Shi said when translating for Deng Xiaoping, architect of the policy of reform and opening up, a big challenge came from brand-new concepts that occasionally popped up in Deng's conversations with visiting foreign officials, since China was in the early stage of the great reform movement. "The homework for me was to keep studying his thinking and new ideas," she said. "As his interpreter, I also learned the latest policies of China's reform and opening up."

Another challenge for her was that she had to interpret both ways, from Chinese to English and from English to Chinese, as most Western countries did not have qualified Chinese interpreters. "We do not have to do it now. Some of their interpreters have very good Chinese," she said.

Shi said the younger generation of interpreters faces the challenge of familiarizing themselves with a large vocabulary on various issues, since state leaders now exchange opinions on a wide range of issues, from politics, military, to environmental problems and public health concerns. "During my interpretation career, our leaders talked mainly about political issues with visiting officials and very limited economic issues. Back then, we did not have many channels for economic cooperation," Shi said.

Although it is not an easy job, every year a large number of English and French majors who graduate in China register for the strict screening process of the Department of Translation and Interpretation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This department is mainly in charge of English and French translations of important diplomatic documents and interpreting for state leaders. As for the selection of English interpreters, Shi said among each year's new recruits to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, they choose the top 10 performers in the translation and interpretation tests as trainees. Those trainees then go through courses on translation and interpretation and rounds of tests. Under-performers in these tests withdraw from the training until fewer than five are left, who become diplomatic interpreters.

Shi met her husband at the Department of Translation and Interpretation in 1965, when he was a French interpreter for state leaders. Although English and French are different, Shi said they still occasionally have discussions on how to better translate one word from Chinese into foreign languages. "When there was a particularly accurate word in French, I borrowed it and found its English counterpart, and he would do the same," said Shi.