TedTest

From the Ted Talk by Sebastian Guo: Why we need to pay attention to Chinese millennials

Unscramble the Blue Letters

The year is 1418. On the hoiozrn, a smminehrig viiosn under the blazing sun. This is not a cloud, or anything you've ever seen before. It's an enormous ship followed by dozens and dozens more. Strange men come towards you in their white rebos carrying with them kwgdoelne and tuareerss from a distant land. This unimaginable assemblage was led by Admiral Zheng He who established the first-ever sea route connecting the western Pacific to the idnian Ocean. The influence of this voyage was so profound that it changed the local cultures wherever it ldnead. With navigation skills, shipbuilding techniques, Chinese etiquette and social practices on display. Even tdaoy, the impact of Admiral Zheng's armada can be traced from Africa all the way back to Asia. I'm here to tell you that another invasion is happening 600 years later and this one will impact you. This one is also led by Chinese, but this time, it's Chinese millennials. (Laughter) I know a ton has been written and said about aearimcn millennials - it's all you guys talk about! You're trying to study them, label them, define them, and most ilatpnmtory, you're trying to cater to them. (Laughter) I'd like to suggest that you might be looking at the wrong group of millennials on the wrong continent. Because whether you're ready or not, we Chinese mianllniles are about to take over the world! (Laughter) But luckily, I'm here to help you. (Laughter) Here are five things you must know for surviving the impending Chinese millennial isvnioan. (Laughter) Number one: We are many! (Laughter) Do you know how many American millennials you have today? 90 moiilln. That's a lot. Now, imagine that times five. That's how many of us there are. With a population of around 400 million, we Chinese millennials are proud to be the third biggest country in the world. Most of the talk about American millennials is reltaed to the workplace. With almost five times the amount of American millennials, Chinese millennials are an enormous labor pool. And we're being completely overlooked in the U.S. Who would you rather hire? A new eeyomlpe who is the best out of 100 ppleoe? Or a new employee who is the best out of 500? And since there are so many of us, you'll be seeing more of us in places you never tuohght of. Don't believe me? This guy seems petrty popular here. (Laughter) He might look old; he's actually one of us millennials. 20 years ago, who would have imagined that a seven foot-plus tall chesine athlete would become the only non-American palyer to lead the NBA in all-star voting. nbumer two: We're well educated and super motivated. Because of the high population density and limited resources, laobr is ealisy replaceable in China. We are rqeiuerd to work harder and be more mvtoiaetd just to compete with our peers. We're sulery not all of the labor pool in China. I contacted Dx Consulting. Today, 57 percent of Chinese millennials have a bachelor's degree; 23 pecernt of us have a master's degree; and 20 percent have an associate's degree. And of course, we're not just edcuaetd in China. In the U.S. in 2014 and '15, 42 percent of Chinese students were studying STEM - science, technology, engineering, mathematics - versus 12 percent for American students. 27 percent of us were studying business and management versus 16 for all students sdtniyug in the U.S. We are choosing mroajs that can give us a competitive edge, and in turn, higher exposure and impact in Western society. Are you having a hard time motivating your American millennial employees? (Laughter) Well, Chinese millennials don't need you to spend a dime on a fobslaol tlbae or an in-house coffee shop. (Laughter) (Applause) We are already super motivated and qualified. (Laughter) And we're more than happy to take on the tough jobs. In fact, we've been preparing for it. Number three: We are the burce Lee in Levi's with a smartphone who shop olnine every day. Chinese millennials are multicultural. I even used chopsticks to eat Georgian bauercbe when I was interning here in Atlanta. And I was more devastated at this guy's daeth than my best scores on my Chinese exam. We are really digital. In 2017, smartphone penetration rates is almost 100 percent for those of us who are ages 18 to 34. We are also shaping mobile payment as well as the economy. According to a 2017 survey from Labbrand, 86 percent of Chinese millennials use mobile paemnyt in pyashcil shops at least once a week, versus 45 percent for American millennials. And according to Dx Consulting, we spend four times what American millennials spend for mlboie purchases. The U.S. is the center of the digital universe. But for how much longer? If you want to buy the best digital real estate in the virtual world of the future, I suggest that China is a prime location. The good news for foreign companies hoping to ctupare part of the Chinese millennial market is that my crohot is extremely mobile and adventurous. Here's my personal travel map for the last couple of years. The desire to see the world dominates our consumption habits. We aren't just spending moeny at home, we are also making puacershs and using web seiercvs from foreign companies like Airbnb and Uber when we travel overseas. Sure, you buy things from us, and we buy things from you. (Laughter) So next time you have a meeting on how to exploit millennial maetrks, keep in mind that Chinese millennials - not American - are the biggest eemnigrg consumer demographic on the planet. Number four: We're big picture people. Do you know how big cnhia is? It's around the same size as the States. But we all know that there are four time zones across the contiguous United States. In China, we've got one. In China, everything is perceived as one. One time zone, one official language, one party, despite diverse ethnicities and cultures. Our thinking always starts from the overview to the specific. The Chinese way of writing an address is country, city, and street. And we write the date: year, month, and day. And because we are such big picture people, we focus much more on growth and the future than Americans in the workplace. We tend to look at a company as a whole and see how we fit into it. And number five: We're still Confucian individualists. Granted, we Chinese millennials are ancitg more and more ivaduniidl nowadays, but ten years of inhpoe and online dating apps cannot wipe out thousands of years of Confucian cultures. A sense of hierarchy is still deeply entrenched in our understanding and csuirootctnn of scoial relations. In my mind, a child is supposed to show respect to his parents just like if I'm a snobrutidae. I'm expected to show respect to a senior manager. I don't think we should disagree with our bosses or ctirzicie them, at least not directly or publicly. (Laughter) (Laughter) My American friends are more likely to challenge authority and pwoer, and I think that's a good thing. We might learn a little bit from American millennials on that, but I do like our respect for hierarchy and experience, and I don't want to see that go away. In 20 years, we'll all still be millennials, but we'll be 40, we'll be in bigger positions of power, and we'll have much more opportunity to change the wrold like we insist we know how to do right now. And I really hope we do. Everybody knows the Great Wall of China. Even those ancient walls were crossed by Admiral Zheng He 600 yraes ago, and our new border, if we even had one, is far beyond the old one. Whether you're trying to build your own walls, keep out what you don't want, keep in what you do, hold in your pride, keep out competition, all those things are going to happen anyway. The world is flat. It's flat! But it's tilted toward China now. (Laughter) And I can aursse you, we Chinese millennials are rdeay to be the explorers in this new adventure from the Far East. Thank you. (Applause) (Cheers)

Open Cloze

The year is 1418. On the _______, a __________ ______ under the blazing sun. This is not a cloud, or anything you've ever seen before. It's an enormous ship followed by dozens and dozens more. Strange men come towards you in their white _____ carrying with them _________ and _________ from a distant land. This unimaginable assemblage was led by Admiral Zheng He who established the first-ever sea route connecting the western Pacific to the ______ Ocean. The influence of this voyage was so profound that it changed the local cultures wherever it ______. With navigation skills, shipbuilding techniques, Chinese etiquette and social practices on display. Even _____, the impact of Admiral Zheng's armada can be traced from Africa all the way back to Asia. I'm here to tell you that another invasion is happening 600 years later and this one will impact you. This one is also led by Chinese, but this time, it's Chinese millennials. (Laughter) I know a ton has been written and said about ________ millennials - it's all you guys talk about! You're trying to study them, label them, define them, and most ___________, you're trying to cater to them. (Laughter) I'd like to suggest that you might be looking at the wrong group of millennials on the wrong continent. Because whether you're ready or not, we Chinese ___________ are about to take over the world! (Laughter) But luckily, I'm here to help you. (Laughter) Here are five things you must know for surviving the impending Chinese millennial ________. (Laughter) Number one: We are many! (Laughter) Do you know how many American millennials you have today? 90 _______. That's a lot. Now, imagine that times five. That's how many of us there are. With a population of around 400 million, we Chinese millennials are proud to be the third biggest country in the world. Most of the talk about American millennials is _______ to the workplace. With almost five times the amount of American millennials, Chinese millennials are an enormous labor pool. And we're being completely overlooked in the U.S. Who would you rather hire? A new ________ who is the best out of 100 ______? Or a new employee who is the best out of 500? And since there are so many of us, you'll be seeing more of us in places you never _______ of. Don't believe me? This guy seems ______ popular here. (Laughter) He might look old; he's actually one of us millennials. 20 years ago, who would have imagined that a seven foot-plus tall _______ athlete would become the only non-American ______ to lead the NBA in all-star voting. ______ two: We're well educated and super motivated. Because of the high population density and limited resources, _____ is ______ replaceable in China. We are ________ to work harder and be more _________ just to compete with our peers. We're ______ not all of the labor pool in China. I contacted Dx Consulting. Today, 57 percent of Chinese millennials have a bachelor's degree; 23 _______ of us have a master's degree; and 20 percent have an associate's degree. And of course, we're not just ________ in China. In the U.S. in 2014 and '15, 42 percent of Chinese students were studying STEM - science, technology, engineering, mathematics - versus 12 percent for American students. 27 percent of us were studying business and management versus 16 for all students ________ in the U.S. We are choosing ______ that can give us a competitive edge, and in turn, higher exposure and impact in Western society. Are you having a hard time motivating your American millennial employees? (Laughter) Well, Chinese millennials don't need you to spend a dime on a ________ _____ or an in-house coffee shop. (Laughter) (Applause) We are already super motivated and qualified. (Laughter) And we're more than happy to take on the tough jobs. In fact, we've been preparing for it. Number three: We are the _____ Lee in Levi's with a smartphone who shop ______ every day. Chinese millennials are multicultural. I even used chopsticks to eat Georgian ________ when I was interning here in Atlanta. And I was more devastated at this guy's _____ than my best scores on my Chinese exam. We are really digital. In 2017, smartphone penetration rates is almost 100 percent for those of us who are ages 18 to 34. We are also shaping mobile payment as well as the economy. According to a 2017 survey from Labbrand, 86 percent of Chinese millennials use mobile _______ in ________ shops at least once a week, versus 45 percent for American millennials. And according to Dx Consulting, we spend four times what American millennials spend for ______ purchases. The U.S. is the center of the digital universe. But for how much longer? If you want to buy the best digital real estate in the virtual world of the future, I suggest that China is a prime location. The good news for foreign companies hoping to _______ part of the Chinese millennial market is that my ______ is extremely mobile and adventurous. Here's my personal travel map for the last couple of years. The desire to see the world dominates our consumption habits. We aren't just spending _____ at home, we are also making _________ and using web ________ from foreign companies like Airbnb and Uber when we travel overseas. Sure, you buy things from us, and we buy things from you. (Laughter) So next time you have a meeting on how to exploit millennial _______, keep in mind that Chinese millennials - not American - are the biggest ________ consumer demographic on the planet. Number four: We're big picture people. Do you know how big _____ is? It's around the same size as the States. But we all know that there are four time zones across the contiguous United States. In China, we've got one. In China, everything is perceived as one. One time zone, one official language, one party, despite diverse ethnicities and cultures. Our thinking always starts from the overview to the specific. The Chinese way of writing an address is country, city, and street. And we write the date: year, month, and day. And because we are such big picture people, we focus much more on growth and the future than Americans in the workplace. We tend to look at a company as a whole and see how we fit into it. And number five: We're still Confucian individualists. Granted, we Chinese millennials are ______ more and more __________ nowadays, but ten years of ______ and online dating apps cannot wipe out thousands of years of Confucian cultures. A sense of hierarchy is still deeply entrenched in our understanding and ____________ of ______ relations. In my mind, a child is supposed to show respect to his parents just like if I'm a ___________. I'm expected to show respect to a senior manager. I don't think we should disagree with our bosses or _________ them, at least not directly or publicly. (Laughter) (Laughter) My American friends are more likely to challenge authority and _____, and I think that's a good thing. We might learn a little bit from American millennials on that, but I do like our respect for hierarchy and experience, and I don't want to see that go away. In 20 years, we'll all still be millennials, but we'll be 40, we'll be in bigger positions of power, and we'll have much more opportunity to change the _____ like we insist we know how to do right now. And I really hope we do. Everybody knows the Great Wall of China. Even those ancient walls were crossed by Admiral Zheng He 600 _____ ago, and our new border, if we even had one, is far beyond the old one. Whether you're trying to build your own walls, keep out what you don't want, keep in what you do, hold in your pride, keep out competition, all those things are going to happen anyway. The world is flat. It's flat! But it's tilted toward China now. (Laughter) And I can ______ you, we Chinese millennials are _____ to be the explorers in this new adventure from the Far East. Thank you. (Applause) (Cheers)

Solution

iphone
indian
player
people
online
percent
payment
educated
table
bruce
construction
horizon
millennials
surely
studying
employee
vision
robes
ready
thought
emerging
china
number
knowledge
years
criticize
individual
mobile
landed
markets
easily
today
invasion
american
capture
chinese
subordinate
pretty
required
world
million
services
cohort
social
majors
labor
treasures
barbecue
assure
death
purchases
related
acting
foosball
physical
power
shimmering
motivated
importantly
money

Original Text

The year is 1418. On the horizon, a shimmering vision under the blazing sun. This is not a cloud, or anything you've ever seen before. It's an enormous ship followed by dozens and dozens more. Strange men come towards you in their white robes carrying with them knowledge and treasures from a distant land. This unimaginable assemblage was led by Admiral Zheng He who established the first-ever sea route connecting the western Pacific to the Indian Ocean. The influence of this voyage was so profound that it changed the local cultures wherever it landed. With navigation skills, shipbuilding techniques, Chinese etiquette and social practices on display. Even today, the impact of Admiral Zheng's armada can be traced from Africa all the way back to Asia. I'm here to tell you that another invasion is happening 600 years later and this one will impact you. This one is also led by Chinese, but this time, it's Chinese millennials. (Laughter) I know a ton has been written and said about American millennials - it's all you guys talk about! You're trying to study them, label them, define them, and most importantly, you're trying to cater to them. (Laughter) I'd like to suggest that you might be looking at the wrong group of millennials on the wrong continent. Because whether you're ready or not, we Chinese millennials are about to take over the world! (Laughter) But luckily, I'm here to help you. (Laughter) Here are five things you must know for surviving the impending Chinese millennial invasion. (Laughter) Number one: We are many! (Laughter) Do you know how many American millennials you have today? 90 million. That's a lot. Now, imagine that times five. That's how many of us there are. With a population of around 400 million, we Chinese millennials are proud to be the third biggest country in the world. Most of the talk about American millennials is related to the workplace. With almost five times the amount of American millennials, Chinese millennials are an enormous labor pool. And we're being completely overlooked in the U.S. Who would you rather hire? A new employee who is the best out of 100 people? Or a new employee who is the best out of 500? And since there are so many of us, you'll be seeing more of us in places you never thought of. Don't believe me? This guy seems pretty popular here. (Laughter) He might look old; he's actually one of us millennials. 20 years ago, who would have imagined that a seven foot-plus tall Chinese athlete would become the only non-American player to lead the NBA in all-star voting. Number two: We're well educated and super motivated. Because of the high population density and limited resources, labor is easily replaceable in China. We are required to work harder and be more motivated just to compete with our peers. We're surely not all of the labor pool in China. I contacted Dx Consulting. Today, 57 percent of Chinese millennials have a bachelor's degree; 23 percent of us have a master's degree; and 20 percent have an associate's degree. And of course, we're not just educated in China. In the U.S. in 2014 and '15, 42 percent of Chinese students were studying STEM - science, technology, engineering, mathematics - versus 12 percent for American students. 27 percent of us were studying business and management versus 16 for all students studying in the U.S. We are choosing majors that can give us a competitive edge, and in turn, higher exposure and impact in Western society. Are you having a hard time motivating your American millennial employees? (Laughter) Well, Chinese millennials don't need you to spend a dime on a Foosball table or an in-house coffee shop. (Laughter) (Applause) We are already super motivated and qualified. (Laughter) And we're more than happy to take on the tough jobs. In fact, we've been preparing for it. Number three: We are the Bruce Lee in Levi's with a smartphone who shop online every day. Chinese millennials are multicultural. I even used chopsticks to eat Georgian barbecue when I was interning here in Atlanta. And I was more devastated at this guy's death than my best scores on my Chinese exam. We are really digital. In 2017, smartphone penetration rates is almost 100 percent for those of us who are ages 18 to 34. We are also shaping mobile payment as well as the economy. According to a 2017 survey from Labbrand, 86 percent of Chinese millennials use mobile payment in physical shops at least once a week, versus 45 percent for American millennials. And according to Dx Consulting, we spend four times what American millennials spend for mobile purchases. The U.S. is the center of the digital universe. But for how much longer? If you want to buy the best digital real estate in the virtual world of the future, I suggest that China is a prime location. The good news for foreign companies hoping to capture part of the Chinese millennial market is that my cohort is extremely mobile and adventurous. Here's my personal travel map for the last couple of years. The desire to see the world dominates our consumption habits. We aren't just spending money at home, we are also making purchases and using web services from foreign companies like Airbnb and Uber when we travel overseas. Sure, you buy things from us, and we buy things from you. (Laughter) So next time you have a meeting on how to exploit millennial markets, keep in mind that Chinese millennials - not American - are the biggest emerging consumer demographic on the planet. Number four: We're big picture people. Do you know how big China is? It's around the same size as the States. But we all know that there are four time zones across the contiguous United States. In China, we've got one. In China, everything is perceived as one. One time zone, one official language, one party, despite diverse ethnicities and cultures. Our thinking always starts from the overview to the specific. The Chinese way of writing an address is country, city, and street. And we write the date: year, month, and day. And because we are such big picture people, we focus much more on growth and the future than Americans in the workplace. We tend to look at a company as a whole and see how we fit into it. And number five: We're still Confucian individualists. Granted, we Chinese millennials are acting more and more individual nowadays, but ten years of iPhone and online dating apps cannot wipe out thousands of years of Confucian cultures. A sense of hierarchy is still deeply entrenched in our understanding and construction of social relations. In my mind, a child is supposed to show respect to his parents just like if I'm a subordinate. I'm expected to show respect to a senior manager. I don't think we should disagree with our bosses or criticize them, at least not directly or publicly. (Laughter) (Laughter) My American friends are more likely to challenge authority and power, and I think that's a good thing. We might learn a little bit from American millennials on that, but I do like our respect for hierarchy and experience, and I don't want to see that go away. In 20 years, we'll all still be millennials, but we'll be 40, we'll be in bigger positions of power, and we'll have much more opportunity to change the world like we insist we know how to do right now. And I really hope we do. Everybody knows the Great Wall of China. Even those ancient walls were crossed by Admiral Zheng He 600 years ago, and our new border, if we even had one, is far beyond the old one. Whether you're trying to build your own walls, keep out what you don't want, keep in what you do, hold in your pride, keep out competition, all those things are going to happen anyway. The world is flat. It's flat! But it's tilted toward China now. (Laughter) And I can assure you, we Chinese millennials are ready to be the explorers in this new adventure from the Far East. Thank you. (Applause) (Cheers)

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

ngrams of length 2

collocation	frequency
chinese millennials	11
american millennials	6
admiral zheng	2
chinese millennial	2
labor pool	2
super motivated	2
mobile payment	2
foreign companies	2
big picture	2
show respect	2

Important Words

acting
address
admiral
adventure
adventurous
africa
ages
airbnb
american
americans
amount
ancient
applause
apps
armada
asia
assemblage
assure
athlete
atlanta
authority
barbecue
big
bigger
biggest
bit
blazing
border
bosses
bruce
build
business
buy
capture
carrying
cater
center
challenge
change
changed
cheers
child
china
chinese
choosing
chopsticks
city
cloud
coffee
cohort
companies
company
compete
competition
competitive
completely
confucian
connecting
construction
consulting
consumer
consumption
contacted
contiguous
continent
country
couple
criticize
crossed
cultures
dating
day
death
deeply
define
degree
demographic
density
desire
devastated
digital
dime
disagree
display
distant
diverse
dominates
dozens
dx
easily
east
eat
economy
edge
educated
emerging
employee
employees
engineering
enormous
entrenched
established
estate
ethnicities
etiquette
exam
expected
experience
exploit
explorers
exposure
extremely
fact
fit
flat
focus
foosball
foreign
friends
future
georgian
give
good
granted
great
group
growth
guy
guys
habits
happen
happening
happy
hard
harder
hierarchy
high
higher
hire
hold
home
hope
hoping
horizon
imagine
imagined
impact
impending
importantly
indian
individual
individualists
influence
insist
interning
invasion
iphone
jobs
knowledge
labbrand
label
labor
land
landed
language
laughter
lead
learn
led
lee
limited
local
location
longer
lot
luckily
majors
making
management
manager
map
market
markets
mathematics
meeting
men
millennial
millennials
million
mind
mobile
money
month
motivated
motivating
multicultural
navigation
nba
news
nowadays
number
ocean
official
online
opportunity
overlooked
overseas
overview
pacific
parents
part
party
payment
peers
penetration
people
perceived
percent
personal
physical
picture
places
planet
player
pool
popular
population
positions
power
practices
preparing
pretty
pride
prime
profound
proud
publicly
purchases
qualified
rates
ready
real
related
relations
replaceable
required
resources
respect
robes
route
science
scores
sea
senior
sense
services
shaping
shimmering
ship
shipbuilding
shop
shops
show
size
skills
smartphone
social
society
specific
spend
spending
starts
states
stem
strange
street
students
study
studying
subordinate
suggest
sun
super
supposed
surely
survey
surviving
table
talk
tall
techniques
technology
ten
tend
thinking
thought
thousands
tilted
time
times
today
ton
tough
traced
travel
treasures
turn
uber
understanding
unimaginable
united
universe
virtual
vision
voting
voyage
wall
walls
web
week
western
white
wipe
work
workplace
world
write
writing
written
wrong
year
years
zheng
zone
zones