托福閱讀材料之Mascot and Emblem of Shanghai World EXPO

　　The mascot “Haibao” is another milestone in the process of preparations for the Shanghai World Expo. Created from the inspiration of Chinese character “人", this design roots deeply in Chinese culture. It tells the world the eternal core and theme of Shanghai World Expo will be always human. "Haibao" will become the transmitter of the theme of World Expo 2010 Shanghai China "Better City, Better Life”.

　　The name of this mascot “Haibao” means the treasure of four seas; it is a simple name which can be remembered easily. This name also conveys the good wish for felicity and luck.

　　Look at the main cartoon character of “Haibao”, a blue little person, every part of his body manifests a special meaning.

　　Hair: like wave of sea, give us a lively and lovely image. The hair denotes Haibao’s birth place Shanghai.

　　Face: the cartoon expression on his face shows great confidence and friendly character.

　　Eyes: he has a pair of big and round eyes, anticipation of city sparking in his eyes.

　　Body: his round body manifests nice feeling about harmonious life, so cute.

　　Fist: the gesture of thumbs-up shows applause and warm welcome to the friends all over the world.

　　Big feet: his big feet stand on the ground so steadily; the feet are the powerful backstop for the arms which are stretching fervidly, they indicate China have the strong faith and ability to host a successful World Expo.

　　Complexion: the color of his skin is blue, it shows latitude and imagination, and symbolizes China is the country which is full of hope and potential.

　　The basic structure of Chinese character "人" which each stroke supports each other also shows the concept that the beautiful life should depends on mutual-help. If the human are willing to support one another, the harmony among human, nature, and society will be available. Such an urban life will be nice. The mascot must be the lucky symbol and cultural remark of World Expo 2010 Shanghai China.

　　Haibao’ s confident smile is expressing his sincere greeting from China -- "World Expo 2010 Shanghai China welcomes you!"

　　The Emblem

　　The emblem of World Expo 2010 Shanghai China is created from the sharp of Chinese calligraphic character “世”(world), this image like three people :You, me, him/her embracing together, symbolizes the big family of human beings. The emblem expresses the hope of happy and harmonious life as well as organizes’ best wish to host a global scale expo which takes “human” as the most important subject.