在美国呆了这么多年，姚明的英语已经相当流利。在采访中姚明首先谈到的就是外语学习问题，他说：
If you're going to learn a new language, you can't try to be perfect. You'll stop yourself from talking. You just have to let go(如果你打算学习一个新语言，那么你不要试着力求完美。这会让你不敢说话，你需要大胆去说)。
姚明举了个自己“大胆去说”的例子，他已经可以用英语向裁判抱怨了：
I haven't done much trash-talking. But last year, I did complain about a call. Nobody could believe it. So I said, "I've spent a lot on English lessons. I want to get my money's worth." The official was laughing. My American strength coach says he liked me better before I could talk English (我并没有说过太多垃圾话，但是上赛季，我曾经因为一次吹罚而抱怨过，没有人能相信我居然去抱怨，所以我说：“我花了很多时间学英语课，我想让我的钱花得值。”结果裁判乐了。我的美国体能教练告诉我说他更喜欢不会说英语的我)。
当然，在姚明自己的家里，他和妻子之间还是说中文的，只是有时候会夹杂英语：
Sometimes my wife and I mix Chinese and English words in the same sentence. We call it Chinglish(有时候，我的妻子和我会在一个句子里掺杂中文和英文，我们称之为中式英语)。
在人民网翻译的这篇采访中，姚明还说了一句特主旋律的话：
“我的梦想在中国。”
难道姚明的伤病难愈，萌生退意?或者姚明只是在设想将来NBA生涯结束后回国开创新的事业?亦或是姚明只是在抒发爱国境界?记得姚明在《我的世界我的梦中》写过他的三个梦想。很小的时候的姚明梦想是长大上大学;后来少年的姚明学打篮球，梦想就是有一双好球鞋;再后来的梦就很爱国但也不靠谱了：获得2008年北京奥运会的金牌。
我对照了Esquire采访姚明的英语原文，姚明这一句有关“梦”的话是这样说的：
I dream in Chinese.
原来姚明并没说他的梦想在中国，而是说他用中文做梦，人民网无疑是在无意中误译了。这当然丝毫无损于姚明的境界高度，他在采访中很有责任感的说：
Sometimes it can feel like there are a billion people on my shoulders(有时候感觉就好像是10亿人民压在我的肩头)。
Esquire的采访原文：Yao Ming: What I've Learned
If you're going to learna new language, you can't try to be perfect. You'll stop yourself from talking. You just have to let go.
Sometimes it can feellike there are a billion people on my shoulders.
Friendship first,competition second. That's a very famous Chinese expression.
In America it's:Game is game. Friendship is friendship.
Fortune cookiesare a good idea. If the message is positive, it can make your day a little better.
The question of courageis something I've thought about for a long time. Tell me if I'm wrong, but courage is when a man in a difficult situation acts as if he truly believes he's right. And in the end, he is right.
When I was young,we were taught not to dunk. We were taught not to stand out from the rest of the team. It's different now. The young guys in China are new age. They want to show their stuff. But I am old-school. It was a big adjustment when I first came here to play at a camp. The coaches told me to dunk, but I would lay the ball in. Finally, the coaches made everyone else on my team run laps when I didn't dunk. I didn't want my teammates to be punished because of me. That's how I learned to dunk.
A good leadermust be fair.
There was a gamewhen I was perfect from the field. The 2001 season in China. Finals. But my team lost. So I guess it wasn't a perfect game.
I can't say exactlywhen it changed.But when I came into the NBA, I felt like I was challenging everyone I went up against. After a while, it felt like they were challenging me.
The alcohol in Chinais made of rice. It's strong. You know it's strong when you drink it. So you have an idea what it can do to you. But here, you have alcohol that doesn't taste very strong. So you think you can have many shots. You don't find out the truth until the next morning.
I haven't donemuch trash-talking. But last year, I did complain about a call. Nobody could believe it. So I said, "I've spent a lot on English lessons. I want to get my money's worth." The official was laughing.
My American strength coachsays he liked me better before I could talk English.
We don't havea tip culture in China. If you give a tip to an old waiter, he might feel like you don't respect him. But I think the younger waiters would take it.
When I gotmy first paycheck playing in China, I thought, I'm making money now! I'm independent! That first month I went broke. My next paycheck was two weeks away and I didn't have anything in my pocket. That was a good experience to have before coming to the NBA.
Our first emperor,Qin Shi Huangdi. Napoleon. Roosevelt. That would make a good table for dinner.
Powermeansdifferent things in different times. But the more I read, the more I think power is about intelligence.
Kobe's heartis as strong as his muscles.
Our honeymoonwas in Europe. One stop was Venice. Cost fifty dollars for a ride in the gondola. There was also the romantic package. Three hundred dollars. That gets a bottle of red wine and a man playing music. But I don't really drink red wine. And you can hear the music coming from the other boats. So the fifty-dollar package seemed like the way to go.
I dreamin Chinese.
One man cannot changethe entire game. Support is necessary.
Sometimesmy wife and I mix Chinese and English words in the same sentence. We call it Chinglish.
If I could getthe fortune cookie I wanted, it would say: No more injuries.
I felt that I twisted my anklewhen I fell down. If it was a regular-season game, I probably would have come out and told the trainer we need to look at it. But it was a playoff game against the Lakers. The first home game. I twisted it again in the third quarter. Then again in the fourth. I can't blame myself. No true player would want to leave the court in that situation. This was not about Chinese culture or American culture. It was about the culture of being a competitor.
The doctor told methe worst case: There's less than 1 percent chance that you can die during the surgery. That's a risk.
Sportsteach you how to be quick. Injuries teach you how to slow down.
They had to changethe angle of the ankle in order to release the pressure from one bone to another. There will be a lot of rehab. The best lesson my parents taught me was patience. I'm going to need it.
