山东 李培贞

When I was young,I disliked the feel⁃ing of“being a stranger”if my family went on holiday to another country.

At the age of seven,we went to visit a family friend in France.I had been practic⁃ing my French and was excited to use it.I spoke the first French words in a bakery in Paris.Despite a carefully prepared re⁃quest,I was not ready for the rapid⁃fire re⁃sponse.I had no idea what the sales girl said! I was so upset and knew if I wanted to get better,I would have to put in more ef⁃forts.

I started studying Chinese after my trip to China and I studied at Beijing Nor⁃mal University in the late 1990s.I knew the language would help me to understand China better.Like Chinese,my motivation(动机) for studying Russian came from my interest in the country's history,culture and music.Although I studied languages be⁃fore joining the foreign office,I hoped that one day I would work internationally.

As a native English speaker,I didn't expect people to understand me while trav⁃eling the world.I wanted to make efforts to understand others through their languages.

Learning a language also improves how you express yourself.When you have limited vocabulary,you have to creatively communicate your messages and mean⁃ings.This can also benefit communication skills in your first language.You'll become more aware of the words you use and how you want people to respond.Being able to speak other languages gives you another di⁃mension,not necessarily in terms of per⁃sonality,but in your ability to have richer experiences with a broader mind.

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Why did the author study Russian?