青島博源翻譯服務有限公司（www.kmxly.cn）2016年4月9日了解到：When emergency workers arrive at an old firehouse in New York City, the way they greet each other is not what you might expect.

當急救人員抵達紐約城區的消防站時，他們相互問候的方式可能會讓你大吃一驚。

These first responders say, "Ni Hao!"

因為這些現場急救員說，“你好！”

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

你好在普通話里的意思是打招呼。

First responders are the first emergency workers to arrive at a fire, traffic accident or other emergency.  

現場急救員（First responders）是指抵達火災、交通事故等一系列突發事件現場的首批急救人員。

Some first responders are fire fighters, while others can be Emergency Medical Technicians -- also known as EMTs -- or paramedics.

有些是消防人員，還有一些是急救醫護人員。

In Brooklyn, New York, over 20 first responders are studying Mandarin Chinese for about two hours a week.  

在紐約市的布魯克林區，20多名現場急救員每周會花上2個小時的時間來學習普通話。

The class is the first of its kind.  

這是他們首次開設普通話培訓的課程。

It is offered by the Fire Department of New York's Phoenix Society and the New York City Fire Department Foundation.

該課程是由紐約消防局鳳凰社和紐約市消防局基金會提供的。

New York City is a diverse area.  

紐約是一個多元化的城市。

The U.S. Census Bureau recently reported that some New York neighborhoods are made up mostly of immigrants.

美國人口普查局近期報告稱，有些紐約街區大部分都是移民。

Some people have predicted that the Chinese community is likely to become New York's largest immigrant group.  

專家曾預測華人社區可能會成為紐約最大的移民群體。

They think the city will have the largest Chinese community outside of Asia.

他們認為，紐約市將擁有亞洲以外最大的華人群體。

The Census Bureau also found that almost 200 languages are spoken in the city.  

美國人口普查局還發現紐約市通行著近200種語言。

So, knowing different languages is important, especially if you are a first responder.

因此，知曉不同種語言很重要，尤其是對現場急救員來說。

Lieutenant Steve Lee is president of the Fire Department's Phoenix Society.  

中尉Steve Lee是紐約消防局鳳凰社的主席。

Lee says that first responders must be able to communicate quickly and effectively when an emergency happens.  

他說，現場急救員須在緊急情況下迅速高效地進行溝通。

He explains that first responders enters neighborhoods and communities to assist people regardless of where they are from.

他解釋說，現場急救員需要到街道社區去幫助來自世界各地的居民。

Lee says that many times first responders do not speak the same language as the people they are called to help.  

很多時候現場急救員和求救者語言不通。

He adds that it is vital, or very important, that first responders are able to communicate with the people calling for help.

他補充說，現場急救員與求救者進行順暢的溝通是非常關鍵的。

Without help from homeowners and others, Lee adds, discovering exactly where a fire is burning can be a real problem.  

他還指出，沒有房東或他人幫助的話，準確地找到火災源是個很棘手的問題。

First responders need to ask questions such as "What building? What address? What apartment?"  

現場急救員需要問：“什么建筑？地址在哪？哪間房子？”

And one of the most important questions, "Is there anybody left in the building and where?"

最重要的問題之一就是：“有沒有人被困在樓里或其他地方？”

The Census Bureau findings demonstrate the great need for multilingual skills.  

美國人口普查局的調查結果表明：多語言技能的市場需求巨大。

There are currently 450,000 non-English speaking Asians in New York City.

目前紐約市不會說英語的亞裔人口有45萬。

On any given day, only six Asian-American firefighters are working the city streets.

而每天上班的亞裔消防員卻只有6名。

Lily Cheung is teaching Mandarin Chinese to the first responders.  

Lily Cheung正在教授急救員們普通話課程。

She calls the first group taking the classes "amazing."

她表示參加該課程的第一批人“令人驚喜”。

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說，她感覺到急救員們在這一全球最難的語言上取得了令人驚詫的進步。

She explains that these first responders work long hours.  

她還解釋說，這些現場急救員工作時間長。

Some, she says, come to class right after working a night shift without resting in between. "

有些人上完夜班后沒休息就來上課。

This is really a dedicated group," she adds.

她補充說，“這的確是一個專注的群體。”

Chueng started teaching Mandarin when she was 11-years old.  

Chueng11歲時就開始教別人普通話。

And she has her own method of teaching, something she calls the "Chinglish Way."

她自創了一套教學方法，將其稱之為“中式英語教學法”。

She says she first explains the English order of the sentence, followed by the Chinese order.

她首先要解釋句子的英文順序，然后是中文順序。

Then she takes an English sentence and says it in Chinese.

接著，她再寫下一句英語，然后用中文說出來。

Cheung says breaking up the sentence and then combining the parts together can make it easy for students to understand.

Cheung還說，把句子打亂再組合起來更容易讓學生們理解。

One of her students is first responder Doraun Ellis.

現場急救員Doraun Ellis就是她的學生。

He has been a paramedic for 14 years.

14年來，他一直從事醫護工作。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.

Ellis稱，Cheung老師一對一教學指導并復習學生功課，直到班里的學生完全理解。

He adds that the teacher really shows the class how to use the language they are learning.

Cheung老師向大家展示了如何充分使用這門語言。

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補充說，他和緊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.

急救員們已經開始學以致用。

Jacob Dutton has been a firefighter for 10 years.

Jacob Dutton十年來一直從事消防員的工作。

Recently, he followed up on a report of a gas leak in an apartment building.

最近，他處理了一起公寓大樓煤氣泄漏事故。

Dutton says he arrived to an apartment where the two residents spoke only Mandarin.  

Dutton表示，他到達了公寓后發現這里的兩名居民只會說普通話。

Speaking Mandarin with them, he was able to find the gas leak and explain to the residents how to fix it.

通過普通話交流，Dutton找到了煤氣泄漏處并給居民講述解決方案。

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

其它普通話課程以及相關語言培訓課程正在籌備中。來源：VOA