Ladies and gentlemen of the convention: 各位大会代表：
My name is Geraldine Ferraro. I stand before you to proclaim tonight: America is the land where dreams can come true for all of us. As I stand before the American people and think of the honor this great convention has bestowed upon me, I recall the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who made America stronger by making America more free. He said, "Occasionally in life there are moments which cannot be completely explained by words. Their meaning can only be articulated by the inaudible language of the heart." Tonight is such a moment for me. 我叫杰拉尔丁·费拉罗。今晚我站在你们面前宣告：美国是所有人都能实现梦想的国度。站在美国人民面前，想到这次伟大的大会赋予我的荣誉，我想起了马丁·路德·金博士的话，他通过让美国更自由而使美国更强大。他说："生活中偶尔有些时刻无法完全用言语解释，其意义只能用心底无声的语言来表达。"今晚对我来说就是这样的时刻。
My heart is filled with pride. My fellow citizens, I proudly accept your nomination for Vice President of the United States. 我心中充满骄傲。各位同胞，我骄傲地接受你们提名我为美利坚合众国副总统。
And I am proud to run with a man who will be one of the great Presidents of this century, Walter F. Mondale. Tonight, the daughter of a woman whose highest goal was a future for her children talks to our nation's oldest party about a future for us all. Tonight, the daughter of working Americans tells all Americans that the future is within our reach, if we're willing to reach for it. Tonight, the daughter of an immigrant from Italy has been chosen to run for [Vice] President in the new land my father came to love. 我很荣幸能与一位将成为本世纪伟大总统之一的人并肩竞选，他就是沃尔特·F·蒙代尔。今晚，一位母亲最高愿望就是为子女谋求未来的女儿，向我国最古老的政党谈论我们所有人的未来。今晚，一位劳动阶级美国人的女儿告诉所有美国人，未来就在我们触手可及之处，只要我们愿意伸手去够。今晚，一位意大利移民的女儿，被提名在我父亲所热爱的这片新土地上竞选[副]总统。
Our faith that we can shape a better future is what the American dream is all about. The promise of our country is that the rules are fair. If you work hard and play by the rules, you can earn your share of America's blessings. Those are the beliefs I learned from my parents. And those are the values I taught my students as a teacher in the public schools of New York City. 我们能塑造更美好未来的信念，正是美国梦的真谛。我国的承诺是规则公平。如果你努力工作并遵守规则，就能赢得美国恩赐中属于你的那一份。这些是我从父母那里学到的信念，也是我在纽约市公立学校当老师时教给学生的价值观。
At night, I went to law school. I became an assistant district attorney, and I put my share of criminals behind bars. I believe if you obey the law, you should be protected. But if you break the law, you must pay for your crime. 晚上我去上法学院。我成为了一名助理地区检察官，将我份内的罪犯送进监狱。我相信，如果你遵守法律，就应该受到保护；但如果你违反法律，就必须为你的罪行付出代价。
When I first ran for Congress, all the political experts said a Democrat could not win my home district in Queens. I put my faith in the people and the values that we shared. Together, we proved the political experts wrong. In this campaign, Fritz Mondale and I have put our faith in the people. And we are going to prove the experts wrong again. We are going to win. We are going to win because Americans across this country believe in the same basic dream. 我第一次竞选国会议员时，所有政治专家都说民主党人不可能赢下我所在的皇后区选区。我信任人民，信任我们共同的价值观。我们一起证明了政治专家错了。在这次竞选中，弗里茨·蒙代尔和我把信心寄托在人民身上。我们将再次证明专家们错了。我们将获胜。我们将获胜，因为全国各地的美国人都相信同一个基本的梦想。
Last week, I visited Elmore, Minnesota, the small town where Fritz Mondale was raised. And soon Fritz and Joan will visit our family in Queens. Nine hundred people live in Elmore. In Queens, there are 2,000 people on one block. You would think we'd be different, but we're not. Children walk to school in Elmore past grain elevators; in Queens, they pass by subway stops. But, no matter where they live, their future depends on education, and their parents are willing to do their part to make those schools as good as they can be. 上周，我访问了弗里茨·蒙代尔长大的小镇——明尼苏达州埃尔莫尔。不久弗里茨和琼将到皇后区拜访我们的家。埃尔莫尔有九百人；皇后区一个街区就有两千人。你也许以为我们会很不同，但其实并非如此。在埃尔莫尔，孩子们上学经过的是谷物升运器；在皇后区，他们经过的是地铁站。但无论他们住在哪里，他们的未来都取决于教育，他们的父母都愿意尽自己的一份力，让学校尽可能地好。
In Elmore, there are family farms; in Queens, small businesses. But the men and women who run them all take pride in supporting their families through hard work and initiative. On the 4th of July in Elmore, they hang flags out on Main Street; in Queens, they fly them over Grand Avenue. But all of us love our country, and stand ready to defend the freedom that it represents. 在埃尔莫尔有家庭农场；在皇后区有小生意。但经营这些的男女都以通过辛勤工作和进取心养家为荣。7月4日独立日，埃尔莫尔的人们在主街挂出国旗；皇后区的人们在格兰大道上空悬挂国旗。但我们所有人都热爱我们的国家，随时准备捍卫它所代表的自由。
Americans want to live by the same set of rules. But under this administration, the rules are rigged against too many of our people. It isn't right that every year the share of taxes paid by individual citizens is going up, while the share paid by large corporations is getting smaller and smaller. The rules say: Everyone in our society should contribute their fair share. 美国人希望在同一套规则下生活。但在本届政府治下，规则对太多我们的民众不利。每年个人公民缴纳的税收份额在上升，而大公司缴纳的份额却越来越小，这是不对的。规则规定：我们社会中每个人都应贡献其公平的份额。
It isn't right that this year Ronald Reagan will hand the American people a bill for interest on the national debt larger than the entire cost of the federal government under John F. Kennedy. Our parents left us a growing economy. The rules say: We must not leave our kids a mountain of debt. 今年罗纳德·里根向美国人民开出的国债利息账单，比约翰·F·肯尼迪时期整个联邦政府的开支还大，这是不对的。我们的父母留给我们的是一个增长的经济。规则规定：我们不能给我们的孩子留下一座债务之山。
It isn't right that a woman should get paid 59 cents on the dollar for the same work as a man. 做同样工作的女性每挣一美元只得到59美分，这是不对的。
If you play by the rules, you deserve a fair day's pay for a fair day's work. It isn't right that, if trends continue, by the year 2000 nearly all of the poor people in America will be women and children. The rules of a decent society say: When you distribute sacrifice in times of austerity, you don't put women and children first. 如果你遵守规则，你就应该得到一天公平工作的公平报酬。如果这种趋势继续下去，到2000年美国几乎所有的穷人都会是妇女和儿童，这是不对的。一个体面社会的规则规定：在紧缩时期分配牺牲时，不应把妇女和儿童放在最前。
It isn't right that young people today fear they won't get the Social Security they paid for, and that older Americans fear that they will lose what they have already learned [earned]. Social Security is a contract between the last generation and the next, and the rules say: You don't break contracts. 今天的年轻人担心他们拿不到他们已经缴纳了费用的社会保障，年长的美国人担心他们会失去他们已经赚得的福利，这是不对的。社会保障是上一代与下一代之间的契约，规则规定：你不能撕毁契约。
We are going to keep faith with older Americans. We hammered out a fair compromise in the Congress to save Social Security. Every group sacrificed to keep the system sound. It is time Ronald Reagan stopped scaring our senior citizens. 我们将信守对美国长者的承诺。我们在国会中达成了一项公平的妥协方案以挽救社会保障。每个群体都作出了牺牲以维持制度的健全。是时候让罗纳德·里根停止恐吓我们的老年公民了。
It isn't right that young couples question whether to bring children into a world of 50,000 nuclear warheads. That isn't the vision for which Americans have struggled for more than two centuries. And our future doesn't have to be that way. Change is in the air, just as surely as when John Kennedy beckoned America to a new frontier; when Sally Ride rocketed into space; and when Reverend Jesse Jackson ran for the office of President of the United States. 年轻夫妇们质疑是否要把孩子带到拥有5万枚核弹头的世界上，这是不对的。那不是美国人两个多世纪以来为之奋斗的愿景。我们的未来不必如此。变革已在空气中，就像约翰·肯尼迪召唤美国走向新边疆、萨利·赖德乘火箭进入太空、杰西·杰克逊牧师竞选美国总统时一样确定。
By choosing a woman to run for our nation's second highest office, you send a powerful signal to all Americans: There are no doors we cannot unlock. We will place no limits on achievement. If we can do this, we can do anything. 通过选择一位女性竞选我国第二高职位，你们向所有美国人发出了一个强有力的信号：没有我们打不开的门。我们不会对成就设置任何限制。如果我们能做到这一点，我们就能做到任何事情。
Tonight, we reclaim our dream. We're going to make the rules of American life work fairly for all Americans again. To an Administration that would have us debate all over again whether the Voting Rights Act should be renewed and whether segregated schools should be tax exempt, we say, Mr. President: Those debates are over. On the issue of civil rights, voting rights, and affirmative action for minorities, we must not go backwards. We must -- and we will -- move forward to open the doors of opportunity. 今晚，我们重新找回我们的梦想。我们将让美国生活的规则再次公平地为所有美国人服务。对于一届想让我们重新争论《投票权法案》是否应续期、种族隔离学校是否应免税的政府，我们说，总统先生：这些争论已经结束了。在民权、投票权和少数族裔平权行动的问题上，我们不能倒退。我们必须——也将——向前迈进，打开机会的大门。
To those who understand that our country cannot prosper unless we draw on the talents of all Americans, we say: We will pass the Equal Rights Amendment. 对于那些理解我国除非汲取所有美国人的才智否则无法繁荣的人，我们说：我们将通过《平等权利修正案》。
The issue is not what America can do for women, but what women can do for America. 问题不在于美国能为女性做什么，而在于女性能为美国做什么。
To the Americans who will lead our country into the 21st century, we say: We will not have a Supreme Court that turns the clock back to the 19th century. 对于那些将引领我国进入21世纪的美国人，我们说：我们不会拥有一个把时钟拨回19世纪的最高法院。
To those concerned about the strength of American and family values, as I am, I say: We are going to restore those values -- love, caring, partnership -- by including, and not excluding, those whose beliefs differ from our own. Because our own faith is strong, we will fight to preserve the freedom of faith for others. 对于像我一样关心美国和家庭价值观力量的人，我说：我们将通过包容而非排斥那些信仰与我们不同的人，来恢复这些价值观——爱、关怀、伙伴关系。因为我们自己的信仰坚定，我们将为他人捍卫信仰自由。
To those working Americans who fear that banks, utilities, and large special interests have a lock on the White House, we say: Join us; let's elect the people's President; and let's have government by and for the American people again. 对于那些担心银行、公用事业和大型特殊利益集团把持白宫的劳动美国人，我们说：加入我们；让我们选出人民的总统；让我们重新拥有由人民组成、为人民服务的政府。
To an Administration that would savage student loans and education at the dawn of a new technological age, we say: You fit the classic definition of a cynic; you know the price of everything, but the value of nothing. 对于一届在新技术时代黎明时期削减学生贷款和教育的政府，我们说：你们符合愤世嫉俗者的经典定义；你们知道一切的价格，却不知道任何事物的价值。
To our students and their parents, we say: We will insist on the highest standards of excellence, because the jobs of the future require skilled minds. To young Americans who may be called to our country's service, we say: We know your generation will proudly answer our country's call, as each generation before you. 对我们的学生和他们的父母，我们说：我们将坚持最高卓越标准，因为未来的工作需要熟练的头脑。对可能被征召为国效力的年轻美国人，我们说：我们知道你们这一代会像你们之前的每一代人一样，自豪地响应国家的召唤。
This past year, we remembered the bravery and sacrifice of Americans at Normandy. And we finally paid tribute -- as we should have done years ago -- to that Unknown Soldier who represents all the brave young Americans who died in Vietnam. Let no one doubt, we will defend America's security and the cause of freedom around the world. But we want a President who tells us what America's fighting for, not just what we are fighting against. 过去一年里，我们缅怀了美国人在诺曼底的英勇与牺牲。我们也终于——如我们多年前就该做的那样——向那位代表所有在越南阵亡的勇敢年轻美国人的无名战士致敬。不要怀疑，我们将捍卫美国的安全和全世界自由的事业。但我们要的是一位告诉我们美国为何而战的总统，而不仅仅是告诉我们美国在对抗什么。
We want a President who will defend human rights, not just where it is convenient, but wherever freedom is at risk -- from Chile to Afghanistan, from Poland to South Africa. To those who have watched this administration's confusion in the Middle East, as it has tilted first toward one and then another of Israel's long-time enemies and wonder: "Will America stand by her friends and sister democracy?" we say: America knows who her friends are in the Middle East and around the world. America will stand with Israel always. 我们要的是一位捍卫人权的总统，不仅在方便之处，而是在自由受到风险的任何地方——从智利到阿富汗，从波兰到南非。对于那些看着本届政府在中东问题上左右摇摆、时而偏向以色列某个长期敌人、时而又偏向另一个敌人，而疑惑"美国是否会站在她的朋友和姐妹民主国家一边？"的人，我们说：美国知道她在中东和世界各地的朋友是谁。美国将永远与以色列站在一起。
Finally, we want a President who will keep America strong, but use that strength to keep America and the world at peace. A nuclear freeze is not a slogan: It is a tool for survival in the nuclear age. If we leave our children nothing else, let us leave them this Earth as we found it: whole and green and full of life. 最后，我们要的是一位让美国保持强大、但用这种力量维护美国和世界和平的总统。核冻结不是一句口号：它是核时代的生存工具。如果我们不能给孩子们留下别的，那就让我们把地球如我们发现时那样留给他们：完整、绿色、充满生命。
I know in my heart that Walter Mondale will be that President. 我打心底里知道，沃尔特·蒙代尔就是那样的总统。
A wise man once said, "Every one of us is given the gift of life, and what a strange gift it is. If it is preserved jealously and selfishly, it impoverishes and saddens. But if it is spent for others, it enriches and beautifies." My fellow Americans: We can debate policies and programs, but in the end what separates the two parties in this election campaign is whether we use the gift of life for others or only ourselves. 一位智者曾说："我们每个人都获得了生命这份礼物，多么奇特的礼物啊。如果嫉妒而自私地保留它，它就会使人贫乏而悲伤。但如果为他人而付出，它就会使人丰富而美好。"各位美国同胞：我们可以辩论政策和方案，但归根结底，本次选举中两党的区别在于：我们是为他人而使用生命这份礼物，还是只为自己。
Tonight, my husband, John, and our three children are in this hall with me. To my daughters, Donna and Laura, and my son, John Junior, I say: My mother did not break faith with me, and I will not break faith with you. 今晚，我的丈夫约翰和我们的三个孩子与我一同在这个大厅里。对我的女儿们唐娜和劳拉，以及我的儿子小约翰，我说：我的母亲没有辜负对我的信任，我也不会辜负对你们的信任。
To all the children of America, I say: The generation before ours kept faith with us, and like them, we will pass on to you a stronger, more just America. 对所有美国的孩子们，我说：我们之前的那一代人信守了对我们的承诺，像他们一样，我们将把一个更强大、更公正的美国传给你们。
Thank you. 谢谢。