VOA慢速英语:The Business of Learning Mandarin

English is the international language of business. But an increasing number of American companies that do business in China or with Chinese companies are having their workers learn Mandarin.
英语是国际商界语言，但越来越多在中国做生意或与中国人做生意的美国公司开始让员工学汉语。

Michael Cheng is a Taiwanese-American Internet entrepreneur and property developer. He is also in the business of teaching Chinese. Mr. Cheng is president and founder of the Mando Mandarin Online School. The school is based in New York and uses teachers in China to teach over webcams.
迈克尔•程是一家台湾美国网络公司企业家兼地产开发商，他也从事教汉语的行业。他是Mando普通话网校的总裁兼创始人，网校总部在纽约，由中国教师通过网络摄像头教学。

"China over the past few years very quickly has already become the world's second-largest economy. And, you know, it's just common business savvy. If China's got over three trillion dollars in reserves now, so if you want to do business or connect with the fastest-growing country in the world, it might make sense to make an effort to engage the people in their own language, as understanding of their language and culture goes a long way in building strong relationships -- especially with the Chinese."
“过去几年间，中国迅速成为世界第二大经济体。要知道，这是很普通的商业知识。中国目前有三万亿美元储备，如果想与这个全世界发展最快的国家做生意或打交道，努力学点汉语是明智的，了解其语言和文化能建立长久的关系纽带，尤其是与中国人。”

By some predictions, China could pass the United States and become the world's largest economy by twenty twenty-five. Michael Cheng says that as China's economic power has increased, so has its cultural power.
有人预测，中国将在2025年超过美国成为世界最大经济体。迈克尔•程说随着中国经济实力的提升，其文化实力也在增强。

"Starting back in two thousand four, the Chinese Ministry of Education, along with what was called their Chinese Language Council, began to set up, around the world, Confucius Institutes, and with the purpose of promoting and developing Chinese language and culture teaching resources around the world."
“2004年，中国教育部及中国国家汉办开始在世界各地建立孔子学院，目的是推广和发展汉语及文化教学资源。”

Now, he says, there are more than three hundred Confucius Institutes in almost one hundred countries. These institutes work to promote Chinese language at the university level. The Chinese government has partnered with colleges and the Asia Society to set up programs across the United States. High schools have also received money to start Chinese language training programs.
他说，目前在100多个国家有300多所孔子学院，这些学院努力在高校推广汉语。中国政府与高校及亚洲协会合作，在美国各地成立项目。高校还受到资金来开设韩语培训项目。

Mr. Cheng says that, just as many English speakers want to learn Mandarin, many people in China want to learn English.
程老师说，正如许多说英语的人想学汉语，很多中国人也想学英语。

"In fact, if you want to talk numbers, there's, based on sheer population, there are actually more people learning, well, who speak English in China than there are [English speakers] in the United States. I think right now there's about four hundred million people who are either learning or currently speak English."
“事实上，如果只说数字，单纯根据人口来说，事实上中国说英语的人比美国说英语的人都要多，我认为目前有4亿人在学英语或讲英语。”

 He says taking the time to learn someone else's language is a great sign of respect and a way to build business relationships.
他说花时间学别的语言是表示尊重的重要表现，也是建立业务关系的一个途径。

 "Speaking of relationships, here's a quick business -- Chinese business lesson for some listeners. It's one word, it's two syllables and the word is guanxi. To get things done quickly and effectively, it's important to have what's called guanxi. In Mandarin it means personal relationships or networks of influence, and it's very essential to doing business or making connections in China."
“说到关系，我们要为部分听众提供一个中国商业经验，一个词，就是‘关系’。要快速有效地办好事情，关系很重要。在汉语中，它的意思是个人关系或影响力网络，在中国做生意或打交道关系非常重要。”