That brings me to my final point, which is how do we help give the Climate Group the focus

ch recognition for my achievements in this country. As an international athlete you get the opportunity to travel the world and to pursue your dreams of being the best at what you set out to be representing your country. In my experience "the spirit of friendship" which we are all enjoying tonight is embodied in these international competitions. //

I was 10 years old when it was announced that Sydney won the bid back in 1993. Seven years later I was competing in the greatest sporting event the world has ever seen against the best in the world. The Olympic spirit is all about being in one place at one time as one people. Where your race, color or creed is irrelevant and you compete as equals—no other avenue in the world allows this level of friendship. //

We showcase the best the world has to offer in sport and every athlete representing their country helps unite the world as one. The Olympic spirit is not something preserved for athletes. For me particularly—it is the hope and inspiration that it generates for young people in the world. //

To have an Olympics in your own home city is an experience which is almost impossible to put into words. It is about your pride for your country, welcoming the world as hosts and bringing so many foreign nations together in peaceful competition. It is truly a celebration of humanity. //

I can look back now on the many friendships that I have been able to make through sport and it is wonderful that we now live in an age where countries can compete together in friendly competition and all of us are enriched and better off for this experience—win, lose or draw. //

I am amazed at the exciting changes that are happening in China at present and have little doubt that Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will be an outstanding event. And regardless of whether I am still swimming or not—I intend to be here. The thing as an athlete you remember above anything else when you fly to a foreign country to compete is the "people." At the Sydney Olympics it was the efforts of the volunteers and the public whose smiling faces gleamed with pride during the games that made the Olympic experience my fondest living memory. //

The culture and the history of a foreign place also make a striking impression. China, with its 5000 years of continuous history and richness of cultural heritage will be an unforgettable experience for the athletes of the world when they visit here in the lead up to and during 2008.

During my short stay in China I have had the great pleasure to visit your most significant sites including the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. I am truly humbled by these monuments that have stood the test of time. The scale, craftsmanship and beauty of the Forbidden City has left me awestruck particularly when you consider the challenges that must have existed when it was built. //

The Olympics themselves have a heritage, which goes back over thousands of years and of course were revived by Baron Pierre de Coubertin in modern times in Athens, 1896. I also wish to commend Beijing on its desire to stage a "Green Games"—something Sydney also considered a high priority. For all athletes, the quality of the environment in which they compete is important. Air quality and water quality can affect performances, and can assist an athlete to achieve his or her personal best. //

At the Sydney 2000 Games, I greatly appreciated the efforts of the organizers to achieve high environmental standards. And I am pleased to advise that the Organizing Committee in Beijing is working to achieve even higher environmental standards. The many innovations and environmental programs that are being implemented in preparations for the Beijing 2008 Games will leave one of the most significant and lasti

only temporary, or has it come to stay?

n seriously. When the violation becomes habitual, however, a great deal more than a traffic problem is involved.

Mr. Vice Premier, the Finance Minister,

Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let me, first of all, return the compliment, on behalf of all of us, to you, Mr. Vice Premier, to you, Mr.Minister, and you, Mr. Mayor, for the great contribution that you have made to the success of this meeting. Idon't think any of us could have imagined a more well-organized conference or a more warm welcome thanyou have given us here in Shanghai, and I would like everyone to join me in expressing our thanks to you.[TONE]∥[TONE]

I would like to make just two general comments.

The first is that all of us have to work politically to ensure that poverty and the alleviation of poverty arecentral on the global agenda. I believe that today it is not central on the global agenda. I believe that todaylip service is given to the question of poverty. The real issues today that seem to be on the mind of theworld—terrorism, Iraq, Afghanistan, the budget deficits—are the visible problems that must be dealt with,that are immediate, while attention is given less to the equally inevitable and the equally dangerous problemsthat come with poverty. [TONE]∥[TONE]

We must deal with the question of social equity and social justice. Because without dealing with thatquestion of poverty, there can't be any peace, and $900 billion being spent on military expenditure, $300billion being spent on agricultural subsidies, and $50- or $60 billion being spent on overseas developmentassistance is one of the absurdities that we have to change. [TONE]∥[TONE]

And the second and last thing I'd like to say is that we have talked about economics, we have talkedabout advances that must be made for social justice, and we've talked about steps that need to be taken inempowerment and in the methodologies that we can use to scale up. [TONE]∥[TONE]

But the one thing that we have not talked about and that I think all of us need to recognize is that if weare to be effective in advocating the case for poverty reduction, and hopefully eradication, is that we have to do it with a sense of belief that what we are doing is right. We should be addressing the question of poverty not just from economics, but because dealing with equity and social justice is right. [TONE]∥[TONE]

We should not be afraid to say that there is a human content in what we're doing, but there is alsoa moral and, if you like, spiritual content in what we're doing. We are not here just as economists. Weare here because we owe every human being in the world an opportunity and a chance to fulfill theirdestiny. [TONE]∥[TONE]

And so going out from this meeting I hope we feel a little bit uplifted and a little bit responsible to goout from here to deal with the question of scaling up of poverty alleviation because it's right, and as membersof the human race, it's something that we should do.

Thank you very much to our hosts, and thank you all for being here. [TONE]∥[TONE]

rs in blossoms.

ds, different faces, foreign languages, and interesting customers all fascinate the travellers.

我们污染了空气

清洁的空气对于健康是至关重要。空气中含有杂质，这些杂质会被我们的身体吸收，使人生病。我们需要清洁的空气，但不幸的是，目前普遍存在着空气污染，尤其是在城市里。

城市里有许多食品厂、服装厂和制造其它东西的工厂。每天这些工厂把千百万吨烟灰排入空气中。燃煤的工厂也大大加重了空气污染。

工厂产生的东西过一个时期就会损坏，然后就作为垃圾扔掉。我们烧掉许多垃圾，烟灰就增多了。还有工厂制造的汽车。汽车一旦出厂在街上行驶，将会吸进空气，排出有毒的气体，并增加空气中的烟尘。

世界上还没有一个彻底摆脱了空气污染的地区。我们必须采取些措施来控制空气污染。

现在越来越多的人认识到清洁的空气的重要性。学校正在把有关污染的问题纳入教学内容。企业界在帮着净化空气，他们安装了特别的设备来清除烟雾。科学家和发明家们正在努力开发更加清洁的汽车和火车引擎，终有一天我们会驾驶着电力汽车，会有一种新型的纸，在水里溶化而不需要燃烧。一些国家正在开发研制一种新型的、会在阳光下溶化和消失的玻璃瓶。

或许，人们在城市里能呼吸新鲜空气的日子将会到来。