和老外聊聊中国文化： English as a Door Opener 英语，敲门砖
A: many people still remember zhang ziyi’s poor English at an oscarceremony several years ago. It has become a permanent embarrassment to her.
B: people such as joan chen who went to Hollywood many years earlier had to
speak good English in the fist place. It is a different story today. Hollywood
is eager to break into the Chinese market with its 1.3 billion people.
Therefore, English proficiency has become a secondary consideration when
selecting a Chinese actor. Gong li’s English was very bad when she made her
debut in Chinese box, but she was given a subsequent role in Miami cice. As many
as eight people were hired to help her speak English with a Cuban accent.
Hollywood wanted to get into the Chinese market by having gong li in the
movie.
A: jet li had to go through a crash course in English after he was selected
by Hollywood. “you have to learn English if you wang to have a role in Hollywood
movies,” he said.
B: it seems Hollywood’s criterion is the person’s appeal rather than their
English proficiency.
A: talking about appeal, I think Hollywood is wrong in assuming that its
movies can only find their way into china by engaging certain actress.
B: you are right. No matter how fluent they are in English, it is almost
impossible for gong li and zhang ziyi to be as famous in the united states as
tom cruise and Julia Roberts are in asia. Only when china can produce movies,
not just one or two but a lot, that appeal to American theater-goers, can
Chinese movies stars become popular over there.
A: unfortunately, many Chinese performers believe that English is very
important for them to get a foothold in Hollywood. I am currently teaching
English to a Chinese actor and I’ve heard many other performers have hired
foreigners to teach them English.
B: that’s correct. Zhang ziyi, for example, is spending a lot of time
learning English. Her English was much better at last year’s oscar award
ceremony. Now she even speaks a few English words when doing promotions for her
movies. Obviously she is very proud of her grogress.
A： every young artist has a dream to speak English as good as an American.
Hollywood is a dream factory. These young artists are hoping to realize their
dreams in Hollywood some day. Naturally English has become a door opener to this
dream factory.
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