Bush nearly places Queen Elizabeth in 18th century

President George W. Bush, no stranger to the occasional verbal misstep , nearly placed Queen Elizabeth II in the 18th century on Monday in welcoming her to the White House on a state visit.

Britain's queen and Prince Philip were treated to a formal arrival ceremony on the White House South Lawn, complete with a marching fife-and-drum corps.

Both Bush and the queen addressed the crowd as the royal couple approached the end of a six-day U.S. visit that included ceremonies marking the 400th anniversary of the British settlement in Jamestown, Virginia, and the Kentucky Derby.

Bush noted the queen's long history of dealing with successive American governments, just barely stopping himself before dating her to 1776.

\"The American people are proud to welcome your majesty back to the United States, a nation you've come to know very well. After all you've dined with 10 U.S. presidents. You've helped our nation celebrate its bicentennial in 17 -- in 1976,\" Bush said.

Bush looked at the queen sheepishly . She peered back at him from beneath her black and white hat.

\"She gave me a look that only a mother could give a child,\" Bush said as the crowd burst into laughter.

Taking the podium, the queen quickly swung into her prepared speech, hailing the closeness of U.S.-British relations.

\"It is the moment to take stock of our present friendship, rightly taking pleasure from its strengths while never taking these for granted,\" she said. \"And it is the time to look forward, jointly renewing our commitment to a more prosperous, safer and freer world.\"

White House spokesman Tony Snow made light of the incident.

\"I don't know that a lot of people joke with the queen but the president did and it worked out just fine,\" he said.

(Agencies)

The queen peered back at Bush from beneath her hat.


美国总统小布什属于在重大场合犯口误的老手。本周一，布什在白宫接待来访的英国女王伊丽莎白二世时，差点把女王的外交活动前置到18世纪。

在白宫南草坪上，布什为英女王及其丈夫菲利普亲王举行了隆重的欢迎仪式，仪式最后美国军乐队还接受了女王的检阅。

美国总统布什和英国女王均在欢迎仪式上致词。在此之前，女王伉俪对美国进行了为期6天的国事访问，期间，他们观看了肯塔基赛马大会，并参加了英国在北美建立的第一个殖民地——弗吉尼亚州的詹姆斯敦——建城四百周年纪念活动。

致词中，布什谈到英女王与数任美国政府的外交往来史来已久，但在回顾历史时，布什差点说出口的“1776”几乎让他卡壳。

布什说：“美国人民不胜荣幸欢迎女王陛下重访美国，这个您所熟知的国度。您曾经和10位美国总统共进晚餐，您还参加了美国国庆200周年的纪念仪式，那是在17……1976年。”

布什羞怯地朝女王看去，女王不动声色的回视近乎被她黑白相间的礼帽遮过。

“她刚才看我的眼神就像母亲看小孩。” 布什即时的解嘲语引得听众哄堂大笑。

女王随后登上讲坛，发表了精心准备的致词。她在致词中高度评价了英美两国的亲密关系。

“此时，我们应该仔细衡量两国目前的友谊。我们在为双方的友好感到欣慰时，也不应该认为这种友好来的理所当然，” 女王说，“我们应该向前看，继续担负起共同捍卫一个更加繁荣、更加安全、更加自由的世界的职责。”

对于布什致词中的口误，白宫发言人托尼·斯诺事后轻描淡写。

他说，“我想，不是很多人会和英国女王开玩笑的，但总统做到了，而且还做得不错。”

（英语点津陈蓓编辑）







Vocabulary:  

verbal misstep: 口误

sheepishly: 羞怯地