奥巴马每周电台演讲(29 May 2010)

爱思英语编者按：在本周的电视讲话中，奥巴马总统号召全美人民与他一起追思和纪念那些为这个国家而牺牲的将士们。这些英雄们所展示出来的牺牲精神—将自己的生死置之度外，把国家的福祉留给后人的意志—使得美国最终成为最为繁荣和强大的国度。 

This weekend, as we celebrate Memorial Day, families across America will gather in backyards and front porches, fire up the barbeque, kick back with friends, and spend time with people they care about. That is as it should be. But I also hope that as you do so, you'll take some time to reflect on what Memorial Day is all about; on why we set this day aside as a time of national remembrance.

这个周末，是阵亡将士纪念日，美国各地的家庭会在后院和前廊聚会，点燃篝火烧烤，与朋友一起放松，和心爱的人一起共渡美好时光。这都是应该的。但我希望大家在做这些的时候，稍花一点时间思考阵亡将士纪念日是什么，以及我们为什么要设立这样一个国家纪念日。

It's fitting every day to pay tribute to the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States of America. Still, there are certain days that have been set aside for all of us to do so. Veterans Day is one such day – when we are called to honor Americans who've fought under our country’s flag.

任何一天向美利坚合众国身穿军装的将士们表达敬意都是合适的。但仍需要选择一些日子让大家一起来这么做。退伍军人节就是这样一个日子--我们用来向为这个国家战斗过的人们致敬的日子。

Our calling on Memorial Day is different. On this day, we honor not just those who’ve worn this country’s uniform, but the men and women who've died in its service; who've laid down their lives in defense of their fellow citizens; who've given their last full measure of devotion to protect the United States of America. These are the men and women I will be honoring this weekend, and I know many of you are doing the same.

但在阵亡将士纪念日我们的号召有些不一样。这一天，我们不仅要向这个国家的军人致敬，还要向在服役期间牺牲的军人致敬。他们不顾自己的生命去保护他们的同胞，奉献自己最后的全部热血去保卫美利坚合众国。这都是这个周末我们要纪念的人，我知道你们大都也会这么做的。

There are any number of reasons America emerged from its humble beginnings as a cluster of colonies to become the most prosperous, most powerful nation on earth. There is the hard work, the resilience, and the character of our people. There is the ingenuity and enterprising spirit of our entrepreneurs and innovators. There are the ideals of opportunity, equality, and freedom that have not only inspired our people to perfect our own union, but inspired others to perfect theirs as well.

美国能从最初的几块卑微的殖民地最终成长为最为繁荣和强大的国度，是有许多原因的。其中就包括我们的人民的勤劳，不屈不挠的优秀品质，还有众多企业家和改革家的天才智慧和进取精神。还有机遇，平等和自由的理想不断激励我们自己更加团结，也激励着其他人更加团结。

But from the very start, there was also something more. A steadfast commitment to serve, to fight, and if necessary, to die, to preserve America and advance the ideals we cherish. It’s a commitment witnessed at each defining moment along the journey of this country. It's what led a rag-tag militia to face British soldiers at Lexington and Concord. It's what led young men, in a country divided half slave and half free, to take up arms to save our union. It's what led patriots in each generation to sacrifice their own lives to secure the life of our nation, from the trenches of World War I to the battles of World War II, from Inchon and Khe Sanh, from Mosul to Marjah.

但在最开始，还有其他的东西。坚定的奉献，斗争，甚至是牺牲的精神，使得美国在追寻理想的道路上不断前进。这就是这个国家历程中各个特定时期所见证的奉献精神。这种精神指引衣衫褴褛的民兵部队敢于面对列克星顿和康科德的英国军队。这种精神指引着这个国家奴隶制联盟和自由联邦的青年拿起武器来保卫自己的联邦政府。这种精神指引着一代又一代爱国者为国捐躯，从第一次世界大战的战壕到第二次世界大战的战斗，从仁川到溪山，从摩苏尔到马加哈。

That commitment – that willingness to lay down their lives so we might inherit the blessings of this nation – is what we honor today. But on this Memorial Day, as on every day, we are called to honor their ultimate sacrifice with more than words. We are called to honor them with deeds.

这种奉献精神--将自己的生命置之度外，把国家的福祉留给我们的意志--正是我们今天需要纪念的。但在阵亡将士纪念日这一天，如同其他纪念日一样，我们不仅要用言语来向他们崇高的牺牲精神表达敬意，更要以实际行动来表达敬意。

We are called to honor them by doing our part for the loved ones our fallen heroes have left behind and looking after our military families. By making sure the men and women serving this country around the world have the support they need to achieve their missions and come home safely. By making sure veterans have the care and assistance they need.  In short, by serving all those who have ever worn the uniform of this country – and their families – as well as they have served us.

希望大家向这些逝去的英雄们留下的心爱的人们致敬，为他们做些力所能及的事情，照顾我们的军属家庭。以确保为这个国家在世界各地服役的军人们能得到他们需要的支持，让他们顺利完成任务，平安归来。确保退伍老兵们得到应有的照顾和帮助。简言之，我们要为这些曾经穿上军装为我们国家服务的军人以及他们的家庭服务，就像他们曾经为我们付出一样。

On April 25, 1866, about a year after the Civil War ended, a group of women visited a cemetery in Columbus, Mississippi, to place flowers by the graves of Confederate soldiers who had fallen at Shiloh. As they did, they noticed other graves nearby, belonging to Union dead. But no one had come to visit those graves, or place a flower there. So they decided to lay a few stems for those men too, in recognition not of a fallen Confederate or a fallen Union soldier, but a fallen American.

1866年4月25日，南北战争结束后大约一年时间，一部分妇女来到密西西比州哥伦布市的公墓，为在夏伊洛战斗中牺牲的联盟方士兵墓献上鲜花。在这个过程中，她们发现附近的一些墓，属于联邦方的墓却没有人前来祭扫或献花、因此她们决定在这些墓前放些花茎，以分辨联盟方和联邦方的牺牲士兵，但都是牺牲的美国人。更多信息请访问：http://www.engbus.cn/

A few years later, an organization of Civil War veterans established what became Memorial Day, selecting a date that coincided with the time when flowers were in bloom. So this weekend, as we commemorate Memorial Day, I ask you to hold all our fallen heroes in your hearts, and if you can, to lay a flower where they have come to rest.

几年之后，一个南北战争的老兵组织成立，并促成了阵亡将士纪念日的成立，他们选择了一个鲜花盛开的时节。因此，这个周末，我们纪念阵亡将士纪念日，我号召大家将我们逝去的英雄们牢记心间，如果可以的话，去他们安息的地方献一束花吧！