The Spirit of China – Lin Hao
It was a day that was filled with horror. on May 12th, 2008, a massive (1) earthquake measuring 7.9 on the ritcher scale hit the Sichuan province in China, killing over 70,000 people. Before the earthquake, 9-year-old Lin Hao sat in his 2nd grade classroom, among 30 students. When the earthquake struck, the entire building collapsed on Lin Hao and his classmates. But before Lin Hao escaped the rubble, he went back into the pile of rubble, kept himself alive (2) and calmed down his colleagues “by singing songs”. The boy was able (3) to save two of them.
When asked why he risked his life to save others, he said, “I was the hall monitor, it was my job to look after my classmates...”
Lin Hao was thrust into the spotlight Friday night at the Opening Ceremonies in Beijing. Lin Hao, holding the hand of the towering 7 foot 6 inch Yao Ming, helped lead the entire Chinese Olympic team into the arena before the official lighting of the torch. Before the Opening Ceremonies concluded, Yao Ming was interviewed on NBC live (4) television about what it meant to have the Olympics in Beijing. Then, the interviewer put Lin Hao on the spotlight (who was being carried by Yao), and Yao Ming mentioned how Lin’s act showed how even a 9 year old had the mindset to protect his friends, and how he could pass this story onto his children and grandchildren.
GLOSSARY:
rubble = entulho
to thrust = empurrar
mindset = mentalidade
The predominant idea of the text is about
