WASHINGTON (NYTimes) - President Barack Obama gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honour, to 21 artists, sports figures, scientists and philanthropists on Tuesday (Nov 22) in a bravura performance that had the East Wing, stuffed to capacity, laughing.
華盛頓(紐約時報電)——星期二(11月22日)，在白宮東翼舉辦的一場座無虛席、充滿歡聲笑語的精彩宴會中，美國總統(tǒng)奧巴馬向21名藝術(shù)家、體壇明星、科學(xué)家和慈善家頒發(fā)了總統(tǒng)自由勛章——這是美國公民獎。
"Everyone on this stage has touched me in a powerful personal way," Mr Obama said at the ceremony’s end. "These are folks who have helped make me who I am and think about my presidency."
在典禮結(jié)束致辭時，奧巴馬說，“每個人都以獨特的方式感動了我。正是這些人成就了我，讓我認真的對待總統(tǒng)職位?！?BR> Mr Obama has given more Presidential Medals of Freedom than any previous president.
奧巴馬總統(tǒng)所授出的總統(tǒng)自由勛章超出了以往任何一屆總統(tǒng)。
Among the honourees were Robert Redford, Bill and Melinda Gates, Tom Hanks and Diana Ross. When he put the medal around the neck of Michael Jordan, Mr Obama, an avid basketball fan, beamed like a 10-year-old.
獲獎?wù)甙_伯特.雷德福,比爾.蓋茨夫婦，湯姆.漢克斯和黛安娜.羅斯等人。當(dāng)奧巴馬總統(tǒng)將勛章掛到邁克爾.喬丹脖子上時，這位超級籃球粉絲，開心的像個10歲小孩。
"Not because of our differences, but because in our differences we find something in common to share. And what a glorious gift that is."
他說，“并非是我們的不同，而是正因我們的不同，我們才有共同點來分享。這是一件熠熠生輝的禮物?！?BR> The president’s opening speech was poignant, revealing and at times hilarious. In a tribute to Ellen DeGeneres, for instance, he spoke with emotion about the courage DeGeneres had needed to tell a national audience that she was gay.
奧巴馬總統(tǒng)的開幕詞深刻、真情流露，有時還非常詼諧。比如在對艾倫.德杰尼勒斯的致詞中，他深情的提到艾倫的巨大勇氣——她曾告訴全國觀眾，自己是一名同性戀者。
"But it’s like Ellen says, ’We all want a tortilla chip to support the weight of guacamole’," Mr Obama said, seemingly out of nowhere, as DeGeneres nodded behind him and the audience laughed. "Which really makes no sense to me. But I wanted to break the mood, because I was getting choked up."
“但正如艾倫所說，‘我們都想要墨西哥玉米餅來配鱷梨沙拉醬’”，奧巴馬總統(tǒng)說——聽起來像是沒頭沒腦的，艾倫則直點頭贊同，觀眾都大笑起來。“這其實對我沒有任何意義。不過我還是想破壞一下氣氛——因為我喉頭哽咽?！?BR> He took a dig at Jordan, the basketball star, by calling him "the guy from Space Jam", a 1996 film with Bugs Bunny.
他還調(diào)侃籃球明星喬丹，說他是《太空大灌籃》里的家伙，這是一部1996年和卡通人物兔八哥合演的電影。
A tall man, Mr Obama had such trouble reaching up to put the award around the towering Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s neck that the basketball great leaned back to help.
另一位高個籃球巨星阿卜杜勒.賈巴爾也獲獎了，然而奧巴馬卻難以夠到他的脖子為其戴上勛章，于是這個大個子彎下身子來。
And Mr Obama began his awardees with the world’s richest couple, Mr and Mrs Gates.
奧巴馬還將勛章頒給了世界最富有的夫婦：比爾蓋茨夫婦。
"First, we came close to missing out on Bill and Melinda Gates’ incredible partnership," he said, deadpan. "Because apparently Bill’s opening line was, ’Do you want to go out two weeks from this coming Saturday?’
“首先，我們差一點錯過了比爾夫婦難以置信的伙伴關(guān)系”，奧巴馬面無表情的說，“因為很顯然比爾的開場白是，‘你是否愿意從本周六開始出去兩周?’”
"I mean, he’s good with computers, you know?" he said to laughter. "Fortunately, Melinda believes in second chances, and the world is better for it."
“我的意思是說，他太喜歡鉆研電腦了!明白嗎?”他向大笑的觀眾說，“幸運的是，比爾太太相信了他。這個世界因而變得更美好?！?BR> Mr Gates has donated nearly US$40 billion to charity . The couple have also invested in and shared some of the Obama administration’s most important priorities, including its education and climate initiatives.
蓋茨先生向慈善機構(gòu)捐贈了約400億美元，這對夫婦還投資和共享了奧巴馬政府的一些最重要緊急的事項，包括教育和環(huán)境項目。
華盛頓(紐約時報電)——星期二(11月22日)，在白宮東翼舉辦的一場座無虛席、充滿歡聲笑語的精彩宴會中，美國總統(tǒng)奧巴馬向21名藝術(shù)家、體壇明星、科學(xué)家和慈善家頒發(fā)了總統(tǒng)自由勛章——這是美國公民獎。
"Everyone on this stage has touched me in a powerful personal way," Mr Obama said at the ceremony’s end. "These are folks who have helped make me who I am and think about my presidency."
在典禮結(jié)束致辭時，奧巴馬說，“每個人都以獨特的方式感動了我。正是這些人成就了我，讓我認真的對待總統(tǒng)職位?！?BR> Mr Obama has given more Presidential Medals of Freedom than any previous president.
奧巴馬總統(tǒng)所授出的總統(tǒng)自由勛章超出了以往任何一屆總統(tǒng)。
Among the honourees were Robert Redford, Bill and Melinda Gates, Tom Hanks and Diana Ross. When he put the medal around the neck of Michael Jordan, Mr Obama, an avid basketball fan, beamed like a 10-year-old.
獲獎?wù)甙_伯特.雷德福,比爾.蓋茨夫婦，湯姆.漢克斯和黛安娜.羅斯等人。當(dāng)奧巴馬總統(tǒng)將勛章掛到邁克爾.喬丹脖子上時，這位超級籃球粉絲，開心的像個10歲小孩。
"Not because of our differences, but because in our differences we find something in common to share. And what a glorious gift that is."
他說，“并非是我們的不同，而是正因我們的不同，我們才有共同點來分享。這是一件熠熠生輝的禮物?！?BR> The president’s opening speech was poignant, revealing and at times hilarious. In a tribute to Ellen DeGeneres, for instance, he spoke with emotion about the courage DeGeneres had needed to tell a national audience that she was gay.
奧巴馬總統(tǒng)的開幕詞深刻、真情流露，有時還非常詼諧。比如在對艾倫.德杰尼勒斯的致詞中，他深情的提到艾倫的巨大勇氣——她曾告訴全國觀眾，自己是一名同性戀者。
"But it’s like Ellen says, ’We all want a tortilla chip to support the weight of guacamole’," Mr Obama said, seemingly out of nowhere, as DeGeneres nodded behind him and the audience laughed. "Which really makes no sense to me. But I wanted to break the mood, because I was getting choked up."
“但正如艾倫所說，‘我們都想要墨西哥玉米餅來配鱷梨沙拉醬’”，奧巴馬總統(tǒng)說——聽起來像是沒頭沒腦的，艾倫則直點頭贊同，觀眾都大笑起來。“這其實對我沒有任何意義。不過我還是想破壞一下氣氛——因為我喉頭哽咽?！?BR> He took a dig at Jordan, the basketball star, by calling him "the guy from Space Jam", a 1996 film with Bugs Bunny.
他還調(diào)侃籃球明星喬丹，說他是《太空大灌籃》里的家伙，這是一部1996年和卡通人物兔八哥合演的電影。
A tall man, Mr Obama had such trouble reaching up to put the award around the towering Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s neck that the basketball great leaned back to help.
另一位高個籃球巨星阿卜杜勒.賈巴爾也獲獎了，然而奧巴馬卻難以夠到他的脖子為其戴上勛章，于是這個大個子彎下身子來。
And Mr Obama began his awardees with the world’s richest couple, Mr and Mrs Gates.
奧巴馬還將勛章頒給了世界最富有的夫婦：比爾蓋茨夫婦。
"First, we came close to missing out on Bill and Melinda Gates’ incredible partnership," he said, deadpan. "Because apparently Bill’s opening line was, ’Do you want to go out two weeks from this coming Saturday?’
“首先，我們差一點錯過了比爾夫婦難以置信的伙伴關(guān)系”，奧巴馬面無表情的說，“因為很顯然比爾的開場白是，‘你是否愿意從本周六開始出去兩周?’”
"I mean, he’s good with computers, you know?" he said to laughter. "Fortunately, Melinda believes in second chances, and the world is better for it."
“我的意思是說，他太喜歡鉆研電腦了!明白嗎?”他向大笑的觀眾說，“幸運的是，比爾太太相信了他。這個世界因而變得更美好?！?BR> Mr Gates has donated nearly US$40 billion to charity . The couple have also invested in and shared some of the Obama administration’s most important priorities, including its education and climate initiatives.
蓋茨先生向慈善機構(gòu)捐贈了約400億美元，這對夫婦還投資和共享了奧巴馬政府的一些最重要緊急的事項，包括教育和環(huán)境項目。