It’s a great characteristic to have if you are strong minded and determined. There are many situations in life where you need such willpower to get you through adversity or challenging times. Being able to learn Mandarin Chinese effectively also needs willpower to keep going and not to give up when you, sometimes, might feel that your ability to learn is moving slowly!
In this Podcast, you will learn:
(i) To talk about admiring people with willpower
(ii) How to tell others about what you do which needs willpower
Dialogue:
Sport and the necessary willpower are being discussed:
（在餐厅）
(Zài cān tīng)
(in the restaurant)
A:最近我每天都跑5公里。我打算去参加马拉松比赛。
A: Zuì jìn wǒ měi tiān dōu pǎo wǔ gōng lǐ. Wǒ dǎ suàn qù cān jiā mǎ lā sōng bǐ sài.
Recently I have been running five kilometres every day. I am planning to join a Marathon.
B:你可真有毅力，你怎么突然想起跑马拉松了？
B: Nǐ kě zhēn yǒu yì lì, nǐ zěn me tū rán xiǎng qǐ pǎo mǎ lā sōng le?
You have such an incredible perseverance. How come you are thinking of running a Marathon all of a sudden?
A:前一阵子，我看了残奥会的比赛，很受鼓舞。我被那些残疾运动员的运动精神感动了。他们每个人都有坚韧不拔的意志力。我要向他们学习。
A: Qián yī zhèn zi, wǒ kàn le cán ào huì de bǐ sài, hěn shòu gǔ wǔ. Wǒ bèi nà xiē cán jí yùn dòng yuán de yùn dòng jīng shén gǎn dòng le. Tā men měi gè rén dōu yǒu jiān rèn bù bá de yì zhì lì. Wǒ yào xiàng tā men xué xí.
A while ago, I watched the Paralympics Games, which was very uplifting. I was touched by the spirits of those athletes with disabilities. Each and every one of them have persistence and strong willpower. I must learn from them.
Chinese words and phrases mentioned in this Podcast:
残奥会：the Paralympics
残：short for 残疾人, which refers to people with disabilities
奥会：is short for 奥运会, the Olympics
马拉松：Marathon
毅力：perseverance
鼓舞：encourage; can be both a verb or a noun
精神：spirit
坚韧不拔：persistent and determined, a Chinese idiom
意志力：will power
公里：kilometre
跑：run
马拉松比赛：Marathon (Race)
怎么：How come?
突然：all of a sudden
想起：think of
前一阵子：a while ago
受：short for 受到, which means receive or being given
感动：moved, touched
运动员：athletes
被：passive tense
每个人：every one
向……学习：learn from someone
学习：learn
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