English Intermediate Interpretation Qualification Examination: Intermediate Interpretation Course (Second Edition)

Author: Meide Ming
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-03-01
Features: The "Teaching Series of the Shanghai Shortage Talent Training Project in the 1990s," jointly organized by the Shanghai Municipal People's Government Education and Health Office, the Municipal Adult Education Committee, the Organization Department of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, and the Municipal Bureau of Personnel, will be published. The compilation and publication of this series of books is one of the basic tasks for implementing the Shanghai Shortage Talent Training Project. It will play a positive role in promoting the cultivation and development of professional and technical talents who are adapted to the economic construction and social development needs of Shanghai. The 1990s were a crucial decade for revitalizing Shanghai and developing Pudong. Shanghai's goal to become one of the world's leading economic, financial, and trade centers, and the "dragonhead" of the Yangtze River economic belt, largely depends on whether Shanghai can effectively improve the overall quality of its people and cultivate and train a large number of multi-level professional and technical talents who are committed to serving Shanghai's economic construction and social development, are proficient in economics, law, and foreign languages, and are skilled in business management, international competition, and suitable for the new order of the socialist market economy. This has increasingly become a common understanding among the people of Shanghai. Currently, the situation of talents in Shanghai is not optimistic. The contradiction between the demand for economic construction and social development is becoming increasingly prominent. It is concentrated in the following aspects: the gradual establishment of the socialist market economy, the rapid development of export-oriented economy, the continuous rise of emerging industries, and the timely adjustment of industrial and product structures. These have placed various professional and technical talents, who were originally accustomed to working under the planned system, in an unfamiliar situation. They have also placed various professional and technical talents, who were originally focused on the domestic market, in a new realm where they must face both domestic and international markets and participate in international competition. The financial, tourism, real estate, and many high-tech industries are urgently calling for a large number of new professional and technical talents, further exacerbating the shortage of professional talent in the city and the unreasonable structure of talent. Additionally, the English proficiency and computer application skills of employees and citizens in the city are generally low. If this situation cannot be changed quickly, it will inevitably affect Shanghai's economic development and its role in the international economic, financial, and trade landscape, as well as its role in the economic development of the Yangtze River economic belt and even the entire country. The issue of shortage talent training has attracted high attention from the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Shanghai Municipal People's Government. "Time waits for no one." We must vigorously strengthen the training of shortage talents and the popularization of English and computer skills. In view of this, the timely publication of this series of books is urgently needed in the current situation and holds profound significance. It is true that the comprehensive implementation of the Shanghai Shortage Talent Training Project in the 1990s still requires the joint efforts of all relevant parties. At the beginning of the publication of the "Teaching Series of the Shanghai Shortage Talent Training Project in the 1990s," I have many reflections and would like to briefly write as a preface. At the turn of the century, China is continuously deepening and developing its reform and opening-up. As an international metropolis, Shanghai is increasingly closely and frequently engaging in exchanges and cooperation with countries around the world in economic, cultural, educational, and other fields. Overseas individuals visiting Shanghai for investment, business, lectures, tourism, and conferences are arriving one after another. Foreign languages serve as the bridge for international communication, and English, as a global lingua franca, is even more evident in its importance. Proficiency in English and the ability to skillfully translate between English and Chinese are essential conditions for maintaining smooth communication channels. As part of the "Shanghai Shortage Talent Training Project," the training and examination for the "Shanghai Intermediate English Interpretation Qualification Certificate" are linked with the "Shanghai Advanced English Interpretation Qualification Certificate." These two projects are jointly organized by the Organization Department of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Municipal Bureau of Personnel, the Municipal Education Committee, and the Municipal Adult Education Committee, and are specifically managed by the Shanghai College of East Shanghai Continuing Education Center. They aim to cultivate more intermediate and advanced-level English interpreters for Shanghai's economic and cultural development to meet the needs of further reform and opening-up in Shanghai. A qualified interpreter should achieve a high level in listening, speaking, reading, writing, and translation. Under the guidance of the "Shanghai Intermediate English Interpretation Qualification Certificate Examination Syllabus," the editorial committee for the English Interpretation Qualification Certificate textbooks, led by Sun Wanbiao, has meticulously designed and written the Intermediate "Translation Course," "Listening Course," "Speaking Course," "Interpretation Course," and "Reading Course" to serve the teaching of the five courses: translation, listening, speaking, interpretation, and reading. These five textbooks have been repeatedly tested and refined based on the suggestions of teachers using them, and have been revised several times by the compilers. After being thoroughly reviewed by the chief editor and collectively discussed by the editorial committee, they have been finally finalized. This set of textbooks has a clear purpose, innovative arrangement, rich materials, and focuses on practice while also incorporating necessary theoretical explanations. It is a scientific, practical, and targeted textbook. After training, students who complete this set of textbooks will be able to comprehensively improve their five basic skills and achieve a new level of English comprehensive ability, adapting to translation and interpretation that include these five skills and smoothly passing the "Shanghai Intermediate English Interpretation Qualification Certificate" examination. After reading this set of textbooks, I deeply feel that it is an excellent textbook. It is not only very useful for readers who are willing to participate in training and examinations to obtain the "Shanghai Intermediate English Interpretation Qualification Certificate" but also highly beneficial for other English learners to improve their comprehensive English ability and interpretation skills. It is worth recommending to all English enthusiasts. The publication of these textbooks will make the "Shanghai Intermediate English Interpretation Qualification Certificate" project more perfect and contribute to the training of shortage talents in Shanghai at the turn of the century.