英國的就業(yè)形勢日益嚴(yán)峻，但學(xué)中文的英國畢業(yè)生卻越來越搶手。據(jù)英媒報道：

“Chinese has overtaken French, Spanish and German to become one of the most lucrative foreign languages for jobseekers in the UK. Research shows graduates in Chinese earn an average yearly salary of ￡31,000 or more.”
“中文已經(jīng)超越法語、西語、德語，成為英國市場上最受用人單位歡迎的外語之一。研究顯示，學(xué)中文的畢業(yè)生平均年薪達(dá)3.1萬英鎊（約合人民幣27萬元）以上?！?/p>

“For students today, saddled with rising debt, a degree in Chinese promises to set them apart in the workplace.”
“如今學(xué)生們背負(fù)的助學(xué)貸款越來越重，中文專業(yè)的文憑能確保他們在職場脫穎而出。”

文章接著指出，雖然中文專業(yè)在招聘市場上很吃香，但學(xué)起來也是非一般的辛苦，中文專業(yè)學(xué)生的付出往往異于常人：

“Chinese students set themselves up for a different university experience from their peers who are taking traditional essay subjects. While an English student may have as little as six hours of contact time a week, those studying Mandarin are in class for most of the day.”
“中文專業(yè)學(xué)生的大學(xué)經(jīng)歷有別于其他同齡人。英文系學(xué)生每周課時可能只有6小時，而中文系學(xué)生卻幾乎整天都在上課?！?/p>

接下來，幾位中文專業(yè)畢業(yè)的英國人現(xiàn)身說法，開始控訴當(dāng)年在校學(xué)習(xí)的心酸血淚史：

選擇學(xué)中文，就注定了不一樣的青春

2009年畢業(yè)于英國謝菲爾德大學(xué)中文系的漢娜?杰克遜（Hannah Jackson）說：

“I had a lot of friends on other courses who didn’t do much in first or second year. You can’t blag Chinese. You literally have to spend hours and hours writing characters.”
“我認(rèn)識很多其他專業(yè)的朋友，他們前兩年基本沒什么壓力。但是學(xué)中文真的沒辦法偷懶。你每天都需要花大把時間寫漢字?！?/p>

用兩個單詞來形容學(xué)中文系的課程，漢娜認(rèn)為那就是“majorly intense（壓力山大）”。

“The first year was really difficult. Most of my friends admitted at one point to crying in the first week because of the intensity. I was almost told at one point that I might want to reconsider and drop out.”
“大一是最最艱難的，我身邊大多數(shù)中文系同學(xué)都表示，由于學(xué)習(xí)強度太大，第一周都掉眼淚了！甚至有人曾經(jīng)勸我重新考慮，要不要放棄。”

從零開始，每天最多學(xué)習(xí)18小時

利伯蒂?泰姆韋爾（Liberty Timewell）是劍橋大學(xué)中文系2012級畢業(yè)生，她表示，自己曾經(jīng)每天至少要花8小時學(xué)中文，每天學(xué)20個漢字，而學(xué)期末有時一天的學(xué)習(xí)時間能達(dá)到18小時。

“I found studying Chinese an incredibly hard slog throughout every year. It was a challenge – there is no way you can bullshit your way through it. If you don’t put the hours in then you will fail. That’s it.”
“我發(fā)現(xiàn)學(xué)中文的每一天都超級艱難，這對我來說是一項挑戰(zhàn)。你沒有辦法糊弄過去。如果你不為此投入時間，就不會成功。就是這樣?！?/p>

由于學(xué)習(xí)壓力過大，利伯蒂甚至一度后悔沒選一個可以稍微偷點兒懶的專業(yè)。

以為自己是學(xué)霸，來到中國虐成渣

英國大學(xué)的中文專業(yè)一般為四年制，其中包括到中國學(xué)習(xí)一年。但即便在國內(nèi)已經(jīng)學(xué)習(xí)一兩年中文之后，學(xué)生們通常還是很難用漢語與中國人交流。

英國諾丁漢特倫特大學(xué)中文系的學(xué)生扎克?克萊門茨（Zak Clements）初到中國，就因此受到了不小的打擊。

“You get to China and think you can speak quite well, but when I got to China I couldn’t speak anything. You learn how to get by in class, but when thrown into the deep end it was a struggle. When I got there I couldn’t even order some food. It’s difficult to get used to at first.”
“你來到中國，以為自己的中文可以說的很好。但是當(dāng)我到了中國以后，我什么也說不出來。課程還勉強應(yīng)付得來，但是當(dāng)你無助地處于全新的環(huán)境中，真的很費勁。當(dāng)我到了中國之后，我甚至不會點餐。起初的適應(yīng)過程真的太難了。”

漢娜也有過類似的體會：

“I remember we arrived in Shanghai and we couldn’t even say the number 100 – the taxi driver didn’t understand it. We had to point to characters. The pronunciation doesn’t sound like anything you know – you can’t compare it to English, French or Spanish. You use your mouth or tongue in a different way.”
“記得剛到上海時，我們連100這個數(shù)字都說不出來，出租車司機完全聽不懂。我們不得不用手比劃。中文的發(fā)音是你從未聽過的，你沒有辦法將其與英語、法語或者西班牙語相比較。你的嘴型和舌頭的發(fā)音方式完全不同。”

一切噩夢都是值得的

So are the evenings in spent learning characters while your friends are at the student bar really worth it? Despite the ups and downs of their degrees, all three graduates think so. They each use Chinese in their chosen careers, and would not be in the jobs they do now without their knowledge of the language.
當(dāng)你在熬夜學(xué)漢字時，朋友們卻在泡吧，你覺得這樣真的值得？在求學(xué)之路上經(jīng)歷各種曲折之后，三位畢業(yè)生都認(rèn)為，那些辛苦是值得的。他們的付出最終都得到了回報，三人憑借中文專業(yè)背景找到了各自心儀的工作。

利伯蒂畢業(yè)一個月后，順利進(jìn)入英國國際發(fā)展部（Department For International Development），外派在北京上班，兩年之內(nèi)，年薪就超過了3萬英鎊（約合人民幣26萬元）。她說：

“The degree was absolutely worth it. The slog has paid off. Looking around at people I know who have studied French or Spanish at university, there’s not such a chance to use it in the workplace.”
“中文學(xué)位，絕對值得擁有！當(dāng)初的辛苦都是值得的。我發(fā)現(xiàn)身邊學(xué)法語和西語的同學(xué)就很難有這樣好的職業(yè)發(fā)展?！?/p>

憑借出色的中文能力，扎克畢業(yè)后也很快在一家向中國銷售保健品的公司謀得職位，并在短短六個月內(nèi)，就從一名普通的助理研究員被提拔為面向中國市場的線上業(yè)務(wù)主管。他目前的年薪為26000英鎊（約合人民幣23萬元），如果繼續(xù)留在公司，提升為客戶經(jīng)理，他的年薪很快就會升至5萬英鎊（約合人民幣44萬元）。

“Studying Chinese definitely makes you more marketable in the workplace. People I studied Chinese with have found it easier to find a job.”
“學(xué)習(xí)中文，會讓你在職場里更受青睞，和我一起學(xué)中文的同學(xué)都很輕松地找到了工作！”

漢娜畢業(yè)后選擇到上海發(fā)展，在倬英企業(yè)管理咨詢公司（Intralink Group）當(dāng)了四年項目經(jīng)理，后獨立接項目，日薪高達(dá)500英鎊（約合人民幣4360元）。目前，她已返回英國著名化妝品公司the Body Shop業(yè)務(wù)拓展部任職。

盡管這些中文系畢業(yè)生都在事業(yè)上有所成就，但想想當(dāng)年吃的苦，學(xué)長學(xué)姐們還是建議，在選擇讀中文前一定要慎重考慮。漢娜表示：

“Some people think they are going to learn Chinese and then be a majorly successful entrepreneur, but I think it’s important to be quite realistic about that. ”
“有些人認(rèn)為自己只要讀中文系，就可以走上人生巔峰，但我覺得他們應(yīng)該更加現(xiàn)實一些?！?/p>

她說，學(xué)習(xí)中文就意味著你已經(jīng)做好了吃苦的準(zhǔn)備。

看到這里，同學(xué)們有沒有因為自己的母語是中文，而感到一丟丟慶幸呢~

參考：inews.co.uk
翻譯&編輯：董靜
審校：yaning