Bush looked at the queen sheepishly. President George W. Bush, no stranger to the occasional verbal 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 queen sheepishly . 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)

The queen peered back at Bush from beneath her hat. 美國總統小布什屬于在重大場合犯口誤的老手。本周一，布什在白宮接待來訪的英國女王伊麗莎白二世時，差點把女王的外交活動前置到18世紀。  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，儀式最后美國軍樂隊還接受了女王的檢閱。 美國總統布什和英國女王均在歡迎儀式上致詞。在此之前，女王伉儷對美國進行了為期6天的國事訪問，期間，他們觀看了肯塔基賽馬大會，并參加了英國在北美建立的第一個殖民地——弗吉尼亞州的詹姆斯敦——建城四百周年紀念活動。 致詞中，布什談到英女王與數屆美國政府的外交往來史來已久，但在回顧歷史時，布什差點說出口的“1776”幾乎讓他卡殼。 布什說：“美國人民不勝榮幸歡迎女王陛下重訪美國，這個您所熟知的國度。您曾經和10位美國總統共進晚餐，您還參加了美國國慶200周年的紀念儀式，那是在17……1976年。” 布什羞怯地朝女王看去，女王則透過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?！? 布什即時的解嘲語引得聽眾哄堂大笑。 女王隨后登上講壇，發表了精心準備的致詞。她在致詞中高度評價了英美兩國的親密關系。 “此時，我們應該仔細衡量兩國目前的友誼。我們在為雙方的友好感到欣慰時，也不應該認為這種友好來的理所當然，” 女王說，“我們應該向前看，繼續擔負起共同捍衛一個更加繁榮、更加安全、更加自由的世界的職責?！? 對于布什致詞中的口誤，白宮發言人托尼·斯諾事后輕描淡寫。 他說，“我想，不是很多人會和英國女王開玩笑的，但總統做到了，而且還做得不錯?！?BR> （英語點津陳蓓編輯）