Striking a blow for martial arts

习武者Russian：铮铮铁拳塑武魂

精彩导读

来自利比里亚的习武者Russian先生酷爱中国武术。他习武术、懂武术、传武术，无论时局如何动荡，无论他人如何评价，他对中华武术的爱从不曾减一分。他用自己的实践改变着世人对中华武术的认知和误解，传播着自己对武术的那份最温柔而又难以割舍的挚爱。

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（蹂躏）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（能立刻恢复精神的）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（大使馆）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（嘉奖）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……从……中分心出来

8.keep one's mind on将注意力集中于……

9.a dead end 闭塞不通的一头；死胡同

10.on behalf of代表……

11.pick up获得

12.keep...away from 使远离……

13.compensate for弥补

14.make sure确信

Ⅱ.难句分析

1.No history of Wushu in the West African state of Liberia would be complete without mentioning one man.西非国家利比里亚的武术史，如果不提一个人，是不完整的。

本句使用的是 “No...without...”的双重否定句式，旨在说明Pewee Russian对利比里亚武术史的重要性。本句也是一个虚拟语气，表示与现在相反的事实，此时，主句用“would/could/might+动词原形”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.为了弥补这个失去的机会，他正在努力训练下一代的冠军，确保他在这个国家保持武术的精神。

句中“To compensate for this lost opportunity”和“to train the next generation of champions”均为动词不定式作目的状语。 making sure that...为现在分词作状语，that引导的是宾语从句。

Ⅲ.概写填词

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

阅读扫障

Ⅰ.词块积累

1.assure vt.向……保证；使……确信

2.diligently adv.勤勉地；勤奋地

3.be determined to do下定决心……

4.dedicated...to（doing）... 致力于……

5.take an interest in对……感兴趣

6.attempt to do试图做某事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（繁荣）in the near future.He is sure that he would keep the 8.______of Wushu alive in the country.

译文助读

西非国家利比里亚的武术史，如果不提一个人，是不完整的。他毕生致力于中国武术。

作为一个年轻人和武术狂热者，Pewee Russian下定决心要改变他的国家对中国武术的看法，中国武术被许多人视为一种暴力的外国文化。

尽管困难重重，Russian仍致力于学习武术，到了20世纪90年代末，他开始成为一名专家。他说：“当时，全国只有不到五人对武术感兴趣。”

小时候，Russian和他的养父母住在一起，父母试图分散他对武术的注意力。他发现把注意力集中在武术上“既乏味又富有挑战性”。

他们告诉他学习武术是一个死胡同，但是他仍然坚持着。

当1990年底内战开始蹂躏这个国家时，事实证明这是他武术研究的一次挫折。

他回忆道：“我们在利比里亚有一位中国大师，他在利比里亚没有待太久，当我们开始学习武术时，因为战争我们不能走得太远。”

战争结束后，经过15年多的时间，武术几乎灭绝了。然而，坚韧不拔的Russian仍然对武术充满激情。

他说：“真正让我更接近中国武术的是纪律、文化——它会让你的思想受到约束。我认为武术是我的使命。”

2010年，中国驻蒙罗维亚大使馆为他提供了在中国少林寺进行短期学习的课程。这是他一生中这项运动卷土重来的开始。

当他于2011年回国时，Russian领导成立了利比里亚国家武术协会。在2016年郑州国际少林武术节上，他代表自己的国家赢得了一枚国际奖牌，此后，他的坚持不懈继续吸引着中国大使馆的兴趣。

从那以后，作为一名大师，他一直在激励别人来分享他的热情。但他仍然有困难，包括他要不断寻求更多的人支持这项运动，和完成激励他的那些可能对少林功夫感兴趣的同胞的使命。Russian现在是利比里亚武术的代言人。

每个周末的早晨，Russian都会训练100多人，他的开放式健身房吸引着那些想要健身的人。他的武术学校正在教几个孩子。

他说：“我可以向你保证，在未来五年里，武术将有所不同。你将在所有的县看到中国武术，你将在全国各地看到武术。”

事实上，武术是唯一一项为利比里亚赢得国际赞誉的单项运动，Russian相信，一旦这项运动得到利比里亚人的更多支持，它将更加繁荣。

然而，Russian仍对未能参加2008年北京奥运会感到遗憾。那年，他是非洲大陆第三位最佳武术大师，但由于缺乏资金，他无法参加奥运会。

为了弥补这个失去的机会，他正在努力训练下一代的冠军，确保他能让武术的精神在这个国家留存下来。