刚开始，你会被关在一处营地里进行三个月的艰苦训练。

 

　　You have to run five kilometers every morning, carrying a heavy rucksack and rifle. You mustn’t stop doing push-ups in the snow until your sweat melts the snow beneath your face.

 

　　每天早晨，你必须背着重重的帆布背包和步枪跑完5公里。你还必须要在雪地里连续不断地做俯卧撑，直到脸上的汗水滴下来将地上的雪融化。

 

　　Then you may be sent to any part of the country as a sentinel and be expected to stick to your post for the rest of your two-year military service.

 

　　接下来，你有可能会被派到全国任何一个地方去当哨兵，并会在两年的军旅生涯中一直坚守着这个岗位。

 

　　College students are expected to prefer safe and relatively comfortable office work to military life. However, an increasing number of college students have been attracted to a career in the military in recent years.

 

　　比起军队生活而言，大学生们本应该更喜欢安全且相对舒适的办公室工作。然而近年来，越来越多的大学生却开始对参军产生兴趣。

 

　　According to the China Education Daily, the army enrolled nearly 130,000 servicemen from college students and fresh grads in 2009. The number is 60 times bigger than that in 2001. It has been boosted by a series of preferential policies in terms of finance and employment.

 

　　《中国教育报》数据显示，2009年军队从在校大学生和应届毕业生中共招收了13万名军人。这一数字与2001年相比要高出60倍。而正是一系列待遇和就业方面的优待政策推动了这一数字的增加。

 

　　Nationwide enlistment this year will start on November 1. Tens of thousands of college students and grads have applied.

 

　　今年，全国征兵已于11月1号开始。已有数以万计的在校大学生及毕业生报名参军。

 

　　With pampering parents and a recovering job market, many of these soldiers-to-be of the post-90s are not going for the preferential policies. They are looking for friendship and a physical and mental challenge.

 

　　就业市场已逐渐复苏，因此许多备受父母呵护的90后准士兵们并非冲着优待政策而来。他们只为寻求友情，同时经历身体与精神上的挑战。

 

　　Zhang Yang, 20, a sophomore at Shenyang University, will be excited when he sees war films showing soldiers’ heroic actions and their comradeship.

 

　　20岁的张阳(音译)是沈阳大学大二学生，每当看到彰显战士英勇之举和战友情深的战争片，他就会兴奋不已。

 

　　“To be honest, we people of the post 90s tend to be self-centered and hot-tempered because many of us are the spoiled only child in our families,” said Zhang. He has found it difficult to make close friends on campus.

 

　　张阳说：“坦白讲，我们90后往往会以自我为中心，脾气也很臭。这是因为我们很多人都是备受家人溺爱的独生子女。”他发现在校园里很难结交挚友。

 

　　“It may be easier for me to find a buddy at the campsite where my comrades-in-arms and I will share tough training together.”

 

　　“在营地里可能会更容易结交到好兄弟，在那里战友们将和将一起接受艰苦训练。”

 

　　Zhang is prepared for exhausting military exercises. But the biggest challenge may come from adapting to the strict discipline and hierarchy.

 

　　张阳已经准备好迎接疲惫的军事训练了。但最大的挑战可能在于如何去适应严格的纪律和上下级制度。

 

　　Yu Bi’er, 24, joined the army in 2009 as a fresh college grad. She is now a member of the naval art ensemble in Guangzhou.

 

　　24岁的俞碧儿(音译)2009年大学刚毕业时就选择了参军。现在，她是广州海军艺术团的一员。

 

　　Yu has a strict timetable for her mealtimes, showers and time spent watching TV. There is little time left for herself. She needs to ask for the squad leader’s permission when she wants to go to the washroom.

 

　　俞碧儿对于吃饭，洗澡和看电视的有一套严格的时间表。留给自己的时间也是少之又少。就连去洗手间，她都需要事先征得班长的同意。

 

　　Like many new recruits enlisted from college students and graduates, Yu had a squad leader who was much younger than her. The leader had joined the army much earlier after graduating from high school.

 

　　和许多新入伍的大学生或毕业生一样，俞碧儿有一个年龄比自己小很多的班长。这位班长自打高中毕业后就入伍了。

 

　　“We have to act in unquestioning obedience to the orders of our superior. We say yes whatever the order is,” said Yu. The leader gave an order, and off Yu went to fetch water for her.

 

　　“我们必须无条件服从上级的命令，无论是什么命令我们都要表示服从。”俞碧儿说。班长一声令下，俞碧儿就得去给她打水。

 

　　The rules may seem inhuman, but they are not unreasonable. Great discipline is required in war and in disaster relief.

 

　　这些规章制度可能显得不够人性化，但它们并非毫无道理。战争和救灾行动中都要求有严格的纪律。

 

　　Zhao Feng (not his real name), 24, took part in a mine disaster relief when he served the army in Leshan, Sichuan.

 

　　24岁的赵峰（化名)在四川乐山军队服役期间曾参加过一次矿难的救援行动。

 

　　Zhao was struck dumb when he carried corpses for the first time. But he managed to carry out the clean-up because, without thinking, he did what his commander ordered.

 

　　那是他第一次搬运尸体，赵峰被吓呆了。但他还是圆满地完成了清理工作，因为他要毫不犹豫地听从指挥官的命令。

 

　　According to Zhao, life in military campsites is not monotonous. Besides training, soldiers can enjoy movies and perform onstage in speaking contests.

 

　　赵峰表示，军营生活并不单调。在训练之余，士兵们还可以看电影，参加演讲比赛上台表演。

 

　　“But I have lost contact with the outside world in the past two years,” Zhao admits. He is not allowed to use a cell phone, let alone the Internet. The only TV program available is Xinwen Lianbo, China Central Television’s daily news broadcast at 7 pm.

 

　　“但在过去的两年里，我与外界失去了联系。”赵峰承认。使用手机是不允许的，更不用说上网了。唯一能看到的电视节目就是中央电视台每晚7点都会播放的《新闻联播》。

 

　　Zhao Yang, 25, had the same problem when he finished his two-year military service in Shanxi and returned to Beijing last year. But he was confident about job-hunting and soon got a job in a securities agency.

 

　　25岁的赵阳(音译)去年结束了驻山西的两年军旅生涯，他返回北京后也遇到了同样的问题。但他对找工作很有信心，并很快就在一家证券公司找到了工作。

 

　　“Soldiers are hardworking, punctual and fearless. Employers will appreciate such employees,” said Zhao. He can keep high-spirited selling products in chills for the whole day.

 

　　“当兵的都很勤奋、守时、勇敢。雇主会很青睐这样的员工。”赵阳说。他能一整天都站在寒风里精力充沛地销售产品。