The sorry tale will sound remarkably familiar to old China hands.

对于长期在中国的人来说，这一令人遗憾的事件听起来非常熟悉。

Sorry tale: Tiger Woods has made several fulsome apologies to his wife Elin for his serial infidelity

道歉的故事：泰格·伍兹因其一系列不忠行为，向妻子伊玲做了多次道歉。

FSV Mainz 05. One victory in their last 21 matches in all competitions tells its own sorry tale.

在过去21场比赛中只胜1场道出了他们泥潭深陷的危机。

"There was a whole string of events that took place in this sorry tale," Davies said. "They really resulted in what the IOC sees as a scandalous saga."

这起事件一波三折，最后真的演变成了国际奥委会所看到的丑闻。

The sorry tale began in 2007, when Jingzhou Chuhang Special Steel Products Co. , Ltd decided to build the unlicensed mill 100 meters from the gates of Yangtze University.

这个令人遗憾的故事开始于2007年，当时荆州楚航特钢制品有限公司决定在距离长江大学校门仅100米远处，建立此未经批准的工厂。

What emerges is a sorry tale in which bankers defeated the best efforts of regulators by bundling bad loans into securities that were sold to a list of hapless (mainly European) investors.

它所讲述的是一个遗憾的故事：银行家们通过将不良贷款与证券捆绑，出售给一些倒霉的(主要是欧洲的)投资者。最终让监管者的所有努力付之一炬。

Assuming Liu's tale is true, it's a sorry commentary on the state of affairs in China's penal system.

如果说刘所讲的都是真的，那么中国的刑罚制度真是可悲。