Wang Baoqiang’s Legendary Success 等3则

Wang Baoqiang’s Legendary Success

Wang Baoqiang （王宝强） is now well-known for his story as a self-made （独立奋斗） man. He was once a migrant worker from the countryside， who did a part time job in a construction company and acted as anactor for films at the same time. Now he has become one of the most popular actors in China. In the Spring Festival Gala （春节联欢晚会） of 2007， he sang The Song of Migrant workers （《农民工之歌》）， which has made him a recognized spokesperson of the 200 million workers from the rural areas. He has been invited to act as the image representative of Migrant Workers Aid Fund under China Red Cross and the messenger of Aids Prevention Campaign among Migrant Workers organized by UN labor agency. Therefore， he will do some charitable work this year.

Mr. Wang began to learn martial arts （武术） at the age of 6. From 8 to 14 years old， he became a secular disciple （俗家弟子） in Shaolin Temple located in Song Shan， Henan Province （河南嵩山少林寺）. Then he began his career in Beijing by acting asmartial players. This ordinary-looking boy seemed to be very lucky. When he was 16， he was chosen by Director Li Yang （李扬） to play the hero in the film named Blind Shaft （《盲井》）， which won him the Gold Horse Prize for the Best New Artist （金马奖最佳新人）. In 2004， he played a part in A World without a Thief （《天下无贼》） as a film to celebrate the new year. He became very famous for his simple personality and unique luck. In 2006， he successfully played the major role of Xu Sanduo （许三多）in the TV series Soldier Sortie （《士兵突击》）， in which he fully displayed his acting talent， leaving a deep impression in the audience.

Sang Lan as a Model with Strong Determination

The life story of Sang Lan（桑兰） is unique and cannot be copied by others.

Last year， at midnight on June 11th， dozens of students from Peking University gathered in the campus to celebrate Sang’s 26th birthday. Dressed in red jacket and seated in an armchair， she was surrounded by the members of the Wheeling Association of Peking University （北大滑轮社） with 17 burning candles， which mean that she was crippled at the age of 17 and has begun a new life since then.

July 1998 was the most unfortunate time for Sang Lan who took part in the Fourth International Goodwill Games（第四界世界友好运动会） in USA. She was disturbed unintentionally by a foreign coach when doing warm-up exercises for horse vaulting （跳马） which she was good at， resulting in her fall on the head in a trance （恍惚）. Since then， she has never been able to stand up on her own.

Her accident was widely reported in the media， which made her a favorite throughout the world. Leonardo Dicaprio （莱昂纳多・迪卡普里奥） who starred in Titanic （《泰坦尼克》） and Celine Dion （席琳・狄翁） who sang its theme song went to see her in hospital. In the longer time afterwards， she became the most frequent hero in stories about people with strong determination.

Even if she might win gold medals in Sidney and Athens Olympics later， she couldn’t have drawn more attention of the media than in 1998. Anyway， she had nothing to do with gymnastics now. What would be her future life？ She reached her lowest point in her sports career， but she appeared more often than ever in the media. For her， there was only one way out， that is， to put oneself in the limelight of the media（曝光） continuously. She did this for two purposes: One is to make a living， and the other is to set a good example for other people.

She has begun to appear in various kinds of activities with the help of an armchair， which has become her symbol. There has been almost no activity concerning Olympics without the participation or mention of Sang Lan. She has become a student of the Mass Media Department of Peking University； she has signed a contract with Star TV in Hong Kong to become the host of an interview program named after her， called “Sang Lan 2008”.

In view of her achievements in the entertainment field， it is easy for us to imagine how hard it is for a person in an armchair to do so， although we do not know exactly what efforts she has made. She has said， “In many cases， the goal seems to be far away. But if you have made efforts， you will find that you have taken a great step forward when looking back. Such may be the way to produce a miracle.”She is the real hero in the stories about unusual success even after the change from the sports field to the entertainment circle.

Beckham Suffers from Severe Compulsive Behavior

As a promoter of the world tour concert （全球巡回演唱会） of Spice Girls （辣妹合唱团）， Victoria （维多莉亚） said to a TV station in USA，“David Beckham （贝克汉姆）， who is fond of being clean very much， is quite different from me. He even groups the food in our fridge in terms of color. But I like to be casual， leaving my clothes everywhere. When he cleans the house， he will wear an apron and clean the dust in a straight line. He will become very angry if somebody walks where he has cleaned.”

According to Daily Post， a British newspaper， such remarks which may embarrass Beckham show the truth of the saying that he is suffering from compulsive disorder （强迫症）.

Beckham has admitted that he must arrange everything in a straight line or in pairs. For example， when he puts tins of Coke in a fridge， he will take away the tin which prevents him from doing so. He counts the number of tins of Coke again and again， and always puts magazines in order.

（本栏目撰稿专家：黄卫峰，英语语言文学专业硕士生导师、北京外国语大学外国语言文学博士后）