Elder villager taught herself 11 foreign languages

农村老太会说11门外语,学习外语是日积月累的结果

Nóngcūn lǎotài huì shuō 11 mén wàiyǔ,xuéxí wàiyǔ shì rìjīyuèlěi de jiéguǒ

An elder villager taught herself 11 foreign languages

阳朔位于中国南部广西壮族自治区,是背包客们心中的旅游圣地.会说11门外语的68岁的农村导游徐秀珍成为了阳朔镇上的名人.

With 11 foreign languages under her belt, 68-year-old villager-turned tour guide Xu Xiuzhen has become a celebrity in the town of Yangshuo, a backpacker mecca in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

徐秀珍住在月亮山脚下,这是阳朔的一个必去的旅游景点.徐秀珍在那儿接待过无数游客,她被游客们称为"月亮妈妈".

Xu lives at the foot of Moon Mountain, a must-see tourist attraction in Yangshuo, where she has guided countless tourists. Her sincerity has won her the name "Mama Moon".

阳朔超凡脱俗的喀斯特地貌景观和漓江使其声名远扬,自从中国在80年代早期向国际游客开放后,它吸引了数以百万计的外国游客.

Yangshuo, known for its other-worldly karst landscape and the Lijiang River, has been drawing millions of foreign tourists since China opened its door to international travelers in the early 1980s.

在过去的16年中,徐秀珍自学了11门外语,包括英语,西班牙语,日语和韩语等.这个会说多种语言的技能不但让她十分出名,更让她与外国游客交流起来更便利.

Over the past 16 years, Xu has taught herself 11 foreign languages, including English, Spanish, Japanese and Korean. In addition to making her incredibly popular, her linguistic prowess has made it easier for her to communicate with foreign tourists.

徐秀珍说："我的一些同行也想多学一些语言来促进自己的生意,但没有人能赶得上我." 但这位会说数国语言的农妇的成功得来不易,早在16年前,也就是阳朔的旅游业刚开始起步时,她就开始学习一些基础英语.

"My peers are trying to pick up new languages to boost their business, but no one can catch up with me," she said. But the polyglot farmer's success has been hard-won. She started learning simple English phrases 16 years ago, when Yangshuo's tourism industry started to boom.

频繁的交流和毅力终于收到了回报,她渐渐地开始能用英语表达自己,这个坚持到底的农妇自此之后又接连学会了其它多种语言.掌握了11门外语,徐秀珍成了阳朔最繁忙的导游,她的名声也为她每天都招揽了一大批游客,特别是一些对她敬仰已久特地来找她的外国游客.

Constant communication and a sense of perseverance proved effective, and she was gradually able to express herself in English. The determined woman has since learned other foreign languages in succession. With her command of 11 foreign languages, Xu is one of the busiest tour guides in Yangshuo. Her reputation draws a large crowd of tourists every day, especially foreign visitors, who come to meet the multilingual guide out of admiration.

她说："越来越多的外国游客来到阳朔,我希望通过我的帮助,他们都能把这儿当成自己家一样." 不满足于仅仅做一位导游,徐秀珍现在还开了一家受欢迎的餐馆以及一家好名声的旅馆.

"More and more foreign tourists are coming to Yangshuo, and I hope they will feel at home here with my help," she said. Not content to simply serve as a tour guide, she now owns a popular restaurant and operates a reputable hotel.

官方数据显示2012年有150万外国游客来阳朔旅游,这个数字激励了许多当地导游去学习外语,希望能取得和"月亮妈妈"同样的成功.

Official statistics show that 1.5 million foreign tourists visited Yangshuo in 2012, a number that has inspired local tour guides to jump on the foreign language bandwagon with hopes of achieving success on par with that of "Mama Moon".

词语解释

自治区 （zìzhì qū） autonomous region

超凡脱俗的 （chāofán tuōsú de） other-worldly

目不识丁 （mùbú shídīng） illiterate

名声 （míngshēng） reputation

激励 （jīlì） inspire

(Source: myechinese.com)