Fluent Fiction - Mandarin Chinese:
Pigeons and Poker: A Night of Luck and Reckoning in Macau Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:
fluentfiction.com/zh/episode/2025-08-15-22-34-02-zh Story Transcript:
Zh: 澳门的夏夜，赌场里灯火辉煌，人声鼎沸。
En: On a summer night in Macau, the casino was brilliantly lit, filled with the sounds of voices rising and falling.
Zh: 人们聚集在桌旁，期待着一场命运的对决。
En: People gathered around the tables, eagerly anticipating a showdown of fate.
Zh: 魏玲座位对面是陈荣，面前是一堆崭新的筹码。
En: Opposite Wei Ling was Chen Rong, with a pile of brand-new chips in front of him.
Zh: 平静的神态下，陈荣心无旁骛，只专注于手中的牌。
En: Despite his calm demeanor, Chen Rong was completely focused, concentrating solely on the cards in his hands.
Zh: 而筹码旁边，调皮的笑脸是小梅，她是这桌游戏的发牌员。
En: Next to the chips, with a playful smile, was Xiao Mei, the dealer of this game.
Zh: 总是带着一丝玩笑的神情。
En: She always wore a slightly teasing expression.
Zh: 饿鬼节的气氛在空气中弥漫，似乎也给这场牌局增添了一份奇妙的色彩。
En: The atmosphere of the Hungry Ghost Festival was pervasive in the air, seemingly adding a touch of wonder to the game.
Zh: 却在这时，一只白色的鸽子无声滑过天花板，落在了桌角。
En: But just then, a white pigeon silently glided over the ceiling, landing on the table's edge.
Zh: 它四处张望，然后开始不紧不慢地啄起了散落的筹码。
En: It looked around and then leisurely started to peck at the scattered chips.
Zh: 魏玲顿时皱起了眉头，心中暗暗叫苦。
En: Wei Ling immediately furrowed his brows, secretly lamenting.
Zh: 他是个出名有点迷信的高手，深信任何干扰都会打破他的好运。
En: He was a well-known superstitious expert, convinced that any disturbance would break his streak of good luck.
Zh: 鸽子的到来似乎预示着什么。
En: The arrival of the pigeon seemed to be an omen of sorts.
Zh: 魏玲看着它一步步靠近自己，对着已经在它视线中的筹码，用力叹了口气。
En: Wei Ling watched as it approached him step by step, targeting the chips already in its sight, and sighed heavily.
Zh: 周围的人都在看他，期待他如何处理这突如其来的插曲。
En: Everyone around was watching him, waiting to see how he would handle this sudden interruption.
Zh: 此时，小梅笑着挤了挤眼睛，没有要驱赶鸽子的意思。
En: At this moment, Xiao Mei winked with a smile, showing no intention to chase the pigeon away.
Zh: 她像是很享受这场免费的演出。
En: She seemed to enjoy this free show.
Zh: 魏玲深吸一口气，心想，或许这是一个试炼，是考验他是否如外界所传的那样依赖于运气。
En: Wei Ling took a deep breath, thinking perhaps this was a trial, a test to see whether he truly relied on luck as much as people said.
Zh: 就在鸽子步步紧逼，准备纵身一跃至魏玲的筹码堆时，他做出了一个勇敢的决定：“无论如何，我要赢这局。”
En: Just as the pigeon was about to leap towards Wei Ling's pile of chips, he made a bold decision: "No matter what, I will win this round."
Zh: 威士忌的决心让他镇定下来，他闭上眼睛，深呼吸，再睁开时目光坚定。
En: The determination steadied him, and he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and reopened them with a firm gaze.
Zh: 鸽子一脚踏上了筹码塔，而魏玲，瞟了眼手中的牌，微笑着打出最后一张。
En: The pigeon set foot on the stack of chips, and Wei Ling, after glancing at the cards in his hand, smiled and played the last one.
Zh: 他赢了这局，赢得了满堂喝彩，也赢来了内心的一份信心。
En: He won the round, earning a roomful of applause and a newfound sense of confidence.
Zh: 他意识到，胜利更多靠的不是运气，而是自己的智慧与决心。
En: He realized that victory depended more on his own intelligence and determination than on luck.
Zh: 正当他享受胜利时，保安终于把定睛在赌桌上的鸽子赶走。
En: As he was enjoying his victory, security finally chased away the pigeon fixated on the gaming table.
Zh: 魏玲微笑着看着离开的鸽子，仿佛是一位与自己共度奇妙夜晚的老朋友。
En: Wei Ling smiled as he watched the departing pigeon, as if it were an old friend who shared a wonderful night with him.
Zh: 从那以后，魏玲不再过于强调牌桌上的那些习惯和迷信，他学会相信自己。
En: From that point on, Wei Ling no longer placed undue emphasis on superstitions and habits at the gaming table, learning to trust himself.
Zh: 灯光熠熠的赌场，依旧是那个熙攘的澳门，但对于他而言，却多了一份轻松和自信。
En: The casino, still bustling and lively in Macau, became a place where he felt more relaxed and self-assured.
Zh: 他知道，无论鸽子是否再来，自己都能面对。
En: He knew that regardless of whether the pigeon returned, he could face it all.
Vocabulary Words:
- brilliantly: 辉煌
- showdown: 对决
- demeanor: 神态
- pervasive: 弥漫
- omen: 预示
- furrowed: 皱起
- lamenting: 叫苦
- superstitious: 迷信的
- trial: 试炼
- determination: 决心
- interrupt: 插曲
- gaze: 目光
- applause: 喝彩
- confidence: 信心
- victory: 胜利
- scatter: 散落
- rely: 依赖
- habit: 习惯
- concentrating: 专注
- anticipating: 期待
- gathered: 聚集
- teasing: 玩笑的
- wonder: 奇妙
- leisurely: 不紧不慢
- steadied: 镇定
- departing: 离开
- intelligence: 智慧
- self-assured: 自信
- bustling: 熙攘
- fixated: 定睛