VOA慢速英語：日本太婆力證學習永遠不會太遲

Great-Grandmother Proves It Is Never Too Late to Learn

日本太婆力證學習永遠不會太遲

Setsuko Takamizawa is set to prove that it is never too late to learn.

勢津子·高見澤(Setsuko Takamizawa)將會證明學習永遠不會太遲。

At the age of 91, the great-grandmother is learning English with the help of her family. She hopes to use the language at next year's Olympic Games in Tokyo.

這位91歲的曾祖母正在家人的幫助下學習英語。她希望在明年的東京奧運會上用上這門語言。

Never too late to learn

學習永遠不會太遲

Takamizawa was one of the more than 200,000 people who requested to volunteer for Tokyo's 2020 Games. English is not required for service, but it is a helpful skill for volunteers to have.

勢津子是申請成為東京奧運會志愿者的20多萬人之一，英語并非必須，但是對志愿者來說，英語是一門有用的技能。

But Takamizawa had not been able to learn the language when she was young.

但是勢津子年輕時沒辦法學習這門語言。

Takamizawa told Reuters that she was in high school when World War Two started. She said, "In my second year there, English was banned because it was the enemy language."

勢津子對路透社表示，二戰(zhàn)開始時她正讀高中。她說：“在高中第二年英語被禁止了，因為它是敵國語言。”

Takamizawa said that her grandchildren helped persuade her she was not too old to learn.

勢津子表示，她的孫輩幫助說服了她，她還沒老到不能學習。

"When I talked to my grandchildren about my wish, they said, ‘it's not too late. We will teach you one word a day. It's going to be a good challenge for you'."

“當我給我的孫輩們說到我的愿望時，他們說，‘現在還不算太晚，我們會每天教你一個單詞，這對你來說會是一項很好的挑戰(zhàn)。’

Natsuko is Takamizawa's granddaughter and main English teacher.

奈津子是勢津子的孫女，也是一位英語老師。

Natsuko sends a new English word to her grandmother's phone every day. They also often work together directly on phrases that Takamizawa will need for the Olympics.

奈津子每天會給她祖母的手機發(fā)一個新的英語單詞。她們還經常一起學習勢津子在奧運會上需要用到的一些短語。

"Welcome to Tokyo, this is the Olympic stadium, how can I help you?" Takamizawa answers when asked to say an English phrase she has learned.

當被要求說出她學過的一句短語時，勢津子說道：“歡迎來到東京，這里是奧林匹克體育場，有什么需要幫助的嗎?”

Natsuko explains that she wanted to give her grandmother something to enjoy. "I can clearly see her English is getting better. It's my joy now."

奈津子解釋說，她想給祖母找點興趣。她說：“我能明顯看到她的英語變得越來越好，現在這成了我的樂趣。”

Global Perspectives

全球視角

The EF English Proficiency Index is a measure of the level of English spoken in a country. Japan ranks 49th among countries where English is not the first language.

英孚英語指數是衡量一個國家英語口語水平的標準。日本在英語非第一語言的國家中排名第49位。

This situation is slowly changing as younger generations welcome English. Japanese students often learn English at a much younger age than they did in the past.

隨著年輕一代接受英語，這種狀況正在慢慢改變。日本學生通常很小就學英語，比以前更早。

However, Takamizawa believes real change will not happen unless Japanese people become more open to the rest of the world.

然而，奈津子認為，除非日本人對世界其它地方更加開放，否則不會發(fā)生真正的變化。

She says that people in Japan should act not only as Japanese citizens, but also as "global members" of the Earth.

她說，日本人不應該僅僅扮演日本公民的角色，還應該扮演全球成員的角色。

With around 500 days to go until the Games begin, the whole Takamizawa family is ready to welcome the world to Tokyo.

距離奧運會開幕還有大約500天時間，整個高見澤家族都已準備好迎接世界人們來到東京。

When Japan last held the Summer Olympics in 1964, Takamizawa was too busy raising a family to go to any events.

上次日本舉辦1964年夏季奧運會時，奈津子正忙于養(yǎng)家糊口，沒有參加任何活動。

Takamizawa said she never thought the Olympics would happen in Tokyo twice in her lifetime.

奈津子表示，她從未想過，奧運會在她一生當中會兩次在東京舉辦。

"It's good," she said, "to live long."

她說：“活久點真好。”

I'm John Russell.

約翰·拉塞爾報道。