Li and Me

Marcia McNutt

1 During a week-long trip to China in January this year, I was invited to meet with Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing to discuss science. At first, I was in disbelief. After all, China is a nation of 1.3 billion people. Li, as Premier and Party Secretary of the State Council, has many pressing issues of national and international concern to attend to. In all my years as a scientist, including heading a billion-dollar U.S. research agency, this was the most significant invitation I had ever received to meet with a sitting national leader to hear his vision for science and discuss important global science matters. The fact that the Chinese Premier wanted to meet with me sent strong signals as to how China is seeing science as critical to its future well-being.

2 The meeting would have clear ground rules. Just me, no U.S. reporters, for 30 minutes. We would discuss science and the economy, not politics. Some topics were off limits for the Premier, suggested as more appropriate for conversations between President Bai Chunli of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and me. I arrived early for the meeting at a beautiful traditional Chinese reception hall. No x-ray machines or body scanners such as you find at the entrance to the U.S. Capitol and the White House. The Premier and me, having tea. And we talked, and talked, for 70 minutes, on topics ranging from space exploration to international cooperation to climate change and environmental protection. At one point early in the conversation, Li’s aide rushed in with an urgent note. And yet Premier Li dismissed him; whatever important matter demanded his attention elsewhere would have to wait.

3 The Premier was clearly well prepared to demonstrate that China’s efforts to address its environmental woes have gone beyond intent to yield results. He quoted numbers on carbon stored through returning farmland to forest since 2000 (160 million tons) and the value of China’s energy-saving and environmental industries [4.5 trillion RMB yuan (approximately US$0.72 trillion) by 2015]. He stated: “We need to declare war on environmental pollution, on unclean water and dirty air.” As an example of how China is moving forward aggressively on this front, Li claimed that 60 million rural water users were supplied with clean drinking water in 2013, with another 60 million scheduled to benefit in 2014. Yet there is still much to do. The day after I left Beijing, the capital experienced dangerous smog, with concentrations of 2.5-micrometer particles that were 20 times the level considered safe by the World Health Organization.

4 Ensuring that China has the best and brightest scientists to solve these problems is not just good policy for the Premier, but something personal. Over 30 years ago, Li was a peasant from a poor rural part of China. Thanks to his excellent performance on the college entrance examination, he was admitted to the elite Peking University, which helped launch his own illustrious career. When Li became Premier, he noted that the proportion of poor students at the elite Chinese universities was declining. Therefore, last year the Chinese government asked those universities to enroll more rural students from underdeveloped central and western areas of China and provided 5 billion RMB (approximately US$0.8 billion) in scholarships to offset the cost of their college attendance. Their representation increased by 10% over the previous year, Li noted.

5 Our meeting made the 7 p.m. national news and was over the morning papers. Even cab drivers know about the meeting and were impressed. Scientific research had attained rock-star status in China. I suspect that this was the hoped-for intent when Dr. Bai of the CAS made the request for my meeting with the Premier. If the long-term result is that China’s most talented youth become researchers to find environmental solutions, then we all win.

一、Text生词

at first: at the beginning 起初；一开始

e.g. At first I did listen to the speech, but soon my mind wandered.

起初我是在听演讲，过一会思想就开小差了。

concern: n. 关心之事；关系重大之事

e.g. This is no concern of mine. Go away.

这不关我的事。走开。

Sustainable development is a matter of top concern to the Chinese government.

可持续发展是中国政府首要关注的问题。

attend to: give care and thought to 关心；注意

e.g. As Dr. Johnson is attending to your wife, would you like to have some coffee and wait?

约翰逊医生在照看你太太，你要不要喝点咖啡等着？

head: vt. be in charge of; lead 负责；领导

e.g. Alice Hamilton said that heading a strike that failed was the bitterest experience in her life.

爱丽丝·海米尔顿说领导一次失败的罢工是她生平最惨痛的经历。

significant: a. having a special meaning; important 有特殊意义的；重大的

e.g. Indeed, this is the most significant aspect of the role of religion in the divisions and conflicts in Ireland.

没错，这是爱尔兰分裂与冲突中宗教所发挥作用的最显著的一个方面。

I’m so bored with these wedding invitations. They always ask you to bring your significant other (“重要的另一半”，指伴侣). Can’t a single girl just enjoy life?

我真烦这些婚礼请柬。它们老是要你成双成对出席。单身女生就不能享受生活了吗？

vision: n. 看法，远见；愿景

e.g. When people don’t see that their leader has a vision, they’ll start to doubt him.

当人们不理解他们领袖的前景目标时，就开始产生疑惑。

global: a. worldwide 全球的

e.g. Yundi Li’s intense practice and talent brought him global reputation at a very young age.

李云迪练琴勤奋，又有天分，年纪轻轻就享誉世界。

signal: n. 信号

e.g. The flowers and chocolate he had brought sent a signal of his interest in her.

他带来的鲜花和巧克力是有意于她的一个信号。

as to: about; concerning 关于

Although either “as to” or “as for” can be used to mean “with regard to”, “on the matter of” or “concerning”, there are some differences.

1) “As to” is sometimes similar to “according to”. “As for” is not.

e.g. They sorted the eggs as to size and color.

他们根据大小和色泽对蛋加以分类。

2) When appearing at the beginning of a sentence, “as for” introduces a totally new topic whereas “as to” picks up a topic already mentioned.

e.g. Most farmland is under water. As for the grain, most of it has been ruined.

大多数农田都被淹了。庄稼大都毁了。

You can have a bed; as for him, he has to sleep on the floor.

你可以睡床；至于他，只好睡地板了。

As to the question you raised, I don’t have a ready answer right now.

至于你的问题，我一时回答不了。

As to the details of the trip, we don’t have to decide now.

至于旅行具体事宜，我们不用现在就定下来。

3) “As for” at the beginning of a sentence can sometimes indicate contempt.

e.g. As for you, I never want to see you again.

至于你，我再也不想见到。

critical: a. absolutely necessary 绝对必要的

e.g. In the long term, the supply of land is as critical to industrial performance as the supply of labour and capital.

从长远看，土地的供应对产业效益的重要性不亚于劳动力和资本的供应。

A second income is critical to a family’s well-being.

第二份收入对于家庭幸福至关重要。

off limits: beyond what one is allowed to do; beyond areas that one is allowed to enter 不在允许范围之内；属于禁区

e.g. This military exercise is off limits to reporters.

这一军事演习不对记者开放。

range: vi. include a variety of things or people 涉及，包含

e.g. The hotel offers many services to guests, ranging from tickets to hot shows to private tours of the local museum.

酒店为客人提供各种服务，包括热门表演的票子、当地博物馆的私人导游。

at one point: at one time 在某一时刻；一度

e.g. The actress dressed like Marilyn Monroe at one point of her career.

那位女演员在其职业生涯中曾一度效仿玛丽莲·梦露的衣着装扮。

cooperation: n. 合作

e.g. I sincerely hope that this meeting is the beginning of our cooperation in medical education.

衷心希望本次会议成为我们在医学教育领域合作的开始。

urgent: a. needing immediate action 迫切的；紧急的

e.g. The captain gave an urgent call for a doctor because a passenger on board suddenly fell ill.

船长紧急呼叫医生，因为船上有位乘客病倒了。

dismiss: vt. direct or allow to leave 让……离开，把……打发走

e.g. I was dismissed after I gave my report.

我递交报告后/我作了报道后就被开除了。

Judge Helman dismissed the jury after they failed to reach a verdict.

陪审团未能做出裁断，海尔曼法官将其解散。

demonstrate: vt. provide evidence for; show 证明；展示

e.g. The study demonstrated that smoking and lung cancer were related.

研究表明抽烟与肺癌有关。

address: vt. deal with 处理；应对

e.g. The company wants to know how you are going to address the risks in your business plan.

公司想知道你将如何应对你那份商业计划中的风险问题。

yield: vt. produce; bear 产生；出产

e.g. Years of training has yielded a reward for Sarah. She has won a spot on the national team.

萨拉多年的训练终有收获。她成功入选国家队。

declare war on: state officially that one is at war with 对……宣战

e.g. The Chinese government has declared war on smog by closing heavily polluting factories.

中国政府向雾霾宣战，关闭了污染严重的工厂。

schedule: vt. plan 计划

e.g. Mr. Brown, you can’t go yet. You’re scheduled to meet some investors in ten minutes.

布朗先生你还不能走。安排了你十分钟后与投资商见面。

benefit: vi. get help or improvement (from) 获益

e.g. There are many more thousands who could benefit from the program.

还有成千上万的人将受益于这个项目。

Will the urban poor benefit from the change of government?

城市贫民能否受益于政府更迭？

ensure: vt. make sure or certain 确保

e.g. What can you do to ensure that your paper is free of spelling mistakes?

要确保论文中没有拼写错误你该怎么办？

thanks to: owing to; as the result of 由于；因为

e.g. We had a wonderful time in Xi’an thanks to our guide Amy.

多谢导游艾米，我们的西安行非常尽兴。

performance: n. 表现；成绩

e.g. His parents hired a private tutor to help him improve his academic performance.

他父母给他请家教帮助他提高成绩。

launch: vt. start, get going 开启

e.g. When will Apple launch the new advertising campaign?

苹果公司什么时候开始发布新的广告？

career: n. 职业生涯

e.g. The accident brought his career as a travelling salesman to an end.

这一事故终止了他的旅行推销员的职业生涯。

proportion: n. 比例

e.g. The proportion of flour to water is critical to cake making.

做糕点时面粉与水的比率非常关键。

decline: vi. go down; grow worse 下降；恶化

e.g. Oil price has been declining since last year.

去年以来油价一路下跌。

He gave up bicycling due to declining health.

他身体不好不再骑车了。

enroll: vt. register formally as a participant or member 录取

e.g. I hope I can have the honor to be enrolled by the graduate school at your university.

衷心希望能荣幸地入读贵校研究生院。

previous: a. existing or happening before sth. else in time or order 之前的

e.g. Sam’s divorce from his previous wife was a long and bitter process/experience.

山姆与前妻的离婚案拖了很久，非常狗血。

impress: vt. affect favorably 给人深刻印象

e.g. Mr. Smith was so impressed by the performance that he went around telling people, “You must see it.”

史密斯先生对演出赞叹不已，逢人就推荐说一定要看。

attain: vt. achieve 获得；达到

e.g. Some people practice yoga to attain inner peace.

有人练瑜伽是为了获得内心的宁静。

solution: n. 解决方案

e.g. Some Americans believe that letting people carry guns might be a better solution to terrorism than strict gun control. What do you think?

有些美国人认为，与严格的枪支管理相比，允许人们持枪是应对恐怖主义的更为有效的方法。你觉得呢？

二、Text难句

Li, as Premier and Party Secretary of the State Council, has many pressing issues of national and international concern to attend to. (Para. 1)

As Premier and Party Secretary of the State Council, Li has to handle many issues that are considered important in China and the world.

李作为总理兼国务院党组书记一定有许多紧迫的国内和国际问题要处理。

Just me, no U.S. reporters, for 30 minutes. (Para. 2)

This is an incomplete sentence. The full sentences would read something like the following: The Premier is to meet me alone. No US reporter is allowed. And the meeting will last 30 minutes.

我单身赴会，美国记者不得随行，会见时间为30分钟。

No x-ray machines or body scanners such as you find at the entrance to the U.S. Capitol and the White House. (Para. 2)

There were no x-ray machines or body scanners like the ones you find at the entrance to the U.S. Capitol and the White House.

不像美国国会大厦和白宫，这里没有X光机，也没有人体扫描仪。

The Premier and me, having tea. (Para. 2)

This is an incomplete sentence. The full sentence would read something like the following: The Premier and I held a discussion while we were having tea.

总理和我一起用茶。

The Premier was clearly well prepared to demonstrate that China’s efforts to address its environmental woes have gone beyond intent to yield results. (Para. 3)

Obviously, the Premier was ready to show me that China meant business in its efforts to cope with environmental problems.

总理显然有备而来，要向我展示中国应对环境挑战的努力绝不是纸上谈兵，而是成果颇丰。

As an example of how China is moving forward aggressively on this front, Li claimed that 60 million rural water users were supplied with clean drinking water in 2013 … (Para. 3)

In order to prove how China is making huge progress in this area, Li told me that 60 million rural water users were supplied with clean drinking water in 2013 …

为了说明中国在这一战线上积极推进的成果，他举例说，在2013年，中国就有6,000万农村人口喝上了清洁的饮用水。

… he was admitted to the elite Peking University, which helped launch his own illustrious career. (Para. 4)

… he was enrolled by the elite Peking University, which gave him a start on his way towards an outstanding career.

……他被精英大学北京大学录取，从此展开了辉煌的职业生涯。