Archive for May 11th, 2008

Chinese Conversation – lesson 73

Sunday, May 11th, 2008

隔天
警察:我们找到那些歹徒了。
保罗:真的吗?你会去逮捕他们吗?
警察:当然。不过我们得等他们都回来后一网打尽。
保罗:我们需要指认他们吗?
警察:要。我们会让他们排排站好。
保罗:太好了。我等不及要看他们被关起来。
警察:你跟那位小姐原谅你们的朋友了吗?
保罗:不,还早。他这次真的让我们惹了大麻烦。
警察:嗯,他看起来真的很愧疚

The next day
Cop: We found those gangsters.
Paul: Really? Are you gonna arrest them?
Cop: Yep. But we gotta wait till they’re all inside.
Paul: Are we gonna have to identify them?
Cop: Yes. We’ll put them in a lineup.
Paul: Good. I can’t wait to see them behind bars.
Cop: Have you and the little lady forgiven your friend yet?
Paul: No. Not yet. He really got us in a bind this time.
Cop: Well, he sure does look sorry.

(Source: wwenglish.com)

Cri – Lesson 133

Sunday, May 11th, 2008

M: Dàjiā hǎo. Huānyíng 收听 – to listen in to – shōutīng Xiànzài Xué Hànyǔ. Wǒ shì ML.

S: Wǒ shì Stuart. Lesson 136 today, and it’s a fùxí kè. Listen, tīng, and repeat, chóngfù.

M: We’ll start with something really difficult. Let’s recite all the 12 dòngwù on the Chinese lunar calendar.

S: Start with ‘one rat’, then two something, then three, etc.

M: Here goes, one rat 一只老鼠 yì zhī lǎoshǔ; two oxen 两头牛 liǎng tóu níu; three tigers三只老虎 sān zhī lǎohǔ; four rabbits 四只兔子 sì zhī tùzi; five dragons五条龙 wǔ tiáo lóng; six snakes; 六条蛇 lìu tiáo shé.

S: Seven horses 七匹马 qī pǐ mǎ; eight sheep 八只羊 bā zhī yáng; nine monkeys 九只猴子 jǐu zhī hóuzi; ten chickens 十只鸡 shí zhī jī; eleven dogs 十一只狗 shí yī zhī gǒu; and the last, 最后一个 zuì hòu yī gè, twelve pigs 十二只猪 shí èr zhī zhū.

M: Hey, that’s pretty good. Time for a break.

M: Let’s continue. Don’t forget, listen, tīng, and repeat, chóngfù.

S: Hey, ML, look, on the floor there’s a snake. 嘿,曼丽,你看地板上有一条蛇 hei, ML, nǐ kàn, dìbǎn shàng yǒu yī tiáo shé.

M: 我不在乎 wǒ bú zàihu. 我不怕蛇 wǒ bú pà shé.

S: 外边还有一匹马.

M: wàibiān yǒu yì pǐ mǎ? 那太好了!我很喜欢骑马 nà tài hǎo le! Wǒ hěn xǐhuān qí mǎ.

S: 我也喜欢骑马 wǒ yě xǐhuān qí mǎ.

M: And then we saw, 山上有十只羊 shān shàng yǒu shí zhī yáng.

S: So what is a hill? Duì le! 山 SHAN shān. It also means ‘mountain’. And remember the measure word?

M: 一座山 yí zuò shān.

S: Duì le! It’s 座 ZUO zuò. Now, back to our animals.

M: 那座山上有十只羊. nà zuò shān shàng yǒu shí zhī yáng. And remember the word for goat? It’s 山羊, ‘hill sheep’ or ‘mountain sheep’, shānyáng. So we can also say, 那座山上有五只山羊。nàzuò shānshàng yǒu wǔ zhī shānyáng.

S: 树上有八只猴子 eight monkeys. shù shàng yǒu bā zhī hóuzi.

M: Now we see a few chickens, a few dogs, and some pigs. 现在我们看到了一些鸡, 一些狗,还有一些猪 xiànzài wǒmen kàn dào le yìxiē jī, yìxiē gǒu, hái yǒu yìxiē zhū.

S: 一些, remember, is ‘a few’ ‘some’ ‘a little’. Yìxiē jī.

M: 一些狗 yìxiē gǒu.

S: 还有一些猪 hái yǒu yìxiē zhū.

S: And let’s finish by saying, Now we see a few rats, four snakes, and a dragon.

M: 现在我们看到了一些老鼠, 四条蛇,还有一条龙 xiànzài wǒmen kàn dào le yī xiē lǎoshǔ, sì tiáo shé, hái yǒu yì tiáo lóng.

S: Hěnhǎo, xiànzài wǒmen xià kè. Zàijiàn.

(Source:english.cri.cn)

Chinese Culture – Art in a Tub(2)

Sunday, May 11th, 2008

Potted landscapes demand painstaking efforts and take a long time to complete. Sometimes, a craftsperson devotes all of his/her life to a piece of artwork so later generations can enjoy them to the fullest.

The potted landscape may be as long as nine meters or less than 1 meter. However, the finished product looks heroic and imposing, with lofty, famous mountains, vast deserts, and endless seas condensed into one pot.

 Potted landscapes today

In recent years potted landscapes made by the People’s Park of Jingjiang City, East China’s Jiangsu Province , have won several prizes in gardening competitions both at home and abroad. With their unique styles, the works imitate the natural scenery and pursue new trends; with chic modeling work, the pieces depict far-ranging themes and convey profound and lasting affections. The works combine features of both the magnificence and mystery of potted art in North China and the elegance and grace of potted art of the south.

Nowadays, in Chinese cities big or small, there are many potted landscape exhibitions featured in parks.

Source: chinaculture.org