評論
打印
Paving A Brilliant Way
鋪就輝煌之路
Tonight is a particular honor for me, let's face it; my presence on stage is pretty unlikely.
今晚對我而言頗不尋常，我們得承認，我能站在這里本身就已意義非凡。
My father was a foreign student, born and raised in a small village in Kenya. He grew up herding goats, and went to school in a tin-roof shack. His father, my grandfather, was a cook, a domestic servant to British.
我父親是一個外國留學生，他原本生于肯尼亞的一個小村莊，并在那里長大成人。他小的時候還放過羊，上的學校簡陋不堪，屋頂上僅有塊鐵皮來遮風擋雨。而他的父親，也就是我的祖父，不過是個普通的廚子，還做過家傭。
But my grandfather had lager dreams for their son. Through hard work and perseverance my father got a scholarship to study in a magical place: America that shone as a beacon of freedom and opportunity to so many who had come before.
但祖父對父親抱以厚望。憑借不懈的努力和堅忍不拔的毅力，父親榮獲赴美留學的機會，而且還拿到獎學金。美國這片神奇的土地，對于很多踏上這片國土的人而言，意味著自由和機遇。
While studying here, my father met my mother. She was born in a town on the other side of the world. Her father was an oil rigs and a farm worker through most of the depression. The day after Pearl Harbor, my grandfather joined Patton's army, marching across Europe.
還在留學期間，父親與母親不期而遇。母親來自完全不同的另一個世界，她生于堪薩斯的一個小鎮。大蕭條時期，外祖父為謀生計，曾在石油鉆井打工，還曾在農場務農。日軍偷襲珍珠港后的第二天，他就自愿應征入伍，在巴頓將軍麾下，轉戰南北，橫掃歐洲。
Back home, my grandmother raised a baby and went to work on a bomber assembly line. After the war, they studied on the GI Bill, bought a house through FHA, and later moved to west, all the way to Hawaii, in search of opportunity.
在后方的家中，外祖母含辛茹苦，撫養子女，并在轟炸機裝配線上找了份活計。戰后，依據士兵福利法案, 他們通過聯邦住宅管理局購置了一套房子，并舉家西遷，謀求更大發展。
And they, too, had big dreams for their daughter, a common dream, born of two continents. My parents shared not only an improbable love; they shared an abiding faith in the possibilities of this nation.
他們對自己的女兒也寄予厚望，兩家人雖然身在不同的非洲和美洲大陸，卻有著共同的夢想。我的父母不僅不可思議地彼此相愛，而且還對這個國家有了不移的信念。
They would give me a African name, Barack, or “blessed，” believing that in a tolerant America your name is no barrier to success.
他們賜予我一個非洲名字，巴拉克，意為“上天福佑”, 因為他們相信，在如此包容的國度中，這樣的名字不應成為成功的羈絆。
They imagined me going to the best schools in the land, even though they weren’t rich, because in a generous America you don’t have to achieve your potential.
盡管他們生活并不寬裕，還是想方設法讓我接受當地最好的教育，因為在這樣一個富足的國度中，無論貧富貴賤，都同樣有機會發展個人的潛力。
They are both passed away now. Yet, I know that, on this night, they look down on me with great pride.
現在他們都已不在人世，不過，我知道，他們的在天之靈，此時此刻正在驕傲地關注著我。
