Obama's Final State Of The Union Address[Part 2]
当地时间12号晚，美国总统奥巴马在华盛顿发表了任上最后一次国情咨文。
英文原文摘自：白宫官网
由于文章字数限制，故将全文分为三部分。
第一部分：State Of The Union Address[Part 1]
以下为第二部分内容：
I also know Speaker Ryan has talked about his interest in tackling poverty. America is about giving everybody willing to work a hand up, and I’d welcome a serious discussion about strategies we can all support, like expanding tax cuts for low-income workers[低收入人群] without kids.
But there are other areas where it’s been more difficult to find agreement over the last seven years – namely what role the government should play in making sure the system’s not rigged[rɪgd][作弊的，非法操纵的] in favor of the wealthiest and biggest corporations. And here, the American people have a choice to make.
I believe a thriving['θraɪvɪŋ][繁荣的；蒸蒸日上的] private sector is the lifeblood[活力源泉;最重要的因素;生命线,命脉] of our economy[蓬勃发展的私营经济是我们国家经济的命脉]. I think there are outdated regulations that need to be changed, and there’s red tape[繁文缛节；官样文章] that needs to be cut. But after years of record corporate profits, working families won’t get more opportunity or bigger paychecks[薪水] by letting big banks or big oil or hedge funds[对冲基金；避险基金] make their own rules at the expense of everyone else; or by allowing attacks on collective bargaining to go unanswered. Food Stamp[发给失业者或贫民的粮票]recipients[rɪ'sɪpɪənt][接受者;受助] didn’t cause the financial crisis; recklessness['reklisnis][鲁莽；轻率；不顾一切，不顾后果] on Wall Street did. Immigrants aren’t the reason wages haven’t gone up enough; those decisions are made in the boardrooms[(董事会等的)会议室] that too often put quarterly earnings over long-term returns. It’s sure not the average family watching tonight that avoids paying taxes through offshore accounts[离岸帐户;海外账户]. In this new economy, workers and start-ups and small businesses need more of a voice, not less. The rules should work for them. And this year I plan to lift up the many businesses who’ve figured out that doing right by their workers ends up being good for their shareholders, their customers, and their communities, so that we can spread those best practices across America.
In fact, many of our best corporate citizens[企业公民；法人] are also our most creative. This brings me to the second big question we have to answer as a country: how do we reignite[riːɪg'naɪt][再次点燃；重新激起] that spirit of innovation to meet our biggest challenges[如何重燃创新精神，迎接重大挑战？]?
That spirit of discovery is in our DNA. We’re Thomas Edison and the Wright Brothers and George Washington Carver. We’re Grace Hopper and Katherine Johnson and Sally Ride. We’re every immigrant and entrepreneur from Boston to Austin to Silicon Valley racing to shape a better world. And over the past seven years, we’ve nurtured[养育，培养，教养] that spirit.
But we can do so much more. Last year, Vice President Biden said that with a new moonshot[月球探测器；对月球发射], America can cure cancer[要把治愈癌症作为一项新的登月计划去实现]. Last month, he worked with this Congress to give scientists at the National Institutes of Health[国立卫生研究院] the strongest resources they’ve had in over a decade. Tonight, I’m announcing a new national effort to get it done. And because he’s gone to the mat[不遗余力，设法解决难题] for all of us, on so many issues over the past forty years, I’m putting Joe in charge of Mission Control. For the loved ones we’ve all lost, for the family we can still save, let’s make America the country that cures cancer once and for all.
Medical research[医学研究] is critical. We need the same level of commitment when it comes to developing clean energy sources[清洁能源].
Look, if anybody still wants to dispute['dɪs'pjʊt][辩论；怀疑；阻止；抗拒] the science around climate change, have at it. You’ll be pretty lonely, because you’ll be debating our military, most of America’s business leaders, the majority of the American people, almost the entire scientific community, and 200 nations around the world who agree it’s a problem and intend to solve it.
But even if the planet wasn’t at stake[危如累卵;处于危险中;在紧要关头]; even if 2014 wasn’t the warmest year on record – until 2015 turned out even hotter – why would we want to pass up the chance[错过机会;放弃机会] for American businesses to produce and sell the energy of the future?
Seven years ago, we made the single biggest investment in clean energy in our history. Here are the results. In fields from Iowa[爱荷华州] to Texas[德克萨斯州], wind power[风力，风能] is now cheaper than dirtier, conventional power. On rooftops['rʊf'tɑp][屋顶] from Arizona[亚利桑那州] to New York, solar is saving Americans tens of millions of dollars a year on their energy bills, and employs more Americans than coal – in jobs that pay better than average. We’re taking steps to give homeowners the freedom to generate and store their own energy – something environmentalists and Tea Partiers[茶党;茶(话)会] have teamed up to support. Meanwhile, we’ve cut our imports of foreign oil by nearly sixty percent, and cut carbon pollution more than any other country on Earth.
Gas under two bucks a gallon ain’t bad, either.
[2美元1加仑的油价也不算贵。]
Now we’ve got to accelerate the transition away from dirty energy[加速实现从污染能源向清洁能源的过渡]. Rather than subsidize['sʌbsə'daɪz][资助;给与奖助金;行贿] the past, we should invest in the future – especially in communities that rely on fossil fuels[化石燃料]. That’s why I’m going to push to change the way we manage our oil and coal resources, so that they better reflect the costs they impose on taxpayers and our planet. That way, we put money back into those communities and put tens of thousands of Americans to work building a 21st century transportation system.
None of this will happen overnight, and yes, there are plenty of entrenched[ɪn'tren(t)ʃt; en-][根深蒂固的;确立的,不容易改的] interests who want to protect the status quo[现状]. But the jobs we’ll create, the money we’ll save, and the planet we’ll preserve – that’s the kind of future our kids and grandkids deserve.
Climate change is just one of many issues where our security is linked to the rest of the world. And that’s why the third big question we have to answer is how to keep America safe and strong without either isolating ourselves or trying to nation-build everywhere there’s a problem[怎样在不被孤立、不充当世界警察的情况下，保持美国的安全和强大？].
I told you earlier all the talk of America’s economic decline[经济衰退] is political hot air[吹牛;大话]. Well, so is all the rhetoric['rɛtərɪk][花言巧语；(措辞、文体的)浮夸矫饰；豪言壮语] you hear about our enemies getting stronger and America getting weaker. The United States of America is the most powerful nation on Earth[美国是世界上最强大的国家]. Period[没有了(强调话已讲完)；一句话；就是这话；就是这么回事]. It’s not even close. We spend more on our military than the next eight nations combined. Our troops are the finest fighting force[最出色的战斗力量] in the history of the world. No nation dares to attack us or our allies because they know that’s the path to ruin.
As someone who begins every day with an intelligence briefing[情报简报], I know this is a dangerous time. But that’s not because of diminished[dɪ'mɪnɪʃt][减少；削弱] American strength or some looming superpower
未完，待续。