3月22日上午，美國第一夫人米歇爾造訪北京大學，并接受北大校長贈書。之后，米歇爾在北大斯坦福中心以“讀萬卷書不如行萬里路”為主題的演講。在米歇爾的演講中，“留學”成為關鍵詞。她化用中國古語“讀萬卷書，不如行萬里路”，并結合自身經(jīng)歷現(xiàn)身說法，希望讓更多青年人擁有留學的機會。以下為米歇爾演講的雙語全文：

　　MRS. OBAMA: (Applause.) Thank you. Well, ni-hao. (Laughter.) It is such a pleasure and an honor to be here with all of you at this great university, so thank you so much for having me.

　　謝謝。你好。很高興也很榮幸來到這里，在這所偉大的大學和你們共聚一堂。非常感謝你們邀請我。

　　Now, before I get started today, on behalf of myself and my husband, I just want to say a few very brief words about Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. As my husband has said, the United States is offering as many resources as possible to assist in the search. And please know that we are keeping all of the families and loved ones of those on this flight in our thoughts and prayers at this very difficult time.

　　在今天開始之前，我代表我自己和我的丈夫，就馬來西亞航空公司的MH370航班簡短說兩句。如我丈夫所說，美國正提供盡可能多的資源協(xié)助搜尋工作。請相信，在這個非常艱難的時刻，我們的心和航班上人員的家屬和親人在一起，我們?yōu)樗麄兤矶\。

　　Now with that, I want to start by recognizing our new Ambassador to China, Ambassador Baucus; President Wang; Chairman Zhu; Vice President Li; Director Cueller; Professor Oi, and the Stanford Center; President Sexton from New York University, which is an excellent study abroad program in Shanghai; and John Thornton, Director of the Global Leadership Program at Tsinghua University. Thank you all for joining us.

　　現(xiàn)在，我們首先來認識一下美國新任駐華大使，博卡斯大使、王校長、朱主席、李副校長、 Cuelluer主任、Oi教授和斯坦福中心，紐約大學的塞克頓斯校長，該校在上海開設了一個優(yōu)秀的海外留學項目，以及清華大學全球領袖項目主任約翰·桑頓 ，由衷地感謝大家的到來。

　　But most of all, I want to thank all of the students who are here today. And I particularly want to thank Eric Schaefer and Zhu Xuanhao for that extraordinary English and Chinese introduction. That was a powerful symbol of everything that I want to talk with you about today.

　　最重要的是，我要感謝今天所有到場的學生們......我要特別感謝埃里克·謝弗和朱宣皓的精彩英文和中文介紹。這絕佳地詮釋了我今天要和大家聊的全部話題。

　　See, by learning each other’s languages, and by showing such curiosity and respect for each other’s cultures, Mr. Schafer and Ms. Zhu and all of you are building bridges of understanding that will lead to so much more. And I’m here today because I know that our future depends on connections like these among young people like you across the globe.

　　你們看，通過學習彼此的語言，通過展現(xiàn)對彼此文化的好奇心和尊重，謝弗先生、朱女士以及你們大家正在搭建理解的橋梁，這些橋梁帶來更多的豐碩成果。我今天來到你們這里是因為我知道，我們的未來取決于全球像你們這樣年輕人間的這樣的聯(lián)系。

　　That’s why when my husband and I travel abroad, we don’t just visit palaces and parliaments and meet with heads of state. We also come to schools like this one to meet with students like you, because we believe that relationships between nations aren’t just about relationships between governments or leaders -- they’re about relationships between people, particularly young people. So we view study abroad programs not just as an educational opportunity for students, but also as a vital part of America’s foreign policy.

　　這也是為什么我們夫婦在國外訪問時，不只參觀宮殿、議會和會晤國家元首。我們也來到學校，與像你們一樣的學生見面。因為我們相信，國與國之間的關系不只是政府或領導人之間的關系，它們是人民―特別是年輕人之間的關系。因此，我們認為海外留學項目不只是為學生提供的教育機會，還是美國外交政策至關重要的組成部分。

　　Through the wonders of modern technology, our world is more connected than ever before. Ideas can cross oceans with the click of a button. Companies can do business and compete with companies across the globe. And we can text, email, Skype with people on every continent.

　　通過現(xiàn)代技術奇跡，我們的世界比以往任何時候都更多地聯(lián)系在一起。思想可以通過點擊按鈕跨越海洋。全球各地的公司可以進行業(yè)務往來和相互竟爭。我們可以與各大洲的人們通過短信、電子郵件和Skype進行溝通。

　　So studying abroad isn’t just a fun way to spend a semester; it is quickly becoming the key to success in our global economy. Because getting ahead in today’s workplaces isn’t just about getting good grades or test scores in school, which are important. It’s also about having real experience with the world beyond your borders –- experience with languages, cultures and societies very different from your own. Or, as the Chinese saying goes: "It is better to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books."

　　因此，出國留學不只是以開心的方式度過一個學期——它正迅速成為全球化經(jīng)濟中取得成功的關鍵。因為要走在當今職場的前沿，只在學校里取得好成績是不夠的，還應擁有國境外的真實體驗：體驗完全不同的語言、文化和社會。正如中國的一句古話所說：“讀萬卷書，不如行萬里路。”

　　But let’s be clear, studying abroad is about so much more than improving your own future. It’s also about shaping the future of your countries and of the world we all share. Because when it comes to the defining challenges of our time -– whether it’s climate change or economic opportunity or the spread of nuclear weapons -- these are shared challenges. And no one country can confront them alone. The only way forward is together.

　　我想要說的是，出國留學絕不僅是改善你們自己的未來，它也關乎塑造你們的國家、關乎我們共有的世界的未來。因為我們這個時代的決定性挑戰(zhàn)一一無論是氣侯變化、經(jīng)濟機遇，還是核武器擴散一一這些都是我們共同的挑戰(zhàn)。沒有任何一個國家能夠單獨應對它們……唯一的出路就是共同攜手。

　　That’s why it is so important for young people like you to live and study in each other’s countries, because that’s how you develop that habit of cooperation. You do it by immersing yourself in one another’s culture, by learning each other’s stories, by getting past the stereotypes and misconceptions that too often divide us.

　　這就是為什么年輕人到彼此國家學習和生活是如此重要。因為這是你們培養(yǎng)合作習慣的途徑一一你們通過融入不同的文化，通過了解彼此的故事，通過跨越常常隔膜我們的成見和誤解，來做到這一點。

　　That’s how you come to understand how much we all share. That’s how you realize that we all have a stake in each other’s success -- that cures discovered here in Beijing could save lives in America, that clean energy technologies from Silicon Valley in California could improve the environment here in China, that the architecture of an ancient temple in Xi’an could inspire the design of new buildings in Dallas or Detroit.

　　這是你們了解到我們共享多少東西的途徑。這是你們認識到我們的成功惠及彼此的途徑。在北京發(fā)現(xiàn)的治序方法可以挽救在美國的生命，來自加州硅谷的清潔能源技術可以改善中國的環(huán)境，西安一座古老寺廟的架構可激發(fā)達拉斯或者底特律新建筑設計的靈感。

　　And that’s when the connections you make as classmates or labmates can blossom into something more. That’s what happened when Abigail Coplin became an American Fulbright Scholar here at Peking University. She and her colleagues published papers together in top science journals, and they built research partnerships that lasted long after they returned to their home countries. And Professor Niu Ke from Peking University was a Fulbright Scholarship -- Scholar in the U.S. last year, and he reported -- and this is a quote from him -- he said, "The most memorable experiences were with my American friends."

　　這是你們與同學、實驗伙伴建立起的聯(lián)系能帶來更多收獲的時候。阿比蓋爾·柯普林成為北京大學美國富布賴特學者的時候，她與同事們在首屈一指的科學雜志上共同發(fā)表論文，建立研究伙伴關系，這段關系在他們各自回國后還長久持續(xù)著。 來自北京大學的�？山淌谑侨ツ甑拿绹�富布賴特學者。我引述下他的話，“最難忘的經(jīng)歷是和我的美國朋友們在一起�！�

　　These lasting bonds represent the true value of studying abroad. And I am thrilled that more and more students are getting this opportunity. As you’ve heard, China is currently the fifth most popular destination for Americans studying abroad, and today, the highest number of exchange students in the U.S. are from China.

　　這些長久的紐帶代表留學的真正價值，我很興奮，越來越多的學生正得到這樣的機會。中國目前是美國人留學的第五大熱門目的地。今天的美國，來自中國的交換生數(shù)量最多。

　　But still, too many students never have this chance, and some that do are hesitant to take it. They may feel like studying abroad is only for wealthy students or students from certain kinds of universities. Or they may think to themselves, well, that sounds fun but how will it be useful in my life? And believe me, I understand where these young people are coming from because I felt the same way back when I was in college.

　　盡管如此，太多的學生從來沒有這樣的機會，而一些有機會的學生則猶豫是否要抓住它。 他們可能覺得留學只是有錢的學生或來自某類大學的學生的事�；蛘�，他們可能心里想，“嗯，這聽起來很有趣，但它在我的生活中真正有多大用處?” 我理解這些年輕人，因為我在上大學時也有同樣的感受。