米歇尔在2014迪拉德大学毕业典礼上的演讲

　　为了方便同学们的学习，新东方在线口译网为大家准备了米歇尔在2014迪拉德大学毕业典礼上的演讲，快来跟着世界名人来学学英语演讲吧!更多相关资讯，尽在新东方口译网。

　　MRS. OBAMA: Oh, my goodness! Good morning!

　　AUDIENCE: Good morning.

　　MRS. OBAMA: I am so happy to be here with youall. I’m proud to be here in the Big Easy. Look at youall! (Applause.) You look good.

　　STUDENT: You do too!

　　MRS. OBAMA: Thank you. (Laughter.) I want tostart by thanking Nicole for that very kind introduction and for sharing her story, which is nottoo unfamiliar to me -- because they told me I couldn’t be where I am, too. So I want to thankNicole. I’m proud of her. Thank you for the selfie; I think that’s the first selfie I’ve done at acommencement. So, Nicole, you’re my first. (Laughter.)

　　And of course, I want to thank the Dillard University Choir. Oh, oh, oh! (Applause.) Oh! That’sall I can say. It’s like you want to start something up in here, right? (Laughter.) It’s like, now wegot a commencement going on up in here. (Laughter.) That was beautiful, beautiful. Thankyou so much.

　　I also want to recognize Senator Mary Landrieu, who is here. Let’s give her a hand. (Applause.)She has been a strong supporter of this university.

　　I want to thank the Dillard University Board of Trustees. I want to thank the faculty, the staff,and, of course, your tremendous president, Dr. Walter Kimbrough. (Applause.) Now, myhusband has been called a few things over the years, but he has never had the honor of beingreferred to as the “Hip Hop President.” (Applause.)

　　I also want to thank all the folks from the University of New Orleans for hosting us here today.And I know they’re hosting the folks at Southern University at New Orleans for theircommencement later on today as well, so we wish them a wonderful day. And thank you forhaving us. (Applause.)

　　And of course, I’ve got to give a big shout-out to all the family members in the crowd, all of thefamily members -- (applause) -- especially to the mothers, because it is the day beforeMother’s Day. To all the mothers, Happy Mother’s Day. (Applause.)

　　Now, graduates, you all handled your business, right? Just because you were graduating didn’tmean you -- come on, now. (Laughter.) Okay, well, if you didn’t, you have my permission toget up and go right now, because there is nothing more important -- no, no, don’t get up. (Laughter.) Your mothers would kill you if you got up at this moment. (Laughter.) So just stayin your seats, and when this is all over make sure you take care of mom.

　　But in all seriousness, to all the moms out there -- as well as the dads and the grandparents,the uncles, the aunts, the brothers, the sisters, all of you who have helped raise thesegraduates -- you have seen them through their ups and downs, and you have poured yourhearts and souls into these men and women. So today is your day, too, and you should bevery proud. You really should. (Applause.)

　　And finally, most of all, I want to congratulate the beautiful and handsome men and women ofthe Dillard University Class of 2014. Yay! (Applause.) You all have come so far, I know, to makeit to this day -- from all those early days when the girls were sneaking out of Williams Hall to gosee the boys over at the Duals -- oh yeah, I did my research -- (laughter) -- to all those testsyou crammed for, to the plans you’re making now for your careers, to go on to graduateschool.

　　You all have seen so much. You’ve witnessed this school’s rebirth after the devastation ofHurricane Katrina -- the new buildings that replaced the ones you lost, the classrooms thatstarted filling back up again, the service projects that you all have done to help this communitybounce back. And I know along the way that each of you has written your own story ofresilience and determination to make it here to this day.

　　For example, as you heard, Nicole was told back in high school that she just wasn’t collegematerial. But now she is your class president, and she’s headed off to Yale for her graduatedegree. So there. (Applause.) That’s it.

　　And I know that some of you may come from tough neighborhoods; some of you may have lostyour homes during Katrina. Maybe you’re like DeShawn Dabney, a graduate who was raised byhis grandmother -- (applause) -- maybe -- that’s your grandmother, isn’t it, DeShawn? (Laughter.) Raised by his grandmother while some of his family members were dealing withissues. Maybe just like him, you’ve been working part-time jobs since you were a teenager tomake your dream of going to college come true. And now, today, you’re all here ready to walkacross this stage and get that diploma.

　　And no matter what path you took to get here, you all kept your hearts set on this day. Youfought through every challenge you encountered, and you earned that degree from this fineuniversity. And in doing so, you are following in the footsteps of all those who came before you,and you have become an indelible part of the history of this school -- a history that, as you allknow, stretches back to well before the Civil War, back to 1826, the year a child named EmperorWilliams was born.

　　Now, Emperor was born into slavery. But as he grewup, he managed to teach himself to read and writewell enough to create a pass that allowed him tocome and go around the city without gettinghassled. But one day, his master saw the pass andhe said, where did you learn to write like that? Now,just imagine the fear Emperor must have felt whenhe heard that question -- because remember, backthen it was illegal for a slave to learn to read orwrite. So who knows what kind of punishment hemay have gotten -- a beating, a whipping, even worse.