Each year, the Nobel Prize committee surveys the world and selects the best-of-the-best for prestige and public honor. And while there's always been controversy over some of the selections, there has never been quite as much controversy as this year, when the awards were surprised by "an unprecedentedly strong show by those Chinese upstarts," as one anonymous critic so ingloriously put it. From our vantage point in Beijing, we feel the criticisms are totally unfounded. Jealous bastards.
 said on
October 9, 2009
Congratulations guys. Never before have so few done so much for so many, or something like that. I'll put in good word with the Academy next year. Maybe we can get you an 奥斯卡 too.
 said on
October 9, 2009
orbital - thanks. we have always depended on the kindness of strangers.... :)
 said on
October 10, 2009
真想不到,这次居然是奥巴马获得了这个奖啊。。。
 said on
October 10, 2009
U S A U S A U S A!!! And we pelted the moon with a satellite all in the same day.
 said on
October 10, 2009
@paglino9,

yesterday I watched an American program, which said the pelting of the moon was not true......

 said on
October 11, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/10/science/space/10moon.html

..."slammed a bus-size projectile into the Moon on Friday"...

The issue comes from spectators who were watching the mission live could not see a huge impact explosion. They were expecting a spectacle but only saw a small white fuzzy spot.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/10/09/science/AP-US-SCI-Shoot-the-Moon.html

''We've been brainwashed by Hollywood to expect the money shot, like 'Deep Impact' or when Bruce Willis saves us from a comet,'' said physicist and television host Michio Kaku, who was not part of the mission. ''Science is not done that way.''

I only expect Bruce Willis to do all of my inter-solar explosions.
 said on
October 12, 2009
The bit about 凭 was particularly interesting. When listening to the dialog I wondered if that was the same ping2 as 文凭, sounded like it might be. Turns out it is... I wish that happened more often :)

Maybe you guys could bust out an example like that when covering something particularly relevant - not for regular vocab or anything.

 said on
October 12, 2009
@mat,

凭 means in the name of. so 凭什么means in the name of what, why...
 said on
September 5, 2013
I saw this for the first time just now in 2013 and read the introduction, rather surprised, with another recent Nobel peace prize winner in mind. It reads very differently from that perspective! I had also noticed a comment U-S-A'ing and another suggesting that that particular individual should also get an Oscar before I spotted the 奥巴马 and the world made sense again.