This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing—Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.
这次大选创造了多项“第一”,也诞生了很多将世代流传的故事。但是今天晚上我想到的是在亚特兰大投下一票的一名妇女。她和其他数以百万计的排队等待投票的选民没什么不同,除了一点:安·尼克松·库珀今年已经106岁了。
She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons—because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.
她出生的时候,奴隶制结束才只有一代人的时间。那时路上还没有汽车,天上也还没有飞机;像她这样的人由于两个原因还不能投票——一是因为她是女性,另一个是因为她的肤色。
And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America—the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.
今天晚上,我想到了她在美国过去100年间所见证的种种:那些痛苦和希望,奋斗和进步,那些我们被告知我们办不到的时代,以及那些勇往直前的人们,他们坚信美国信条——是的, 我们能做到。
At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.
曾经妇女没有发言权,她们的希望被当作耳边风。安·尼克松·库珀的有生之年见证了妇女们站起来,看到她们大声发表自己的见解,看到她们伸手去取她们的选票。是的,我们能做到。
When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.
当全国为沙尘暴和大萧条而感到绝望的时候,她却看到了一个国家用新政、新的就业机会以及对新目标的共同追求战胜了恐惧本身。是的,我们能做到。