Archive for April 11th, 2008

Chinese Conversation – lesson 43

Friday, April 11th, 2008

卡西:你疯了吗,莫理?
阿丹:(捧着他的肚子)嗯,这样我可以顺便甩掉这圈肥肉。好啊,有何不可?
卡西:你们这些外国人都疯了。那样要骑几百公里耶。
阿丹:你可以骑机车啊。
卡西:嗯,那倒是蛮新鲜的。
阿丹:太好了。如果你骑机车,就可以帮我们载所有的东西。
卡西:嘿!你把我当成什么了?你的挑夫还是什么?
阿丹:拜托,拜托啦!

Kathy: Have you lost your marbles, Morley?
Dan: [Holds his stomach] Hmm, I could do with losing this spare tire. All right, why not?
Kathy: You foreigners are crazy. That’s hundreds of kilometers of cycling.
Dan: You can ride a scooter.
Kathy: Well, it is something different.
Dan: Perfect. If you take a scooter, you can carry all our stuff.
Kathy: Hey! What do you think I am? Your porter or something?
Dan: Pretty please, with sugar on top!

(Source: wwenglish.com)

Learn Chinese Podcast – Happy China 110

Friday, April 11th, 2008
 
 

                  Click to Watch Video Podcast

  (2月6日播出)

  旁白: 从嘉兴到杭州

  The distance between Jiaxing

  and Hangzhou

  路程其实并不远。

  isn’t very long in fact.

  可我还是觉得时间过得很慢。

  But I feel time has passed

  so slowly.

  毕竟,要回到自己的家乡了。

  After all, I’m returning to

  my hometown.

  对了,

  Oh, yeah,

  渊源好像是第一次来杭州。

  it seems to be the first time for

  Yuanyuan to come to Hangzhou.

  可得好好给他介绍介绍

  Of course I should tell him

  in detail

  我家乡的风景。

  about the scenic attractions

  of my hometown.

  韩佳: 快乐学汉语,

  Learn Chinese the fun way

  万里海疆行!

  and enjoy a Happy Journey

  across China!

  大家好,我是快乐的韩佳。

  Hello there! I’m Merry Han Jia.

  王渊源:我是快乐的渊源。

  And I’m Happy Yuanyuan.

  韩佳: 渊源,

  Yuanyuan,

  这是你第一次来杭州吗?

  is this your first time to be

  in Hangzhou?

  王渊源:是啊。

  Yes, it is.

  以前早就想来看看了,

  I always wanted to come

  here for a look,

  不过 一直没有时间。

  but I didn’t have the time.

  韩佳: 哦,那你今天可以好好看一看了。

  Oh, then you can take a good

  look today.

  要是有什么不明白的呢,

  If you are not clear

  about anything,

  尽管问我吧。

  just ask me.

  王渊源:哎,你今天怎么了?

  Hey, what’s wrong with

  you today?

  平时难得见你这么大的口气。

  I seldom see you sound

  so pompous.

  哦,你瞧我这记性。

  Oh, excuse my poor memory.

  我怎么把这事给忘了,

  How should I have forgotten

  你不就是杭州人嘛!

  you are from Hangzhou!

  韩佳: 总算是想起来了!

  Now you remember that!

  王渊源:那韩佳,你说,

  Then tell me, Han Jia,

  咱们今天去哪儿看看呢?

  where should we go for

  a look first today?

  韩佳: 这个季节呢

  In this season of the year,

  西溪湿地的景色应该不错。

  the scenery at the Xixi Wetlands

  should be good.

  不如我们就去那儿吧?

  How about going there?

  王渊源:好,一切听你的。

  Okay, it’s all up to you.

  韩佳: 走。

  Let’s go.

  王渊源:这么快就到了呀。

  We’ve got here so soon.

  韩佳: 对啊。西溪湿地呢

  Yes. The Xixi Wetlands

  离市中心不远。

  isn’t far from the city center.

  属于城市湿地,

  It falls into the category of

  urban wetlands,

  这也正是西溪湿地的一大特点。

  which is precisely one of the Xixi

  Wetlands’ special characteristics.

  像这样的城市湿地啊

  Such kind of urban wetlands

  在中国是很少见的。

  are really rare in China.

  王渊源:你刚才用的“正是”

  You used the word “zheng shi”.

  在这里有什么特别的意思吗?

  Does it have any special meaning?

  韩佳: “正是”呢

  ”Zheng shi”

  就表示确实是,

  means precisely or exactly,

  是对客观存在的真实性

  used for expressing your confirmation

  表示肯定。

  of something.

  王渊源:“正是”就表示确实是。

  So “zheng shi” here has a meaning

  similar to precisely or exactly.

  Chéngshì shīdì zhèng shì xīxī shīdì de yí dà tèdiǎn

  城市 湿地 正 是 西溪 湿地 的 一 大 特点。

  Being located in the city is precisely one of

  the Xixi Wetlands’ special characteristics.

  没错儿。咱们去过的那些湿地

  Absolutely. It seems all those

  wetlands we’ve

  好像都离市中心特别远。

  visited before are far from

  the city center.

  韩佳: 对啊。而且这西溪湿地

  Yes indeed. The Xixi Wetlands

  还是中国第一个国家湿地公园。

  was China’s first national

  wetland park.

  好了,不多说了。

  Well, no more talking.

  我们先去赏花吧。

  Let’s enjoy the flowers.

  王渊源:什么?赏花?

  What? Enjoy flowers?

  哦,原来今天要赏的是芦花啊!

  Oh, they are actually reed flowers!

  韩佳: 嗯。

  Yes.

  王渊源:我还琢磨了老半天呢。

  I was pondering for quite a while

  what flowers there would be.

  韩佳: 要不是西溪的芦花多,

  If it were not for the Xixi

  reed flowers,

  怎么会特意带你到这里来呢。

  I wouldn’t have taken you here.

  渊源刚才说的“琢磨”呀

  Yuanyuana just said “zuomo”,

  就是指思考、探究的意思。

  meaning to ponder.

  王渊源:嗯。“琢磨”就是思考、探究的意思。

  Yes. “Zuomo” means to ponder.

  你还别说,这芦花多起来

  Yes indeed, when there are

  a lot of them,

  还真好看呢!

  these reed flowers do look

  very beautiful!

  韩佳: 因为西溪的芦花特别有名,

  As Xixi reed flowers are

  very famous

  它非常的多,

  and there are so many

  of them that

  风一吹起来呢,

  in a windy day,

  芦花就会跟雪花一样

  they’d be flying all over

  漫天飞舞,

  like snowflakes,

  人们给这种景色

  people gave a

  起了一个很好听的名字

  beautiful name to this place,

  叫“西溪芦雪”。

  Xixi Reed Snow.

  王渊源:西溪芦雪?

  Xixi Reed Snow?

  这真是个好听的名字!

  What a beautiful name!

  没想到在深秋

  I never imagined I would see

  还能看到这样的美景。

  such beautiful scenery in this

  deep autumn.

  我忍不住探出身子

  I cannot but lean forward

  想看得再清楚一些。

  in order to see them

  more clearly.

  韩佳: 哎,注意安全哦!

  Hey, pay attention to your safety!

  上岸之后再慢慢看吧。

  We’d better take our time to see

  the sight after we get ashore.

  怎么样?

  What do you think?

  在这里赏芦花

  Does it feel different

  感觉又不一样了吧?

  to watch reed flowers from here?

  王渊源:是啊。在芦苇中走,

  Yes indeed. It does feel good

  感觉真不错!

  to move through these

  reed plants!

  韩佳: 嗯。

  Yeah.

  你看,那边就是秋雪庵了。

  Look, that’s Qiuxue Nunnery

  over there.

  王渊源:秋雪庵?

  Qiuxue Nunnery?

  韩佳: 嗯。

  Yes.

  王渊源:秋天的雪

  The autumn snow in the name

  指的也应该是芦花吧?

  should also refer to the

  reed flowers, right?

  韩佳: 没错儿。

  Exactly.

  它的名字取自一句唐诗,

  Its name comes from a Tang

  Dynasty poem,

  “秋雪蒙钓船”。

  ”I angle from a boat in

  the autumn snow.”

  王渊源:用诗来命名,

  Using a poem to name

  a place

  这个挺文雅的呀!

  is really tasteful!

  韩佳: 那当然了。

  Sure.

  自古以来,就有不少的文人墨客

  Since ancient times, many poets

  and writers

  到西溪来欣赏美景。

  have come here to enjoy

  the scenery here.

  而且留下了很多优美的诗歌和文章。

  They left many beautiful poems

  and essays.

  王渊源:哦,那你说我是不是

  Oh, do you think I should

  也应该写两句诗留下来?

  also write a couple of

  verses here?

  韩佳: 哦,你也会作诗吗?

  Oh, can you also write poems?

  王渊源:我想想。

  Let me think a while.

  韩佳: 嗯。

  Yes.

  王渊源:西溪风景好,

  Xixi’s scenery is good.

  渊源心情佳。

  Yuanyuan’s feelings are

  also good.

  你觉得怎么样啊?

  What do you think of that?

  韩佳: 唉!

  Oh!

  王渊源:怎么,我写得不好吗?

  Do you think I wrote

  too badly?

  要不,我再想两句呢。

  Okay, let me figure out two

  more verses.

  韩佳: 渊源,你怎么了?

  Yuanyuan, what’s wrong

  with you?

  王渊源:我好不容易写出两句诗,

  I did all I could to write

  two verses.

  你们居然没一个人欣赏哪!

  Nut none of you appreciates them.

  韩佳: 嗨,我还以为是什么事儿呢。

  Oh, I thought it was something else.

  就为这事儿闷闷不乐呀!

  You were depressed just

  because of that!

  王渊源:“闷闷不乐”什么意思呀?

  What does “menmen bu le” mean?

  韩佳: “闷闷不乐”

  ”Menmen bu le” means

  就是形容心事放不下,

  depressed

  心里不快活。

  or in low spirits.

  王渊源:“闷闷不乐”

  ”Menmen bu le” means

  就是形容心事放不下,

  depressed

  心里不快活。

  or in low spirits.

  韩佳: 我们举个例子来说吧。

  Let’s give an example to explain.

  Tā yìfú mènmènbúlè de yàngzi kěndìng yǒu xīnshì

  他 一副 闷闷不乐 的 样子, 肯定 有 心事。

  He looks so depressed.

  He must have something weighing

  on his mind.

  王渊源:这个成语的意思

  The meaning of this idiom

  确实和我刚才的心情一样。

  is the same as how I felt

  just now.

  韩佳: 渊源,别不开心了。

  Yuanyuan, don’t feel depressed.

  西溪还有一个渔夫之旅。

  There is still a fisherman’s

  trip to complete at Xixi.

  王渊源:那是什么呀?

  What’s that?

  张梵: 我刚才钓了二十条。

  I caught only 20 just now.

  王老师:比我强多了。

  You did much better than me.

  我才钓了十多条。

  I caught only ten.

  张梵: 是吗?

  Really?

  王老师:你们在这儿呢!

  Why, you are here!

  韩佳: 嗯。

  Yeah.

  王老师:那我们先走了啊。

  We’re leaving now first.

  韩佳: 嗯,好嘞。

  Yes, okay.

  王渊源:韩佳,他们这是?

  What did they do?

  韩佳: 他们刚刚参加完

  They just came back

  渔夫之旅啊。

  from their fisherman’s trip.

  王渊源:渔夫之旅

  They hooked so many fish

  就能钓到这么多鱼啊!

  from their fisherman’s trip!

  那还等什么呢?

  What are we waiting for?

  韩佳: 不是钓鱼。

  They didn’t catch fish

  with hooks.

  王渊源:怎么一条都没有啊?

  Why not a single fish?

  韩佳: 渊源,

  Yuanyuan,

  你怎么还在这儿钓鱼呢?

  why are still angling here?

  王渊源:渔夫之旅嘛,

  On a fisherman’s trip,

  就是钓鱼啊。

  I should, of course,

  angle for fish.

  韩佳: 渔夫,渔夫,

  A fisherman’s trip

  当然是打渔了。快点走吧。

  is, of course, to catch fish

  with a net. Hurry up.

  王渊源:打渔?

  Catch fish with a net?

  旁白: 渔夫之旅

  Fisherman’s trip is

  可是西溪湿地的一项特色活动。

  a special tourist activity at

  the Xixi Wetlands.

  人们可以体会一回

  People can get a feel

  渔夫捕鱼的乐趣。

  for the joy of fishermen

  catching fish.

  这里的鱼不仅数量多,

  The fish here are not

  only plentiful,

  而且个头还大。

  but also very big.

  每次撒网都会有不少的收获。

  It’s always a big haul for every

  net you cast.

  王渊源:又两条啊!

  Two more fish!

  韩佳: 嗯。你也捕得太多了吧?

  Yeah. Don’t you think you’re

  catching too many?

  王渊源:又是一个!

  Another one!

  这是我第一次当渔夫啊。

  This is my first time to be

  a fisherman.

  当然要多捕一些。

  Of course, I should catch

  as many as possible.

  韩佳: 看渊源的样子啊

  It seems Yuanyuan

  一时半会儿是停不了了。

  wouldn’t stop soon.

  这样吧,

  Well,

  我们还是来看看今天的赏心悦目。

  let’s watch today’s Feast for

  the Eyes.

  赏心悦目:

  西溪是中国少见的城市湿地

  Xixi is one of China’s rare urban wetlands.

  湿地内绿水环绕 风景如画

  With crisscrossing streams and picturesque scenery,

  生态环境十分优越

  the wetlands have excellent ecological environment.

  芦花是西溪一大景观

  Reed flowers are a major attraction here.

  洁白似雪 随风摆动

  As white as snow dancing in the wind,

  素来有“芦雪”之称

  they have been billed as “Reed Snow”.

  古今文人游历西溪

  Men of letters have visited it since ancient times,

  留下赞美的词章

  leaving poems singing its praises

  更为这里增添了几分情趣

  and adding appeal to its charm.

  王渊源:韩佳,

  Han Jia,

  我们今天的收获不小吧?

  was it a big haul we

  got today?

  韩佳: 嗯,还不错。

  Yes, not bad.

  王渊源:我的技术好嘛。

  That’s because my skill

  is so good.

  韩佳: 哎,对了,

  Oh, yeah,

  该出今天的有奖问答题了吧。

  it’s time to set today’s award-

  winning question.

  王渊源:好吧。那今天这个任务就交给我了。

  Yeah. Leave this task to me.

  您听好了。

  Listen carefully.

  题目是这样的。

  Here’s the question.

  (问题部分略)

  节目的最后,

  At the end of this program,

  还是要提醒您

  we’d still like to remind you

  别忘了我们的口号。

  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)

Cri – Lesson 103

Friday, April 11th, 2008

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

S: Wǒ shì Stuart.

M: We’re still in the Yíhéyuán. Wǒmen hái zài Yíhéyuán.

S: We’re going to take some photos, zhàoxiàng.

M: And learn some ways to describe position. Very useful.

S: Here goes. Mary and Jiànguò, Miss Zhang, Mr. Li, (where did they come from? Never mind. It’s the magic of radio!) 玛丽, 建国, 张小姐, 李先生, 我们照相, 好不好? Wǒmen zhàoxiàng, hǎo bù hǎo?

M: Hǎo zhǔyi.

S: And you guys at home, try to pick out the words for ‘stand’, ‘at the back’ and ‘at the front’.

M: 李先生,你比我们高。You stand at the back. 你站在后面 nǐ zhàn zài hòumiàn.

LXS: 好,我站在后面 hǎo, wǒ zhàn zài hòumiàn.

S: Jiànguó, you also stand at the back. 建国, 你也站在后面 nǐ yě zhàn zài hòumian.

M: Zhāng Xiǎojiě, we’ll stand at the front. 我们站在前面 wǒmen zhàn zài qiánmian.

Mary: Stuart, where will you stand? Stuart, 你站在哪儿 nǐ zhàn zài nǎr?

S: I’ll take the photo. 我来照相 wǒlái zhào xiàng. Someone’s got to do it.

S: Hǎo! Now let’s look at the new stuff. I said 玛丽, 建国, 张小姐, 李先生.

M: Zhāng Xiǎojiě. xiǎojiě, remember, means ‘young lady’ or ‘miss’, Miss Zhang, Zhāng Xiǎojiě. And xiānshēng means ‘man’ or ‘Mr.’ Mr. Li, Lǐ Xiānshēng.

S: Then I said: 我们照相, 好不好?

M: Wǒmen zhòoxiòng, hǒo bù hǎo? We’ll take photos, ok? Wǒmen zhàoxiàng, hǎo buù hǎo?

S: And ML told Lǐ Xiānsheng he was taller than us.

M: 李先生,你比我们高。You stand at the back. 你站在后面

S: nǐ zhàn zài hòumian. 站 ZHAN zhàn, 4th tone, means ‘to stand’. 在后面,hòu HOU hòu, means ‘at the back’ or ‘behind’. It’s the same hòu as in hòutiān, the ‘day after tomorrow’. 面 MIAN miàn, here means ‘face’ or ‘side’. We’ll meet it a lot when learning position words. Hòumian, ‘back’ or ‘rear’. Note that the miànin hòumian loses its full tone. It’s not hòumiàn, it’s hòumian.

M: You stand at the back, Nǐ zhàn zài hòumian. Say it everybody, nǐ zhàn zài hòumian, nǐ zhàn zài hòumian.

S: And then ML said -

M: Zhāng Xiǎojiě, wǒmen zhàn zài qiánmian.

S: 前面, 前QIAN qián, here means ‘front’. It is the same qián as in qiántiān, the ‘day before yesterday’. You stand in front, nǐ zhàn zài qiánmian. Say it, nǐ zhàn zài qiánmian.

S: Good. Now let’s finish with a quick practice of the new stuff.

M: 我们要照相 wǒmen yào zhàoxiàng. 李先生,你站在后面 nǐ zhàn zài hòumian.

S: ML,玛丽,张小姐,你们站在前面 nǐmen zhàn zài qiánmian.

M: Stuart, 你站在哪儿 nǐ zhàn zài nǎr?

S: 我来照相 wǒ lái zhàoxiàng.

M: Good, he won’t be in the picture.

S: Huh! I’m leaving!

M: Angry again! Never mind, he’ll be ok next lesson. See you then!

(Source:english.cri.cn)