Lenin
We thought we knew the English language, having even translated a whole book from English into Russian when we were in Siberia. I had learnt English in prison from a teach-yourself book, but had never heard a word of it spoken. Now that1 we were in London, we found we could not understand a single word, and nobody understood us. At first this was very amusing, and Vladimir Ilyich joked about it. However, he soon got down to learning2 the language. We started going to all kinds of meetings, always standing in the front row and carefully studying the speaker’s mouth. We went very often to Hyde Park where speakers addressed
the passing crowds on different subjects. We were particularly keen on listening to one man, who
20spoke with an Irish accent which we found easier to understand. We learnt a great deal by listening to spoken English.
Afterwards, through an advertisement, Vladimir Ilyich got in touch with3 two Englishmen who wanted to exchange lessons, and he began studying with them. He got to know4 the language quite well.
— Krupskaya
amusing adj. 有趣的
address v. 對……發表演說
keen adj. 喜愛
accent n. 口音
中譯 學說英語（列寧）
我們以為自己是通曉英語的，因為我們在西伯利亞的時候，甚至把一本英文書全部譯成了俄文。我是在監獄裏從一本自學課本上學得英語的，但是從來沒聽別人說過一句英語。現在我們來到倫敦，卻發現連一句話都聽不懂，而誰也聽不懂我們的話。起初這種情況讓人覺得很有趣，弗拉基米爾·伊裏奇也因此開起了玩笑。然而，他很快就開始認真地學起這種語言來。我們開始參加各種會議，總是站在前排，仔細琢磨說話人的嘴形。我們特別常去海德公園，在那兒演講人就不同的話題向過路的人群發表演講。我們尤其喜歡聽一個人的演講，他說話帶愛爾蘭口音，我們覺得更容易聽懂。通過聽別人講英語，我們學到很多。