Well, thank you, President Crow, for that extremely generous introduction, for your inspired leadership as well here at ASU. And I want to thank the entire ASU community for the honor of attaching my name to a scholarship program that will help open the doors of higher education to students from every background. What a wonderful gift. Thank you. That notion of opening doors of opportunity to everybody, that is the core mission of this school; it's a core mission of my presidency; and I hope this program will serve as a model for universities across this country. So thank you so much. 好的，谢谢你，克劳校长，感谢你极为慷慨的介绍，也感谢你在ASU这里富有远见的领导。我还要感谢整个ASU社区，让我有幸将我的名字与一个奖学金项目联系在一起，这个项目将帮助各种背景的学生打开高等教育的大门。这是一份多么美好的礼物。谢谢你们。向所有人敞开机会之门，正是这所学校的核心使命；也是我总统任期的核心使命；我希望这个项目能成为全国各大学的典范。所以，非常感谢大家。
I want to obviously congratulate the Class of 2009 for your unbelievable achievement. I want to thank the parents, the uncles, the grandpas, the grandmas, cousins -- Calabash cousins -- everybody who was involved in helping these extraordinary young people arrive at this moment. 我显然要祝贺2009届的毕业生们，祝贺你们令人难以置信的成就。我要感谢你们的父母、叔伯、祖父母、外祖父母、表亲——还有"卡拉巴什兄弟"——感谢所有帮助这些非凡的年轻人走到今天这一刻的人。
I also want to apologize to the entire state of Arizona for stealing away your wonderful former governor, Janet Napolitano. But you've got a fine governor here and I also know that Janet is applying her extraordinary talents to serve our entire country as the Secretary of Homeland Security, keeping America safe. And she's doing a great job. 我还要向整个亚利桑那州道歉，因为我"偷走"了你们出色的前州长珍妮特·纳波利塔诺。不过你们这里有一位优秀的州长，而且我也知道，珍妮特正在以她非凡的才干为我们的整个国家服务，担任国土安全部长，保卫美国的安全。她干得很出色。
Now, before I begin, I'd just like to clear the air about that little controversy everybody was talking about a few weeks back. I have to tell you, I really thought this was much ado about nothing, but I do think we all learned an important lesson. I learned never again to pick another team over the Sun Devils in my NCAA bracket. It won't happen again. President Crow and the Board of Regents will soon learn all about being audited by the IRS. 现在，在我正式开始之前，我想先澄清一下几周前大家都在谈论的那个小风波。我得告诉你们，我真觉得这完全是大惊小怪，但我确实认为我们都从中吸取了一个重要的教训。我学到了，再也不在我的NCAA锦标赛预测里把别的球队排在"太阳恶魔"队前面了。这种事不会再发生了。克劳校长和校董会很快就会体会到被国税局审计是什么滋味了。
Now, in all seriousness, I come here not to dispute the suggestion that I haven't yet achieved enough in my life. First of all, Michelle concurs with that assessment. She has a long list of things that I have not yet done waiting for me when I get home. 说正经的，我来到这里，并不是要反驳那种认为我在人生中尚未取得足够成就的说法。首先，米歇尔也同意这一评价。她有一份长长的清单，列着我回家后还没做的各种事情，正等着我呢。
But more than that, I come to embrace the notion that I haven't done enough in my life; I heartily concur; I come to affirm that one's title, even a title like President of the United States, says very little about how well one's life has been led -- that no matter how much you've done, or how successful you've been, there's always more to do, always more to learn, and always more to achieve. 但不仅如此，我是来接受"我人生中所做还不够"这一观念的；我衷心认同；我是来确认这样一个道理：一个人的头衔，哪怕是美利坚合众国总统这样的头衔，几乎不能说明他的人生过得有多好——无论你已经做了多少，无论你有多成功，总有更多事情要做，总有更多东西要学，总有更多成就去追求。
And I want to say to you today, graduates, Class of 2009, that despite having achieved a remarkable milestone in your life, despite the fact that you and your families are so rightfully proud, you too cannot rest on your laurels. Not even some of those remarkable young people who were introduced earlier -- not even that young lady who's got four degrees yet today. You can't rest. Your own body of work is also yet to come. 今天我想对你们说，毕业生们，2009届的同学们，尽管你们已经在人生中取得了一个非凡的里程碑，尽管你们和你们的家人理所当然地感到自豪，你们也不能躺在功劳簿上吃老本。即使是之前介绍过的那些杰出的年轻人——即使是今天已经拿到四个学位的那位女士——也不行。你们不能停下脚步。你们自己的"人生作品"还在后头。
Now, some graduating classes have marched into this stadium in easy times -- times of peace and stability when we call on our graduates simply to keep things going, and don't screw it up. Other classes have received their diplomas in times of trial and upheaval, when the very foundations of our lives, the old order has been shaken, the old ideas and institutions have crumbled, and a new generation is called upon to remake the world. 有些毕业班是在顺境中走进这座体育场的——那是和平与稳定的时代，我们只是要求毕业生们把现状维持下去，别搞砸就好。而另一些毕业班则是在动荡与巨变的时期领到他们的文凭，那时我们生活的根基、旧有的秩序已被撼动，旧有的观念和制度已经崩塌，新一代人被召唤去重塑世界。
It should be clear to you by now the category into which all of you fall. For we gather here tonight in times of extraordinary difficulty, for the nation and for the world. 到现在你们应该清楚自己属于哪一类了。因为我们今晚聚在这里，正处在一个对国家、对世界而言都异常艰难的时期。
The economy remains in the midst of a historic recession, the worst we've seen since the Great Depression; the result, in part, of greed and irresponsibility that rippled out from Wall Street and Washington, as we spent beyond our means and failed to make hard choices. We're engaged in two wars and a struggle against terrorism. The threats of climate change, nuclear proliferation, and pandemic defy national boundaries and easy solutions. 经济仍处于一场历史性的衰退之中，是自大萧条以来我们所见过的最严重的一次；这在一定程度上是华尔街和华盛顿蔓延出的贪婪与不负责任所致，我们入不敷出，又未能做出艰难的抉择。我们正同时进行两场战争，以及一场反恐斗争。气候变化、核扩散和流行病的威胁，都超越了国界，也没有简单的解决方案。
For many of you, these challenges are also felt in more personal terms. Perhaps you're still looking for a job -- or struggling to figure out what career path makes sense in this disrupted economy. Maybe you've got student loans -- no, you definitely have student loans -- or credit card debts, and you're wondering how you'll ever pay them off. Maybe you've got a family to raise, and you're wondering how you'll ensure that your children have the same opportunities you've had to get an education and pursue their dreams. 对你们中的许多人来说，这些挑战也有着更切身的感受。也许你还在找工作——或者正在苦苦思索，在这个被打乱的经济中哪条职业道路才有意义。也许你有学生贷款——不，你肯定有学生贷款——或者信用卡债务，你在想自己究竟要怎样才还得清。也许你还要抚养家庭，你在想怎样才能确保你的孩子拥有和你一样的机会去接受教育、追求梦想。
Now, in the face of these challenges, it may be tempting to fall back on the formulas for success that have been pedaled so frequently in recent years. It goes something like this: You're taught to chase after all the usual brass rings; you try to be on this "who's who" list or that top 100 list; you chase after the big money and you figure out how big your corner office is; you worry about whether you have a fancy enough title or a fancy enough car. 如今，面对这些挑战，人们可能很容易退回到近年来被反复兜售的那些"成功公式"。它大致是这样的：你被教导去追逐所有那些常见的成功象征；你努力挤进这个"名人录"或那个"百人榜"；你追逐大把的金钱，盘算自己的拐角办公室有多大；你担心自己的头衔够不够气派，车子够不够豪华。
That's the message that's sent each and every day, or has been in our culture for far too long -- that through material possessions, through a ruthless competition pursued only on your own behalf -- that's how you will measure success. 这就是每天都在传递的信息，或者说在我们的文化中已经传递了太久——通过物质占有，通过只为一己之利的无情竞争——这就是你衡量成功的方式。
Now, you can take that road -- and it may work for some. But at this critical juncture in our nation's history, at this difficult time, let me suggest that such an approach won't get you where you want to go; it displays a poverty of ambition -- that in fact, the elevation of appearance over substance, of celebrity over character, of short-term gain over lasting achievement is precisely what your generation needs to help end. 你当然可以走那条路——对某些人来说它也许管用。但在我们国家历史的这个关键节点，在这个艰难时刻，让我提醒一句：这种做法不会把你带到你想去的地方；它显示出一种"雄心的贫乏"——事实上，将外表凌驾于实质之上、将名望凌驾于品格之上、将短期收益凌驾于持久成就之上，恰恰正是你们这一代人需要帮助终结的东西。
Now, ASU, I want to highlight -- I want to highlight two main problems with that old, tired, me-first approach. First, it distracts you from what's truly important, and may lead you to compromise your values and your principles and commitments. Think about it. 现在，ASU的同学们，我想强调——我想强调那种陈旧、老套、"以我为先"的做法有两大主要问题。第一，它会让你分心，看不清真正重要的东西，可能让你在价值观、原则和承诺上做出妥协。想一想吧。
It's in chasing titles and status -- in worrying about the next election rather than the national interest and the interests of those who you're supposed to represent -- that politicians so often lose their ways in Washington. They spend time thinking about polls, but not about principle. It was in pursuit of gaudy short-term profits, and the bonuses that came with them, that so many folks lost their way on Wall Street, engaging in extraordinary risks with other people's money. 正是在追逐头衔和地位中——在为下一场选举操心而非关心国家利益和你所要代表的人的利益中——政客们才常常在华盛顿迷失方向。他们把时间花在琢磨民调上，而不是琢磨原则上。也正是在追求华而不实的短期利润以及随之而来的奖金中，那么多人迷失在了华尔街，拿别人的钱去冒极大的风险。
In contrast, the leaders we revere, the businesses and institutions that last -- they are not generally the result of a narrow pursuit of popularity or personal advancement, but of devotion to some bigger purpose -- the preservation of the Union or the determination to lift a country out of a depression; the creation of a quality product, a commitment to your customers, your workers, your shareholders and your community. A commitment to make sure that an institution like ASU is inclusive and diverse and giving opportunity to all. That's a hallmark of real success. 相比之下，我们所崇敬的领袖、历久弥新的企业和机构——它们通常不是狭隘地追求人气或个人升迁的结果，而是献身于某种更宏大目标的结果——无论是维护联邦的完整，还是带领一个国家走出萧条的决心；是创造优质的产品，是对你的客户、员工、股东和社区的承诺。是确保像ASU这样的机构具有包容性和多样性、向所有人提供机会的承诺。那才是真正成功的标志。
That other stuff -- that other stuff, the trappings of success may be a byproduct of this larger mission, but it can't be the central thing. Just ask Bernie Madoff. That's the first problem with the old attitude. 至于那些别的东西——那些别的东西，成功的种种排场，或许是这一更大使命的副产品，但它不能成为核心。问问伯尼·麦道夫就知道了。这就是旧态度的第一个问题。
But the second problem with the old approach to success is that a relentless focus on the outward markers of success can lead to complacency. It can make you lazy. We too often let the external, the material things, serve as indicators that we're doing well, even though something inside us tells us that we're not doing our best; that we're avoiding that which is hard, but also necessary; that we're shrinking from, rather than rising to, the challenges of the age. And the thing is, in this new, hyper-competitive age, none of us -- none of us -- can afford to be complacent. 而旧的成功观带来的第二个问题是，一味执着于成功的外在标志，会导致自满。它会让人变得懒惰。我们太常常让外在的、物质的东西作为我们做得不错的指标，尽管内心深处有什么在告诉我们，我们并没有尽到全力；我们在回避那些艰难却必要的事情；我们在退缩，而不是迎头应对这个时代的挑战。而问题是，在这个全新的、竞争白热化的时代，我们当中没有任何人——没有任何人——能够承受自满的代价。
That's true in whatever profession you choose. Professors might earn the distinction of tenure, but that doesn't guarantee that they'll keep putting in the long hours and late nights -- and have the passion and the drive -- to be great educators. The same principle is true in your personal life. 无论你选择什么职业，这一点都成立。教授们或许赢得了终身教职这一荣誉，但这并不能保证他们会继续投入长时间和深夜的辛劳——继续保持那份热情和动力——去成为伟大的教育者。同样的道理也适用于你的个人生活。
Being a parent is not just a matter of paying the bills, doing the bare minimum -- it's not bringing a child into the world that matters, but the acts of love and sacrifice it takes to raise and educate that child and give them opportunity. It can happen to Presidents, as well. If you think about it, Abraham Lincoln and Millard Fillmore had the very same title, they were both Presidents of the United States, but their tenure in office and their legacy could not be more different. 做父母不仅仅是付清账单、做到最低限度那么简单——重要的不是把孩子带到这个世界上，而是养育和教育那个孩子、给予他们机会所需要的那些爱与牺牲的行动。这种事也会发生在总统身上。如果你想一想，亚伯拉罕·林肯和米勒德·菲尔莫尔拥有完全相同的头衔，他们都是美利坚合众国总统，但他们的任期和留下的遗产却天差地别。
And that's not just true for individuals -- it's also true for this nation. In recent years, in many ways, we've become enamored with our own past success -- lulled into complacency by the glitter of our own achievements. 这不仅适用于个人——也适用于这个国家。近年来，我们在很多方面都迷恋上了自己过去的成功——被自身成就的光环所麻痹，陷入了自满。
We've become accustomed to the title of "military super-power," forgetting the qualities that got us there -- not just the power of our weapons, but the discipline and valor and the code of conduct of our men and women in uniform. The Marshall Plan, and the Peace Corps, and all those initiatives that show our commitment to working with other nations to pursue the ideals of opportunity and equality and freedom that have made us who we are. That's what made us a super power. 我们习惯了"军事超级大国"这个头衔，却忘了让我们走到这一步的品质——不仅仅是我们武器的威力，更是我们男女军人的纪律、勇气和行为准则。马歇尔计划、和平队，以及所有那些体现我们与他国合作、追求机会、平等和自由这些理想的举措——正是这些理想造就了今天的我们。那才是我们成为超级大国的原因。
We've become accustomed to our economic dominance in the world, forgetting that it wasn't reckless deals and get-rich-quick schemes that got us where we are, but hard work and smart ideas -- quality products and wise investments. We started taking shortcuts. We started living on credit, instead of building up savings. We saw businesses focus more on rebranding and repackaging than innovating and developing new ideas that improve our lives. 我们习惯了在世界经济中的主导地位，却忘了把我们带到今天的并不是鲁莽的交易和一夜暴富的把戏，而是辛勤的工作和聪明的点子——优质的产品和明智的投资。我们开始走捷径。我们开始靠信贷度日，而不是积累储蓄。我们看到企业更专注于重新品牌化和重新包装，而不是创新和开发能改善我们生活的新理念。
All the while, the rest of the world has grown hungrier, more restless -- in constant motion to build and to discover -- not content with where they are right now, determined to strive for more. They're coming. 与此同时，世界其他国家却变得更加饥渴、更加不安分——不断地去建设、去发现——不满足于他们现在的位置，决心争取更多。他们正在追赶。
So graduates, it's now abundantly clear that we need to start doing things a little bit different. In your own lives, you'll need to continuously adapt to a continuously changing economy. You'll end up having more than one job and more than one career over the course of your life; to keep gaining new skills -- possibly even new degrees; and you'll have to keep on taking risks as new opportunities arise. 所以，毕业生们，现在再清楚不过了，我们需要开始换一种方式做事。在你们自己的人生中，你们需要不断适应一个持续变化的经济。你们一生中最终会拥有不止一份工作、不止一个职业；要不断获得新技能——甚至新学位；而且，随着新机遇的出现，你们必须不断去冒险。
And as a nation, we'll need a fundamental change of perspective and attitude. It's clear that we need to build a new foundation -- a stronger foundation -- for our economy and our prosperity, rethinking how we grow our economy, how we use energy, how we educate our children, how we care for our sick, how we treat our environment. 而作为一个国家，我们需要在观念和态度上做出根本性的改变。很显然，我们需要为我们的经济和繁荣打造一个新的基础——一个更坚实的基础——重新思考我们如何发展经济、如何使用能源、如何教育我们的孩子、如何照顾病患、如何对待我们的环境。
Many of our current challenges are unprecedented. There are no standard remedies, no go-to fixes this time around. And Class of 2009 that's why we're going to need your help. We need young people like you to step up. We need your daring, we need your enthusiasm and your energy, we need your imagination. 我们当前面临的许多挑战都是前所未有的。这一次，没有标准的药方，没有现成的解决办法。而2009届的同学们，这正是我们需要你们帮助的原因。我们需要像你们这样的年轻人挺身而出。我们需要你们的胆识，需要你们的热情和活力，需要你们的想象力。
And let me be clear, when I say "young," I'm not just referring to the date of your birth certificate. I'm talking about an approach to life -- a quality of mind and quality of heart; a willingness to follow your passions, regardless of whether they lead to fortune and fame; a willingness to question conventional wisdom and rethink old dogmas; a lack of regard for all the traditional markers of status and prestige -- and a commitment instead to doing what's meaningful to you, what helps others, what makes a difference in this world. 而且我要说清楚，当我说"年轻"时，我指的并不仅仅是你们出生证上的日期。我谈论的是一种对待生活的方式——一种心智和心灵的品质；一种追随自己热情的意愿，无论那是否会带来财富与名望；一种质疑传统智慧、反思旧有教条的意愿；一种对所有传统地位和声望标志的漠视——以及转而致力于做对你有意义的事、帮助他人的事、能让这个世界有所不同的事。
That's the spirit that led a band of patriots not much older than most of you to take on an empire, to start this experiment in democracy we call America. It's what drove young pioneers west, to Arizona and beyond; it's what drove young women to reach for the ballot; what inspired a 30 year-old escaped slave to run an underground railroad to freedom -- what inspired a young man named Cesar to go out and help farm workers; what inspired a 26 year-old preacher to lead a bus boycott for justice. 正是这种精神，引领一群年纪并不比你们大多少的爱国者去挑战一个帝国，开启了我们称之为"美利坚"的这场民主实验。正是这种精神驱使年轻的拓荒者一路西进，来到亚利桑那乃至更远的地方；驱使年轻女性去争取选票；激励一位30岁的逃亡奴隶去运营一条通往自由的"地下铁路"；激励一位名叫塞萨尔的年轻人走出去帮助农业工人；激励一位26岁的牧师为正义领导一场公交车抵制运动。
It's what led firefighters and police officers in the prime of their lives up the stairs of those burning towers; and young people across this country to drop what they were doing and come to the aid of a flooded New Orleans. It's what led two guys in a garage -- named Hewlett and Packard -- to form a company that would change the way we live and work; what led scientists in laboratories, and novelists in coffee shops to labor in obscurity until they finally succeeded in changing the way we see the world. 正是这种精神，让正值壮年的消防员和警察冲上那些燃烧高楼的楼梯；让全国各地的年轻人放下手头的事，去援助被洪水淹没的新奥尔良。正是这种精神，让两个在车库里的年轻人——名叫休利特和帕卡德——创立了一家改变我们生活和工作方式的公司；让实验室里的科学家、咖啡馆里的小说家在默默无闻中耕耘，直到他们最终成功地改变了我们看待世界的方式。
That's the great American story: Young people just like you, following their passions, determined to meet the times on their own terms. They weren't doing it for the money. Their titles weren't fancy -- ex-slave, minister, student, citizen. A whole bunch of them didn't get honorary degrees. But they changed the course of history -- and so can you ASU, so can you Class of 2009. So can you. 这就是伟大的美国故事：像你们一样的年轻人，追随自己的热情，决心以自己的方式迎接时代。他们不是为了钱而做这些。他们的头衔并不花哨——逃亡奴隶、牧师、学生、公民。他们中的一大堆人并没有拿到荣誉学位。但他们改变了历史的进程——你们也能，ASU的同学们，你们也能，2009届的毕业生们。你们也能。
With a degree from this outstanding institution, you have everything you need to get started. You've got no excuses. You have no excuses not to change the world. Did you study business? Go start a company. Or why not help our struggling non-profits find better, more effective ways to serve folks in need. Did you study nursing? Understaffed clinics and hospitals across this country are desperate for your help. Did you study education? 拥有这所杰出院校的学位，你们已经具备了起步所需的一切。你们没有任何借口。你们没有任何借口不去改变世界。你学的是商科？去创办一家公司吧。或者为什么不帮助那些苦苦挣扎的非营利组织，找到更好、更有效的方式来服务需要帮助的人呢。你学的是护理？全国各地人手不足的诊所和医院正迫切需要你的帮助。你学的是教育？
Teach in a high-need school where the kids really need you; give a chance to kids who can't-- who can't get everything they need maybe in their neighborhood, maybe not even in their home we can't afford to give up on -- prepare them to compete for any job anywhere in the world. Did you study engineering? Help us lead a green revolution -- developing new sources of clean energy that will power our economy and preserve our planet. 去一所急需师资的学校教书吧，那里的孩子们真的需要你；给那些孩子一个机会，那些也许在社区里、甚至在家里都无法得到所需一切的孩子——我们不能放弃他们——让他们做好准备，去竞争世界上任何地方的任何工作。你学的是工程？帮助我们引领一场绿色革命——开发新的清洁能源，为我们的经济提供动力，同时保护我们的星球。
But you can also make your mark in smaller, more individual ways. That's what so many of you have already done during your time here at ASU -- tutoring children; registering voters; doing your own small part to fight hunger and homelessness, AIDS and cancer. One student said it best when she spoke about her senior engineering project building medical devices for people with disabilities in a village in Africa. 但你们也可以用更小、更个人的方式留下自己的印记。这正是你们中许多人在ASU期间已经做到的——辅导儿童；登记选民；尽自己微薄之力去对抗饥饿和无家可归、对抗艾滋病和癌症。有一位学生说得最好，她在谈到自己为非洲一个村庄的残疾人制作医疗设备的毕业工程项目时这样说。
Her professor showed a video of the folks they'd been helping, and she said, "When we saw the people on the videos, we began to feel a connection to them. It made us want to be successful for them." Think about that: "It made us want to be successful for them." 她的教授播放了一段视频，展示他们一直在帮助的那些人，她说："当我们看到视频里那些人的时候，我们开始感到与他们有了一种联系。这让我们想要为他们而成功。"想一想这句话："这让我们想要为他们而成功。"
That's a great motto for all of us -- find somebody to be successful for. Raise their hopes. Rise to their needs. As you think about life after graduation, as you look into the mirror tonight after the partying is done -- that shouldn't get such a big cheer -- you may look in the mirror tonight and you may see somebody who's not really sure what to do with their lives. 这对我们所有人来说都是一句很好的座右铭——找一个你愿为他而成功的人。提升他们的希望。回应他们的需求。当你们思考毕业后的生活，当你们今晚在派对结束后照镜子时——这一点不该获得这么大的欢呼——你今晚照镜子时，也许会看到一个并不太确定自己人生该做些什么的人。
That's what you may see, but a troubled child might look at you and see a mentor. A homebound senior citizen might see a lifeline. The folks at your local homeless shelter might see a friend. None of them care how much money is in your bank account, or whether you're important at work, or whether you're famous around town -- they just know that you're somebody who cares, somebody who makes a difference in their lives. 你看到的可能是这样，但一个迷茫的孩子看着你，可能会看到一位导师。一位足不出户的老人可能会看到一根救命稻草。你当地无家可归者收容所里的人可能会看到一位朋友。他们全都不在乎你银行账户里有多少钱，不在乎你在工作上是否举足轻重，也不在乎你在镇上是否有名——他们只知道，你是一个在乎他们的人，一个让他们的生活有所不同的人。
So Class of 2009, that's what building a body of work is all about -- it's about the daily labor, the many individual acts, the choices large and small that add up over time, over a lifetime, to a lasting legacy. That's what you want on your tombstone. It's about not being satisfied with the latest achievement, the latest gold star -- because the one thing I know about a body of work is that it's never finished. 所以，2009届的同学们，这就是"构建人生作品"的真正含义——它关乎日常的劳作，关乎许多个体的行动，关乎那些大大小小、随时间累积、贯穿一生、最终汇成持久遗产的选择。那才是你想刻在墓碑上的东西。它关乎不满足于最新的成就、最新的那颗金星——因为关于"人生作品"，我唯一知道的一件事就是，它永远不会完工。
It's cumulative; it deepens and expands with each day that you give your best, each day that you give back and contribute to the life of your community and your nation. You may have setbacks, and you may have failures, but you're not done -- you're not even getting started, not by a long shot. 它是累积性的；它会随着你每一天的全力以赴而加深和扩展，随着你每一天回馈社会、为你所在的社区和国家的生命做贡献而加深和扩展。你可能会遭遇挫折，也可能会经历失败，但你还没有完成——你甚至才刚刚开始，差得远呢。
And if you ever forget that, just look to history. Thomas Paine was a failed corset maker, a failed teacher, and a failed tax collector before he made his mark on history with a little book called "Common Sense" that helped ignite a revolution. Julia Child didn't publish her first cookbook until she was almost 50. Colonel Sanders didn't open up his first Kentucky Fried Chicken until he was in his 60s. 如果你曾忘记这一点，那就看看历史吧。托马斯·潘恩在以一本名为《常识》的小书点燃一场革命、在历史上留下印记之前，曾是一个失败的紧身胸衣制造商、一个失败的教师、一个失败的税务官。茱莉亚·查尔德直到快50岁才出版她的第一本烹饪书。桑德斯上校直到60多岁才开了他的第一家肯德基。
Winston Churchill was dismissed as little more than a has-been, who enjoyed scotch a little bit too much, before he took over as Prime Minister and saw Great Britain through its finest hour. No one thought a former football player stocking shelves at the local supermarket would return to the game he loved, become a Super Bowl MVP, and then come here to Arizona and lead your Cardinals to their first Super Bowl. Your body of work is never done. 温斯顿·丘吉尔在出任首相、带领大英帝国走过最辉煌的时刻之前，曾被贬为一个略嫌过气、威士忌喝得有点过多的人。没有人想到，一个在当地超市理货的前橄榄球运动员会重返他热爱的赛场，成为超级碗最有价值球员，然后来到亚利桑那，带领你们的红雀队打入他们第一次超级碗。你的人生作品永远不会完工。
Each of them, at one point in their life, didn't have any title or much status to speak of. But they had passion, a commitment to following that passion wherever it would lead, and to working hard every step along the way. 他们每一个人，在人生的某个时刻，都没有什么头衔或值得一提的地位。但他们有热情，有追随那份热情无论它引向何方的承诺，有沿途每一步都努力工作的决心。
And that's not just how you'll ensure that your own life is well-lived. It's how you'll make a difference in the life of our nation. I talked earlier about the selfishness and irresponsibility on Wall Street and Washington that rippled out and led to so many of the problems that we face today. I talked about the focus on outward markers of success that can help lead us astray. 这不仅仅是你确保自己人生过得充实的方式。这也是你为我们国家的生活带来改变的方式。我前面谈到了华尔街和华盛顿的自私与不负责任如何扩散开来，导致了我们今天面临的诸多问题。我谈到了对成功外在标志的执着如何让我们误入歧途。
But here's the thing, Class of 2009: It works the other way around too. Acts of sacrifice and decency without regard to what's in it for you -- that also creates ripple effects -- ones that lift up families and communities; that spread opportunity and boost our economy; that reach folks in the forgotten corners of the world who, in committed young people like you, see the true face of America: our strength, our goodness, our diversity, our enduring power, our ideals. 但事情是这样的，2009届的同学们：反过来也是成立的。那些不计回报的牺牲和善行——同样会产生涟漪效应——这些涟漪提升家庭和社区；传播机会、提振我们的经济；触达世界上那些被遗忘角落里的人们，他们从像你们这样有担当的年轻人身上，看到了美国真实的面貌：我们的力量、我们的善良、我们的多样性、我们持久的力量、我们的理想。
I know starting your careers in troubled times is a challenge. But it is also a privilege. Because it's moments like these that force us to try harder, to dig deeper, and to discover gifts we never knew we had -- to find the greatness that lies within each of us. So don't ever shy away from that endeavor. Don't stop adding to your body of work. I can promise that you will be the better for that continued effort, as will this nation that we all love. 我知道，在艰难时期开启你们的职业生涯是一种挑战。但它也是一种特权。因为正是这样的时刻，迫使我们更加努力，挖掘得更深，去发现我们从未知道自己拥有的天赋——去发现潜藏在每个人心中的伟大。所以，永远不要退缩于这样的努力。不要停止为你的人生作品添砖加瓦。我可以承诺，这种持续的努力会让你变得更好，也会让我们共同热爱的这个国家变得更好。
Congratulations, Class of 2009, on your graduation. 祝贺你们，2009届的毕业生们，祝贺你们毕业。
God bless you. And God bless the United States of America. 愿上帝保佑你们。愿上帝保佑美利坚合众国。