历史英雄名人演讲 第25期:泰国总理他信在第34届曼谷珠宝交易会开幕式上的演讲(1)

 　　18. Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra 34th Jewelry¹ Fair in Bangkok, the Opening Ceremony of the Speech

　　18. 泰国总理他信在第34届曼谷珠宝交易会开幕式上的演讲

　　As some of you may know, Thailand has a long history relating to gems³ and jewelry,

　　正如许多人所知道的那样，泰国在宝石和珠宝制作方面有着悠久的历史。

　　starting hundreds of years ago when our ancestors mined rubies⁴ and sapphires⁵ in areas such as Chantaburi and Kanchanaburi.

　　这可以追溯到上百年之前，那时，我们的祖先便开始在炎竹汶府（地名，盛产红宝石和热带水采）和北碧府（地名，位于泰国西部）开采红蓝宝石。

　　Once the stones were mined, craftsmen⁶ began fashioning the gems and developing their cutting skills.

　　一旦这些石头被开采出来，工匠们便开始对这些宝石进行精加工，精进他们的切割工艺。

　　Craftsmanship⁷ was already an inherent part of Thai culture,

　　这项工艺早已成为泰国文化的一项遗产，

　　so perfecting these skills came naturally to them.

　　所以对那些平前的工匠们来说，完善技艺就成了他们很自然的工作。

　　It was the same for jewelry manufacturers whose skills grew out of carving⁸, weaving, and other arts already well-advanced in Thailand.

　　这种情况同样适用于那些从雕刻和编织中获取工艺的首饰制造业和其他在泰国十分先进的艺术品制造领域。

　　I believe that the combination of our natural resources and history of fine craftsmanship gave us a distinct advantage over other countries in the world in the gem² and jewelry industry.

　　我相信，我们丰富的自然资源和悠久的工艺历史已经让我们在宝石和珠宝首饰制造业方面拥有比其他国家更明显的优势。

　　Therefore, nowadays, it is no surprise that Thailand is often referred to as the gem and jewelry center of the world.

　　所以，今天，泰国被大家认定为世界宝石、珠宝中心完全在意料之中。

1 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

2 gem   

n.宝石，珠宝；受爱戴的人 [同]jewel

参考例句：

• The gem is beyond my pocket.这颗宝石我可买不起。
• The little gem is worth two thousand dollars.这块小宝石价值两千美元。

3 gems   

growth； economy； management； and customer satisfaction 增长

参考例句：

• a crown studded with gems 镶有宝石的皇冠
• The apt citations and poetic gems have adorned his speeches. 贴切的引语和珠玑般的诗句为他的演说词增添文采。

4 rubies   

红宝石( ruby的名词复数 )； 红宝石色，深红色

参考例句：

• a necklace of rubies intertwined with pearls 缠着珍珠的红宝石项链
• The crown was set with precious jewels—diamonds, rubies and emeralds. 王冠上镶嵌着稀世珍宝—有钻石、红宝石、绿宝石。

5 sapphires   

n.蓝宝石，钢玉宝石( sapphire的名词复数 )；蔚蓝色

参考例句：

• Again there was that moment of splintered sapphires before the lids, dropping like scales, extinguished it. 她眼眶中又闪烁出蓝宝石的光彩，接着眼睑象鱼鳞般地垂落下来，双目又黯然失色了。 来自辞典例句
• She also sported a somewhat gawdy gold watch set with diamonds and sapphires. 她还收到一块镶着钻石和蓝宝石的金表。 来自辞典例句

6 craftsmen   

n. 技工

参考例句：

• rugs handmade by local craftsmen 由当地工艺师手工制作的小地毯
• The craftsmen have ensured faithful reproduction of the original painting. 工匠保证要复制一幅最接近原作的画。

7 craftsmanship   

n.手艺

参考例句：

• The whole house is a monument to her craftsmanship. 那整座房子是她技艺的一座丰碑。
• We admired the superb craftsmanship of the furniture. 我们很欣赏这个家具的一流工艺。

8 carving   

n.雕刻品，雕花

参考例句：

• All the furniture in the room had much carving.房间里所有的家具上都有许多雕刻。
• He acquired the craft of wood carving in his native town.他在老家学会了木雕手艺。