第一篇：奧巴馬兩分半英語演講稿

Hi, everybody.In this year of action, I'm doing everything I can, with or without Congress, to expand opportunity for more Americans.This week, I ordered a review of our nation's overtime rules, to give more Americans the chance to earn the overtime pay they've worked for.Here's why this matters.Our businesses have created 8.7 million new jobs over the past four years.But in many ways, the trends that have battered the middle class for decades have grown even starker.While those at the top are doing better than ever, average wages have barely budged.Too many Americans are working harder than ever just to keep up.We've got to build an economy that works for everybody, not just a fortunate few.We know from our history that our economy grows best from the middle out, when growth is more widely shared.So we've got to restore opportunity for all-the idea that with hard work and responsibility, you can get ahead.Now, for more than 75 years, the 40-hour workweek and the overtime protections that come with it have helped countless workers climb the ladder of success.But today, an overtime exception originally meant for highly-paid employees now applies to workers who earn as little as $23,660 a year.(It doesn't matter if you do mostly physical labor, or if you work 50, 60, even 70 hours a week.Your employer may not have to pay you a single extra dime.)

In some cases, this rule makes it possible for workers earning a salary to actually be paid less thanthe minimum wage.And it means that business owners who treat their employees fairly can be undercut by competitors who don't.That's not right.So we're going to update those overtime rules to restore that basic principle that if you have to work more, you should be able to earn more.(And we'll do it by consulting workers and businesses, and simplifying the system so it's easier for everyone.)

Americans have spent too long working more and getting less in return.So wherever and whenever I can make sure that our economy rewards hard work and responsibility, that's what I'm going to do.Because what every American wants is a paycheck that lets them support their families, know a little economic security, and pass down some hope and optimism to their kids.That's something worth fighting for.And I'll keep fighting for it as long as I'm President.Thanks, and have a great weekend.總統呼吁加班應有報酬 勤勞應有回報

大家好！

在本年的施政綱領中，無論國會是否配合，我將盡我所能，我都將為更多人創造更多機會。本周，我下令調查我國加班補償規定，讓更多美國人獲得他們應得的加班補償費用。為何如此原因很簡單。

過去四年，我們的企業已經創造了870萬個工作崗位。

但在很多方面，中產階級十多年來受到的沖擊越來越嚴重。

社會最頂層的人越來越富有，而社會平均工資幾乎沒什么變化。

有太多太多美國人辛苦工作卻只能勉強收支相抵。

我們的經濟體應該為所有人服務，而不是富有的少數人。

我們都知道，歷史上，我們的經濟惠及更多人的時候，其增長也最好，而增長最大的貢獻來自中產階級。

因此，我們需要為所有人創造機會，這一理念就是，只要辛勤工作和勇于承擔責任，你就可以獲得成功。

75年以來，每周40小時工作制和超時保護政策幫助無數勞動者爬上了成功的階梯。

但現在，原本只適用于高收入人群的不算加班費的規定卻對年收入只有23660美元的人同樣適用。

(無論是體力活，或者每周工作50、60甚至70小時都一樣。

雇主不需要為你額外的工作多付一分錢。)

在某些情況下，這一準則有可能讓員工得到的實際工資比最低工資標準還要低。

這也意味著那些公正對待其員工的雇主會受到那些不遵守規則的同行競爭者的侵害。這樣是不對的。

因此我們將及時跟進修訂這些規定，重新制定一些基本原則，如果你必須工作更多時間，你就應該能得到更多的收入。

(我們將咨詢員工和企業，簡化這一體系，讓這一規定更方便的為所有人服務。)

在工作更長時間而得到回報更少這一問題上，美國人民爭取了太長時間。

因此無論何時何地，只要我有能力確保我們的經濟發展可以回報辛勤付出和勇于承擔責任的人，我都將盡我所能去做。

因為每個美國人都希望他的付出獲得的收入可以支撐其家庭的開支，確保家庭收支平衡，給孩子們希望和未來。

這就是我們為之奮斗的。

所只要還是總統我就要為之奮斗。

謝謝大家，祝你們周末愉快。

第二篇：奧巴馬就職英語演講稿

Barack Obama's Inaugural Address My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors.I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath.The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace.Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms.At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.So it has been.So it must be with this generation of Americans.That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood.Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred.Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age.Homes have been lost;jobs shed;businesses shuttered.Our health care is too costly;our schools fail too many;and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics.Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our landthey will be met.On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things.The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit;to choose our better history;to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given.It must be earned.Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less.It has not been the path for the faint-heartedsome celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West;endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg;Normandy and Khe Sanh.Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life.They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions;greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.This is the journey we continue today.We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth.Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began.Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year.Our capacity remains undiminished.But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisionsnot only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth.We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together.We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost.We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories.And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age.All this we can do.And all this we will do.Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitionsthat the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply.The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it worksto spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of dayand that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity;on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing hearteven greater cooperation and understanding between nations.We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan.With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet.We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken;you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness.We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindusknow that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy.To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history;but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow;to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds.And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders;nor can we consume the world’s resources without regard to effect.For the world has changed, and we must change with it.As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains.They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages.We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service;a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves.And yet, at this momentit is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies.It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours.It is the firefighter’s courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent’s willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.Our challenges may be new.The instruments with which we meet them may be new.But those values upon which our success dependsthese things are old.These things are true.They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history.What is demanded then is a return to these truths.What is required of us now is a new era of responsibilitythe knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed-why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled.In the year of America’s birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river.The capital was abandoned.The enemy was advancing.The snow was stained with blood.At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people: Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it].America.In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words.With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come.Let it be said by our children’s children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter;and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God’s grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.翻譯：

humbled

謙遜的

Oath

n.誓言，誓約；詛咒，咒罵

第三篇：奧巴馬演講稿

Hi, everybody.On behalf of all the Obamas – Michelle, Malia, Sasha, Bo, and the newest member of our family, Sunny – I want to wish you a happy and healthy Thanksgiving.We’ll be spending today just like many of you – sitting down with family and friends to eat some good food, tell some stories, watch a little football, and most importantly, count our blessings.And as Americans, we have so much to be thankful for.We give thanks for the men and women who(1)nearly four centuries ago, risking everything for the chance at a better life – and the people who were already here, our Native American brothers and sisters, for their generosity during that first Thanksgiving.We give thanks for(2)who followed – people of all races and religions, who arrived here from every country on Earth and worked to build something better for themselves and for us.We give thanks for all our men and women in uniform – and for their families, who are surely missing them very much today.We’re grateful for their sacrifice too.We give thanks for the freedoms(3)– the freedom to think what we want and say what we think, to worship according to our own beliefs, to choose our leaders and, yes, criticize them without punishment.People around the world are fighting and even dying for their chance at these freedoms.We stand with them in that struggle, and we give thanks for being free.And we give thanks to everyone who’s(4)to make the United States a better, more compassionate nation – who spend their Thanksgiving volunteering at a soup kitchen, or joining a service project, or bringing food and cheer to a lonely neighbor.That big-hearted generosity is a central part of our American character.We believe in lending a hand to folks who need it.We believe in pitching in to solve problems even if they aren’t our problems.And that’s not a one-day-a-year belief.It’s part of the fabric of our nation.And we remember that many Americans need that helping hand right now.Americans who’ve lost their jobs and can’t get a new one through no fault of their own.Americans who’ve been trapped in poverty and just need that helping hand to climb out.Citizens whose prayers and hopes move us to act.We are a people who are greater together than we are on our own.That’s what today is about.That’s what every day should be about.No matter our differences, we’re all part of one American family.We are each other’s keepers.We are one nation, under God.That core tenet of our American experience has guided us from the earliest days of our founding – and it will guide us to a future that’s even brighter than today.Thank you, God bless you, and from my family to yours, Happy Thanksgiving.1.set sail for this land2.the generations

3.they defend4.doing their part

第四篇：奧巴馬演講稿

Happy New Year, everybody.This week, /I traveled to Cleveland, Ohio, to talk with folks about /the biggest challenge we face as a country /rebuilding our economy so that, once again, hard work pays off, responsibility is rewarded, and anyone, regardless of who they are /or where they come from, can make it if they try.That’s the economy/America deserves.That’s the economy I’m fighting /every day to build.Now, to get there, the most important thing we need to do/ is get more Americans back to work.And over the past three years, we’ve made /steady progress.We just learned /that our economecession, we’ve added more than 3 million private sector jobs over the past 22 months.And we’re starting 2012 with manufacturing on the rise /and the American auto industry /on the mend.We’re heading in the rightdirection.And we’re not going to let up.On Wednesday the White HWe’ll hear from business leaders wh/follow their lead.Because this is a make or break moment for the middle class /and all those working to get there.We’ve got to keep at it.We’ve got to keep creating jobs.And we’ve got to keep rebuilding our economy /so that everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share / and everyone plays by the same rules.We can’t go back to the days when/ the financial system was stacking the deck against ordinary Americans.To me, that’s not an option.Not after all we’ve been through.That’snation’s new consumer watchdog this week.Richard’s job is simple: to look out for you.Every day, his sole mission is to protect consumers from potential abuses /by the financial industry and to make sure that you’ve got all the transparent information /you need to make the important financial decisions in your lives.I nominated Richard/ for this job last summer.And yet, Republicans in the Senate kept blocking his confirmation not because they objected to him, but because they wanted to weaken his agency.That made no sense.Every day we waited /was a day you and consumers all across the country were at greater financial risk.So this year, I’m going to keep doing whatever it takes to move this economy forward and to make sure that middle class families regain the security they’ve lost over the past decade.That’s my New Year’s resolution to all of you.Thank you, and have a great weekend.

第五篇：奧巴馬演講稿

我衷心感謝艾奧瓦的公民們。

眾所周知，有人說這一天永遠不會到來。

有人說我們好高騖遠。

有人說人民異見紛呈，悲觀失望，不可能再為了一個共同的目標而眾志成城。

但在這個一月的夜晚，在這個書寫歷史的時刻，你們做到了那些憤世嫉俗的人斷言我們做不到的事。五天后新罕布什爾州的選民也將完成你們的壯舉。在剛剛來到的 2008年，美國人民也會完成同樣的壯舉。在學校和教堂，在小市鎮和大城市，你們——民主黨人、共和黨人、無黨派人士——熙熙攘攘地走到一起，自豪地宣稱：我們是一個國家，我們是一個民族;變革的時刻已經到來。你們還說，華盛頓被冷酷、萎縮和憤怒所淹沒，現在是超越這種政治手段、以相加替代分割的時刻，是在紅州和藍州建立變革聯盟的時刻。這是因為我們將以此在11月取勝，我們也將以此面對我們國家面臨的挑戰。

我們選擇希望，拋棄恐懼;我們選擇聯合，拒絕分裂;我們向美利堅高聲宣布變革就在眼前。

你們宣布，政治說客自以為他們的財富和影響力比公眾輿論的威力更大，但是他們并不擁有這個政府。政府是我們的，我們正在把它收回。

人民此刻需要這樣一位總統：他能誠實面對機遇和挑戰;即使跟人民見解不同也會傾聽和了解他們的想法;他不僅要說人民愿意聽到的話，更要提供人民需要知道的信息。如果新罕布什爾也給我今晚艾奧瓦給我的機會，我將會是這樣一位總統。

感謝你們。

我會是這樣一位總統：讓每個人都能看上病和看得起病。我在伊利諾斯州就通過民主黨人和共和黨人的攜手合作實現了這一目標。

我會是這樣一位總統：終止所有把工作運往海外的公司的稅收優惠政策，并給美國最值得享受減稅的中產階級減稅。

我會是這樣一位總統：讓農場主、科學家和企業家發揮他們的創造力，使我們國家一勞永逸地擺脫石油的主宰。

最后，我會是這樣一位總統：我要結束伊拉克戰爭并讓我們的士兵回家;我要恢復我們的道德地位;我知道9/11不是騙取選票的借口，而是使美國和世界聯合起來應對21世紀這個世界面臨的共同威脅：恐怖主義和核擴散，全球變暖和貧困，種族屠殺和疾病。

今晚，因為艾奧瓦公民的選擇，我們距離那樣的美國藍圖又近了一步。在此，我特別想感謝選舉的組織者和各個投票站的站長、志愿者和我的競選團隊的工作人員。沒有你們就沒有今晚的勝利。

當我站在這里表達謝意時，我想有必要感謝我的至愛，奧巴馬家庭的堅實后盾，競選旅途的殿后者，米歇爾·奧巴馬。

我明白你們不是為了我才這樣做的。你們這樣做，你們這樣做，是因為你們堅信一個美國信念，那就是，無論條件多么艱難困苦，相信這個國家的人是可以改變它的。

我明白這一點，我明白這一點，是因為雖然我此刻站在這里，我永遠也不會忘記我的行程從芝加哥的街頭開始。我曾經作過你們為我的競選和艾奧瓦所有的競選作過的一切：組織，工作，為了讓人民的生活能夠得到一點點改善而奮斗。

我知道這樣的工作的艱辛，睡眠不足，薪酬低微，大量的自我犧牲，失望常常伴隨著我們。但是偶爾，僅僅是偶爾，也會有象今晚這樣的時刻，在這樣一個夜晚，這樣一個我們數年后想起來會自豪地說那個更好的美國就是從那個時刻開始的夜晚。在這樣的美國，我們實現了我們堅信不移的變革：更多的家庭看得起病;我們的孩子，我的女兒瑪利亞和薩沙和你們的孩子會生活在一個更干凈和更安全的星球上;世界將以不同的眼光來看待美國，而美國將把自己看作一個更少歧見、更多團結的國家。

這一刻是勇往直前的人擊敗了華盛頓總是說戰無不勝的人的時刻。

這一刻是我們拆除長久分裂我們的藩籬，讓不同黨派和不同年齡的人們為了一個共同的目的聯合起來，并給那些從不過問政治的人們一個關心政治的理由的一刻。

這一刻是我們終于擊退恐懼、疑慮和犬儒主義政治的一刻，是我們用國家攜手向上替代政客相互踐踏的政治的一刻。這是我們期待的那一刻。

數年后，遙想往事，你們也許會說，就是這一刻，在這個地方——美國人民記起希望究竟意味這什么。

幾個月以來，我們因為談論希望而遭到挖苦，甚至嘲弄。

但我們一直認為，希望不是盲目的樂觀主義。希望不是忽視未來的艱巨任務或橫亙在我們前行道路上的障礙。希望不是置身事外或從拼斗中退縮。希望是我們心中堅守一種東西：它告訴我們，不管遭遇多少艱難險阻，只要有勇氣去爭取，只要愿意付出努力和艱辛，更好的東西就會等待我們。

我在一個來自樟泉(Cedar Rapids)的年輕女士的眼中看到了希望：她白天全天在大學上課，晚上加夜班，但卻仍然不能負擔生病的妹妹的醫療費;但她仍相信這個國家會提供她實現夢想的機會。

我從一個來自新罕布什爾州的婦女的聲音中聽到了希望：她告訴我自從她的侄兒奔赴伊拉克戰場她就一直感到氣短;但是她每晚睡覺前都要為侄子的安全回歸祈禱。

希望引領一群殖民者揭竿而起反對一個帝國;希望引領我們偉大的祖先解放了一個大陸，復活了一個民族;希望引領青年男女為了自由圍坐在(不向黑人提供服務)的餐桌旁，引領他們勇敢地面對高壓水龍，穿越(阿拉巴馬州的)塞爾瑪和蒙哥馬利。

希望，希望引領我今天來到這里，——我的父親來自肯尼亞，母親來自堪薩斯，這樣的故事只可能發生在美利堅合眾國。希望是美利堅民族的基石，希望是我們執著的信仰：我們的命運不是被人寫就，而是要由我們自己寫就，由那些不愿意勉強接受這個世界并信心百倍地按照它應該變成的藍圖去改造它的男男女女們寫就。

這就是我們從艾奧瓦開始的開拓，這也是我們要向新罕布什爾州和其他州傳達的信息。我們順利的時候沒有忘記它，失利的時候也沒有忘記它。這個信息可以幫助我們一塊磚一塊磚地、一條街道一條街道地、一只接一只布滿老繭的手地去改變這個國家。團結起來，普通人也能鑄就宏圖偉業，因為我們不是紅色的州或藍色的州的組合，我們是美利堅合眾州。

在此刻，在這次選舉中，我們樂于再次相信。謝謝，艾奧瓦。