Hello, everybody! Hey! Thank you! Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you, everybody. Thank you. Everybody, please have a seat. Please have a seat. Well, it is good to be back in Tennessee. I hope you guys aren’t getting tired of me. I’ve been coming around a lot lately, because there’s a lot of good stuff happening here. 大家好！嘿！谢谢！非常感谢。谢谢。谢谢大家。谢谢。各位请坐，请坐。很高兴再次来到田纳西州。我希望你们没有厌倦我。我最近经常来这里，因为这里发生了很多好事。
I want to begin by thanking Joe and Jill Biden. They’re not just good friends and good partners, but they really believe in the power of education and they really believe in creating those kinds of ladders of opportunity that gave all three of us and Michelle the chances, the incredible opportunities that we’ve had today. And they understand the promise of America’s community colleges. Well, Jill really understands it, and Joe -- he doesn’t really have a choice. 首先，我要感谢乔和吉尔·拜登。他们不仅是好朋友和好伙伴，而且他们真正相信教育的力量，真正相信创造那种机会阶梯——正是这些阶梯让我们三人和米歇尔获得了今天所拥有的机会，那些不可思议的机遇。他们理解美国社区大学的承诺。嗯，吉尔是真的理解，而乔——他其实别无选择。
Before I get into the reason that I’m here today, I want to begin by saying just a few words about the tragic events that we’ve watched unfold in France over the last several hours and days. And because events have been fast-moving this morning, I wanted to make sure to comment on them. 在我谈及今天来此的目的之前，我想先就过去几小时和几天里我们在法国目睹的悲惨事件说几句话。由于今天早上事态发展迅速，我想确保对此发表评论。
I just spoke to my counterterrorism advisor. We have been in close touch with the French government throughout this tragedy. The moment that the outrageous attack took place, we directed all of our law enforcement and counterintelligence operations to provide whatever support that our ally needs in confronting this challenge. We’re hopeful that the immediate threat is now resolved, thanks to the courage and professionalism of the French personnel on the ground. 我刚刚与我的反恐顾问通了话。在这场悲剧中，我们一直与法国政府保持密切联系。在这起骇人听闻的袭击发生的那一刻，我们就指示所有执法和反情报部门为我们的盟友提供应对这一挑战所需的一切支持。我们希望，由于法国现场人员的勇气和专业精神，当前的威胁现已解除。
But the French government continues to face the threat of terrorism and has to remain vigilant. The situation is fluid. President Hollande has made it clear that they’re going to do whatever is necessary to protect their people. And I think it’s important for us to understand: France is our oldest ally. I want the people of France to know that the United States stands with you today, stands with you tomorrow. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families who have been directly impacted. We grieve with you. 但法国政府仍面临恐怖主义威胁，必须保持警惕。局势仍在变化。奥朗德总统已明确表示，他们将采取一切必要措施保护人民。我认为我们必须明白：法国是我们最古老的盟友。我想让法国人民知道，美国今天与你们站在一起，明天也与你们站在一起。我们的思念和祈祷与那些直接受到影响的家庭同在。我们与你们一同悲痛。
We fight alongside you to uphold our values, the values that we share -- universal values that bind us together as friends and as allies. 我们与你们并肩作战，捍卫我们的价值观，我们共同的价值观——那些将我们作为朋友和盟友紧密联系在一起的普世价值。
And in the streets of Paris, the world has seen once again what terrorists stand for. They have nothing to offer but hatred and human suffering. And we stand for freedom and hope and the dignity of all human beings. And that’s what the city of Paris represents to the world, and that spirit will endure forever -- long after the scourge of terrorism is banished from this world. 在巴黎的街头，世界再次看到了恐怖主义者代表什么。他们除了仇恨和人类苦难之外一无所有。而我们代表自由、希望和全人类的尊严。这就是巴黎市向世界所代表的精神，这种精神将永远延续——在恐怖主义的祸害从这个世界上被消除很久之后。
Now, I’m in Knoxville not only because I just like Knoxville, but I’m here today because one of my resolutions is to make sure that folks across this great country feel like they are coming back. And there is no doubt: Thanks to the steps we took early on to rescue our economy and to rebuild it on a new foundation, America is coming back. 现在，我来到诺克斯维尔，不仅因为我喜欢诺克斯维尔，还因为我今天来这里是因为我的一个决心是确保这个伟大国家的人民都感到他们正在回归。毫无疑问：由于我们早些时候采取的拯救经济并在新基础上重建经济的措施，美国正在回归。
Now, I’m not running for office anymore, so let me just present the facts. I promised that 2014 would be a breakthrough year for America. This morning, we got more evidence to back that up. In December, our businesses created 240,000 new jobs. Our unemployment rate fell to 5.6 percent, which is the lowest in six and a half years. What that means is, 2014 was the strongest year for job growth since the 1990s. Unemployment fell in 2014 faster than any year since 1984. Now, think about that. It’s been 30 years since unemployment fell as fast as it did last year. 现在，我不再竞选公职了，所以让我只陈述事实。我曾承诺2014年将是美国取得突破的一年。今天早上，我们得到了更多证据来支持这一点。12月份，我们的企业创造了24万个新工作岗位。我们的失业率降至5.6%，为六年半以来的最低水平。这意味着，2014年是自1990年代以来就业增长最强劲的一年。2014年失业率下降速度比1984年以来任何一年都快。想想看，失业率像去年那样快速下降已经是30年前的事了。
And most importantly, we’re seeing faster job growth in industries that provide good-paying jobs, traditionally middle-class jobs, than anything else. 最重要的是，我们看到提供高薪工作的行业——传统上的中产阶级工作岗位——的就业增长比其他任何行业都快。
Since 2010, the United States of America has create more jobs than Europe, Japan, and every other advanced economy combined. American manufacturing is in its best stretch of job growth since the 1990s. We’re actually seeing companies insourcing instead of outsourcing. They’re realizing, we want to be here with American workers making American products. America is now the world’s number-one producer in oil, gas. We’ve doubled the production of clean energy. And, by the way, you’re saving about a buck-ten a gallon at the pump over this time last year. 自2010年以来，美利坚合众国创造的就业岗位超过了欧洲、日本和所有其他发达经济体的总和。美国制造业正处于1990年代以来最好的就业增长期。我们实际上看到企业在回流而不是外包。他们意识到，我们想在这里与美国工人一起制造美国产品。美国现在是世界第一大石油和天然气生产国。我们将清洁能源产量翻了一番。顺便说一句，与去年同期相比，你们每加仑汽油节省了大约1.1美元。
Although I keep on reminding folks, gas prices, they go up and they come down and then they go up. So I just want everybody to know that you should enjoy this. Take the money you’re saving, pay off the credit card or go get a new appliance, or buy a fuel-efficient car -- so that when prices go back up, you’re still well-positioned. 尽管我一直提醒人们，油价有涨有跌，跌了又涨。所以我只想让大家知道，你们应该享受这个时期。把省下的钱用来还清信用卡，或者买个新家电，或者买一辆省油的车——这样当价格回升时，你们仍然处于有利地位。
Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, about 10 million Americans have gained health insurance over the past year. And, by the way, we’ve done this while cutting our deficits by about two-thirds. Everybody thinks that -- they did a survey -- in every survey, they ask, is the deficit going up or going down? And 70 percent of Americans say that the deficit is going up. The deficit has come down by two-thirds since I took office. 得益于《平价医疗法案》，过去一年约有1000万美国人获得了医疗保险。顺便说一句，我们在做到这一点的同时，还将赤字削减了约三分之二。每个人都以为——他们做了一项调查——在每一次调查中，他们都会问，赤字是在上升还是下降？70%的美国人说赤字在上升。但自我上任以来，赤字已经下降了三分之二。
Meanwhile, thanks to the hard work of students and educators, dropout rates are down, graduation rates are up. And after 13 long years, our war in Afghanistan has come to a responsible end, and we’ve got more troops that were home this holiday season. 与此同时，由于学生和教育工作者的努力，辍学率下降了，毕业率上升了。经过漫长的13年，我们在阿富汗的战争已经负责任地结束了，这个假期有更多的士兵回家了。
So I say all this because these six years have demanded a lot of hard work and a lot of sacrifice on everybody’s part. And as a country, we’ve got every right to be proud of what we’ve got to show for it. America’s resurgence is real. And now that we’ve seen calmer waters economically, if we all do our part, if we all pitch in, then we can start making sure that all boats are actually lifted again, and wages and incomes start rising again. And we can make sure that the middle class is the engine that powers America’s prosperity just as it always has. 我说这些是因为这六年需要每个人付出大量的努力和牺牲。作为一个国家，我们完全有理由为我们所取得的成果感到自豪。美国的复苏是真实的。既然我们已经看到经济形势趋于平静，如果我们都尽自己的一份力量，如果我们都齐心协力，那么我们就可以开始确保所有的船都真正再次被托起，工资和收入开始再次上升。我们可以确保中产阶级一如既往地成为推动美国繁荣的引擎。
So that’s going to be the focus of my State of the Union address in a couple weeks. I wanted to give you a little preview. Don’t tell anybody I said this. I’m giving you the inside scoop. That’s going to be the essence of my message: How do we build on the progress that we’ve made? And I figured, why wait for the State of the Union? Why stand on formalities; let’s get the ball rolling right now. 这将是我几周后国情咨文演讲的重点。我想给你们一点预告。别告诉别人是我说的。我在给你们透露内部消息。这将是我讲话的核心：我们如何在已取得的进展基础上再接再厉？我想，为什么要等国情咨文呢？何必拘泥于形式，让我们现在就开始吧。
Two days ago, I visited Michigan, where workers have brought the auto industry roaring back. And we talked about what else we can do around advanced manufacturing. Yesterday, I was in Arizona, where I announced new actions to make the dream of homeownership a reality for more middle-class families. Later today, Joe and I are going to head to a company in Clinton to take action that will develop high-tech industry even further here in Tennessee. 两天前，我访问了密歇根州，那里的工人让汽车业重新焕发了生机。我们讨论了在先进制造业方面我们还能做些什么。昨天，我在亚利桑那州宣布了新的举措，让更多中产阶级家庭实现拥有住房的梦想。今天晚些时候，乔和我将前往克林顿的一家公司，采取行动进一步发展田纳西州的高科技产业。
And right here, right now, at Pellissippi State, I’m going to announce one of my most important State of the Union proposals, and that’s helping every American afford a higher education. 就在这里，就在现在，在佩利西皮州立学院，我将宣布我最重要的国情咨文提案之一，那就是帮助每个美国人负担得起高等教育。
Now, part of the reason I wanted to come here was because Tennessee is at the forefront of doing some really smart stuff. And we’ve got some proud Tennesseans who can take some credit for the great work that’s been done. First, your Governor, Bill Haslam, who’s here. Your two very fine senators, -- you’ve got Bob Corker -- and your senior Senator, Lamar Alexander, who’s a former Secretary of Education himself, so he knows a little bit about this. You’ve got Congressman John Duncan. Your Mayor, Madeline Rogero. And we've got Pellissippi’s president, Anthony Wise. Hey! And we've got all of you. 我想来这里的部分原因是田纳西州在做一些非常明智的事情上走在了前列。我们有一些值得骄傲的田纳西人，他们为所做的出色工作功不可没。首先是你们的州长比尔·哈斯拉姆，他今天也在这里。你们两位非常优秀的参议员——鲍勃·科克尔，还有你们的资深参议员拉马尔·亚历山大，他本人曾任教育部长，所以他对这方面略知一二。还有众议员约翰·邓肯。你们的市长马德琳·罗杰罗。还有佩利西皮的校长安东尼·怀斯。嘿！还有你们所有人。
Now, Joe and Jill both already touched on these themes, but let me just amplify them a little bit. Here in America we don't guarantee equal outcomes. Some folks work harder; some folks don't. Some folks take advantage of opportunities; some folks don't. Some people have good luck; some people have bad luck and things don't always work out where everything is perfectly equal. But we do expect that everybody gets an equal shot. We do expect everybody can go as far as their dreams and hard work will take them. 乔和吉尔都已经谈到了这些主题，但让我再稍微阐述一下。在美国，我们不保证平等的结果。有些人更努力，有些人不那么努力。有些人抓住机遇，有些人没有。有些人运气好，有些人运气不好，事情并不总是完全平等的。但我们确实期望每个人都有平等的机会。我们确实期望每个人都能凭借自己的梦想和努力走得更远。
We don't expect anybody to be bound by the circumstances of their birth. If they were, I wouldn't be here, and neither would Joe. Jill -- she’s so accomplished she would have succeeded no matter what. But we expect everybody to get a fair shot. And in exchange, we do our fair share. That's the basic bargain at the heart of this country: If you work hard, you can get ahead. It shouldn’t matter what your last name is, or what we look like, or what family we were born into, or how we worship. What matters is effort and merit. That's the promise of America. 我们不期望任何人被出身环境所束缚。如果是那样的话，我不会在这里，乔也不会。吉尔——她才华横溢，无论如何都会成功。但我们期望每个人都有公平的机会。作为交换，我们尽自己的一份力。这是这个国家核心的基本契约：如果你努力工作，你就能出人头地。你的姓是什么，我们长什么样，我们出生在什么家庭，我们如何信仰，这些都不重要。重要的是努力和功绩。这就是美国的承诺。
And the way we deliver on that is making sure that our education system works on behalf of every person who lives here. America thrived in the 20th century in large part because we made high school the norm, and then we sent a generation to college on the GI Bill -- including my grandfather. Then we dedicated ourselves to cultivating the most educated workforce in the world and we invested in what’s one of the crown jewels of this country, and that's our higher education system. And dating back to Abraham Lincoln, we invested in land-grant colleges. 我们实现这一目标的方式是确保我们的教育系统为这里的每一个人服务。美国在20世纪蓬勃发展，很大程度上是因为我们让高中教育成为常态，然后我们通过《退伍军人权利法案》让一代人上了大学——包括我的祖父。然后我们致力于培养世界上受教育程度最高的劳动力，我们投资于这个国家的皇冠上的宝石之一，那就是我们的高等教育系统。早在亚伯拉罕·林肯时代，我们就投资于赠地学院。
We understood that this was a hallmark of America, this investment in education. 我们明白，对教育的投资是美国的标志。
But eventually, the world caught on and the world caught up. And that’s why we have to lead the world in education again. That’s why my administration is working to make high-quality early childhood education available to all of our kids. We know if we invest in them early, that it pays dividends on the backend. 但最终，世界明白了，世界赶上来了。这就是为什么我们必须再次在教育方面引领世界。这就是为什么我的政府正在努力让我们所有的孩子都能获得高质量的幼儿教育。我们知道，如果我们尽早投资于他们，将来会得到回报。
That's why we're working to bring high-speed broadband to 99 percent of America’s students within the next four years. We want to make sure every child is plugged in. That's why we're recruiting more highly trained math and science teachers. That's why we’re working to raise standards and invest more in our elementary and middle and high schools, so that every young person is prepared for a competitive world. 这就是为什么我们正在努力在未来四年内为99%的美国学生提供高速宽带。我们想确保每个孩子都能接入网络。这就是为什么我们正在招募更多训练有素的数学和科学教师。这就是为什么我们正在努力提高标准，加大对小学、初中和高中的投入，让每个年轻人都为竞争激烈的世界做好准备。
And this work is not easy. Sometimes it's controversial. It's not going to be the same in every state. But in places like Tennessee, we're seeing incredible strides as a consequence of these efforts. Over the past few years, Tennessee students have improved their reading scores and math scores more than any other state in the country. That’s a credit to their hard work, their teachers’ hard work, to Governor Haslam’s hard work, leaders from both parties. It's been a bipartisan effort. Every Tennessean should be proud of that. 这项工作并不容易。有时会有争议。每个州的情况都不一样。但在田纳西州这样的地方，我们看到这些努力带来了令人难以置信的进步。在过去几年里，田纳西州学生的阅读成绩和数学成绩的提高幅度超过了全国任何其他州。这归功于他们的努力，他们老师的努力，哈斯拉姆州长的努力，以及两党领导人的努力。这是两党共同努力的结果。每个田纳西人都应该为此感到自豪。
And today, in a 21st century economy, where your most valuable asset is your knowledge, the single most important way to get ahead is not just to get a high school education, you’ve got to get some higher education. That’s why all of you are here. 而今天，在21世纪的经济中，你最宝贵的资产是你的知识，出人头地的最重要方式不仅仅是接受高中教育，你必须接受一些高等教育。这就是你们所有人都在这里的原因。
Now, the value of an education is not purely instrumental. Education helps us be better people. It helps us be better citizens. You came to college to learn about the world and to engage with new ideas and to discover the things you’re passionate about -- and maybe have a little fun. And to expand your horizons. That’s terrific -- that’s a huge part of what college has to offer. 教育的价值不仅仅是工具性的。教育帮助我们成为更好的人。它帮助我们成为更好的公民。你们来大学是为了了解世界，接触新思想，发现你们热爱的事物——也许还能找点乐子。拓展你们的视野。这太棒了——这是大学所能提供的重要组成部分。
But you’re also here, now more than ever, because a college degree is the surest ticket to the middle class. It is the key to getting a good job that pays a good income -- and to provide you the security where even if you don't have the same job for 30 years, you're so adaptable and you have a skill set and the capacity to learn new skills, it ensures you're always employable. 但你们现在比以往任何时候都更需要在这里，因为大学学位是进入中产阶级最可靠的门票。这是获得一份收入不错的好工作的关键——它还为你提供安全感，即使你不能30年做同一份工作，你也有很强的适应能力，拥有一套技能和学习新技能的能力，这确保你始终能够就业。
And that is the key not just for individual Americans, that’s the key for this whole country’s ability to compete in the global economy. In the new economy, jobs and businesses will go wherever the most skilled, best-educated workforce resides. Because businesses are mobile now. Technology means they can locate anywhere. And where they have the most educated, most adaptable, most nimble workforce, that's where they’re going to locate. And I want them to look no further than the United States of America. I want them coming right here. 这不仅对每个美国人来说是关键，对整个国家在全球经济中的竞争能力来说也是关键。在新经济中，工作岗位和企业会流向技能最高、受教育程度最好的劳动力所在的任何地方。因为现在企业是流动的。技术意味着它们可以设在任何地方。哪里有受教育程度最高、适应能力最强、最灵活的劳动力，它们就会去哪里。我希望它们选择美利坚合众国。我希望它们来这里。
I want those businesses here, and I want the American people to be able to get those businesses -- or get those jobs that those businesses create. 我希望这些企业在这里，我希望美国人民能够获得这些企业——或者获得这些企业创造的就业机会。
So that’s why we’ve increased grants and took on a student loan system that was funneling billions of taxpayer dollars through big banks, and said let’s cut out the middleman, let’s give them directly to students instead, we can help more students. 这就是为什么我们增加了助学金，并改革了通过大银行输送数十亿纳税人资金的学生贷款制度，我们说让我们去掉中间商，让我们直接把钱给学生，这样我们可以帮助更多的学生。
We’ve increased scholarships. We've cut taxes for people paying tuition. We've let students cap their federal student loan payments at 10 percent of income so that they can borrow with confidence, particularly if you're going into a job like nursing or teaching that may not pay a huge salary but that's where your passions are. 我们增加了奖学金。我们为支付学费的人减税。我们让学生将联邦学生贷款还款额限制在收入的10%，这样他们就可以放心地借贷，特别是如果你要从事护理或教学这样的工作——这些工作可能薪水不高，但却是你的热情所在。
We’re creating a new college ratings system that will give parents and students the kind of clear, concise information you need to shop around for a school with the best value for you -- and gives us the capacity to recognize schools that offer a great education at a reasonable price. 我们正在创建一个新的大学评级系统，为家长和学生提供所需的清晰、简明的信息，以便你们比较选择最适合自己的学校——同时也让我们能够表彰那些以合理价格提供优质教育的学校。
On the flight over here, Lamar and I were talking about how we can do more to simplify the application process for federal student loans, which is still too complicated. 在来这里的飞机上，拉马尔和我讨论了我们如何能做更多工作来简化联邦学生贷款的申请流程，这个流程仍然过于复杂。
So we've done a lot of good work over the last six years; we're going to keep at it. But today, I want to focus on a centerpiece of my education agenda -- and that’s the community colleges, like this one. 过去六年我们做了很多有益的工作；我们将继续努力。但今天，我想重点谈谈我教育议程的一个核心内容——那就是社区大学，就像这所一样。
For millions of Americans, community colleges are essential pathways to the middle class because they’re local, they’re flexible. They work for people who work full-time. They work for parents who have to raise kids full-time. They work for folks who have gone as far as their skills will take them and want to earn new ones, but don’t have the capacity to just suddenly go study for four years and not work. Community colleges work for veterans transitioning back into civilian life. 对数百万美国人来说，社区大学是进入中产阶级的重要途径，因为它们就在本地，而且灵活多样。它们适合全职工作的人。适合需要全职抚养孩子的父母。适合那些已经在现有技能上达到极限、想学习新技能但又不能突然放下工作去读四年书的人。社区大学适合正在过渡到平民生活的退伍军人。
Whether you’re the first in your family to go to college, or coming back to school after many years away, community colleges find a place for you. And you can get a great education. 无论你是家里第一个上大学的人，还是离开多年后重返校园，社区大学都为你找到了一席之地。而且你可以获得优质的教育。
Now, Jill has been teaching English at community colleges for 20 years. She started when she was like 15. And she’s still full-time today. And she sees -- I talk to her and she talks about her students, and she can see the excitement and the promise, and sometimes the fear of being a 32-year-old mom who’s going back to school and never finished the degree that she had started, and life got in the way and now she’s coming back and suddenly getting a whole new skills set and seeing a whole range of career options opening up to her. It’s exciting. 吉尔在社区大学教英语已经20年了。她大概15岁就开始了。她至今仍在全职任教。她亲眼所见——我和她交谈，她谈起她的学生，她能看到那种兴奋和希望，有时还有恐惧——一个32岁的妈妈重返校园，从未完成她当初开始的学位，生活的变故打断了她的学业，现在她回来了，突然获得了一套全新的技能，看到了一系列全新的职业选择向她敞开。这令人振奋。
And that’s what community colleges are all about -- the idea that no one with drive and discipline should be left out, should be locked out of opportunity, and certainly that nobody with that drive and discipline should be denied a college education just because they don’t have the money. Every American, whether they’re young or just young at heart, should be able to earn the skills and education necessary to compete and win in the 21st century economy. 这就是社区大学的意义所在——这样一个理念：任何有动力和自律的人都不应该被排除在外，不应该被拒于机会之门之外，当然，任何有那种动力和自律的人都不应该仅仅因为没钱而被剥夺大学教育。每个美国人，无论他们是年轻人还是心态年轻的人，都应该能够获得在21世纪经济中竞争和取胜所需的技能和教育。
So today I’m announcing an ambitious new plan to bring down the cost of community college tuition in America. I want to bring it down to zero. We’re going to -- I want to make it free. I want to make it free. Community colleges should be free for those willing to work for it -- because in America, a quality education cannot be a privilege that is reserved for a few. I think it’s a right for everybody who’s willing to work for it. 所以今天我宣布一项雄心勃勃的新计划，以降低美国社区大学的学费。我想把它降到零。我们将要——我想让它免费。我想让它免费。社区大学应该对那些愿意为之努力的人免费——因为在美国，优质教育不能是少数人享有的特权。我认为，对每个愿意为之努力的人来说，这都是一项权利。
Now, the good news is, you already do something like this in Tennessee. You call it Tennessee Promise. So you call it Tennessee Promise, and we thought why not just build on what works. So we’re going to call it “America’s College Promise.” 好消息是，你们在田纳西州已经在做类似的事情。你们称之为"田纳西承诺"。所以既然你们叫"田纳西承诺"，我们想，为什么不在有效的基础上继续发展呢。所以我们将称之为"美国大学承诺"。
And the concept is simple: America’s College Promise will make two years of community college free to responsible students who are willing to work for it. Now, I want to underscore that last clause -- everybody who’s working hard for it. There are no free rides in America. You would have to earn it. Students would have to do their part by keeping their grades up. Colleges would have to do their part by offering high-quality academics and helping students actually graduate. States would have to do their part too. This isn’t a blank check. It’s not a free lunch. 理念很简单："美国大学承诺"将为愿意为之努力的负责任的学生提供两年免费的社区大学教育。现在，我想强调最后那句话——每个为之努力的人。在美国没有免费的午餐。你必须靠自己争取。学生必须尽自己的一份力，保持好成绩。大学必须尽自己的一份力，提供高质量的学术教育并帮助学生真正毕业。各州也必须尽自己的一份力。这不是空白支票。不是免费的午餐。
But for those willing to do the work, and for states and local communities that want to be a part of this, it can be a game-changer. 但对于那些愿意付出努力的人，以及想要参与其中的州和地方社区来说，这可能会改变游戏规则。
Think about it: Students who started at community colleges during those two years, and then go on to a four-year institution, they essentially get the first half of their bachelor’s degree for free. People who enroll for skills training will graduate already ready to work, and they won’t have a pile of student debt. Two years of college will become as free and universal as high school is today. 想想看：在这两年里从社区大学开始学业，然后转入四年制院校的学生，基本上可以免费获得学士学位的前一半。参加技能培训的人毕业时就已经准备好工作了，而且不会背负一堆学生贷款。两年的大学教育将变得像今天的高中一样免费和普及。
Now, we’re also taking another page out of Tennessee’s playbook and making investments to expand technical training programs at community colleges, much like you do through your 27 Colleges of Applied Technology. Joe did a terrific job running a task force that we put together just to look at the job training and technical training systems all around the country. And at a time when jobs are changing, and higher wages call for higher skills, we’ve got to make sure workers have a chance to get those skills. 现在，我们还借鉴田纳西州的另一项经验，投资扩大社区大学的技术培训项目，就像你们通过27所应用技术学院所做的那样。乔领导了一个我们组建的特别工作组，专门研究全国各地的职业培训和技术培训体系，他做得非常出色。在工作岗位不断变化、更高的工资要求更高技能的时代，我们必须确保工人有机会获得这些技能。
We want young people to graduate with real-world training that leads directly to good jobs, and we want older workers to get retrained so they can compete. And we want more women and minorities to get jobs in fields that traditionally they’ve been left out of, like science and technology, and engineering and math. 我们希望年轻人毕业时拥有能直接带来好工作的实际培训，我们希望年长的工人接受再培训以便能够竞争。我们希望更多的女性和少数族裔在传统上被排除在外的领域获得工作，比如科学、技术、工程和数学。
And we want to connect community colleges with employers, because when that’s done right, these partnerships pay off for everybody: Students learn on the job, employers get access to talent, colleges get help designing courses that actually prepare people for the workplace, all of which creates better pathways to today’s middle class. So we’re going to find the programs that work and we’re going to help them grow. 我们希望将社区大学与雇主联系起来，因为如果做得好，这些合作对每个人都有好处：学生在工作中学习，雇主获得人才，大学在设计课程时得到帮助，这些课程真正为职场做准备，所有这些都为进入当今的中产阶级创造了更好的途径。所以我们将找到有效的项目，并帮助它们发展壮大。
Now, in a few weeks, I’m going to send to Congress my plan for free community college. I hope that Congress will come together to support it, because opening the doors of higher education shouldn’t be a Democratic issue or a Republican issue. This is an American issue. 几周后，我将向国会提交我的免费社区大学计划。我希望国会能够共同支持这一计划，因为打开高等教育的大门不应该是民主党或共和党的问题。这是一个全美国的问题。
Governor Haslam is a Republican. And thanks to his leadership, last year Democrats and Republicans came together and made Tennessee the first state in decades to offer free community college to its students. Meanwhile, up in my hometown of Chicago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who is a Democrat, is now offering free community college, and they’re pairing students with growing sectors of the economy so they graduate with good jobs. So if a state with Republican leadership is doing this and a city with Democratic leadership is doing this, then how about we all do it? Let’s do it for our future. 哈斯拉姆州长是共和党人。由于他的领导，去年民主党人和共和党人齐心协力，使田纳西州成为几十年来第一个为学生提供免费社区大学教育的州。与此同时，在我的家乡芝加哥，民主党市长拉姆·伊曼纽尔现在也在提供免费社区大学教育，他们将学生与经济中不断增长的行业配对，让学生毕业时就能获得好工作。所以，如果一个由共和党领导的州在这样做，一个由民主党领导的城市也在这样做，那我们大家为什么不一起做呢？让我们为我们的未来而努力。
And as I said before, there are a bunch of good bipartisan ideas out there. A few days ago, Senator Alexander joined forces with a Democratic Senator, Michael Bennet, to introduce the legislation that would make financial aid forms simpler. I noticed a lot of people applauded, because it’s been a while since I filled it out -- but I understand there’s more than 100 questions on it. It just shouldn’t be that hard to apply for aid for college. And so I’ve committed to working with Senator Alexander. Let’s shrink it down. Let’s make life a little easier for millions of families. 正如我之前所说，有很多好的两党合作的想法。几天前，亚历山大参议员与民主党参议员迈克尔·贝内特联手提出了简化经济援助表格的立法。我注意到很多人鼓掌，因为我填那个表格已经有一段时间了——但我知道上面有100多个问题。申请大学资助不应该那么难。所以我已经承诺与亚历山大参议员合作。让我们简化它。让我们为数百万家庭减轻一点负担。
The point is, we’re not going to agree on everything. But simplifying that form, that’s something we should be able to agree on. Let’s get that done this year. 关键是，我们不会在所有事情上都达成一致。但简化表格是我们应该能够达成共识的事情。让我们今年就完成这件事。
Because in the end, nothing is more important to our country than you, our people. That’s our asset. We’ve got very nice real estate here. We’ve got this incredible bounty, the God-given resources that we enjoy in this country. But our greatest resources are people. 因为归根结底，对我们国家来说，没有什么比你们——我们的人民——更重要。那是我们的财富。我们这里有非常好的土地。我们拥有令人难以置信的馈赠，我们在这个国家享有的天赐资源。但我们最伟大的资源是人。
And I want to say to the students here and the staff and faculty how proud I am of what you guys are doing. A lot of students here, I know you had to overcome some obstacles to get here. Many of you are the first in your families to go to college. Some of you are working full time while you’re going to school. But you’re making this investment in you, and by doing that, you’re making an investment in this country’s future. 我想对这里的学生、教职员工说，我为你们所做的一切感到多么自豪。我知道这里的很多学生必须克服一些障碍才能来到这里。你们中的许多人是家里第一个上大学的。你们中的一些人一边上学一边全职工作。但你们正在为自己投资，通过这样做，你们也在为这个国家的未来投资。
And I just want to use one person’s story as an example, Caitlin McLawhorn. Where’s Caitlin? Where is she? Is she here? I thought she was here a second ago, but I’m going to tell her story anyway. 我想用一个人的故事作为例子，凯特琳·麦克劳霍恩。凯特琳在哪里？她在哪里？她在这儿吗？我以为她刚才还在这儿，但不管怎样我还是要讲讲她的故事。
She was raised by a single mom. She helped make ends meet, getting her first job almost the minute she could, two days after her 16th birthday. When it came time for college, the money wasn’t there. But Caitlin lives in Tennessee, so she knew she had a great, free option. She completed two years at this institution. Now she’s a senior at Maryville College. She’s working full-time, just like she has since her first day of college. And Caitlin says, “A lot of people like me got discouraged. I get discouraged. But I can look back and say, you’ve made it so far. 她由单身母亲抚养长大。她帮助维持家用，几乎在刚能工作的时候——16岁生日后两天——就找到了第一份工作。到了上大学的时候，家里没有钱。但凯特琳住在田纳西州，所以她知道自己有一个很好的免费选择。她在这所学校完成了两年学业。现在她是玛丽维尔学院的大四学生。她一直在全职工作，从她上大学的第一天起就是这样。凯特琳说："很多像我这样的人都灰心了。我也会灰心。但我可以回首往事说，你已经走了这么远。
I’ve learned that things aren’t always what you want, but you can make them what you want.” That’s wisdom. 我明白了，事情并不总是如你所愿，但你可以让它们成为你想要的样子。"这就是智慧。
“Things aren’t always what you want, but you can make them what you want.” That’s what America is about. We can make of our lives what we will. And there are going to be bumps, and there are going to be challenges. And we’ve come through some very hard times. Things aren’t always what we wanted, but we have overcome discouragement and we have overcome division and, sometimes, some discord. And we don’t give up. We get up, we fight back, we come back stronger than before. "事情并不总是如你所愿，但你可以让它们成为你想要的样子。"这就是美国的精神。我们可以按照自己的意愿创造生活。路上会有坎坷，会有挑战。我们经历了一些非常艰难的时期。事情并不总是如我们所愿，但我们克服了沮丧，克服了分歧，有时还有一些不和。我们不放弃。我们站起来，我们反击，我们比以前更强大地回来。
Thanks to the hard work of the American people, the United States of America is coming back. And I’ve never been as confident as -- in my entire life that we’re going to make of our future what we want of it thanks to you. 感谢美国人民的辛勤努力，美利坚合众国正在回归。我一生中从未如此确信——由于你们，我们将按照自己的意愿塑造我们的未来。
Appreciate it, Tennessee. God bless you. God bless America. 谢谢你们，田纳西。上帝保佑你们。上帝保佑美国。
