A Chinese Fortune

www.anglophonie.fr
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A Chinese Fortune
(CBS News 2010)
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6927184n&tag=related;photovideo
Lift-off!
As we continue our mission to boldly go where no news network has gone before, to bring back stories of
our universal humanity, we once again turn to space station commander Jeff Williams.
Go ahead.
This time, Jeff’s random stab at the globe sends us to China. The tip of his finger falling on the city of
Chengdu.
They don’t have any White Pages in Chengdu, so we’re gonna have to use the Yellow Pages this time.
We’ll make it work though. Of course, the basic idea was still the same. There! To profile whoever picks
up.
It’s like purses.
- What went through your head when you first got our phone call?
- At first, I thought it was a prank call.
Twenty-four-year-old Xiao Hua Yu works at the Lucky Bag Company. The company actually makes
reusable shopping bags. In China, you have to pay for bags at the store, so people often bring their own.
You can use them over and over !
I can tell right away that Xiao Hua likes her job.
Thank you!
But it wasn’t until she started on her story that I began to appreciate why. Growing up, Xiao Hua’s
family was about as poor as they come in China.
- Poverty back then is something one cannot describe in words.
- Are you surprised at how your life has changed ?
- I’m not surprised. It has taken me one gruelling step at a time - like so many Chinese!.
After high school, Xiao Hua moved from the countryside where she was born to the city where the money
is. She started as a secretary, then moved into sales. An impassioned capitalist, she networked with
everyone she met, read everything she could on business, and saved everything she made. Living on
nothing but instant noodles for months on end.
So now, every time I see noodles, I’m just terrified.
But her sacrifice paid off. She’s now the first person in her family to own a car and… a company.
This is my factory.
Four years ago, Xiao Hua started the Lucky Bag Company. It’s now a million-dollar-a-year business. And
again, she’s twenty-four and a woman, running a show in a traditionally very male-dominated society.
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Xiao Hua says it’s been her experience that in China today it’s perfectly acceptable for a woman to wear
the pants at the office - just as long as she changes before she goes home!
In other words, men are like ‘I am God or I am the Emperor! You’re supposed to do everything for me.’
Xiao Hua speaks from experience. After getting married in 2007, she said she and her husband started
battling over gender roles. It all came to a head last March.
- There is a secret that even your family doesn’t know, right?
- Yes, about my divorce. All of my family and relatives don’t know. I don’t want them to know.
Although divorce is rising sharply in China, there’s still a huge stigma, especially for women.
Especially if the woman initiates it, like Xiao Hua did. Of course she can’t keep her divorce a secret
forever and she’d even like to remarry some day. But not if it means playing the role of submissive
housewife.
She says if her story proves anything, it’s that once women anywhere discover what it feels like to be
independent, they’re hooked for life.
It’s like America, it is very powerful, I can decide what I want !
Vocabulary
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
A Chinese fortune
lift-off
boldly
random stab
the tip of his finger
we’re gonna have to use
We’ll make it work though
to profile whoever picks up
9. purses
10. what went through your head…?
11. a prank call
12. reusable
13. over and over
14. right away
15. about as poor as they come in China
16. back then
17. one gruelling step at a time
18. moved from… to…
19. countryside
20. sales
21. impassioned
22. she networked with…
23. saved
24. living on nothing but…
25. … instant noodles
26. for months on end
27. her sacrifice paid off
28. to own a car
Une histoire chinoise heureuse
décollage
audacieusement
point au hasard
le bout de son doigt
= going to
On va faire en sorte que ça marche
étudier le profil de quiconque décroche
(le téléphone)
des sacs à main
A quoi avez-vous pensé…?
un appel bidon / une farce
réutilisable
encore et encore
tout de suite
aussi pauvre que l'on puisse être
à l’époque
un pas exténuant à la fois
a déménagé de… à….
campagne
la vente
passionnée
a créé des ‘réseaux’ / des relations
a économisé
ne vivant que de
nouilles instantanées
pendant des mois et des mois
a porté ses fruits
avoir, posséder
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29. a million-dollar-a-year business
30. and again
31. running a show
32. to wear the pants
33. she changes
34. you’re supposed to
35. battling over
36. came to a head
37. relatives
38. is rising sharply
39. huge
40. submissive housewife
41. they’re hooked for life
affaire générant un million de $ par an
et rappelons le
gérer les choses
porter la culotte
elle se change
Tu es censée faire
se disputer sur
est devenu critique
membres de la famille
brusquement
énorme
femme au foyer soumise
elles sont accrocs à vie