I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility for setting high standards, and supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren’t working, where students aren’t getting the opportunities that they deserve.

我多次談到過(guò)政府的責(zé)任，要制定高標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，支持教師和校長(zhǎng)的工作，徹底改善不能為學(xué)生提供應(yīng)有機(jī)會(huì)的、教育質(zhì)量差的學(xué)校。

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. That’s what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education.

然而，即使我們擁有最敬業(yè)的教師，最盡力的家長(zhǎng)和全世界最好的學(xué)校——如果你們大家不履行你們的責(zé)任，不到校上課，不專心聽講，不聽家長(zhǎng)、祖父祖母和其他大人的話，不付出取得成功所必須的勤奮努力，那么這一切都毫無(wú)用處，都無(wú)關(guān)緊要。這就是我今天講話的重點(diǎn)：你們每個(gè)人對(duì)自己的教育應(yīng)盡的責(zé)任。

I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. 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.

我首先要講講你們對(duì)自己應(yīng)盡的責(zé)任。你們每個(gè)人都有自己的長(zhǎng)處。你們每個(gè)人都能做出自己的貢獻(xiàn)。你們對(duì)自己應(yīng)盡的責(zé)任是發(fā)現(xiàn)自己的能力所在。而教育能夠提供這樣的機(jī)會(huì)。

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. 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.

你或許能成為一名出色的作家——甚至可能寫書或在報(bào)紙上發(fā)表文章——但你可能要在完成那篇英文課的作文后才會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)自己的才華。你或許能成為一名創(chuàng)新者或發(fā)明家——甚至可能設(shè)計(jì)出新一代iPhone或研制出新型藥物或疫苗——但你可能要在完成科學(xué)課的實(shí)驗(yàn)后才會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)自己的才華。你或許能成為一名市長(zhǎng)或參議員或最高法院的大法官——但你可能要在參加學(xué)生會(huì)的工作或辯論隊(duì)后才會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)自己的才華。

And no matter what you want to do with your life, I guarantee that you’ll 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? You’re 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. You’ve got to train for it and work for it and learn for it.

不論你的生活志向是什么，我敢肯定你必須上學(xué)讀書才能實(shí)現(xiàn)它。你想當(dāng)醫(yī)生、教師或警官嗎？你想當(dāng)護(hù)士、建筑師、律師或軍人嗎？你必須接受良好的教育，才能從事上述任何一種職業(yè)。你不能指望輟學(xué)后能碰上個(gè)好工作。你必須接受培訓(xùn)，為之努力，為之學(xué)習(xí)。

And this isn’t 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 you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.

這并非只對(duì)你個(gè)人的人生和未來(lái)意義重大。可以毫不夸大地說(shuō)，教育給你帶來(lái)的益處將決定這個(gè)國(guó)家的未來(lái)。美國(guó)的未來(lái)取決于你們。你們今日在校學(xué)習(xí)的知識(shí)將決定我們作為一個(gè)國(guó)家是否能夠迎接我們未來(lái)所面臨的最嚴(yán)峻挑戰(zhàn)。