Barack Obama lit the National Christmas Tree at the White House for the eighth and final time as president on last Thursday night.
上周四晚上，巴拉克·奥巴马第8次在白宫点亮美国国家圣诞树，这也是他作为总统最后一次点亮这棵圣诞树了。

Obama was joined by wife Michelle and their younger daughter Sasha, 15, for the 94th annual National Christmas Tree Lighting on the Ellipse, the public park located south of the White House fence.
奥巴马由妻子米歇尔以及他们15岁的小女儿萨沙陪伴，在华盛顿总统公园南区参加了第94届年度美国国家圣诞树点亮仪式。

The First Family was notably missing older daughter Malia, who is currently taking a gap year before starting Harvard next fall. The 18-year-old also skipped out on her father's final turkey pardoning ceremony. 
奥巴马一家十分想念正在“间隔年”大女儿的玛利亚，她将在明年秋天进入哈佛大学学习。因为在“间隔年”，她也错过了父亲奥巴马最后一次的赦免火鸡仪式。

Clarkson kicked off the event with 'Please Come Home For Christmas', a holiday song dedicated to Americans fighting overseas. 
克拉克森以一首节日歌曲《圣诞节，请回家》拉开帷幕，献给在海外战斗的士兵们。

Obama, Michelle and Sasha took the stage after a performance by Kelly Clarkson, counting down from five with the enthusiastic crowd before pressing a button that lit up the tree with twinkling red, white and blue lights.
凯丽·克拉克森表演过后，奥巴马、米歇尔和萨莎与热情的美国人民共同倒计时五秒，按下点亮开关后，圣诞树开始闪烁红色、白色和蓝色的光芒。

'To everybody who’s here tonight and everybody watching at home, it is now officially the time to light this tree!' Obama told the crowd.
“今晚在现场的每个人和在家里观看的美国人民，我们现在正式点亮这棵圣诞树”，奥巴马宣布说。

Obama has seen the National Christmas Tree change three times during his two-term presidency.
奥巴马在他的两届任期内见证了国家圣诞树的三次变化。

A tree that had been used in the ceremony for three decades was knocked down during bad weather. Its replacement was lit in 2011 before dying just months later from transplant shock.
一次恶劣的天气使得之前已经服役过三十年的圣诞树被推倒。随后换上的圣诞树只在2011年被点亮，因为移植后的几个月这棵树也枯萎了。

On Thursday the First Family lit the Colorado blue spruce tree, which has been used in the annual ceremony since it was planted on the Ellipse in 2012.
上周四，总统一家点亮科罗拉多蓝色云杉树。这棵自2012年就种植在华盛顿总统公园南区云杉树至今一直是国家圣诞树。

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