Archive for January 5th, 2008

Cri – Lesson 5

Saturday, January 5th, 2008

S: 大家好!Is everybody ok? Dajia hao. Huanying, Welcome to LCN. Wo shi S., I’m S, and …..
M: Wo shi ML.
S: Are all our listeners repeating all the Chinese, ML?
M: I’m sure they are.
S: 那好。That’s good. Nà hǎo. Nà hǎo. Two questions, ML, what will we learn today, and where are we?
M: We’ll learn one way of ASKING A QUESTION; how to say VERY, and NOT, as in not good. We’ll also learn to say WE or US, YOU (plural), and HE or SHE, and THEY, or THEM. And where are we? We are still at the airport.
S: Been here for days! ML asks me a question. Try to guess the meaning.
M: Stuart, 你累吗?nǐ lèi ma?
S: 是的,我很累. Shi de, wǒ lèi.
M: Guessed the meaning? Listen to how TIRED Stuart is. 你累吗?
S: 是的,我很累.
M: Nǐ, You. Lèi LEI lèi. lei, of course means tired. Ni lei, you tired. Put a little ma MA ma on the end, and you have a question. 你累吗?
S: shi de, wo hen lei! Shi de, wo hen lei.
M: shide, shide, at the beginning of a sentence, means right or yes. wǒWO wǒ, wǒ means I, or me. Wǒ. Wǒ hěn lèi. I’m very tired. Wǒ hěn lèi. Wǒ hěn lèi. Hěn HEN hěn, means very. Like in hěn hao, very good. Wo hen lei. I’m very tired.
M: Stuart, ni lei ma?
S: 是的,我很累。
M: And now we’re both tired.
S/M 我们很累。
M: Say it, everybody. Wǒ men hěn lèi. Wǒ men hěn lèi.
S: So we need a few seconds break.
S: Ok, we’ve recovered. We’re not tired now.
M: 我们不累。We are not tired. Say it everybody. Wǒ men bú lèi.
S: Bù BU bù, means not, bú lèi. Not tired.
M: Stuart, and you people at home, say, bu4 lei4. Both words in the 4th tone. Bù lèi
S: Ok. Bù lèi.
M: Notice anything?
S: Kind of difficult to pronounce. Bú lèi, bú lei, 2nd tone then 4th tone is much easier.
M: You’re right. The BU sound bu , meaning not, is really a 4th tone word. But when it’s in front of another 4th tone word, it changes to the 2nd tone.
S: Agreed. Listen to the difference between Not Tired, and Not Good. Don’t forget to repeat them.
M: Bú lèi, bú lèi. Bù hǎo, bù hǎo.
S: Get it? 很好。Very good. Actually, a change of tone to make something easier to pronounce is quite common in Chinese. It comes naturally. For example, 你 ni, ‘you’ is third tone. But I bet none of you have been saying nǐ hǎo. It’s awkward. Like us, you’ve been saying nǐhǎo – the nǐ changes to 2nd tone. As I said, changes like this come naturally. Just mimic us, and you’ll do fine.
M: 对 duì, correct. But now maybe you at home are tired. I’ll ask you: Nǐ lèi ma? Nǐ lèi ma?
S: I heard, ‘wǒ hěn lèi. wo hen lei’.
M: So did I. So let’s call it a day.
S: 我不同意!wǒ bù tóng yì! I disagree! Wǒ bù tóng yì!
M: Nǐ bù tong yì?! Wǒ hěn shēng qì! I’m very angry! 我很生气!
S: Tian na! Ta hen sheng qi. Hǎo, wǒ tong yì. Ok, I agree.
M: So, till the next lesson, zaijian.
S: zaijian.

(Source:english.cri.cn)

Learn Chinese Podcast – Happy China 5

Saturday, January 5th, 2008
Click to Watch Video Podcast

      (8月7日播出)

  王渊源:上星期刚爬完凤凰山

  My legs are still aching

  现在腿还疼呢。

  after we climbed Phoenix Mountain.

  可是,今天又要爬了!

  But we’re going to climb again today!

  什么?您问今天爬什么呀?

  What? Are you asking what we’re

  going to climb today?

  爬长城呗。

  We’re going to climb the Great Wall.

  不过,听韩佳说,

  However, as Han Jia said,

  爬这段长城可是很有意义的。

  climbing this section of the Great

  Wall is quite meaningful.

  但这意义到底在哪儿呢?

  How meaningful?

  也许爬上去就会知道了。

  Perhaps, you’ll find out after the climb.

  韩佳: 快乐学汉语,万里海疆行。

  Learn Chinese the fun way and have

  a Happy Journey across China.

  大家好,我是快乐的韩佳。

  Hello! I’m Merry Han Jia.

  王渊源:观众朋友们好!

  Hello there!

  我是快乐的王渊源。

  I’m Happy Wang Yuanyuan.

  韩佳: 这里就是我们今天的目的地——

  This is our destination for today,

  虎山长城。

  the Hushan Great Wall.

  接下来我们就要到虎山长城上

  Next, we’re going to have a look

  去看一看了。

  on top of the Hushan Great Wall.

  冠男: 韩佳,渊源,快点儿跟上。

  Han Jia, Yuanyuan, come on quickly.

  韩佳: 来喽。

  We’re coming.

  那一会儿长城上见喽。等等我。

  See you on the Great Wall.

  Wait for me.

  郭金: 韩佳,这个虎山长城

  Han Jia, is the Hushan Great Wall

  是不是明长城东边的起点啊?

  the eastern end of the Ming Dynasty

  Great Wall?

  韩佳: 嘘!郭老师,您先别说。

  Sh! Don’t say anything about it,

  Mr. Guo.

  我一会儿要考考他们呢。

  I’ll use it as a test for them

  in a moment.

  冠男: 怎么样,都准备好了吗?

  Well, are you all ready?

  准备开拍。

  Get ready for the shooting.

  韩佳: 好嘞。

  Okay.

  王渊源,你不是第一次爬长城了吧?

  Wang Yuanyuan, is this your first

  time to climb the Great Wall?

  王渊源:那当然不是。

  Of course not.

  我还去过八达岭、司马台等等。

  I’ve been to the Great Wall also

  at Badaling and Simatai.

  韩佳: 那好吧。我先来考考你啊。

  Good. Let me give you a test.

  你知道长城东端的起点是哪儿吗?

  Do you know where the eastern

  end of the Great Wall is?

  王渊源:那谁不知道啊!

  Everyone knows that!

  当然是山海关哪。

  It’s Shanhaiguan.

  韩佳: 我早就料到你会这么说的了。

  I predicted you would say so.

  王渊源:“料到”是什么意思啊?

  ”Liaodao”? What does it mean?

  韩佳: 我说的“料到”

  ”Liaodao” here

  是指事先推测到、猜测到的意思。

  means to predict or foresee.

  举个例子说吧,

  For example,

  我早料到今天下午不会下雨的。

  I predicted for sure it wouldn’t

  rain this afternoon.

  王渊源:哦,那就是说

  Oh, I see.

  “料到”就是事先猜到的意思。

  ”liaodao” means to think of

  something in advance.

  我明白了。

  Now I understand.

  那我的答案对了吧?

  Is my answer correct?

  韩佳: 恭喜你,答错啦!

  Congratulation, it’s wrong!

  王渊源:怎么可能啊。

  It’s impossible.

  你们说,我说错了吗?

  Do you all think my answer is wrong?

  群杂: 好像是山海关啊,对。

  It seems to be Shanhaiguan, yes.

  韩佳: 我告诉你们吧。

  Let me tell you all.

  万里长城最东端的起点就是这里,

  The Great Wall’s eastern end

  is right here,

  虎山长城。

  the Hushan Great Wall.

  在考古人员证实这一点之前,

  Before archeologists proved this,

  人们一般都会认为

  all people believed

  山海关是长城最东端的起点。

  Shanhaiguan was the easternmost

  end of the Great Wall.

  其实啊,你们都错啦。

  The fact is you are all wrong.

  王渊源说

  Wang Yuanyuan said

  所有的长城感觉上都差不多。

  people would feel the same on different

  sections of the Great Wall.

  看不出什么区别。

  There wasn’t much difference.

  但我告诉他

  But I told him

  只要仔细观察就会发现,

  as long as you observe carefully,

  每一段长城都有它自己的特点。

  you’ll find each section of the wall

  has its own special feature.

  这不,

  That’s why

  他现在正找虎山长城的特点呢。

  he is now looking for the special

  feature of the Hushan Great Wall.

  那咱们也去帮帮忙吧。

  Let’s go over and see if we can

  help him.

  怎么样啊,渊源?

  How is it going, Yuanyuan?

  看你找了半天,

  I noticed you’ve been looking

  around for quite a while,

  也没找到这长城的特点啊?

  but haven’t found how special

  the Great Wall here is, right?

  王渊源:我是没找着。

  It’s true I haven’t found it.

  不过我也没用半天的时间哪。

  But I didn’t take half a day for that.

  韩佳: 我说的“半天”是指时间比较长。

  By “bantian” I mean a long time.

  是一种夸张的说法。

  It’s an exaggerated expression.

  王渊源:你说的“半天”是指时间比较长,

  So you mean that the “bantian” in

  the sentence means a long time

  不是指半天的时间。

  and not necessarily half a day.

  韩佳: 说得没错。

  Exactly.

  那我再举个例子吧,

  Let me give you an example

  这样你就会更明白了。

  to help you understand it more clearly.

  Wǒ kàn le bàntiān yě méi kàn qīngchu

  我 看 了 半天 也 没 看 清楚。

  I look for a long time but I still

  couldn’t see clearly.

  那好吧。既然你没有找到,

  Okay. Since you haven’t found the

  uniqueness of the Great Wall here,

  咱们就帮你一块儿找找吧。

  let me help you to find it.

  王渊源:好。

  Good.

  韩佳: 渊源,你快过来。

  Yuanyuan, come over here.

  这回我可帮你找着了。

  I’ve found it for you.

  在明朝以前,

  Before the Ming Dynasty,

  长城上是不能屯兵和储存兵器、

  there were no large troops

  stationed and

  弹药的。

  no weaponry stored on the Great Wall.

  但是这种空心敌楼

  But this kind of hollow fortresses

  就解决了这个问题。

  solved the probelm.

  王渊源:哦,可是这样的敌楼

  Oh, but there are also this kind

  of fortresses

  别的长城也有。

  in other sections of the Great Wall.

  不能算这儿的特点吧。

  This can’t be considered

  something special.

  韩佳: 那是当然的啦。

  That’s for sure.

  不过我说的虎山长城的独特之处,

  But the uniqueness of the Hushan

  Great Wall, in my opinion,

  是指这种空心敌楼非常密集。

  is the density of such hollow fortresses.

  站在虎山长城的峰顶举目望去,

  Standing on the Hushan Great Wall,

  丹东和朝鲜新义州的景色尽收眼底。

  visitors can have a panoramic view

  of Dandong and Sinuiju of the DPRK.

  朝鲜的于赤岛就在虎山长城附近。

  The Yuchi Island of Korea is right

  across from the Hushan Great Wall.

  这座岛把鸭绿江分成了两条细小的支流,

  The island divides the Yalu River

  into two narrow streams,

  其中一条是中朝两国的边界。

  one of which serves as the border

  between China and Korea.

  最窄的地方只有六、七米。

  The narrowest part is only six

  to seven meters wide.

  所以人们形象地称这里为“一步跨”。

  So people figuratively call it

  Yibukua (One Step Jump).

  王渊源:韩佳,这个虽然叫作“一步跨”,

  Han Jia, although it’s called Yibukua,

  但我觉得真的要想一步跨过去

  I am afraid to cross it in one step

  好像不太容易啊。

  doesn’t seem really easy.

  韩佳: 那当然了。

  Of course not.

  这里少说也有六、七米宽呢。

  It is at least six to seven meters

  wide here.

  那边停着一条小船。

  There is a little boat moored

  over there.

  要不然咱们坐船去看看两岸的风光吧?

  What about taking a boat to take a

  look at the scenery on both sides?

  王渊源:这个主意不错。

  It’s a good idea.

  韩佳: 我刚才说的“停着”的“着”,

  The “zhe” in “tingzhe”, as I said,

  是一个动态助词,

  is a verbal auxiliary word,

  一般都放在动词后面。

  usually all positioned after a verb.

  表示状态的持续。

  It is used to express the continuation

  of an action.

  王渊源:就好像你刚才说的:

  You seem to have said just now

  那边停着一条小船。

  ”There is a little boat moored

  over there.”

  韩佳: 没错儿。我们还可以说

  Exactly. We can also say

  Àn biān zhòng zhe xǔduō shù qiáng shang guà zhe yìfú huàr

  岸 边 种 着 许多 树。 墙 上 挂 着 一幅 画儿。

  There are many trees planted on the shore.

  There is a painting hanging on the wall.

  好了 那时间也差不多了

  Well, we don’t seem to have

  much time left.

  现在我跟渊源就带着您去欣赏一下

  Now let Yuanyuan and me take

  you for a look

  一步跨和虎山长城的美丽风光吧。

  at the beautiful scenery of Yibukua

  and the Hushan Great Wall.

  赏心悦目:

  虎山长城建造于明朝万历年间

  The Hushan Great Wall was built during

  the Ming Dynasty some 400 years ago.

  是中国万里长城的东部起点

  It is the eastern end of China’s Great Wall.

  如同一条巨龙 横卧在虎山之上

  It crawls on the mountain like

  a giant dragon.

  登城远眺 中朝边界“一步跨”近在咫尺

  On top of the Great Wall,

  丹东和朝鲜新义州的景色一览无余

  the visitor can see down below the

  ”Yibukua” Sino-Korean border

  两岸风光尽收眼底

  while enjoying the scenery on

  both sides of the river.

  古老的城墙 巍峨伫立

  The magnificent time-honored Great Wall

  似乎在向人们诉说着它的百年沧桑

  seems to be telling a story about its

  changes in the last 100 years.

  韩佳: 好了,观众朋友们,

  Well, audience friends,

  看完了精彩的赏心悦目之后,

  after the Feast for the Eyes,

  我们又要继续赶路了。

  we have to continue with our journey.

  王渊源:还赶路啊?今天我们还要去哪儿呢?

  Do we still have to go? Where

  are we going?

  韩佳: 去一个你去了都不想回来的地方。

  We’re going to a place which you’d

  never want to part with.

  王渊源:有这样的地方吗?

  Is there such a place?

  你在骗我吧?

  Are you kidding me?

  韩佳: 我骗你干吗啊?

  Why should I be kidding you?

  去了你不就知道了嘛。

  You’ll find out after we get there.

  那接下来我们要做的是…

  Coming up next …

  王渊源:就是请我们观众朋友们

  We’d like our audience

  回答今天的有奖回答题。

  to answer today’s award-winning question.

  韩佳: 您听好了。问题是这样的。

  Listen carefully. The question is—

  (问题部分略)

  好了,那接下来还是要提醒您,

  Well, next, we’d like to remind you

  明天同一时间继续收看

  to continue to watch

  我们中国中央电视台中文国际频道,

  our CCTV International’s Chinese

  Channel tomorrow

  和我们一起万里海疆行吧。

  and join us for the Happy Journey

  across China.

  王渊源:我们的口号是:

  Our slogan is:

  合: 学说中国话,朋友遍天下。

  Learn Chinese and make friends everywhere!

  韩佳: 出发喽!

  We are leaving!

       (Source: cctv.com)

China Travel-Panjiayuan Antique Market

Saturday, January 5th, 2008

The market lies to the southwest of Panjiayuan Bridge, East 3rd Ring Road South, Chaoyang District. It covers an area of 48,500 square meters, of which 26,000 square meters are for business. It mainly deals in antiques and old articles, handiwork, collections, and decorative articles, with an annual business volume of RMB several hundred million. There are over 4,000 shops in the market, with nearly 10,000 dealers, 60% of whom come from 28 provinces, cities, and autonomous regions outside Beijing and over a dozen nationalities such as Han, Hui, Manchu, Miao, Dong, Uigur, Mongolian, and Korean.

This spontaneous market came into being in 1992 as a roadside market. As trade in folk antiques and handiwork grew, it had become a large antique and handiwork market spreading folk culture in 2002. Many Chinese antique collectors believe that they started their career in Panjiayuan. A visit to the market has become as important a part of a foreigner’s tour in Beijing as the Great Wall, the roast duck, and the Palace Museum.

The shops in the market are open every day, while the stalls operate on weekends. This is the most attractive antique market in the country. On weekends the number of customers reaches 60,000~70,000 a day, including over 10,000 foreigners. Here tourists with different skin colors, speaking different languages, from different classes, and having different beliefs are intermingled. Dozens of important foreign politicians, such as Hilary Clinton, Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives Dennis Hastert, Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis, Romanian Prime Minister Nastase, Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga, and Thai Princess Sirindhorn have visited the market and bought things here. Some of them spend a very long time here, stopping before every stall.

The market has the greatest variety of collected articles in the country. Common kinds for sale are: ancient-style furniture, traditional stationery, ancient books, paintings, calligraphic works, old books, agate, jade, porcelain, Chinese and foreign coins, bamboo, wood, or bone carvings, shadow play masks, Buddhist articles, ethnic costumes, and relics of the Cultural Revolution.

The market is the largest distributing center of folk handicrafts, including snuff bottles made in Hengshui, Yangliuqing New Year paintings, embroidery made in Jiangsu, wood carvings from Dongyang, stone carvings from Quyang, shadow play paraphernalia from Shandong, porcelain and crystal ornaments from Jiangxi, boccaro wares from Yixing, bronze wares from Shaanxi, costumes from Yunnan, Tibetan Buddhist articles, white jade from Xinjiang, and Jiaozhi pottery from Taiwan. These folk handicrafts are gathered in the market before being distributed all over the world.

In 2004, at the prize-awarding ceremony of the first Annual Top Ten Lists of Collection in China, the market was elected one of the top ten antique markets in China.

Address:No. 18 Huaweili, Chaoyang District, Beijing
(Source: english.visitbeijing.com.cn)