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Bush looked at the queen sheepishly.
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President George W. Bush, no stranger to the occasionalverbal misstep, nearly placed Queen Elizabeth II in the 18th century on Monday in welcoming her to the White House on a state visit.
Britain's queen and Prince Philip were treated to a formal arrival ceremony on the White House South Lawn, complete with a marching fife-and-drum corps.
Both Bush and the queen addressed the crowd as the royal couple approached the end of a six-day U.S. visit that included ceremonies marking the 400th anniversary of the British settlement in Jamestown, Virginia, and the Kentucky Derby.
Bush noted the queen's long history of dealing with successive American governments, just barely stopping himself before dating her to 1776.
"The American people are proud to welcome your majesty back to the United States, a nation you've come to know very well. After all you've dined with 10 U.S. presidents. You've helped our nation celebrate its bicentennial in 17 -- in 1976," Bush said.
Bush looked at the queensheepishly. She peered back at him from beneath her black and white hat.
"She gave me a look that only a mother could give a child," Bush said as the crowd burst into laughter.
Taking the podium, the queen quickly swung into her prepared speech, hailing the closeness of U.S.-British relations.
"It is the moment to take stock of our present friendship, rightly taking pleasure from its strengths while never taking these for granted," she said. "And it is the time to look forward, jointly renewing our commitment to a more prosperous, safer and freer world."
White House spokesman Tony Snow made light of the incident.
"I don't know that a lot of people joke with the queen but the president did and it worked out just fine," he said.
(Agencies)
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The queen peered back atBushfrom beneath her hat.
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美國(guó)總統(tǒng)小布什屬于在重大場(chǎng)合犯口誤的老手。本周一，布什在白宮接待來(lái)訪的英國(guó)女王伊麗莎白二世時(shí)，差點(diǎn)把女王的外交活動(dòng)前置到18世紀(jì)。
在白宮南草坪上，布什為英女王及其丈夫菲利普親王舉行了隆重的歡迎儀式，儀式最后美國(guó)軍樂(lè)隊(duì)還接受了女王的檢閱。
美國(guó)總統(tǒng)布什和英國(guó)女王均在歡迎儀式上致詞。在此之前，女王伉儷對(duì)美國(guó)進(jìn)行了為期6天的國(guó)事訪問(wèn)，期間，他們觀看了肯塔基賽馬大會(huì)，并參加了英國(guó)在北美建立的第一個(gè)殖民地——弗吉尼亞州的詹姆斯敦——建城四百周年紀(jì)念活動(dòng)。
致詞中，布什談到英女王與數(shù)屆美國(guó)政府的外交往來(lái)史來(lái)已久，但在回顧歷史時(shí)，布什差點(diǎn)說(shuō)出口的“1776”幾乎讓他卡殼。
布什說(shuō)：“美國(guó)人民不勝榮幸歡迎女王陛下重訪美國(guó)，這個(gè)您所熟知的國(guó)度。您曾經(jīng)和10位美國(guó)總統(tǒng)共進(jìn)晚餐，您還參加了美國(guó)國(guó)慶200周年的紀(jì)念儀式，那是在17……1976年?！?/font>
布什羞怯地朝女王看去，女王則透過(guò)她黑白相間的禮帽回視了布什一眼。
“她剛才看我的眼神就像母親看小孩?！?布什即時(shí)的解嘲語(yǔ)引得聽(tīng)眾哄堂大笑。
女王隨后登上講壇，發(fā)表了精心準(zhǔn)備的致詞。她在致詞中高度評(píng)價(jià)了英美兩國(guó)的親密關(guān)系。
“此時(shí)，我們應(yīng)該仔細(xì)衡量?jī)蓢?guó)目前的友誼。我們?cè)跒殡p方的友好感到欣慰時(shí)，也不應(yīng)該認(rèn)為這種友好來(lái)的理所當(dāng)然，” 女王說(shuō)，“我們應(yīng)該向前看，繼續(xù)擔(dān)負(fù)起共同捍衛(wèi)一個(gè)更加繁榮、更加安全、更加自由的世界的職責(zé)?！?/font>
對(duì)于布什致詞中的口誤，白宮發(fā)言人托尼·斯諾事后輕描淡寫。
他說(shuō)，“我想，不是很多人會(huì)和英國(guó)女王開(kāi)玩笑的，但總統(tǒng)做到了，而且還做得不錯(cuò)?！?br/>
（英語(yǔ)點(diǎn)津陳蓓編輯）
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