酷悠中英文对照双语阅读网

酷悠中英文对照双语阅读网

On his first visit to China, Barack Obama has won hearts and minds with a simple gesture--by carrying his own umbrella.

He had it clasped firmly in his left hand, a large black umbrella protecting him from a downpour as he stepped off Air Force One on arrival in Shanghai on Sunday evening. In a country where officials often have flunkeys to hold their umbrellas, the image of a U.S. president keeping his own head dry was poignant. Xinhua and other prominent Chinese media all captured the moment.

'I felt unaccustomed to this--Obama holding the umbrella on his own,' said a commentator in the Wuhan-based Changjiang Daily. 'There was nobody crowding round. The Chinese public puts up with a culture in which government officials have their umbrellas held for them. Officials enjoying themselves under an umbrella don't even think they are doing anything wrong.'

'Why don't we learn from the spirit of umbrella-holding by Obama?' asked a blogger called Nanshan Fangma. 'The United States is not a heaven, nor is it a hell. At least there are some examples we can learn from at this stage.'

The 'umbrella performance' of Chinese officials has long attracted criticism from the Chinese public, and invited unfavorable comparisons with official custom in the West. In one set of photos widely circulated on the Internet, a Chinese girl student is shown holding an umbrella for an official as he delivers a speech on Children's Day. Others show the U.K. Queen holding an umbrella aloft; former U.S. President George W. Bush and former Russia President Putin shielding their First Ladies; and Bush struggling with his umbrella on a windy day. 'Being a government official in our country is truly awesome and glorious,' says an online commenter.

To his credit, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao bucks the umbrella trend in China. Wen, who cultivates a man-of-the-people image, often carries his own umbrella when he shows up to comfort victims of natural disasters.

The women's section of popular Web site netease.com has declared that the umbrella issue has become a vital standard in judging the character of a man. The site is promoting a feature that seeks 'A True Man of Obama Style.' It said, 'Obama is a responsible person. He is in a high position but he doesn't abuse power. That little

gesture of holding umbrella is very charming,' it said. 奥

巴马在首次访华之行中就以一个简单的动作赢得了人心──他自撑雨伞。Associated Press

周日晚间“空军一号”专机在雨中飞抵上海，奥巴马走出机舱时，左手紧紧握着一把黑色的大伞。在中国这样一个常常有随从给官员撑伞的国家，一位美国总统自己打伞的画面非常有力。新华社和中国的其他主要媒体都捕捉到了这一瞬间。

武汉《长江日报》的一篇文章中说，“让我觉得不习惯的是奥巴马自己撑着雨伞下飞机，没有人前呼后拥。而在中国官场文化下，给领导打伞不仅被民众所容忍，在伞下享受的官员自己，也没觉得有什么不妥。”

一位名叫“南山放马”的博主问道，“我们为何不学习美总统奥巴马雨中独自撑伞精神？”“美国不是天堂，也不是地狱，至少现阶段是我们学习的榜样！”

中国官员的“雨伞表现”长久以来一直受到中国公众的批评，并引起了与

西方官员作风的令人不快的比较。在互联上广泛流传的一组照片中，一个中国小女孩为一名在儿童节上讲话的官员打伞。其他的照片中则有英国女王自己打着伞；美国前总统小布什和俄罗斯前总统普京分别为夫人打伞；以及布什在一个大风天雨伞被吹翻。一个络员说，“在我们国家，当公务员就是牛，就是爽，就是荣耀。”

值得表扬的是，中国国务院总理温家宝一反中国的撑伞潮流。温家宝树立了一个亲民总理的形像，他在安抚遭受自然灾害的灾民时常常自己打伞。易上的女性栏目宣布，雨伞问题已经成为评判一个男人品质的重要标准。该站正在宣传一个专题，寻找“奥巴马式的真男人”。文章说，“奥巴马有责任心，他位高权重却不滥用权力，那一抹撑伞的风度令人倾倒。”