TED演讲:我难忘的一次中国行(6)

 　　And in the local square, what would we see. 在广场上，我们会看到一些景象。

　　Well, in western countries often you won't see anyone other than young people, 在西方国家，我们通常不会在广场上看到年轻人以外的任何人，

　　because the squares are associated with alcohol and pubs and often they will be places that the very old and very young wouldn't go. 因为广场和酒精以及酒吧有关，老年人和小孩子往往不会去这些地方。

　　But not so in China. We would see the line dancing. 但在中国不是这样的。我们会在广场上看到人们在跳舞。

　　In fact, we used to join in with various dancers dancing in the squares 事实上，我们常常加入到他们中间，

　　with the more senior experienced dancers at the front and the less experienced watching and taking the note 资深的舞者在前面，经验不足的则在一旁看着，

　　and the children sitting there in front of them and the man sitting to the side playing chesses. 孩子们坐在他们前面，男人们坐在一旁下棋。

　　It was a wonderful picture. But what reminded us was that young people and children are the center of attention for the Chinese. 这是一个美好的画面。但这提醒我们，对于中国人而言，年轻人和孩子是重点关注对象。

　　We know how investment in young people and in children pays off multiple multiple times if you can get it. 我们知道，如果在年轻人和孩子身上进行投资，你会得到好几倍的回报。

　　And so, the fact that you would see children not just playing with other children, 你会看到孩子们不仅仅是在和其他孩子一起玩耍，

　　not just on their own, but actually surrounded by adults all fighting for the opportunity to look after the child. 不仅仅是自己玩耍，实际上他们被大人们包围着，他们都在争先恐后地照看孩子。

　　You realize this is very important in understanding China. 要了解中国，知道这一点非常重要。

　　They invest in their future. They invest in their children. 他们对自己的未来进行投资。他们对他们的孩子进行投资。

　　And you see that then reflected in education. 这一点在教育问题上得到了反映。