PAGE 12 • AUGUST 13, 2011 CHINA DAILY BEHIND THE SCENES No pay, but a heck of a lot of work By ZHANG CHUNMEI upstairs aft er training. CHINA DAILY “I have repeated every action and gesture thousands of times. SHENZHEN — He had already For instance, I must roll the ball sat in heavy rain for nearly half back to players, instead of throw- an hour in Shenzhen Stadium. ing it,” said Chen, “It was like mili- Th e rainwater blurred his vision tary training, and I now feel like a and soaked his shirt, but he still solider when he fi nally gets sent to kept his eyes focused on the foot- the battlefi eld.” ball as the coach kicked in diff er- While 20 ball boys sit down on ent directions. the fi eld, Liu Zhitong, 19, a fresh- Chen Hongjun, 21, a sophomore man majoring in computer and majoring in computer science from soft ware at Shenzhen University, Shenzhen University, is serving as a hands out towels and pour tea for volunteer at the Universiade soccer important guests in the stands matches. As a ball boy, his job is to with 21 other volunteers. retrieve the ball when it goes out As an etiquette guide, Liu has had of bounds and pass it back to the to learn the customs of different players. countries and also memorize pho- Th e rain-sodden day was the last tos of VIPs. training session for Chen and 699 “Officials from different coun- other volunteers in Shenzhen Stadi- tries might come to watch the um. Th e fi rst formal competition of games. I have to remember their the 2011 Shenzhen Universiade, a customs well. For instance, male soccer match between Ukraine and volunteers cannot get too close to PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY Malaysia, was held on Th ursday. female guests from Malaysia, and Ke Jiewen (left) and his peers are confi dent they will perform well at the Universiade. “We rehearsed the process, this month is Ramadan for some made some tiny adjustments, fi nal- guests, so we cannot serve them especially upstairs and to the ambu- arrived in Shenzhen on Aug 7. She the city?’ I will also keep remind- ly arranged the position of every some food,” said Liu. lance. Tomorrow, before the match will act as an usher. ing myself to smile.” volunteer, and encouraged them On the second fl oor, behind the begins, we will ask the teams for the “It has been a rush for me Some volunteers took a nap in to show their best tomorrow,” said stands, Ke Jiewen and 25 of his players’ basic information, includ- to get familiar with the sta- the rest room on Wednesday, and Zhou Xiaoqian, a volunteer man- peers were busy putting medicine ing height, weight and physical con- dium. I needed to remember then went to their positions for a ager, on Wednesday. on shelves under the guidance of dition. It will help us to provide bet- the seats, toilets, entrances and fi nal run-through. “Volunteers are Being a ball boy is one of the doctors in the infi rmary. ter service,” said Ke on Wednesday. other details in only two days,” ambassadors for the city. Th ursday toughest tasks at the venue. Th ey Ke, 20, a sophomore majoring Not all the volunteers believe Sun said. “Two local volunteers was the fi rst day to show our hospi- need to sit outdoors, regardless of in biomedical engineering at Shen- they have had enough time to were assigned to help me. Now, tality and vitality. We hope guests the weather, for the whole match. zhen University, is the leader of a prepare. Sun Kejia, 20, a sopho- besides the venue, I can also feel the energy from our young Over the past two months, Chen’s stretcher party. “We finally prac- more majoring in broadcasting answer questions like ‘what is volunteers’ words and smiles,” said skin has tanned and his legs ache ticed moving the stretcher several and hosting at Northwestern Uni- the history of the stadium?’ and Ruan Shuangchen, vice-president so much that he can hardly walk times this aft ernoon (Wednesday), versity in Xi’an, Sha’anxi province, ‘where is the most popular bar in of Shenzhen University. English team turns pig meat back into harbors By MICHELLE FEI “But the Universiade brings “It could present a perfect Shen- CHINA DAILY many people to China for the fi rst zhen to the world and show our time. Th ey might be confused or respect to international visitors,” SHENZHEN — While other misled by these signs.” he said. Universiade volunteers have been Li was raised in Shenzhen. He Th e city had inspected 1,714 road spreading smiles, one group has received his bachelor’s degree from signs at more than 5,000 locations been serious and critical. the Hong Kong Polytechnic Uni- by the end of July. Clad in red jackets, the team’s versity in 2009 and earned his mas- Mistranslations, misspellings members wandered the streets of ter’s from the University of Hong and “Chinese English” were the Shenzhen, scouring the English- Kong in 2010. most common mistakes, Shen- language signs for mistakes. “It’s great to finally have the zhen’s English Learning Campaign “English isn’t our mother tongue, chance to use my English studies Organizing Committee said on but it is how foreign guests coming to improve my hometown’s image,” Aug 8. for the Universiade will get to know PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY he said. “We are doing our utmost to get us,” 24-year-old English Correction Li was older than most of the rid of incorrect English-language Two road signs off er diff erent English translations. Panel volunteer Li Bochen said. thousands of “English correction translations,” an organizing com- “Fixing these mistakes presents a read “Wenxin Rd 2st” on one offi ce. A sign reading “Free Passage” ambassadors”. Most were university, mittee spokesman said. better image.” end and “WenXin 2 Rd” on the at railway stations was corrected to high school and middle school stu- “We want to show the best Shen- Volunteers had their work cut other. “Concession Fares”. dents, because the younger genera- zhen we can at the Universiade. out for them. “Network Management Centre “Foreigners who have lived in tion was believed to have received “The government has also The sign for “Shekou Port” of Government Offi ce Block” was China for years might be used to more English-language training. encouraged residents to learn more appeared as “Shekou Pork”. changed to “District Internet Man- ‘Chinese English’ or be able to read Li believed the work to be “nec- spoken English and has made great Th e sign for Wenxin 2nd Road agement Center” at a government some simple pinyin,” Li said. essary.” progress.”.