VOA慢速英语:A Program Aims to Increase the Number of Americans Studying in China

Last year 200,000 Chinese students were in the United States. That was a 23 percent increase over the year before. The Institute of International Education in New York reported last month that 26,000 US students were in China in 2011. They included 15,000 studying for academic credit and 11,000 taking part in other kinds of educational activities.
去年，美国一共有20万中国学生。这比前一年增加了23%。纽约国际教育协会上月报道称，2011年有2.6万名美国学生在中国学习。他们包括1.5万名修学分的学生，和1.1万名参加其它各类教育活动的学生。

A program called the "100,000 Strong Initiative" aims to increase the number of Americans studying in China. The State Department launched it in 2010. The goal is to send 100,000 students from the United States to China over a four-year period.
一个名为“十万人留学中国计划”的项目旨在提高到中国留学的美国人数量。美国国务院在2010年推出该项目，目标是在一个四年的期限内向中国派遣10万名美国学生。

Christie Civetta is studying in Beijing as part of the initiative. She is taking Mandarin classes at Beijing's Language and Culture University.
Christie Civetta作为该计划的一部分在北京学习。她在北京语言文化大学就读中文课程。

"I think it really opens your eyes to what actually is here, like what truly is going on in China, what truly is happening. I think that's incredibly important to know if you want to be educated to chat about it at all."
“我觉得它能让你看到这里真实的一面，像中国正在发生什么。我认为知道这些非常重要，如果你想要接受教育讨论这些的话。”

Last year a non-profit organization called the "100,000 Strong Foundation" was launched. One of the groups that the foundation supports is Project Pengyou. It connects students who have lived or studied in China.
去年，一个名为“十万人留学中国基金会”的非营利性组织被发起。“朋友项目”是该基金会支持的组织之一。该项目旨在连接在中国生活或学习过的学生。
Project Pengyou is based in Beijing and led by Holly Chang. She says personal ties formed during study abroad can have an effect on relations between the United States and China.
“朋友项目”总部设在北京，由Holly Chang领导。她说，在出国留学过程中结成的私人关系能够对中国关系产生影响。

 
"We live in this bipolar world where there is increasingly, there's power struggle, but there's still a huge level of misunderstanding I think on a cultural level, and it's not until you actually create those people-to-people relations and strengthen personal bonds between people that they actually strengthen their capacity to work together."
“我们生活在这个越来越两极化的世界里，这里存在权力争斗，但在文化层面上还有很深的误解，直到我们真正创建人与人之间的联系，加强人们之间的个人友谊。这能强化合作能力。”

The Chinese government has offered 20,000 scholarships to Americans under what is known as the US-China Consultation on People-to-people Exchange.
根据中美人文交流磋商，中国政府已经向美国学生提供了20,000份奖学金。

The 100,000 Strong Foundation has no official relationship with the Chinese government. The foundation says it works closely with Chinese government officials to encourage more Americans to seek these Chinese scholarships. The aim is to give more Americans a chance to get a taste of Chinese culture.
“十万人留学中国基金会”与中国政府没有正式关系。该基金会称，他们和中国政府官员密切合作，以鼓励更多美国人申请这些中国奖学金。其目的是让更多美国人机会接触中国文化。

As part of her study abroad program, Christie Civetta is also taking cooking classes at a restaurant in Beijing. She not only learns how to make traditional Chinese dishes, she also gets a chance to practice her Chinese language skills with the employees.
作为她留学计划的一部分，Christie Civetta还在北京一家餐厅学习烹饪课程。她不仅学会了如何做传统的中国菜，还得到了和同事们练习中文的机会。

"That though may not be the direction I want to go for my final career life if you will, I am very excited to get that alternative perspective on the whole world of culinary arts through a Chinese lens."
“虽然这不是我想要的最终职业生涯的方向， 我还是非常高兴从中国角度对世界烹饪艺术获得了另一种观感。”