婦女都在努力 Women Are Struggling
I’ve traveled all over America, talking and listening to women who are struggling to raise their children and somehow make ends meet; bumping up against the glass ceiling; watching their insurance 1 premiums increase; coping with inadequate or nonexistent child support payments; 2 panguishing over the 3 prospect that 4 abortions will be criminalized again.
我造訪過美國各地，與婦女們談話，傾聽她們的聲音。她們有的要努力撫養孩子、僅靠微薄收入維生；有的要在職場中對抗無形的晉升障礙；有的要面對保險費不斷上升；有的必須面對不足夠的贍養費，甚至完全拿不到；有的則要再度為墮胎可能再度非法化而苦惱不已。
We need understanding and a helping hand to solve our own problems. We’re doing the best we can to find the right balance in our lives.
為了解決我們自己的問題，我們需要的是體會和協助。為了尋找人生中良好的平衡，我們一直是全力以赴。
家庭、工作、服務 Family, Work and Service
For me, the elements of that balance are family, work and service.
對我來說，平衡的元素是家庭、工作和服務。
First, your personal relationships. is said and done, it is the people in your life, the friendships you form and the commitments you maintain, that give shape to your life—your friends and your neighbors, the people at work or church, all those who touch your daily lives. And if you choose, a marriage filled with love and respect.
首先，是妳個人的人際關係。畢竟妳生活周遭的人、妳所建立的友情和維持的承諾，都在塑造妳的人生—妳的朋
友、鄰居、同事、教友，所有妳每天生活中要接觸的人。還有，如果妳這麼選擇的話，一個充滿愛和尊重的婚姻。
Second, your work. For some of you, the future might not include work outside the home (and I don’t mean involuntary unemployment); but most of you will at some point in your life work for pay, maybe in jobs that used to be 5off-limits for women.
第二，是妳們的工作。對妳們當中一些人來說，未來可能不包括家庭以外的工作（我指的不是非自願失業）；但妳們大部分人在一生當中或多或少都會去上班賺錢，也許從事的工作在過去還是限制女性的禁區。
Third, your service. As students, we debated passionately what responsibility each individual has for the larger society.
The most 6 eloquent explanation I have found of what I believe now and what I argued then is from Vaclav Havel, the playwright and first freely-elected president of Czechoslovakia. In a letter from prison to his wife, Olga, he wrote:
第三，是妳們的服務。身為學生時，我們曾熱烈討論每一個人對廣大社會的責任。我發現最有說服力的說法，也是我現在所相信和當時所主張的，是劇作家、也是捷克斯洛伐克第一任民選總統哈維爾說的一段話。是他在監獄中寫給妻子奧爾加的信中提到的一段話：
Only by looking outward, by caring for things that, in terms of pure survival, you needn’t bother with at all, and by throwing yourself over and over again into the tumult of the world, with the intention of making your voice count—only thus will you really become a person.
唯有向外探索、去關心那些就純粹生存而言，一點都不需要勞妳費心的事，設法讓世界聽到妳的聲音，一再投身這動盪的世界—唯有如此，妳才能真正成為一個人。
Some of you may have already had such a life-shaping experience; for many, it lies ahead.
Recognize it and nurture it when it occurs.Some of you may be saying to yourselves, “I’ve got to 7 pay off my student loans. I can’t even find a good job, 8let alone someone to love. How am I going to worry about the world? Our generation has fewer dreams, fewer 9 illusions than yours.”
妳們之中可能已有些人有過這樣塑造人生的經驗；對許多人來說，這樣的經驗正在前方等著妳去體驗。當它發生時，要認清它、滋養它。妳們之中可能有些人會對自己說：「我還要還學貸，我連好工作都找不到，更別說找個人去愛了，我哪有精力去擔心這世界？比起你們，我們世代的夢想更少、幻想更少。」
守住妳的夢想 Hold onto Your Dreams
And I hear you. As women today, you face tough choices. You know the rules are basically as follows: If you don’t get married, you’re 10abnormal; If you get married but don’t have children, you’re a selfish yuppie. If you get married and have children, but work outside the home, you’re a bad mother. If you get married and have children, but stay home, you’ve wasted your education.
我聽到妳們的心聲了。現今身為女人，妳們面臨著艱難的抉擇。妳們都很清楚人生規則基本上就是這樣：假如妳不結婚，妳就不正常；假如妳結婚，但不生小孩，妳就是自私的雅痞；假如妳結了婚，也生小孩，但要外出工作，妳就不是個好媽媽；假如妳結了婚、生了小孩、在家當主婦，妳就浪費了妳所受的教育。
So you see, if you listen to all the people who make these rules, you might just conclude that the safest course of action is just to take your diploma and crawl under your bed. But let me propose an alternative. Hold onto your dreams. Take up the challenge of 11forging an identity that 12 transcends yourself. Transcend yourself and you will find yourself. Care about something you needn’t bother with at all. Throw yourself into the world and make your voice count!
所以，妳看，假如妳聽從那些人制定的規則，妳可能會得出一個結論：最好的做法就是拿著畢業證書躲到床底下。不過，先讓我提出一項替代方案。緊緊抓住妳的夢想。接受挑戰，打造一個超越自己的身分。超越自己，才能找到自己。關懷那些一點都不需要勞妳費心的事，投身這個世界，讓世界聽到妳的聲音！
VOCABULARY
1 premium (n.) 保險費
Which insurance plan has the lowest premium?
2 anguish (v./n.（) 感到）極度的痛苦
The widow anguished over the death of her husband.
3 prospect (n.) 可能性，可能發生的事
The doctor says the patient has little prospect of improving.
4 abortion (n.) 墮胎
Do you support a woman’s right to have an abortion?
5 o -limits (a.) 禁止（進入、使用等）的
This area is off-limits to hotel guests.
6 eloquent (a.) 有說服力的，口才好的
I was moved by the speaker’s eloquent words.
7 pay o (phr.) 清償
Steven is working two jobs to pay off his debts.
8 let alone (phr.) 更不必說，遑論
She never reads magazines, let alone books.
9 illusion (n.) 幻想，幻覺，錯覺
Some people believe that love is just an illusion.
10 abnormal (a.) 不正常的
The abnormal weather is damaging crops.
11 forge (v.) 鍛造，創造，打造
The actor is forging a new career as a director.
12 transcend (v.) 超越，超出，超過
The band makes music that transcends cultural barriers.
