美国第一夫人

樊华

Michelle grew up on the South Side of Chicago. Her parents poured everything they had into their children and their education.

米歇尔在芝加哥南部长大，她的父母为了孩子的成长和教育付出了很大代价。

Michelle attended public schools in Chicago before going to Princeton for college and then to Harvard for her law degree1. After graduating， she joined the Chicago law firm Sidley & Austin， where she met her future husband， Barack Obama.

米歇尔在芝加哥念的公立学校，毕业后升读普林斯顿大学，后来她又在哈佛大学拿到了法律学士学位。毕业后，她去了芝加哥的盛德国际律师事务所工作，也就是在那里她邂逅了她未来的丈夫，贝拉克·奥巴马。

Michelle left the law firm to lead a nonprofit2 organization called Public Allies， and later developed volunteerism programs at the University of Chicago.

米歇尔离开律师事务所之后领导一个非盈利组织——公众联盟，后来在芝加哥大学建立了志愿者服务项目。

Political Contribution

As the first lady of America， Michelle has inspired young people all across the country to eat healthy， get active， and pursue3 their dreams. She has worked to rally the country to honor， recognize， and serve our nations troops4， veterans， and military5 families. She planted the first-ever White House Kitchen Garden， started a mentoring program， and invited young people from across the country to come to the White House to experience our history and rich cultural heritage firsthand.

作为美国的第一夫人，米歇尔激励了全国无数的年轻人，让他们饮食更健康、生活更积极、并不断追求自己的梦想。她团结祖国人民，去尊敬国家的军队，去结识退伍军人，去帮助军人家属。她在白宫建造了前所未有的厨房菜园，开设了“学生顾问计划”并且邀请全国各地的年轻人来白宫亲自感受美国的历史和深厚的文化底蕴。

Michelle was rewarded for her efforts in social activism by being named one of Time Magazines 100 Most Influential People in 2013. Time praised her for her humility6 and willingness to step outside the box of a typical wife of a political figurehead.

由于米歇尔夫人在社会活动中的积极贡献，她于2013年成为《时代周刊》评选的世界最具影响力的一百人之一。《时代周刊》这样褒奖道：作为政治领袖的妻子，她愿意跳出传统政治领袖夫人的固有定势，并始终保持谦逊。

According to Michelle， her guiding compass in her rise to political fame was found in her strong sense of personal identity， “One of the lessons that I grew up with was to always stay true to yourself and never let what somebody else says distract7 you from your goals. And so when I hear about negative and false attacks， I really dont invest any energy in them， because I know who I am.”

据米歇尔所说，引导她在政治声望不断提高的正是她强烈的个人认同感，“我在成长过程中获得的经验之一，就是要始终保持真我并且不让任何人的言语分散自己对目标的追求。所以当我听到关于我的负面攻击或是虚假传闻时，我真的不会浪费精力去解释，因为我知道自己是谁。”

Fashion

When Michelle Obama became the latest First Lady of the United States in 2008， she immediately gained the fashion communitys vote for her all-American style. Known for wearing the designs of Jason Wu， Isabel Toledo， the role model has undoubtedly8 helped make these native designers overnight sensations9.

2008年，当米歇尔·奥巴马刚刚成为新任美国第一夫人，她便得到了时尚界对于她的美国风格的认可。身着吴季刚、伊莎贝尔·托莱多等服装设计师设计的服装，她作为模特的角色无疑帮助了这些美国本土服装设计师一夜成名。

She once said， “First and foremost， I wear what I love. Thats what women have to focus on： what makes them happy and what makes them feel comfortable and beautiful. If I can have any impact， I want women to feel good about themselves and have fun with fashion.”

她曾说，“首要的是，我只穿我喜欢的衣服。这也是女性应该关注的——哪些衣服能让她们感到开心，哪些会让她们感觉舒适并且美丽。如果我能对她们产生一些影响，我希望女性能感到自信并且在时尚中得到快乐。

Fashion experts believe that no other First Lady in history has had this profound effect on the fashion industry.

时尚专家谈到，历史上绝无第二个第一夫人像米歇尔一样在时尚行业有如此深远的影响。

Family

When people ask First Lady Michelle Obama to describe herself， she doesnt hesitate to say that first and foremost10， she is Malia and Sashas mom.

当人们请第一夫人米歇尔·奥巴马描述自己时，她总是毫不犹豫地说：“首先，我是玛利亚和萨莎的母亲。”

“Its really the interaction11 that we have as a family that makes it feel like home，” she said. “Its sitting down at the dinner table and having Baracks day be the last thing anyone really cares about.”

“正是因为我们家庭成员之间的互动，才让我们的家有家的样子，”她说，“我们一家坐在餐桌前讨论着当天都遇到什么有趣的事，而关于我丈夫贝拉克的一天是如何度过的，是排在最后的话题。”

“What my mom taught me and continues to teach me is patience12 and good humor and common sense and openness. You know， my mom is such a good listener. And she has taught me that one of the best things I can do for my daughters is to listen， not talk or always give advice， but to be there with an open ear and a warm hug and an understanding heart because I still find myself going up to my moms room and just talking to her for hours about any and everything. And that relationship keeps me whole. And if I could be half that mother for my girls， then I will have done a good thing.”

“我母亲从过去到现在一直教导我要有耐心、幽默感、常识和宽广胸怀。我的母亲是个很好的听众。并且她教会了我，我能为我的女儿们做的最好的事便是聆听，而不是说教或是不断给予建议，要向她们给予温暖的拥抱以及体贴的心，我发现自己现在还常常去母亲房间，和她聊各种各样的事情能聊好几个小时。我和母亲这样的关系使我感到心灵上的完整。如果我对我的女儿能做到我母亲为我所做的一半的话，就算是做得很好了。”

[1] degree n. 程度；学位 [2] nonprofit adj. 非赢利的 [3] pursue vt. 追求；追赶 [4] troop n. 军队 [5] military adj. 军事的；军人的 [6] humility n. 谦卑，谦逊

[7] distract vt. 转移；分心 [8] undoubtedly adv. 确实地，无庸置疑地

[9] sensation n. 轰动 [10] first and foremost 首先；首要的是

[11] interaction n. 互动 [12] patience n. 耐性，耐心