Drivers, nurses and students who will become Olympic volunteers this summer have to survive a boot camp reciting English poems to sharpen their English proficiency（英语水平）.

The 1,000 potential volunteers are going through intensive English training 15 hours a day for eight days at Geely University（吉利大学） in northwest Beijing.

“I have to finish the sentence of the day in front of my teachers before going for my meals,” said Shi Guang, a driver from a district landscaping bureau. “I failed twice, but luckily I got it on my second go.”

The 28-year-old Beijinger has a community college degree and is still trying to get a university degree. Beijing Games organizers give special emphasis to the educational background of those drivers who may get to escort（护送） VIPs like International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge around Beijing this summer.

“The passion to speak and express our feelings is much more important than what we say in English,” said Wang Pengqi, a 21-year-old university student from Beijing University of Chinese Medicine.

The girl from Shandong said the English taught at the camp is the easy part. She is also interested in picking up some useful Spanish, French and Russian phrases from her teachers.

（衢州第二中学 潘志强 供稿）