中文内容编辑：爱伦队长
英文内容编辑：爱伦队长
插图摄影&设计：爱伦队长
Chinese content edited by Captain Eren
English content edited by Captain Eren
Illustrations photographed
and designed by Captain Eren
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—— 第1章 CHAPTER 1 ——
| 01 |
2018年3月，英语中级口译证书考试近在眼前。爱伦队长有一些同学，刚刚结束考试前的最后一节培训课。
It was March 2018, when some of his classmates just finished the final training lesson before the Intermediate-level English Interpretation Accreditation Exam.
同时，爱伦队长手握准考证，站在华东师范大学的旗杆旁，注视着面前教学楼即将开启的大门。英语高级口译证书考试，马上就要在那扇门后开始了。
Captain Eren was standing by the flagpole of East China Normal University with an admission card in his hands, waiting for the door of the building in front of him to open, behind which the Advanced-level English Accreditation Interpretation Exam would soon begin.
爱伦通过了笔试和口试，成为了一名持证英语高级口译。
After both a written exam and an oral exam, Eren passed the accreditation, and became a certified Advanced-level English interpreter.
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2018年6月，大学英语四级考试迫在眉睫。爱伦队长有一些临时抱佛脚的朋友，已经连续五天挑灯奋战至凌晨两点了。
Then it came June 2018, when some of his friends were burning the midnight oil until 2 AM for the 5th day in a row to cram for the College English Test band 4.
考试前一天，爱伦还身处千里之外的青岛大学。他在参加中国技能大赛，刚刚赢得了高级组英语比赛所有环节的最高分。
Eren was a thousand miles away in Qingdao University one day before the test. He just won the highest scores of all sections at the Senior-level English Contest of the China Skills Competition.
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大约正好两年前，当爱伦还在就读上一所学校时，他正在重庆，参加同一个中国技能大赛的中级组英语比赛，并获得了冠军。
The same period two years before that, when Eren was still a student of his previous school, he was in Chongqing, winning the Champion at the Intermediate-level English Contest of the very same China Skills Competition.
两年后，在这个全中国教育界最盛大专业技能赛事的领奖台上，爱伦再次捧起奖杯，成为了两度全国英语冠军。
Two years later, Eren once again held a trophy in his hands on the stage of this grandest professional skill competition in China's education sector, as he became a twice National English Champion.
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第二天，爱伦回到上海，参加了大学英语六级考试。
A day later, Eren returned to Shanghai, where he took the College English Test Band 6.
他得到了笔试631，口试A+的成绩。
He got 631 points in his written test, and an A+ in his oral test.
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| 02 |
爱伦的家境并不宽裕，因此从来没有参加过任何补习班和课外班。
Eren's family has not been wealthy enough to afford him any extracurricular cramming classes.
爱伦出生在上海，母亲是陕西人，父亲是山东人。
He was born in Shanghai, to a mother from Shaanxi and a father from Shandong.
爱伦的母亲大学毕业后，在老家参加了一段时间稳定的工作。但她不甘偏安一隅，踏着改革开放的波涛，来到了深圳这样的沿海城市独自闯荡。
Eren's mother found a stable job at her hometown after graduating from university. Reluctant to lead an ordinary life in a mundane place, however, she found herself surfing on the tide of the Reform and Opening-up, which brought her to coastal cities like Shenzhen, fighting alone for a living.
最终，爱伦母亲在上海遇见了同为沪漂的爱伦父亲，两人结婚并在当地定居。爱伦也随即在上海出生，由于父母籍贯，未能取得上海户口。
Later in Shanghai she met Eren's father, another domestic economic migrant to Shanghai. They married in that city and gave birth to Eren, who, due to the family origin of his parents, was ineligible for permanent residency in Shanghai.
爱伦两岁时，他的父母离婚了，母亲取得了他的抚养权。
Eren's parents divorced when he was 2, and his custody was awarded to his mother.
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在同意对母子二人提供经济支持之后，爱伦的父亲顿时杳无音信，从此再未探望过爱伦母子一次，再未支付过一分钱抚养费。
After agreeing to provide Eren and his mother with financial support, Eren's father disappeared. He hasn't visited them ever since, nor paid a penny of child support.
为了联系上前夫，爱伦的母亲尝试了各种途径，却一筹莫展。无奈之下，她卖了房子，当时正值上海房价起飞的前夕。
Eren's mother tried everything she could to contact her ex-husband, but failed. Without an income, she had no choice but to sell the house she and Eren lived in. That was right on the eve of the housing price surge in Shanghai, which up until today has not come to an end.
爱伦老家的外祖父母提议接母子二人回乡，被爱伦的母亲拒绝。她拥有十分西化的教育观，坚持让孩子在上海接受相对国际化的教育。
Eren's mother rejected her parents' invitation for them to move back and live together in their hometown. She had a set of very Westernised views on education, prompting her to insist that the child must receive relatively internationalised education in Shanghai.
爱伦的母亲当过留守儿童，理解缺少母爱的痛苦。因此，她没有选择朝九晚六的生活，而将证券投资作为正业，同时全天候操持家务、陪伴爱伦。
Having been a left-behind child herself, Eren's mother understood the pain brought by the absence of maternal love. She chose, therefore, not to have a 9 to 6 job, but instead began speculating in the stock market, so that she could have enough time to run a household, as well as to tend to Eren.
从小，爱伦就一直在母亲的教导下，相信天道酬勤，相信知识改变命运。
Since very young, Eren has entrusted his future happiness to the efforts he would have to pay, and for the miracles in his destiny he relied on the knowledge he would have to gain.
爱伦的母亲用她那丰富的知识和开阔的眼界，陶冶着爱伦的格局和价值。
Since then, Eren's mother has been cultivating his outlook and values, with her rich knowledge and broad horizon.
| 03 |
爱伦的学习成绩一直名列前茅。母亲始终告诉他，声名远不如胸襟重要，利益远不如道德重要，权势远不如才华重要，出身远不如努力重要。
Eren has never ceased to perform well at school. He was motivated by his mother, who always told him that much more powerful than fame was tolerance, than wealth was justice, than force was talents, than birth was diligence.
没有上海户口的爱伦，只能就读民办学校。昂贵的学费和房租，与这座城市的高成本和快节奏一起，时刻挑战着爱伦的母亲，这位收入不固定的全职主妇。
Without permanent residency in Shanghai, Eren could only attend private schools. The high tuition there, along with the high cost and the fast pace of this city, was constantly posing challenges to Eren's mother, a full-time housewife without a stable income.
在对清华北大、剑桥哈佛的憧憬中，爱伦的身体日益健壮，才识日益丰盈，思想日益深广，品格日益坚定。
Eren grew up in his dreams of studying at Cambridge and Harvard. Day by day, he became stronger in his body, richer in his knowledge, deeper in his thoughts, and firmer in his morals.
爱伦一路考入重点中学，成绩从未掉出过班级前五。爱伦坚信母亲的鼓励，也坚信自己的实力。他确定了自己的目标大学、目标专业方向、目标留学国家……
Admitted smoothly into a key secondary school, Eren's scores have never fallen out of the top 5 of his class. He trusted in his mother's encouragement, as well as in his own capabilities. Little by little, he made plans for the university he was going to, for the major he was going to choose, and for the country where he was going to study abroad...
就这样，爱伦沿着自己规划的路线，一步一个脚印，稳健地前进着。
So, step by step, Eren marched steadily along the path he had set for himself.
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最后一次模拟考结束，爱伦带来了好消息。语文超过130，数学超过135，英语超过140。
Good news arrived after the final mock test. Eren got over 130/150 points in Chinese, over 135/150 in Maths, and over 140/150 in English.
从那时起，爱伦便对入学考信心满满、翘首企盼。
It boosted Eren's confidence, making him look forward to the entrance exams more keenly every day.
正在爱伦准备向985和211进发时，坏消息传来：爱伦失去了从上海报考体制内学术性大学的资格。
Just as Eren was getting ready to enter one of the top universities in China, there came the bad news: Eren was disqualified from applying for a standard higher academic institute from Shanghai.
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持外地户口的中学生，除非拥有上海居住证，否则无法在上海参加入学考。
Because only permanent residents of Shanghai, and no one else, were qualified for participating in entrance exams in the city.
母亲从未放弃为爱伦争取参与入学考的资格，但无依无靠的她总是四处碰壁。最终，爱伦还是没能赶在入学考之前获得报考权。
Eren's mother had never given up fighting for Eren's participation in the entrance exams. But without the support from anybody, she did not succeed in any attempt. As days passed, Eren kept being barred from registering, until the exams began.
这对爱伦而言，绝不亚于一条噩耗。
This was nothing less than a nightmare for Eren.
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因为这意味着前功尽弃。所有的规划、所有的奋斗、所有的成绩、所有的希望，全部付之一炬，必须推倒重来。
It meant something simple: Everything was overturned. It meant that every goal Eren had set, every bit of effort Eren had paid, every achievement he had made, and every strand of hope he had held, was altogether overturned, without a moment's notice, losing its purpose overnight in its entirety.
填志愿的时间到了。当同学们在志愿单上写下顶尖学府的名字时，爱伦心急如焚，却束手无策。当同学们进行最后的冲刺时，爱伦不知道自己是否还有必要继续复习。
As his friends were filling out their application forms, writing down names of the top schools in China, Eren could do nothing. As his friends were burning the last midnight oil before the entrance exams, Eren did not know whether there was still a point in making preparations.
震惊、失望、愠怒、忧郁充满了爱伦的内心，互相纠缠，在理智全力的抑制下，形成了一种无法言状、无法逃避、无法隐藏、无法忍受的心情。
Shocked, disappointed, irritated and depressed. All these emotions met in Eren's heart, suppressed by his reason, creating a feeling which is impossible to utter, to forget, to conceal, or to endure.
时间一分一秒地流逝，爱伦母子却早已无计可施。他们只剩下两个选项：回老家复读一年、参加入学考，或在上海就读特殊体制的高等教育项目。
Under a clicking clock, Eren and his mother had long run out of options. They were allowed only one choice, whether for Eren to postpone his participation in the entrance exam until after attending the senior year for one more time back in his hometown, or for him to stay in Shanghai and attend a higher education programme in a special system.
即将中学毕业的爱伦明白，自己永远都进不了北大、也永远都去不了哈佛了。
Eren, then in his last year of secondary school, didn't understand much, but this: he was never going to Cambridge or Harvard.
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爱伦与母亲只能用尽量清醒的头脑，分析这仅剩的两个选项。
Trying their best to overcome the upset with their reasons, Eren and his mother looked at these only two options left.
爱伦的人格完全由上海式教育塑造而成，母亲很担心他能否适应老家的教育环境。与此同时，还要考虑省份之间的教材差别，以及各省院校对本地考生的优惠政策。
His mother worried whether Eren, whose entire personality had been formed by the education he received in Shanghai, would be able to get accustomed to the education in his hometown. Putting this aside, there were huge differences between the teaching materials referenced in the exams of the two places. They were also concerned about the fact that universities always enrolled more local than migrant students.
因此，爱伦的母亲认为，如果回到老家，不但可能冲击孩子的心智发展，而且会让孩子很难回到大城市接受高等教育。
Eren's mother came to a conclusion, that if Eren was to continue his education in his hometown, not only would his mental development be hampered, but it would also become difficult for Eren to further his education in bigger cities.
无奈之下，爱伦选择了在上海就读特殊体质高等教育项目，一个对他而言十分陌生的概念。
With zero alternatives, Eren chose to stay in Shanghai, where he would receive higher education in a special system, a concept he was by no means familiar with in any respect.
| 04 |
爱伦对非常规体制教育没有偏见，但这是一个爱伦从未了解和考虑过的选项。选择这条道路，无异于推翻他所有的成绩和规划，另辟蹊径，重头摸索。
Eren was absolutely not biased against the special education systems, refusing to share a widespread and long-established sentiment in China. But Eren never knew anything about, nor even ever contemplated this option. It meant for Eren, to make this choice, that all his achievements and planning had to be replaced by the exploration of a new and uncharted path.
扎实的文化课知识，让爱伦在入学考中脱颖而出。凭借最低接近135、最高接近满分的语数英三门成绩，爱伦被一个从全市分别招收15名本地和外地户口学生、由两所院校合办的“5年制国际化高等专业教育连读项目”录取了。
With his solid academic foundation, Eren stood out in the entrance exams. Getting 135/150 the lowest and nearly 150/150 the highest in his Chinese, Maths and English exams, Eren made it, among all applicants in the city, to a group of 15 local and migrant students each, who were enrolled by an "Integrated 5-year Internationalised Higher Professional Education Programme" co-hosted by two schools.
2014年9月，爱伦来到了他的母校——上海I&C。
In September 2014, Eren came to Shanghai I&C, his alma mater.
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新同学中，鲜有与爱伦境遇相同、情趣相投的。爱伦不知道自己应该如何增长才干、如何获得认可，很是迷茫。
Few students around him had a similar experience or taste. Without any idea how to get himself developed or recognised, Eren felt all but lost.
每当在微信里看见那些定位在“北大”、“复旦”的朋友圈，爱伦心中总会泛起一阵苦涩的波澜，味道与那种无法言状、无法忍受的心情相似。
Every time he saw posts in his timeline marking the top Chinese institutes as their locations, a bitter geyser would erupt in Eren's heart, spraying a feeling similar to that one which is impossible to utter or to endure.
爱伦一直在想，如果当初自己拥有选择的权利，他原本也可以出现在那些朋友圈的照片里。
Eren couldn't get the idea out of his mind, that had he been allowed to choose, he would well have appeared in those timeline photos.
每当这种想法涌进脑海，爱伦就仿佛一台故障的电脑，完全无法运转。
Every time this idea flooded his mind, Eren stopped operating, as if he was a jammed computer.
他不理解，为何自己明明付出了加倍的努力，却仍然无法左右自己的未来。
He couldn't reconcile why, after paying multiple times as much effort, he still couldn't decide his future.
他不明白，为何人人都可以用真诚和努力换来成功，但他却不行。
He couldn't reconcile why, when everybody was trading sincerity and diligence for success, he alone was barred from doing so.
既然汗水换不来果实，那还何必辛勤劳作。爱伦看不到前进的意义，痛苦万分。
No point would be left in labouring if it was not producing any fruit. Eren agonised, sensing nothing in it for him to move forward.
但爱伦是一个很反感抱怨的人。很快，他就击退了这种心情的反复来袭。
But Eren hated complaining. Very soon, he defeated the repeated attack of this feeling.
爱伦的性格里没有任何偏见，他相信环境没有优劣，因为到处都是机遇。
There is no bias in Eren's personality. For him, there is neither a better nor a worse surrounding, for no matter where one is, there are always opportunities.
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新学校的第一次月考，包含数学和英语两个科目。爱伦双双取得了满分。
A Maths and an English test constituted the first monthly exam in the new school. Eren received full marks in both.
新学校的第一次期中考试，包含语数英和一门专业课。爱伦的总分名列班级第一，每门单科成绩也都位居榜首。
A test in Chinese, Maths, English, and a professional course, constituted the first mid-term exam in the new school. Eren topped his class with his total score, as well as with his score in every individual test.
这不是一所完全的学术性院校，因此成绩虽然重要，但并不代表一切。在应试体系中如鱼得水的爱伦，开始在这个新环境中，积极寻找实现自我价值的方法。
It was no longer a fully academic school where Eren was. Academic performance did count here, but was not enough. Eren, a talent in the exam-oriented system, set off in this new surrounding to explore the ways of realising his values.
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爱伦刚来这里不到一学期，就很幸运地遇到了校团委学生会换届选举。凭借自己出色的成绩，以及凭借成绩获得的声誉和支持，爱伦成功当选校学生会秘书部长。
So lucky was Eren, that an election of the school's student union was held less than a semester after he first came. Eren's outstanding academic performance, along with the reputation and support that came with it, earned Eren the position of the Secretary of the School-level Student Union.
一时，爱伦成为了全校瞩目的人物。许多学生社团和学校组织，都来邀请爱伦加入。
Eren attracted the attention from throughout the school overnight. Soon afterwards, he began receiving invitations from a lot of student associations and school organisations.
那时，I&C的国际部已经积累了数年的国际文化交流经验，决定成立一个负责代表学校参与国际交流活动的学生组织。
Back then, the International Division of I&C, having accumulated years of experience in international cultural exchange, decided to launch a student organisation, which would participate in international communication activities on the school's behalf.
2015年1月，正在就读项目第一年的爱伦，与大约十名同级生和学长学姐们一起，在国际部谭老师的指导下，成立了上海I&C“国际交流学生志愿者团队”。
In January 2015, under the guidance of Mr Tan of the International Division, along with around ten schoolmates either as old or older, Eren, then in the first year of the programme, brought into being the "International Communication Student Volunteer Team" of Shanghai I&C.
那时的爱伦完全没有想到，
他的人生从此将彻底改变。
There was no way Eren could anticipate
that from that moment on his life
would never ever again be the same.
| 05 |
I&C在全球各地，拥有数十所姐妹学校与合作机构。每个月，都大约有两批外国师生和官员来访。
I&C has several dozen sister schools and partner institutions around the world, from which they welcome about two groups of visiting international students, teachers and officials every month.
这个新成立团队的职责，就是在接待这些国际友人的同时，主动学习外国文化、积极传播中国文化，努力促进文化互鉴与交融。
It is the duty of this newly established team, to receive and treat these international friends, and during which time, to learn about foreign cultures with initiative, to popularize the Chinese culture with enthusiasm, and thereby to promote the mutual appreciation and exchange between various cultures with diligence and determination.
身为团队创始成员的爱伦，不久便开始与其他创始成员一起，陪伴来访的外国师生官员，利用周末和假期前往上海各处进行文化探访。
As a founder, it was not long after when Eren began to, along with other founding members, accompany the visiting international students, teachers and officials onto cultural exploration trips across Shanghai during weekends and holidays.
虽然不能算是本地人，但爱伦对上海的感情极其深厚。如同人们靠食物和知识获得生命的能量，爱伦甚至可以从这座城市的一切美好中，汲取生活的动力。
Eren is not a local Shanghainese, but he possesses an extraordinary affection for this city. Just as people draw the energy they need to live from food and knowledge, it can be fairly claimed that Eren is capable of drawing the power he needs to lead his life from everything that is good and beautiful in this metropolis.
在他上中学时，曾为了仔细欣赏人文风景，一天之内沿着南外滩、世纪大道和后滩滨江连续步行了13千米；共享单车兴起之后，他曾从位于黄兴路控江路的实习公司，一路沿着黄浦江骑行超过20千米，回到他位于徐汇长桥的家。过程中，没有丝毫疲惫和厌倦，只有深爱所带来的无尽自豪与喜悦。
Once when he was in secondary school, in order to experience a deep appreciation for the cultural scenery there, Eren walked along the South Bund, Century Avenue and Houtan Riverfront, without resting, for 13 kilometres in one day. Another day, when bike-sharing had been introduced into Shanghai, Eren cycled along Huangpu River, without a halt, for over 20 kilometres, all the way from the company where he interned to his home in Changqiao, Xuhui, feeling not a single bit of fatigue and boredom, but only endless pride and joy brought about by his deep love for this city.
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这种快乐，爱伦曾经无法找到任何可以分享的人，即使土生土长的上海朋友，也很难与爱伦产生共鸣。但在陪伴这些国际友人进行都市文化探访时，爱伦对这座城市的热爱，就仿佛早春的活水经过死寂已久的泉眼，从他的每一句言语和每一个举止中，喷涌而出。
This is a type of joy Eren used to have nobody to share and resonate with, not even with his most local Shanghainese friends. But whenever he was on tour with these international friends, Eren's love for this city would, like a just defrosted spring, erupt from every one of his words and moves.
爱伦熟悉上海的近代历史，记得住陆家嘴摩天大楼的高度和落成年份，背得出市中心几乎所有地铁线路的走向。当爱伦与国际交流团队的伙伴，以及国际友人们徜徉在延中绿地的暖阳下，仿佛圣保禄传道时一般充满激情、滔滔不绝地向他们讲述自己与这座城市的一切故事时，“我们（指来访外国师生官员）中没有一人是未被打动的。”一名来自芬兰的学生在临行时对爱伦说。
Eren knows the modern history of Shanghai. He remembers details of the skyscrapers in Lujiazui, how tall they are, when they were constructed. As Eren was enjoying the warm sun in Yanzhong Park with his friends from the International Communication Team and from abroad, talking eloquently and effortlessly about his every story with this city in the same passion that the Apostle Paul had when he was preaching, "none of us (referring to the visitors) was untouched or unimpressed." a Finnish student told Eren before she returned home.
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2015年4月，爱伦和其他创始人们，为这个国际文化交流学生志愿者团队赋予了一个名字：ICT。那是“International Communication Team”的缩写。
It was in April 2015, when Eren and other founders of this International Cultural Communication Student Volunteer Team came up with a name for it: ICT, short for "International Communication Team".
正式成立后，ICT便开始在学校的支持下，承办各种国际学生文化交流和国际学生商业交流活动。ICT还负责承办每年的姐妹校国际夏令营，爱伦于2015和2016年参加了两次。其中，2016年国际夏令营拥有来自8个国家的将近100名参与师生，游览了上海、敦煌、西安等一带一路关键城市，深入开展国际商业文化交流。
After its official start, ICT began to hold various international student cultural exchange and global youth commercial education activities, all with the support of the school. These include an annual Sister School International Summer Camp, which Eren joined twice in 2015 and 2016. The International Summer Camp 2016, attended by nearly 100 students from 8 countries, went all the way from Shanghai to Dunhuang, Xi'an and other key Belt & Road cities, carrying out in-depth international commercial culture communication.
都市文化探访、商业文化分享、职业规划论坛、模拟国际会议……各种各样的ICT活动，提高着爱伦的英语、拓宽着爱伦的眼界、加深着爱伦的思想、塑造着爱伦的价值。
The ICT began to shape Eren, with its urban culture explorations, commercial culture exchanges, career planning forums, model international conferences, and many other activities. Together, they improved Eren's English, widened Eren's horizon, deepened Eren's thoughts, and shaped Eren's values.
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那时的爱伦是一个只会应试的“哑巴英语”使用者，在与外国客人交谈时，常常感到力不从心。
Back then Eren was good at English only in terms of taking written exams. He often felt overwhelmed when having conversations with guests from overseas.
为了锻炼口语，爱伦养成了一个习惯：只要在生活中听到或看到一句中文，便下意识地在脑海中尝试将其翻译成英文。一旦在翻译过程中遇到词汇或语法上的困难，便立即查询词典，当场记诵，每天复习。
Eren developed a habit in order to practise his oral English. Whenever he heard or saw any Chinese in his daily life, he would start immediately trying to translate it into English in his mind. While doing so, once he found himself running out of vocabulary or grammatical knowledge, he would look it up at once, memorise it, and have a review of the new language knowledge he gained every day.
不久后，每当爱伦准备开口，他头脑中便会同时出现中英双语的表达。渐渐地，英语从爱伦的第一外语，变成了爱伦的第二母语。
Very soon, expressions in both Chinese and English began to show up simultaneously in Eren's mind every time he wanted to say something. As time went by, English was no longer so much Eren's first foreign language, as it was his second mother tongue.
凭借自己不灭的热情、不懈的努力和不争的实力，爱伦成为了ICT的“元老”——这是ICT内的一个头衔，授予信念坚定、经验丰富的国际文化交流志愿者们。
With his inextinguishable enthusiasm, unstoppable endeavours and undisputable competence, Eren earned himself the title of an ICT "Senior", an honour given only to international cultural communication volunteers with firm determination and rich experience.
2015年9月，中央党媒——环球时报报道了ICT的事迹，一张有爱伦在内的照片也得到了刊登。
In September 2015, the achievements of the ICT, along with a photo in which Eren appeared, were reported by the Global Times, a central state media in China.
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| 未完待续 |
| TO BE CONTINUED |
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