Posted in small paragraphs : (laughs)
Hubak: Good afternoon! Perhaps you're thinking about the importance of the Olympic Games (Olympics) and what it means to the athletes. Well, those three "smart guys" should know, since they have been to twelve Olympics. So, let's say (that "let's say" doesn't flip!) Here we are, Beijing. We're in this huge 91,000-seat stadium. It's the National Stadium; it's affectionately known as the Bird's Nest. We're getting ready for what it promises to be (it's weird to flip it into a passive~), a truly spectacular opening ceremony. It will start at the promised time of 8 o'clock (not until is weird too!). August 8, 2008 at 8:00 pm local time (it's 8:00 pm ah but this foreigner didn't specify). So you won't miss any details. (a thing should be details, right?)
But until now, sports and politics (ah) have had such a precarious imbalance. (That's a bit weird, too. Don't talk about politics, okay?) Political conflicts, international arguments and environmental threats remain. And, ever since the People's Republic of China (PRC) won the right to host the Olympic Games in 2001, there have been many debates. Huw, with the world watching Beijing as the head of China (what is chian around beijing?), can you explain the Olympics for us on a political level? (paraphrasing, paraphrasing)
Huw Edwards: Well, Huw (Sue, referring to Hugh Barker), it's not easy. Basically, what China is saying to the world is that we are the superpower of the 21st world; we can do the best Olympics ever. They spent 40 billion dollars on the Olympics. Nothing can go wrong as long as they pay attention.
Huback: Carrie, can you tell us what the Olympics represent to the Chinese people?
Carrie Gracie: Oh, as far as I can see, people here are really isolated from (=unaffected by) the negatives that we've just mentioned: the protests, the environmental threats, the serious security issues. Most people are delusional. After seven years of preparation, their (Olympic) event is ready to go.
Hugh Barker: There are other things in the mix, Michael. For example, for tonight's opening ceremony, President Bush is on hand. It's the first time a U.S. president has traveled to another country to watch the opening ceremony. How is the U.S. reacting to that? (Didn't turn up when finished ah tears)
HUBBARD: Here, Michael's other questions. For example, U.S. President George W. Bush and his entourage is the opening ceremony tonight. The first time a U.S. President about opening a foreign soil. What comes has been the reaction in the United States back home?
Michael Johnson (Olympic gold medalist (1992-2000)): I don't think people are really surprised that he decided to come here, and I don't think he's feeling that political. I think, regardless of what people think at home, he probably made this personal decision because he wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to come here, to see this (Opening Ceremony), to be a part of the Opening Ceremony.
Hugh Edwards: This is the beginning of the 29th Olympics. (HOW gone ......). 2008 drummers are pounding and counting down like never before. These drummers are creating an extraordinary electrifying (electrifying?) effect.
Hugh Barker: The drums are reminiscent of 2008 4000-year-old ancestors.
Hugh Edwards: They waited for a sign. The final countdown of Beijing's seven-year-long wait. One minute left.
Hugh Edwards: drummers carrying a precise message, their energy filling the Bird's Nest Stadium.
Hugh Barker: Yes, the message comes from the words of Confucius 2,500 years ago, "There are friends coming from afar."
Hugh Edwards: Here's a bird's eye view through the center of Beijing. The fireworks, in the shape of burning footprints, start in Tiananmen Square and march down the central axis toward the Olympic Sports Park and the new National Stadium.
Hugh Barker: Here, a lot of imagery symbolizing China during the imperial period. （Confucius, a symbol of the Revolutionary period (of course gone), is now back in his own special form. Through the Forbidden City (the Forbidden City) these imperial passages and all the special symbols that marked 5,000 years of unified imperial history have also come back in their own form.
Hugh Edwards: 20,000 fireworks will be used for this opening ceremony, and light dust will be used to make the five Olympic rings. The five rings represent the five continents and symbolize the Olympic (extended?) family. unity, the unity of mankind in sporting events.
Hugh Barker: You can see the performers levitating, floating in the air using thick wires attached to the top of this stadium, landing slowly. It's worth noting that this is a 21st-century take on a Buddhist image from the Dunhuang caves (you find on no more). It reflects the Silk Road that was pioneered in northwest China during the Tang Dynasty.
Hugh Edwards: The five rings, magically made of light and dust, rise unknowingly in this stadium. (NOW GONE), heralding the arrival of the Olympic Games in China.
The genius behind this very original opening ceremony, Zhang Yimou, is also very well known (?) back home (in the U.S.). . In a way, he is a legend in contemporary China. He told us the other day that he wanted to express to the world in this opening ceremony: romance, family.
Hugh Edwards: He also talked about how China is very proud of its 5,000-year-old civilization. It's not afraid of modernization.
(After China's flag-raising ceremony)
Another spectacular fireworks display, not only over the Olympic Stadium, but over the entire city. The bright red flag flew in the National Stadium. Does this same bright red flag tell some of the history of the Chinese people, Carrie?
Carrie Grace: Well, yes, that's what we're going to be talking about in this opening ceremony, Chinese ****anism. The five stars on the flag symbolize the unity of the nation and the leadership of the C*** Party. But we're going to have more references to traditional objects represented, (for example) calligraphy, culture, and ancient Chinese sophistry (thought).
Hugh Edwards: That's true. The show is about to begin here, and we're going to enjoy different phases of Chinese history, different aspects of Chinese history. Some of them are relatively subdued, some of them (are) very shocking. （
(The designers) have been very clever in taking us from the scroll that introduces the subject matter in this little video to this real-life scroll. It's this physical scroll in the center of the stage floor. It's at least 25 meters wide and its length covers the entire stage. So, believe me, it's huge. Vivid pictures will be painted onto this.
Carrie Grace: We were just about to talk about ink painting as it developed in China during the Tang Dynasty era. First, artists put a few drops of water on an ink stone, made circles to grind the ink, and then drew with a milled brush or a horsehair brush.
Hugh Edwards: As the painting continues, a stream of cultural symbols showing the progression of Chinese history flows across the scroll. Very well done.
Carrie Grace: At this time, we also hear the guqin, the ancient seven-stringed instrument. We're going to see a lot of Chinese instruments in this opening ceremony. This (guqin) is one of the most harmonious and pleasant sounding instruments to the Chinese. The whole theme of the opening ceremony is harmony.
Hugh Edwards: The guqin, as the Chinese call it, has a 3,000-year history. They claim it's the oldest plucked instrument in the world. I'm sure other claims exist, but this is the current one.
Carrie Grace: These are the "3,000 disciples" of Confucius. Did he really have 3,000 disciples? That doesn't matter. In this performance, he did have three thousand. They chant the line from Confucius' most famous work, the Analects of Confucius, "All brothers are within the four seas."
Hugh Edwards: They were holding bamboo slips, a kind of inscribed bamboo sheet connected by threads. Again, inside the gymnasium, these men were remarkable.
Confucius' 3,000 disciples politically celebrated knowledge, celebrated Chinese philosophy. Of course, this knowledge was presented in book and paper form, in what we're about to see - the printed word.
Carrie Grace: popular or not, Confucius was used to speaking truth to power. -- and here we have the first example of movable type printing. Around 1041 AD, China got rid of pottery tablets and created movable type printing. In Europe, on the other hand, (it wasn't) until the 1350s in Europe that movable type printing appeared, and gradually, people came to regard the invention of movable type printing by Johannes Gutenberg as a separate invention from movable type printing. (I hope I understand you correctly.)
We see here the evolution of a kanji, a kanji that is the clue to all of tonight's programs. This kanji is "He" and it means harmony.
Printing with movable type originated in the 6th century during the Sui Dynasty. Bi Sheng, in the Song Dynasty, improved the technique. He made clay character molds and plates (I don't know the terminology). Every Chinese student is told that movable type printing is one of the four great inventions of ancient China. The other three were gunpowder, paper, and the compass. This is the modern Chinese character for "He", the font you see in China today
Hugh Edwards: Peach blossom, romantic and festive, represents sweetness, peace and love in China.
Opening Ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics on NBC
Featured Commentary: (This video is very good, I suggest to look look)
The footprints in their history stretch back 5000 years,
Their historical what happens tonight is not merely a small step,
what happens tonight is not merely a small step,
but a great leap.
But a great leap.
China is welcoming the world.
China is welcoming the world.
Who will they be when this is over?
What will they be when this is over?
The clock of their lives has been beating with a screaming urgency.
The clock of their lives has been beating with a thrillingly close rhythm
They have pushed themselves to be as sharp as a razor's edge,
They have pushed themselves to be as sharp as a razor's edge,
for this summer,
to be here,
to be here
now,
now
and nowhere else. nowhere else.
Not elsewhere
Beijing, the first ever Olympics for the world's most populous nation,
Beijing, the first ever Olympics for the world's most populous nation,
1.3 billion who framed the front-page of the event. billion who framed the front-page story of the 21st century,
1.3 billion who framed the front-page story of the 21st century
a China both outside time
China that stands out in time
and bursting every which way in a bewildering rush of transformation.
In a bewildering rush of reform (these two sentences won't turn over, the following should be talking about the athletes)
They have made themselves anew
They have made themselves anew
relentlessly,
cruelly
devotedly,
with a single-mindedness
so they might, on these days (if you want)
so they could. on these days (if you want)
step into history.
They've submitted to an uncompromising search for mastery,
they've embarked on an uncompromising quest for mastery.
They've submitted to an uncompromising search for mastery.
repetitive motion, technique polished toward an impossible(guys) ideal.
repetitive motion, technique polished toward an impossible(guys) ideal.
fall
fall
falling
fail
fail
get up.
It's not the triumph, but the struggle.
It's not the triumph, but the struggle.
It's not the triumph, but the struggle.
Not the triumph, but the struggle. Why did they begin?
Why did they begin?
Why do they endure?
Why did they endure?
It is time for the colorful clash of a universe of shimmering, still to be written biographies.
This is time for the colorful clash of a universe of shimmering, still to be written biographies.
It is time to chase eternal youth.
It is time to chase eternal youth.
Time to defy public heartbreak, laws of gravity. Jamaican lightening bolt,
It is time for a Jamaican lightning bolt (some track athlete whose name escapes me)
California brilliance.
California brilliance
It is time for the sweetly engaging gymnast from West des Moines,
It is time for the sweetly engaging gymnast from West Main (Liukin, right?).
and the poised daughter of a decorated Olympian.
And the subdued (and balanced) daughter of an awesome ex-Olympian (the woman's father is a former Olympian, and poised is a double entendre, saying that the woman plays the balance beam as well as talking about her character)
It is time for the one who has endured the grinding burden of mind-blowing expectations.
It is time for the athlete who has endured the dizzying, powerful pressure (Liu Xiang's brother~)
Time for the headliner of the Athens games to play superman all over.
Time for the headliner of the Athens Olympics to play superman perfectly
Are we about to see the fastest race ever?
Are we about to see the fastest race ever? fastest race ever?
Are we about to see the fastest race ever?
A dynasty confirmed?
The birth of a dynasty?
A victory cheered by a billion voices?
The victory cheered by a billion voices?
They have pushed themselves to be as sharp as a razor's edge,
They have honed themselves to be as sharp as a razor's edge
for the scintillating prospect of enduring accident,
for the scintillating prospect of enduring attainments,
to leave these games as the greatest Olympic champion of all time.
They have made themselves anew,
for the scintillating prospect of enduring attainments,
for the scintillating prospect of enduring attainments,
for the scintillating prospect of enduring attainments,
to leave these games as the greatest Olympic champion of all time. They have made themselves anew,
They have forged themselves anew
for this summer,
for this
for Beijing,
for this
for this
for this
for this
for this.
NOW !
NOW!
(It's finally over |||)