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Ping Pong Nation

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IN THIS LESSON
ID: 0855 Upper Intermediate
Perhaps known to you as a 1970's rec room relic, the ping pong table is a veritable altar of worship for the Chinese. The ball may look pansy-ish--until it's coming at your face at 100km per hour. An exhibition round of 'beer pong' to slow your adversary's reflexes would have been prudent. So warm up your paddle arm, jinx your opponent with a case of ping pong elbow, and learn about the passion of the game in this Mandarin lesson.
Fri Apr 18 2008 | Jenny , John
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Detailed Vocabulary
Each lesson has it's unique vocabulary and will provide you with definitions and recordings so you can practice the pronunciation. You will also be able to grasp the core material of a lesson at a glance. Here we're showing you the Simplified Chinese version.
SIMPLIFIED PINYIN ENGLISH  
一夜间 yīyèjiān overnight
争光 zhēngguāng to bring glory
参与 cānyù to participate in
基础 jīchǔ base
中国的乒乓为什么会那么好？
Zhōngguó de pīngpāng wèishénme huì nàme hǎo ？
Why is China so good at ping pong?
新中国的第一个世界冠军就是乒乓。所以一夜间，全国人民都迷上了乒乓，它也成了国球。
xīnzhōngguó de dì yī ge shìjiè guànjūn jiùshì pīngpāng 。suǒyǐ yīyèjiān ，quánguó rénmín dōu míshàng le pīngpāng ，tā yě chéng le guóqiú 。
The first world champion that the PRC produced was in ping pong. So overnight, everyone became fascinated with ping pong. It has become the national game.
我爸爸说当时在学校搬张课桌就打球，梦想以后为国争光。我估计乒乓在中国发展起来的另一个原因就是参与起来方便。
wǒ bàba shuō dāngshí zài xuéxiào bān zhāng kèzhuō jiù dǎqiú ，mèngxiǎng yǐhòu wèi guó zhēngguāng 。wǒ gūjì pīngpāng zài Zhōngguó fāzhǎn qǐlái de lìng yī ge yuányīn jiùshì cānyù qǐlái fāngbiàn 。
My dad said at that time, they were playing ball on their school desks, dreaming of bringing glory to their country. I reckon ping pong in China began to develop for the reason that it is pretty easy to participate in.
对啊，群众基础好，自然能选到最好的运动员和教练员。加上国家大力支持，怪不得中国乒乓一直是世界第一。
duì a ，qúnzhòng jīchǔ hǎo ，zìrán néng xuǎndào zuì hǎo de yùndòngyuán hé jiàoliànyuán 。jiāshàng guójiā dàlì zhīchí ，guàibude Zhōngguó pīngpāng yīzhí shì shìjiè dì yī 。
Yeah, it enjoys the popular support, so of course they are able to select the best athletes and coaches. On top of that, the state supports it vigorously, so no wonder China is always first in the world in ping pong.
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