农村老太会说11门外语 学习外语是日积月累的结果

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

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。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。

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."

徐秀珍住在月亮山脚下，这是阳朔的一个必去的旅游景点。徐秀珍在那儿带过无数游客，亲切的她被游客们称为“月亮妈妈”。

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.

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。

The scenic town is home to many people who make a living by both farming and working as tour guides.

这个风景优美的小镇的居民，多依靠农牧业和为游客做导游为生。

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.

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。

"My peers are trying to pick up new languages to boost their business, but no one can catch up with me," she said.

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。”

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.

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。

Illiterate, she was unable to read grammar books, so she had to memorize each word by its sound. But Xu seized every opportunity to talk to foreign tourists and tried to utter out her English.

因为之前目不识丁，她并不能通过阅读语法书来学习英语，所以她必须通过读音来记忆每一个单词。但是徐秀珍抓住每个能与外国游客说话的机会，去说一些她学到的英语。

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.

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。

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.

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。

"More and more foreign tourists are coming to Yangshuo, and I hope they will feel at home here with my help," she said.

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。”

Not content to simply serve as a tour guide, she now owns a popular restaurant and operates a reputable hotel.

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。

Huang Yongzhong, director of Yangshuo's tourism bureau, said Xu's success has encouraged many farmers to follow suit.

阳朔旅游局局长黄永忠说，徐秀珍的成功鼓励了许多农民也开始追随仿效她。

Official statistics show that 1.5 million foreign tourists visited Yangshuo in 2017, 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."

官方数据显示2017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。

"What 'Mama Moon' does is a good interpretation of the Yangshuo farmers' shared Chinese dream -- to make life better by learning new skills," Huang said.

黄永忠称：“月亮妈妈的行为代表了阳朔农民的中国梦——通过学习新的技能来让自己的生活变得更好。”

He added that the government supports local tour guides by providing frequent training on the laws and regulations of the tourism industry.

他补充道，政府会通过提供频繁的旅游业法规培训来支持当地导游。

Farmers in Yangshuo are passionate, sincere and hard-working, and this spirit will lead to more success stories like that of "Mama Moon," he said.

他还说：“阳朔的农民热情、亲切并努力，正是这种精神将会带来诸如月亮妈妈那样的更多的成功故事。”