VOA慢速英语2016 纽约急救员学中文 突发情况展奇效

AS IT IS 2016-04-08 New York's Emergency Crews Learning Mandarin 1 纽约急救员学中文 突发情况展奇效

When emergency workers arrive at an old firehouse in New York City, the way they greet each other is not what you might expect.

当急救人员抵达纽约城区的消防站时，他们相互问候的方式可能会让你大吃一惊。

These first responders say, "Ni Hao!"

因为这些现场急救员说，“你好！”

These first responders say, "Ni Hao!”

“Ni Hao” means "hello" in Mandarin Chinese.

你好在普通话里的意思是打招呼。

First responders are the first emergency workers to arrive at a fire, traffic accident or other emergency. Some first responders are fire fighters, while others can be Emergency Medical Technicians -- also known as EMTs -- or paramedics.

现场急救员（First responders）是指抵达火灾、交通事故等一系列突发事件现场的首批急救人员。有些是消防人员，还有一些是急救医护人员。

In Brooklyn, New York, over 20 first responders are studying Mandarin Chinese for about two hours a week. The class is the first of its kind. It is offered by the Fire Department of New York's Phoenix 2 Society and the New York City Fire Department Foundation.

在纽约市的布鲁克林区，20多名现场急救员每周会花上2个小时的时间来学习普通话。这是他们首次开设普通话培训的课程。该课程是由纽约消防局凤凰社和纽约市消防局基金会提供的。

New York City is a diverse area. The U.S. Census 3 Bureau recently reported that some New York neighborhoods are made up mostly of immigrants.

纽约是一个多元化的城市。美国人口普查局近期报告称，有些纽约街区大部分都是移民。

Some people have predicted that the Chinese community is likely to become New York's largest immigrant group. They think the city will have the largest Chinese community outside of Asia.

专家曾预测华人社区可能会成为纽约最大的移民群体。他们认为，纽约市将拥有亚洲以外最大的华人群体。

The Census Bureau also found that almost 200 languages are spoken in the city. So, knowing different languages is important, especially if you are a first responder.

美国人口普查局还发现纽约市通行着近200种语言。因此，知晓不同种语言很重要，尤其是对现场急救员来说。

Growing need

不断增长的需求

Lieutenant 5 Steve Lee is president of the Fire Department’s Phoenix Society. Lee says that first responders must be able to communicate quickly and effectively when an emergency happens. He explains that first responders enters neighborhoods and communities to assist people regardless of where they are from.

中尉Steve Lee是纽约消防局凤凰社的主席。他说，现场急救员须在紧急情况下迅速高效地进行沟通。他解释说，现场急救员需要到街道社区去帮助来自世界各地的居民。

Lee says that many times first responders do not speak the same language as the people they are called to help. He adds that it is vital, or very important, that first responders are able to communicate with the people calling for help.

很多时候现场急救员和求救者语言不通。他补充说，现场急救员与求救者进行顺畅的沟通是非常关键的。

Without help from homeowners and others, Lee adds, discovering exactly where a fire is burning can be a real problem. First responders need to ask questions such as "What building? What address? What apartment?” And one of the most important questions, “Is there anybody left in the building and where?"

他还指出，没有房东或他人帮助的话，准确地找到火灾源是个很棘手的问题。现场急救员需要问：“什么建筑？地址在哪？哪间房子？”最重要的问题之一就是：“有没有人被困在楼里或其他地方？”

The Census Bureau findings demonstrate the great need for multilingual skills. There are currently 450,000 non-English speaking Asians in New York City. On any given day, only six Asian-American firefighters are working the city streets.

美国人口普查局的调查结果表明：多语言技能的市场需求巨大。目前纽约市不会说英语的亚裔人口有45万。而每天上班的亚裔消防员却只有6名。

Lily Cheung is teaching Mandarin Chinese to the first responders. She calls the first group taking the classes "amazing."

Lily Cheung正在教授急救员们普通话课程。她表示参加该课程的第一批人“令人惊喜”。

Cheung says she can see amazing progress they have made with this language, which -- according to her – is one of the hardest languages in the world.

Cheung说，她感觉到急救员们在这一全球最难的语言上取得了令人惊诧的进步。

She explains that these first responders work long hours. Some, she says, come to class right after working a night shift without resting in between. “This is really a dedicated 6 group,” she adds.

她还解释说，这些现场急救员工作时间长。有些人上完夜班后没休息就来上课。她补充说，“这的确是一个专注的群体。”

Chueng started teaching Mandarin when she was 11-years old. And she has her own method of teaching, something she calls the "Chinglish Way."

Chueng11岁时就开始教别人普通话。她自创了一套教学方法，将其称之为“中式英语教学法”。

She says she first explains the English order of the sentence, followed by the Chinese order. Then she takes an English sentence and says it in Chinese. Cheung says breaking up the sentence and then combining the parts together can make it easy for students to understand.

她首先要解释句子的英文顺序，然后是中文顺序。接着，她再写下一句英语，然后用中文说出来。 Cheung还说，把句子打乱再组合起来更容易让学生们理解。

One of her students is first responder Doraun Ellis. He has been a paramedic for 14 years.

现场急救员Doraun Ellis就是她的学生。14年来，他一直从事医护工作。

Ellis explains that Cheung goes to each and every single student in the class and goes over the lesson until the whole class understands it completely. He adds that the teacher really shows the class how to use to the language they are learning.

Ellis称，Cheung老师一对一教学指导并复习学生功课，直到班里的学生完全理解。Cheung老师向大家展示了如何充分使用这门语言。

Ellis adds that the more he is able to communicate with a patient on an emergency call, the more at ease that patient feels.

Ellis补充说，他和紧急呼叫的患者交流得越多，患者就越安心。

The students have already used their language training. Jacob Dutton has been a firefighter for 10 years. Recently, he followed up on a report of a gas leak in an apartment building.

Dutton表示，他到达了公寓后发现这里的两名居民只会说普通话。通过普通话交流，Dutton找到了煤气泄漏处并给居民讲述解决方案。

Dutton says he arrived to an apartment where the two residents spoke 4 only Mandarin. Speaking Mandarin with them, he was able to find the gas leak and explain to the residents how to fix it.

急救员们已经开始学以致用。Jacob Dutton十年来一直从事消防员的工作。最近，他处理了一起公寓大楼煤气泄漏事故。

Other Mandarin classes are planned, along with training in other languages.

其它普通话课程以及相关语言培训课程正在筹备中。

Words in This Story

paramedic – n. a person whose job is to provide emergency medical care to sick or injured people who are being taken to a hospital

diverse – n. made up of people or things that are different from each other

Census Bureau – n. A division of the federal government of the United States Bureau of Commerce that is responsible for conducting the national census at least once every 10 years, in which the population of the United States is counted. The Bureau of Census is also responsible for collecting data on the people, economy and country of the United States. Also known as the "United States Census Bureau."

multilingual – adj. able to speak and understand several languages

amazing – adj. causing great surprise or wonder : causing amazement 7

night shift – n. a period of time during the night (such as from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.) in which a person is scheduled to work

dedicated – adj. devoted 8 to a cause, ideal, or purpose

resident – n. living in a particular place usually for a long period of time