這是我和我太太第五次來中國，2009年2月我們還會回來，還在河北師大物理系任教。可能有人會問，為什么我和我太太退休以后要來中國?為什么在可以頤養(yǎng)天年的時候還要繼續(xù)工作?

我想說:在中國的經(jīng)歷給了我們完全不同的生活體驗。在加拿大，我們有很舒適的生活環(huán)境，身邊有家人、朋友，并享受著碧水藍天?？墒?，加拿大沒有中國這樣深厚的文化底蘊。我們的歷史很短，只有400年。所以我們很難想象幾千年歷史。在中國，離石家莊不遠的于家村就有500年歷史。離我們更近的正定，可以探訪到2000年前的遺跡。如果再走遠些，在西安我們還可以看到6000年前的古代中國的痕跡。

我已在河北師大任教過幾年，我和我的學生們度過了許多富有成效的課堂時光。但課外時光令我更珍惜，每天我都和想學習英語的學生們在課堂之外無拘無束交談1小時，唯一的要求是交談必須用英語進行。在他們收獲了流利的英語的同時，我收獲了許多朋友。

我和我太太最好的朋友就是這樣結(jié)識的。兩年前，她每天到我的辦公室學習英語，至今，我們一直保持緊密的聯(lián)系，不管是在中國，還是在地球的另一端。

我們還和許多物理系以及外國語學院的教師成為了朋友，我?guī)退麄兘鉀Q論文的語言問題，當我遇到困難，他們也給了我全力的幫助。我們收獲的遠比我們付出的多。

值得一提的是，幾年前，我第一次來中國時，就決心要學習漢語，以便更好地了解中國。 但很快發(fā)現(xiàn)，漢語對一個說英語的人來說并不簡單，但這并不重要。隨著學習的深入，我不僅更加了解中國，也更加喜愛中國，令人驚喜的是，我開始以一種更深刻的方法去理解我們自己國家的文化。我從不敢奢望能夠真正理解古老而現(xiàn)代的中國，但是我可以肯定中國給了我全新的視角去觀察世界。

最后，我想表達所有獲獎者的心聲:我們正在認識周圍的世界， 正如世界在認識我們。

(節(jié)選自作者在2008年11月12日“燕趙友誼獎”頒獎大會上的發(fā)言)

This is the fifth time that my wife and I have come to China.Next year， in February， we plan to return to teach again in the Physics Department at Hebei Normal University.There may well be some who will ask why my wife and I， after having retired， when we could be relaxing and enjoying a quiet life， still want to continue working in China.

I think the answer is simple: China gives us unique experiences that we can't get elsewhere.In Canada， we have a comfortable living environment with friends and family， clean air and water，but Canada does not have anything like the depth and breadth of Chinese culture.Our history is short - just 400 years.It is hard for us to imagine thousands of years of history.Here in China， though， within just a short distance of Shijiazhuang， we can visit Yu Jia Cun with 500 years of history.Even closer is Zheng Ding where we can find relics going back 2000 years.If we wish to travel a bit farther afield， in Xi'an we can find traces of ancient China from 6000 years ago.

I have already taught several years at Hebei Normal University， and have spent many fruitful hours in the classroom. However， it is the time outside the classroom that I treasure.Each year I have scheduled an hour a day to sit outside with students and talk about anything of interest. The only rule is that our conversations must be in English.My students get greatly improved fluency in English， and I make a lot of friends.

The best friend that my wife and I have in China was a woman that we met in that way.Two years ago， she came to my office each day just to talk. Now the three of us maintain close contact both here in China and when we are on opposite sides of the world.

We have also made many friends among teachers in both the Physics Department and through the Foreign Languages Institute. I have helped them with language problems in their papers and when we run into difficulties， they have given us unstinting assistance.My wife and I both feel that we have received far more than we have given.

There is one more thing that I want to say. When we first came to China a few years ago， I made up my mind to try to learn some Chinese so as to understand China better.I very quickly found out that for an English speaker， Chinese is not at all simple.This is not important though. As I studied Chinese， I found that I started to understand China a bit more， to like China a lot more， and perhaps surprisingly， to understand my own culture in deeper ways.I expect we will never really understand ancient and modern China， but I can be certain that China has already given us new ways to see the world.

Finally， I would like to try to express the feelings of all the recipients of this award: We have come to know those around us at the same time that others have perhaps come to know us.

(Extract of Speech of Norman Davison At the Yanzhao Friendship Award Ceremony， Shijiazhuang， China， November12th， 2008)