The fourth-graders at Chicago’s McCormick Elementary School don’t know Chinese is supposed to be hard to learn. For most, who speak Spanish at home, it’s becoming their third language. They’ve been hearing and using Chinese words since nursery, and it’s natural to give a “ni hao” when strangers enter the classroom, “it’s really fun!” says Miranda Lucas, taking a break from a lesson that includes a Chinese interview With Jackie Chan. “I’m teaching my mom to speak Chinese.”
The classroom scene at McCormick is unusual, but it may soon be a common phenomenon in American Schools, Where Chinese is rapidly becoming the hot new language. Government officials have long wanted more focus on useful languages 1ike Chinese, and pressure from them-as well as from business leaders, politicians, and parents-has produced a quick growth in the number of programs.
Chicago city officials make their best effort to include Chinese in their public Schools. Their program has grown to include 3, 000 students in 20 schools, with more Schools on a waiting list. Programs have also spread to places like Los Angeles, New York City, and North Carolina．Supporters see knowledge of the Chinese language and culture as an advantage in a global economy where China is growing in importance. “This is an interesting way to begin to engage with the world’s next superpower,” says Michael Levine, director of education at the Asia Society, which has started have new public high schools that offer Chinese. “Globalization has already changed the arrangements in terms of how children today are going to think about their careers. The question is when, not whether, the schools are going to adjust.”
(80)The number of students learning Chinese is tiny compared With how many study Spanish or French. But one report shows that before-college enrollment (报名人数) nearly quadrupled between 1992 and 2002, from 6, 000 to 24, 000．Despite the demand, though, developing programs isn’t easy. And the NO.one difficulty, everyone agrees, is having enough teachers. Finding teacher “is the challenge,” says Scott McGinnis, an academic adviser for a language institute and a Chinese teacher for 15 years at the college level “Materials are easy in comparison. Or getting schools funded.”
The word “quadrupled” in the last paragraph is close in meaning to “multiplied by ______.”
A．three times
B．four times
C．five times
D．six times
