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The Glory of Labor

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IN THIS LESSON
ID: 0502 Upper Intermediate
May 1 is an important holiday in China--Labor Day. Now, for most of us, we celebrate the lack of labor on that day--but what is the real meaning behind the holiday for the people of this country? Listen in to this interesting podcast with a Mandarin Chinese lesson on the background and history of this holiday in China.
Tue May 01 2007 | Jenny, John
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SIMPLIFIED PINYIN ENGLISH  
心思 xīnsi thought
光荣 guāngróng glory
贡献 gòngxiàn contribution
压迫 yāpò to oppress
终于盼到五一黄金周了。我们劳动人民辛苦了一年，总算可以好好休息一下了。
zhōngyú pàndào Wǔyī huángjīnzhōu le 。wǒmen láodòng rénmín xīnkǔ le yī nián ，zǒngsuàn kěyǐ hǎohāo xiūxi yīxià le 。
The Golden Week we've been looking forward to is here at last. Us the working people have sweat it out for yet another year, and now we can finally get a little rest.
有那么夸张吗？现在一年有三个黄金周，不知道有多幸福呢。不过话说回来，大家现在好像都一门心思地关心放假，没人重视劳动节的劳动意义了。以前大家老把 “劳动最光荣” 挂在嘴边，现在还有几个记得啊？
yǒu nàme kuāzhāng ma ？xiànzài yī nián yǒu sān ge huángjīnzhōu ，bù zhīdào yǒu duō xìngfú ne 。bùguò huà shuō huílai ，dàjiā xiànzài hǎoxiàng dōu yīménxīnsi de guānxīn fàngjià ，méirén zhòngshì Láodòngjié de láodòng yìyì le 。yǐqián dàjiā lǎo bǎ “láodòng zuì guāngróng ” guà zài zuǐbiān ，xiànzài hái yǒu jǐ ge jìde a ？
Is it that bad? Now there are three golden weeks a year, and I can't tell you how great that is. On the other hand, though, it does seem like everyone is focused on the vacation. No one puts any importance on the labor-related meaning. Before, everyone was always using the phrase ''labor is the most glorious," but how many people remember it now?
哎，时代不同了嘛。刚建国的时候，不管什么行业、什么工作，大家都一条心，争着去劳动，个个都想为国家作贡献。
āi ，shídài bùtóng le ma 。gāng jiànguó de shíhou ，bùguǎn shénme hángyè 、shénme gōngzuò ，dàjiā dōu yī tiáo xīn ，zhēng zhe qù láodòng ，gègè dōu xiǎng wèi guójiā zuò gòngxiàn 。
Ah, it's a different era. When the state had just been established, no matter what your industry or job was, you and everyone else were of one mind, all striving to make a contribution to the nation through labor.
那倒是。过去劳动人民一直受压迫，直到新中国成立，才翻身做了主人了。你说，能不兴奋吗？
nà dàoshì 。guòqù láodòng rénmín yīzhí shòu yāpò ，zhídào xīn Zhōngguó chénglì ，cái fānshēn zuò le zhǔrén le 。nǐ shuō ，néng bù xīngfèn ma ？
That's true. In the past the working people were always oppressed, up until the establishment of the new government, when the roles were reversed and they could take control. Tell me, how could that not be exciting?
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