1、西敏斯特大學(xué)介紹

　　非常感謝你們的盛情款待，我們很高興來到這里與你們相聚。很遺憾校長先生今天無法前來，我謹代表他介紹一下我們的學(xué)校。

　　西敏斯特大學(xué)成立于1838年，是英國第一所工科大學(xué)，所以我們學(xué)校有著悠久的歷史。我們的主校區(qū)位于英國首都倫敦市的中心地帶。目前我們的學(xué)生來自132個不同國家，人數(shù)超過22，700。西敏斯特大學(xué)是全英最受國際學(xué)生歡迎的15所大學(xué)之一。

　　我們有教師700多人，還有來自各國的客座講師1，000余人。學(xué)校的這種國際環(huán)境為學(xué)生日后將要面臨的職業(yè)生涯做好了良好的準備，我們的宗旨是提供國內(nèi)國際環(huán)境下高品質(zhì)的教育和科研。

　　我們是一所現(xiàn)代大學(xué)，在諸多研究領(lǐng)域占據(jù)領(lǐng)先地位，其中包括傳播、文化與媒體研究、法律、亞洲研究、語言學(xué)、藝術(shù)設(shè)計(含音樂)、電子工程、政治與國際關(guān)系等，我們的主要學(xué)科均獲得高度的專業(yè)認可。

　　我們真誠地希望與貴校建立交流合作項目。

　　2、 Preserve core values of the Lunar New Year

　　To people of Chinese descent around the world, the Lunar New Year (also called Spring Festival) is undoubtedly the most important festival of the year. **Dating back 3,000 years, it celebrates the passing of a peaceful year and welcomes the new one.

　　The reunion dinner, eaten on New Year’s Eve, is de rigueur, with members of the extended family gathering for the most significant meal of the year. Even the absent members will endeavor to return home in time for it. It underscores the supreme importance of the family in Chinese culture, and aims at strengthening the sense of togetherness and cohesion.

　　The way people celebrate the New Year embodies two important core values. *The first value is the sense of family togetherness; members of multi-generation families are all there to have a big reunion dinner. Everyone will follow this custom. The female members are usually held responsible for preparing the dinner, and some rich families may take on extra hands. *The second value lies in the happy visits mutually made between friends and relatives, a good way to strengthen kinship and friendship.

　　However, economic development has resulted in some changes in lifestyles. After a busy year, people are tired of preparing for the reunion dinner, and would rather hold it in posh restaurants, despite the exorbitant costs. The festival door-to-door visits have given way to New Year greetings via telephone or text messages. Some families go away for a trip or even go to such extreme as to seek temporary refuge in a hotel so as to avoid being visited.

　　* Some tradition-minded people regard the reunion dinner and visits to relatives and close friends during the New Year as where core values are embodied, without which the holiday would lose much of its significance. Some pessimists contend that, as the popularity of western culture grows, Chinese traditional festivals will gradually lose their original meaning and degenerate into commercial festivals like Christmas.

　　The Spring Festival is an important part of the Chinese cultural heritage, and it will continue to be celebrated. The modes of celebration may change, but the core value should be sustained: that of respect for kinship and friendship.

　　3、中英教育交流

　　Q：My question is about educational exchanges. You mentioned in your speech that there are large numbers of Chinese students studying in Britain. As we know, it is extremely difficult to get a scholarship at a British university. But the tuition fees for international students far exceed these for home students. So we can not help wondering about the motivation of British universities in enrolling Chinese students. Is it to promote educational exchanges with China and to liven up campus life in Britain, or just for a commercial purpose? Thank you.

　　A: 這實際上是出于多種考慮。我不否認有商業(yè)考慮，辦大學(xué)也要花錢，不過教育交流是主要目的。獎學(xué)金難申請是因為錢要由政府出，有時候納稅人有意見，說政府應(yīng)該把獎學(xué)金給本國學(xué)生而不是外國學(xué)生，所以很困難。

　　但是我們現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)在擴大獎學(xué)金范圍。事實上，過去幾年，中國學(xué)生來英國留學(xué)人數(shù)大大增加了，這說明獎學(xué)金難歸難，你們還是有辦法來留學(xué)的。

　　我想教育交流在未來會非常重要，我也希望，每一次外國學(xué)生來英國學(xué)習(xí)，回去時就像是一個英國的大使，到他的國家為我們宣傳，不管是在中國、俄羅斯還是哪個國家。所以我們在擴大教育規(guī)模，吸收更多海外留學(xué)生。所以你們繼續(xù)申請獎學(xué)金，我們會盡力幫助的。

　　Q： Mr. Blair, welcome to Tsinghua University. I was deeply impressed by your support for Sino-British educational exchanges, but I was also sorry to learn that some universities in northeastern Britain have decided to cancel the major of Chinese Culture and Language, among them the University of Durham. Will this affect cultural and educational cooperation between our two countries? If so, what is your solution?

　　A: 講到學(xué)校的課程，既然我聽說了這件事，我打算回去看看究竟，不過大學(xué)做出這樣的決定原因很多，也許是經(jīng)濟原因，或者是他們面臨某種困難，這也是時有的事情。要把想做的事情辦成，錢總是不夠的。不過我也可以向你保證，我們會一如既往地歡迎中國學(xué)生來英國學(xué)習(xí)，就算杜倫大學(xué)沒有合適的專業(yè)，其他大學(xué)也肯定有。