奥巴马俄罗斯毕业典礼演讲

I know that NES is a young school, but I speak to you today with deep respect for Russia's timeless heritage. Russian writers have helped us understand the complexity of the human experience, and recognize eternal truths. Russian painters, composers, and dancers have introduced us to new forms of beauty. Russian scientists have cured disease, sought new frontiers of progress, and helped us go to space.
我知道，新经济学院是一个年轻的院校，但今天我心怀对俄罗斯不朽的传统的高度敬重之情对你们发表讲话。俄罗斯作家帮助我们了解人生的纷繁复杂，认识到永恒的真理。俄罗斯画家、作曲家和舞蹈家使我们领略到了美的新形式。俄罗斯科学家治愈了疾病，开拓了新的发展领域，帮助人们飞向太空。

These are contributions that are not contained by Russia's borders, as vast as those borders are. Indeed, Russia's heritage has touched every corner of the world, and speaks to the humanity that we share. That includes my own country, which has been blessed with Russian immigrants for decades; we've been enriched by Russian culture, and enhanced by Russian cooperation. And as a resident of Washington, D.C., I continue to benefit from the contributions of Russians -- specifically, from Alexander Ovechkin. We're very pleased to have him in Washington, D.C. (Applause.)
尽管俄罗斯幅员辽阔，但这些贡献并未局限在俄罗斯疆界之内。毫无疑问，俄罗斯的传统已传播到世界每一个角落，激发了我们共有的人性。其中也包括我自己的国家，几十年来因俄罗斯移民获益良多；我国获得俄罗斯文化的丰富营养，也因与俄罗斯的合作得到发展。作为首都华盛顿哥伦比亚特区的居民，我继续获得俄罗斯人的贡献带来的惠益──特别是因为亚力山大·奥韦奇金(Alexander Ovechkin)。他住在华盛顿哥伦比亚特区，我们非常高兴。(掌声)

Here at NES, you have inherited this great cultural legacy, but your focus on economics is no less fundamental to the future of humanity. As Pushkin said, "Inspiration is needed in geometry just as much as poetry." And today, I want particularly to speak to those of you preparing to graduate. You're poised to be leaders in academia and industry; in finance and government. But before you move forward, it's worth reflecting on what has already taken place during your young lives.
在新经济学院，你们继承了这个伟大的文化传统。你们尽管以经济为重点，但对人类的未来也同样至关重要。正如普希金所说，“灵感对于几何学，如同灵感对于诗歌一样必不可少。” 今天，我特别希望对即将毕业的同学说一些话。你们即将成为学术界和工业界的领军人，成为金融界和政界的主力。然而，在你们迈出这一步之前，有必要回顾在你们成长期间发生的历史。

Like President Medvedev and myself, you're not old enough to have witnessed the darkest hours of the Cold War, when hydrogen bombs were tested in the atmosphere, and children drilled in fallout shelters, and we reached the brink of nuclear catastrophe. But you are the last generation born when the world was divided. At that time, the American and Soviet armies were still massed in Europe, trained and ready to fight. The ideological trenches of the last century were roughly in place. Competition in everything from astrophysics to athletics was treated as a zero-sum game. If one person won, then the other person had to lose.
如同梅德韦杰夫总统和我一样，你们当时年纪尚幼，未能亲历冷战最黑暗的年代，那时在大气层试爆了氢弹，孩子们进入防空洞参加演习，我们曾经走到核灾难的边缘。你们是全世界壁垒分明的时期出生的最后一代人。当年，美国军队和苏联军队仍在欧洲集结、训练并准备交战。上一个世纪意识形态的壁垒大致依旧。从天体物理学到体育运动，相互间的竞赛往往被视为你死我活的争斗。一方获胜，另一方必失。

And then, within a few short years, the world as it was ceased to be. Now, make no mistake: This change did not come from any one nation. The Cold War reached a conclusion because of the actions of many nations over many years, and because the people of Russia and Eastern Europe stood up and decided that its end would be peaceful.
此后短短几年时间，世界不复以往。如今毫无疑问的是：这个变革并非由任何一个单独的国家引发。由于无数国家多少年来采取的行动，由于俄罗斯和东欧人民挺身而出，决心以和平方式告别过去，冷战从此宣告结束。

With the end of the Cold War, there were extraordinary expectations -- for peace and for prosperity; for new arrangements among nations, and new opportunities for individuals. Like all periods of great change, it was a time of ambitious plans and endless possibilities. But, of course, things don't always work out exactly as planned. Back in 1993, shortly after this school opened, one NES student summed up the difficulty of change when he told a reporter, and I quote him: "The real world is not so rational as on paper." The real world is not so rational as on paper.
随着冷战的结束，人们产生种种殷切的期待── 希望实现和平与繁荣；建立国家间的新秩序，以及为个人提供新机会。如同所有巨大变革的时期一样，这是一个大展宏图的时代，一个充满无限机会的时代。然而， 任何事物都不可能时时一帆风顺，事事如人心愿。1993年，贵校成立后不久，新经济学院一位学生在接受记者采访时概括了改革的艰难。他说道：“现实的世界并不像书本上那样理性。”现实的世界并不像书本上那样理性。

Over two tumultuous decades, that truth has been borne out around the world. Great wealth has been created, but it has not eliminated vast pockets of crushing poverty. Poverty exists here, it exists in the United States, and it exists all around the world. More people have gone to the ballot box, but too many governments still fail to protect the rights of their people. Ideological struggles have diminished, but they've been replaced by conflicts over tribe and ethnicity and religion. A human being with a computer can hold the same amount of information stored in the Russian State Library, but that technology can also be used to do great harm.
在过去动荡的20年中，这种说法的正确性在全世界得到证实。虽然创造出巨额财富，但它并未消除遍布四方的极度贫困。贫困在这里存在，在美国存在，在全世界存在。有更多的人参加了投票，但仍有太多国家的政府仍旧未能保护本国人民的权利。意识形态的斗争逐渐减少，但代之而起的是部落、种族和宗教冲突。一个拥有电脑的人可以拥有与俄罗斯国家图书馆（Russian State Library）等量的信息，但这种技术也可被用于制造严重伤害。