《英语周报》有声读物：中国的起色

　　By Paul Eugene

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　　Torrey: Hey man, you’re kind of late. Where have you been?

　　Steve: Sorry man, I just got lost on the way over here. It took me fifteen minutes to find my way out of the subway.

　　Torrey: Well, you know they DO have signs in English…

　　Steve: Dude, I know they have signs in English. Or I think it’s supposed to be English. The translations are way off.

　　Torrey: Yeah, they really dropped the ball on this one. I’ve seen a lot of foreigners scratching their heads trying to understand the English signs.

　　Steve: Me too. Someone really needs to fix this. It might seem like a small thing but it’s not a good situation for Beijing’s image. The government has done a great job cleaning up the city but the language issue is just as important.

　　Torrey: Oh definitely. The pollution is not nearly as bad as when we first got here but the signs don’t seem to have changed much. What do you think they should do about it?

　　Torrey: Hey, I am just your average Joe, but if you really want to know, I would find some native English speakers and hire them to come up with some authentic translations.

　　Torrey: The weird thing is, it seems like they just translated the signs literally from Chinese. If you want your English signs to look right, you should just use the same phrases English speakers do.

　　Steve: I see what you mean. So, a minute ago I was talking about how this is bad for the 2008 Beijing Olympics…

　　Torrey: Well how do you figure?

　　Steve: Look, what is one of the most popular languages in the world right now?

　　Torrey: English.

　　Steve: Right. It’s the international language of business, and because of music and television it’s being spoken all over the world right now.

　　Torrey: What are you getting at?

　　Steve: I am just trying to point out that most foreigners who come to watch the Olympics are going to be able to at least read English. They might be able to speak a little Chinese but probably won’t know enough to read the signs.

　　Torrey: Ok, I see where you are going with this. So you think if the fans that come to watch the Olympics from overseas see these terrible signs, it will be just as bad for Beijing as the air pollution!

　　Steve: Hey, I wouldn’t go that far. Pollution is a serious issue and I am glad the government tackled that problem early on. I just think the signs might cause the international community to see a modern city like Beijing as backwards if they do not do something about the signs.

　　Torrey: That makes sense. People here appreciate it when you try to learn Chinese so I think foreign visitors would appreciate having the signs in correct English.

　　Steve: Right on man. I think everyone will be really impressed if they get the signs right. Every little bit helps and the more they do to make everyone feel comfortable, the more people will want to come back.

　　此部分内容由美国之音提供