Last week in China, Transformers: The Revenge of the Fallen became “火爆(huǒbào)” explosively popular. The Transformers finally has surpassed Ice Age and became NO.1 on Friday. But on the weekend Billboard charts, they “并列(bìngliè)” stood side by side in the race for most popular movies. This week, the two movies continue their hot competition.

The recent news reported that the Transformers: The Revenge of the Fallen would be the first movie which reaches RMB 400,000,000 box offices in China. Young people regard the main characters as their idols and heroes and enjoy the enthusiasm brought by this movie.

生词 (shēng cí) Vocabulary:
火爆 (huǒbào) adj. prevailing, extremely popular
并列 (bìngliè) adv/v. stand side by side

The Use of the Two Words:
“火爆(huǒbào)” refers to something that becomes extremely popular and famous. The word “火(huǒ)” means fire or something hot and the word “爆(bào)”expresses something to explode or burst such as firework and bomb. You can say “他脾气很火爆(tā píqi hěn huǒbào)” he has a hot temper, or “他的生意做得很火爆(tā de shēngyi zuò de hěn huǒbào)” his business is very flourishing.

“并列(bìngliè)”refers to two things stand side by side. “并(bìng)”means one thing stands together with another and “列(liè)” means something to line up. So you can say “我和他并列第一(wǒ hé tā bìngliè dìyī)” he and I tied for first place in the examination, or “两个瓶子并列放在桌上(liănggè píngzi bìngliè fàng zài zhuōshàng)” the two bottles stand side by side on the table.

“无论是国家还是个人，只有坚定信念，明天才会更美好。” (wúlùn shì guójiā háishì gèrén, zhĭyŏu jiāndìng xìnniàn, míngtiān cái huì gèng měihăo.)
“No matter whether concerning countries or individuals, as long as they continue to keep the faith, all of them will see a better future.”

The above was said by Chinese movie star Zhang Ziyi at a recent awarding ceremony. Ziyi has grown from a young girl to an internationally 闻名(wénmíng) known star. In 2000, with the movie 卧虎藏龙(wòhŭcánglóng) Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), Zhang Ziyi 一夜成名(yíyèchéngmíng) became famous overnight and successfully got recognition in Hollywood. In a place with few Chinese actors in Hollywood, Zhang Ziyi strived for her dream without too much outside help. With a never-give-up attitude, Zhang has eventually become 认可(rènkĕ) recognized around the world. When asked how she became so popular in just 10 years, she answered:

“我所做的一切，其实只是想当一个更好的女演员，让自己的路走的更精彩。” (wŏ suŏ zuò de yíqiè, qíshí zhĭshì xiăng dāng yí gè gènghăo de nǚyănyuán, ràng zìjĭ de lù zŏu de gèng jīngcăi.)
“Everything I do is to become a better actress and to live a more wonderful life.”

信念 xìnniàn: n faith
闻名 wénmíng: adj well-known
一夜成名 yíyèchéngmíng: v become famous overnight

A rabbit and a tortoise decide to hold a race competition, and the winner will win the ticket to the Forest Concert.

1. 为了赢得森林音乐会的门票，小乌龟决定接受小兔子的挑战，和他进行一次赛跑。
wèi le yíng dé sēnlín yī yu huì de ménpiào, xiăo wūguī juédìng jiēshòu xiăo tùzi de tiăozhàn, hé tā jìnxíng yí
cì sàipăo.
To win a Forest Concert ticket, the tortoise decided to accept the rabbit’s challenge and took the race competition      against the little Rabbit.

2. 比赛的路线是从老虎市长的办公室门口到森林花园的门口。先到达终点的就是胜利者。
bĭsài de lùxiàn shì cóng láohǔ shìzhăng de bàngōngshì ménkŏu dào sēnlín huāyuán de ménkŏu. xiān dào
dá zhōngdiăn de jiù shì shènglìzhě.
The race route is from the Major Tiger’s office to the woods garden and the one who finishes the race first is the
winner.

3. 所有的动物们都看好小兔子，觉得他一定会战胜小乌龟。
suóyŏu de dòngwù men dōu kànhăo xiăo tùzi, jué dé tā yídìng huì zhànshèng xiăo wūguī.
All animals believed the rabbit would be the winner.

4.小兔子飞快跑向终点，路上没有看到小乌龟的身影。他心里暗暗高兴，心想小乌龟肯定还在后面慢慢爬着。
xiăo tùzi fēikuài păo xiàng zhōngdiăn, lùshàng méiyŏu kàndào xiăo wūguī de shēnyĭng. tā xīnlĭ àn àn gāoxìng,
xīn xiăng xiăo wūguī kěndìng hái zài hòumiàn mànmàn pá zhe.
The rabbit ran fast to the destination and didn’t see the tortoise on the road. He was so happy and thought the
tortoise was creeping on the road.

5. 可当小兔子转过身时，发现小乌龟已经站在终点了。
kě dāng xiăo tùzi zhuăn guò shēn shí, fāxiàn xiăo wūguī yĭjīng zhàn zài zhōngdiăn le.
But when he turned around, he found the tortoise already arrived.

How did the Little Tortoise win this race competition?
when the competition began, the tortoise knew that he would not win if he didn’t find a solution. Finally, he decided to tie himself to the rabbit’s tail so that he can always follow the rabbit’s pace. When near the destination, the rabbit would turn around to see if the tortoise was behind him. On this moment, the tortoise was just moved to the destination.

In 2009, a movie called 孔子(kŏngzĭ) Confucius is being filmed in China. It claims that it will give a realistic portrayal of 孔子(kŏngzĭ) Confucius’ life. Famous Chinese Hong Kong actor Yun-Fat Chow will play the leading role. Despite the 争议(zhēngyì) controversy, surrounding this movie, many people eagerly await its release.

About his name
About 2500 years ago, 孔子(kŏngzĭ) Confucius was born in the 春秋时期(chūnqiū shíqī) Spring and Autumn Period. His real name is 孔丘(kŏngqiū) Kong Qiu. 孔子(kŏngzĭ) Confucius is the name modern people use. In ancient times, he was called 孔夫子(kŏngfūzĭ) Kung fu-tzu. 夫子(fūzĭ) means “teacher.” He also acquired many other respectful names after his death such as 萬世師表(wàn shì shī biăo) the 10,000 Generation Model Teacher, 至圣(zhì shèng) the Greatest Sage which all show his greatness.

A great educator
孔子(kŏngzĭ) Confucius was a great 教育家(jiàoyùjiā ) educator. He taught students using the principle of 有教无类(yŏujiāowúlèi) teaching without discrimination and boundary. As long as one had 潜力(qiánlì) potential and 决心(juéxīn ) determination, he would take them all as 弟子(dìzĭ) students. Through his life, he took in a total as many as 3000 students, and 72 became 栋梁之材(dòngliángzhīcái) a person of great ability and tremendous potential in different States at that time.

A great philosopher
孔子(kŏngzĭ) Confucius’s philosophy has exerted great influence on many philosophical aspects such as study, behavior, morality, etc. His 言论(yán lùn) discourses are all collected in the 著作(zhùzuò) masterpiece: 论语(lúnyǔ) The Analects of Confucius and many of them became classics, e.g. 三人行, 必有我师焉(sān rén xíng, bì yŏu wŏ shī yān) As three men are walking together, one of them is bound to be good enough to act as my teacher. These quotations have inspired many later generations.

春秋时期 chūnqiū shíqī： n a period in Chinese history between 770BC and 476BC
有教无类 yŏujiāowúlèi： adj teaching without discrimination and boundary
教育家 jiàoyùjiā： n educator
潜力 qiánlì： n potential
决心 juéxīn： n determination
栋梁之材 dòngliángzhīcái： n a person of great ability and tremendous potential
著作 zhùzuò： n masterpiece
论语 lúnyǔ： n The Analects of Confucius
争议 zhēngyì： n controversy

You may never doubt the excellence of Yao Ming on the basketball court. In fact, his wisdom and humor off the court are also quite impressing.

His Wisdom
When he was asked by a Chinese reporter: “are you worried about one day you will be overtaken by a rookie?”

He answered:
这就是比赛，像生活一样，没什么如果可以预料。
zhè jiù shì bĭ sài, xiàng shēng huó yí yàng, méi shén me rú guŏ ké yĭ yù liào.
Games are the same as life and are not predictable.

His Humor
When he was asked by a reporter: “why do you get more attentions than golf star Tiger Woods does?”

He answered:
因为篮球比高尔夫球大嘛！我很幸运，能够得到这份工作。
yīn wèi lán qiú bĭ gāo ěr fū qiú dà ma! wŏ hěn xìng yùn, néng gòu dé dào zhè fèn gōng zuò.
The basketball is much bigger than golf. So I am lucky enough to get this job!

像…一样 xiàng…yí yàng： conj the same as
如果 rú guŏ： conj if
预料 yù liào：v predictable
得到 dé dào：v gain/get
篮球 lán qiú：n basketball

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