2015年CRI Old Friends Await Xi's Arrival

 

The town of Muscatine, Iowa is nestled along the banks of the Mississippi River.

While somewhat¹ nondescript, the community of some 20-thousand people has special meaning for Chinese President Xi Jinping.

He first visited the town in 1985 when he was a junior politician, spending time in Muscatine as part of a provincial² agriculture delegation³ from Hebei.

27-years later in 2012, he made a second visit as Chinese vice-President.

Sarah Lande met Xi Jinping the first time in 1985, putting him up as a guest in her home.

"We all came in the door, and we welcomed Xi Jinping to our home. This is Xi Jinping and he gave this bear to my granddaughter Lucy, and this is my son, and she named the bear China."

Meeting Xi Jinping at that time 30-years ago created a sense of interest in China for Lande.

She's since travelled to China several times, and had a chance to meet with her old friend, then-vice-President Xi Jinping, 3-years ago in Beijing.

Xi Jinping's time in Muscatine has turned the community into a cause-celeb for Chinese media.

Muscatine Mayor⁴ DeWayne Hopkins says people in his community remain the same as they did 30-years ago, with hospitality⁵ still being key to the city.

"One of the statements that Xi Jinping made several years ago was that to him, we are America-meaning us folks here in Muscatine-because of the way he was treated in 1985."

And at the same time, Hopkins says if people in China want to better understand average Americans, they need not look any further than his community.

"We, from Muscatine, tend to ignore the big political overtures⁶ that take place in Washington, D.C., and Beijing and so forth⁷, and we focus in on- if there is such a thing as a focus- the people-to-people relationships."

Xi Jinping's old friend, Sarah Lande, says in the end, she belives its inter-personal relationships which can help China and the United States get past their differences.

"I hope we can focus on the positive things and keep working through. There are differences from both points of view. But the people, the people of both countries enjoy each other."

For CRI, I'm Luo Wen.

1 somewhat   

pron.一些，某物；adv.多少，几分

参考例句：

• The cake we made was somewhat of a failure.我们做的蛋糕不大成功。
• The two office buildings are somewhat alike in appearance.这两座办公楼在外形上有点相似。

2 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

3 delegation   

n.代表团；派遣

参考例句：

• The statement of our delegation was singularly appropriate to the occasion.我们代表团的声明非常适合时宜。
• We shall inform you of the date of the delegation's arrival.我们将把代表团到达的日期通知你。

4 mayor   

n.市长

参考例句：

• The new mayor said he would clean the city up.新市长说，他要整顿本市。
• The mayor hurried into his office,brushing off the reporters.市长赶快走进办公室，拒不接见记者。

5 hospitality   

n.好客，殷勤；adj.（气候等）宜人，适宜

参考例句：

• He welcomed you to enjoy his hospitality.他欢迎你去做客。
• Thank you for your kind hospitality.谢谢你的盛情款待。

6 overtures   

n.主动的表示，提议；（向某人做出的）友好表示、姿态或提议( overture的名词复数 )；（歌剧、芭蕾舞、音乐剧等的）序曲，前奏曲

参考例句：

• Their government is making overtures for peace. 他们的政府正在提出和平建议。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had lately begun to make clumsy yet endearing overtures of friendship. 最近他开始主动表示友好，样子笨拙却又招人喜爱。 来自辞典例句

7 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。