If we remember this — if you stay true to the lessons you’ve learned here on the Thames, if we hold fast to what keeps us strong and unique among nations, then I am confident that future historians will look back on this moment and say that when we faced the test of our time, we stood our watch. We did our duty.
“When one door closes, another one opens（当一扇门关上了，另一扇门就会打开）” 可以被用来描述当某人失去了一个机会，但又有另一个机会取而代之的情况。这个短语突出表达对未来的乐观态度，尤其是在一件不好的事情刚刚发生的时候。
I’m asking you to pay them back by seeking to have the same kind of impact with your own lives; by pursuing excellence in everything you do; by serving this country that you love.
“It’s not over until it’s over” 可以用来对某件事情的结果发表意见。它的意思是 “我们不能依靠自己的预测来对某件事情的结果妄下定论”；相反，必须要等到最后时刻，才能一见分晓。人们常在观看竞技比赛时使用这个短语。
注意：短语 “it’s not over until it’s over” 中的 “until（直到）” 可以被缩写为 “till” 或 “’til”，意思不变。
“A blessing in disguise” 的字面意思是 “一件伪装成坏事的好事”，它指 “最初看似消极的事情却产生了意想不到的积极结果”，就相当于汉语成语 “塞翁失马，焉知非福”。当它用于过去时态的语句中时，通常表达了某件事情以一种意想不到的积极方式告终。这个短语也可以用来预言未来的事情不会像最初看起来的那样消极。
Young people, they’re asking, well, why do I have to do it that way? Let’s try it this way. And that kind of willingness to accept challenges and try things in a new way, to not be stuck in the past, or to look towards the future, that’s what all of you represent.
Pursue success. Do not falter. When you make it, pull somebody else up. Preserve our dream. Remember your life is richer when people around you have a shot at opportunity as well. Strive to widen that circle of possibility; strive to forge that big, generous, optimistic vision of America that we inherited; strive to carry that dream forward to future generations.
“Draw a blank” 在口语中用来表示 “未能得到回应或答复”。它由动词 “draw（得出，推断出）” 和 “a blank（空白）” 组成。
人们用“hope springs eternal”这句话来表达 “希望总是存在的，即使它看起来不太可能”。它可以被用来描述一件不太可能发生但我们希望它发生的事情。
这个说法出自18世纪英国诗人亚历山大·蒲柏（Alexander Pope）的诗歌《人论》，诗中写道：“Hope springs eternal in the human breast.（希望永驻于人们的心中）”。
We met the moment. That democracy and hope, truth and justice, did not die on our watch but thrived. That our America secured liberty at home and stood once again as a beacon to the world. That is what we owe our forebearers, one another, and generations to follow. So, with purpose and resolve we turn to the tasks of our time.
What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people. January 20th 2017, will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again. The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer.
如果你 “pin your hopes on something（把希望钉在某个东西上）”，这就意味着你一心指望这件事情会给你带来幸福或成功。人们使用这个表达可能是因为非常希望某件事情会成功，或者是因为其它事情都失败了，而这是唯一剩下的机会。在使用时，可以在 “pin your hopes on something” 中加上限定词 “all（所有的，全部的）”，即 “pin all your hopes on something”，意思是 “把你所有的希望都寄托在某件事情上”。
They are the words of citizens and they represent our greatest hope. You and I, as citizens, have the power to set this country’s course. You and I, as citizens, have the obligation to shape the debates of our time — not only with the votes we cast, but with the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals.
The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
“Hope against hope” 的意思是 “某人寄希望于一件不太可能发生的事情”。它有时也用来表达某人在绝望的情况下抱着一线希望。“Hope against hope” 是一个动词短语，所以其中的第一个 “hope” 应根据时态和主语的变化而改变。
Acts of sacrifice and decency without regard to what’s in it for you — that also creates ripple effects — ones that lift up families and communities; that spread opportunity and boost our economy; that reach folks in the forgotten corners of the world who, in committed young people like you, see the true face of America: our strength, our goodness, our diversity, our enduring power, our ideals.
“Come rain or shine” 是一个副词短语，意思是 “不管发生什么事情”，即 “无论如何，某件事情一定会发生”。它与汉语中所说的 “风雨无阻” 意思相同，所以既可以用来谈论天气，也可以谈论一般情况。
To the people of Joplin and the Class of 2012, the road has been hard and the day has been long. But we have tomorrow, so we march. We march together, and you’re leading the way, because you’re from Joplin.
“The calm before the storm（暴风雨前的平静）” 指 “在苦难或冲突发生前的一段平静、稳定的时期”。这段平静的时期可能会异常安静，因此其它时期会更引人注目或给人不详之感。这个表达中的名词 “calm” 可以用 “lull” 代替，意思不变，即 “the lull before the storm”。
If more communities invest in young people like you, if you give back, if we all keep fighting to put opportunity within the reach of everybody who is willing to work for it — America will be stronger, your future will be brighter. There is no limit to what we can do together.
