泛，你所见过的演讲稿是什么样的呢？的小编精心为您带来了英语优秀演讲稿精选6篇，如果能帮助到您，小编的一切努力都是值得的。
As internet has become an almost indispensible tool in our work and life,we have learned to use the software,navigate the digital world and interact with others through the network.However,it is only part of the picture.
Taking another close look,we may find that it can never be compared with the public speaking.For one thing,we may easily get infatuated with what the internet can offer such as the webgame,so as to sacrifice communication with our friends.For another,short of self-discipline andproper supervision,we may get addicted to the fictitious world,even forgetting to have meals,and that is undoubtedly ruinousto our eyesight ang stomachs.
On the contrary,the public speaking is an efficent communication between the speaker and the listener.Face to face chat can help us percive the feeling of each other when we recognige the expression and guesture.what is more,it can defenitely enhance the emotion and the level of interact.
Therefore,when taking about the knowledge of internet,i would say,popular as internet is,under no circumstances can internet or the other forms communication replace the public speaking.What we should do is making the best of the both world and purse a state of win-win situation through the communication.
That is all ，thank you.
Leading members and judges, young friends: Hello, everybody!
My name is XX, and we are pleased to be able to discuss the pursuit of excellence, dedication youth, this topic, I am going to talk about today is "willing to sacrifice, the fire ignited youth."
Let the fire burn eternal youth, so that life lightning across the horizon, with all the enthusiasm in exchange for time, there is no end to the dream of youth! I really appreciate the "Agni youth," these words inside, and has been encouraging with its own study, work and life. I think that youth should be burned, give off light only value! Burning of one's life may also be corrupt, in that case, I do not want to corrupt, not corrupt, I would like to burn up! Friends present here! You like it?
Youth is our most beautiful season of life, she is breeding in early spring of life, demonstrating a warm summer, with autumn's master real hidden, which makes clear the hope of winter, full of poetic passion and not a lack of hard work, fashion, romantic and full of the hard struggle. When a person's youth integrate into an era, a career, so youth will not go away, and this will certainly cause in the years of experience in the reflection of bright light.
尊敬的老师们，亲爱的同学们：
Dear teachers and students
人生是什么？得意者说它是美酒，失意者说它是苦水，高贵者说它是彩虹，卑贱者说它是阴云。大仲马说：“人生就是不断地等待与希望。”
What is life? The proud say it is wine, the frustrated say it is bitter water, the noble say it is rainbow, the humble say it is cloudy. Dumas said: "life is to wait and hope."
婴儿的第一声啼哭宣告了新生命的开始，人生由此开始。日日月月年年过去，你长大了，象牙塔已保护不了你脆弱的自尊，风风雨雨的日子接踵而来。狂风肆意卷刮着你满腹的壮志，暴雨狂乱冲涤着人万丈的豪情，你是蜷缩于空壳般的日子，一任现实摧毁你最美的憧憬，还是在风雨中重生，用现实作轨，再次踏上追梦的路途？人生路长，布满荆棘，险象还生，只有那些不畏艰险，披荆斩棘前进的人才能成功，才能实现人生的意义。
The first cry of a baby heralds the beginning of a new life. Day after day, month after year, when you grow up, the ivory tower can't protect your fragile self-esteem. Rainy days come one after another. The wind blows your full ambition wantonly, and the rainstorm cleans up people's lofty feelings. Are you curled up in a shell like day, a reality destroys your most beautiful vision, or are you reborn in the wind and rain, using the reality as the track, embarking on the road of pursuing dreams again? The road of life is long, full of brambles, and dangerous images still exist. Only those who are not afraid of difficulties can succeed and realize the meaning of life.
人生之路到底通向何方，这就要看人的理想如何。每一个青年，都应该有一个崇高的理想，就像一只航船，如果不扬起风帆，它就会失去前进的动力。那么风帆高悬，是不是就能“千里江陵一日还”了呢？其实不然。要是没有载舟之水也将是“欲渡黄河冰塞川”，失去了前进的条件。这个条件——实现理想的“载舟之水”，就是奋斗。我的理想便是北京的重点大学——清华大学，一个崇高的理想往往能催人奋发前进，发愤学习，成才可能实现理想，好的理想才能使人生变得更加有意义，才能使人生变得更加充实。我会沿着这个理想而努力奋斗的，把理想转换为现实。
Where the road of life leads to depends on people's ideal. Every youth should have a lofty ideal, just like a boat, if it doesn't raise its sails, it will lose the power to move forward. So if the sails are high, will they be able to "return thousands of miles of Jiangling in one day"? Actually not. If there is no water for carrying boats, it will be "crossing the Yellow River and blocking the river with ice", and it will lose the conditions to move forward. This condition - to realize the ideal "water for carrying boats" is to strive. My ideal is Tsinghua University, a key university in Beijing. A lofty ideal can often urge people to forge ahead, to study angrily, and to be able to realize their ideal. A good ideal can make life more meaningful and full. I will work hard along this ideal and turn it into reality.
为了适应伟大历史时代的需要，我们要做个有理想有知为一种目标，一种动力，但必须要经过奋斗识的人，只有这样，才能“直挂风帆济沧海”，才能对祖国，对人民作出应有的贡献。
In order to meet the needs of the great historical era, we need to be a person with ideals and knowledge as a goal and a driving force, but we must have the knowledge of struggle. Only in this way can we "sail straight to the sea", make due contributions to the motherland and the people.
the word wealth always reminds people of money and the sayings or concepts related to money. for example, “money talks”； “money makes the ghosts turn the mill”； “as birds die for food, so men die for wealth”； “the poor have no friends even though they live in the noisy downtown, while the rich have remote kinsfolk even if they live in the deep mountains”； “poverty chills ambition” “one cent short may put a hero in an awkward situation” etc, etc.。
in the1980" s, all shops were state-owned with marked prices. you couldn"t buy what you wanted with even one cent short, so one cent could indeed embarrass a hero. a popular song at that time started “i picked up one cent at the roadside, and i handed it over to the policeman…” but now no one cares to pick it up even if it were ten cents.
people"s reverence for money is expressed in varied ways. the names of companies or stores are often “beer of wealth and honor”， “restaurant of wealth and rank” “store of the aristocrats” “hotel of fame and prestige” etc. （even some people"s names have the meanings of “full of gold” or “great fortune”）。 at new year"s time, the god of wealth is worshiped and the picture of the god is covered with signs of money. when a millionaire is walking in the street, people will show their profound respect even though they know very well that they can not get a cent from him. the english film “the million-pound note” makes a most vivid revelation of this situation. with the million pound note in hand, the hero has the privilege to buy on credit, or on loan and is even presented money from others. it"s an idealized end of the story that the hero is still loved by his girl friend even after he lost his million-pound note. however, without the million-pound note, they couldn"t have known each other. it"s very difficult for people to make friends directly with beggars.
the song of “all good things must end” in a dream of the red mansions attacks the money worshipers by saying:
“all men long to be immortals
yet silver and gold they prize
and grub for money all their lives
till death seals up their eyes”
but when chen shih-yin tries to expound this song by analyzing the inconstancy of human relationships and the incomprehensible human heart, he has to say:
“while men with gold and silver by the chest
turn beggars, scorned by all and dispossessed”
the conclusion is that it doesn"t work without money.
in spite of the human civilizations over thousands of years, people can not deny the function of money. this shows how important money is. money plays a decisive role to individuals, to families and even to countries or nationalities. otherwise, why is everyone, from doorkeepers to presidents, trying to earn as much as possible? why does every country need chancellors of the exchequer, who keep formulating and revising financial laws and regulations? how different it is to be a creditor nation and a debtor nation! the united states is playing the tyrant just because it is wealthy enough. a poor man may cherish lofty aspirations, but will probably be beaten because of his poverty. the afghanistan may have won a lot of sympathy, but how difficult it would be to live solely on charity.
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of all ages and in every country, all kinds of corruption stem from money. no matter how rough the man is, and in what despicable way he earned the money, he can grease the palms of or buy over some very decent officials or even intellectuals. can you see how crucial a role money is playing? (a case in point is the bankrupt of the company)
some people or organizations like some religious groups claim that they have seen through the human vanity and can take money lightly, but to people"s puzzlement, they are also accumulating money, either to renovate the temples, or to regild buddha"s statues, in whatever pretexts. they are not engaged in production, so they can only depend on the donations from the devout believers. sometimes your sincerity relies on whether you donate and how much you donate. do the monks care about money? the answer is affirmative. what"s more, many monks are already provided with a salary.
we are living in a material world, and it"s really difficult to deny the function of money or wealth. we need money for food, clothes, education, hospital, housing and transportation, etc. there"s rarely anything that doesn"t need money. what we can discuss now is not the importance of money, but whether money is almighty and whether more wealth can bring us more happiness.
we must say that money is not almighty, and there are many things which money can"t do. for example, many emperors like qin shihuang longed for elixirs. as wealthy as they were, and as mighty as they were to take every measure to search for long life medicine, they still could not avoid the sad denouement that “their graves are a covered with
weeds”。
many great men suffered from fatal illness. even though they were treated with the best medical means, they had to suffer as much as the ordinary people, and met with the same inescapable fate. rich or poor, great or ordinary, we come and go with nothing belonging to us.
huang shiren, the cruel hearted landlord, was rich but xi"er would rather hid in the deep mountains and turn into a white-hired girl than marrying him;
wang baochuan wouldn"t give up her marriage with xue pinggui even though she had to live in the cold cave for over ten years;
emperor shunzhi of the qing dynasty owned the whole country, but just because of the death his beloved concubine, he eventually became disillusioned with this world and spent the rest of life in the temple as a monk (it"s all right even if it is a legend)。
many love stories can never be bought with money. the ever-lasting folktale of liang shanbo and zhu yingtai shows people"s identification with this point of view.
I want to discuss with you this afternoon why you're going to fail to have a great career. (Laughter)
今天下午我想和你们讨论一下你为什么不会成就伟业。(笑声)
I'm an economist. I do dismal. End of the day, it's ready for dismal remarks. I only want to talk to those of you who want a great career. I know some of you have already decided you want a good career. You're going to fail, too — (Laughter) — because — Goodness, you're all cheery about failing. (Laughter) Canadian group, undoubtedly. (Laughter) Those trying to have good careers are going to fail, because, really, good jobs are now disappearing. There are great jobs and great careers, and then there are the high-workload, high-stress, bloodsucking, soul-destroying kinds of jobs, and practically nothing in between.
我是个经济学家。我让人心情低落。一天过完了，准备好听听让人心情低落的评论。我只想和你们想要成就伟业的那些人谈。我知道你们有些人已经决定了你们想要一个成功的事业。你们也会失败的-(笑声)-因为-天呐，你们听到失败都这么高兴。(笑声)无疑是加拿大人。(笑声)想事业有成的人会失败，因为，真的，现在好工作都在消失。有好工作，和好事业，也有工作量大，压力大，吸食血液，侵蚀灵魂的那种工作，而且几乎没有工作能好点的。
So the people looking for good jobs are going to fail. I'm going to talk about those looking for great jobs, great careers, and why you're going to, why you're going to fail. First reason is that no matter how many times people tell you, "If you want a great career, you have to pursue your passion, you have to pursue your dreams, you have to pursue, the greatest fascination in your life," you hear it again and again and then you decide not to do it. It doesn't matter how many times you download Steven J.'s Stanford commencement address, you still look at it and decide not to do it.
所以想找好工作的人会失败。我谈谈那些寻找伟业的人，你们为什么要寻找，为什么会失败。第一个原因是不管多少次别人告诉你，“如果你想成就伟业，你就必须追随你的热忱，你必须追随你的梦想，你必须追随你人生中最大的吸引，“你听过这句话一遍又一遍，然后你决定不去这样做。不管你下载多少次Steven J在斯坦福大学的开学演讲，你还是看看然后决定不去做。
I'm not quite sure why you decide not to do it. You're too lazy to do it. It's too hard. You're afraid if you look for your passion and don't find it, you'll feel like you're an idiot, so then you make excuses about why you're not going to look for your passion. And they are excuses, ladies and gentlemen. We're going to go through a whole long list, your creativity, and thinking of excuses not to do what you really need to do if you want to have a great career.
我不太确定你为什么决定不去做。你太懒了。这事太难。你害怕如果你去寻找梦想然后找不到，你会觉得你像个白痴，所以你给自己找借口，为什么你不去追寻你的梦想。这些都是借口，女士们先生们。我们要列一个长单子，你的创造力，想想你不去做成就伟业该做的事情的借口。
So, for example, one of your great excuses is, "Well, great careers are really and truly, for most people, just a matter of luck, so I'm going to stand around, I'm going to try to be lucky, and if I'm lucky, I'll have a great career. If not, I'll have a good career." But a good career is an impossibility, so that's not going to work.
所以，举例来说，你众多借口之一是，“嗯，伟业实际上对于大多数人来说只是运气问题，所以我就在这待着，我就试试做那个幸运的人，然后如果我真幸运的话，我就能成就伟业。如果不能，我就找个还不错的事业。”但是没有还不错的事业，所以这个行不通。
Then, your other excuse is, "Yes, there are special people who pursue their passions, but they are geniuses. They are Steven J. I'm not a genius. When I was five, I thought I was a genius, but my professors have beaten that idea out of my head long since." (Laughter) Mm? "And now I know I am completely competent." Now, you see, if this was , being completely competent, that would have given you a great career. But guess what? This is almost , and saying to the world, "I am totally, completely competent," is damning yourself with the faintest of praise.
然后，你还有其他借口：“是的，有那些与众不同的人追寻自己的梦想，但是他们是天才。他们是Steven J.我不是天才。我五岁的时候以为自己是天才，但是我的教授们早就把这个念头打消了。“(笑声)嗯？ ”然后现在我知道自己完全有能力。“现在你看，如果这是在年，完全有能力，就能让你成就伟业。但是你知道么？现在几乎是年了，对世界说”我完全，绝对，有能力，“就是用最无力的称赞谴责你自己。
And then, of course, another excuse: "Well, I would do this, I would do this, but, but, well, after all, I'm not weird. Everybody knows that people who pursue their passions are somewhat obsessive. A little strange? Mm? Mm? Okay? You know, a fine line between madness and genius. I'm not weird. I've read Steven J.'s biography. Oh my goodness. I am not that person. I am nice. I am normal. I'm a nice, normal person, and nice, normal people don't have passion. Ah. But I still want a great career. I'm not prepared to pursue my passion, so I know what I'm going to do, because I have, I have a solution, I have a strategy. It's the one Mommy and Daddy told me about. Mommy and Daddy told me that if I worked hard, I'd have a good career. So, if you work hard and have a good career, if you work really, really, really hard, you'll have a great career. Doesn't that, like, mathematically make sense?" Hmm. Not. (Laughter) But you've managed to talk yourself into that.
然后，当然，另外一个借口：”嗯，我会做这个，我会做这个，但是，但是，嗯，毕竟，我不是个怪人。每个人都知道那些追寻自己梦想的人都多少有点强迫症。有点奇怪？嗯？嗯？好吧？你知道的，疯子和天才一线之隔。我不是个怪人。我读过Steven J的传记。我的天呐。我不是那种人。我是好人。我是正常人。我是正常的好人，而且正常的好人没有梦想。啊。但是我还是想要成就伟业。我还没准备好去追寻梦想，所以我知道我要做什么，因为我有办法，我有策略。就是爸爸妈妈告诉过我的那个。爸爸妈妈告诉我说如果我努力工作，我会有个不错的事业。所以，如果你努力工作，而且有个不错的事业，如果你工作特别特别特别努力，你就能成就伟业。这在数学上不是也成立么？“嗯…不是的。(笑声)但是你还是让自己信了这话。
You know what? Here's a little secret. You want to work? You want to work really, really, really hard? You know what? You'll succeed. The world will give you the opportunity to work really, really, really, really hard, but are you so sure that that's going to give you a great career when all the evidence is to the contrary?
你知道么？这有一个小秘密。你想工作？你想工作特别特别特别努力？你知道么？你会成功的。这个世界会给你机会去工作得特别特别特别努力，但是你就那么确信这能让你成就伟业即使所有的证据都指向另一边？
So let's assume, let's deal with those of you who are trying to find your passion. You actually understand that you really had better do it, never mind the excuses. You're trying to find your passion, and you're so happy. You found something you're interested in.
所以咱们假设，咱们来处理一下你们当中想追寻梦想的人。你实际上明白你最好这么做，抛开借口。你试图找到你的梦想，而且你这么快乐。你找到了你感兴趣的事。
I have an interest! I have an interest! You tell me. You say, "I have an interest!" I say, "That's wonderful! And what, what are you trying to tell me? That you — " "Well, I have an interest." I say, "Do you have passion?" "I have an interest," you say. Your interest is compared to what? "Well, I'm interested in this." And what about the rest of humanity's activities? "I'm not interested in them." You've looked at them all, have you? "No. Not exactly."
我有个兴趣！我有个兴趣！你告诉我。你说，“我有个兴趣！“我说，”太好了！“你想告诉我什么呢？ ”嗯，我有个兴趣。“我说，“你有热忱么？” “我有兴趣，”你说。你的兴趣和什么比较？ “嗯，我对这个感兴趣。”那其他一切的人类活动呢？ “我对那些没兴趣。”你把那些都看过一遍了？ “没有。不完全是。”
Passion is your greatest love. Passion is the thing that will help you create the highest expression of your talent. Passion, interest — it's not the same thing. Are you really going to go to your sweetie and say, "Marry me! You're interesting." (Laughter) Won't happen. Won't happen, and you will die alone. (Laughter)
热忱是你最高程度的热爱。热忱是能帮助你最好地成就自己才华的事情。热忱，兴趣-不是一回事。你真的会去找你的甜心然后说，“嫁给我吧！你很有意思。“(笑声)不会发生的。不会发生，然后你会孤独终老。(笑声)
What you want, what you want, what you want, is passion. It is beyond interest. You need interests, and then one of them, one of them might grab you, one of them might engage you more than anything else, and then you may have found your greatest love in comparison to all the other things that interest you, and that's what passion is.
你想要的，你想要的，你想要的，是热忱。它超越兴趣。你需要个兴趣，然后它们其中一个，其中一个会抓住你，让你燃起激情。然后你就找到了与其他事情相比之下你最大的热爱，那就是你的热忱。
I have a friend, proposed to his sweetie. He was an economically rational person. He said to his sweetie, "Let us marry. Let us merge our interests."
我有个朋友，向他女友求婚。他是个会过日子的人。他对他女友说，“咱们结婚吧。让咱们融合利益。”
(Laughter)
(笑声)
Yes he did. "I love you truly," he said. "I love you deeply. I love you more than any other woman I've ever encountered. I love you more than Mary, Jane, Susie, Penelope, Ingrid, Gertrude, Gretel — I was on a German exchange program then." (Laughter) "I love you more than — " All right! She left the room halfway through his enumeration of his love for her. After he got over his surprise at being, you know, turned down, he concluded he'd had a narrow escape from marrying an irrational person, although he did make a note to himself that the next time he proposed, it was perhaps not necessary to enumerate all of the women he had auditioned for the part. (Laughter)
是的，他这么说的。 “我真心爱你，”他说，“我深深爱着你。我爱你胜过其他任何女人。我爱你胜过Mary, Jane, Susie, Penelope, Ingrid, Gertrude, Gretel-我那时候在一个德国的交换项目里。“(笑声) “我爱你胜过-”好的！她在他列举到一半的时候离开了房间。在他从被拒绝的惊讶中缓过来之后，他总结了他刚刚成功逃离和一个不理性的人结婚的厄运。虽然他也对自己说，下次求婚的时候，不必要列举所有过往的女朋友。(笑声)
But the point stands. You must look for alternatives so that you find your destiny, or are you afraid of the word "destiny"? Does the word "destiny" scare you? That's what we're talking about, and if you don't find the highest expression of your talent, if you settle for "interesting," what the hell ever that means, do you know what will happen at the end of your long life? Your friends and family will be gathered in the cemetery, and there, beside your gravesite will be a tombstone, and inscribed on that tombstone, it will say, "Here lies a distinguished engineer who invented Velcro." But what that tombstone should have said, in an alternative lifetime, what it should have said if it was your highest expression of talent, was, "Here lies the last Nobel Laureate in Physics, who formulated the Grand Unified Field Theory and demonstrated the practicality of warp drive."
但是这个论点是成立的。你必须寻找各种选择才能找到命中注定的那个，或者你害怕”命中注定“这个词么？ ”命中注定“这个词吓着你么？这就是我们要谈的，而且如果你找不到你才能的最高表达，如果你在”有意思“这里止步不前，不管这他 妈的是什么意思，你知道在你漫长的一生即将结束的时候会发生什么吗？你的亲友们聚集在墓地里，在这，你的坟边上有个墓碑，这个墓碑上刻着字，说，”此地长眠着一位发明了Velcro的杰出工程师。“但是这个墓碑上也应该刻着，在一个平行时空里，如果这是你才能的最高表达它就应该刻着，”此地长眠着一位诺贝尔物理学奖得主，他规范了”大统一场论“并且示范了曲速引擎的实用性。”
(Laughter) Velcro, indeed. (Laughter)
(笑声) Velcro,确实。(笑声)
One was a great career. One was a missed opportunity. But then, there are some of you, in spite of all these excuses, you will find, you will find your passion, and you'll still fail.
一个是伟业。一个是失掉的机会。但是，你们当中有些人，抛开这些借口，你们会找到，你们会找到自己的热忱，然后你们还是失败了。
You're going to fail, because, because you're not going to do it, because you will have invented a new excuse, any excuse to fail to take action, and this excuse I've heard so many times. "Yes, I would pursue a great career, but I value human relationships more than accomplishment. I want to be a great friend. I want to be a great spouse. I want to be a great parent, and I will not sacrifice them on the altar of great accomplishment."
你会失败，因为，因为你不会着手去做，因为你会想出新的借口，任何让你只说不做的借口，而且这个借口我已经听过很多次了。 “是的，我会追求一番伟业，但是相比成就，我更看重人与人之间的关系。我想做一个好朋友。我想做一个好伴侣。我想做一个好父母，而且我不会为了伟大的成就而牺牲这些。”
(Laughter)
(笑声)
What do you want me to say? Now, do you really want me to say now, tell you, "Really, I swear I don't kick children." (Laughter) Hmm? Look at the worldview you've given yourself. You're a hero no matter what, and I, by suggesting, ever so delicately, that you might want a great career, must hate children. I don't hate children. I don't kick them. Yes, there was a little kid wandering through this building when I came here, and no, I didn't kick him. (Laughter)
你们想让我说什么？现在，你们真的想让我说，告诉你们，“真的，我发誓我不踢小孩。”(笑声)嗯？看看你给自己定的世界观。无论如何你都是个英雄，然而我，通过暗示，这么小心翼翼地，说你可能想要成就伟业，一定痛恨小孩。我不恨小孩。我不踢他们。是的，刚才我来的时候有个小孩走过来，我没踢他。(笑声)
Course, I had to tell him that the building was for adults only and to get out. He mumbled something about his mother, and I told him she'd probably find him outside anyway. Last time I saw him, he was on the stairs crying. (Laughter) What a wimp. (Laughter)
当然，我不得不告诉他这个楼是给大人的，他得出去。他含糊地说他妈妈什么的，然后我跟他说他妈估计在外面找他呢。我上次看到他的时候他正在台阶上哭呢。(笑声)真是个懦夫。(笑声)
But what do you mean? That's what you expect me to say. You really think, you really think it's appropriate that you should actually take children and use them as a shield? You know what will happen someday, you, you ideal parent, you? The kid will come to you someday and say, "I know what I want to be. I know what I'm going to do with my life." You are so happy. It's the conversation a parent wants to hear, because your kid's good in math, and you know you're going to like what comes next. Says your kid, "I have decided I want to be a magician. I want to perform magic tricks on the stage." (Laughter)
但是你是什么意思？这就是你们期待我说的。你真的认为，你真的认为拿小孩当挡箭牌合适吗？你知道有一天会发生什么，你，完美的父母，对吗？你的孩子有一天会跟你说，“我知道我想做什么。我知道我想怎么度过一生。”你特别高兴。这种对话父母最爱听了，因为你的孩子数学好，而且你知道你会爱听你孩子接下来的话。你孩子说，“我决定了我想做个魔术师。我想在舞台上表演魔术。” (笑声)
And what do you say? You say, you say, "Umm … that's risky, kid. Might fail, kid. Don't make a lot of money at that, kid. You know, I don't know, kid, you should think about that again, kid, you're so good at math, why don't you — "
然后你说什么？你说，你说，“嗯…那样比较不保险，孩子。有可能会失败，孩子。挣不了大钱，孩子。你知道的，我不知道，孩子，你应该再想想，孩子，你数学这么好，为什么不-“
And the kid interrupts you, and says, "But it is my dream. It is my dream to do this." And what are you going to say? You know what you're going to say? "Look kid. I had a dream once, too, but — but." So how are you going to finish the sentence with your "but"? "… But. I had a dream too, once, kid, but I was afraid to pursue it." Or, are you going to tell him this? "I had a dream once, kid. But then you were born." (Laughter)
然后你孩子打断你，说，”但是那是我的梦想。我梦想就是成为魔术师。“然后你要说什么？你知道你要说什么吗？ ”你看，孩子，我过去也有过梦想。但是-但是。“所以你想怎么用”但是“结束你的句子？ ”…但是，我过去也有过梦想，孩子，但是我没敢去追随。“还是，你想告诉他这个？ ”我过去有梦想，孩子。但是之后你出生了。“(笑声)
(Laughter) (Applause)
(笑声)(掌声)
Do you, do you really want to use your family, do you really ever want to look at your spouse and your kid and see your jailers? There was something you could have said to your kid when he or she said, "I have a dream." You could have said, looked the kid in the face, and said, "Go for it, kid, just like I did." But you won't be able to say that because you didn't. So you can't. (Laughter)
你真的，真的想利用你的家庭，你真的想把你的伴侣，和你的。孩子当成狱卒吗？你其实可以这么跟你孩子讲。当他/她说”我有个梦想“的时候，你可以说，面对你的孩子，说，”去追随它吧，孩子，就像我那样。“但是你没法那么说，因为你没去追随梦想。所以你不能那么说。(笑声)
And so the sins of the parents are visited on the poor children. Why will you seek refuge in human relationships as your excuse not to find and pursue your passion? You know why. In your heart of hearts, you know why, and I'm being deadly serious. You know why you would get all warm and fuzzy and wrap yourself up in human relationships. It is because you are — You know what you are.
然后父母的罪恶就在可怜的孩子们身上应验了。你为什么把人际关系当成你不去追随你的热忱的借口？你自己知道为什么。在你内心的内心，你知道为什么，而且我现在非常严肃。你知道你为什么会在人际关系中层层包裹自己。这是因为你是-你知道你是什么。
You're afraid to pursue your passion. You're afraid to look ridiculous. You're afraid to try. You're afraid you may fail. Great friend, great spouse, great parent, great career. Is that not a package? Is that not who you are? How can you be one without the other? But you're afraid.
你不敢去追求梦想。你害怕自己看起来像个疯子。你不敢去尝试。你害怕失败。好朋友，好伴侣，好父母，伟业。不是打包在一起的吗？这难道不是你？你怎么能符合其中一个却不符合另一个？但是你害怕。
And that's why you're not going to have a great career, unless — unless, that most evocative of all English words — unless. But the unless word is also attached to that other, most terrifying phrase, "If only I had … " "If only I had … " If you ever have that thought ricocheting in your brain, it will hurt a lot.
这就是为什么你不会成就伟业，除非-除非，最引人回忆的词-除非。但是除非这个词和另外一个最可怕的短语是连着的，”如果我当初…“ ”如果我当初…“如果你曾经有过这个想法在你脑海里回旋，它会特别伤人。
So, those are the many reasons why you are going to fail to have a great career, unless …
所以，这些就是你为什么不能成就伟业的众多原因。除非…
Unless.
除非。
Thank you. (Applause)
谢谢。(掌声)
The president:
Hello, everybody! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, everybody. All right, everybody go ahead and have a seat. How is everybody doing today? （applause.） How about tim spicer? （applause.） I am here with students at wakefield high school in arlington, virginia. And weve got students tuning in from all across america, from kindergarten through 12th grade. And i am just so glad that all could join us today. And i want to thank wakefield for being such an outstanding host. Give yourselves a big round of applause. （applause.）
I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, its your first day in a new school, so its understandable if youre a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now -- (applause) -- with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade youre in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer and you couldve stayed in bed just a little bit longer this morning.
I know that feeling. When i was young, my family lived overseas. I lived in indonesia for a few years. And my mother, she didnt have the money to send me where all the american kids went to school, but she thought it was important for me to keep up with an american education. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, monday through friday. But because she had to go to work, the only time she could do it was at 4:30 in the morning.
Now, as you might imagine, i wasnt too happy about getting up that early. And a lot of times, id fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever id complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and shed say, "this is no picomic for me either, buster." （laughter.）
So i know that some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But im here today because i have something important to discuss with you. Im here because i want to talk with you about your education and whats expected of all of you in this new school year.
Now, ive given a lot of speeches about education. And ive talked about responsibility a lot.
Ive talked about teachers responsibility for inspiring students and pushing you to learn.
Ive talked about your parents responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and you get your homework done, and dont spend every waking hour in front of the tv or with the xbox.
Ive talked a lot about your governments responsibility for setting high standards, and supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that arent working, where students arent getting the opportunities that they deserve.
But at the end of the day, 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, unless you show up to those schools, unless you pay attention to those teachers, unless you listen to your parents and grandparents and other adults and put in the hard work it takes to succeed. Thats what i want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education.
I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. Every single one of you has something that youre good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. Thats the opportunity an education can provide.
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 thats assigned to you. 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. 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.
And no matter what you want to do with your life, i guarantee that youll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? you want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? youre going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You cannot drop out of school and just drop into a good job. Youve got to train for it and work for it and learn for it.
And this isnt 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 youre learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.
Youll 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. Youll 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. Youll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.
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 dont do that -- if you quit on school -- youre not just quitting on yourself, youre quitting on your country.
Now, i know its not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.
I get it. I know what its like. My father left my family when i was two years old, and i was raised by a single mom who had to work and who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasnt always able to give us the things that other kids had. There were times when i missed having a father in my life. There were times when i was lonely and i felt like i didnt fit in.
So i wasnt always as focused as i should have been on school, and i did some things im not proud of, and i got in more trouble than i should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.
But i was -- i was lucky. I got a lot of second chances, and i had the opportunity to go to college and law school and follow my dreams. My wife, our first lady michelle obama, she has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didnt have a lot of money. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.
Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you dont have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job and theres not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you dont feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know arent right.
But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life -- what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what youve got going on at home -- none of that is an excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude in school. Thats no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. There is no excuse for not trying.
Where you are right now doesnt have to determine where youll end up. No ones written your destiny for you, because here in america, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.
Thats what young people like you are doing every day, all across america.
Young people like jazmin perez, from roma, texas. Jazmin didnt speak english when she first started school. Neither of her parents had gone to college. But she worked hard, earned good grades, and got a scholarship to brown university -- is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to becoming dr. Jazmin perez.
Im thinking about andoni schultz, from los altos, california, whos fought brain cancer since he was three. Hes had to endure all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer -- hundreds of extra hours -- to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind. Hes headed to college this fall.
And then theres shantell steve, from my hometown of chicago, illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods in the city, she managed to get a job at a local health care center, start a program to keep young people out of gangs, and shes on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.
And jazmin, andoni, and shantell arent any different from any of you. They face challenges in their lives just like you do. In some cases theyve got it a lot worse off than many of you. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their lives, for their education, and set goals for themselves. And i expect all of you to do the same.
Thats why today im calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education -- and do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending some time each day reading a book. Maybe youll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe youll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like i do, that all young people deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe youll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, by the way, i hope all of you are washing your hands a lot, and that you stay home from school when you dont feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.
But whatever you resolve to do, i want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.
I know that sometimes you get that sense from tv that you can be rich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality tv star. chances are youre not going to be any of those things.
The truth is, being successful is hard. You wont love every subject that you study. You wont click with every teacher that you have. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right at this minute. And you wont necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.
Thats okay. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones whove had the most failures. J.k. rowlings -- who wrote harry potter -- her first harry potter book was rejected 12 times before it was finally published. 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 thats why i succeed."
These people succeeded because they understood that you cant let your failures define you -- you have to let your failures teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently the next time. So if you get into trouble, that doesnt mean youre a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to act right. If you get a bad grade, that doesnt mean youre stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.
No ones born being good at all things. You become good at things through hard work. Youre not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You dont hit every note the first time you sing a song. Youve got to practice. 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. You definitely have to do a few drafts of a paper before its good enough to hand in.
Dont be afraid to ask questions. Dont be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isnt a sign of weakness, its a sign of strength because it shows you have the courage to admit when you dont know something, and that then allows you to learn something new. So find an adult that you trust -- a parent, a grandparent or teacher, a coach or a counselor -- and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.
And even when youre struggling, even when youre discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you, dont ever give up on yourself, because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.
The story of america isnt about people who quit when things got tough. Its about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.
Its the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and they founded this nation. Young people. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded google and twitter and facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.
So today, i want to ask all of you, whats your contribution going to be? what problems are you going to solve? what discoveries will you make? what will a president who comes here in 20 or 50 or 100 years say about what all of you did for this country?
Now, your families, your teachers, and i are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. Im working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books and the equipment and the computers you need to learn. But youve got to do your part, too. So i expect all of you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So dont let us down. Dont let your family down or your country down. Most of all, dont let yourself down. Make us all proud.
Thank you very much, everybody. God bless you. God bless america. Thank you.