Break the great walls of language
近年來，中國掀起英語學習熱潮(spree)。而在澳洲，學習中文的人數卻少之又少。其實，學習外語對促進國家之間的文化、經貿交流等方面都起到至關重要的作用。
On university *campuses around China, young people greet each other with "Ni hao are you?"
在中國的大學校園里，年輕人們見面都這樣打招呼：“你好 are you？”
University student Shen Jiahui said learning English was important to young Chinese. But after two days in Australia, she and fellow student Wang Taojun said they had found few Australian students who could speak Chinese。
還在讀大學的沈家慧表示，學習英語對于中國年輕人而言十分重要。但在來到澳大利亞兩天之后，她和同伴王陶鈞發(fā)現澳洲學生會說中文的真是少之又少。
Ms Shen, 20, and Mr Wang, 21, are among the top winners of China`s Daily`s 21st Century Cup, the country`s most *prestigious English speaking competition, attracting almost 10,000 *entrants from 850 universities across China。
20歲的沈家慧和21歲的王陶鈞都是從中國日報社21世紀杯英語演講比賽中脫穎而出的一等獎選手。該賽事是中國最具權威性的英語演講比賽，吸引了來自850多所高校的近萬名選手前來參賽。
Their study tour of Sydney with educational provider Navitas English *coincides with a decline in foreign languages among students in Australia。
他們此次的悉尼游學之旅由澳大利亞Navitas英語集團全力支持。然而，與此同時，在澳大利亞，學習外語的學生卻越來越少。
"Learning English is not a subject for me, it`s a tool to communicate," Ms Shen said。
“對我來說，英語不是一門學科，而是一個交流工具，”沈家慧說。
"If people are interested in China it would be better if they learn Chinese because they can better understand the culture."
“如果有人對中國感興趣的話，那么最好去學中文，這樣你就能更好地理解中國文化。”
China Daily deputy editor Shen Gang said it would be helpful if both Australians and Chinese spoke each other`s language。
中國日報社《二十一世紀英文報》副總編輯申鋼認為，如果澳大利亞人和中國人都能說對方的語言，那會益處多多。
However Chinese is a difficult language to learn and English will remain the working language of the world。
而中文是門很難學的語言，英語仍將保持其世界通用語言的地位。
Mr Shen said there were more students from the US and UK than Australians at Chinese universities。
沈家慧說，在中國學習的外國留學生中，英美學生人數要多于澳大利亞學生。
"I hope there will be more Australian students come to China."
“我希望能有更多的澳大利亞學生能來中國學習。”
"China is now the major business partner for Australia and also there are more Chinese tourists coming to Australia."
“當前，中國是澳大利亞的主要貿易伙伴，而且越來越多的中國人選擇前往澳大利亞旅游觀光。”
"Once you learn Chinese a simple *greeting like Ni hao will help you to start a business."
“一旦你學會中文，哪怕一句“你好”這樣的簡單問候，都會幫你打開生意局面。
