 |
|
Britain's Queen Elizabeth stands with Microsoft chairman
and philanthropist Bill Gates after presenting him with an
honorary knighthood at Buckingham Palace, London, March 2,
2005. (REUTERS/Chris
Young/Pool) | |
Sir Bill? Not quite. Proclaiming himself "humbled and delighted,"
Microsoft founder Bill Gates received an honorary knighthood Wednesday
from Queen Elizabeth II - an accolade that allows the recipient
to use "KBE" after his name, but not to put "Sir" in front of it.
One of the world's richest men, Gates, 49, was being honored for his
charitable activities around the world and his contribution to enterprise
in Britain.
Past recipients of the honorary knighthood range from Irish singer Bob
Geldof to former U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
"This honor is particularly poignant given the deep connections
Microsoft enjoys with the United Kingdom," said Gates, whose company
employs about 2,000 people in Britain.
Gates' royal honor - bestowed by the queen on the advice of the
government - was announced in January 2004, but a "mutually convenient"
date to receive it had not been available until now.
British recipients of
knighthoods are entitled to be addressed with a "Sir" before their names.
The honor was long the preserve of senior soldiers, judges and other
servants of the state, but recent years have seen the creation of Sir Paul
McCartney, Sir Mick Jagger and Sir Elton John.
As an American, Gates is not entitled to use "Sir" before his name, but
he can put the initials KBE - Knight Commander of the British Empire -
after his name.
Gates joins a roster of
American knights that includes former presidents Reagan and George H.W.
Bush, comedian Bob Hope, retired U.S. Army Gen. Tommy Franks and former
Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Gates said he was proud of what he called Microsoft's "special
relationship" with Britain.
"The U.K. was the first country in which Microsoft set up a subsidiary
outside the U.S., and our experience in the U.K. has been significant in
shaping our international growth," he said.
Microsoft's British facilities include Research Cambridge, a laboratory
established in 1997 in the university town that employs 80 scientists. In
2000, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a donation of $210
million to Cambridge University to create a scholarship program for
graduate students from outside Britain.
(BBC) |
比爾爵士？這一說法并不確切。本周三（3月2日），微軟開山鼻祖比爾·蓋茨“誠惶誠恐”又“高高興興”地接受了英女王伊莉莎白二世授予他的爵級司令勛章，這一稱號允許受封者把“大英帝國司令勛章爵士”頭銜的縮寫形式KBE加在自己的名字后面，但名字前面并不能加上“爵士”字樣。
49歲的蓋茨是世界上最富有的人之一，他因在世界范圍內的慈善捐贈和對英國企業做出的貢獻而獲此殊榮。
之前獲得過同樣榮譽的還有愛爾蘭歌星鮑勃·格爾多夫和美國前總統羅納德·里根。
“微軟公司和英國的關系一直都很密切，這次能夠被授予榮譽勛章我特別感動。”蓋茨說，他的公司在英國雇傭了2000名員工。
早在2004年1月，英女王就在英政府的授意下宣布授予蓋茨這一榮譽稱號。但是一個“對雙方都合適”的受封日期直到現在才確定下來。
被授予榮譽爵士身份的英國人有資格在自己的姓名前面加上“爵士”字樣。這一榮譽長期以來只能授予高級軍人、法官和其他國家公務員，但近年來也出現了保羅·麥卡尼爵士（披頭士成員），米克·賈格爾爵士（滾石樂隊的主唱）和埃爾頓·約翰爵士（流行音樂大師）。
作為美國人，蓋茨不能在他的名字前面加上“爵士”字樣，但是他可以在名字后面加上“大英帝國司令勛章爵士”頭銜的縮寫形式KBE 。
至此，蓋茨成了美籍爵士花名冊上的一員，他的“同僚”還包括美國前總統里根和喬治·H·W·布什、喜劇演員鮑勃·霍普、美國退休陸軍上將湯米·弗蘭克斯和美國前國務卿科林·鮑威爾。
蓋茨說，他為微軟和英國之間的“特殊關系”感到驕傲。
他說：“英國是微軟在美國本土之外設立子公司的第一個國家。我們在英國獲得了寶貴的經驗，這對構筑微軟后來的跨國擴張是非常重要的。”
微軟在英國設立的機構還包括1997年成立的微軟劍橋研究院，該實驗室位于劍橋鎮，共有80位科學家在那里工作。2000年，比爾和梅林達·蓋茨基金會宣布向劍橋大學捐贈2.1億美元，用以創立一個針對來自英國之外的畢業生的獎學金項目。
（中國日報網站譯） |
Updated: 2005-03-04 10:09