Remarks by President Obama at Barnard College Commencement Ceremony
Barnard College
Columbia University
New York, New York
May 14, 2012

美国总统奥巴马在巴纳德学院毕业典礼上的讲话
纽约州 纽约市
哥伦比亚大学巴纳德学院
2012年5月14日

　　Thank you so much. (Applause.) Thank you. Please, please have a seat. Thank you. (Applause.)

　　非常感谢大家。（掌声）谢谢大家，请入座。谢谢大家。（掌声）

　　Thank you, President Spar, trustees, President Bollinger. Hello, Class of 2012! (Applause.) Congratulations on reaching this day. Thank you for the honor of being able to be a part of it.

　　谢谢你们，斯巴院长[译者注：中文名石德葆]、各位校董、伯林格校长。2012届毕业生，你们好！（掌声）祝贺你们迎来了这一天。感谢你们让我有幸来参加这个活动。

　　There are so many people who are proud of you -- your parents, family, faculty, friends -- all who share in this achievement. So please give them a big round of applause. (Applause.) To all the moms who are here today, you could not ask for a better Mother’s Day gift than to see all of these folks graduate. (Applause.)

　　有很多人为你们感到骄傲——你们的父母、家人、师长和朋友——都为取得这一成就出了力。因此，请为他们热烈鼓掌。（掌声）今天在座的各位母亲们，再也没有比看到所有这些孩子们毕业更好的母亲节礼物了。（掌声）

　　I have to say, though, whenever I come to these things, I start thinking about Malia and Sasha graduating, and I start tearing up and -- (laughter) -- it's terrible. I don't know how you guys are holding it together. (Laughter.)

　　但是我得说，每当我来到这种场合，就会想到玛莉娅和萨夏将来毕业的情景，我就会热泪盈眶——（笑声）——真不好意思。我不知道你们大家是怎么把持得住的。（笑声）

　　I will begin by telling a hard truth: I’m a Columbia college graduate. (Laughter and applause.) I know there can be a little bit of a sibling rivalry here. (Laughter.) But I’m honored nevertheless to be your commencement speaker today -- although I’ve got to say, you set a pretty high bar given the past three years. (Applause.) Hillary Clinton -- (applause) -- Meryl Streep -- (applause) -- Sheryl Sandberg -- these are not easy acts to follow. (Applause.)

　　我一开始就要说明一个确凿的事实：我是一名哥伦比亚大学的毕业生。（笑声和掌声）我知道可能会有一点同门弟子相争的劲儿。（笑声）但我还是为能够在你们今天的毕业典礼上讲话而感到荣幸——不过我得说，你们在过去三年树立了相当高的标准。（掌声）希拉里·克林顿——（掌声）——梅丽尔·斯特里普——（掌声）——谢里尔·桑德伯格——在她们之后出场可不容易。（掌声）

　　But I will point out Hillary is doing an extraordinary job as one of the finest Secretaries of State America has ever had. (Applause.) We gave Meryl the Presidential Medal of Arts and Humanities. (Applause.) Sheryl is not just a good friend; she’s also one of our economic advisers. So it’s like the old saying goes -- keep your friends close, and your Barnard commencement speakers even closer. (Applause.) There's wisdom in that. (Laughter.)

　　但我要指出，希拉里的工作极为出色，她是美国有史以来最杰出的国务卿之一。（掌声）我们已授予梅丽尔艺术与人文总统奖章。（掌声）谢里尔不仅是一位好朋友；她还是我们的经济顾问之一。正如那句老话所说——亲近你的朋友，但更要亲近在你们巴纳德学院毕业典礼上讲话的人。（掌声）这话寓意深长。（笑声）

　　Now, the year I graduated -- this area looks familiar -- (laughter) -- the year I graduated was 1983, the first year women were admitted to Columbia. (Applause.) Sally Ride was the first American woman in space. Music was all about Michael and the Moonwalk. (Laughter.)

　　话说我毕业那年——这个地方看着眼熟——（笑声）——我毕业于1983年，哥伦比亚大学开始录取女生的第一年。（掌声）当时萨莉·莱德成为第一位进入太空的美国女性。那时的音乐全是麦克尔和太空步。（笑声）

　　[AUDIENCE MEMBER: Do it! (Laughter.)]

　　【画外音：一名听众说“走一个！”（笑声）】

　　No Moonwalking. (Laughter.) No Moonwalking today. (Laughter.)

　　不走太空步。（笑声）今天不走太空步。（笑声）

　　We had the Walkman, not iPods. Some of the streets around here were not quite so inviting. (Laughter.) Times Square was not a family destination. (Laughter.) So I know this is all ancient history. Nothing worse than commencement speakers droning on about bygone days. (Laughter.) But for all the differences, the Class of 1983 actually had a lot in common with all of you. For we, too, were heading out into a world at a moment when our country was still recovering from a particularly severe economic recession. It was a time of change. It was a time of uncertainty. It was a time of passionate political debates.