雅思阅读资料：美国人搬到我国学汉语

据《华尔街日报》报道，因为我国的影响在日益增强，为了给宝贝增加一个学习汉语的优势，许多美国人正改变以前的生活方式，举家迁往我国生活。

American families are uprooting their entire lives and relocating their families to China to give their children a leg up in learning Mandarin as China''s influence continues to grow, according to The Wall Street Journal.
据《华尔街日报》报道，因为我国的影响在日益增强，为了给宝贝增加一个学习汉语的优势，许多美国人正改变以前的生活方式，举家迁往我国生活。

High-powered American couples reportedly move to China and enroll their children in elementary schools that teach Mandarin. Instruction is completed in two years in these schools, and then the families move back to the United States.
报道称，有钱的美国夫妇举家迁往我国，并在教普通话的学校里给宝贝报了名注了册。在学完了学校的两年课程后，全家人又搬回美国去。

And even if parents aren''t moving there, they are choosing Mandarin submersion programs, hiring tutors, using Skype to talk with teachers in Beijing, and even hiring Chinese-speaking nannies.
即使家长没有搬过来，他们会选择含有汉语内容的教程，或请家教，或使用Skype和在北京的老师对话，甚至是雇佣说汉语的*姆。

Sources told The WSJ that prospective employees who speak Mandarin have a leg-up in the job market, and doting American parents are trying to do everything they can possible to give them that edge.
消息人士告诉《华尔街日报》，未来的求职者，如果是会说汉语的求职者，那么他们在就业市场拥有更多的优势。溺爱宝贝的美国家长在尽他们的一切可能让宝贝们拥有这样的优势。

Learning Mandarin is hardly an easy task. It''s a tonal language and there''s no "right" way to learn it.
学习汉语并非易事。汉语是一种声调语言，学习它没有所谓的“好”方法。

To earn certification in Mandarin, it takes 2,200 class hours, and half of that time spent must be spent in a Mandarin-speaking country. For comparison''s sake, Spanish can be learned in 600 to 750 class hours.
要获得汉语等级证书需要花2,200学时，其中有一半时间必须要生活在说汉语的国家里。作为对比，学习西班牙语只要600到750个学时。

Ironically in China, where a huge emphasis is placed on education, 85 percent of people whose household income is more than $950,000 recently said they planned on sending their children abroad to study.
不过具有讽刺意味地是，在非常重视教育的我国，85% 家庭收入超过950,000美元的家庭较近表示，他们计划着要把自己的宝贝送出国深造。

So, Americans are still playing catch up.
因此，美国人正在迎头赶上。