Archive for June 2nd, 2008

Learn Chinese Podcast – Happy China 162

Monday, June 2nd, 2008

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旁白:    我们从温州平阳的港口乘船出发。

       We started off by boat from

       Wenzhou’s Pingyang Port.

       经过大约一个半小时,

       In about an hour and a half,

       就到了今天的目的地,

       we’ve reached today’s destination,

       南麂列岛。

       the Nanji Archipelago.

       南麂列岛附近的海域

       The sea area around these islands

       有着种类丰富的海洋生物,

       teems with a good variety

       of marine life,

       是中国的海洋自然保护区之一。

       as one of China’s marine

       nature reserves.

       而岛上美丽的风光

       And the beautiful scenery

       on these islands

       更是吸引了许多游客。

       are even more appealing to visitors.

王渊源: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,我是快乐的渊源。

       Hello there! I’m Happy Yuanyuan.

韩佳:    我是快乐的韩佳。

       And I’m Merry Han Jia.

       我们今天呢,

       Today, we’re going

       要带您在著名的南麂列岛

       to take you on a tour

       走一走,看一看。

       of the famous Nanji Archipelago.

王渊源:没错。不过今天由我带路。

       Exactly. Today I’m going to

       be the guide.

       虽然我没来过这个南麂列岛,

       Although I’ve never been to

       these islands before,

       不过我早就向别人打听过

       I’ve consulted some people

       这里最有特色的景点了。

       about the area’s most attractive

       scenic spots.

       所以我现在可以说

       So I can say

       是对这里的情况一清二楚了。

       I am very clear about the

       situation here.

韩佳:    嗬,口气倒不小。

       Oh, you sound to be

       so confident.

       “一清二楚”这个词语

       The phrase “yi qing er chu”

       就是指把事情了解得

       means to be very clear

       十分透彻,明明白白。

       about something.

王渊源:“一清二楚”这个词语就是指

       So “yi qing er chu” means

       把事情了解得十分透彻,明明白白。

       to be very clear about something.

韩佳:    就好像渊源刚才说的。

       Just as Yuanyuan said.

 

   Tā bǎ  zhèli  de  qíngkuàng  liǎojiě  de  yìqīngèrchǔ

         这里       情况     了解      一清二楚。

       He is very clear about the situation here.

 

       渊源,你到底行不行啊?

       Yuanyuan, are you sure

       you can do it?

       我也是有备而来。

       I also came here prepared.

       要不然还是我来带路吧?

       How about letting me be

       the guide?

王渊源:哦

       Oh …

旁白:    我们争论了半天,

       After some argument,

       最后决定一人推荐一个景点,

       we agreed later that each of us

       recommends a scenic spot

       看谁推荐的景点最有特色。

       so as to see whose recommendation

       is more attractive.

王渊源:在南麂列岛看海景,

       The vantage point to see

       the seascape

       这三盘尾当然是最好的地方了。

       around the Nanji Archipelago

       is of course Sanpanwei.

韩佳:    哦。那你给大家说说,

       Oh. Then tell us

       这三盘尾的景色都有哪些特点呢。

       how special the scenery at

       Sanpanwei is.

王渊源:没问题。

       No problem.

       来这里,第一,当然是看海景了。

       First, of course, we should

       see the seascape here.

       在不同的季节、时间和天气,

       The scenery looks different

       in different seasons,

       看到的景色也就不一样了。

       in different times of the day

       and in different weather.

韩佳:    听你这么一说啊,

       Hearing what you said,

       这里的景色还真是挺有特点的。

       I think the scenery here is indeed

       very special.

       那第二应该看什么呢?

       Then what is the next thing

       to see?

王渊源:第二嘛,

       The second thing to see

       就是这些海里的礁石了。

       is the reefs in the sea.

       你看,它们不仅大小不一,

       Look, they are different in size

       而且形状也是千奇百怪。

       and varied in shape.

       要是海浪再大一些,

       If the waves are bigger,

       冲到礁石上。

       they’ll keep lashing against

       the reefs.

       那样的景观就更加壮观了。

       Then the sight will be even

       more spectacular.

韩佳:    哎,你看你看,起浪了!

       Hey, look, the waves are

       getting bigger!

王渊源:你注意到没有,

       But did you notice

       现在并没有刮风。

       there isn’t any wind at

       all right now.

       “无风起浪”可是这儿的一大景观。

       So the existence of waves without wind

       is also a unique spectacle here.

韩佳:    这倒正好跟中国的一句俗语说法相反,

       This is just the opposite of

       the Chinese saying,

       无风不起浪。

       “There are no waves without wind.”

王渊源:无风不起浪?

       “Wu feng bu qi lang”?

韩佳:    不刮风,

       That means without wind,

       水里就不会掀起风浪。

       there’ll be no waves on the sea.

       我们现在呢,

       We use the idiom

       用“无风不起浪”

       “wu feng bu qi lang” to

       mean that

       来形容事情的发生

       there is a cause for the occurrence

       一定有它的原因。

       of everything.

王渊源:“无风不起浪”

       So saying “wu feng bu qi lang”

       也就是“无火不生烟”的意思。

       in Chinese is similar to saying there

       is no smoke without fire in English.

       对了,这附近有个百景亭。

       Oh yeah, there is a scenic spot

       called Baijing Pavilion.

       在那里看礁石角度更好。

       It’s much better to see

       reefs there.

韩佳:    真的吗?那我们走吧。

       Really? Let’s go.

旁白:    渊源说得没错儿。

       Yuanyuan was right.

       从百景亭往下看,

       Looking down from Baijing Pavilion,

       这一片的山景、海景

       we see the mountains and

       the sea

       都看得一清二楚。

       so clearly.

       大家都说

       Everybody says

       渊源推荐的这个地方不错。

       the place Yuanyuan recommended

       is pretty good.

       接下来该去我推荐的地方了。

       Next we ought to go to the

       place I recommended.

王渊源:哇,这片海滩真不错!

       Wow, what a beautiful beach!

韩佳:    那当然了。

       Sure.

       要说这南麂列岛上

       The most beautiful beach

       哪个海滩最美啊,

       of the entire Nanji Archipelago

       当然要数这大沙岙了。

       is this Dasha’ao Beach.

       这片海滩有八十多万平方米。

       This beach covers 800,000

       square meters.

       而且面积每年还在逐渐变大。

       And the area grows year

       by year.

       你看,这里的沙子又细又干净。

       Look, the sand here is both

       fine and clean.

       我建议你啊

       I suggest you should

       光脚在这里走一走。

       walk on it barefoot.

       感觉很不错哦。

       You must feel very good.

王渊源:这我得试试。

       Let me have a try.

韩佳:    大家别光顾着工作了。

       Don’t just pay attention to work.

       快来欣赏一下这里的美景吧。

       Come on enjoy the beautiful

       scenery here.

王渊源:你刚才说的“顾”

       What does the word “gu”

       是什么意思啊?

       which you just said mean?

韩佳:    刚才说的“顾”呢

       The word “gu” which I said

       在这里是关注、注意的意思。

       means to pay attention to.

王渊源:“顾”在这里是关注、注意的意思。

       “Gu” here means to pay attention to.

韩佳:    那我们举个例子来说吧。

       Let’s explain with an example.

 

   Nǐ bú  yao  guāng  gù  zhe  kàn  měi  jǐng

                             景。

       Don’t just pay attention to the scenery.

 

       其实,大沙岙呢

       In fact, the Dasha’ao Beach

       不仅风景美,

       not only has beautiful scenery,

       而且这里啊

       but it is also

       还是海洋保护区的核心地带。

       the center of the marine nature

       reserve here.

       那在这附近的海域里呢,

       There are over 400 species

       of shellfish

       生长着四百多种贝类

       and more than 170 types

       of algae

       和一百七十多种海藻。

       living in the adjacent surrounding area.

王渊源:哟,有这么多种啊!

       Wow, there so many species!

韩佳:    对啊。正因为这样,

       Yes. That is why

       所以整个南麂列岛

       the entire Nanji Archipelago

       is also

       又被称为“贝藻王国”。

       billed as the Kingdom of Shellfish

       and Algae.

       怎么样,我推荐的大沙岙不错吧?

       Well, is the beach I recommended

       pretty good?

王渊源:不错不错。感觉好极了!

       Not bad. It feels so good

       to be here!

       不知道大家的感觉怎么样呢。

       I’m not sure if our viewers feel

       the same way.

韩佳:    你们大家说,

       Do you think the scenery

       at Dasha’ao,

       我推荐的大沙岙景色好不好啊?

       the place I recommended, is

       pretty good?

合:       不错不错。

       Yes, pretty good, pretty good.

王渊源:刚才你们不是还说

       Didn’t you say

       三盘尾的景色好啊?

       the scenery at Sanpanwei was

       very good?

韩佳:    哦,对啊,

       Oh yeah,

       那到底谁推荐的地方好啊?

       whose recommendation is better?

组员:    还是让导演来定吧。

       We’d better let the director

       be the judge.

导演:    你们推荐的都是南麂列岛上

       Both of your recommendations are the

       most representative scenic spots

       最有代表性的景点。

       of the Nanji Archipelago.

       看来你们俩对这里都挺了解的。

       It seems you are both quite

       familiar with the place here.

       要不就算平手好吗。

       I count it as a draws between

       you two.

合:       不行!

       No!

导演:    那要不我们先看看

       Or how about taking a look at

       今天的赏心悦目,

       today’s Feast for the Eyes first

       然后我再来想想办法?

       before we think about it again?

 

 

赏心悦目:

 

       南麂列岛是中国的海洋自然保护区

       The Nanji Archipelago is one of China’s

       marine nature reserves.

       如一盘明珠镶嵌于万倾碧波之中

       They resemble of a group of pearls

       inlaid on the sea.

       形态各异的礁石

       The multi-shaped reefs

       气势恢弘的悬崖峭壁

       and steep cliffs

       使南麂列岛

       add greatly to this archipelago’s

       充满了大自然的神韵和魅力

       natural charm and beauty,

       具有独特的海岛风情

       making the island scenery more unique.

       优良的自然条件

       The excellent natural conditions here

       使南麂列岛形成了特殊的生态环境

       have made these islands form a special

       ecological environment,

       具有重要的科研和生态价值

       valuable for scientific research and studies.

      

导演:    我想到好办法了。

       I came up with an idea.

       这是南麂列岛著名的风动岩。

       This is Nanji Archipelago’s

       famous Fengdong Rock.

       你们应该都听说过吧?

       You must have heard of

       it, right?

       但是呢只有熟悉它的人

       But only those who are

       familiar with it

       才知道推动它的方法。

       knows how to move it.

       所以谁能推动它,

       So whichever of you can

       move it

       那就是谁更了解南麂列岛。

       should be counted as the one who

       knows best about Nanji Archipelago.

王渊源:好。你看我的。

      Okay. Look, I’ll have a try.

韩佳:    哪能那么推啊!看我的。

       Moving is so difficult!

       Let me try it.

王渊源:你不是也没推动嘛。

       You didn’t move it either.

韩佳:    我怎么就忘了问这个呢!

       How come I forgot this!

       不行,待会儿啊还得试试。

       No, I won’t give up. I’ll try

       again in a moment.

       哎,渊源,

       Eh, Yuanyuan,

       你先来出今天的有奖问答题吧?

       could you please set today’s

       award-winning question?

王渊源:好吧。今天的问题是。

       Okay. Here’s today’s question.

 

(问题部分略)

 

韩佳:    节目的最后呢,

       At the end of this program,

       还是要提醒您,口号不能忘。

       we’d still want to remind you

       not to forget our slogan.

       学说中国话,朋友遍天下!

       Learn Chinese and make friends everywhere!

       我要再试试。

       I want to try it again.

王渊源:我觉得两个人可能能推得动吧。

       I suppose the two of us together

       can move it.

郭老师:这不是风动岩嘛?

       Isn’t it Fengdong Rock?

       我来,我来试试。

       Let me have a try.

韩佳:    能行吗?动了动了!

       Are you sure you can?

       Oh, it moves!

王渊源:还真动了呀。

       Yeah, it really moves.

郭老师:你们得顺着这个方向推。

       You ought to push it in this direction

(Source: cctv.com)

China Travel – Simen Pagoda

Monday, June 2nd, 2008

The Simen Pagoda (the Four-Door Pagoda) is located at the foot of Qinglong Mountain (the Black Dragon Mountain) in Liubu Village in Licheng County, Shandong Province.

 

 

Opinions were divided on the time when the Simen Pagoda was built. Some people thought it was built in the first year (351BC) of the Huangshi reign of the pre-Qin Period and other considered it was built in the 2nd year (544) of the Wuding reign of the Eastern Wei Dynasty (534-550). In 1972, when the body of the pagoda was under a big renovation, several words built in the 7th year (611) of the Daye reign were found inside its roof. This unveiled the mystery and determined that it was first built in the Sui Dynasty (581-618). It is the oldest stone pagoda extant in China.

 

Some 15 meters tall and 7.4 meters in side length, the entire body was built of huge bluestones, with only one layer in a square shape. There is an arch door on each of the four sides and that is why it is called as the Simen (Four-Door) Pagoda. The pagoda is unique for its simple and vivid structure. On the upper part, there are five layers of eaves piled up with stones. Further upward there is a tapered and pointed roof with four corners. On the roof it is a spire carved out of stone. Inside the pagoda, a square central pillar stands in the middle, tall and strong, surrounded by a winding corridor. On the pillar there are four stone Buddha statues sitting cross-legged and with dignified and beautiful faces. They were carved in the 2nd year (544) of the Wuding reign of the Eastern Wei Dynasty.

 

In the old times, Buddhist halls and temples stood in great numbers around the Simen Pagoda. Many of the extant cultural relics and historic sites, such as the Zushi Forest, the hall foundation of the Shentong Temple, the large and small Dragon-Tiger Pagodas, etc, all have very high historic and artistic values.

 

Near the Simen Pagoda and in the ruins of the Jiuta Temple (Nine-Pagoda) in the Lingjiu Mountain, there is a pagoda built in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). It has a single layer and is eight-square. On the top there are nine small pagodas, so it is locally named as the Jiuding Pagoda (the pagoda with nine small spires). The total height is 13.3 meters. On the south side of the pagoda there is a Buddhist room. The sunk panel and frescos on the ceiling are still there. The Jiuding Pagoda has a very unique structure among Chinese ancient pagodas.

(Source: chinaculture.org)

Chinese Conversation – lesson 95

Monday, June 2nd, 2008

妈妈把花椰菜装进袋子里
妈妈:当然可以买啦,金咪。先帮我拿条封袋口的绳子来绑花椰菜,好不好?
山姆:我们可不可以也买些草莓果冻?
妈妈:我们何不先买完蔬果再说?
山姆:好吧,可是我想做些果冻明天带去学校!
妈妈:你是说你跟杰夫今天晚上玩电动的时候要吃吧?最好是,小油条。
山姆:不,是真的。你可以问我的老师啊。而且草莓果冻有维他命C,对吧?

Mom is bagging up broccoli
Mom: Sure you can, Kim. Help me out and grab a tie for the broccoli first, OK?
Sam: Can we get some strawberry jello, too?
Mom: Why don’t we just wait till we’re done with the fruits and vegetables first?
Sam: OK, but I want to make some jello to bring to class tomorrow!
Mom: You mean for just you and Jeff while you play video games tonight? Nice try, buster.
Sam: No, for real. You can even ask my teacher. And strawberry jello has vitamin C, right?

(Source: wwenglish.com)