议长先生,副总统先生,国会议员们,美国同胞们:
We are 15 years into this new century. Fifteen years that dawned with terror touching our shores; that unfolded with a new generation fighting two long and costly wars; that saw a vicious recession spread across our nation and the world. It has been, and still is, a hard time for many.
我们跨入新世纪已经15年了。新世纪一开始,我们就遭受了恐怖袭击,新一代人就投入了两场旷日持久而又代价昂贵的战争,后来又发生了席卷全国乃至全球的恶性衰退。对很多人来说,那时候是,现在也仍然是一段艰难的时期。
But tonight, we turn the page. Tonight, after a breakthrough year for America, our economy is growing and creating jobs at the fastest pace since 1999. Our unemployment rate is now lower than it was before the financial crisis. More of our kids are graduating than ever before. More of our people are insured than ever before. And we are as free from the grip of foreign oil as we've been in almost 30 years.
但是今天晚上,我们将翻开新的一页。今晚,在美国取得了突破性进展的一年后,我们的经济在增长,新的就业机会在以1999年以来最快的速度增加。我们现在的失业率甚至低于金融危机之前。从学校毕业的孩子人数比以往任何时候都多,得到医疗保障的民众也超过以往,我们还打破了过去近30年一直依赖外国石油的状态。
Tonight, for the first time since 9/11, our combat mission in Afghanistan is over. Six years ago, nearly 180,000 American troops served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Today, fewer than 15,000 remain. And we salute the courage and sacrifice of every man and woman in this 9/11 Generation who has served to keep us safe. We are humbled and grateful for your service.
今晚,我们自9·11恐怖袭击以来首次结束了在阿富汗的战斗任务。6年前,将近18万美国军人在阿富汗或是伊拉克服役,今天,留守那里的只有不到15000人。我们向9·11之后一代服役的男女军人所付出的牺牲和所展示的勇气表示敬意,因为他们的守护,我们得以安全。我们对你们的服务充满敬意和感激。
America, for all that we have endured; for all the grit and hard work required to come back; for all the tasks that lie ahead, know this: The shadow of crisis has passed, and the State of the Union is strong.
美国同胞,为了我们所承受的一切,为了重振所需要的努力和辛苦工作,为了面前的任务,我们应该明白:危机的阴影已过去,我们的国家现在很强大。
At this moment -- with a growing economy, shrinking deficits, bustling industry, booming energy production -- we have risen from recession freer to write our own future than any other nation on Earth. It's now up to us to choose who we want to be over the next 15 years and for decades to come.
此时此刻,随着我们经济的发展、财政赤字的缩减、工业的兴旺发展、以及能源生产的蒸蒸日上,我们摆脱了经济衰退,比地球上任何其他国家都更加自由地书写我们的未来。现在我们可以自主选择我们未来十五年、乃至未来的几十年要成为什么样子。
Will we accept an economy where only a few of us do spectacularly well? Or will we commit ourselves to an economy that generates rising incomes and chances for everyone who makes the effort?
我们要接受一种只有极个别人能大发横财的经济?还是应该致力于发展使每一个努力的人都能够增加收入、得到机会的经济?
Will we approach the world fearful and reactive, dragged into costly conflicts that strain our military and set back our standing? Or will we lead wisely, using all elements of our power to defeat new threats and protect our planet?
我们是否要以一种恐惧和被动的姿态来应对这个世界,被卷入昂贵的冲突,消耗我们的军力,并削弱我们的地位?还是要以一种明智的姿态来引导,尽我们的所能,击败这些新的威胁并保护我们的星球?
Will we allow ourselves to be sorted into factions and turned against one another? Or will we recapture the sense of common purpose that has always propelled America forward?
我们是否要允许自己卷入派别纷争,互相打击?还是我们要重新找到让美国前行的共同目标?
In two weeks, I will send this Congress a budget filled with ideas that are practical, not partisan. And in the months ahead, I'll crisscross the country making a case for those ideas. So tonight, I want to focus less on a checklist of proposals, and focus more on the values at stake in the choices before us.
再过两个星期,我就要向国会递交预算。这个预算里都是现实的想法,并无党派之见。接下来的几个月,我会遍访全国为这些想法争取支持。今天晚上,我不想花太多时间列出这些议题,而是着重谈谈摆在我们面前的选择当中涉及的价值观。