改革开放的实质，就是坚持以人为本，通过解放和发展生产力满足人们日益增长的物质文化需求，在公正的条件下促进人的全面发展；就是保障人民的民主权利，让国家政通人和、兴旺发达；就是维护人的尊严和自由，让每个人的智慧和力量得以迸发，成功地追求自己的幸福生活。 (来源：英语学习门户网站EnglishCN.com)

　　The essence of China's reform and opening-up is to put people first and meet their ever growing material and cultural needs through releasing and developing productive forces. It aims to give everyone equal opportunities for all-round development. It aims to protect the democratic rights of the people and promote stability, harmony and prosperity across the land. And it aims to safeguard the dignity and freedom of everyone so that he or she may pursue happiness with ingenuity and hard work.

　　30年来，中国贫困人口减少了2亿多，人均寿命提高了5岁，8300万残疾人得到政府和社会的特殊关爱，这是中国保障人权的光辉业绩。九年免费义务教育的推行，农村合作医疗制度的建立，社会保障体系的完善，使学有所教、病有所医、老有所养的理想，正在变为现实。

　　Over the past three decades, more than 200 million Chinese have been lifted out of poverty, the average life expectancy has increased by 5 years, and the 83 million people with disabilities in China have received special care from the government and the society. All this points to the tremendous efforts China has made to protect human rights. We have introduced free nine-year compulsory education throughout the country, established the cooperative medical system in the rural areas and improved the social safety net. The age-old dream of the Chinese nation is being turned into reality a dream to see the young educated, the sick treated and the old cared for.

　　我愿借用两句唐诗形容中国的现状：“潮平两岸阔，风正一帆悬。”中国人正在努力实现现代化，这是一个古而又新的发展中大国进行的一场伟大实践。掌握了自己命运的中国人民，对未来充满信心！

　　I want to quote from a Tang Dynasty poem to describe what is happening in China, "From shore to shore it is wide at high tide, and before fair wind a sail is lifting." The Chinese people are working hard to modernize their country. This is a great practice in a large developing country both ancient and new. The Chinese people, with destiny in their own hands, are full of confidence in their future.

　　我深深爱着的祖国——历经磨难而又自强不息。

　　My beloved motherland is a country that stood numerous vicissitudes but never gave up.

　　我年轻时曾长期工作在中国的西北地区。在那浩瀚的沙漠中，生长着一种稀有的树种，叫胡杨。它扎根地下50多米，抗干旱、斗风沙、耐盐碱，生命力极其顽强。它“生而一千年不死，死而一千年不倒，倒而一千年不朽”，世人称为英雄树。我非常喜欢胡杨，它是中华民族坚韧不拔精神的象征。

　　Earlier in my career, I worked in northwest China for many years. There, in the boundless desert, grows a rare variety of tree called euphrates poplar. Rooted over 50 meters down the ground, they thrive in hostile environments, defying droughts, sandstorms and salinization. They are known as the "hero tree", because a euphrates poplar can live for a thousand years. Even after it dies, it stands upright for a thousand years, and even after it falls, it stays intact for another thousand years. I like euphrates poplar because they symbolize the resilience of the Chinese nation.

　千百年来，中华民族一次次战胜了天灾人祸，渡过了急流险滩，昂首挺胸地走到今天。深重的灾难，铸就了她百折不挠、自强不息的品格。中华民族的历史证明了一个真理：一个民族在灾难中失去的，必将从民族的进步中得到补偿。

　　Over the millennia, the Chinese nation has weathered numerous disasters, both natural and man-made, surmounted all kinds of difficulties and challenges, and made her way to where she proudly stands today. The long sufferings have only made her a nation of fortitude and perseverance. The experience of the Chinese nation attests to a truth: what a nation loses in times of disaster will be made up for by her progress.

　　此时此刻，我不禁想起在汶川地震灾区的亲身经历。去年5月，四川汶川发生震惊世界的特大地震，北川中学被夷为平地，孩子伤亡惨重。可是，时隔10天，当我第二次来到这里时，乡亲们已在废墟上搭起了板房教室，校园里又回荡着孩子们朗朗的读书声。当时我在黑板上，给同学们写下了“多难兴邦”几个字。地震发生以来，我7次到汶川灾区，碰到这样感人的事迹不胜枚举。我为我们中华民族这种愈挫愈奋的精神深深感动。这种伟大的精神，正是我们的民族饱经忧患而愈益坚强、生生不息的力量源泉。

　　I am reminded of the experience that I had in Wenchuan, Sichuan Province after the devastating earthquake there last May. That earthquake shocked the whole world. It flattened Beichuan Middle School and claimed many young lives. But only 10 days after the earthquake, when I went there for the second time, I had before my eyes new classrooms built on debris by local villagers with planks. Once again, the campus echoed with the sound of students reading aloud. I wrote down 4 Chinese characters on the blackboard, meaning "A country will emerge stronger from adversities." I have been to Wenchuan seven times since the earthquake and witnessed countless touching scenes like this. I am deeply moved by the unyielding spirit of my people. This great national spirit is the source of strength which has enabled the Chinese nation to emerge from all the hardships stronger than before.