在网上看到一则消息说，在合肥某中学，老师要求3000多名初中学生早读课上要统一朗诵美国总统奥巴马的一篇开学演讲稿《我们为什么要上学》，这引起了一些家长的议论，“早读课不读课本，不背诗文，怎么读起了美国总统的演讲稿呢？
80后励志网从资料库里找到了奥巴马的这篇激励中学生励志勤学的英文演讲稿，我觉得这篇演讲稿还是不错的，作为中学生英语学习的读物，不失为一篇好课文，家长们不用很诧异，我们学的是别人好文章里的好内容，不必纠结其中的某某主义或者思想就行了，家长和老师们正确引导即可。
以下分享奥巴马的这篇开学演讲稿中英文对照版：
奥巴马开学演讲稿中英文，一篇激励中学生励志勤学的演讲稿
我们为什么要上学
——美国总统奥巴马在一次中学生开学典礼上激励学生励志勤学的演讲稿
奥巴马开学演讲稿，在开学第一天给所有同学们的肺腑之言，15分钟包括睡懒觉、勤洗手、责任、坚持、还有对国家、未来和历史的担当。 演讲稿，排比，逻辑等精彩连连，值得英语学习者学习。
奥巴马开学中英文演讲稿：
Hello, everybody! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, everybody. All right, everybody go ahead and have a seat. How is everybody doing today? (Applause.) How about Tim Spicer? (Applause.) I am here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we’ve got students tuning in from all across America, from kindergarten through 12th grade. And I am just so glad that all could join us today. And I want to thank Wakefield for being such an outstanding host. Give yourselves a big round of applause. (Applause.)
大家好!谢谢你们。谢谢你们。谢谢你们大家。好，大家请就坐。你们今天都好吗?(掌声)蒂姆·斯派塞(Tim Spicer)好吗?(掌声)我现在与弗吉尼亚州阿灵顿郡韦克菲尔德高中的学生们在一起。美国各地从小学预备班到中学12年级的学生正在收听收看。我很高兴大家今天都能参与。我还要感谢韦克菲尔德高中出色的组织安排。请为你们自己热烈鼓掌。(掌声)
I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it’s your first day in a new school, so it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now -- (applause) -- with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you’re in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer and you could’ve stayed in bed just a little bit longer this morning.
我知道，今天是你们很多人开学的日子。对于进入小学预备班、初中或高中的学生，今天是你们来到新学校的第一天，心里可能有点紧张，这是可以理解的。我能想象有些毕业班学生现在感觉很不错——(掌声)——还有一年就毕业了。不论在哪个年级，你们有些人可能希望暑假更长一点，今天早上还能多睡一小会儿。
I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived overseas. I lived in Indonesia for a few years. And my mother, she didn’t have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school, but she thought it was important for me to keep up with an American education. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday. But because she had to go to work, the only time she could do it was at 4:30 in the morning.
我了解这种感觉。我小时候，我们家生活在海外。我在印度尼西亚住了几年。我妈妈没有钱送我上其他美国孩子上的学校，但她认为必须让我接受美式教育。因此，她决定从周一到周五自己给我补课。不过她还要上班，所以只能在清晨四点半给我上课。
Now, as you might imagine, I wasn’t too happy about getting up that early. And a lot of times, I’d fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I’d complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and she’d say, “This is no picnic for me either, buster.” (Laughter.)
你们可以想见，我不太情愿那么早起床。有很多次，我趴在餐桌上就睡着了。但每当我抱怨的时候，我妈妈都会那样地看我一眼，然后说：“小子，这对我也并不轻松。”(笑声)
So I know that some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I’m here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I’m here because I want to talk with you about your education and what’s expected of all of you in this new school year.