"Chinese Bridge", More than A Contest for the Chinese Language

A Chinese Language contest for middle and high schoolers worldwide is now in full swing in Chongqing.

As CRI's Su Yi reports, this year's event has drawn¹ some 200 students from 43 countries.

 
The "Chinese Bridge" competition is a collection of four Chinese language proficiency² competitions.

It's sponsored and organized by the Chinese language and culture promotional agency Hanban.

The contest for middle and high schoolers, in addition to three other contests for adults, is being touted³ as an opportunity for none-native Chinese students to display their Chinese language skills and cultural knowledge.

Hu Zhiping is a promotional officer with Hanban.

"Chinese Bridge" has become a brandname language contest for students who want to display their Chinese language competencies and to communicate with native Chinese speakers. It is a bridge of culture, a bridge of friendship and a bridge of understanding. Those contestants⁴ have the rare chance to get a personal experience of Chinese culture, to learn the Chinese society and make similar-aged Chinese friends."

Hu says over 10,000 students have taken part in the competition since it was first launched in 2008.

It's believed there are roughly 40-million non-Chinese who have learned, or are learning, Chinese languages.

As such, Hanban, which organizes the Confucius Institutes, has set them up in 96 countries around the world.

One of those countries is Germany.

Wei Deke is a German who teaches Chinese in Berlin.

"When i was in college learning Chinese some 20 years ago, i never imagined that the language could gain this popularity. It grows so fast. I am full of envy that students now could have so many opportunities to improve their Chinese. The "Chinese Bridge" in particular, is such a wonderful event in gathering⁵ young Chinese fans together and giving them the chance to learn China and the Chinese culture."

Sai Kan is a high school student from Norway who is here to take part in this year's competition.

"My dream is to become a diplomat⁶ and I want to become a diplomat in China. China is just so important in international politics and trade. I am in this competition because I think it is far from enough for me to learn the language only, i have to know the culture and the customs of China as well."

Aside from the competition, the guests are going to take part in cultural activities as well.

The event runs until the end of next week.

For CRI, I'm Su Yi.

1 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

2 proficiency   

n.精通，熟练，精练

参考例句：

• He plied his trade and gained proficiency in it.他勤习手艺，技术渐渐达到了十分娴熟的地步。
• How do you think of your proficiency in written and spoken English?你认为你的书面英语和口语熟练程度如何？

3 touted   

v.兜售( tout的过去式和过去分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• She's being touted as the next leader of the party. 她被吹捧为该党的下一任领导人。
• People said that he touted for his mother and sister. 据说，他给母亲和姐姐拉生意。 来自辞典例句

4 contestants   

n.竞争者，参赛者( contestant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The competition attracted over 500 contestants representing 8 different countries. 这次比赛吸引了代表8个不同国家的500多名参赛者。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency. 两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

6 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。