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So yes, the world has changed. The competition for jobs is real. But this shouldn’t discourage us. It should challenge us. Remember – for all the hits we’ve taken these last few years, for all the naysayers predicting our decline, America still has the largest, most prosperous economy in the world. No workers are more productive than ours. No country has more successful companies, or grants more patents to inventors and entrepreneurs. We are home to the world’s best colleges and universities, where more students come to study than any other place on Earth.
所以，是的，世界发生了变革。就业岗位的竞争是真实存在的，但这不应当使我们灰心，它应当成为激励我们的动力。请记住，尽管我们在过去几年遭受到了巨大打击，尽管所有的悲观者预言美国在衰落，但美国仍是世界上最大、最繁荣的经济体。我们工人的劳动生产率是最高的，我们的公司是最成功的，我们的投资者和企业家所拥有的专利数是最多的。我们拥有世界上最好的院校和大学，来美国就读的学生超过任何其它国家。
What’s more, we are the first nation to be founded for the sake of an idea – the idea that each of us deserves the chance to shape our own destiny. That is why centuries of pioneers and immigrants have risked everything to come here. It’s why our students don’t just memorize equations, but answer questions like “What do you think of that idea? What would you change about the world? What do you want to be when you grow up?”
更为重要的是，我们是首个以思想立国的国家，这个思想是我们中的每个人都应当有机会来塑造自己的命运。这就是为什么先驱们和移民们数个世纪以来不惜冒着失去一切的风险来到美国的原因。这就是我们的学生不只是记住方程式，而是会提出“你认为这个想法如何？你想如何改变世界？当你长大后你想成为什么样的人”等问题。
The future is ours to win. But to get there, we can’t just stand still. As Robert Kennedy told us, “The future is not a gift. It is an achievement.” Sustaining the American Dream has never been about standing pat. It has required each generation to sacrifice, and struggle, and meet the demands of a new age.
我们将赢得未来，但为了实现这一点，我们不能原地踏步。正如罗伯特·肯尼迪所说的那样“未来不是一个礼物，它是一个成就。”维持美国梦从来不是墨守成规。它需要每一代人作出牺牲、斗争，满足新时代的要求。
Now it’s our turn. We know what it takes to compete for the jobs and industries of our time. We need to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world. We have to make America the best place on Earth to do business. We need to take responsibility for our deficit, and reform our government. That’s how our people will prosper. That’s how we’ll win the future. And tonight, I’d like to talk about how we get there.
现在轮到我们这一代人了。我们知道在我们的时代为工作和行业进行竞争需要什么。我们需要在创新、教育和建设方面超越其它国家。我们要使美国成为商业环境最好的国家。我们需要对我们的赤字负责任，对我们的政府进行改革。这就是我们的人民实现繁荣的方法。这就是我们如何赢得未来的方法。今晚，我想谈谈我们如何作到这些。
The first step in winning the future is encouraging American innovation.
赢得未来的首个步骤是鼓励美国人创新。
None of us can predict with certainty what the next big industry will be, or where the new jobs will come from. Thirty years ago, we couldn’t know that something called the Internet would lead to an economic revolution. What we can do – what America does better than anyone – is spark the creativity and imagination of our people. We are the nation that put cars in driveways and computers in offices; the nation of Edison and the Wright brothers; of Google and Facebook. In America, innovation doesn’t just change our lives. It’s how we make a living.
我们所有人都无法肯定地预言下一个主要行业将是什么行业或者新的就业岗位来自哪里。三十年前，我们不知道一个被称作互联网的东西会引发经济革命。我们所能做的是，争取在这些方面比其它国家的人做得更好，激发美国人民的创造性和想像力。我们是一个将车开到车道上、把计算机放在办公室的国家，是一个拥有爱迪生、莱特兄弟的国家，是一个拥有谷歌和脸谱（Facebook）的国家。在美国，创新不只改变我们的生活，更重要的是，这是我们赖以谋生的方法。
