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3月9日北京报道——2月28日周日一早，一辆小巴士抵达了北海公园的东门，从车上下来的是共产党主席胡耀邦、三位副总理以及其他一些高级官员。随着摄像开始，他们拿起扫帚，干劲十足地扫起了人行道。
Mr. Hu went over to teach some young Chinese how to sort tiles, then helped Gen. Yang Dezhi, Chief of Staff of the Chinese Army, pile trash into a pushcart.
胡先生先是走上前教会一些年轻中国人怎么整理路边的砖瓦，然后帮中国解放军总参谋长杨得志将军一起把垃圾装进推车里。
The officials were setting an example, for replay on prime-time Chinese television, to kick off ''Civic Virtues Month,'' in which cleanliness, public order and politeness have officially been declared in vogue.
官员们是在为即将开始的“文明礼貌月”做出表率，正式提倡整洁卫生、公共秩序和礼节礼貌，而这次的录像将于黄金时间在电视节目上播放。
Since the beginning of March, Chinese have been told not to spit on the ground, drop litter, honk car horns, cycle while intoxicated, shove, snarl or otherwise be nasty in public places.
从三月开始，中国人就在接受教育，不要随地吐痰、扔垃圾、乱鸣车笛、醉酒骑车、推挤、喧哗或在公共场所做出其他招人厌的行为。
Tidying Up Eyesores
清洁市容
They have been enjoined instead to tidy up neighborhood eyesores, help old people and small children, be courteous in shops and, not least, to once more ''learn from Lei Feng.''
人们被嘱托去清理周边邻近的有碍观瞻之处，帮助老人和孩童，在商店里遵守礼仪，尤其还要“学雷锋”。
Lei Feng, while serving in the army 20 years ago, was killed by a falling telephone pole that a comrade hit with a truck. The ''model soldier'' Lei was posthumously discovered by Maoist ideologists to have performed all sorts of selfless deeds, which were documented by a diary and photographs.
20年前，部队服役的雷锋被一位同志开的卡车撞倒的电线杆砸死，而毛泽东主义者们通过遗留下的照片和一本日记发现了“模范战士”雷在生前的各种无私善举。
Civic Virtues Month, also known as Socialist Ethics Month, happens to coincide with a new crackdown on traffic violations, which the Peking newspaper Guangming Daily once despaired gave China the worst road accident record in the world. It has now become illegal for Chinese motorists to eat, drink, smoke or talk while driving.
文明礼貌月，又称社会主义道德月，适逢政府开展新一轮对交通违章行为的严打活动，此前中国的交通事故记录为全世界最差，也曾令北京的报纸《光明日报》深表失望。如今中国已明令禁止司机在驾驶时吃喝、抽烟或聊天。
While the campaign has yet to discourage the surliness of some shop clerks, there have been other visible changes in Peking, one of 19 Chinese cities designated to lead the civic virtues effort. Directional arrows have been freshly painted at intersections. "Red shine in the capital,'' said one slogan. Another, in a downtown shop, urged, ''Practice hygiene, observe discipline, strive to be a civilized person.''
尽管这项运动尚未对某些粗暴乖戾的商店职员进行治理，但作为引领文明美德活动的19个指定城市之一的北京，在其他方面已经有了可见的转变。路口的方向箭头被重新刷了一遍漆。一条标语写着：“首都放红光”；市中心一家商店里的另一条标语则敦促人们“讲卫生，守纪律，争做文明人”。
'Reconstruct Our Country'
“重建我们的国家”
Xiao Wang, a teen-age clerk in a fruit store on Wangfujing Street, said: ''We are having this one-month campaign to teach people how to be polite, and to continue doing so as we reconstruct our country. It doesn't mean that we should be rude again in April.''
王府井大街一家水果店的一位不到20岁的店员小王说：“我们这个月的活动是为了教会人们讲礼貌，并坚持遵守，重新建设我们的国家，而不是意味着我们到4月又可以不讲礼貌了。”
In the weekend leading up to Civic Virtues Month, the China News Agency reported that one million Peking residents had turned out to join Chairman Hu in scrubbing, sweeping and washing the capital. It later revised the number in the cleanup to more than two million residents. They included the drivers from Peking's No. 2 trolley-bus station, who ''volunteered'' to spend their day off at congested bus stops explaining the new traffic rules to waiting passengers.
中国新闻社报道称，在文明礼貌月前的这个周末，有一百万北京居民和胡主席一起参与了首都街道的擦洗和清扫活动，之后又修正报道称参与清扫的居民人数超过了200万。这其中包括了北京第二无轨电车站的司机们，他们“志愿”用休息日的时间在拥挤的车站向候车的乘客们介绍交通新规。
