2019年CRI Isabel Crook: A life-long friend of China

Isabel Crook¹: A life-long friend of China

Six foreigners have been awarded the Friendship Medal for their great contributions to supporting China's socialist² modernization³, promoting exchanges and cooperation between China and foreign countries, and safeguarding world peace.

CRI reporter Guo Yan brings the story of Canadian Isabel Crook, a prominent educator who witnessed the history of the People's Republic of China and devoted⁴ herself to the country.

"I just like to say I'm very happy about these birthday greetings being given to me. That's very friendly and warm, and…(they are)good friends."

Isabel Crook appreciated the warm greetings from her family, students and friends at her 103rd birthday in Beijing. Now 104 years old, she is a witness to the founding of the People's Republic of China. She remembers the historic moment when the People's Liberation Army entered Beijing.

"We looked all down the street and it was heads of people, students, lots of students all with red triangular⁵ flags. They were waving and came along the incoming army and then came the incoming cavalry⁶ which is very exciting. It is the most joyful⁷ I think I've ever watched."

Isabel was born to a missionary⁸ couple in Chengdu in 1915 and spent most of her childhood there before going to Canada for higher education.In the 1940s the anthropologist⁹ and her husband returned to China. The couple went to Shilidian, a village in Hebei province controlled by the communists, where a massive campaign of land reform was taking place.

Isabel says she believed the revolutionary movement would reshape the future of the impoverished¹⁰ rural areas.She decided¹¹ to stay there and did field work on rural studies, which then became valuable documents with vivid accounts of the real lives of rural households, recording¹² the dramatic change in the vast rural places.

"The land reform will obviously change the whole future of China's history, because it will get rid of China's feudal¹³ system and left the old ways of doing things. Because they put the working people the farmers in power, rather than going on the old way."

The Crook couple wrote a book named Revolution in a Chinese Village: Ten Mile Inn, which was then published in London in 1959 and 20 years later in New York.The book introduced the unprecedented¹⁴ social reform in China to the rest of the world.

"One of my reasons to study the land reform was to be able to write the book that could help the Indians and help other colonial people learn from China."

When Isabel finished her field work and was about to leave China she received a letter from Yie Jianying, a prominent army chief and headmaster of a military academy. The letter came as a surprise to the couple and changed their lives ever after in a way they didn't expect.

"It was around Christmas. Wang Bingnan came and asked us to stay because China was soon going to win the liberation war and will set up People's republic of China and will have a foreign ministry¹⁵ with diplomats¹⁶ who are able to speak and have good command of English."

Isabel and her husband decided to stay and worked as teachers in a foreign study school in Hebei Province, which then morphed into one of China's top foreign language universities. Their passion for teaching lasted decades and cultivated a lot of young talents with expertise¹⁷ in foreign languages. In 1974, Isabel returned to Canada to visit her parents, and many of her friends and colleagues believed she would settle down in her hometown. But to everyone's surprise, Isabel returned to China after only a short stay in Canada.

"So much of our life was spent here on the campus. Beiwai (Beijing Foreign Studies University) our close friends. Our friends here are over thirty years are close friends right here in Beijing. Our Chinese friends our fellow teachers, the people we cared most are here in Beijing. China was the first home Canada was the second home."

Ever since then, Isabel has stayed in China and devoted the rest her life to teaching and education reform. Her efforts helped transform her school - a language college - into a university with multiple disciplines. Former Beijing Foreign Studies University Vice¹⁸ President Hu Wenzhong was one of her prominent students and a close friends with whom she worked with to press ahead reforms in education. Hu says he's impressed by his teacher's courage to go against the tide and make a difference.

"They have independent views on teaching. They were really courageous¹⁹ in terms of pressing ahead reforms. They had audacious ideas and are dauntless to make a change. They never held back their opinion nor hesitated to put their words into action or follow the crowd. We've been friends for over 50 years. For me they are great teachers and friends and role models as well. They influenced my entire life."

Isabel and other awardees of the Friendship Medals not only witnessed the shift of the fortune of China, but also contributed their passion, love and expertise to the modernization of the country, which won them wide admiration²⁰ from the public and the highest honor of the country.

1 crook   

v.使弯曲；n.小偷，骗子，贼；弯曲(处)

参考例句：

• He demanded an apology from me for calling him a crook.我骂他骗子，他要我向他认错。
• She was cradling a small parcel in the crook of her elbow.她用手臂挎着一个小包裹。

2 socialist   

n.社会主义者；adj.社会主义的

参考例句：

• China is a socialist country,and a developing country as well.中国是一个社会主义国家，也是一个发展中国家。
• His father was an ardent socialist.他父亲是一个热情的社会主义者。

3 modernization   

n.现代化，现代化的事物

参考例句：

• This will help us achieve modernization.这有助于我们实现现代化。
• The Chinese people are sure to realize the modernization of their country.中国人民必将实现国家现代化。

4 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

5 triangular   

adj.三角（形）的，三者间的

参考例句：

• It's more or less triangular plot of land.这块地略成三角形。
• One particular triangular relationship became the model of Simone's first novel.一段特殊的三角关系成了西蒙娜第一本小说的原型。

6 cavalry   

n.骑兵；轻装甲部队

参考例句：

• We were taken in flank by a troop of cavalry. 我们翼侧受到一队骑兵的袭击。
• The enemy cavalry rode our men down. 敌人的骑兵撞倒了我们的人。

7 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

8 missionary   

adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士

参考例句：

• She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。
• I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。

9 anthropologist   

n.人类学家，人类学者

参考例句：

• The lecturer is an anthropologist.这位讲师是人类学家。
• The anthropologist unearthed the skull of an ancient human at the site.人类学家在这个遗址挖掘出那块古人类的颅骨。

10 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

12 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

13 feudal   

adj.封建的，封地的，领地的

参考例句：

• Feudal rulers ruled over the country several thousand years.封建统治者统治这个国家几千年。
• The feudal system lasted for two thousand years in China.封建制度在中国延续了两千年之久。

14 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

15 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

16 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

18 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

19 courageous   

adj.勇敢的，有胆量的

参考例句：

• We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
• He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。

20 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。