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Russian President Putin
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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday jokingly compared his learning1 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 counterparts2 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 presence3 of translators," he said.
Putin said he had also made an effort to utter4 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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俄罗斯总统普京上周四开玩笑说，他学德语好比马戏团里的狗熊学骑车。他说，为了能与其他国家领导人“正常”交谈，他还经常学英语。
普京总统在一个现场直播的电视节目中回答观众的提问时说：“我去德国之前，因为没有德语的环境，所以并不会说德语。”普京总统曾是“克格勃”（前苏联国家安全委员会）驻德情报站的特工，他于上世纪90年代早期回国并步入俄罗斯政坛。
他说： “不过我在德国生活将近五年，在这期间，我都是（用德语）直接与当地的同事和朋友进行交流与沟通。”
“对于语言能力一般的人来说，五年的时间也足以掌握一门外语了。这就像马戏团里的狗熊学骑车一样。”
普京总统说，为了能在不需要翻译帮助的情况下与其他国家领导人自由交谈，他正“十分有规律地”学习英语。
“我为什么这样做呢？因为与其他同事之间建立正常的工作机制很有必要，因此必须消除语言障碍。译员不可能在你说每件事情的时候都在场。”
普京说，今年七月，他在危地马拉召开的国际奥委会会议上发表演讲时还试着说了几句法语。
他说：“这主要是应国际奥委会几位成员的要求，以此表达对法语国家以及说法语的非洲国家的尊重。”
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