International Business Times

Xi Jinping hails UK-China 'friendship' at Buckingham Palace banquet
習近平在白金漢宮國宴盛贊英中“友誼”

Chinese President Xi Jinping kicked off his first state visit to the UK by hailing the "friendship" between the two countries, which he expects to hit a "new height". At a Buckingham Palace banquet, Xi said China and Britain were partners who had the same goals and vision and paid tribute to their alliance during World War II.
中國國家主席習近平開啟對英首次國事訪問，盛贊兩國“友誼”。習主席在白金漢宮國宴上表示，中英兩國是目標一致、愿景一致的伙伴，并對二戰(zhàn)期間兩國的聯(lián)合戰(zhàn)斗表示敬意。

The Queen said that this was an "unprecedented year of co-operation and friendship" between the two countries. Earlier, Xi was formally welcomed by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on Horse Guards Parade.
女王表示，今年是中英兩國“合作和友誼前所未有的年份”。此前，習主席在皇家騎兵衛(wèi)隊閱兵場受到女王和愛丁堡公爵的隆重歡迎。

In a speech to MPs in Westminster, the Chinese president said he was "deeply impressed by the vitality of China-UK relations". He will meet Prime Minister David Cameron at Downing Street on 21 October and is expected to put pen to paper on Chinese investments into the controversial Hinkley Point nuclear power plant in Somerset.
在英國議會的演講中，習主席表示，他“深切感受到中英關系的蓬勃朝氣”。他會在10月21日回家英國首相卡梅倫，并簽署中國投資薩默塞特郡的欣克利角核電站的協(xié)議。

Language tips：

這段報道中兩次出現(xiàn)hail這個詞，在這里表示“贊揚、稱頌”的意思，比如，F(xiàn)aulkner has been hailed as the greatest American novelist of his generation。如果經(jīng)常看英文的天氣預報的話，大家應該會注意到，hail在天氣中指的是“冰雹”，比如，a sharp short-lived storm with heavy hail（短時強冰雹）。

平時的新聞報道中提到“簽署協(xié)議”多半會用sign a deal之類的表達，但是上文中卻用了put pen to paper這樣一個很形象的表達，既避免了用詞重復，表達的意思也很生動，寫作的時候可以用得上。