企业优秀员工演讲稿3篇

弟子规读后感50字

JINAN, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Hu Jintao has urged the country's companies to reduce operation costs by speeding up the development of renewable energy and help improve the country's energy structure. "Developing renewable energy vigorously is necessary for taking up the front line in the new round of global energy revolution," said Hu while visiting a wind energy project besides the Bohai Sea during his inspection tour in Shandong Province from Oct. 16 to 19.     The project, when finished, will produce more than 95 million kw of electricity every year and will play an important part in improving the local energy structure.Chinese President Hu Jintao (2nd R), who is also general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and chairman of the Central Military Commission, shakes hands with workers as he inspects a wind power project in east China's Shandong Province, Oct. 18, 2009. Hu Jintao made an inspection tour in Shandong Province from Oct. 16 to 19     After attending the opening ceremony of the 11th Chinese National Games in Jinan, capital city of Shandong, Hu inspected the province on local economic development and Communist Party building.     Hu called upon companies to focus on technical innovation and scientific management to improve their sustainable development. Chinese President Hu Jintao (2nd L, front), who is also general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and chairman of the Central Military Commission, talks to staff members of Shengli oil field, in east China's Shandong Province, Oct. 18, 2009. Hu Jintao made an inspection tour in Shandong Province from Oct. 16 to 19. While visiting the country's large oil base Shengli Oilfield, Hu climbed onto a well drilling platform to meet with the workers. He praised the workers for their hard work and outstanding professional skills.     During an inspection in a paper making company, Hu asked about the methods for emission reduction and encouraged the company to continue to improve recycling economy and put more efforts in environmental protection.     Hu also visited a village called Liujihou in the city of Dongying. The village set up its Communist Party branch in 1925 --one of the four oldest Party branches in the province.     Hu urged Party members in the village to seek benefits for villagers, solve their problems and encourage them to develop modern agriculture in a scientific way.

URUMQI, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Tests of victims' samples found no dangerous viruses or chemicals involved in a string of bizarre hypodermic syringe stabbings in Urumqi, capital of China's far western Xinjiang region, a military medical expert said Sunday.     Qian Jun, head of the disease control and biological security office with China's Academy of Military Medical Sciences, said the academy's Beijing lab found no needle injury samples were tainted with radioactive substances, toxic chemicals or HIV virus.     The samples were not contaminated with other dangerous viruses or substances either, such as anthrax bacillus, yersinia pestis, francisella tularensis, brucella and botulinum toxin, Qian told a press briefing.     Local and military medical experts have rechecked about 250 victims and found no clearly worsening wounds or serious illnesses, he noted.     By Sept. 4, local authorities had confirmed 531 victims of hypodermic syringe stabbings in Urumqi, 171 of whom showed obvious syringe marks. The majority of the victims were of the Han ethnic group.     Tens of thousands of angry and panic residents in Urumqi took to the streets last week, protesting against needle attacks and demanding security guarantees.     Qian suggested offering more psychological counselling to ease anxiety and depression of the victims as many are haunted with lingering fears of hidden infections.     The Urumqi General Hospital affiliated to the Lanzhou Military Area Command has arranged three psychological experts and opened four counselling hotlines to help ease victims' fears and panic.     Wang Wenxian, deputy director of the Urumqi municipal public security bureau, said the needle stabbings did not cause serious damages to the victims' health, but they caused public panic and disturbed social order.     The acts violated China's Criminal Law and should be harshly punished accordingly, Wang told reporters.     A court in Urumqi said three Uygurs were given jail terms ranging from seven to 15 years Saturday over syringe stabbings or threatening to use needle attacks for robbery.     Wang added that more police and armed police forces would patrol on the city's streets and those who offer tip-offs for needle attackers would receive rewards.     He also urged the attackers to surrender to the police, saying those who surrender or report others' crimes could receive lighter punishment.

BEIJING, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Chairman Ning Gaoning of China National Cereals, Oils & Foodstuffs Corporation (COFCO), said Sunday the corporation's total investment in the northwestern Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region would reach 10 billion yuan (1.46 billion U.S. dollars) over the next five years.     Ning made the remarks during his visit to the Xinjiang-based subsidiary companies of the corporation, the country's largest oil and food producer.     Currently, COFCO's accumulative investment in the region is about 5 billion yuan, focused on tomato processing, sugar manufacturing, and beverages.     Ning said the corporation would double investment over the next five years due to confidence in the region's growth potential, but did not say for which the future investment would be targeted.     In 2005, COFCO made an investment in Xinjiang's Tunhe Investment Co., Ltd. by taking over a 37.2 percent share of Tunhe. So far COFCO Tunhe has become the largest tomato ketchup producer in Asia, and the second largest in the world.

贵阳搜索引擎优化排名

TAIPEI, Aug.15 (Xinhua) -- Typhoon Morakot has killed at least 124 people and left 56 missing in Taiwan as of 10 p.m. Saturday, according to local disaster response authorities. Another 45 people were injured after the typhoon, the worst on the island in nearly five decades, wreaked havoc across central and southern regions.     Sixty-six people died in Kaohsiung, 25 in Tainan, 16 in Pingdong, six in Chiayi, seven in Nantou, three in Changhua and one in Yunlin.     Nearly 23,700 people have been evacuated, and almost 5,000 are taking refuge in 170 sheltering camps.     Morakot has caused more than 12 billion New Taiwan Dollars (365million U.S. dollars) in damages to agriculture and forestry. Among the worst-hit regions are Pingdong, Kaohsiung and Tainan.     People from a wide range of social sectors in Taiwan have donated cash and materials worth millions of New Taiwan Dollars to support the disaster-relief work. Photo taken on Aug. 14, 2009 shows a house buried by debris flow in Kaohsiung, southeast China's Taiwan Province.Charities and enterprises on the mainland also offered relief-assistance to the island.     On Saturday, an official with the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said the mainland will provide any necessary relief materials needed by Taiwan compatriots affected by the typhoon.     The office has requested factories to manufacture portable shelters day and night, and the first batch is expected to arrive in Taiwan Monday at the soonest. Villagers search for lost belongings in a damaged village in Kaohsiung, southeast China's Taiwan Province, Aug. 14, 2009

BEIJING, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- China has never placed any restriction on pork imports from the European Union (E.U.), and its demand for health certificate from the E.U. imported pork was needed to prevent the spread of A/H1N1 flu, said Yu Taiwei, head of China's quality watchdog's food safety export and import bureau, on Wednesday.     General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (GAQSIQ) launched on Sept. 18 a measure requiring an additional testing on all pork meat from five countries including Denmark, France, Italy and Spain.     The E.U.'s health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou was reported Wednesday as having interpreted China's requirement for strengthening inspection on A/H1N1 virus as "being protectionism".     "We still allow these countries to export pork to China, but only ask for a more intensified inspection," said Yu.     Every country should guarantee the quality securities of its export products, which is its responsibility, according to Yu.     China is a major consumer of meat products. It imported 1.84 million tonnes last year. The country has also become the world's leading meat producer, whose pork output stood at 44.59 million tonnes in 2008.

BEIJING, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- If education is the cornerstone for the nation's development, teachers are the cornerstone for education, said Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in a speech during a visit to a high school in Beijing on Sept. 4 this year. Xinhua News Agency published the 8,000-character speech, entitled "Teachers are Fundamental to the Great Cause of Education", on Sunday.     Wen listened five classes and had lunch with students at the No. 35 Middle School, and attended a workshop with teachers of the school.     It was a way to show his tribute to teachers ahead of the Teachers Day, which falls on Sept. 10 every year, and also a way to find out the actual situation of teaching, said the outspoken premier who then gave his own comments on what he saw in class. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (C) meets with teacher representatives before a symposium at Beijing No. 35 Middle School in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 4, 2009. Ahead of China's 25th Teacher's Day, which falls on Sept. 10, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has called on teachers across the country to enhance their teaching standards and do a good job    Wen first attended a math class focusing on triangular congruence. He praised the math teacher for her heuristic teaching method when she tried to guide the students to find out the solution by themselves. Being a geologist himself, Wen suggested that students be taught a little bit more in a 40-minute class.     After listening a Chinese Language lesson, the premier advised that the teacher should give an introduction on the author of "The Reeds Marshes", one of the works of Sun Li, a well-known Chinese writer.     "The teacher was wise to let her students go through the 3,300-character a story on Anti-Japanese War silently in four minutes, in an attempt to train their fast-reading skill," said Wen, who described it a "surprise" to him, because he was never told to do so in his school days.     It also a surprise to the State leader that most of the students completed the fast reading and some students were asked to summarize the story by their own. It trained the skills of their logic thinking and summarizing ability, said the premier. He also praised the teacher for her effort in teaching his students about patriotism.     The third class was about the method of research, which is unfamiliar with the premier. "After the class, I realized that the class was designed to help students broaden their view," he said. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (C) talks with students at Beijing No. 35 Middle School in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 4, 2009. Ahead of China's 25th Teacher's Day, which falls on Sept. 10, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has called on teachers across the country to enhance their teaching standards and do a good job.What the teacher and students discussed at the class was the concept of "teaching room". The teacher asked the students to figure out what composes a "teaching room".     The premier was a little critical about this class as both the teacher and the students failed to mention the issue of safety of a "classroom", such as the occurrence of earthquake, for instance.     At the class, the teacher shunned away from a student's question about ore. The premier once again showed his geological background by suggesting that students be taught something more about the nature. "A teacher is unlikely to know everything, but he can think over the question and give a reply next time," Wen said.     After the fourth class on geography, the premier was once again surprised to learn that many of the students had traveled a lot, at home and abroad.     Wen found some errors in the geographic textbook, which gives a wrong description about China's geographic regions. "North China" should not include Shaanxi and Gansu provinces and the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, which are officially regarded as part of northwest China.     The fifth and last was a music class. The teacher first let the students enjoy "We Are the World", one of the best-know works of Michael Jackson. The premier said , "I felt as if it was an artistic training class."     The class's topic of love guided the erudite leader to talk about aesthetics and the best-known Chinese aesthetician Zhu Guangqian. At the class, the premier made an improvisation on the issue of love. He also told the students about some Chinese scientists who were well-learned on other subjects such as arts, music and literature .     In a discussion with teachers, Wen said China failed to foster enough outstanding talents to meet the needs of the nation. Although the country has fostered a large number of professionals, the number of Chinese scientists who have gained an international reputation is too small, he said.     Wen quoted Czech educator John Amos Comenius (1592-1670) as saying, "Teacher is the most splendid profession under the Sun."     According to the premier, China had about 16 million teachers, including 12 million elementary and middle school teachers.     Wen called for bold reforms in the educational sector. China needs a large number of educators with a penetrating judgement on running schools, said the State leader. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (C) plays games with a student at Beijing No. 35 Middle School in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 4, 2009. Ahead of China's 25th Teacher's Day, which falls on Sept. 10, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has called on teachers across the country to enhance their teaching standards and do a good job.The premier said education must meet the requirements of its own development law; the requirements of the changes of times, the requirements of the country in building a socialism with China's own characteristics; and the requirements of the "human-based" principle.     Teachers should be an "envoy of kindness", an "avatar of sincere love", and an "excellent-character" and "very skillful" educator with a "lofty professional moral", said the premier.     He urged teachers to be full of love and loyalty to their cause, be diligent in research and be qualified for their profession, and behave themselves as a model for students.     Wen also disclosed that a student had written to him on the issue of students' suicide. The student told him that many students had turned to suicide at a very young age, asking the premier to have a dialog with students on line on Sept. 1, the day for a new academic year.     The number of suicidal students has been very small, but "it must draw great attention," Wen said.     He urged governments at all levels to support the educational sector and make concerted efforts to improve the working and living conditions of teachers. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (R3 2nd Line Back) attends a music class at Beijing No. 35 Middle School in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 4, 2009. Ahead of China's 25th Teacher's Day, which falls on Sept. 10, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has called on teachers across the country to enhance their teaching standards and do a good job.

关键词优化排名seo

SHANGHAI, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- Baosteel Group, China's largest steel maker, said Friday it has agreed to pay 285.6 million Australian dollars (240.7 million U.S. dollars) for a 15-percent stake in Australian miner Aquila Resources.     Baosteel will buy up to 43.95 million shares in Aquila at 6.5 Australian dollars a share.     The deal, which will make Baosteel the second-biggest shareholder in Aquila, is still to get approval from Australian and Chinese regulators.     The company executives valued the growth potential of Aquila's assets in the deal that is another major step in its overseas expansion, said a statement on Baosteel's website.     Baosteel established a joint venture with iron ore giant Rio Tinto in 2001 and Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) in 2002 to secure iron ore imports.     In a press release, Aquila said the deal was "an important transaction in Baosteel's strategy to secure long-term supply of critical steel raw materials."     The strategic cooperation will "fast-track the development of Aquila's key steel raw materials projects including iron ore, coal, and manganese," said the statement.     Baosteel would possibly make further direct investment into a number of its projects and help it get low-cost financing from China for most of its major projects, including the strategic West Pilbara Iron Ore Project, said the Aquila statement.     It added that the state-owned Chinese steel mill had agreed not to hold more than 19.99 percent of Aquila before August 2010.     Shares in Aquila surged 9.16 percent, or 60 Australian cents, to 7.15 Australian dollars Friday.

NAIROBI, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- A visiting Chinese Tibetologist delegation on Wednesday gave Kenyan lawmakers an insight into Tibet and its issues.     Shes-rab-nyi-ma, vice president of China's Central University for Nationalities and head of the Chinese delegation, introduced the basic facts of Tibet, the origin of the "Tibetan issue," the efforts the Chinese government has taken to develop the local economy and to protect the indigenous language and culture, and the system of regional autonomy for ethnic minorities in China.     Legislator Ahmed Shakeel Shabeer said many Kenyan lawmakers didn't know much about Tibet before and most of them had been influenced by western media on the Tibetan issue due to their British-style education. The Chinese Tibetologist delegation holds a discussion with Kenyan lawmakers in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, Aug. 26, 2009The visit and introduction of the Chinese delegation have helped Kenyan legislators know more about Tibet, and in a more comprehensive way, Shabeer said.     He hoped the two nations could continue to increase exchanges in areas such as education to further promote bilateral ties.

seo优化做得好

BEIJING, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- East China is bracing for typhoon Morakot's approach after it slammed into Taiwan Friday night.     Weather forecasters said late Saturday Morakot was likely to land on the coast from Cangnan, Zhejiang province, to Xiapu, neighboring Fujian province, between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Sunday. Although the typhoon this year is expected to weaken to a tropical storm before it arrives in the Chinese mainland, it was packing winds of 137 kilometers an hour at 7 a.m. Saturday and churning northwestwards at a speed of 15 to 20 kilometers an hour. The urban area of Linbian Township in Pingtung County of southeast China's Taiwan, is flooded Aug. 8, 2009, because of heavy rainfall brought by typhoon "Morakot".     It has already unleashed torrential rain in Fujian where, at five sites, water levels have been recorded at 0.02 to 0.66 meters above warning levels. A man calls for people to evacuate to avoid typhoon in Cangnan County, east China's Zhejiang Province, Aug. 8, 2009. The province has evacuated around 317,000 people to avoid the approaching Typhoon Morakot so far. The earlier tropical storm Goni has also wreaked havoc in South China Sea, leaving as many as 156 fishermen and crew members from Cambodia, Vietnam and China missing at once.     Chinese maritime authorities had rescued 146 by 6 p.m. and the remaining 10 from China were still missing.     PREPARATION IN FUJIAN     More than 480,000 people in Fujian have been evacuated and its Zherong County received more than 300 mm of precipitation on Saturday afternoon.     In Luoyuan county of Fuzhou city, Fujian's capital, people stayed at home during the weekend and roads were almost empty. Fewer sellers appeared in the county's vegetable market. Fishing boats moor at a port to avoid the approaching Typhoon Morakot in Jinjiang, southeast China's Fujian Province, Aug. 8, 2009."The fields were flooded," said Li Sailian, a vegetable seller.     "Strong winds broke the ropes tying down the horsebeans, and the crown daisies (chrysanthemum greens) were destroyed," she said.     Li brought all her available stock to the market, fearing the storm would destroy it completely.     In downtown Fuzhou, where several big trees have already been toppled by gale-force winds, people were rushing to supermarkets for necessities before the typhoon arrived.     All flights from Saturday noon onwards at the airport in Fuzhou were cancelled, leaving more than 120 passengers stranded. Airport staff were helping with refunds.     Seventeen of the 312 flights to and from the airport in coastal Xiamen city were cancelled, most of which were heading to Anhui, Guangdong and Taiwan.     In Putian City, also in Fujian, all scenic sites and ports have been closed and school classes suspended. A team of 26,222 people has been formed and equipped with flood-control materials, said Huang Dongzhou, director of the city's flood control office.     All of the city's 7,168 fishing ships have returned to harbor, Huang said.     The province's Ningde city is strengthening its defences to bear the brunt of Morakot, local meteorological authorities said.     People there are also reinforcing reservoirs with bricks and stones. Water in the city's 20 major reservoirs is only at 54 percent of their combined capacity, so officials with the flood control office said they think the rainfall will help with drought relief, as long as proper measures are taken to ensure safety.     Residents are also busy reinforcing their own houses.     Chen Kongsheng, a 61-year-old man, has attached four large rocks to the girders of his house, so that the typhoon "won't tear off his roof".     About 118,000 people in the city have been evacuated, said Chen Rongkai, Communist Party chief of the city.     Ningde has readied 103 rescue boats, 15 rafts and 8,300 life jackets to help people affected by the typhoon.     EFFORTS AND TROUBLES ELSEWHERE     In adjacent Zhejiang Province, rainfall exceeded 50 millimetres on 6.8 percent of the province's land on Friday night. The highest reading was 110 millimetres in Cangnan county bordering Fujian.     An expressway from Wenzhou of Zhejiang to Fujian was closed for 12 kilometers, while another from Hangzhou to Anhui Province was cut by landslides. Waves from approaching Typhoon Morakot hit a dike in Cangnan County, east China's Zhejiang Province, Aug. 8, 2009. Power supply to 80 villages was also cut. Nearly 500,000 residents and tourists in danger areas had been evacuated by 9 p.m. and the province has called nearly 30,000 ships back to harbor.     More than 50,000 soldiers were prepared for emergencies in Zhejiang, said the local government.     Shanghai was put on high alert and the World Expo venue is being protected around the clock. An 80-year-old man is evacuated in Cangnan County, east China's Zhejiang Province, Aug. 8, 2009. The province has evacuated around 317,000 people to avoid the approaching Typhoon Morakot so farMore than 80 foreign ships were delayed or had their voyages cancelled.     "We are unlikely to resume if the typhoon moves northwestwards," said the captain of a Japanese cargo ship, which was scheduled to sail for Japan Saturday at noon.     In addition, more than 140 flights in Shanghai had been delayed by about 10 p.m..     Anhui issued its first typhoon warning this year, and advised residents to stay indoors.     East China's Shandong province has also warned local governments to take measures beforehand to reduce losses from extreme weather.     Morakot, which means "emerald" in Thai, is the eighth storm to hit China this year. It landed in Hualien of Taiwan at 11:45 p.m. Friday, and left at least six people dead or missing. A further 12 were injured. Morakot also overturned cars and cut power supplies.     WAVE ALERT LEVEL RAISED     On Saturday afternoon, the National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center upgraded its alert level for both stormy tide and sea wave from "orange" to "red", the highest level.     The center said as a result of Typhoon Morakot, the stormy tide along the coast of Zhejiang Province and northern part of Fujian Province would be 0.5 meters to 1.8 meters high until Sunday afternoon.     The sea in southern part of the East China Sea and Taiwan Strait will be very rough, with monster waves as high as eight meters, the center warned.     Other coastal areas from Shanghai to Guangdong Province will all experience abnormally high waves, from 2.5 meters to six meters high, it said.     China adopts a four-grade warning system for stormy tide, tsunami, sea ice and sea wave, which uses four colors (red, orange, yellow and blue) to indicate different levels of emergency.

BEIJING, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- China's key July economic data adds to the optimism that the world's third largest economy is back on the track to recovery amid the global downturn, though challenges still persist. The July decline compared     MORE POSITIVE CHANGES     Both investment and consumption, two major engines that drive up China's growth, increased, according to statistics the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released Tuesday.     Urban fixed-asset investment rose 32.9 percent year on year in the first seven months. Retail sales, the main measure of consumer spending, rose 15.2 percent in July, following a 15 percent growth in June. Graphics shows China's consumer price index from January of 2008 to January of 2009. The CPI was down 1.8 percent in July compared with the same month a year earlier, according to National Bureau of Statistics of China on Aug. 11, 2009Further signs of rebound in private spending supported a sustained growth recovery, Peng Wensheng, analyst at the Barclays Capital, said in an e-mailed statement to Xinhua.     Although exports, another bedrock that fueled China's fast growth in the past few years, fell on a year-on-year basis last month, there were signs of improvement.     China's foreign trade figures were better than they looked on the surface. July exports fell 23 percent from a year earlier, but increased 10.4 percent from June. Imports declined 14.9 percent year on year last month, but rose 8.7 percent month on month.     According to the General Administration of Customs, the country's foreign trade has risen since March measured from month to month, and the trend of recovery had stabilized.     Improvements in these data indicated China's economy was recovering and the government's policies to boost domestic demand and stabilize foreign trade had paid off, said Zhang Yansheng, a researcher with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country's economic planner.     Among other statistics released Tuesday, industrial output climbed 10.8 percent in July from a year earlier, quickening from 10.7 percent in June and 8.9 percent in May. Power generation, an important indicator measuring industrial activities, expanded 4.8 percent in July.     Peng expected the country's economic growth to rise above 8 percent in the third quarter this year and 10 percent in the fourth quarter.      　　POLICY STANCE UNCHANGED     Despite these positive changes in China's economy, uncertainties still existed in world economic development and some domestic companies and industries faced difficulties, said Song Li, deputy chief of the Academy of Macroeconomic Research under the NDRC.     As a result, the macro-economic policy orientation should remain unchanged, Song said.     China's economy grew only 7.1 percent in the first half this year. This compared with double-digit annual growth during the 2003-2007 period and also the first two quarters last year.     The government set an annual target of 8 percent for this year's economic growth, which was said essential for expanding employment.     China unveiled a four-trillion-yuan (584.8 billion U.S. dollars) stimulus package and adopted proactive fiscal policy and moderately loose monetary policy to expand domestic demand, hoping increases in investment and consumption would make up for losses from ailing exports.     To stimulate economy, lenders pumped 7.73 trillion yuan of new loans into the economy in the first seven months, the People's Bank of China, the central bank, said Tuesday.     The surge in credit, however, sparked concerns over possible inflation and speculation about a shift in the country's monetary policy.     Economists dispelled such concerns, saying consumer prices were still falling and the growth in new bank loans eased in July.     The consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, dipped 1.8 percent in July from a year earlier. The producer price index (PPI), which measures inflation at the wholesale level, fell 8.2 percent year on year last month.     New lending in July cooled to 355.9 billion yuan, less than a quarter of the June total of more than 1.5 trillion yuan.     Premier Wen Jiabao reaffirmed during the weekend that China would unwaveringly adhere to its proactive fiscal and moderate monetary policies in face of economic difficulties and challenges, like ailing exports and industrial overcapacity.     Wen's stance echoed Zhu Zhixin, vice minister in charge of the NDRC, who underscored on Friday that there would be no change in China's macro-economic policy as the overseas market was still severe.     He warned that any change in the macro-economic policy would disturb the recovery or rebound momentum, or even perish the previous efforts and achievements.     "Efforts to keep a stable and fast economic development is the top priority of the country in the second half," he said.