據(jù)《華爾街日?qǐng)?bào)》報(bào)道，因?yàn)橹袊?guó)的影響在日益增強(qiáng)，為了給孩子增加一個(gè)學(xué)習(xí)漢語(yǔ)的優(yōu)勢(shì)，許多美國(guó)人正改變以前的生活方式，舉家遷往中國(guó)生活。

High-powered American couples reportedly move to China and enroll their children in elementary schools that teach Mandarin. Instruction is completed in two years in these schools, and then the families move back to the United States.

報(bào)道稱(chēng)，有錢(qián)的美國(guó)夫婦舉家遷往中國(guó)，并在教普通話(huà)的小學(xué)里給孩子報(bào)了名注了冊(cè)。在學(xué)完了學(xué)校的兩年課程后，全家人又搬回美國(guó)去。

And even if parents aren't moving there, they are choosing Mandarin submersion programs, hiring tutors, using Skype to talk with teachers in Beijing, and even hiring Chinese-speaking nannies.

即使家長(zhǎng)沒(méi)有搬過(guò)來(lái)，他們會(huì)選擇含有漢語(yǔ)內(nèi)容的教程，或請(qǐng)家教，或使用Skype和在北京的老師對(duì)話(huà)，甚至是雇傭說(shuō)漢語(yǔ)的保姆。

Sources told The WSJ that prospective employees who speak Mandarin have a leg-up in the job market, and doting American parents are trying to do everything they can possible to give them that edge.

消息人士告訴《華爾街日?qǐng)?bào)》，未來(lái)的求職者，如果是會(huì)說(shuō)漢語(yǔ)的求職者，那么他們?cè)诰蜆I(yè)市場(chǎng)擁有更多的優(yōu)勢(shì)。溺愛(ài)孩子的美長(zhǎng)在盡他們的一切可能讓孩子們擁有這樣的優(yōu)勢(shì)。

Learning Mandarin is hardly an easy task. It's a tonal language and there's no "right" way to learn it.

學(xué)習(xí)漢語(yǔ)并非易事。漢語(yǔ)是一種聲調(diào)語(yǔ)言，學(xué)習(xí)它沒(méi)有所謂的“好”方法。

To earn certification in Mandarin, it takes 2,200 class hours, and half of that time spent must be spent in a Mandarin-speaking country. For comparison's sake, Spanish can be learned in 600 to 750 class hours.

要獲得漢語(yǔ)等級(jí)證書(shū)需要花2,200學(xué)時(shí)，其中有一半時(shí)間必須要生活在說(shuō)漢語(yǔ)的里。作為對(duì)比，學(xué)習(xí)西班牙語(yǔ)只要600到750個(gè)學(xué)時(shí)。

Ironically in China, where a huge emphasis is placed on education, 85 percent of people whose household income is more than $950,000 recently said they planned on sending their children abroad to study.

不過(guò)具有諷刺意味地是，在非常重視教育的中國(guó)，85% 家庭收入超過(guò)950,000美元的家庭最近表示，他們計(jì)劃著要把自己的孩子送出國(guó)深造。

So, Americans are still playing catch up.

因此，美國(guó)人正在迎頭趕上。