In 1992, when Xi Jinping worked in Fuzhou, he came across a newspaper report about “My Guling,” written by a Chinese student studying in the United States.
The report described an American couple who tried in vain to revisit a southern Chinese town called Guling, where the husband, Milton Gardner, had spent 10 years of his childhood before moving back to the United States in 1911.
Gardner, who later became a professor of physics at the University of California, had been longing to revisit Guling since 1979 when the diplomatic ties between China and the US were set up. But he had never made the trip due to his failing health.
According to the newspaper, Gardner kept uttering(叨念) “Kuling, Kuling” in the final hours of his life.
After he passed away, his wife Elizabeth Gardner decided to carry out the dying wish of her husband and since then made several trips to China in an attempt to find the small town that her husband had so much affection about. Her efforts ended in vain as she had few clues(线索)about the exact spot of the town. But a Chinese student lodging(寄宿)at the Gardners’ recognized the small town as Guling near Fuzhou City from postmarks on some old mails of late Mr. Gardner. The student wrote an article about Gardners’ story and sent it to the People’s Daily, one of the major newspapers in China.
“After I read the story, I immediately contacted Mrs. Gardner through the departments concerned and invited her to visit Guling,” Xi told the media. Thanks to Xi’s arrangement, Mrs. Gardner finally arrived at Guling in August 1992. She met there with nine childhood friends of her husband, all of whom were over 90 years old at that time.
It was a happy occasion for Mrs. Gardner, who was later awarded the honorary citizenship of Fuzhou City, Xi recalled.
“She said that she would value this bond(纽带)of friendship between her husband and the people of China, because after seeing for herself the beautiful Guling and the warmth and goodwill of the Chinese people, she now understood why her husband had been so deeply attached to China.”
“I believe there are many such touching stories between our two peoples,” said Xi.
What can we infer from the passage?
A.Mr. and Mrs. Gardner were brought up in a southern Chinese town. |
B.The name of the town changed shortly after Milton Gardner left. |
C.Guling might have originally been pronounced as Kuling in English. |
D.Mrs. Gardner knew exactly where the small town lay in south China. |
According to the passage, Mr. Gardner_________.
A.lived and worked in Guling for ten years |
B.had few memories about the small Chinese town |
C.kept in touch with his childhood playmates until he passed away |
D.was deeply impressed by Guling’s people and environment |
What played the most important part in making Milton Gardner’s wish come true?
A.The help from newspapers. |
B.Mrs. Gardner’s hard efforts. |
C.Mr. Xi’s concern and arrangement. |
D.The Chinese student’s letter to Mr.Xi. |
From the passage we can learn that_____.
A.the Gardners’ story is a moving one with a happy ending |
B.the Chinese student studying in the US must be from Fuzhou |
C.the mails which became clues of Guling were sent by Gardner |
D.the American couple revisited China trying to find Guling but in vain |