Bill Gates and Warren Buffett will come to China to “urge donation” (Intermediate)

Bill Gates and Warren Buffett will come to China to "urge donation" (Intermediate)

Key learning points (preview):

财富 (cáifù) n. fortune

捐献 (juānxiàn) v. to donate

面对面 (miànduìmiàn) adv. face to face

In June 2010, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett launched a "行动 (xíngdòng) campaign" which calls on billionaires to pledge to "捐献 (juānxiàn) donate" at least half of their "财富 (cáifù) fortunes" to "慈善事业 (císhàn shìyè) charity." So far, 40 of the world's richest individuals and families from USA have taken the "誓言 (shìyán) pledge." Buffett said, "We hope that other countries will also follow suit. If they feel like what we're doing is worthwhile and would like to put it into practice, then we're all very excited about that prospect."

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Buffett disclosed that at the end of September, he and Bill Gates will come to China and speak to China's richest people “面对面 (miànduìmiàn) face to face.”

Some analysts believe the main reason why China has become the first overseas target of their "donation pledge" is the rapidly growing number of rich Chinese people. However, most Chinese people are skeptical, because Chinese wealthy seem not like to show off their wealth directly. According to "统计 (tǒngjì) statistics," each year, 75% of charity in China comes from "国外 (guówài) abroad," 15% comes from China's rich, 10% comes from common people, and donations from businesses only account for 1%.

Key learning points:

财富 (cáifù) n. fortune

"财" means "wealth" and "富" means "rich."

 Example:

Yōngyǒu cáifù bìng  bù  yídìng xìngfú.
  拥有       财富  并     不   一定    幸福。

Possessing wealth won't necessarily make one happy.

捐献 (juānxiàn) v. to donate

"捐" means to give without concern for return. "献" means to present respectfully and solemnly.

Example:

Tā  bǎ  tā  de suǒyǒu zhēncáng juānxiàn gěile  guójiā bówùguǎn.
 他 把 他  的    所有      珍藏         捐献     给了     国家   博物馆。

He donated all of his treasure to the national museum.

面对面 (miànduìmiàn) adv. face to face

This word is easy to understand. "面" means "face" and "对" is a preposition which is identical to "to."

Example:

Wǒ zài wǎng shàng gēn Zhōngguó de lǎoshī  xué shāngwù hànyǔ,
 我 在     网     上      跟      中国      的    老师   学      商务     汉语，
jiù gēn miànduìmiàn jiāotán yíyàng!
就 跟       面对面        交谈     一样！

I learn business Chinese online with a native Chinese teacher. It's the just like talking face-to-face!

生词 (shēngcí) Vocabulary

行动 (xíngdòng): n. campaign

统计 (tǒngjì): n. statistic

国外 (guówài): adv. abroad