介绍:
演讲背景：2014年3月20日至26日，美国第一夫人米歇尔·奥巴马来到中国进行为期7天的访问，这是米歇尔第一次来到中国。在继北京大学演讲、西安看完兵马俑之后，米歇尔第三站来到了成都，在成都七中进行演讲。
You see, the truth is that I grew up like many of you. My mom, my dad, my brother and I, we lived in a tiny apartment in Chicago, which is one of the largest cities in America. My father worked at the local water plant. And we didn’t have much money, but our little home was bursting with love. Every evening, my family would laugh and share stories over dinner. We’d play card games and have fun for hours. And on summer nights, I remember, when our apartment got too hot, we’d all sleep outside on our back porch.
Family meant everything to us, including our extended family. My grandparents lived nearby, and my elderly great aunt and uncle lived in the apartment downstairs from us. And when their health started to decline, my parents stepped in, helping my uncle shave and dress each morning, dashing downstairs in the middle of the night to check on my aunt.
So in my family, like in so many of your families, we took care of each other. And while we certainly weren’t rich, my parents had big dreams for me and my brother. They only had a high school education themselves, but they were determined to send us both to universities.
So they poured all of their love and all of their hope into us, and they worked hard. They saved every penny. And I know that wasn’t easy for them, especially for my father. You see, my father had a serious illness called multiple sclerosis. And as he got sicker, it got harder for him to walk, and it took him longer to get dressed in the morning. But no matter how tired he felt, no matter how much pain he was in, my father hardly ever missed a day of work, because he was determined to give me and my brother a better life. And every day, like so many of you, I felt the weight of my parents’ sacrifices on my shoulders. Every day, I wanted to make them proud.
【参考译文】
你们看，事实是，我的成长经历和你们当中的许多人一样。我父母、哥哥和我同住在芝加哥的一间小公寓里，而芝加哥是美国最大的城市之一。我父亲曾在当地一家水厂工作，我们没有太多钱。但是，我们的小家充满了爱。每天晚上，晚餐时分，我们全家都会在一起说笑、分享故事，我们会一连几个小时地打牌、玩游戏；夏天的夜晚，当公寓里太热时，我们都睡在户外的后阳台。
家庭对我们来说意味着一切，这也包括我们的大家庭。我的祖父母住得很近，我年迈的姨姥姥和姨姥爷住在楼下的公寓里。当他们的健康状况开始下降，我父母开始每天早晨帮我姨姥爷刮胡子、穿衣服，半夜三更冲到楼下看看我姨姥姥的情况。
所以，在我的家里，就像在你们许多家庭里一样，我们互相照顾。虽然我们并不富裕，但是我父母对我和哥哥抱有远大的梦想。他们自己只有高中学历，但他们决心送我们俩上大学。
因此，她们对我们倾注了全部的爱和希望。他们拼命工作，积攒每一分钱，我知道这对他们来说并不容易，尤其是对我父亲来说，我父亲当时患有被称为多发性硬化症的重病。随着他的病情加重，他的行走也变得更加困难，早上他需要花更长的时间才能穿好衣服。但不管他觉得多累，不管他有多痛苦，我父亲几乎从没耽误过一天的工作。因为他决心给我和哥哥更好的生活。每一天，像你们中的很多人一样，我肩上都能感到父母的付出的分量。每一天，我想让他们感到骄傲。
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