米歇爾中國旅游日志：與北京大學的美國和中國學生見面
The First Lady’s Travel Journal: Meeting with American and Chinese Students at Peking University
第一夫人旅行日志：與北京大學的美國和中國學生見面
March 22, 2014
2014年3月22日
This morning, I had the privilege of visiting Peking University and speaking with Chinese students and American students studying abroad here in China. Peking University was founded more than a hundred years ago, in 1898, and it is one of China’s best-known universities. The American students in the audience today came from a number of different universities, and by studying here in China, they get to experience daily life in this country firsthand, practice their Chinese, and form lifelong friendships with Chinese students.
今天上午，我有幸訪問了北京大學并與中國學生以及留學中國的美國學生交談。北京大學成立于一百多年以前(1898年)，是中國最知名的大學之一。今天聽眾中的美國學生來自許多不同的大學，通過在中國學習，他們得以親身體驗在這個國家的日常生活，練習他們的漢語，并與中國學生結成終生的友誼。
As I said in my speech today, these experiences represent so much more than a fun way to spend a semester. In today’s increasingly global, interconnected economy, businesses here in America do business with, and compete with, businesses around the world. So these days, knowing a foreign language and being familiar with a foreign culture can actually be an important qualification for a job.
正如我在今天的講話中所說，這些經歷代表的遠比以開心的方式度過一個學期要多。當今日益全球化、日益相互聯系的經濟中，美國的企業要與全世界的企業做生意并相互競爭。目前，懂得一門外語并且了解一種外國文化其實是工作中應有的一種重要素質。
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In addition, so many of the challenges we face today – like climate change, economic opportunity, and disease – are shared challenges, meaning that no one person in any one country can address them alone. So soon, it will be up to your generation to solve these problems working with other young leaders across the globe. And by studying abroad, and getting to understand cultures and societies different from your own, you can begin to lay the foundation for that kind of cooperation.
此外，我們今天面臨如此多的挑戰——如氣候變化、經濟機會和疾病——都是共同的挑戰，這意味著任何一個國家都沒有任何一個人可以單獨應對這些問題。所以很快，就將靠你們這一代和世界各地的青年領袖一起合作來解決這些問題。而通過出國留學，理解與你們自己不同的文化和社會，你們能夠開始為那種合作奠定基礎。
But make no mistake about it, you don’t need to get on a plane to see the world and engage with people from other countries. I told students today that if you have access to a computer with an internet connection in your home, school, or library, then with the click of a button, you can transport yourself anywhere in the world and connect with people on every continent. And of course, you can do this because in America, ideas and information can flow freely over the internet. As I said today, the First Amendment of our Constitution guarantees all of us the right to free speech, and our government puts few limits on what we can say online, on TV and in the newspapers.
但請不要誤會，你們不一定非要坐上飛機去看世界并接觸來自其他國家的人。我今天告訴學生們，如果你們在家里、學校或圖書館能用電腦上網，那么只要點擊一個按鍵，你就可以把自己送到世界任何地方并與各大洲的人民建立聯系。當然，你可以這樣做是因為在美國，思想和信息可以在互聯網上自由流動。正如我今天所說，我們的憲法第一修正案保障我們所有人的言論自由權，而且我國政府對于我們可以在網絡上、電視上和報紙上能說什么幾乎沒有限制。
The government in China puts restrictions on both the internet and the news media, but when my husband and I travel, we feel that it’s important to talk about what we believe in America. This is how we start a conversation through which countries can better understand each other’s values and beliefs. That’s why, in my speech today, I talked about how in America, we believe that we’re strongest when everyone’s voices can be heard and people can question and criticize their government freely and openly. That’s how we discover the truth about what’s happening in our communities, our country and our world. And that’s how we decide which ideas are best – by hearing everyone’s opinions and then judging for ourselves.
中國政府對互聯網和新聞媒體都有限制，但是當我丈夫和我旅行時，我們覺得談論我們美國所信仰的東西是很重要的. 這就是我們如何開始對話，通過它讓國家之間更好地了解彼此的價值觀和信仰。這就是為什么今天我在演講里講到，在美國，我們如何得以相信，當每個人的聲音都能得到傾聽，并且人們可以自由、公開地質疑和批評他們的政府的時候，我們是最強大的。那就是我們如何得以發現真相，了解我們的社區、我們的國家和我們的世界正在發生什么。那也是我們如何決定哪些思想是最好的——通過傾聽每個人的觀點，然后自己進行判斷。
This can sometimes be a messy and frustrating process. But as I said today, I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world, because this vibrant exchange of ideas is what makes us who we are. It’s how we challenge each other and learn from each other, and it ensures that our government is truly listening to the voices of the people it serves. My husband and I feel tremendously lucky to be part of this process every single day.
這個過程有時會讓人又困惑又沮喪。但就像我今天說的，我不會用它去和世界上的任何東西交換，因為這些活躍的思想交流造就了我們。這就是我們如何互相挑戰、互相學習，這也確保我們的政府真正在傾聽它所服務的人民的聲音。我丈夫和我為每一天都能參與這個過程而感到格外幸運。
After my speech, I met with a group of Chinese and American students studying here at Peking University – and we connected by video to a group of high school and college students back home in the U.S. who had gathered at Stanford University in California. We had a lively discussion during which students shared stories about their experiences studying abroad in China. Several students admitted that before arriving in China, they had all kinds of fears – they worried that they wouldn’t be able to speak Chinese well enough, that they would struggle to adjust to a new environment, and that they would be further away from home than ever before. But they all agreed that by overcoming those fears, they had learned and grown more than they could ever have imagined.
演講結束后，我與在北京大學學習的一些中國和美國學生見了面——我們同時通過視頻和一些身在美國、聚在加州斯坦福大學的高中生和大學生連線。我們進行了熱烈的討論，其間同學們分享了他們在中國留學的經歷。好幾位同學承認在來中國之前，他們有過各種擔憂——他們擔心他們的中文不夠好，他們將很難適宜新的環境，他們將比以前離家更加遙遠。但是他們都同意，通過克服這些憂慮，他們學到了更多，也成長了更多，這是他們以前從未想象到的。
One student also spoke about his worries about the cost of studying abroad, a concern that many other students could relate to. I emphasized that study abroad should be for students from all kinds of backgrounds – students of every race and socioeconomic level. Because I believe that kind of diversity is who we are – it’s what makes our country so vibrant and strong – and our study abroad programs should help us show America’s true face to the world. That’s why my husband supports programs like 100,000 Strong that give students from all different backgrounds the chance to study abroad.
一位同學也說到他對出國留學費用的擔心，其他很多同學可能都會有這樣的擔心。我強調，海外留學應該適合來自各種背景的學生——任何種族、任何社會經濟水平的學生。因為我相信，這種多樣性造就了我們——是它使我們的國家如此強大并充滿活力——并且我們的海外留學項目應該幫助我們向世界展示美國的真實面孔。這就是為什么我的丈夫支持十萬強這樣的項目，它們使來自不同背景的學生都有機會留學海外。
So no matter where you come from or how much money your parents have, I hope that all of you reading this blog today will consider studying abroad one day.
因此，無論你來自何方或你的父母有多少錢，我希望今天看到這篇博文的讀者都會考慮有一天留學海外。
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