1. 手机刷新了人与人的关系。会议室门口通常贴着一条通告：请与会者关闭手机。可是会议室里的手机铃声仍然响成一片。我们都是普通人，并没有多少重要的事情。尽管如此，我们也不会轻易关掉手机。打开手机象征我们与这个世界的联系。手机反映出我们的"社交饥渴症"。最为常见的是，一个人走着走着突然停下来，眼睛盯着手机屏幕发短信。他不在乎停在马路中央还是厕所旁边。
Few things have changed human relations as much as the cell phone has. It so happens that we often see a notice on a door to a conference room, "Please keep your cell phone off when a meeting is in session." We still, however, always hear the beeps resounding throughout the chamber. The prevalence of using the cell phone today reflects our "thirst for socialization" and symbolizes a connection between us and the outside world. We are therefore reluctant to turn it off, although few of us are VIPs, or those who have many urgencies to take immediate care of. So we often notice such a picture: a pedestrian, all of sudden, stops, his eyes fixed on the phone screen, to edit his messages, oblivious of all other things. Whether being on the road center or beside a toilet does not seem to bother him.
2. We, the human species, are confronting a planetary emergency - a threat to the survival of our civilization that is gathering ominous and
destructive potential even as we gather here. But there is hopeful news as well: we have the ability to solve this crisis and avoid the worst - though not all - of its consequences, if we act boldly, decisively and quickly.
However, too many of the world's leaders are still best described in the words of Winston Churchill applied to those who ignored Adolf Hitler's threat: “They go on in strange paradox, decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, all powerful to be impotent.”
So today, we dumped another 70 million tons of global-warming pollution into the thin shell of atmosphere surrounding our planet, as if it were an open sewer. And tomorrow, we will dump a slightly larger amount, with the cumulative concentrations now trapping more and more heat from the sun
我们人类，正面临全球性的危机，我们的生存和文明受到威胁。尽管我们聚在一起共商对策，而灾难却在扩大，形式不容乐观。但也有令人欣喜的消息：如果行动大胆果断，反应迅速，我们有能力解决这场危机，避免其向最坏的方向发展。
但是，时下世界上的许多国家领导人可以用当年温斯顿·丘吉尔批评欧洲诸政要忽视阿道夫·希特勒的名言来形容，"它们在奇怪的悖论中前行，仅仅为一个决定而犹豫不决，有了决心却拖泥带水，信心犹疑不定，见解随波逐流，掌权者虚弱无力。"
而如今我们向这个星球脆弱的大气层倾倒超过七千万吨温室气体，把其当作天然排污口。明天我们还会变本加厉，堆积的温室气体吸纳了越来越多的太阳热度。
3. Anyone with eyes can take delight in a face or a flower. You need training, however, to perceive the beauty in mathematics or physics or chess, in the architecture of a tree, the design of a bird’s wing, or the shiver of breath through a flute. From most of human history, the training has come from elders who taught the young how to pay attention. By paying attention, we learn to savor all sorts of patterns, from quantum mechanics to patchwork quilts. This predilection brings with it a clear evolutionary advantage, for the ability to recognize patterns helped our ancestors to select mates, find food, and avoid predators.
凡眼见于俏脸、鲜花，无人不觉赏心悦目。然而，要参透数学、物理或棋弈之美，欣赏树之有形、鸟之翼趣，乃至对长笛奏出的悠悠颤音心领神会，则必经专门训练方可体味。在人类大部历史上，这种训练就是学会如何观察，历来由长者教之于幼者。通过观察，人类学会去鉴赏天地万化之模式，从量子力学到百纳被无所不包。此痴情所至，亦使人类在进化过程中占尽先机，能辨万化之象，有助于先人们择偶、觅食，逃避猛兽。
4. 中华民族文化历史悠久，起源很早，内容极为丰富，是东方文明的主要组成部分，早在上古时期就已是人类文化的一个独立典型。在物质文化方面，中国的“四大发明”曾经改变世界历史的进程。在精神文明方面，“以人为本”的人格价值思想和“和为贵”的和平与发展的思想，对世界文化解决个人与社会、人与自然、道德与生命的根本关系做出了杰出的贡献。
As an important component of Oriental civilization, the Chinese culture is rich and well-established with a long history, distinguished from ancient times by its characteristics in human culture. With respect to its material culture, China’s “four inventions”, namely, gunpowder, printing, the compass and papermaking, have influenced the process of world history. With respect to ethical culture, the ideas of “people come first” (for human dignity) and “harmony prevails over all”// “conciliation is invaluable” (for the peace and development) have made great contributions to the world’s culture, dealing well with the fundamental relationships between individuals and society, man and nature, and morality and life.
5. Women have often more of what is called good sense than men. They have fewer pretensions; are less implicated in theories, and judge of objects more from their immediate and involuntary impression on the
mind, and, therefore, more truly and naturally. They cannot reason wrong, for they do not reason at all. They do not think or speak by rule, and they have in general more eloquence and wit as well as sense, on that account. By their wit, sense, and eloquence together, they generally contrive to govern their husbands.
和男人相比，女人通常有更好的所谓直觉。她们很少自命不凡；她们也不大深究理论，她们判断事物更多地是从头脑中下意识的第一印象出发，因此她们的判断也就更真实和自然。她们不可能有推理错误，因为她们根本就不推理。她们思考或讲话时也不遵循什么规则；正因为如此，她们一般更善辩，更机智，直觉更好。集机智、善辩与出色的直觉于一身，她们通常都有办法支配自己的丈夫.
6. Shanghai in modern times was a metropolis crowded with foreign adventurers. After the port city opened up, it witnessed a history of blood and tears filled with bitterness, inequality, filth and mire, well-known as the “Paradise of Adventurers” for its rampant opium, harlots and gamesters, which induced people to indulge in luxury and even degeneracy. There was, however, another facet to modern Shanghai noted for its vigor, intelligence, creations and enterprise with a spirit ready for running risks, which formed an awareness of its own and the mechanism of competition. The city, with this awareness or style, inspired
its people to keep up with the times and make progress.
近代的上海，十里洋场，自开埠以来，固然有许多辛酸的不平等的血泪史，固然有许多污泥浊水，这里被成为是“冒险家的乐园”，这里有鸦片，有荡妇，有赌棍，使人纸醉金迷，乃至使人堕落。可是，上海这座现代大城市却更有它的另一面，它有活力、它聪慧、革新、进取，它敢于担风险，有竞争意识及机制，这种城市意识或风格，使人奋发，跟上时代，走向进步。
7 人自孩提时代起，求学、谋职、恋爱、成家、立业、功名、财富……几乎无时不在追求，而且总也不能满足。当然，事业上的追求与物欲上的贪婪，是两种截然不同的人生观，或可说是两种内涵迥异的苦乐观。但有一点是共同的，即人生的道路并非平坦的康庄大道，事物的发展往往不以人的意志为转移。与其陶醉在“梦想成真”的幻觉中，莫若在实践中多多磨砺自己。有道是“苍天不负有心人”嘛！即或如此，也未必事事天遂人意。总之，有追求必有烦恼，这就是生活实际。
Ever since our childhood, we are busy with schooling, job-hunting, love affairs, home and career developing, fame and wealth gaining, etc., seemingly with no ending or satisfaction in pursuit. No doubt striving for success in career and coveting material wealth are completely two different outlooks on life, or in other words, two different views in
meaning of comfort and discomfort, but they have one thing in common, that is, life is no plain sailing, and things develop independent of man’s will. Therefore, we would rather temper ourselves in life than indulge in the illusion, for, as the saying goes, “Heaven rewards the faithful//Heaven helps those who help themselves”. Even so, that does not meant you are bound to succeed in everything you try. In short, no one can escape from vexation if he strives in life. This and this alone tells the true meaning of life.
8. 经过近30年的努力，中国成功地探索了一条具有本国特色的综合治理人口问题的道路，逐步形成了适应市场经济要求的人口调控体系和计划生育工作管理体制，人口与发展取得了举世瞩目的成就，公民的生存权、发展权和经济、社会、文化权利显著改善。
After nearly 30 years of efforts, China has successfully found its own way to have an integrated approach to the population issue with its own national characteristics. A system of regulating and adjusting the population growth with a proper family planning program management has gradually come into being. This is a system in keeping with the market economy. China’s population and development program has achieved universally acknowledged success. The citizens’ rights to subsistence and development and their rights in the socio-economic and cultural fields have been notably improved.
9. 既然“双赢”需要相互的适应和妥协，那么要来中国求“赢”的外国商家，就也得量一量中国的“轨”、摸索一下中国的“惯例”，否则即使在硬规则上赢了，也可能陷在软规则里动弹不得。接轨不应该、也不可能是单向的，各做调整、相互适应，才是双赢的基础。
Since a win-win situation requires mutual concession and compromise, then foreign enterprises that hope to make gains on the Chinese market should understand China’s traditions and conventions, otherwise they will be trapped in the “soft rules” in China. The realization of a win-win situation should be based on mutual adaptation and adjustment, rather than one side following the other side’s practices.
10. 在中国古代史上，黄河被称为中华民族的“母亲”，她哺育了千千万万中华儿女。黄河流域是中华民族的“摇篮”，也是中华文化的发祥地。远古时代，这里曾经草木茂盛、植物繁茂，中华民族的祖先便在这块广袤的土地上劳作生息。经过数十万年原始社会后，在中国辽阔的国土上，这里最先进入农业文明，也最早进入阶级社会。勤劳勇敢的中华儿女在这里谱写了惊心动魄的历史篇章，创造了绚丽多彩的艺术文化，黄河流域至今保留着大量的文化古迹。
Known in ancient history of China as the “mother” of the nation, the Yellow River has given life to hundreds of millions of Chinese people. As called the “cradle” of the nation, it is also the region for Chinese civilization to start from. In ancient times, it was a vast land abundant
with an exuberant plant life like trees, grass, etc., where the Chinese ancestors worked and lived . After hundreds of thousands of years of the primitive society, it became, of all places in China, the first settled agricultural region and the foothold of the class society in Chinese history, where the diligent and brave Chinese people gave a lot of breath-taking performances in history and created a variety of colorful arts and cultures. Today many cultural ashes and historic relics are still remaining in this region.
11. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
那是一个昌盛之世，但也是一个衰败之世；那是一个智慧的时代，但也是一个愚蠢的时代；那是一个充满信仰的新纪元，但也是一个充满怀疑的新纪元；那是光明的时刻，但也是黑暗的时刻；那是希望的春天，但也是绝望的冬天；我们眼前拥有一切，但我们眼前也一无所有；我们都直接走向天堂，也直接走向地狱——总之，那个时期如同现在
一样喧嚷的官方不论好坏，只不过是在最大程度上要求人们非接受它不可。
12. 进入21世纪，经济全球化、信息网络化，已经把世界连成一体，文化的发展将不再是各自封闭的，而是在相互影响中多元共存。一个国家、一个民族对人类文化贡献的大小，越来越取决于她吸收外来文化的能力和自我更新的能力。中国将永远坚持开放兼容的方针，既珍视传统，又博采众长，用文明的方式、和谐的方式实现经济繁荣和社会进步。
In the 21st century, economic globalization and the information network have linked us all together. Different cultures live together and influence each other. No culture can flourish in isolation. How much a country or a nation contributes to the culture of humanity is increasingly determined by her ability to absorb foreign cultures and renew herself. That is why China will remain open and receptive, value her own traditions while drawing on others' successful experience, and achieve economic prosperity and social progress in a civilized and harmonious way.