Restoring trust

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
现在，有人质疑我们的企图心规模，暗示说我们的体系无法承受太多的大计画。这些人的记性不好。因为他们忘记了这个国家已经完成的成就，当创造力朝同一个目标发展，不受约束的男男女女可以完成何等成就，必要的是勇气。

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply.
怀疑者无法理解的是他们的主张已经站不住脚，长期以来折磨我们的陈腐政治争议已经行不通。

The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
我们今天的问题不是政府太大或太小，而是有无功效，是否能帮助家庭找到薪水不错的工作，支付得起照顾费用，有尊严的退休。哪个方向能够提供肯定的答案，我们就往那里走。答案是否定的地方，计画就会停止。所有我们这些管理大众金钱的人都将负起责任，花钱要精明，改掉恶习，正大光明作事情，只有这样我们才能重建政府与人民间最重要的信任。

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - that a nation cannot prosper long when it favours 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 the ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
我们眼前的问题也不是说市场的力量是善或恶。市场创造财富和增加自由的力量无与伦比，但是这场危机提醒我们没有监督时，市场发展将失控，当市场只偏爱有钱人时，国家无法永续繁荣。我们经济成功的依据，不只是国内生产毛额的规模，还有繁荣可及的范围，以及我们将机会拓展给每个愿意打拼的人，不是因为施舍，而是因为这就是达到我们共同利益最稳健的途径。

Barack Obama has been sworn in as the 44th US president. Here is his inauguration speech in full.

Barack Obama Inaugural Address (Speech) (1/2)
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 co-operation he has shown throughout this transition.
各位同胞：
今天我站在这里，为眼前的重责大任感到谦卑，对各位的信任心怀感激，对先贤的牺牲铭记在心。我要谢谢布什总统为这个国家的服务，也感谢他在政权转移期间的宽厚和配合。

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.
四十四位美国人发表过总统就职誓言，这些誓词或是在繁荣富强及和平宁静之际发表，或是在乌云密布，时局动荡之时。

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.
在艰困的时候，美国能箕裘相继，不仅因为居高位者有能力或愿景，也因为人民持续对先人的抱负有信心，也忠于创建我国的法统。

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
因此，美国才能承继下来。因此，这一代美国人必须承继下去。

Serious challenges

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.
现在大家都知道我们正置身危机核心，我国正处于对抗深远暴力和憎恨的战争。我们的经济元气大伤，是某些人贪婪且不负责任的后果，也是大众未能做出艰难的选择，为国家进入新时代做淮备所致。许多人失去房子，丢了工作，生意垮了。我们的医疗照护太昂贵，学校教育辜负了许多人。每天都有更多证据显示，我们利用能源的方式壮大我们的对敌，威胁我们的星球。

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
这些都是得自资料和统计数据的危机指标。比较无法测量但同样深沉的，是举国信心尽失─持续担心美国将无可避免地衰退，也害怕下一代一定会眼界变低。

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met.
今天我要告诉各位，我们面临的挑战是真的，挑战非常严重，且不在少数。它们不是可以轻易，或在短时间内解决。但是，美国要了解，这些挑战会被解决。

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
在这一天，我们聚在一起，因为我们选择希望而非恐惧，有意义的团结而非纷争和不合。

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.
在这一天，我们来此宣示，那些无用的抱怨和虚伪的承诺已终结，那些扭曲我们政治已久的相互指控和陈旧教条已终结。

Nation of 'risk-takers'

We remain a young nation, but in the words of ure, 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.
我们仍是个年轻的国家，但借用圣经的话，摆脱幼稚事物的时刻到来了，重申我们坚忍精神的时刻到来了，选择我们更好的历史，实践那种代代传承的珍贵权利，那种高贵的理念：就是上帝的应许，我们每个人都是平等的，每个人都是自由的，每个人都应该有机会追求全然的幸福。

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-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labour, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.
再次肯定我们国家的伟大，我们了解伟大绝非赐予而来，必须努力达成。我们的旅程从来就不是抄捷径或很容易就满足。这条路一直都不是给不勇敢的人走的，那些偏好逸乐胜过工作，或者只想追求名利就满足的人。恰恰相反，走这条路的始终是勇于冒险的人，做事的人，成事的人，其中有些人很出名，但更常见的是在各自岗位上的男男女女无名英雄，在这条漫长崎区的道路上支撑我们，迈向繁荣与自由。

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and travelled 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 ploughed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.
为了我们，他们携带很少的家当，远渡重洋，追寻新生活。
为了我们，他们胼手胝足，在西部安顿下来；忍受风吹雨打，筚路蓝缕。
为了我们，他们奋斗不懈，在康科特和盖茨堡，诺曼地和溪山等地葬身。