language tips

Better Chinese自助遊 (z� zh� y�u)Self-help trip. This term refers to people who plan their own trips rather than engaging the services of a travel agency. 例："黃金周"期間，迷你倉有不少人選擇自助遊去香港。 ( hu�ng j�n zh�u q� ji�n, y�u b� sh�o r�n xu�n z� z� zh� y�u q� xi�ng g�ng) During Golden Week, many people chose to take a self-help trip to Hong Kong. 追星族 (zhu� x�ng z�)Movie fans, pop music fans, sports fans; groupie; star chaser 例：劉德華的北京演唱會引來無數追星族，現場氣氛異常火爆。 (li� d� hu� de b�i j�ng y�n ch�ng hu� y�n l�i w� sh� zhu� x�ng z�, xi�n ch�ng q� f�n y� ch�ng hu� b�o) Andy Lau's concert in Beijing has attracted a large number of groupies. The atmosphere was extremely hot. 撞大運 (zhu�ng d� y�n)Try one's luck; blind luck. 例：買彩票絕對是撞大運，所以，不要把它當回事，只是玩玩罷了。 (m�i c�i pi�o ju� du� sh� zhu�ng d� y�n, su� y�, b� y�o b� t� d�ng hu� sh�, zh� sh� w�n w�n b� le) Playing the lottery is based absolutely on blind luck. So don't take it seriously. You just play it for fun. — China Daily with contributions from Popular Chinese Expressions, Sinolingua Press Better English Reader's question: blanket statementJames had received some criticism for making a blanket statement that seemed to belittle fans who cheered against him and the Heat. My comments: James, LeBron James that is, had lost a basketball game and gotten booed and ridiculed by fans. In the post-game int文件倉rview, the basketball star from Miami Heat of the NBA said something to the effect that those fans who cheered against him during the game would wake up tomorrow and face the same daily problems they had to face. That's the "blanket statement" to which fans took exception. They felt King James, LeBron's nickname, was belittling them for having to eke out a hard living while James earns his millions from attempting to throw a ball through the hoop, hitting or missing. A blanket statement, though, is a general statement, i.e. a vague and noncommittal statement. In other words, King James was not aiming at anyone. James was perhaps just venting his frustration after a tough loss. He said as much a few days later, apologizing to fans who took offense from his "blanket statement". A blanket is something that covers the whole bed, just like a carpet that covers the whole floor. A blanket statement is therefore not unlike carpet bombing which destroys a whole area without specifically targeting at anything, and, yet, randomly killing or wounding anyone in its path. Compared to carpet bombing, of course, King James' blanket words are more or less harmless. Zhang Xin, who writes a column for Language Tips, has been with China Daily since 1988. — To ask a question about learning English, please go to http://translate.chinadaily.com.cn存倉