英语口语高级训练(lesson16)a
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2. What Did Qi Gong Do with His Money？ Everyone knows how important money is in the world today. But what did Qi Gong do with his hard-earned one and a half million yuan？ Mr Qi Gong, aged 79, is a well-known calligrapher in China. He became famous the hard way. Born in a poor family, he did not have much schooling until his talent attracted the attention of Professor Chen Yuan, the president of Furen University. For years Professor Chen took him under his personal care and taught him'literature and calligraphy. Professor Chen thought highly of Qi Gong and helped him to find jobs of teaching at several institutions. Years of hard work made Qi Gong an excellent teacher and outstanding calligrapher and painter. In memory of his teacher Professor Chen Yuan, Qi Gong decided in 1991 to set up a foundation to give awards to both teachers and students who excel in their work. Qi Gong worked day after day at his desk and produced more than 100 works of calligraphy, which he sold for 1, 630, 000 yuan. All this money went into the foundation which was namled after his teacher. He did not leave a penny for himself！ What do you think money means to Qi Gong？ 3. Pop Stars I,ive Like the Royalty Pop stars today enjoy a style of living which was once the prerogative only of Royalty. Wherever they go, people turn out in their thousands to greet them. The crowds go wild trying to catch a brief glimpse of,their smiling, colourfully-dressed idols. The stars are transported in their chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royces, private helicopters or executive aeroplanes. They are surrounded by a permanent entourage of managers, press-agents and bodyguards. Photographs of them appear regularly in the press and all their comings and goings are reported, for, like Royalty, pop stars are news. If they enjoy many of the privileges of Royalty, they certainly share many of the inconveniences as weil. It is dangerous for them to make unscheduled appearances in public. T hey must be constantly shielded from the adoring crowds which idolise them. Tbey are no longer private individuals, but public property. The financial rewards they receive for this sacrifice cannot be calculated； for their rates of pay are astronomical. And why not？ Society has always rewarded its top entertainers lavishly. The great days of Hollywood have become legendary： famous stars enjoyed fame, wealth and adulation on an unprecedented scale. By today's standards, the excesses of Hollywood do not seem quite so spectacular. A single gramophone record nowadays may earn much more in royalties than the films of the past ever did. The competition for the title “Top of the Pops” is fierce, but the rewards are truly colossal. 4. “Pop Stars Certainly Earn Their Money”It is only right that the stars should be paid in this way. Don't the top men in industry earn enormous salaries for the services they perform to their companies and their countries'？ Pop stars. earn vast sums in foreign currency-often more than large industrial concerns-and the taxman can only be grateful for their massive annual contributions to the exchequer. So who would begrudge them their rewards？ It's all very well for people in humdrum jobs to moan about the successes and rewards of others. People who make envious remarks should remember that the most famous stars represent only the tip of the iceberg. For every famous star, there are hundreds of others struggling to earn. a living. A man working in a steady job and looking forward to a pension at the end of it has no right to expect very high rewards. He has chosen security and peace of mind, so there will always be a limit to what he can earn. But a man who attempts to become a star is taking enormous risks. He knows at the outset that only a handful of competitors ever get to the very top. He knows that years of concentrated effort may be rewarded with complete failure. But he knows, too, that tlte rewards for success are very high.indeed： they are the recompense for the huge risks involved and if he achieves them, he has certainly earned them. That's the essence of private enterprise. 5. Decent Beggars in Shanghai It was getting dark when the plane landed at Hongqiao Airport in Shanghai. A woman stepped out into a driving rain.“Madam, you must be from Beijing,” a voice behind her said. Taking luggage from the woman' s hand, the man said, “The weather in the south is unpleasant, and it rains all the time. The rainy season is coming.” He accompanied her out of the airport. The woman thought she was lucky to meet such a warm-hearted. young man. At the bus stop, she thanked him. “It's very. kind of you. I would be drenched through without your help.” She said quite a lot to express her gratitude. However, to her surprise, the man stood there smiling and showing no intention of leaving. Glancing around, the woman noticed some passengers getting off the same plane with her were tipping the peopte who helped them. She got the hint, took out a five-yuan note and gave it to the man. Saying “Thanks a lot”, he went away. The young man is just one of the estimated 500 “decent beggars”, a name Shanghai residents have given these people. Often times, they will appear in groups in the railway station, airport, hospitals, scenic spots. Most of them are fashionably dressed, behave decently, and speak in a gentle way. They carefully observe their “customers”, and from their expression, they try to figure out what their “customers” are thinking about. They will show sympathy for a patient sent to the hospital, with tears in their eyes. Tey will flatter the “customer” until he or she is deeply moved and gives them money in gratitude. On May 1, a family went to a park. Just as they entered, a young couple with smiles on their faces came up. The man talked first.“Look1 What a pleasant dayl It is very nice for the whole family to spend the holiday in the park,” he said. The woman added, “We Shanghai people are often kept indoors by the rain. It is too bad for children in particular. On this fine day, it is quite good for your health to walk in the open.” Then they began to flatter the.children, saying they were so beautiful and would be promising in the future. They predicated that the parents would enjoy a very happy life with wealthy and devoted sons and daughters. They did not stop talking until the mother gave them a 10yuan note. The mother did not feel sorry for giving the money. She said that she had bought good fortune with the money. Some people say it is this psychology that the “decent beggars” cater to in making money. 6. Nobel Prizes Once a year, at a special ceremony a few dist.inguished people are awarded Nobel Prizes. The founder of these prizes was Alfred Bernhard Nobel （1833-1896）, a Swedish scientist. Nobel discovered the explosive called dynamite. This was much safer to use than earlier explosives. He made a large fortune from this and other di.scoveries and inventions. However, it saddened him that his explosives were so widely used for warfare. Nobel left mosi of his money. to establish five prizes. They are warded for services to physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace. It is considered a very great honour to win one of these prizes. |
