位于华南的沿海城市广州曾是中国市场经济改革的领头羊。但另一方面，广州的口碑却并不太好--人们常抱怨广州市民缺乏无私精神。对外来者而言，当地的粤语口音也显得很古怪难懂。因此，广州政府和年轻人们想借助此次亚运会及志愿者工作改善城市形象。 The southern coastal city of Guangzhou spearheaded China's market economic reform. But it has received unfavorable comments in another area - it is criticized for its lack of altruistic awareness. The Cantonese accent also seems strange to outsiders. So local authorities and young people see the Games and volunteering as important ways to bolster the city's image.
据广州亚运会组委会称，截至6月底已有131512人申请志愿者工作。而上海仅在20天内就有200000人申请为2010年世博会服务。相比之下，广州的数字有些黯然失色。 According to the Guangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee (GAGOC), 131,512 people had applied for volunteer positions by the end of June. However, when that figure is compared with the 200,000 applicants that the 2010 World Exposition in Shanghai attracted in 20 days, it doesn't seem so glamorous.
组委会志愿者招募负责人林艳芬解释说：“我们希望这个数字到明年7月能达到560000人，这样一来就有更多的年轻人能参与其中。” "We hope to find 560,000 volunteers for the Games by July of next year so that more young people can actively take part," explained Lin Yanfen, deputy director of GAGOC's volunteer section.
林艳芬还说：“亚运会不像奥运会那么有名，推广力度也不够。所以很多人根本不知道明年广州将举办这项活动。而且，要激发周边地区年轻人的热情也并非轻而易举的一件事。” "The Asian Games aren't as famous as the Olympics and the promotion wasn't sufficient, so not many people knew that it would be held in Guangzhou next year," said Lin. "What is more, it wasn't easy to excite the enthusiasm of young people in the surrounding area."
语言障碍打消了其他省市学生前来帮手的念头。上个月，组委会在辽宁大学做活动推广，一些学生说出了他们的担忧。“我和朋友们都很想去广州参加志愿者工作，但是我们不会说广东话，所以担心不能胜任志愿者工作。”19岁的辽宁省大四学生张慧如说。 The language barrier has discouraged students from other provinces from coming to help. When the organizing committee tried to promote the event at Liaoning University last month, some students spoke about their worries. "My friends and I were interested in volunteering in Guangzhou, but we were afraid that we wouldn't do a very good job because we don't speak Cantonese," said Zhang Huiru, 19, a Liaoning senior.