VOA慢速英語(yǔ)：日本太婆力證學(xué)習(xí)永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)太遲

Great-Grandmother Proves It Is Never Too Late to Learn

日本太婆力證學(xué)習(xí)永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)太遲

Setsuko Takamizawa is set to prove that it is never too late to learn.

勢(shì)津子·高見(jiàn)澤(Setsuko Takamizawa)將會(huì)證明學(xué)習(xí)永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)太遲。

At the age of 91, the great-grandmother is learning English with the help of her family. She hopes to use the language at next year's Olympic Games in Tokyo.

這位91歲的曾祖母正在家人的幫助下學(xué)習(xí)英語(yǔ)。她希望在明年的東京奧運(yùn)會(huì)上用上這門語(yǔ)言。

Never too late to learn

學(xué)習(xí)永遠(yuǎn)不會(huì)太遲

Takamizawa was one of the more than 200,000 people who requested to volunteer for Tokyo's 2020 Games. English is not required for service, but it is a helpful skill for volunteers to have.

勢(shì)津子是申請(qǐng)成為東京奧運(yùn)會(huì)志愿者的20多萬(wàn)人之一，英語(yǔ)并非必須，但是對(duì)志愿者來(lái)說(shuō)，英語(yǔ)是一門有用的技能。

But Takamizawa had not been able to learn the language when she was young.

但是勢(shì)津子年輕時(shí)沒(méi)辦法學(xué)習(xí)這門語(yǔ)言。

Takamizawa told Reuters that she was in high school when World War Two started. She said, "In my second year there, English was banned because it was the enemy language."

勢(shì)津子對(duì)路透社表示，二戰(zhàn)開(kāi)始時(shí)她正讀高中。她說(shuō)：“在高中第二年英語(yǔ)被禁止了，因?yàn)樗菙硣?guó)語(yǔ)言。”

Takamizawa said that her grandchildren helped persuade her she was not too old to learn.

勢(shì)津子表示，她的孫輩幫助說(shuō)服了她，她還沒(méi)老到不能學(xué)習(xí)。

"When I talked to my grandchildren about my wish, they said, ‘it's not too late. We will teach you one word a day. It's going to be a good challenge for you'."

“當(dāng)我給我的孫輩們說(shuō)到我的愿望時(shí)，他們說(shuō)，‘現(xiàn)在還不算太晚，我們會(huì)每天教你一個(gè)單詞，這對(duì)你來(lái)說(shuō)會(huì)是一項(xiàng)很好的挑戰(zhàn)。’

Natsuko is Takamizawa's granddaughter and main English teacher.

奈津子是勢(shì)津子的孫女，也是一位英語(yǔ)老師。

Natsuko sends a new English word to her grandmother's phone every day. They also often work together directly on phrases that Takamizawa will need for the Olympics.

奈津子每天會(huì)給她祖母的手機(jī)發(fā)一個(gè)新的英語(yǔ)單詞。她們還經(jīng)常一起學(xué)習(xí)勢(shì)津子在奧運(yùn)會(huì)上需要用到的一些短語(yǔ)。

"Welcome to Tokyo, this is the Olympic stadium, how can I help you?" Takamizawa answers when asked to say an English phrase she has learned.

當(dāng)被要求說(shuō)出她學(xué)過(guò)的一句短語(yǔ)時(shí)，勢(shì)津子說(shuō)道：“歡迎來(lái)到東京，這里是奧林匹克體育場(chǎng)，有什么需要幫助的嗎?”

Natsuko explains that she wanted to give her grandmother something to enjoy. "I can clearly see her English is getting better. It's my joy now."

奈津子解釋說(shuō)，她想給祖母找點(diǎn)興趣。她說(shuō)：“我能明顯看到她的英語(yǔ)變得越來(lái)越好，現(xiàn)在這成了我的樂(lè)趣。”

Global Perspectives

全球視角

The EF English Proficiency Index is a measure of the level of English spoken in a country. Japan ranks 49th among countries where English is not the first language.

英孚英語(yǔ)指數(shù)是衡量一個(gè)國(guó)家英語(yǔ)口語(yǔ)水平的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。日本在英語(yǔ)非第一語(yǔ)言的國(guó)家中排名第49位。

This situation is slowly changing as younger generations welcome English. Japanese students often learn English at a much younger age than they did in the past.

隨著年輕一代接受英語(yǔ)，這種狀況正在慢慢改變。日本學(xué)生通常很小就學(xué)英語(yǔ)，比以前更早。

However, Takamizawa believes real change will not happen unless Japanese people become more open to the rest of the world.

然而，奈津子認(rèn)為，除非日本人對(duì)世界其它地方更加開(kāi)放，否則不會(huì)發(fā)生真正的變化。

She says that people in Japan should act not only as Japanese citizens, but also as "global members" of the Earth.

她說(shuō)，日本人不應(yīng)該僅僅扮演日本公民的角色，還應(yīng)該扮演全球成員的角色。

With around 500 days to go until the Games begin, the whole Takamizawa family is ready to welcome the world to Tokyo.

距離奧運(yùn)會(huì)開(kāi)幕還有大約500天時(shí)間，整個(gè)高見(jiàn)澤家族都已準(zhǔn)備好迎接世界人們來(lái)到東京。

When Japan last held the Summer Olympics in 1964, Takamizawa was too busy raising a family to go to any events.

上次日本舉辦1964年夏季奧運(yùn)會(huì)時(shí)，奈津子正忙于養(yǎng)家糊口，沒(méi)有參加任何活動(dòng)。

Takamizawa said she never thought the Olympics would happen in Tokyo twice in her lifetime.

奈津子表示，她從未想過(guò)，奧運(yùn)會(huì)在她一生當(dāng)中會(huì)兩次在東京舉辦。

"It's good," she said, "to live long."

她說(shuō)：“活久點(diǎn)真好。”

I'm John Russell.

約翰·拉塞爾報(bào)道。