The Board of SCIE, BSIE and GOS, Distinguished Guests, Staff and Colleagues, parents and graduates of SCIE.
深圳教育国际交流学院董事会、北京市外国语学校来宾、深圳城市绿洲学校来宾、其他来宾、各位同事、家长和毕业生，
           A very good evening.
          大家晚上好！

          This is the 5th SCIE Graduation Dinner and for me the last in Shenzhen – my next will be in Beijing in 2011 when our students of the newly inaugurated Beijing School of International Education will produce their first graduates.
          这是交流学院第五届毕业典礼，对我本人来说，也是在深圳的最后一次。我的下一次毕业典礼将在2011年的北京，当我们新成立的北京国际教育学校产生第一届毕业生。So, I’m not allowed to retire just yet but will sadly leave SCIE.所以我现在还不能退休，但是不得不遗憾地离开交流学院。
          So, this evening, I’ll indulge in a little nostalgia or at least retrospection:
         I came to join SCIE in its inaugural year of 2003. 41 AS students crammed into two classrooms at Shenzhen Middle School, at Renmin Rd. while another 60 were doing IGCSE courses at another campus at Kwai Chong. The first graduates in 2005 numbered just 30, this year there are 134 and a total school population of around 540. We have grown in numbers and in strength and Staff population also. We eventually obtained our present independent campus in Futian district in 2005. From only 5 expats in a total Staff of 15 in 2003, we now have 35 expats in a total Staff of around 80. Our student’s success has also been remarkable, achieving 100% placement in every graduation year at top, world- renowned universities including Oxbridge, LSE, UCL, ICL Bristol, Nottingham, York, St Andrews, Edinburgh, Miami, Purdue, Toronto, Waterloo, Melbourne, Michigan, and HK among others
      因此，今晚我将回顾一些往事。我从交流学院建立的2003年就为其工作。当时我们的41个A1学生挤在深圳中学的两间教室里，还有60个G年级学生在葵冲校园。第一届毕业生只有30个，而今年我们有134个。全校学生共有540个。我们学生和员工的数量和质量都有了长足的提高。我们在2005年终于有了现在的独立校园。当初我们只有15名教师，包括5位外教，而今天我们有80位老师，其中35个是外教。我们学生的业绩也是相当可观，每届毕业生都百分之百地入读于世界顶级大学，其中包括牛津、剑桥、伦敦政经、伦敦大学学院、布里斯托、诺丁汉、约克、圣安德鲁斯、爱丁堡、迈阿密、普渡、多伦多、滑铁卢、墨尔本、密歇根、香港等著名大学。
       However, I don’t want to sound like some elderly curmudgeon, longing for the “good old days”. Change is not only inevitable – it is life giving. SCIE has changed out of recognition in size, income and in the excellence of its teaching and the quality of its students. It has embraced new subjects and expanded its academic programmes to allow for a more liberal Arts education with more Humanity subjects and this has afforded greater opportunities for graduates’ choice of university courses particularly in the USA.
       但是，我不想让大家听上去像一个喋喋不休的老头，老说当年如何如何。变化不但不可避免，而且是赖以生存的法宝。交流学院已经变得今非昔比，不管在规模、收入还是教学水平或学生质量方面都是如此。我们拓宽了教学范围，设立了更多的文理学科，为我们的毕业生，尤其是申请美国大学的毕业生提供了更多选择空间。
        But this evening is not about me but about you – our graduates. Tonight is a celebration of your achievements as students- achievement which may owe something to your teachers who are here tonight. I firmly believe this but also know of your hard work and dedication to your studies. You will still need to develop those skills even more at university.
       但是今晚的主角不是我，而是你们，我们的毕业生们。今晚我们庆祝你们的成就。你们的成就不仅来自于教育你们的各位在座老师，而且来自于你们自己的努力和勤奋。你们的优秀品质需要在大学里继续保持下去。
        And what is so special about SCIE education. It is, I hope, not just one that empowers you to answer the questions of the exam papers; not just to recite the text book answers verbatim but is an education that embodies creative thought, rationale and insight that inspires you to ask the right sort of questions - for it is by this intellectual process that advances are made in you own understanding in any University Discipline.  That is the business of universities and your task in your next exciting step in life at an overseas university.
       交流学院的特点是什么？我希望它不仅仅教会了你们怎么应付考试、或如何记住各种原理、公式， 更重要的是，它教会了你们如何思考、如何创新，如何抓住事务的本质、精髓，如何提出关键的问题。这是你们在大学教育中赖以提高和发展的思想过程。这是大学教育要求你们做到的，也是你们在西方大学里所要完成的最重要的任务。
        So I should like to end, not on nostalgia but on a note of optimism for the future – for your future in particular. As, my own professional career drawn to an inevitable close – except for the reprieve of a small renaissance in Beijing – yours is just about to begin. I fervently hope that you find as much satisfaction, as much fulfillment, as much fun in your life at university and beyond in your careers as I have in mine, especially during these years I have spent with you at SCIE.
       因此我想以展望未来， 你们的未来，而不是回顾过去，来结束我的发言。就像我自己的职业生涯行将结束（除了在北京的短暂延续），你们的未来即将开始。我诚挚地希望，你们的大学生活以及职业生涯会像我本人的一样充满欢笑、成功、乐趣，尤其是我在交流学院的这些年里。
        Thank you and Good night.
        多谢大家