历史文化

History and Culture

Thank you very much for your gracious speech of welcome. China is one of the earliest cradles of civilization and a visit to this ancient civilization has long been my dream.

This visit will give me an excellent opportunity to meet old friends and establish new contacts. I wish to say again that I am so delighted and privileged to visit your great country and this lovely town.

I am deeply grateful for everything you have done for me since my arrival in China.

People from different cultures sometimes do things that make each other uncomfortable, without meaning to or sometimes without even realizing it.

Most Americans are usually spontaneous, friendly and open, and enjoy meeting new people, having guests and bringing people together formally or informally.

They tend to be informal and speak freely. So if your American hosts do something that makes you uncomfortable, try to let them know how you feel. They will appreciate your honesty and try not to make you uncomfortable again.

Sometimes Americans are said to be superficially friendly. Perhaps it seems so. Just like anywhere else, it takes time to become real friends with people in the United States.

The United States is a country driven by automobiles. Americans are actually a people living on wheels who like to do business without leaving their cars.

Wherever you go, you’ll see drive-in banks, drive-in-restaurants, drive-in churches and drive-in movies.

When you drive in the U.S., you should note that the speed limit on the state or federal expressway is 55 miles per hour, and there is a minimum speed of 40 miles per hour.

This country has the most developed car rental industry in the world. Largest American car rental companies have offices all over the U.S., with counters at most airports and in many international cities.

The ability to use a language creatively is what makes us human beings different from other animals more than anything else.

To know a language means not only to know what sounds there are in that language, but also to know how the sounds relate to their meanings.

To know a language is to know how words are combined to form phrases and sentences, and to be able to produce and understand new sentences never heard before.

To know a language also means to know what sentences are appropriate in a particular context. After all, we may use different words and tones when we speak to different audiences.

After leaving the university, I spent nearly five years researching the book on leadership. I traveled around America, spending time with go of the most effective, successful leaders in the nation.

My goal was to find these leaders' common traits. The fast was more difficult than I had expected. For a while, I sensed much diversity than commonality among them.

The group included both rational and intuitive thinkers. Some were well-dressed and some were not; some were well-spoken, eloquent leaders and some didn't talk much.

I was finally able to come to some conclusions, of which perhaps the most important is the distinction between leaders and managers. Leaders are people who do the right things and managers and those who do things right.

I am interested in the Chinese history and culture. I still remember till this day the remark of the late Chinese leader Mao Tse-tong. “It is the people, and the people alone, that is the motive force in the making of world history.”

Chinese people are people of diligence and intelligence. Both my government and people believe that friendship and cooperation with China is an essential part of our future work.

From what I have already seen and heard in my short time here, it is clear to me that there are indeed good prospects for an all-round cooperation between Britain and China, including both governmental and non-governmental cooperation.

If my current visit can help to advance the friendship between us, then that in itself will be a source of great satisfaction to me and, I believe, a benefit to all of us.

In many countries of the world, the celebration of Christmas on December 25th is a high point of the year. From November onwards, it is impossible to forget that Christmas is coming.