Great-Grandmother Proves It Is Never Too Late to Learn

日本太婆力证学习永远不会太迟

Setsuko Takamizawa is set to prove that it is never too late to learn.

势津子·高见泽(Setsuko Takamizawa)将会证明学习永远不会太迟。

At the age of 91, the great-grandmother is learning English with the help of her family. She hopes to use the language at next year's Olympic Games in Tokyo.

这位91岁的曾祖母正在家人的帮助下学习英语。她希望在明年的东京奥运会上用上这门语言。

Never too late to learn

学习永远不会太迟

Takamizawa was one of the more than 200,000 people who requested to volunteer for Tokyo's 2020 Games. English is not required for service, but it is a helpful skill for volunteers to have.

势津子是申请成为东京奥运会志愿者的20多万人之一，英语并非必须，但是对志愿者来说，英语是一门有用的技能。

But Takamizawa had not been able to learn the language when she was young.

但是势津子年轻时没办法学习这门语言。

Takamizawa told Reuters that she was in high school when World War Two started. She said, "In my second year there, English was banned because it was the enemy language."

势津子对路透社表示，二战开始时她正读高中。她说：“在高中第二年英语被禁止了，因为它是敌国语言。”

Takamizawa said that her grandchildren helped persuade her she was not too old to learn.

势津子表示，她的孙辈帮助说服了她，她还没老到不能学习。

"When I talked to my grandchildren about my wish, they said, ‘it's not too late. We will teach you one word a day. It's going to be a good challenge for you'."

“当我给我的孙辈们说到我的愿望时，他们说，‘现在还不算太晚，我们会每天教你一个单词，这对你来说会是一项很好的挑战。’

Natsuko is Takamizawa's granddaughter and main English teacher.

奈津子是势津子的孙女，也是一位英语老师。

Natsuko sends a new English word to her grandmother's phone every day. They also often work together directly on phrases that Takamizawa will need for the Olympics.

奈津子每天会给她祖母的手机发一个新的英语单词。她们还经常一起学习势津子在奥运会上需要用到的一些短语。

"Welcome to Tokyo, this is the Olympic stadium, how can I help you?" Takamizawa answers when asked to say an English phrase she has learned.

当被要求说出她学过的一句短语时，势津子说道：“欢迎来到东京，这里是奥林匹克体育场，有什么需要帮助的吗?”

Natsuko explains that she wanted to give her grandmother something to enjoy. "I can clearly see her English is getting better. It's my joy now."

奈津子解释说，她想给祖母找点兴趣。她说：“我能明显看到她的英语变得越来越好，现在这成了我的乐趣。”

Global Perspectives

全球视角

The EF English Proficiency Index is a measure of the level of English spoken in a country. Japan ranks 49th among countries where English is not the first language.

英孚英语指数是衡量一个国家英语口语水平的标准。日本在英语非第一语言的国家中排名第49位。

This situation is slowly changing as younger generations welcome English. Japanese students often learn English at a much younger age than they did in the past.

随着年轻一代接受英语，这种状况正在慢慢改变。日本学生通常很小就学英语，比以前更早。

However, Takamizawa believes real change will not happen unless Japanese people become more open to the rest of the world.

然而，奈津子认为，除非日本人对世界其它地方更加开放，否则不会发生真正的变化。

She says that people in Japan should act not only as Japanese citizens, but also as "global members" of the Earth.

她说，日本人不应该仅仅扮演日本公民的角色，还应该扮演全球成员的角色。

With around 500 days to go until the Games begin, the whole Takamizawa family is ready to welcome the world to Tokyo.

距离奥运会开幕还有大约500天时间，整个高见泽家族都已准备好迎接世界人们来到东京。

When Japan last held the Summer Olympics in 1964, Takamizawa was too busy raising a family to go to any events.

上次日本举办1964年夏季奥运会时，奈津子正忙于养家糊口，没有参加任何活动。

Takamizawa said she never thought the Olympics would happen in Tokyo twice in her lifetime.

奈津子表示，她从未想过，奥运会在她一生当中会两次在东京举办。

"It's good," she said, "to live long."

她说：“活久点真好。”

I'm John Russell.

约翰·拉塞尔报道。

Setsuko Takamizawa is set to prove that it is never too late to learn.

At the age of 91, the great-grandmother is learning English with the help of her family. She hopes to use the language at next year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Never too late to learn

Takamizawa was one of the more than 200,000 people who requested to volunteer for Tokyo’s 2020 Games. English is not required for service, but it is a helpful skill for volunteers to have.

But Takamizawa had not been able to learn the language when she was young.

Takamizawa told Reuters that she was in high school when World War Two started. She said, “In my second year there, English was banned because it was the enemy language.”

Takamizawa said that her grandchildren helped persuade her she was not too old to learn.

“When I talked to my grandchildren about my wish, they said, ‘it’s not too late. We will teach you one word a day. It’s going to be a good challenge for you’.”

Natsuko is Takamizawa’s granddaughter and main English teacher.

Natsuko sends a new English word to her grandmother’s phone every day. They also often work together directly on phrases that Takamizawa will need for the Olympics.

“Welcome to Tokyo, this is the Olympic stadium, how can I help you?” Takamizawa answers when asked to say an English phrase she has learned.

Natsuko explains that she wanted to give her grandmother something to enjoy. “I can clearly see her English is getting better. It’s my joy now.”

Global Perspectives

The EF English Proficiency Index is a measure of the level of English spoken in a country. Japan ranks 49th among countries where English is not the first language.

This situation is slowly changing as younger generations welcome English. Japanese students often learn English at a much younger age than they did in the past.

However, Takamizawa believes real change will not happen unless Japanese people become more open to the rest of the world.

She says that people in Japan should act not only as Japanese citizens, but also as “global members” of the Earth.

With around 500 days to go until the Games begin, the whole Takamizawa family is ready to welcome the world to Tokyo.

When Japan last held the Summer Olympics in 1964, Takamizawa was too busy raising a family to go to any events.

Takamizawa said she never thought the Olympics would happen in Tokyo twice in her lifetime.

“It’s good,” she said, “to live long.”

I’m John Russell.

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Words in This Story

grandmother – n. the mother of your father or mother

great-grandmother -- n. the mother of one's grandmother or grandfather.

granddaughter -- n. a daughter of your son or daughter

phrase -- n. a group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not usually form a complete sentence; a brief expression that is commonly used

challenge -- n. a difficult task or problem : something that is hard to do

global -- adj. involving the entire world