On November 4th， Barack Obama became the first African-American to be elected President of the United States， breaking eight years of Republican rule. His victory was applauded worldwide， and resulted in scenes of wild celebration on the streets of many American cities， particularly Washington and Chicago. His opponent， Republican senator John McCain， conceded defeat early in the evening， in a dignified speech in which he praised Obama， recognised the historical significance of the night， and called for all Americans to work together to help the nation through difficult times. Obama will be sworn in as President on January 20th， 2009.

11月4日，巴拉克#8226;奧巴馬當選為美國第一位黑人總統(tǒng)，結(jié)束了共和黨歷時八年的執(zhí)政期。全世界為他的勝選歡呼喝彩，美國許多城市的大街上呈現(xiàn)出一片片沸騰的歡慶景象，尤其是在華盛頓和芝加哥，其場面更是熱鬧。他的對手共和黨議員約翰#8226;麥凱恩在當晚稍早時發(fā)表了莊嚴的演講，承認競選失敗，并稱贊了奧巴馬，承認當晚具有重大歷史意義，號召所有的美國人齊心協(xié)力幫助國家度過難關(guān)。奧巴馬將于2009年1月20日宣誓就職。

In American presidential elections， a separate winner is determined for each of the fifty states.Each state then has a number of votes in the \"Electoral College\"， depending on its population – for instance， tiny Alaska has 3， whereas massive California has 55. Whoever has the majority of the votes – 270 or more – will then become President. Obama was strong in many states that voted Republican in the 2004 election， and only needed one or two to ensure victory.

在美國總統(tǒng)大選中，各候選人由55個州分別投票來決定其勝負。各州根據(jù)其居民人口在“選舉人團”占有一定數(shù)目的選舉人票——例如，人口稀少的阿拉斯加有3張選舉人票，而人口眾多的加州有55張選舉人票。不管是誰，只要贏得多數(shù)選舉人票——270張或更多——都可以成為總統(tǒng)。在2004年的大選中有很多州將選票投向共和黨人，而這次奧巴馬在這些州很占優(yōu)勢，只需再多一票或兩票他便可以獲勝。

As it turned out， he took several， including Florida， Ohio， New Mexico， Colorado， and Virginia， giving him a final total of 349 votes to McCain's 162， with Missouri still undecided as of this writing. He also won a significant victory in the popular vote， securing 53% to McCain's 46%， a margin of over seven million voters. Voter turn-out was unusually high， with over two-thirds of those registered voting.

當結(jié)果出來后，他奪下好幾個州，包括佛羅里達州、俄亥俄州、新墨西哥州、科羅拉多州和維吉尼亞州，并以349票的總票數(shù)對麥克恩的162票，而且截至本文撰寫時，密蘇里州的結(jié)果尚未出爐。在普選中他也獲得重大勝利。以53%領(lǐng)先麥凱恩的46%，票差超過了700萬張。投票率也異常高，有三分之二的登記選民參與了投票。

Obama's victory is a massive step forward in race relations in the United States. Jesse Jackson， a long term civil rights activist， was overcome by emotion as the victory was announced， and tears of joy streamed down his face. The slogan \"Rosa sat so Martin could walk so Obama could run so our children could fly，\" referring to the past history of American civil rights， was shouted happily by many. With a white American mother， black Kenyan father， and Indonesian stepfather and half-sisters， Obama is the first non-white to be elected President. Although he increased the Democratic vote among whites， his victory was built on a \"rainbow coalition，\" with blacks， Hispanics， and Asians all voting for him in large numbers. His election was a body-blow to the belief that whites would not vote for a black candidate， and paves the way for other non-white candidates in the future.

奧巴馬的勝選是美國種族關(guān)系的重大進步。杰西#8226;杰克遜是一位長期的民權(quán)人士，當奧巴馬勝選的消息被公布后，他難以控制自己的喜悅之情，不禁淚流滿面?！傲_莎拒絕讓座，所以馬丁可以步行抗拒，所以奧巴馬可以競選總統(tǒng)，所以我們的孩子們可以飛翔，”這個標語指美國歷史上的民權(quán)運動，被很多人快樂地高呼著。奧巴馬是第一位非白人總統(tǒng)。他的母親是美國白人，父親是肯尼亞黑人，繼父是印度尼西亞人，他還有幾個同母異父和同父異母的姐妹。雖然他的選票在白人群體中比民主黨在上一次大選中的要多，但他的勝利是建立在“彩虹聯(lián)盟”之上，非裔、拉美裔和亞裔都給了他大量選票。他的勝選重挫白人不會為一名黑人候選人投票的這個觀念，并且為將來其他非白人候選人鋪平了道路。

Pundits had been predicting an Obama victory for several weeks， after McCain's selection of the inexperienced and ignorant Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential candidate， combined with the impact of the economic crisis， left his struggling in the polls. Obama's team ran a vigorously disciplined campaign， mobilising voters in large numbers and securing nationwide fundraising， with over 40% of their money coming from ordinary people rather than large companies or rich donors. Dislike of President Bush， whose popularity has plummeted in the last four years， also damaged McCain.

在麥凱恩挑選了缺乏經(jīng)驗和無知的薩拉#8226;佩林作為他的副總統(tǒng)候選人之后，再加上經(jīng)濟危機的影響，麥凱恩就在競選中苦苦掙扎，幾周前專家就預(yù)言奧巴馬會勝選。奧巴馬陣營進行了一場強有力的、規(guī)范的競選活動，動員了很多選民，確保了全國范圍內(nèi)的籌款，他們的資金中有40%來自普通民眾而非大公司和富庶的捐贈者。民眾對布什總統(tǒng)的厭惡之情同樣傷及麥凱恩，而布什的人氣在過去四年就已直線下降。

Obama had remained calm， controlled， and in command throughout the election， in contrast to a McCain campaign that seemed to be flailing and indecisive. His slogan， \"Yes， We Can\"， resonated with millions of voters looking for a positive message. The Democratic party also scored well in other elections， securing firm control of the Senate by adding several seats， as well as large victories in Congress. Americans vote on a number of issues and positions at every election.

奧巴馬沉著冷靜，在整個大選過程中泰然自若，與近乎失控和優(yōu)柔寡斷的麥凱恩陣營形成鮮明對比。奧巴馬的口號“是的，我們可以做到”在靜候佳音的數(shù)百萬選民中引起共鳴。民主黨在其它競選中同樣收獲甚多，在參議院多贏得了好幾個席位從而牢牢地控制了參議院，在眾議院也取得了很大的勝利。美國在每場大選中都會為許多議題及職位進行投票。

Obama faces a difficult time for the United States. Mired in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan， reeling from the financial crisis， divided on social issues， and faced by powerful challenges from China and India， the country has seemed to many to be faltering. There was a widespread feeling of new hope among Americans in the wake of the election， although many Republicans remained bitter about their loss. Among Americans in China， of whom an extremely large proportion voted for Obama， there was wild celebration and cheering. One 36-year old woman told Bilingual Time \"I wept with relief. I feel like I can be proud of my country again.\"

奧巴馬面臨著美國的艱難時期：身陷伊拉克和阿富汗戰(zhàn)爭泥潭而舉步維艱，受金融危機重創(chuàng)而步履蹣跚，社會問題意見不一，還面對著來自中國和印度的強大挑戰(zhàn)，在很多人看來，這個國家似乎搖搖欲墜。大選結(jié)果出來后，雖然很多共和黨人依然為他們的失敗痛心疾首，但美國民眾普遍看到了新的希望。身在中國的絕大多數(shù)美國人都支持奧巴馬，他們歡呼喝彩熱烈慶祝。一位36歲的女士對《雙語時代》說：“心里的石頭終于落地了，我不禁為此流淚?，F(xiàn)在我想我可以再次為我的祖國感到驕傲。”

In his victory speech， Obama praised his opponent， as well as thanking， in heartfelt terms， his millions of supporters. He spoke of how he \"was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington — it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston\" and said that \"even as we celebrate tonight， we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime.\" Finally， he called Americans to \"reaffirm that fundamental truth that out of many， we are one， that while we breathe， we hope， and where we are met with cynicism and doubt， and those that tell us we can't， we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes， we can.\" He also promised his daughters a puppy to take to the White House.

奧巴馬在勝選演說中稱贊了他的對手，并由衷地感謝數(shù)百萬支持者。他說自己“從來不是最有可能獲得這個職務(wù)的候選人。一開始，我們沒有很多資金，也沒有得到多少人的支持。我們的競選活動不是始自華盛頓的大廳里，而是始于德梅因的后院、康科德的客廳和查爾斯頓的前廳”。他還說“雖然今晚我們在這里歡呼慶祝，但我們知道明天我們將面臨生命中最艱難的挑戰(zhàn)?！弊詈螅粲趺绹恕爸厣昴莻€基本事實：雖然我們來自不同的地方，但我們是一個整體；只要一息尚存，我們就有希望；當我們遇到冷嘲熱諷和懷疑，當這些人說我們辦不到的時候，我們將用這個把一個民族的精神融合在一起的永存的信條做出回應(yīng)：是的，我們可以做到?！彼€向他的兩個女兒保證將帶一只小狗前往白宮。