Break the great walls of language
近年来，中国掀起英语学习热潮(spree)。而在澳洲，学习中文的人数却少之又少。其实，学习外语对促进国家之间的文化、经贸交流等方面都起到至关重要的作用。
On university *campuses around China, young people greet each other with "Ni hao are you?"
在中国的大学校园里，年轻人们见面都这样打招呼：“你好 are you？”
University student Shen Jiahui said learning English was important to young Chinese. But after two days in Australia, she and fellow student Wang Taojun said they had found few Australian students who could speak Chinese。
还在读大学的沈家慧表示，学习英语对于中国年轻人而言十分重要。但在来到澳大利亚两天之后，她和同伴王陶钧发现澳洲学生会说中文的真是少之又少。
Ms Shen, 20, and Mr Wang, 21, are among the top winners of China`s Daily`s 21st Century Cup, the country`s most *prestigious English speaking competition, attracting almost 10,000 *entrants from 850 universities across China。
20岁的沈家慧和21岁的王陶钧都是从中国日报社21世纪杯英语演讲比赛中脱颖而出的一等奖选手。该赛事是中国最具权威性的英语演讲比赛，吸引了来自850多所高校的近万名选手前来参赛。
Their study tour of Sydney with educational provider Navitas English *coincides with a decline in foreign languages among students in Australia。
他们此次的悉尼游学之旅由澳大利亚Navitas英语集团全力支持。然而，与此同时，在澳大利亚，学习外语的学生却越来越少。
"Learning English is not a subject for me, it`s a tool to communicate," Ms Shen said。
“对我来说，英语不是一门学科，而是一个交流工具，”沈家慧说。
"If people are interested in China it would be better if they learn Chinese because they can better understand the culture."
“如果有人对中国感兴趣的话，那么最好去学中文，这样你就能更好地理解中国文化。”
China Daily deputy editor Shen Gang said it would be helpful if both Australians and Chinese spoke each other`s language。
中国日报社《二十一世纪英文报》副总编辑申钢认为，如果澳大利亚人和中国人都能说对方的语言，那会益处多多。
However Chinese is a difficult language to learn and English will remain the working language of the world。
而中文是门很难学的语言，英语仍将保持其世界通用语言的地位。
Mr Shen said there were more students from the US and UK than Australians at Chinese universities。
沈家慧说，在中国学习的外国留学生中，英美学生人数要多于澳大利亚学生。
"I hope there will be more Australian students come to China."
“我希望能有更多的澳大利亚学生能来中国学习。”
"China is now the major business partner for Australia and also there are more Chinese tourists coming to Australia."
“当前，中国是澳大利亚的主要贸易伙伴，而且越来越多的中国人选择前往澳大利亚旅游观光。”
"Once you learn Chinese a simple *greeting like Ni hao will help you to start a business."
“一旦你学会中文，哪怕一句“你好”这样的简单问候，都会帮你打开生意局面。
