Lesson 19

Speech by President Nixon of the United States at Welcoming Banquet
美国总统尼克松在欢迎宴会上的讲话
1972年2月21日
21 February 1972
Mr. Prime Minister and all of your distinguished guests this evening,
总理先生,今天晚上在座的诸位贵宾:
On behalf of all your American guests, I wish to thank you for the incomparable hospitality for which the Chinese people are justly famous throughout the world. I particularly want to pay tribute,not only to those who prepared the magnificent dinner, but also to those who have provided the splendid music. Never have I heard American music played better in a foreign land.
我谨代表你们的所有美国客人向你们表示感谢,感谢你们的无可比拟的盛情款待。中国人民以这种励情款待而闻名世界。我们不仅要特别赞扬那些准备了这次盛大晚宴的人,而且还要赞扬那些为我们演奏美好音乐的人。我在外国从来没有听到过演奏得这么好的美国音乐。
Mr. Prime Minister, I wish to thank you for your very gracious and eloquent remarks. At this vry moment through the wonder of relecommunications, more people are seeing and hearing what we say than on any other such occasion in the whole history of the world. Yet, what we say here will not be long remembered. What we do here can change the world.
总理先生,我要感谢你的非常盛情和雄辩的讲话。此时此刻,通过电讯的奇迹,看到和听到我们讲话的人经在整个世界历史上任何其他这样的场合都要多。不过,我们在这里所讲的话,人们不会长久地记住,但我们的这里所做的事却能改变世界。
As you said in your toast, the Chinese people are a great people, the American people are a great people. If our two people are enemies the future of this world we share together is dark indeed. But if we can find common ground to work together, the chance for world peace is immeasurably increased.
正如你在祝酒时讲的那样,中国人民是伟大的人民,美国人民是伟大的人民。如果我们两国人民互相为敌,那么我们共同居住的这个世界的前途就的确很暗淡。但是,如果我们能够找到进行合作的共同点,那么实现世界和平的机会就将无可估量地大大增加。
In the spirit of frankness which I hope will characterize our talks this week, let us recognize at the outset these points: we have at times in the past been enemies. We have great differences today. What brings us together is that we have common interests which transcend those differences. As we discuss our differences, neither of us will compromise our principles. But while we cannot close the gulf between us, we can try to bridge it so that we may be able to tald across it.
我希望我们这个星期的会谈将是坦率的。本着这种坦率的精神,让我们在一开始就认识到这样几点:过去一些时候我们曾是敌人。今天我们有巨大的分歧。使我们走到一起的,是我们超越这些分歧的共同利益。在我们讨论我们的分歧时,我们哪一方都不会在自己的原则上妥协。但是,虽然我们不能弥合双方之间的鸿沟,我们却能够设法搭一座桥,以便我们能够越过它进行会谈。
So let us in these next five days, start a long march together, not in lockstep, but on different roads leading to the same goal, the goal of building a world structure of peace and justice in which all may stand together with equal dignity and in which each nation, large or small, has a right to determine its own form of government, free of outside interference or domination. The world watches. The world listens. The world waits to see what we will do. What is the world? In a personal sense, I think of my eldest daughter whose birthday is today. As I think of her, I think all the children
in the world, in Asia, in Africa, in Europe, in the Americas, most of whom were born since the date of the foundation of the People’s Republic of China.
因此,让我们在今后的五天里一起开始长