中國美女市長在美國傳統日的演講

 

“Good morning, boys and girls.  Good morning Parents!  Thank you Mr. Richards, staff and faculty for including me in celebrating Heritage Day with you!

早晨好，同學們！早晨好，爸爸媽媽們！非常感謝Richards先生、同事們以及全體教員們讓我來跟大家共同慶祝這個遺產日！

Talking about Heritage Day, today is extra special because it is the birthday for a Living Heritage in our town – the oldest resident in Montgomery Township Mr. Walter Baker turns 101 years old today.  And I will bring 1,000 good wishes from this Assembly.

說起遺產日，今天這個遺產日由於我們蒙哥馬利鎮的最老居民華爾德·貝克先生101歲生日而尤顯特殊，我願為此帶來1000個美好的祝福。

I remember when I was at your age, I asked myself ‘what exactly is heritage?’  After months of preparation for this wonderful event, I’m sure you all know by now that to a large extent, heritage is what we have in common.

我還記得我像你們這麽小的時候，我曾經問自己 “到底什麽是遺產”？經曆了為這個遺產日而進行的幾個月的準備後，我相信你們都十分清楚，遺產就是我們所共有的東西。

But we each have things that make us different from everyone else in the world.  Or even just everyone else here in your school.   In fact, there are probably an infinite number of ways that each of us differs from one another.  But our heritage is the history and traditions and customs and experiences that we share with each other and with our community.

但是，我們每個人--包括每一個正在學校裏的你們，又都擁有獨特的東西，這些使我們與眾不同！事實上，我們有數不清的方法來表示我們的不同，然而，我們的遺產，卻是我們社區共有的、我們每個人都在分享的曆史、傳統、習俗和經曆。

For people like me who were born in a different country or whose family recently came from a different county, we have a heritage that we bring with us to America....  In my case, as someone born and raised in China, I celebrate Chinese New Year and I love to eat the special desert called mooncakes for the Moon Festival every August, and I entertain my guests with spicy Chinese hotpots – I call it the Chinese fondue, when I pretend to be Martha Stewart.

有很多象我這樣出生於不同的國度的人或者家庭，帶著我們自己的遺產來到美國。比如我，因為在中國出生和長大，我慶祝中國的春節，我喜歡在中秋節品味中國的特殊甜點-月餅，我有時候把自己當做中國的瑪莎·斯圖爾特，用中國的燴菜來招待我的客人—涮鍋。

While I am proud of the Chinese traditions, I am an American – no more or no less American than you... and we all are.  And when I became an American a few years ago, I inherited lots of American traditions as well --- and they are all part of my heritage now too.   My family and I celebrate the Fourth of July – my hu*****and makes the best grilled burger in town – at least he thinks so.  And our kids and I can’t have enough of the fireworks.  And I vote in elections just like your parents and all other Americans have for generations.

當我為中國傳統自豪的時候，同時，我也是一個像你們一樣的不折不扣的美國人。當我許多年前成為一個美國人的時候，我也集繼承了很多美國的傳統，並且讓它成為我身上遺產的一部分。我的家人一起慶祝七月四日的國慶日，我丈夫在這天烤製出鎮上最好的漢堡—至少他是自己這麽想，而我和我的孩子們在這一天總有放不夠的煙火。我也象你們的父母以及一代代的美國人一樣選舉自己的總統。

I still remember the very first vote I cast – in fact, it was here in Montgomery.  What a privilege that was!  Our democracy is one of the things that we value the most in our American heritage, and it is something we share, hopefully, with the entire world one day.

我依然記得我第一次選舉就是在蒙哥馬利市，這是怎樣的一個遺產啊！我們的民主就是我們最為珍愛的遺產，希望有一天我們能與全世界的人共同分享這份遺產！

Because each of our family histories is unique, we each have a slightly different heritage than the person next to us.   It is those differences that it is fun to celebrate on a day like Heritage Day --- where we can remind ourselves and our neighbors of the special traditions that come out of our unique past histories.  For each of you, growing up in Montgomery and going to Montgomery schools will be a part of your own heritage that, perhaps, people in the future --- your children and grandchildren -- will celebrate.  

因為我們每個家庭都有自己的曆史，因此我們之間有著略為不同的遺產。正是這些不同，使我們在慶祝遺產日的時候充滿了樂趣；正是這遺產日，我們明白每個人的不同遺產和習俗以及他們的曆史。對於你們每個在蒙哥馬利長大並且來這裏上學的人來說，蒙哥馬利將會成為你們遺產的一部分，並且一代一代繼承下去……

Now, as closing, parents – I’d like to ask you to take a look at these faces.  Look how different and how beautiful these wonderful faces are!  As one of the parents said to me earlier when we walked in together -- THIS is what makes US the greatest country in the world!

作為結束語，父母們，我想請你們看一下這一張張漂亮的臉龐，這些一張張不同而美麗的臉龐！就像一對父母曾經跟我說過的，就是這不同，構建了我們偉大的美國！

With that, I thank you all for having me and I wish you a wonderful summer filled with lots and lots fun!”

懷著這樣的心情，我感謝這裏的各位跟我共同度過這個節日，祝福你們過一個快樂的夏季！