中国驻英国大使傅莹在英语联盟的演讲

Speech by Fu Ying, China's Ambassador to UK, at the English Speaking Union 

2009年12月10日

December 10, 2009

尊敬的亨特勋爵，
女士们、先生们：

Lord Hunt,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

很高兴应英语联盟之邀做丘吉尔讲座，索姆斯女男爵（丘吉尔之女）的光临令我深感荣幸。

It is a great honor for me to be invited to speak at the Churchill Lecture. And it is a special honor to have Lady Soames with us in the audience.

丘吉尔爵士一生成就斐然，曾担任英语联盟的第一任主席，足见他致力于通过英语促进和平、增进了解的决心。

Sir Winston Churchill was a man of many great accomplishments. The fact that he was the first Chairman of the ESU, is a clear indication of his commitment to promoting peace and understanding across the world through the use of the English language.

24年前我在英国留学的时候，曾到查特韦尔的丘吉尔故居参观，在那儿买了一本丘吉尔自传。当时对我来说，买课外书是一件很奢侈的事，所以很珍惜，把那本书一字不漏地从头读到尾。

When I was a student in the UK 24 years ago, I bought his autobiography when visiting Chartwell House. Buying books was luxury for me at that time and I valued it and read from cover to cover.

丘吉尔爵士勤奋好学的态度深深感染了我。当他还是后座议员时，这位聪明的年轻人已经在下议院中脱颖而出。他在自传中讲到，没有勤奋就不可能有聪明。他谈到每次在议会发言，哪怕只是提一个2分钟的问题，都会花上几个小时甚至几天的时间在议会大厦走廊的图书架上查阅大量资料，研究事情的背景，做认真准备。

I was deeply struck by Sir Winston’s attitude towards learning. When still a backbencher, he already distinguished himself in the Commons and was seen as a bright young man. He explained that no one can be bright, without learning and disclosed how he devoted hours and days finding the background of the facts from books in the corridors of Westminster every time before asking the two-minute question.

这对我很有启发，尤其是当我在学习中遇到困难的时候。直到今天，我对自己做的每一场演讲和接受的每次采访都精心准备，当然也包括今天这场演讲。我留学英国时，也曾在牛津大学参加过英语联盟办的演讲和辩论技巧培训班，我要借此机会表示感谢。今天是检验培训对我是否起作用的好机会，如果今天我讲得不好，也有英语联盟的责任吧。

This inspired me greatly especially, when my classes got harder. To this day, I still work very hard on every speech or interview I take, including this one and I thank the English Speaking Union for giving me a unique training course in Oxford for speaking and debating skill during my study in UK. I hope the training worked for me or, if you judge me to be a poor speaker today, at least you know where part of the blame lies.

我演讲的主题是：更好地了解中国。

Today, I have entitled my speech as Understanding China.

根据美国一家专门跟踪全球媒体报道的研究机构—全球语言监控机构的统计，过去10年最热门的新闻中，中国崛起占据榜首，甚至大大超过9·11恐怖袭击和伊拉克战争。

According to Global Language Monitor, an American research body following the global media reporting, on its list of the Top News Stories of the Decade, the rise of China came as the first, even well ahead of 9/11 and the war in Iraq.

的确，2009年很可能将被作为中国迈向发挥世界大国作用的转折之年而载入史册。

But I think 2009 will probably be remembered in our history, as China’s transition into playing a major role in the world.

我在伦敦能清楚地感受到，中国正在走上世界舞台。在G20伦敦金融峰会上，中国与美国、英国和其他国家的密切合作显示出，中国已经进入处理全球事务的中心舞台。

Here in London, I could clearly sense China’s emergence onto the world stage. During the G20 London Summit, the close cooperation between China, US, UK and other countries shows that China has come to the centre stage of addressing global issues.

美国总统奥巴马不久前访华时谈到，中国在全球事务中发挥更大的作用是过去20年最重大的事件之一。他说，美国对此表示欢迎，并期待成为中国有效的伙伴。

During his recent visit to China, President Obama referred to China’s playing a larger role in global events as one of the most important things happened over the last two decades. He welcomed it and said that US looked forward to being an effective partner with China.