「经济学人」| 中国人不再热衷学英语？| 外刊阅读

Language lessons

Why China is losing interest in English

Learning the world’s lingua franca is no longer a priority for students or businessmen

lingua franca /ˌlɪŋɡwə ˈfræŋkə/ /krəˈdenʃl/ n. 通用语

为何英语这一全球通用语不再是学生和商人的首选？

In Preparation for the summer Olympics in 2008, the authorities in Beijing, the host city and China’s capital, launched a campaign to teach English to residents likely to come in contact with foreign visitors. Police, transit workers and hotel staff were among those targeted. One aim was to have 80% of taxi drivers achieve a basic level of competency.

在 2008 年夏季奥运会筹备期间，北京作为主办城市发起了一项宏大计划：培训可能接触外国游客的本地居民使用英语。警察、交通工作者和酒店员工成为重点培训对象。当时的目标雄心勃勃：使80%的出租车司机达到基本的英语交流能力。

Today, though, any foreigner visiting Beijing will notice that rather few people are able to speak English well. The 80% target proved a fantasy: most drivers still speak nothing but Chinese. Even the public-facing staff at the city’s main international airport struggle to communicate with foreigners. Immigration officers often resort to computer-translation systems.

resort to 诉诸，求助于，依靠

CNN例句：Ukrainians resort to desperate measures for food and water. 乌克兰人为食物和水铤而走险。

然而如今，任何到访北京的外国人都会发现，口语流利的本地人寥寥无几。那个80%的目标不过是幻想：大多数出租车司机依然只会说中文。即使是主要国际机场的工作人员，与外国人交流也显得吃力。许多移民官员不得不求助于电脑翻译系统。

For much of the 40 years since China began opening up to the world, “English fever” was a common catchphrase. People were eager to learn foreign languages, English most of all. Many hoped the skill would lead to jobs with international firms. Others wanted to do business with foreign companies. Some dreamed of moving abroad. But enthusiasm for learning English has waned in recent years.

catchphrase /ˈkætʃfreɪz/ n. 名言，流行语，时兴的话

wane /weɪn/ v. 减弱, 减少 n. on the wane 变小，衰落，减弱，败落，相当于declining/ on the decline

Her popularity has been on the wane for some time. 她的人气一段时间以来江河日下。

在中国走向开放的40年间，”英语热”曾是社会的流行词。人们对学习外语热情高涨，尤其是英语。许多人希望英语技能能帮助他们进入跨国公司工作，有人期待能与外国企业开展业务，还有人梦想移居海外。然而近年来，学习英语的热情明显消退。

According to one ranking, by EF Education First, an international language-training firm, China ranks 91st among 116 countries and regions in terms of English proficiency. Just four years ago it ranked 38th out of 100. Over that time its rating has slipped from “moderate” to “low” proficiency. Some in China question the accuracy of the EF index. But others note that this apparent trend is happening when China is also growing more insular.

insular /ˈɪnsjələ(r)/ adj. 只关心本国利益的，思想褊狭的，保守的 n. 保守

The British are often accused of being insular. 英国人常被指责为思想褊狭
They were an insular family. 他们一家人与世隔绝。
break out of their old insularity 打破以前的保守状态

根据国际语言培训公司英孚教育的英语语言能力排名，中国在116个国家和地区中排名第91位，仅仅四年前还位居100个国家中的第38名。在这期间，中国的英语水平已从”中等”滑落至”低水平”。部分中国人质疑这一排名的准确性，但更多人注意到，这一趋势恰恰发生在中国愈发保守的大背景下。

During the covid-19 pandemic, for example, China shut its borders. Officials and businessmen, let alone ordinary citizens, made few trips abroad. Long after the rest of the world began opening up, China remained closed. At the same time, China’s relations with the world’s biggest English-speaking countries soured. Trade wars and diplomatic tiffs strained its ties with America, Australia, Britain and Canada.

strain /streɪn/在句中作动词，意思是“过度使用，使不堪承受”。

The sudden influx of visitors is straining hotels in the town to the limit.游客突然涌入，城里的旅馆全都爆满。

His constant complaints were straining our patience.他没完没了的抱怨让我们忍无可忍。
The dispute has strained relations between the two countries (= made them difficult) .这场争端使两国关系紧张起来。

在新冠期间，中国管控边境。官员、商人，甚至普通民众很少出国旅行。（此处省略x字）与此同时，中国与以英语为主要语言的大国之间的关系也日益紧张。贸易战和外交摩擦削弱了与美国、澳大利亚、英国和加拿大的联系。

The mood is such that legislators and school administrators have tried to limit the amount of time devoted to the study of English, and to reduce the weight given to it on China’s all-important university-entrance exams. In 2022 a lawmaker proposed de-emphasising the language in order to boost the teaching of traditional Chinese subjects. The education ministry demurred. But a professor at one of China’s elite universities says many students consider English less important than it used to be and are less interested in learning it.

de-emphasize /di:’emfasaiz/ v. 不再强调，不再重视，贬低..的重要性；使淡化，对..轻描淡写（前缀“de-”此处表示“否定, 相反”)

demur /dɪˈmɜː(r)/ v.表示反对，提出异议，拒绝。作名词时，常见搭配是without demur “毫无异议，毫不犹豫”。

《经济学人》和《纽约时报》例句：

He even briefly considered running for political office, though ultimately demurred. Old habits die hard. 他甚至一度考虑竞选公职，不过最终还是打了退堂鼓。本性难移啊。
If I demur, I land in the chapter about how sad it is that our kids are so overstressed. 如果我提出异议，我们就开始感叹，现在的孩子压力太大，真是可怜。

在教育领域，立法者和学校管理者已开始试图限制用于学习英语的时间，并降低英语在中国高考中的权重。2022年，一位立法者甚至提议弱化英语教学，以强化传统中文科目的教学。尽管教育部对此持保留态度，但某著名高校的一位教授表示，许多学生认为英语没有以前那么重要了，学习兴趣也有所下降。

As China’s economy slows, people have become more cautious and inward-looking. Today fewer Chinese are travelling abroad than before the pandemic. Young people are less keen on jobs requiring English, choosing instead to pursue dull but secure work in the public sector.

inward-looking adj. “只关注自身的，只关心自己的”，带有贬义

《纽约时报》曾批评特朗普上任大搞贸易保护主义时就用了这个词：Above all, Trump has transformed the world’s view of the United States from a reliable anchor of the liberal, rules-based international order into something more inward-looking and unpredictable.

首先，特朗普改变了世界对美国的看法，使其从自由、基于规则的国际秩序的稳定锚转变为一个更加内向型和不可预测的形象。

随着中国经济增速放缓，人们变得更加谨慎和内敛。如今，出国旅行的中国人相比疫情前已大幅减少。年轻人对需要英语的工作兴趣不大，转而青睐公共部门那些看似单调但相对稳定的岗位。

Then there are translation apps, which are improving at a rapid pace and becoming more ubiquitous. The tools may be having an effect outside China, too. The EF rankings show that tech-savvy Japan and South Korea have also been losing ground when it comes to English proficiency. Why spend time learning a new language when your phone is already fluent in it?

ubiquitous /juːˈbɪkwɪtəs/ adj. 似乎无所不在的，十分普遍的

savvy /ˈsævɪ/ n. 洞察力, 见解 adj. 有见识的，懂实际知识的，通情达理的