“Good morning, boys and girls.  Good morning Parents!  Thank you Mr. Richards, staff and faculty for including me in celebrating Heritage Day with you!

早晨好，同学们！早晨好，爸爸妈妈们！非常感谢Richards先生、同事们以及全体教员们让我来跟大家共同庆祝这个遗产日！

Talking about Heritage Day, today is extra special because it is the birthday for a Living Heritage in our town – the oldest resident in Montgomery Township Mr. Walter Baker turns 101 years old today.  And I will bring 1,000 good wishes from this Assembly.

说起遗产日，今天这个遗产日由于我们蒙哥马利镇的最老居民华尔德·贝克先生101岁生日而尤显特殊，我愿为此带来1000个美好的祝福。

I remember when I was at your age, I asked myself ‘what exactly is heritage?’  After months of preparation for this wonderful event, I’m sure you all know by now that to a large extent, heritage is what we have in common.

我还记得我像你们这么小的时候，我曾经问自己 “到底什么是遗产”？经历了为这个遗产日而进行的几个月的准备后，我相信你们都十分清楚，遗产就是我们所共有的东西。

But we each have things that make us different from everyone else in the world.  Or even just everyone else here in your school.   In fact, there are probably an infinite number of ways that each of us differs from one another.  But our heritage is the history and traditions and customs and experiences that we share with each other and with our community.

但是，我们每个人--包括每一个正在学校里的你们，又都拥有独特的东西，这些使我们与众不同！事实上，我们有数不清的方法来表示我们的不同，然而，我们的遗产，却是我们社区共有的、我们每个人都在分享的历史、传统、习俗和经历。

For people like me who were born in a different country or whose family recently came from a different county, we have a heritage that we bring with us to America....  In my case, as someone born and raised in China, I celebrate Chinese New Year and I love to eat the special desert called mooncakes for the Moon Festival every August, and I entertain my guests with spicy Chinese hotpots – I call it the Chinese fondue, when I pretend to be Martha Stewart.

有很多象我这样出生于不同的国度的人或者家庭，带着我们自己的遗产来到美国。比如我，因为在中国出生和长大，我庆祝中国的春节，我喜欢在中秋节品味中国的特殊甜点-月饼，我有时候把自己当做中国的玛莎·斯图尔特，用中国的烩菜来招待我的客人—涮锅。

While I am proud of the Chinese traditions, I am an American – no more or no less American than you... and we all are.  And when I became an American a few years ago, I inherited lots of American traditions as well --- and they are all part of my heritage now too.   My family and I celebrate the Fourth of July – my husband makes the best grilled burger in town – at least he thinks so.  And our kids and I can’t have enough of the fireworks.  And I vote in elections just like your parents and all other Americans have for generations.

当我为中国传统自豪的时候，同时，我也是一个像你们一样的不折不扣的美国人。当我许多年前成为一个美国人的时候，我也集继承了很多美国的传统，并且让它成为我身上遗产的一部分。我的家人一起庆祝七月四日的国庆日，我丈夫在这天烤制出镇上最好的汉堡—至少他是自己这么想，而我和我的孩子们在这一天总有放不够的烟火。我也象你们的父母以及一代代的美国人一样选举自己的总统。

I still remember the very first vote I cast – in fact, it was here in Montgomery.  What a privilege that was!  Our democracy is one of the things that we value the most in our American heritage, and it is something we share, hopefully, with the entire world one day.

我依然记得我第一次选举就是在蒙哥马利市，这是怎样的一个遗产啊！我们的民主就是我们最为珍爱的遗产，希望有一天我们能与全世界的人共同分享这份遗产！

Because each of our family histories is unique, we each have a slightly different heritage than the person next to us.   It is those differences that it is fun to celebrate on a day like Heritage Day --- where we can remind ourselves and our neighbors of the special traditions that come out of our unique past histories.  For each of you, growing up in Montgomery and going to Montgomery schools will be a part of your own heritage that, perhaps, people in the future --- your children and grandchildren -- will celebrate.  

因为我们每个家庭都有自己的历史，因此我们之间有着略为不同的遗产。正是这些不同，使我们在庆祝遗产日的时候充满了乐趣；正是这遗产日，我们明白每个人的不同遗产和习俗以及他们的历史。对于你们每个在蒙哥马利长大并且来这里上学的人来说，蒙哥马利将会成为你们遗产的一部分，并且一代一代继承下去……

Now, as closing, parents – I’d like to ask you to take a look at these faces.  Look how different and how beautiful these wonderful faces are!  As one of the parents said to me earlier when we walked in together -- THIS is what makes US the greatest country in the world!

作为结束语，父母们，我想请你们看一下这一张张漂亮的脸庞，这些一张张不同而美丽的脸庞！就像一对父母曾经跟我说过的，就是这不同，构建了我们伟大的美国！

With that, I thank you all for having me and I wish you a wonderful summer filled with lots and lots fun!”

怀着这样的心情，我感谢这里的各位跟我共同度过这个节日，祝福你们过一个快乐的夏季！