Striking a blow for martial arts

習武者Russian：錚錚鐵拳塑武魂

精彩導讀

來自利比里亞的習武者Russian先生酷愛中國武術。他習武術、懂武術、傳武術，無論時局如何動蕩，無論他人如何評價，他對中華武術的愛從不曾減一分。他用自己的實踐改變著世人對中華武術的認知和誤解，傳播著自己對武術的那份最溫柔而又難以割舍的摯愛。

No history of Wushu in the West African state of Liberia would be complete without mentioning one man.He has devoted his life to Chinese martial arts.

As a young man and a martial arts fanatic，Pewee Russian wasdeterminedtochangehis country's attitude towards Chinese martial arts，which is seen by many as a violent foreign culture.

Against all difficulties，Russiandedicatedhis lifeto learningwushu and by the late 1990s he was becoming an expert. “At that time， fewer than five people in the entire country weretaking an interest inWushu，” he said.

As a boy，Russian lived with his foster parents，whoattempted to distracthimfrommartial arts.He found it“tiring and challenging” to keephis mind onWushu.

They told him that learning martial arts wasa dead end，but he persisted.

When the civil war began ravaging（蹂躪）the country at the end of 1990，it proved a setback for his Wushu studies.

“We had a Chinese master in Liberia who didn't stay too long in the country.When we started learning Wushu we couldn't go too far because of the war，” he recalls.

When the war was over，after more than 15 years， Wushu almost disappeared.However， a resilient（能立刻恢復精神的）Russian still carried the passion in his heart.

“One of the things that really drew me closer to Chinese martial arts is the discipline，the culture—it makes your mind disciplined.I think Wushu is my calling，” he says.

In 2010，the Chinese embassy（大使館）in Monrovia awarded him a short-term study course at the Shaolin Temple in China.That was the beginning of a comeback for the sport in his life.

When he returned to his country in 2011，Russian led efforts to establish the Liberia National Wushu Association.His persistence continued to attract interest from the Chinese embassy after he won an international medalon behalf ofhis country in 2016 at the Zhengzhou International Shaolin Wushu Festival.

Since then， as a master， he has been inspiring others to share his enthusiasm.But he continues to have difficulties， including his non-stop search for more support for the sport and his mission to inspire his compatriots（同胞）who might be interested in Shaolin kungfu.Russian is now the face of martial arts in Liberia.

Every weekend morning，Russian trains over 100 people and his open gym is a magnet（有吸引力的人或物）for those seeking physical fitness.His Wushu school is teaching several children.

“I canassureyou that in the next five years，Wushu is going to be different.” he says.“You are going to be seeing Chinese martial arts in all of the counties;you are going to be seeing Wushu all over this country.”

In fact，martial arts is the only individual sport that has won an international accolade（嘉獎）for Liberia.Russian is confident that once the sport gains more support from Liberians，it will pick up even more.

However，Russian still regrets failing to attend the Beijing Olympics in 2008.He was the third best martial artist on the African continent that year but lack of financekepthimaway fromthe games.

To compensate for this lost opportunity，he is working diligently to train the next generation of champions，making sure that he keeps the spirit ofWushualive in the country.

7.distract...from 使……從……中分心出來

8.keep one's mind on將注意力集中于……

9.a dead end 閉塞不通的一頭；死胡同

10.on behalf of代表……

11.pick up獲得

12.keep...away from 使遠離……

13.compensate for彌補

14.make sure確信

Ⅱ.難句分析

1.No history of Wushu in the West African state of Liberia would be complete without mentioning one man.西非國家利比里亞的武術史，如果不提一個人，是不完整的。

本句使用的是 “No...without...”的雙重否定句式，旨在說明Pewee Russian對利比里亞武術史的重要性。本句也是一個虛擬語氣，表示與現(xiàn)在相反的事實，此時，主句用“would/could/might+動詞原形”的形式。

2.To compensate for this lost opportunity，he is working diligently to train the next generation of champions，making sure that he keeps the spirit of Wushu alive in the country.為了彌補這個失去的機會，他正在努力訓練下一代的冠軍，確保他在這個國家保持武術的精神。

句中“To compensate for this lost opportunity”和“to train the next generation of champions”均為動詞不定式作目的狀語。 making sure that...為現(xiàn)在分詞作狀語，that引導的是賓語從句。

Ⅲ.概寫填詞

Fill in each blank with only one proper word according to the text.

Pewee Russian is an 1.______in martial arts.He comes from Liberia.He practised martial arts to change peoples'2.______to martial arts.There are some difficulties for him.One is that his foster parents attempted to 3.______him from martial arts.Another one is that his country went through a civil 4.______，for which Wushu almost

閱讀掃障

Ⅰ.詞塊積累

1.assure vt.向……保證；使……確信

2.diligently adv.勤勉地；勤奮地

3.be determined to do下定決心……

4.dedicated...to（doing）... 致力于……

5.take an interest in對……感興趣

6.attempt to do試圖做某事disappeared in his country.However，the culture of 5.______in martial arts drove him back to Wushu.In 6.______，he won an international medalatthe Zhengzhou InternationalShaolin Wushu Festival.Afterwards，he set up his own gym and 7.______about 100 people.He hopes that martial arts will thrive（繁榮）in the near future.He is sure that he would keep the 8.______of Wushu alive in the country.

譯文助讀

西非國家利比里亞的武術史，如果不提一個人，是不完整的。他畢生致力于中國武術。

作為一個年輕人和武術狂熱者，Pewee Russian下定決心要改變他的國家對中國武術的看法，中國武術被許多人視為一種暴力的外國文化。

盡管困難重重，Russian仍致力于學習武術，到了20世紀90年代末，他開始成為一名專家。他說：“當時，全國只有不到五人對武術感興趣?！?/p>

小時候，Russian和他的養(yǎng)父母住在一起，父母試圖分散他對武術的注意力。他發(fā)現(xiàn)把注意力集中在武術上“既乏味又富有挑戰(zhàn)性”。

他們告訴他學習武術是一個死胡同，但是他仍然堅持著。

當1990年底內戰(zhàn)開始蹂躪這個國家時，事實證明這是他武術研究的一次挫折。

他回憶道：“我們在利比里亞有一位中國大師，他在利比里亞沒有待太久，當我們開始學習武術時，因為戰(zhàn)爭我們不能走得太遠。”

戰(zhàn)爭結束后，經(jīng)過15年多的時間，武術幾乎滅絕了。然而，堅韌不拔的Russian仍然對武術充滿激情。

他說：“真正讓我更接近中國武術的是紀律、文化——它會讓你的思想受到約束。我認為武術是我的使命。”

2010年，中國駐蒙羅維亞大使館為他提供了在中國少林寺進行短期學習的課程。這是他一生中這項運動卷土重來的開始。

當他于2011年回國時，Russian領導成立了利比里亞國家武術協(xié)會。在2016年鄭州國際少林武術節(jié)上，他代表自己的國家贏得了一枚國際獎牌，此后，他的堅持不懈繼續(xù)吸引著中國大使館的興趣。

從那以后，作為一名大師，他一直在激勵別人來分享他的熱情。但他仍然有困難，包括他要不斷尋求更多的人支持這項運動，和完成激勵他的那些可能對少林功夫感興趣的同胞的使命。Russian現(xiàn)在是利比里亞武術的代言人。

每個周末的早晨，Russian都會訓練100多人，他的開放式健身房吸引著那些想要健身的人。他的武術學校正在教幾個孩子。

他說：“我可以向你保證，在未來五年里，武術將有所不同。你將在所有的縣看到中國武術，你將在全國各地看到武術?！?/p>

事實上，武術是唯一一項為利比里亞贏得國際贊譽的單項運動，Russian相信，一旦這項運動得到利比里亞人的更多支持，它將更加繁榮。

然而，Russian仍對未能參加2008年北京奧運會感到遺憾。那年，他是非洲大陸第三位最佳武術大師，但由于缺乏資金，他無法參加奧運會。

為了彌補這個失去的機會，他正在努力訓練下一代的冠軍，確保他能讓武術的精神在這個國家留存下來。