美国总统奥巴马每周电台演讲2014.08.18

Hi, everybody. Over the next couple weeks, schools all across the country will be opening their doors. Students will suit up for fall sports, marching band, and the school play; moms and dads will snap those first-day-of-school pictures -- and that includes me and Michelle.
And so today, I want to talk directly with students and parents about one of the most important things any of you can do this year -- and that’s to begin preparing yourself for an education beyond high school.
We know that in today’s economy, whether you go to a four-year college, a community college, or a professional training program, some higher education is the surest ticket to the middle class. The typical American with a bachelor’s degree or higher earns over $28,000 more per year than someone with just a high school diploma. And they’re also much more likely to have a job in the first place – the unemployment rate for those with a bachelor’s degree is less than one-third of the rate for those without a high school diploma.

大家好。在今后的几周里，全国的学校将陆续开学。学生们将整装待发，参加秋季运动，行进乐队和学校的活动；父母们将抢拍开学第一天的快照--包括我和米切尔。
今天，我想直接和学生们和家长们谈谈你们中任何人今年都能做的最重要的一件事--就是开始为高中以后的教育做准备。
我们知道在今天的经济形势下，无论你走进大学本科、社区大学或职业教育，受点高等教育是跻身中产阶级的保票。持有学士以上学位的普通美国人比持有高中文凭的美国人平均每年多挣28，000美元。而且他们更可能首次求职成功--持有学士学位的人们的失业率比连高中文凭都没有的人们低三分之一。

But for too many families across the country, paying for higher education is a constant struggle. Earlier this year, a young woman named Elizabeth Cooper wrote to tell me how hard it is for middle-class families like hers to afford college. As she said, she feels “not significant enough to be addressed, not poor enough for people to worry [about], and not rich enough to be cared about.”
Michelle and I know the feeling – we only finished paying off our student loans ten years ago. And so as President, I’m working to make sure young people like Elizabeth can go to college without racking up mountains of debt. We reformed a student loan system so that more money goes to students instead of big banks. We expanded grants and college tax credits for students and families. We took action to offer millions of students a chance to cap their student loan payments at 10% of their income. And Congress should pass a bill to let students refinance their loans at today’s lower interest rates, just like their parents can refinance their mortgage.

但是全国有很多人家供孩子接受高等教育是一个长期的负担。今年早些时候，一个叫伊丽莎白·库珀的妇女告诉我像她家这样的中产阶级家庭供孩子上大学很难。如她所说，她感到“人微言轻不被重视，又不那么穷受到关爱，也没有富到被人关注。”
米切尔和我对此感同身受--我们十年前才刚刚还完学生贷款。所以作为总统，我将努力确保伊丽莎白这样的年轻人能上大学而不至于背负山一样的债务。我们改革了学生贷款体系以使更多的钱流向学生们而不是大银行。我们为学生和家长们扩大了联邦政府赞助和大学的税务减免。我们采取了行动给几百万学生们机会保证他们以不超过他们收入的10%还贷。国会应该通过一项法案使学生们可以利用现在的低利率偿还他们的学生贷款，如同他们的家长可以同样地偿还按揭贷款。

But as long as college costs keep rising, we can’t just keep throwing money at the problem -- colleges have to do their part to bring down costs as well. That’s why we proposed a plan to tie federal financial aid to a college’s performance, and create a new college scorecard so that students and parents can see which schools provide the biggest bang for your buck. We launched a new $75 million challenge to inspire colleges to reduce costs and raise graduation rates. And in January, more than 100 college presidents and noNPRofit leaders came to the White House and made commitments to increase opportunities for underserved students.
Since then, we’ve met with even more leaders who want to create new community-based partnerships and support school counselors. And this week, my Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, announced a series of commitments to support students who need a little extra academic help getting through college.

但是只要上大学的成本继续上升，我们就不能仅仅用砸钱来解决这个问题--大学也应该尽他们的职责降低成本。这就是为什么我们推出一个计划把大学的业绩与联邦财政支持挂钩，并且创造了一个新的大学评分体系以使学生们和家长们可以看到哪些大学可以为你们提供最大优惠。我们已经推出了一项新的7千5百万美元的奖项激励大学减少成本和提高毕业率。今年一月份，100多位大学校长和非盈利机构领导人齐聚白宫承诺为那些运气不好的学生们更多机会。
从那时起，我们发现有更多的领导人打算创造新的社区合作关系和支持大学校长。本周，我的教育部长，Arne Duncan，宣布一系列承诺帮助需要一点学术帮助毕业的学生们。

This is a challenge I take personally. And to all you young people, now that you’re heading back to school, your education is something you have to take personally, also. It’s up to you to push yourself; to take hard classes and read challenging books. Science shows that when you struggle to solve a problem or make a new argument, you’re actually forming new connections in your brain. So when you’re thinking hard, you’re getting smarter. Which means this year, challenge yourself to reach higher. And set your sights on college in the years ahead. Your country is counting on you.
And don’t forget to have some fun along the way, too.
Thanks everybody. Good luck on the year ahead.

这是我个人应对的挑战。对所有的年轻人，你们马上就要开学了，你们的教育也你们个人应对的挑战。推进你们自己；选择艰难的课程和读有挑战性的书取决于你们自己。科学表明当你努力解决问题或提出新观点时，你们在你们的脑海里建立了新的联系。所以你努力思考，你就更加聪明。这意味着今年，激励你们自己达到更高的层面。放眼你们大学生活的今后几年。你们的国家依靠你们。
但是也不要忘了在这条路上享受快乐。
谢谢各位。今后好运。