The U.S. government flew 10 teachers to Washington from China this month and gave them a five-day crash course on how to teach -- American-style -- before dispatching them to schools across the country. Although the number may seem small, the scramble to recruit and train these teachers for the start of this school year underscores the urgency the Bush administration is placing on establishing Chinese programs in U.S. classrooms.

美國政府本月從中國大陸送十名教師搭機到華府，並給他們上五天美式教學速成班，再分派他們到全美各地的學校。雖然人數有限，這個學年快開學，爭相延攬及培訓這批教師，凸顯布希政府在美國教室普及中文課程的緊迫感。

After years of insisting that the world speak English, Americans have awakened to a far more global playing field and the need for specialized languages, economists say. And nowhere is that more evident than with China.

濟學家說，在多年堅持全世界說英文後，美國人已經覺醒有個更全球化的遊戲場，同時需要專門語言，而且沒有任何地方比中國大陸更明顯。

"China is being mentioned everywhere in relation to everything from business, international affairs -- even the war on terror," said Kenneth Lieberthal, a professor of political science at the University of Michigan. "You buy things in the store -- they're made in China."

密西根大學政治系教授李侃如說：「幾乎什麼都離不開中國，舉凡商業、國際事務，甚至反恐戰爭。甚至你到店裡購物，也是中國製造的。」

More than 1.3 billion people worldwide speak Chinese, and about 885 million of those people speak Mandarin. In the United States, only about 24,000 students in grades seven through 12 study the language, according to a report from the Asia Society. But educators say those students reflect a steady growth in the number of Americans wanting to learn Chinese.

據亞洲學會報告指出，全世界有超過十三億人說中文，其中八億八千五百萬人說國語，在美國，只有七年級到十二年級的約兩萬四千名學生學中文 ，但教育界人士指出，這些學生反映願意學中文的美國人正在穩定增加。

"People are finally beginning to pay attention to Mandarin as a major cultural and economic prospect for students," said Michael H. Levine, executive director of education for the Asia Society.

亞洲學會教育部門主管樂懷恩說：「大家終於開始注意到國語對學生文化和經濟前景很重要。」

In January, President Bush unveiled a $114 million initiative aimed at increasing the number of so-called critical languages, such as Chinese and Arabic, taught in U.S. schools.

今年一月，布希總統提出一億一千四百萬美元的計畫，以增加美國學校要教的所謂重要語言的數目，像中文和阿拉伯文。