[ti:Great-Grandmother Proves It Is Never Too Late to Learn] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:02.04]Setsuko Takamizawa is set to prove that it is never too late to learn. [00:09.55]At the age of 91, the great-grandmother is learning English [00:15.80]with the help of her family. [00:19.00]She hopes to use the language at next year's Olympic Games in Tokyo. [00:26.20]Takamizawa was one of the more than 200,000 people [00:31.84]who requested to volunteer for Tokyo's 2020 Games. [00:38.36]English is not required for service, [00:42.00]but it is a helpful skill for volunteers to have. [00:47.44]But Takamizawa had not been able to learn the language [00:52.16]when she was young. [00:54.44]Takamizawa told Reuters [00:57.04]that she was in high school when World War Two started. [01:02.36]She said, "In my second year there, [01:05.56]English was banned because it was the enemy language." [01:11.12]Takamizawa said that her grandchildren helped persuade her [01:16.28]she was not too old to learn. [01:19.68]"When I talked to my grandchildren about my wish, [01:23.56]they said, ‘it's not too late. [01:26.84]We will teach you one word a day. [01:30.84]It's going to be a good challenge for you'." [01:35.64]Natsuko is Takamizawa's granddaughter and main English teacher. [01:42.40]Natsuko sends a new English word [01:45.93]to her grandmother's phone every day. [01:49.80]They also often work together directly [01:53.16]on phrases that Takamizawa will need for the Olympics. [01:58.60]"Welcome to Tokyo, this is the Olympic stadium, [02:03.28]how can I help you?" [02:05.04]Takamizawa answers when asked [02:08.08]to say an English phrase she has learned. [02:12.04]Natsuko explains that she wanted [02:14.79]to give her grandmother something to enjoy. [02:18.92]"I can clearly see her English is getting better. [02:22.76]It's my joy now." [02:25.84]The EF English Proficiency Index [02:29.36]is a measure of the level of English spoken in a country. [02:34.64]Japan ranks 49th among countries [02:38.26]where English is not the first language. [02:42.16]This situation is slowly changing [02:45.68]as younger generations welcome English. [02:50.24]Japanese students often learn English [02:53.48]at a much younger age than they did in the past. [02:58.28]However, Takamizawa believes real change will not happen [03:03.60]unless Japanese people become more open [03:07.14]to the rest of the world. [03:10.00]She says that people in Japan [03:12.68]should act not only as Japanese citizens, [03:16.84]but also as "global members" of the Earth. [03:21.64]With around 500 days to go until the Games begin, [03:27.00]the whole Takamizawa family [03:29.60]is ready to welcome the world to Tokyo. [03:34.00]When Japan last held the Summer Olympics in 1964, [03:39.80]Takamizawa was too busy raising a family to go to any events. [03:46.72]Takamizawa said she never thought the Olympics [03:50.36]would happen in Tokyo twice in her lifetime. [03:55.40]"It's good," she said, "to live long." [03:59.18]I'm John Russell. [04:01.36]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM