Language should be a matter of choice

A hard look at heroes - and their heroics

Soft or tough, handle with care

Most Chinese students have learned to read, but not to verbally communicate, in English. The tones of emphasis are much harder to master for those who speak the four-toned Mandarin.

If you don't know what I mean, all you need is to take a bus or subway in Beijing and listen to the announcements. "Get off the train" is not wrong on paper, but with a slightly strident tone you'll feel you're being kicked off.

I once attended an opera performance of The Peony Pavilion, a classic piece with great beauty. The projected English titles essentially turned many of the passages into bawdy humor. I learned that the hack job was delivered by some translating agency, probably staffed by people rolled off the college assembly line.

I told the show's producer that a certain Chinese professor spent his whole career fine-tuning every word of his English translation of this piece. This is not a job for which a four-year education is adequate preparation. Why not license that high-quality version?

China does not need a billion people who speak English poorly; it needs a much smaller population whose English skill is adequate for their jobs. Let each individual decide how much English he or she should master.

And the new testing mechanism is a right step in that direction.