Archive for April 5th, 2008

Chinese Conversation – lesson 37

Saturday, April 5th, 2008

赛司:为什么台湾有这么多可恶的骗徒?
爱许:从领养老金的老人到像我们一样年轻又好骗的人,这个市场很大啊!
赛司:但是要如何阻止这类事情发生呢?
爱许:也许该加重罪犯的刑罚吧?谁知道?我相信更好的教育会有帮助。
赛司:什么课会对这类事件有帮助?上星期我以为我赢了一百万。如果米特没有阻止我,我可能会赔上所赚的每一分钱。

Seth: Why does Taiwan have so many damned scam artists?
Ash: Between elderly pensioners and the young and naive like us, there’s a huge market!
Seth: But what can be done to stop it?
Ash: Maybe stiffer penalties for the criminals? Who knows? I’m sure better education would help.
Seth: What kind of class can help with this kind of thing? I thought I won one million dollars last week. If Milt didn’t stop me, I would probably be out of every cent I’ve ever made.

(Source: wwenglish.com)

Cri – Lesson 97

Saturday, April 5th, 2008

M: Dàjiā hǎo. Huānyíng nǐmen dào Xiànzài Xué Hànyǔ. Wǒ shì ML.

S: Wo3 shi4 Stuart. ML, jin1tian1 wo3men xue2 shen2me?

M. Well, we’ve arrived at the Summer Palace 我们到了颐和园 wǒmen dào le Yíhéyuán. We’ll buy the tickets and go in to take some photos.

S. Hǎo zhúyi. M. Where do we buy tickets? 我们去哪儿买票?我们去哪儿买票?买 MAI mǎi, means ‘to buy’. So try to pick out the word for ‘ticket’. 我们去哪儿买票?wǒmen qù nǎr mǎi piào? S. 去那儿 qù nǎr.

M. 好,我去买票 wǒ qù mǎi piào. (to the ticket seller)您好,我要两张票 nín hǎo, wǒ yào liǎng zhāng piào.

WOMAN. 两张票,三十块 liǎng zhāng piào, sān shí kuài.

M. xièxie. Stuart, 票买好了 piào mǎihǎo le.

S. How much? 多少钱 duōshǎo qián?

M. 十五块一张 shí wǔ kuài yì zhāng.

S. Good, we’ll go in. 好,我们进去 hǎo, wǒmen jìn qù.

M. Where’s the entrance? 入口在哪儿 rùkǒu zài nǎr?

S. 在那儿. zài nǎr.

S. Right, let’s look at the new stuff. ML asked me where to buy tickets?

M 我们去哪儿买票?买MAI mǎi, means ‘to buy’, so what does piào mean? Méi cuò – ‘ticket’, piào, piào. And tickets are usually flat, like a small sheet of paper, so the measure word is 张 ZHANG zhāng. So try to say ‘I’ve bought three tickets’. Hěn hǎo, 我买了三张票 wǒ mǎi le sān zhāng piào.

S. "Zhāng" is a very common measure word, used for things like tables and sheets of paper, and it’s also a very common family name. Ok, coming back to our text. ML goes off to buy the tickets. Listen out for the "zhāng".

M. 好,我去买票 wǒ qù mǎi piào. 您好,我要两张票 hello, I want two tickets. Nín hǎo, wǒ yào liǎng3 zhāng piào. WOMAN. 两张票,三十块

S. In colloquial speech we often use "kuài" to mean yuán, the Chinese monetary unit. So ten RMB is 十块shí kuài, or we can add qián, meaning ‘money’, at the end, 十块钱 shí kuài qián. So say ‘fifteen yuan’. Right, shí wǔ kuài, or shí wǔ kuài qiàn.

M. I bought the tickets, 我买了票 wǒ mǎi le piào, and Stuart said:

S. 我们进去

M. Wo3men jìn qù. 进 JIN jìn means ‘to enter’ We’ll go in, wǒmen jìn qù.

S. Where’s the entrance? 入口在哪儿?

M. Rùkǒu zài nǎr? Ru4, RU, ru4, fourth tone, also means ‘to enter’. And 口 KOU kou, means ‘mouth’. Rùkǒu, entrance.

S. The entrance is there 入口在那儿 rùkǒu zài nǎr.

S. So today we learnt to say things like, ‘I’ll go buy the tickets’. 我去买票 wǒ qù mǎi piào.

M. And, I’ve bought two tickets, 我买了两张票 wǒ mǎi le liǎng zhāng piào.

S. And, ‘where’s the entrance?’ 入口在哪儿 Rùkǒu zài nǎr?

M. And we’ll go over the dialogue again in the next lesson.

S. See you tomorrow. Míng tīan jiàn

 

(Source:english.cri.cn)

Learn Chinese Podcast – Happy China 104

Saturday, April 5th, 2008

    Click to Watch Video Podcast

  (1月25日播出)

  旁白: 乍浦,

  Although Zhapu

  别看只是平湖的一个小镇,

  is one of the small towns

  of Pinghu County,

  近几年,却被作为嘉兴市

  as a key site of Jiaxing city’s

  统一规划建设的重点,

  overall development plan,

  发展尤为迅速。

  it has grown rapidly in

  recent years.

  我们今天就要先去

  Today we’ll take a look

  first at

  乍浦的九龙山旅游度假区去看一看。

  Zhapu’s Jiulongshan Holiday Resort.

  听说那里有座小岛,

  We heard there is a small

  island, where

  却有个带山字的名字,叫外蒲山。

  there is a mountain called

  Waipu Mountain.

  王渊源:从前有座山。

  There is a mountain a

  long time ago.

  山里有座庙。

  And in the mountain there

  is a temple.

  庙里有个渊源讲故事。

  And in the temple Yuanyuan

  tells a story.

  韩佳: 哦,讲什么呢?

  Hey, what story are you

  telling us?

  王渊源:讲什么呀?

  What story am I telling you?

  从前有座山。

  There is a mountain a

  long time ago.

  山里有座庙。

  And in the mountain there

  is a temple.

  庙里有个渊源讲故事。

  And in the temple, Yuanyuan

  is telling a story.

  讲什么呀?

  What story?

  从前有座山。

  There is a mountain a

  long time ago.

  山里有座庙。

  And in the mountain, there

  is a temple.

  韩佳: 哎,你练嘴皮子呢?

  Hey, are you practicing

  tongue twisters?

  王渊源:我们今天不是去外蒲山嘛?

  Aren’t we going to the

  Waipu Mountain?

  我只知道它那边有座小庙,

  Except a small temple there,

  其他的我一概不知。

  I know nothing about it.

  所以就讲不出什么别的。

  So I can’t tell you anything else.

  韩佳: 那还磨蹭什么。赶紧去吧。

  Then waste no more time.

  Let’s hurry.

  对了,要到外蒲山啊,

  Oh, yeah, to get to

  Waipu Mountain,

  得先过一关。

  we have to cross a pass.

  王渊源:哎,什么关啊?

  Oh, what pass is it?

  我的天哪!

  Oh, my goodness!

  还真是有点儿难度啊。

  It is really a bit difficult.

  我可是有恐高症啊。

  I am an acrophobe, you know.

  韩佳: 啊,你说什么?

  Hey, what are you talking about?

  王渊源:我…我说不就是过吊桥嘛。

  I … I said we’ll only pass

  a drawbridge.

  没问题。我打头儿。

  No problem. I’ll take the lead.

  韩佳: 这可是你说的啊。

  That’s what you said.

  大伙儿都听到了啊。

  And we all heard it.

  这回过通天桥

  Yuanyuan said he would

  渊源说他打头儿。

  take the lead in crossing

  the Tongtian Bridge.

  合: 好。

  Yeah.

  韩佳; 那赶紧走吧!

  Come on!

  王渊源:得了。我今天豁出去了。走吧。

  Okay. I’ll cross it at all risks.

  Let’s go.

  韩佳: 渊源,你没事儿吧?

  Yuanyuan, are you okay?

  王渊源:没事儿。没事儿。

  I’m okay. No problem.

  韩佳: 没办法呀。

  We have no choice.

  要去外蒲山必须要走这座桥。

  We have to cross this bridge

  to get to Waipu Mountain.

  这是必经之路。

  This is the only way

  for us to go.

  王渊源:真的没事。没事。

  Really it’s nothing. No problem.

  “必经之路”就是说

  ”Bi jing zhi lu” means

  要到达某个地方必须通过的道路。

  the only way to go.

  韩佳: “必经之路”就是说

  ”Bi jing zhi lu” means

  要到达某个地方必须通过的道路。

  the only way to go.

  那我们可以说。

  So we can say.

  Zhè zuò qiáo shì qù wàipǔ shān de bìjīngzhīlù

  这 座 桥 是 去 外蒲 山 的 必经之路。

  This bridge is the only way to

  get to Waipu Mountain.

  王渊源:哦,糟了!

  Oh, gosh!

  开玩笑,开玩笑。

  Kidding, I was just kidding.

  你看,前面不就是我说的那座庙嘛。

  Look, ahead of us is the temple

  I mentioned.

  旁白: 渊源看到的这座寺庙

  The temple that Yuanyuan saw

  是不久前刚刚修复过的。

  was one rebuilt not long ago.

  这里原本有座古寺,普陀禅院。

  Here there used to be ancient temple,

  called Putuo Temple.

  相传建于东汉末年。

  It’s said to be built in the late

  Eastern Han Dynasty.

  可惜今天是看不到了。

  It’s a pity we can’t see

  it today.

  沿着古道漫步,

  Strolling along this ancient road,

  还真能感受到这里历史的悠久。

  I can surely feel the long

  history here.

  不过韩佳告诉我,

  But Han Jia told me,

  这外蒲山上不仅有古老的历史,

  in addition to the long history,

  还有着深厚的文化底蕴。

  there is also a profound cultural

  tradition at Waipu Mountain.

  韩佳: 渊源,你看,文涛亭。

  Look, Yuanyuan, Wentao Pavilion.

  这是为了纪念一位文化名人,

  It was built to commemorate

  a cultural personage,

  弘一大师而修建的。

  Master Hong Yi.

  王渊源:弘一大师是谁啊?

  Who was Master Hong Yi?

  韩佳: 就是李叔同啊,

  He was Li Shutong,

  他可是一位书法家、音乐家、

  a calligrapher, a musician,

  篆刻家、戏剧学家。

  a seal-cutter and a playwright.

  总之,他是一位大学问家。

  All in all, he was a great

  master of knowledge.

  曾经还把油画、钢琴音乐等

  He introduced oil painting,

  piano music

  西洋艺术介绍到中国来。

  and other Western arts

  into China.

  哎,对了,

  Oh, yeah,

  你的家乡有一首民歌,

  he even composed lyrics

  他还填过词呢。

  for a folk song in his hometown.

  王渊源:是不是那首:

  Does it read:

  长亭外,古道边,

  ”On the ancient road by

  the distant pavilion,

  芳草碧连天?

  Green grass stretches far

  into the sky”?

  韩佳: 对对对。就是这首《送别》。

  Yes, yes. It’s called “Farewell”.

  你也会唱啊!

  You can also sing it!

  王渊源:那当然。旋律好听

  Sure. It’s very melodic

  李叔同的词儿写得又好。

  and Li Shutong’s lyrics are

  also very good.

  这首歌可是广为流传哪。

  This song has spread far

  and wide.

  韩佳: 哎。“广为流传”

  Yeah. You used “guang

  wei liuchuan”

  用在这里非常的恰当。

  here perfectly.

  “流传”就是指传下去

  ”Liuchuan” means to hand down

  或者是传播开去。

  or spread or circulate.

  “广为流传”就是说传播的范围非常广。

  ”Guang wei liuchuan” means to

  spread far and wide.

  王渊源:“流传”就是指传播开去,

  ”Liuchuan” means to spread,

  或者是说传播的范围非常广。

  circulate or hand down.

  韩佳: 这首歌的词的确写得非常好。

  The lyrics of this song were

  written indeed very well.

  天之涯,地之角。

  ”In the distant quarters of

  heave and earth.

  知交半零落。

  Half of my friends are gone.

  一壶浊酒尽余欢,

  With a cup of turbid wine to

  swallow my merriment,

  今宵别梦寒。

  I wait for a chilly farewell

  dream tonight.”

  怎么样?走在东海边,

  What do you think? Walking

  along an eastern coast

  欣赏一下海天一色的美景,

  and enjoying a scene of

  the sea joining the sky

  是不是有一种心旷神怡的感觉啊。

  feels really good and relaxed.

  王渊源:确实如此。

  Yes indeed.

  你看那边,写着“福如东海”。

  Look over there, an inscription

  ”fu ru donghai”.

  韩佳: “福如东海”就是指

  ”Fu ru donghai” refers

  to happiness

  福气像东海一样无边无际。

  as boundless as the eastern seas.

  多用作对人的祝福。

  It is often used as a congratulatory

  wish for someone.

  王渊源:那这几个字

  It is very appropriate to

  have these few words

  写在这里还挺合适的。

  written here.

  “福如东海”就是指

  ”Fu ru donghai” refers

  to happiness

  福气像东海一样无边无际。

  as boundless as the eastern seas.

  韩佳: 那这句吉祥话呢,

  And this auspicious sentence

  常常会跟“寿比南山”连用。

  is often used together with

  ”shou bi nanshan”.

  “寿比南山”就是指健康、长寿。

  ”Shou bi nanshan” refers to

  a long life.

  Zhù nín fúrúdōnghǎi shòubǐnánshān

  祝 您 福如东海, 寿比南山。

  May you have happiness as boundless as the eastern

  seas, and live as long as the southern mountains.

  那这句“福如东海”

  ”Fu ru donghai” here

  还真不是一句空话。

  isn’t an empty talk.

  这片海滨给这里的人

  This vast stretch of sea

  带来了越来越多的幸福。

  has brought increasing happiness

  to people here.

  王渊源:这话怎么讲?

  What do you mean?

  韩佳: 当地人正在做一项大规划,

  Local people are implementing

  a big plan

  就是要建一个滨海新区。

  to build a new coastal area here.

  王渊源:滨海新区啊?

  A new coastal area?

  韩佳: 对啊。滨海新区呢

  Yes. This new coastal area

  现在已经成为嘉兴市

  has become one of Jiaxing’s

  重点建设发展的区域了。

  key construction projects.

  人们有一个目标

  Their target is that

  就是要在2020年的时候呢,

  by 2020,

  使得新区的生产总值能够达到,

  this new area’s gross product

  will have reached

  现在整个儿嘉兴市的生产总值。

  Jiaxing’s current gross product.

  十五年之后,“东方大港”这个称号

  In 15 years, the title of Great Port

  in the East

  就不再是梦想了。

  will be no longer a dream.

  王渊源:韩佳,

  Han Jia,

  听说我们所在的这个地方

  I heard the place we

  are seeing

  已经是乍浦港第三期工程了。

  is the Phase Three Project

  of Zhapu Port.

  韩佳: 没错儿。

  Exactly.

  乍浦港的年吞吐能力呢,

  Zhapu Port’s annual handling capacity

  最终要达到六千三百万吨

  will eventually reach 63 million

  tons of cargo

  集装箱达到七十万标箱。

  and 700,000 standard containers.

  这样的话,

  Thus,

  整个儿嘉兴港的年吞吐能力呢

  the total annual handling capacity

  of Jiaxing

  就要达到1.5亿吨了。

  Port will reach 150 million

  tons of cargo.

  王渊源:那到那个时候,可就真正实现了

  At that time, the dream of becoming

  拥有“东方大港”的梦想了。

  a great port in East Asia

  will come true.

  韩佳: 没错儿。

  Absolutely.

  那现在就让我们在赏心悦目中,

  Now let’s enjoy the scenery

  一边欣赏美景,

  on today’s Feast for the Eyes

  一边来期待这个梦想的早日实现吧。

  while looking forward to the dream’s

  realization.

  王渊源:好。

  Okay.

  赏心悦目:

  乍浦坐落于东海之滨

  Zhapu is situated along China’s eastern coast.

  有“东南雄镇”和“江浙门户”之称

  It was once known as the gateway to Jiangsu

  and Zhejiang provinces.

  外蒲山风景秀丽

  The scenic Waipu Mountain

  人文古迹荟萃

  is strewn with numerous historical sites.

  众多独特的景观为人称赞

  Its beautiful scenery is acclaimed by visitors.

  乍浦港地理位置得天独厚

  Zhapu has an advantageous geographical position.

  良好的港区建设

  Thanks to its excellent port construction

  宏伟的远景规划

  and grand long-term development plan,

  “东方大港”的梦想即将实现

  Zhapu will soon become one of the major ports

  in East Asia.

  王渊源:好了,观众朋友们,

  Well, audience friends,

  又到了我们今天的

  time again for you

  有奖问答题时间了。

  to answer today’s award-winning question.

  韩佳: 那您听好了。

  Listen carefully.

  今天的题目是这样的。

  Here’s today question.

  (问题部分略)

  王渊源:哎,对了,

  Oh, yeah,

  别忘了明天同一时间

  don’t forget to watch our

  Weekly Filling Station

  准时收看我们的《周末加油站》。

  same time tomorrow.

  韩佳: 期待着与您共度周末。

  We expect to spend the

  weekend with you.

  好了,节目的最后,

  Well, before we go,

  还是要提醒您,

  we’d still like to remind you

  口号不能忘啊。

  not to forget our slogan.

  合: 学说中国话,朋友遍天下!

  Learn Chinese and make friends everywhere!

    (Source: cctv.com)