When emergency workers arrive at an old firehouse in New York City, the way they greet each other is not what you might expect.
当急救人员抵达纽约市一个古老的消防站时，他们互相问候的方式和你的预期有所不同。
These first responders say, "Ni Hao!"
这些现场急救员说，“你好！”
"Ni Hao" means "hello" in Mandarin Chinese.
你好在普通话里的意思是打招呼。
First responders are the first emergency workers to arrive at a fire, traffic accident or other emergency. Some first responders are fire fighters, while others can be Emergency Medical Technicians -- also known as EMTs -- or paramedics.
现场急救员（First responders）是指抵达火灾、交通事故等突发事件现场的第一批急救人员。有些现场急救员是消防员，还有些可能是急救医护人员。
In Brooklyn, New York, over 20 first responders are studying Mandarin Chinese for about two hours a week. The class is the first of its kind. It is offered by the Fire Department of New York's Phoenix Society and the New York City Fire Department Foundation.
在纽约市的布鲁克林区，20多名现场急救员每周开始花2小时左右来学习普通话。这是首批这类课程。该课程由纽约消防局凤凰社和纽约市消防局基金会提供。（51VOA注：凤凰社是纽约市消防局下的一个兄弟会，主要成员是亚裔消防员。）
New York City is a diverse area. The U.S. Census Bureau recently reported that some New York neighborhoods are made up mostly of immigrants.
纽约市是一个多样化城市。美国人口普查局近期报告称，一些纽约街区主要是由移民组成。
Some people have predicted that the Chinese community is likely to become New York's largest immigrant group. They think the city will have the largest Chinese community outside of Asia.
有人曾经预测华人社区很可能会成为纽约最大的移民群体。他们认为，纽约市将拥有亚洲以外最大的华人社区。
The Census Bureau also found that almost 200 languages are spoken in the city. So, knowing different languages is important, especially if you are a first responder.
美国人口普查局还发现纽约市通行着近200种语言。因此，懂得不同的语言很重要，尤其是对现场急救员来说。
Growing need
不断增长的需求
Lieutenant Steve Lee is president of the Fire Department's Phoenix Society. Lee says that first responders must be able to communicate quickly and effectively when an emergency happens. He explains that first responders enters neighborhoods and communities to assist people regardless of where they are from.
中尉Steve Lee是纽约消防局凤凰社的主席。他说，现场急救员必须能够在紧急情况发生时迅速有效地进行沟通。他解释说，现场急救员进入到街道社区去帮助人们，无论他们来自哪里。
Lee says that many times first responders do not speak the same language as the people they are called to help. He adds that it is vital, or very important, that first responders are able to communicate with the people calling for help.
Lee说很多时候现场急救员和寻求帮助的人说的不是同一种语言。他补充说，现场急救员能和寻求帮助的人进行沟通是非常关键的。
Without help from homeowners and others, Lee adds, discovering exactly where a fire is burning can be a real problem. First responders need to ask questions such as "What building? What address? What apartment?" And one of the most important questions, "Is there anybody left in the building and where?"
他补充说，如果没有房东或他人的帮助，确切地找到火灾发生地是一个大问题。现场急救员需要这样问：“什么建筑？地址在哪？哪间房子？”而最重要的问题之一就是：“有没有人被困在楼里或什么地方？”
The Census Bureau findings demonstrate the great need for multilingual skills. There are currently 450,000 non-English speaking Asians in New York City. On any given day, only six Asian-American firefighters are working the city streets.
美国人口普查局的调查结果表明了多语言技能的巨大需求。目前纽约市有45万不会说英语的亚裔。任何一天只有6名亚裔消防员在上班。
Lily Cheung is teaching Mandarin Chinese to the first responders. She calls the first group taking the classes "amazing."
Lily Cheung正在给现场急救员教普通话。她称参加该课程的第一批人非常令人惊喜。
Cheung says she can see amazing progress they have made with this language, which -- according to her – is one of the hardest languages in the world.
Cheung表示，她发现他们已经在这门全球最难的语言上取得了令人惊喜的进展。
She explains that these first responders work long hours. Some, she says, come to class right after working a night shift without resting in between. "This is really a dedicated group," she adds.
她解释说，这些现场急救员长时间工作。她说，有些人在上完夜班之后没休息就来上课。她补充说，“这的确是一个专注的群体。”
Chueng started teaching Mandarin when she was 11-years old. And she has her own method of teaching, something she calls the "Chinglish Way."
Chueng在她11岁时就开始教普通话。她有自己的教学方法，她称之为“中式英语教学法”。
She says she first explains the English order of the sentence, followed by the Chinese order. Then she takes an English sentence and says it in Chinese. Cheung says breaking up the sentence and then combining the parts together can make it easy for students to understand.
她说，她首先解释了这句话的英文顺序，然后是中文顺序。然后，她写下一句英语，然后用中文说出来。 Cheung表示，把句子打乱再组合起来可以让学生们容易理解。
One of her students is first responder Doraun Ellis. He has been a paramedic for 14 years.
现场急救员Doraun Ellis就是她的学生之一。他14年来一直从事医护工作。
Ellis explains that Cheung goes to each and every single student in the class and goes over the lesson until the whole class understands it completely. He adds that the teacher really shows the class how to use the language they are learning.
Ellis解释说，Cheung深入到班级的每位学生中并复习课程，直到全班学生都完全弄懂。他补充说，Cheung老师向大家展示了如何使用他们正学习的这门语言。
Ellis adds that the more he is able to communicate with a patient on an emergency call, the more at ease that patient feels.
Ellis补充说，他和紧急呼叫的患者能够交流得越多，患者就越安心。
The students have already used their language training. Jacob Dutton has been a firefighter for 10 years. Recently, he followed up on a report of a gas leak in an apartment building.
学生们已经用到了他们的语言课程。Jacob Dutton十年来一直从事消防员。最近，他跟进了一起公寓大楼煤气泄漏的报道。
Dutton says he arrived to an apartment where the two residents spoke only Mandarin. Speaking Mandarin with them, he was able to find the gas leak and explain to the residents how to fix it.
Dutton表示，他抵达了公寓，这里的两名居民只会说普通话。通过和他们说普通话，Dutton能够找到煤气泄漏并给居民解释如何解决。
Other Mandarin classes are planned, along with training in other languages.
其它普通话课程以及其它语言的培训正在计划之中。
I'm Anna Matteo.
我是安娜·马特奥。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利，未经授权请勿转载，违者必究！)