英國的就業形勢日益嚴峻，但學中文的英國畢業生卻越來越搶手。據英媒報道：

“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，學中文的畢業生平均年薪達3.1萬英鎊（約合人民幣27萬元）以上。”

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

文章接著指出，雖然中文專業在招聘市場上很吃香，但學起來也是非一般的辛苦，中文專業學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.”
“中文專業學生的大學經歷有別于其他同齡人。英文系學生每周課時可能只有6小時，而中文系學生卻幾乎整天都在上課?！?/p>

接下來，幾位中文專業畢業的英國人現身說法，開始控訴當年在校學習的心酸血淚史：

選擇學中文，就注定了不一樣的青春

2009年畢業于英國謝菲爾德大學中文系的漢娜?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.”
“我認識很多其他專業的朋友，他們前兩年基本沒什么壓力。但是學中文真的沒辦法偷懶。你每天都需要花大把時間寫漢字。”

用兩個單詞來形容學中文系的課程，漢娜認為那就是“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，我身邊大多數中文系同學都表示，由于學習強度太大，第一周都掉眼淚了！甚至有人曾經勸我重新考慮，要不要放棄?！?/p>

從零開始，每天最多學習18小時

利伯蒂?泰姆韋爾（Liberty Timewell）是劍橋大學中文系2012級畢業生，她表示，自己曾經每天至少要花8小時學中文，每天學20個漢字，而學期末有時一天的學習時間能達到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.”
“我發現學中文的每一天都超級艱難，這對我來說是一項挑戰。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>

由于學習壓力過大，利伯蒂甚至一度后悔沒選一個可以稍微偷點兒懶的專業。

以為自己是學霸，來到中國虐成渣

英國大學的中文專業一般為四年制，其中包括到中國學習一年。但即便在國內已經學習一兩年中文之后，學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中文系的學生扎克?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。但是當我到了中國以后，我什么也說不出來。課程還勉強應付得來，但是當你無助地處于全新的環境中，真的很費勁。當我到了中國之后，我甚至不會點餐。起初的適應過程真的太難了?！?/p>

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音方式完全不同?！?/p>

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.
當你在熬夜學漢字時，朋友們卻在泡吧，你覺得這樣真的值得？在求學之路上經歷各種曲折之后，三位畢業生都認為，那些辛苦是值得的。他們的付出最終都得到了回報，三人憑借中文專業背景找到了各自心儀的工作。

利伯蒂畢業一個月后，順利進入英國國際發展部（Department For International Development），外派在北京上班，兩年之內，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.”
“中文學位，絕對值得擁有！當初的辛苦都是值得的。我發現身邊學法語和西語的同學就很難有這樣好的職業發展?！?/p>

憑借出色的中文能力，扎克畢業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，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務主管。他目前的年薪為26000英鎊（約合人民幣23萬元），如果繼續留在公司，提升為客戶經理，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.”
“學習中文，會讓你在職場里更受青睞，和我一起學中文的同學都很輕松地找到了工作！”

漢娜畢業后選擇到上海發展，在倬英企業管理咨詢公司（Intralink Group）當了四年項目經理，后獨立接項目，日薪高達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業務拓展部任職。

盡管這些中文系畢業生都在事業上有所成就，但想想當年吃的苦，學長學姐們還是建議，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，但我覺得他們應該更加現實一些?！?/p>

她說，學習中文就意味著你已經做好了吃苦的準備。

看到這里，同學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