本周，美国第一夫人开启了首次访华之旅，将以她的魅力在中国展开一次"柔性外交"。这位在美国甚至比总统还受欢迎的白宫女主人身兼数角：母亲、妻子、得力助手、职业女性、时尚先锋，她一直试图在这些角色里寻找自我。今年，50岁的她宣称找到了自己的路。
【母亲·女儿】
米歇尔说，在她所有的角色里，她首先扮演的是一位母亲。在三代同堂的家庭生活中，她作为母亲也作为女儿，为第一家庭代言着女性的角色。
当人们让美国的第一夫人米歇尔·奥巴马描述自己，她会毫不犹豫地说，首先，她是玛丽亚和萨莎的妈妈。但是在那之前，在母亲、妻子、律师、公职人员之前，她是弗雷泽和玛丽安·鲁滨逊的女儿。白宫网站这样介绍这位第一夫人。
When people ask the US' first lady Michelle Obama to describe herself, she doesn't hesitate to say that first and foremost, she is Malia and Sasha's mom. But before she was a mother - or a wife, lawyer or public servant - she was Fraser and Marian Robinson's daughter. This is how she is introduced on the White House website.
本周，这位美国第一夫人在两个女儿和母亲的陪伴下，开始了访华之旅。这样的组合有力地传递了米歇尔的"首席妈妈"形象和她们紧密的家庭关系。
This week, the US first lady is visiting China accompanied by her two daughters and her mother, presenting a strong "mom-in-chief" image and highlighting their close family ties.
入主白宫后，米歇尔把她的母亲接到华盛顿来同住。玛丽安·鲁滨逊会帮忙米歇尔照顾她的两个女儿，也会时不时地参加第一夫人的各种官方活动。
After entering the White House, Michelle moved her mother to Washington to live with them. Marian Robinson helps Michelle care for her daughters and she has joined the first lady at various official functions now and then.
2010年，米歇尔在母亲节的活动上说起自己的母亲哽咽难言。她说，"和妈妈一起生活在白宫，共同抚养女儿们是一件非常美好的事情，有机会三代同堂住在白宫真的很好。"
At a Mother's Day event in 2010, Michelle choked up when speaking of her mother. "Raising our girls in the White House with my mom is a beautiful experience. And the opportunity to have three generations living in the White House, it's beautiful," she said.
米歇尔的两个女儿迄今为止没在公众面前失态过，这对名人，特别是总统的孩子来说非常少见。认识这两个女孩的白宫副手们称她们十分自律，这主要就得益母亲的管教。有些工作人员甚至开玩笑说，希望能把自己的孩子交给米歇尔严格调教一番。
So far, the Obama girls have not had a gaffe or an embarrassing moment - a rarity for such well-known figures, especially when it comes to presidential children. Aides who know the girls say they are disciplined, thanks mostly to their mother. Some staff members even joke that they wish they could send their own children to Mrs Obama's boot camp for training.
《纽约时报》曾总结了米歇尔的一系列"家规"：她要求玛丽亚和萨莎外出旅行时，即使学校不要求，也必须就所见所闻撰写报告；玛丽亚周末才能用手机，两人非周末时间不能看电视或用计算机来做功课以外的事；必须进行两种运动，一种自己选的，另一种妈妈选的；玛丽亚上大学前必须学会洗衣服；必须吃蔬菜；如果说不饿，那么之后就不能要求吃饼干或薯片。
The New York Times has released a list of rules that Michelle Obama requires Malia and Sasha to follow: The girls must write reports about what they've seen on their trips, even if it's not required by their school; Malia may use her cellphone only on the weekends, and she and her sister cannot watch television or use a computer for anything but homework during the week; Malia and Sasha have to play two sports: one they choose and one selected by their mother; Malia must learn to do laundry before she leaves for college; the girls have to eat their vegetables, and if they say that they are not hungry, they cannot ask for cookies or chips later.
【妻子·助手】
作为妻子，米歇尔是丈夫的得力助手。她不愿展露自己的锋芒，始终在奥巴马身后扮演配角。
2012年，米歇尔被总统的竞选团队请出场，描绘一个人性化的、亲切的丈夫。米歇尔的演讲令人动容。她说道，与四年前刚刚当上总统时相比，她现在更爱巴拉克·奥巴马，因为和当年那个以在垃圾箱淘到的咖啡桌为自己最自豪财产的人相比，他一点都没变。她说，"我们那时是那么年轻、那么相爱、也欠了那么多债。"
In 2012, the president's campaign team used Michelle Obama to draw a personal, approachable portrait of her husband. Her speech was really touching. She said that she loved Barack Obama more now than she did 4 years ago when he became president because he hasn't changed since the days when his proudest possession was a coffee table he found in a dumpster. "We were so young, so in love and so in debt," she said.
在杰奎琳·肯尼迪之后，没有哪个第一夫人能在摄像机镜头前更机敏、更有意识地帮自己的丈夫了；在这方面，最好的方法仍是让自己看起来像个模范的第一夫人。而米歇尔·奥巴马的演讲恰恰展示了这样的形象，她穿着粉红色丝绸无袖礼服，光彩照人，谈论严肃话题时笑容甚至比平时更加灿烂。
No first lady since Jackie Kennedy has worked the camera more astutely or more purposefully to help her husband. The best way is still to be seen as an exemplary first lady. And she looked the part when giving her speech, shimmering in a silky pink sleeveless dress, smiling even more than usual as she spoke of serious things.
对于妻子，巴拉克·奥巴马曾说，"她聪明有趣，从头到尾都很迷人……如果我要在政府职位上跟她竞争，她不费力气就能战胜我。"看她与人相处时的简单自然，你就会懂得奥巴马所说的话。她自己写演讲稿，演讲的时候不需要任何提示，她不在乎别人的眼光，还会自我解嘲。米歇尔看上去还是一位优雅的职业女性，她曾在芝加哥大学医疗中心任职，年薪高达27万美元。后来她为了专注于丈夫的竞选，减少了80%的工作。
Of his wife, Barack Obama has said, "She is smart, funny, and thoroughly charming…. If I ever had to run against her for public office, she would beat me without too much difficulty." Watching her easy way with the crowd, you can see what he means. She writes her own speeches, speaks without notes, doesn't seem uptight or anxious about being liked, and makes jokes about herself. Moreover, she looks the part of the elegant working mom she was, until she cut back on 80% of her $270,000-a-year job with the University of Chicago medical center in order to concentrate on her husband's campaign.
米歇尔在全国来回奔走，激昂演说，替丈夫代言。在许多方面，对于丈夫奥巴马来说，她都是一项巨大的财富。她聪明过人，很有抱负，美丽迷人而且还能言善道。甚至当奥巴马不在场时，她也会吸引大量热情的观众。而且她还能抽出时间做一名超级妈妈。她买了两台手提电脑，让丈夫在外时能够看到女儿们，并和她们交谈。她常常揶揄丈夫的打鼾声，还让他清理垃圾。她还常常跟丈夫探讨时事问题，但她说自己只是他最好的知己之一，绝非各种问题的专家。奥巴马将她称为"我的支柱"。
She crisscrosses the country making fiery speeches on her husband's behalf. In many ways, she is a huge asset to her husband. She is clever, driven, beautiful and articulate. Even when he is not there, she draws large, avid crowds. Yet she still finds time to be supermum. She bought two laptops so her husband can see and talk to his daughters when he is on the road. She teases him about his snoring and makes him take out the rubbish. She often discusses current issues with the president. But she said she is one of her husband's "biggest confidantes" but by no means "an expert" on those issues. He calls her "my rock".
【米歇尔·自己】
今年，这位第一夫人庆祝了自己的50岁生日，《纽约时报》刊文称，50岁的第一夫人找到属于自己的路。在各种不平凡的角色里，这位的女性如今正过着属于自己的平凡生活。
[生活低调充实]
好莱坞风格和奇特的自我个性是这位第一夫人的矛盾两面，她既是富有魅力的名人，又是一名常常露面家长会的母亲。在白宫的5年时光里，她为自己设计了在华盛顿的充实生活。
The mix of Hollywood and quirky individualism underscores her dual persona as glamorous celebrity and regular PTA mother. Five years in, she has fashioned a full life for herself in Washington.
有时米歇尔行踪太低调，以至于在塔吉特超市购物的一位顾客竟没认出她来，请求第一夫人帮忙去取放在高处的卫生纸。还有些时候，她会像个普通家长一样，毫无戒备地在城里某处的足球场边看12岁的女儿萨莎踢球。
Sometimes she moves so discreetly through the area that a customer at a local Target store, not recognizing her, asked the first lady to reach for some highly perched toilet paper. At other times, Michelle is on plain view around town as a parent on the sidelines of the soccer games of her daughter Sasha, 12.
[关心少数族裔]
虽然米歇尔小心避免以肤色定义自己和自己的职责，但她一直坚定的扮演着像她一样出身贫苦的少数族裔孩子的榜样和导师，并为此提出了不少自己的政策议题。第一夫人常常拜访安那卡西迪亚的学校，那是华盛顿最穷，最困难的地区之一。
While Michelle has been careful not to define herself or her role strictly through race, she has paid steadfast attention to her role as a model and mentor to minority children from poor backgrounds like her own, and has built much of her policy agenda around them. The first lady has made regular visits to schools in Anacostia, one of Washington's poorest and most difficult neighborhoods.
研究第一夫人的历史学家卡尔·安东尼说："她比之前的第一夫人更有主见，因为她很少会被无关的对话分心。"此外，"她还特别关切一些被白宫、被除了罗斯福夫人以外所有的第一夫人忽略的少数族裔。"
"She is more self-determinative than prior first ladies because she very rarely allows herself to be drawn into distracting conversations," said Carl Anthony, a historian of first ladies. In addition, he said, "She speaks to a demographic pretty much ignored by the White House by all first ladies except for Eleanor Roosevelt."
[爱美食和电影]
米歇尔还常常去华盛顿的热门餐馆。美食网站obamafoodorama.com的执行编辑埃迪·格曼·科恩说："她对当地食品感兴趣，她一般吃的就是饭店的时令菜、招牌菜。"
Michelle also frequents Washington's restaurants of the moment. “She is interested in local food,” said Eddie Gehman Kohan, the executive editor of obamafoodorama.com. "Her typical meal is whatever is going on at the restaurant that is seasonal and best."
米歇尔也常常流连于华盛顿的博物馆，在白宫放映电影。贫穷和奋斗是她偏爱的电影主题。近日她看的电影是讲述纽约贫民儿童生活的《米斯特和皮特必败》。
Mrs Obama also is known to wander the city’s museums and screen films at the White House, where she is partial to those that explore themes of poverty and struggle. This week she saw the movie "The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete," a story about poor children in New York.
[打网球练瑜伽]
她还有健身的习惯。她每天早上4:30起床锻炼。米歇尔不仅有健美的肱二头肌，她最近还开始上瑜伽课，进行力量训练，并且在罗克里克公园大步健走。她有时跟马莉娅一起上网球课，或者跟朋友们参加改善高尔夫挥杆动作的纠正训练。
Then there is her fitness routine. She gets up at 4:30 in the morning and goes to the gym. Known for her biceps, Michelle has recently taken up yoga for strength training and takes vigorous walks through Rock Creek Park. She takes occasional tennis lessons with Malia or has clinics with friends to work on their golf swings.
内容来源：ChinaDaily双语手机报（回复“免费体验”查看手机报免费阅读30天参与方式）