99歲的功夫奶奶

遼寧 李紹芬

題材人物體裁新聞報道文章詞數358難度★★★建議用時7分鐘

A video of an elderly Chinese woman demonstrating her martial art skills at a recent local gathering has quickly become a hit on YouTube,where it was viewed over 440,000 times and given more than 4,500 likes.Even Zhao Lijian,spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China,has taken notice,saying about the video on Twitter,“Kung fu spirit never gets old!”

Kung fu grandma,Zhang Hexian,had already established a reputation by 2017,al?though in nearly 10 decades she has never left her hometown,the village of Zhangkeng in Ninghai County,Zhejiang Province.Zhang stands about 1.5 meters tall.Her kung fu move?ments are fluent and her steps are steady.Zhang began learning kung fu at the age of 5 from her father,who was a sixth‐generation inheritor of Zhang Boxing,a martial art style found mainly in southern China.

“I started learning the basics:a firm stance.Use your hands to chop and push.Thrust with the palms,”Zhang said.“I used to practice every day when I was young.Now I'm get?ting older and I have less strength than before,but I still have vigor（活力）.”She added,“Kung fu is not for violence,but to protect ourselves and help others when necessary.”

Zhang,a warm‐hearted,lifelong farmer,gets along well with her neighbors.Feng Chuanyin,her youngest son,said,“My mother is always ready to help.She would help peo?ple who are about to get married in the village,doing needlework and cooking.Her life is ordinary but well‐organized.She gets up at 5 in the morning,cooks three meals every day,visits her friends and chats occasionally after lunch.In the afternoon,she practices kung fu.”

Kung fu grandma has passed her father's style of Zhang Boxing down to her grandchil?dren,who come to her house on weekends and holidays.Upon learning the news that a pri?mary school in a neighboring town had set up a martial art class recently,Zhang volun?teered to coach the children and offered all the help she could.Feng said his mother and family want to pass down the spirit of kung fu to the younger generation,and hope it will help keep them healthy.

Reading Check

1.What's her purpose of learning kung fu according to Zhang Hexian?

A.To stop violence.

B.To protect herself and help others.

C.To remain young.

D.To practice every day and help others.

2.Which of the following words can describe Zhang's feeling about kung fu?

A.Bored. B.Enthusiastic.

C.Confused. D.Neutral.

3.What do we know about Zhang Hexian?

A.She is indifferent but kind.

B.She is negative but active.

C.She is persistent and helpful.

D.She is ambitious and easy?going.

4.What can be inferred from the last paragraph?

A.Zhang believes the kung fu spirit never gets old.

B.Zhang sets up a primary school to learn kung fu.

C.Zhang wants to leave the spirit of kung fu to the young.

D.Zhang passes her father's style of Zhang Boxing down to her grandchildren.

Language Study

Difficult sentences in the text

1.A video of an elderly Chinese woman demonstrating her martial art skills at a recent local gathering has quickly become a hit on YouTube,where it was viewed over 440,000 times and given more than 4,500 likes.一段中國老奶奶在最近一次當地的集會上展示武術技巧的視頻迅速在YouTube上走紅，該視頻被觀看超過44萬次，獲得4,500多個贊。

【點石成金】本句是一個主從復合句，where引導的是一個定語從句，先行詞是YouTube。其中become a hit意為“成為熱點；風靡一時”。

2.Kung fu grandma,Zhang Hexian,had already established a reputation by 2017,al?though in nearly 10 decades she has never left her hometown,the village of Zhangkeng in Ninghai County,Zhejiang Province.盡管在近100年的時間里，張荷仙從未離開過自己的家鄉——浙江省寧海縣漲坑村，但截至2017年，這位功夫奶奶已經名聲在外。

【點石成金】本句是一個主從復合句，although引導讓步狀語從句，其中主句為Kung fu grandma,Zhang Hexian,had already established a reputation by 2017，其時間狀語為by+過去的時間，故用過去完成時。句中的the village of Zhangkeng in Ninghai County,Zhejiang Province是her hometown的同位語。