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Russian President Putin
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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday jokingly compared his learning of German to a circus bear learning to ride a bike, and said he studied English regularly to have "normal" conversations with other leaders.
"Before I went to Germany and lived surrounded by the language, I did not possess it," said Putin, who lived in Germany as a KGB officer before returning to Russia and becoming involved in politics in the early 1990s.
"But I lived there for nearly five years, in direct contact with our German colleagues and friends," Putin said, responding to questions from Russians during a live television appearance.
"In five years, even someone with average language ability can master a foreign language -- like the bear that goes to the circus and learns to ride a bicycle," Putin said.
The Russian president said he studied English "fairly regularly" in order to carry on conversations with foreign counterparts without the help of translators.
"Why do I do this?... It is necessary to have a normal working regimen with colleagues, so that there is no language barrier. You can't always talk about everything in the presence of translators," he said.
Putin said he had also made an effort to utter a few words in French during his speech before the International Olympic Committee in Guatemala last July.
"This was a request from several members of the IOC, as a sign of respect for French-speaking countries, including Francophone African countries," Putin said.
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(Agencies)
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俄羅斯總統普京上周四開玩笑說，他學德語好比馬戲團里的狗熊學騎車。他說，為了能與其他國家領導人“正常”交談，他還經常學英語。
普京總統在一個現場直播的電視節目中回答觀眾的提問時說：“我去德國之前，因為沒有德語的環境，所以并不會說德語。”普京總統曾是“克格勃”（前蘇聯國家安全委員會）駐德情報站的特工，他于上世紀90年代早期回國并步入俄羅斯政壇。
他說： “不過我在德國生活將近五年，在這期間，我都是（用德語）直接與當地的同事和朋友進行交流與溝通。”
“對于語言能力一般的人來說，五年的時間也足以掌握一門外語了。這就像馬戲團里的狗熊學騎車一樣。”
普京總統說，為了能在不需要翻譯幫助的情況下與其他國家領導人自由交談，他正“十分有規律地”學習英語。
“我為什么這樣做呢？因為與其他同事之間建立正常的工作機制很有必要，因此必須消除語言障礙。譯員不可能在你說每件事情的時候都在場。”
普京說，今年七月，他在危地馬拉召開的國際奧委會會議上發表演講時還試著說了幾句法語。
他說：“這主要是應國際奧委會幾位成員的要求，以此表達對法語國家以及說法語的非洲國家的尊重。”
（英語點津姍姍編輯）
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