我很髙兴出席《牛津英汉汉英词典》（Oxford Chinese Dictionary)发行仪式。这一词典的出版发行，对于广大学习英语的中国人，以及日益增多的正在学汉语的英语母语者来说，无疑是一个大好消息。因此，我要致以热烈的祝贺。
自100多年前《牛渖英语词典》这一“词典之帝”出版以来，可以说牛津大学出版社一直执全球词典出版界之牛耳。“牛津”二字儿乎成了髙质量英文工具书的代名词。据称，世界上每分钟就6个人购买牛津出版的词典。牛津大学出版社又是与中方合作最多的外国出版社之一。
牛津大学出版社的系列英语词典足中国人学英语的必备工具书，也足许多人的首选工具书。我还记得，我年轻时就拥有一部《精选英汉汉英词典》，这是上世纪70年代末牛津大学出版社和中国现代历史最悠久的出版社——商务印书馆最早合作的产物。至于两家80年代随后推出的《牛津髙阶英汉双解词典》，则更是风靡一时，长盛不衰，被英语学者奉为圭臬。
语言是文化的载体。学一个国家语言的过程，也是了解一个国家文化的过程。因此，《牛津英汉汉英词典》的出版，其意义不仅在于为读者提供了髙质量的语言工具书，更为促进中英文化交流做出了新的贡献。
最后，我祝愿《牛津英汉汉英词典》发行取得佳绩，也祝愿牛津大学出版社与中国出版界的合作蒸蒸日上。
无It is my great pleasure to join you at the launching ceremony of the Oxford Chinese Dictionary. I offer my warmest congratulations on the dictionary, as there is no doubt that its launch will be great news for the many people learning English in China and the increasing number of mandarin-learning native English speakers.
Since the classic Oxford English Dictionary was published more than a century ago, the Oxford University Press (OUP) has been the most prestigious dictionary publisher in the world. Even the name ‘ Oxford’ represents a quality guarantee for English reference books, and if proof was needed, it is said that 6 Oxford dictionaries are sold every minute.
The OUP is one of the largest foreign publishing partners of China, with Oxford English dictionaries being the must-have dictionaries for students learning English and, for many others, their first choice as a reference book. When I was a young diplomat, I used to have a Concise English- Chinese Chinese-English Dictionary, which was the result of the early cooperation between the OUP and the Commercial Press back in the late 1970’ s. The two later worked together again to produce another immensely popular dictionary, the Oxford Advanced Learner’ s English-Chinese Dictionary, which many Chinese students believe is the leading English-Chinese dictionary.
Language is an important part of any culture and when you learn a foreign language, you get to know aspects of the culture you would otherwise miss. That is why the publication of this dictionary will not only help users to develop their language skills, but also improve their understanding and so contribute to improving China-UK cultural exchanges.
To conclude, I wish this dictionary every success and may the OUP and the Chinese publishing industries enjoy closer cooperation!