You’ll 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. You’ll 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. You’ll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.

你們將需要利用你們通過(guò)自然科學(xué)和數(shù)學(xué)課程所學(xué)到的知識(shí)和解決問(wèn)題的能力來(lái)治愈癌癥、艾滋病及其他疾病，開(kāi)發(fā)新的能源技術(shù)和保護(hù)我們的環(huán)境。你們將需要利用你們?cè)跉v史學(xué)和社會(huì)學(xué)課堂上所獲得的知識(shí)和獨(dú)立思考能力來(lái)抗擊貧困和解決無(wú)家可歸問(wèn)題，打擊犯罪和消除歧視，使我們的國(guó)家更公平、更自由。你們將需要利用你們?cè)谒姓n堂上培養(yǎng)的創(chuàng)造力和智慧來(lái)創(chuàng)辦新公司，增加就業(yè)機(jī)會(huì)，振興我們的經(jīng)濟(jì)。

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 don’t do that -- if you quit on school -- you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country.

我們需要你們每個(gè)人發(fā)揮你們的聰明才智和技能，以便幫助老一輩人解決我們面臨的最棘手問(wèn)題。如果你們不這樣做，如果你們輟學(xué)，你們不僅僅是自暴自棄，也是拋棄自己的國(guó)家。

Now, I know it’s 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.

我自然知道要做到學(xué)業(yè)優(yōu)秀并非總是易事。我知道你們?cè)S多人在生活中面臨挑戰(zhàn)，難以集中精力從事學(xué)業(yè)。

I get it. I know what it’s 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 wasn’t 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 didn’t fit in.

我明白這一點(diǎn)。 我有親身感受。兩歲時(shí)，我父親離家而去，我是由一位單親母親撫養(yǎng)成人的，母親不得不工作，并時(shí)常為支付生活費(fèi)用而苦苦掙扎，但有時(shí)仍無(wú)法為我們提供其他孩子享有的東西。有時(shí)，我渴望生活中能有一位父親。有時(shí)我感到孤獨(dú)，感到自己不適應(yīng)社會(huì)。

So I wasn’t always as focused as I should have been on school, and I did some things I’m 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.

我并非總是像我應(yīng)該做到的那樣專心學(xué)習(xí)，我也曾做過(guò)我如今不能引以為豪的一些事情，我曾惹過(guò)不應(yīng)該惹的麻煩。我的人生原本會(huì)輕易陷入更糟糕的境地。

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 didn’t 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.

但是，我當(dāng)年際遇不錯(cuò)。我有過(guò)許多第二次機(jī)會(huì)，我有幸能上大學(xué)，上法學(xué)院，追求自己的理想。我的妻子，我們的第一夫人米歇爾•奧巴馬，也有著類似的經(jīng)歷。她的父母都未曾上過(guò)大學(xué)，家里很窮。但他們非常勤奮 ，她也是如此，因此她得以進(jìn)入一些美國(guó)最好的學(xué)校。