在一个十分美丽的大池塘边，有只母鸭正在草丛中孵着蛋。不久，小鸭子们就一个个破壳而出。 

Zài yí gè shífēn měilì de dà chítáng biān, yǒu zhī mǔyā zhèngzài căocóng zhōng fū zhe dàn. Bùjiǔ, xiăo yāzimen jiù yí gègè pòké érchū.
Mother Duck has been sitting on her eggs for a long time, beside a very big beautiful pond. Finally the ducklings began to hatch one by one.
“唧唧，唧唧！” “唧唧，唧唧！”  

"Jījī, jījī! " " Jījī, jījī!"
"Peep, peep!" "Peep, peep!" The ducklings are making noises.
“呱呱，呱呱！你们都出来了吗？”  

"Guāguā, guāguā! Nǐmen dōu chūlái le ma? "
"Quack, quack! Are you all out?" Said mother Duck.
“不，一个鸭蛋仍然在这里。瞧！它多么大！”  

"Bù, yí gè yādàn réngrán zài zhèlǐ. Qiáo, tā duōme dà! "
"No, one egg is still here. Look, how big it is!" Chirped the ducklings.
最后，这个大鸭蛋打开了。这只小鸭子很大很丑！ 

Zuìhòu, zhè ge dà yādàn dăkāi le. Zhè zhī xiăo yāzi hěn dà hěn chǒu!
At last, the large egg cracked. This duckling was very big and very ugly!
“哦！我的天！这只小鸭子很大而且与众不同。我怀疑它是一只火鸡。我们很快会找到答案。”  

Ò! Wǒ de tiān! Zhè zhī xiăo yāzi hěn dà érqiě yǔzhòngbùtóng. Wǒ huáiyí tā shì yì zhī huǒjī. Wǒmen hěnkuài huì zhăodào dá'àn.
"Oh, my god! This duckling is so big and so ugly. I wonder if it is a turkey. We will find out soon." She said.
母鸭子带着小鸭子们去河里。小鸭子一个接着一个跳进水里。丑小鸭也跳进水里，而且游地非常棒。 

Mǔ yāzi dàizhe xiăo yāzimen qù hélǐ. Xiăo yāzi yí gè jiēzhe yí gè tiàojìn shuǐlǐ. Chǒu xiăo yā yě tiàojìn shuǐlǐ, érqiě yóu de fēicháng bàng.
Mother Duck took her ducklings to the water. One after another, the little ducklings jumped into the water. The Ugly Duckling also jumped in the water and swam very well.
母鸭子想：“哦，他不是一只火鸡，火鸡不会游泳。他一定是我的孩子，那我们一起去农场。”  

Mǔ yāzi xiăng: "Ò, tā búshì yìzhī huǒjī, huǒjī bú huì yóuyǒng. Tā yídìng shì wǒ de háizi, nà wǒmen yìqǐ qù nóngchăng."
"Oh, he is not a turkey. Turkeys can't swim. He is my child. Let's go to the farmyard." Quacked mother duck.
但是农场里的所有动物都排斥他。因此，可怜的丑小鸭非常地伤心，最后，就离开了农场。 

Dànshì nóngchăng lǐ de suǒyǒu dòngwù dōu páichì tā. Yīncǐ, kělián de chǒu xiăo yā fēicháng de shāngxīn, zuìhòu, jiù líkāi le nóngchăng.
But all the animals in the farmyard bit and pushed him. So the poor, little duckling was very sad and finally ran away.

(To be continued. Part II will be in our next issue, stay tuned!)

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To celebrate the founding of People's Republic of China, 韩三平(Hán Sānpíng) Han Sanping and 黄建新(Huáng Jiànxīn) Huang Jianxin produced a film 建国大业(jiànguó dàyè) The Foundation of a Republic, which was released just before Oct 1, 2009. The movie talks about a series of stories from 1945 up until 1949 when the PRC was founded. More than 170 famous actors were included in the cast of this film including Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Zhang Ziyi and so on. So in terms of the numbers of famous stars, the film makes a new 记录(jìlù) record. Apparently, many films stars refused any compensation for the movie. Because of the great support and financial 捐献(juānxiàn) donations made by some of the actors, the film just cost 30 million RMB to make, but racked up a total of more than 300 million gross RMB. The director 黄建新(Huáng Jiànxīn) Huang Jianxin 透露(tòulù) revealed that the film would have cost at least 400 million if the actors were paid at the market price. He commented:
“我第一要谢谢毛主席，第二要谢谢明星们。”  

"Wǒ dì yí yào xièxie Máo Zhǔxí, dì èr yào xièxie míngxīngmen."
"I first of all want to thank Chairman Mao and secondly thank the stars."

生词(shēngcí) Vocabulary:    
记录(jìlù) n/v record     
捐献(juānxiàn) n donation, contribution    
透露(tòulù) v reveal    

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The new Mercedes-Benz E-class convertible has just hit the market recently. The new design 软硬兼施(ruănyìngjiānshī) uses both hard-top and soft-top models, meaning it is versatile and stylish and should meet the eagerly awaited expectations of many car fans. It will use the new engine-AMG with the 6.2 liter V8 engine and be more efficient and more spacious than the current CLK so that the new design will replace the CLK convertible. The new car will be big enough to offer four real-people sized seats, with the front seats said to have been redesigned to offer more leg room to rear passengers. People in China are awaiting the new design. With the depression of the auto industry around the world, the Chinese market now is very important for all car manufacturers, especially the C level car market.

软硬兼施(ruănyìngjiānshī) To Use Both Hard and Soft Tactics   

The Origin and Meaning of the Phrase
The phrase 软硬兼施(ruănyìngjiānshī) is a Chinese idiom, which originates from a famous Chinese novel 第二次握手(Dì Èr Cì Wòshǒu) The Second Handshake by Chinese writer Zhang Yang and means using both hard and soft tactics. The words 软(ruăn) means soft and 硬(yìng) means hard, 兼(jiān) means both, and 施(shī) means doing or carrying out.

The Usage of the Phrase
1. 他软硬兼施，可怎么也说服不了他的朋友。  
    Tā ruănyìngjiānshī, kě zěnme yě shuìfú bù liăo tā de péngyou.
    He cannot persuade his friends even by both hard and soft tactics.
2. 对付他这种人，就要软硬兼施才行。  
    Duìfu tā zhè zhǒng rén, jiù yào ruănyìngjiānshī cái xíng.
    You should use both hard and soft tactics to handle people like him.

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Jasmine Flower is a very beautiful and classic song which is probably the best known folk song in China. We cherish the jasmine flower for its elegance and symbol of love. Let's enjoy these beautiful lyrics and learn Chinese culture from it now!
Hăo yì duǒ měilì de mòlìhuā,
What a beautiful jasmine flower,
好一朵美丽的茉莉花。
Hăo yì duǒ měilì de mòlìhuā.
What a beautiful jasmine flower.
芬芳美丽满枝桠，    
Fēnfāng měilì măn zhī yā,
A spray of fragrance and lovely petals,
又香又白人人夸。  
Yòu xiāng yòu bái rénrén kuā.
Everyone loves your snow-white buds.
让我来将你摘下，   
Ràng wǒ lái jiānɡ nǐ zhāi xià,
Let me pick a jasmine flower,
送给别人家。   
Sòng gěi biérén jiā.
And give it to others.
茉莉花呀茉莉花。  
Mòlìhuā ya mòlìhuā.
Jasmine flowers, jasmine flowers.

好一朵美丽的茉莉花，  
Hăo yì duǒ měilì de mòlìhuā,
What a beautiful jasmine flower,
好一朵美丽的茉莉花。  
Hăo yì duǒ měilì de mòlìhuā.
What a beautiful jasmine flower.
芬芳美丽满枝桠，   
Fēnfāng měilì măn zhī yā,
A spray of fragrance and lovely petals,
又香又白人人夸。  
Yòu xiāng yòu bái rén rén kuā.
Everyone loves your snow-white buds.
让我来将你摘下，  
Ràng wǒ lái jiānɡ nǐ zhāi xià,
Let me pick a jasmine flower,
送给别人家。 
Sòng gěi biérén jiā.
And give it to others.
茉莉花呀茉莉花。 
Mòlìhuā ya mòlìhuā.
Jasmine flowers, jasmine flowers.

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