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(xué)的美國(guó)和中國(guó)學(xué)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(xué)并與中國(guó)學(xué)生以及留學(xué)中國(guó)的美國(guó)學(xué)生交談。北京大學(xué)成立于一百多年以前(1898年)，是中國(guó)最知名的大學(xué)之一。今天聽眾中的美國(guó)學(xué)生來自許多不同的大學(xué)，通過在中國(guó)學(xué)習(xí)，他們得以親身體驗(yàn)在這個(gè)國(guó)家的日常生活，練習(xí)他們的漢語，并與中國(guó)學(xué)生結(jié)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(jīng)歷代表的遠(yuǎn)比以開心的方式度過一個(gè)學(xué)期要多。當(dāng)今日益全球化、日益相互聯(lián)系的經(jīng)濟(jì)中，美國(guó)的企業(yè)要與全世界的企業(yè)做生意并相互競(jìng)爭(zhēng)。目前，懂得一門外語并且了解一種外國(guó)文化其實(shí)是工作中應(yīng)有的一種重要素質(zhì)。

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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(zhàn)——如氣候變化、經(jīng)濟(jì)機(jī)會(huì)和疾病——都是共同的挑戰(zhàn)，這意味著任何一個(gè)國(guó)家都沒有任何一個(gè)人可以單獨(dú)應(yīng)對(duì)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(lǐng)袖一起合作來解決這些問題。而通過出國(guó)留學(xué)，理解與你們自己不同的文化和社會(huì)，你們能夠開始為那種合作奠定基礎(chǔ)。

　　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(qǐng)不要誤會(huì)，你們不一定非要坐上飛機(jī)去看世界并接觸來自其他國(guó)家的人。我今天告訴學(xué)生們，如果你們?cè)诩依铩W(xué)校或圖書館能用電腦上網(wǎng)，那么只要點(diǎn)擊一個(gè)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(lián)系。當(dāng)然，你可以這樣做是因?yàn)樵诿绹?guó)，思想和信息可以在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)上自由流動(dòng)。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(quán)，而且我國(guó)政府對(duì)于我們可以在網(wǎng)絡(luò)上、電視上和報(bào)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(guó)政府對(duì)互聯(lián)網(wǎng)和新聞媒體都有限制，但是當(dāng)我丈夫和我旅行時(shí)，我們覺得談?wù)撐覀兠绹?guó)所信仰的東西是很重要的. 這就是我們?nèi)绾伍_始對(duì)話，通過它讓國(guó)家之間更好地了解彼此的價(jià)值觀和信仰。這就是為什么今天我在演講里講到，在美國(guó)，我們?nèi)绾蔚靡韵嘈牛?dāng)每個(gè)人的聲音都能得到傾聽，并且人們可以自由、公開地質(zhì)疑和批評(píng)他們的政府的時(shí)候，我們是最強(qiáng)大的。那就是我們?nèi)绾蔚靡园l(fā)現(xiàn)真相，了解我們的社區(qū)、我們的國(guó)家和我們的世界正在發(fā)生什么。那也是我們?nèi)绾螞Q定哪些思想是最好的——通過傾聽每個(gè)人的觀點(diǎn)，然后自己進(jìn)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(gè)過程有時(shí)會(huì)讓人又困惑又沮喪。但就像我今天說的，我不會(huì)用它去和世界上的任何東西交換，因?yàn)檫@些活躍的思想交流造就了我們。這就是我們?nèi)绾位ハ嗵魬?zhàn)、互相學(xué)習(xí)，這也確保我們的政府真正在傾聽它所服務(wù)的人民的聲音。我丈夫和我為每一天都能參與這個(gè)過程而感到格外幸運(yùn)。

　　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(jié)束后，我與在北京大學(xué)學(xué)習(xí)的一些中國(guó)和美國(guó)學(xué)生見了面——我們同時(shí)通過視頻和一些身在美國(guó)、聚在加州斯坦福大學(xué)的高中生和大學(xué)生連線。我們進(jìn)行了熱烈的討論，其間同學(xué)們分享了他們?cè)谥袊?guó)留學(xué)的經(jīng)歷。好幾位同學(xué)承認(rèn)在來中國(guó)之前，他們有過各種擔(dān)憂——他們擔(dān)心他們的中文不夠好，他們將很難適宜新的環(huán)境，他們將比以前離家更加遙遠(yuǎn)。但是他們都同意，通過克服這些憂慮，他們學(xué)到了更多，也成長(zhǎng)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(xué)也說到他對(duì)出國(guó)留學(xué)費(fèi)用的擔(dān)心，其他很多同學(xué)可能都會(huì)有這樣的擔(dān)心。我強(qiáng)調(diào)，海外留學(xué)應(yīng)該適合來自各種背景的學(xué)生——任何種族、任何社會(huì)經(jīng)濟(jì)水平的學(xué)生。因?yàn)槲蚁嘈牛@種多樣性造就了我們——是它使我們的國(guó)家如此強(qiáng)大并充滿活力——并且我們的海外留學(xué)項(xiàng)目應(yīng)該幫助我們向世界展示美國(guó)的真實(shí)面孔。這就是為什么我的丈夫支持十萬強(qiáng)這樣的項(xiàng)目，它們使來自不同背景的學(xué)生都有機(jī)會(huì)留學(xué)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(huì)考慮有一天留學(xué)海外。

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