A real heartstopper? 惊心动魄

Reader question:

Please explain this sentence, particularly “a real heartstopper”: The climax of the film is a real heartstopper and is basically unforgettable.

My comments:

To paraphrase: The way this film plots its way to the highest point where all the pent-up emotions of an audience are released is breathtaking and quite unforgettable.

A real heartstopper, or heart-stopper, means exactly that, albeit figuratively here. Literally, a heartstopper is something that stops your heart from beating. It, your heart, is beating, of course, but you no longer feel it.

It’s similar to something that is breathtaking, something that takes your breath away. You forget to breathe.

Heartstoppers, figuratively speaking, is what excites us exceedingly, such as the high we get from watching a pulsating football match.

Pulsating, by the way, is another way to put it. It’s the same as heart-stopping but in this case, ironically, your heart is pumping so hard that you can literally feel it.

Or a heartstopper can be something that mesmerizes us, such as a beautiful sunset.

In short, a heartstopper is something that’s so thrilling that it may just as well gives us a heart attack.

All in a good way, of course.

All right. No further ado. Let’s read a few media examples to get a better feel of “heartstopper”:

1. Where to start with this one? In one of the greatest Merseyside derbies of recent memory – a fixture that, it should be noted, rarely lacks for excitement – a late goal from substitute Daniel Sturridge eventually saw Liverpool claim a 3-3 draw in a ding-dong battle with Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday.

Sturridge, struggling with an injury that left him unable to train following his appearance for England on Tuesday, watched from the sidelines as Liverpool twice went ahead in the first half, before Romelu Lukaku’s second-half brace put the home side on course for a scarcely believable 3-2 win.

Sturridge had the final say, however, heading home Gerrard’s free-kick in the 89th minute – although fellow substitutes Victor Moses and Gerard Deulofeu both had chances to win the game even later than that.

Philippe Coutinho, Kevin Mirallas and Luis Suarez scored the contest’s first three goals – with Suarez’s 30-yard bending free-kick arguably the pick of the bunch.

“The best experience I have ever had in club football,” Lukaku told BT Sport in a televised interview during the game’s aftermath. “To play in such a derby is an honour, and to score two goals is great.

“The only shame is that we did not win, but I hope we can do that next time.”

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“We should have gone to 3-1, and that probably kills the game,” Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers noted, somewhat ruefully, to BT afterwards. “But then we were too loose in possession and after that they got back into the game.”

Rodgers added: “It was a terrific game, these games are real heartstoppers. When you come to one of your rivals it is very important not to lose if you can’t win.”

- Everton vs. Liverpool: Score, Grades and Post-Match Reaction, BleacherReport.com, November 23, 2013.

2. With vaccines being distributed and a much brighter travel future now on the horizon (in Australia and overseas) these are 20 of Escape’s hottest, coolest, newest and most unique adventures for your bucket list in 2021.

Snorkelling in Antarctica

Antarctica became an adventure travel magnet well before the pandemic for those looking to follow in the footsteps of famed explorer Ernest Shackleton. Shackleton lived to see the end of the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1918, but never would he have considered taking a dip in Antarctica’s icy waters during one of his famous trips. Aurora Expeditions actually offers passengers (weather permitting) the chance to dive in sheltered bays and offshore islands alongside expert polar guides.

Backcountry Skiing in New Zealand

Soho Basin is New Zealand’s best-kept ski secret. This personalized and private snowcat experience tucked behind Cardrona is the perfect adventure for intermediate to advanced skiers and boarders. Wide-open bowls with thick, waist-deep South Island powder contrast against steeper chutes for the more adventurous in your group. With the day culminating into a three-course, wine-paired lunch in a European style hut around a roaring open fire.

Paramotor in New Caledonia

Dominique Delor has been taking tourists on his Paramotor high above Poé Lagoon on New Caledonia’s North West Coast for the last decade. Vertical Lagon Poé is a private 15, 30 or 60-minute adrenaline-inducing experience that soars over pristine coastline. Delor can either calmly tug on his steering mechanisms while pointing out dugong or giant sea turtles feeding in the shallows or he can have you diving frenetically in a heart-racing spin towards the crystal blue waters below.

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Hagen Show, Mount Hagen, Papua New Guinea

This annual ‘sing-sing’ (local tribal gathering) in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands region is a cultural kaleidoscope of villages and communities from all over the country. Whether it is the beat of the Kundu drums, the bird of paradise headdresses or loud chanting, the Mount Hagen Festival is a heartstopper and a once-in-a-lifetime adventure experience.

- 20 unique adventures for your bucket list in 2021, Escape.com.au, January 12, 2021.

3. The Miami Heat were not only playing for an NBA Finals berth, but also to make sure they weren’t on the very wrong side of American sports history.

Two missions accomplished with one stone.

The Heat beat the Boston Celtics, 103-84, in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals on Monday night, advancing to the championship round to play the Denver Nuggets. Game 1 is at 8:30 p.m. Thursday in Denver.

Miami is in the finals for the seventh time in franchise history, and as a massive footnote, stopped the Celtics from becoming the first NBA team ever – and just the sixth in major American pro sports – to win a series after trailing 3-0.

The Celtics are the 151st team to try and fail, and just the fourth to reach a Game 7 and lose. They are the first out of the four to lose at home.

As it is, the Heat are the second team to advance to the finals as a No. 8 seed and first since the Knicks in 1999. The Heat also exacted revenge on Boston, which beat them in Game 7 of the conference finals last season. That game was a heartstopper that came down to the end.

This was the opposite in every way.

“What happened last year, you know, obviously was on our mind and it drove us this year,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, who now has 108 career playoff wins, three shy of tying Doc Rivers for fourth all-time among NBA coaches. “That’s what you always hope for with competition, that it can drive you to a higher level. I think that’s what you saw in this series, this year, to be able to overcome a lot of stuff.”

Jimmy Butler was voted the MVP of the conference finals by media covering the series – and awarded the Larry Bird trophy – after he led the Heat in scoring both in Game 7 (28 points) and in three of their four wins. He nearly put them into the finals in Game 6 with a 10-point outburst over the game’s final minutes, and it was his 3-pointer near the end of Game 7 last year against the Celtics that missed.

- Heat advance to NBA Finals with Game 7 win over Celtics: Why Boston fell short of history, NYTimes.com, May30, 2023.

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About the author:

Zhang Xin is Trainer at chinadaily.com.cn. He has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.

（作者：张欣  编辑：丹妮）