Archive for June 4th, 2008

Learn Chinese Podcast – Happy China 164

Wednesday, June 4th, 2008

 

 

                                 Click to Watch Video Podcast

(5月10日播出)

旁白:    昨天,我们对太姥山

       Yesterday, we gained some basic

       有了个大概的了解。

       understanding of Taimu Mountain.

       那今天呢,

       Today,

       我们想好好进山里转转。

       we’ll take a tour into

       the mountain.

       这不,我跟渊源啊

       That’s why Yuanyuan and I

       一早儿就打听清楚了

       inquired early this morning

       这里最有特色的地方,

       about the most unique places here

       制订了今天的行动计划。

       and made a plan of action

       for today.

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.

       节目刚刚开始。

       The program has just begun.

       来来来,您先看这个。

       Come on, look at this first.

       “太姥无俗石,个个似神工。”

       “Taimu has no ordinary rocks,

       each resembling a divine work.”

       “似”就是相似、类似的意思。

       The “si” here means to be

       similar to.

韩佳:    嗯,没错儿。

       Yes, exactly.

       那这句话的意思就是说啊,

       This sentence means that

       太姥山上的石头啊,

       all rocks on Taimu Mountain

       每一块儿都像是神仙打造的一样。

       are similar to works of art created

       by gods.

       据说要把这太姥山上的奇石看遍,

       Locals says seeing all the queer

       rocks and

       岩洞走遍啊

       visiting all the caves of

       the mountain …

王渊源:得走二十八天呢。

       It would take 28 days.

韩佳:    没错儿。我跟渊源一听这话,

       Exactly. Hearing this, Yuanyuan

       and I instantly

       就立刻决定了要兵分两路。

       decided to conduct the tour separately.

       各带一队人马去看奇石。

       Each of us is lead a team to

       see queer rocks.

王渊源:没错。

       Exactly.

韩佳:    既然要看奇石,

       Since we are going to

       see queer rocks,

       咱们就得先奔着

       we have to rush to

       最有名的奇石去。

       the most famous one first.

       那在哪儿呢?

       Where is it?

       就是您面前的这座夫妻峰了。

       It is right this Fuqi Peak

       before us.

       您瞧,那两块儿石头像不像

       Look at those two rocks.

       一对依偎在一起的情侣啊?

       Do they look like a couple

       of lovers?

       哎,也不知道渊源他们怎么样了。

       Oh, I’m wondering how things

       are going with Yuanyuan.

       渊源,渊源!

       Yuanyuan, Yuanyuan!

       怎么没回音啊。

       Why, I heard nothing from you.

王渊源:韩佳,我们现在在一线天呢。

       Han Jia, we’re at Yixiantian Gorge.

韩佳:    你怎么喘成这样啊?

       Why are you panting like this?

王渊源:我们正在

       We’re …

       正在做体操啊。

       we’re … doing exercise.

韩佳:    啊,爬山还不够你们累的呀。

       What, climbing the mountain

       is already tiring enough.

       还做体操!

       And now you’re doing exercise

       as well!

王渊源:你以为我们愿意做呢?

       Do you think we enjoy doing it?

       观众朋友们,

       Audience friends,

       谁让我们走的是一线天呢。

       we’re to pass the narrow

       Yixiantian Gorge.

       你们看,进出的男女老少,

       Look, how many men and

       women passing through it!

       谁不得做体操啊。

       Everyone has to do a sort

       of exercise.

旁白:    瞧见了吧?

       Did you see?

       这就是传说中的太姥健身操。

       This is the so-called Taimu Exercise.

       实在是因为这一线天的地形太过复杂,

       Just because of Yixiantian’s

       complicated terrain,

       我们必须要以各种动作行走,

       we have to cross it in various postures,

       比如蹲着、爬着、

       such as squatting, crawling,

       点着脚尖、侧着身子。

       tiptoeing and moving sideways.

王渊源:哎呀,这儿怎么这么窄呀!

       Wow, it is so narrow!

       这儿真的卡住了呀!

       People can get really stuck here!

韩佳:    哎,渊源,你没事儿吧?

       Hey, Yuanyuan, are you okay?

       你现在的状态是不是

       Your current situation

       像一个成语说的那样啊。

       can be described with an idiom.

王渊源:什么成语啊?

       What idiom?

韩佳:    进退两难啊。

       It’s difficult to move both

       forward and retreat.

       “进退两难”就是指

       “Jin tui liang nan” means

       不能前进也不能后退。

       that it’s difficult to go forward

       and also difficult to retreat.

       形容处境非常困难。

       It means to be in a dilemma.

王渊源:就像我现在这样哪。

       Just like the way I am now.

       “进退两难”就是指

       So “jin tui liang nan” means

       不能前进也不能后退。

       that it’s difficult to go forward

       and also difficult or retreat.

       形容处境非常困难。

       It means to be in a dilemma.

韩佳:    那我们举个例子来说吧。

       Let’s explain with an example.

 

   Zhèli  shízai  tài  zhǎi  le  zhēn  ràng  rén  jìntuìliǎngnán

       这里   实在       了,             进退两难。

       This place is so narrow, it really

       puts one in a dilemma.

 

组员:    渊源,你可真够刻苦的。

       Yuanyuan, you’re so diligent.

       都卡在这儿,

       You got stuck here,

       还学汉语呢!

       but you are still learning Chinese!

王渊源:不容易,不容易啊。

       But it’s really not easy,

       not easy.

旁白:    要说奇石险峰

       The queer rocks and steep peaks

       是太姥山的外在美。

       are the external beauty of

       Taimu Mountain.

       那岩洞则是太姥山的内在美了,

       Whereas the mountain’s inner beauty

       在太姥山上有上百个洞呢。

       lies in its nearly 100 caves.

       这些洞大洞藏小洞,

       Some caves contain many

       small caves

       洞中有洞,洞洞相连。

       and they are all interconnected

       with each other.

       神秘莫测。

       They are really mysterious.

       要是没有熟悉这儿的人领路的话,

       But for a professional guide

       leading us,

       估计我一整天也钻不出洞来啊。

       I guess I couldn’t get out of

       these caves in a whole day.

韩佳:    往这儿走啊?

       This way?

导游:    没关系。一直往前走。

       It doesn’t matter. Walk on straight.

       我把手电给你。

       I give you the flashlight.

吕媛:    太黑了吧里边。

       It may be too dark inside.

韩佳:    里面一点光线都没有。

       There is not a single light here.

吕媛:    那叫“伸手不见五指”。

       This is called pitch-dark.

韩佳:    这句话用在这儿倒挺恰当的。

       This idiom is used here perfectly.

       这样吧观众朋友们,

       Well, audience friends,

       等我出去了,

       I’ll explain this sentence

       再给大家讲讲这句话的意思。

       after we get out.

吕媛:    小心啊!小心啊!

       Be careful! Be careful!

韩佳:    终于出来了。

       I’m out finally.

       见到光的感觉真好啊。

       It feels so good to see

       the light.

王渊源:哎,韩佳,

       Eh, Han Jia,

       你要讲句什么话呀?

       What sentence you wanted to

       explain?

       也说给我听听吧。

       Also explain it to me.

韩佳:    哦,是“伸手不见五指”。

       Oh, it’s “shen shou bu

       jian wuzhi”.

       你想想啊,伸出手来,

       Just imagine, if you put out

       your hand

       连五根手指头都看不见,

       and you can’t see its

       five fingers,

       正好形容我们刚才的处境。

       would it be like what we just

       experienced in the cave?

       要是没有这手电光啊,

       But for the flashlights,

       里面真是一片漆黑。

       it would be pitch-dark.

王渊源:“伸手不见五指”

       So “shen shou bu jian wuzhi”

       指一片漆黑。

       means pitch-dark.

韩佳;      嗯。那我们举个例子来说吧。

       Yes. Let’s explain with

       an example.

 

 

 

   Dòng  li  tài  hēi  le  zhēnshi  shēnshǒu  bú  jiàn  wǔzhǐ a

               了,  真是     伸手         五指  啊!

       It’s pitch-dark in the cave. You can’t

       see a thing!

 

王渊源:看来你们经受的考验也不小啊。

       It seems you also underwent

       a big test.

韩佳:    是啊。我们一起加油吧!

       Yeah. Let’s brace up together!

王渊源:加油。

       Let’s brace up.

韩佳:    嗯。

       Yes.

旁白:    我和渊源这两队人马

      Just like this, Yuanyuan

       and I each led a team

       就这么继续着太姥山之旅,

       continued our tour of Taimu Mountain,

       穿山过洞的。

       climbing mountain ridges and

       crossing caves.

       我们还真是见识了

       We’ve really seen

       不少太姥奇观啊。

       quite a lot of spectacular sights

       of the mountain.

       也算是不虚此行了!

       Our trip is truly worthwhile!

韩佳:    哎,你也跑这儿来了?

       Hey, you also got here?

王渊源:碰上了。

       I just came across you.

韩佳:    真是不容易啊!

       It isn’t really easy!

       那这里呢就是太姥山上

       And here is the mountain’s

       largest group

       最大的一组石景——九鲤朝天。

       of rock scenery, Nine Carps

       Facing the Sky.

       那我跟渊源啊

       Yuanyuan and I

       刚才走的是不同的路。

       each followed a different path.

       没想到居然在这儿碰上了。

       I didn’t expect to meet him here.

王渊源:是啊。人们都说啊,

       That’s true. All people say

       这些石头是九条鲤鱼

       these rocks are nine carps

       正从水里往天上跳呢!

       jumping into the sky from

       the water!

韩佳:    嗯。

       Yes.

王渊源:韩佳,今天包括这个九鲤朝天在内,

       Han Jia, today, including Jiu Li

       Chao Tian,

       我们看到的美景可真不少啊。

       we’ve really seen a lot of

       beautiful scenery.

韩佳:    真是。只是刚才给大家

       Yes indeed. Only we showed

       too little

       展示的实在是太少了。

       to our audience.

王渊源:没关系。

       It doesn’t matter.

       我们不是还有赏心悦目呢。

       We still have the Feast for

       the Eyes to enjoy.

 

 

赏心悦目:

 

       太姥山以石奇 洞异 峰险为特色

       Taimu Mountain distinguishes itself

      by its rocks, caves and peaks.

       形态各异纵横交错的山洞

       The crisscrossing mountain caves

       曲折幽深 别具特色

       are deep and zigzagging.

       奇特美丽的石景

       The beautiful rocky landscape

       向人们讲述着古老的传说

       seems to be recounting an old story

       from the distant past

       置身其中穿幽洞 攀险峰

       It is fun to explore these mountain caves

       别有一番情趣

       or climb a steep mountain peak

       登高眺望 奇峰峻岭尽收眼底

       for a panoramic view of the beautiful scenery.

韩佳:    怎么样,观众朋友们,

       Well, audience friends,

       您对太姥山的美景

       have you gained a deeper understanding

       是不是有了更深的感受呢?

       of the beautiful Taimu Mountain?

王渊源:欣赏过美景之后呢,

       After the beautiful scenery,

       可就到了我们的互动时间了。

       now it’s the interacting time.

韩佳:    嗯。您听好了。

       Yeah. Listen carefully.

       今天的题目是这样的。

       Here’s today’s question.

 

 

(问题部分略)

 

       嗯。那明天呢,

       Yes. Tomorrow,

       我们要去一座非常美丽的岛屿。

       we’re going to see a very

       beautiful island.

       要是您也想去啊,

       If you also want to go,

       请您明天同一时间,继续锁定

       Please stay tuned same

       time tomorrow

       中央电视台中文国际频道,

       to CCTV’s Chinese International Channel

       跟我们一起“万里海疆快乐行”。

       for the Happy Journey Across China.

       好了,节目的最后呢,

       At the end of the program,

       还是要提醒您口号不能忘。

       we’d still want to remind you

       not to forget our slogan.

合:       学说中国话,朋友遍天下!

       Learn Chinese and make friends everywhere!

韩佳:    明天见。

       See you tomorrow.

(Source: cctv.com)

China Travel – Yunyan Temple Pagoda in Suzhou

Wednesday, June 4th, 2008

The Yunyan Temple Pagoda is situated at the top of the Tiger Hill, outside of Changmen Gate in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province.

 

 

The Yunyan Temple Pagoda in Suzhou is also called as the Tiger Hill Pagoda, a symbol of the ancient city of Suzhou. The location of the Yunyan Temple was originally the villa of the local official Wang Xun and his younger brother Wang Min in the Jin Dynasty (265-420). It was submontane at the first beginning, and then it was moved up to the hill and combined with the upper one after it was destroyed. In the Zhidao reign (995-997) in the Song Dynasty (960-1279), the temple was destroyed and abandoned again. It was rebuilt in the Dazhong Xiangfu reign (1008-1016) and changed to the name of the Yuanyan Buddhist Temple. The pagoda was named after the temple. It was first started in the 6th year (959) of the Zhou Xiande reign after the Five Dynasties (907-960) and completed in the 2nd year (961) of the Jianlong reign of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1126). According to the historical documents, the Yunyan Temple Pagoda was burned down many times. The extant scale is the result of several repairs.

 

The Yunyan Temple Pagoda is a brick pavilion with an artificial wooden structure. It has an eight-square plane and seven stages shrinking with a little arc from lower to higher layer. The total height is 47.5 meters. Its body has a flat seat, middle eaves, roof pillar, pendentive, doors and windows. On the middle of each side of the eight, there is a kettle-shaped door. Inside the pagoda, there is an outer wall, a cloister and center (chamber). A wooden stair was built in the cloister, separating the center from the outer wall. The style is rarely seen in the designs of the pagodas in the Song Dynasty (960-1279). Entering the cloister and center of each stage, one can see finely structured pendentives and sunk panels everywhere. In addition, there are many patterns piled and sculptured with lime. Among them more than ten pieces of peony sketches are particularly outstanding. With the typical painting characteristics of the Song Dynasty (960-1279), various peonies are displaying supreme elegance, which has a fairly high value for the research on the ancient decoration art.

 

During the reinforcement in 1957, many cultural relics of the Five Dynasties (907-960) and the North Song Period (960-1126) were discovered between the second and third layers in the Yuanyan Temple Pagoda. Among them there were celadon bowls which were produced in the Yue State and glittering and translucent like jades, exquisite sandalwood shrines containing Buddhist pictures and boxes for sutras as well as gold-plated pagodas, bronze figures of Buddha, bronze mirrors, beautiful brocade sutra volumes and etc. Some of them have titles numbering the years, which not only have very high historic and artistic values, but also prove the established year of the pagoda.

 

The pagoda has been tilting since the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). After reinforcement, the foundation is fixed now and it won’t tilt further. This is the extant ancient pagoda with the biggest tilting degree in China, a hundred years older than the world famous Pisa Pagoda. With the reinforcement measures, it will stand towering for long and become a miracle.

(Source: chinaculture.org)

Chinese Conversation – lesson 97

Wednesday, June 4th, 2008

妈妈:是有一些,但新鲜食品有比较多维他命。(大家在冷冻食品区前)金咪,这些电视餐好不好吃啊?
金咪:我比较喜欢冷冻披萨!这些马铃薯泥套餐也不错。
妈妈:好。(抓了几盒冷冻披萨)我们去拿些帕美善起司,或许也要一些调味料。
山姆:好好吃!我们可不可以也到谷类麦片那一区?
妈妈:当然啦。其实我有剪了一张爆米香麦片的折价券哦。
金咪:我最喜欢的!我也要一些字母汤!
妈妈:好啊,再来我们去买些罐头吧。

Mom: Some, but fresh foods have more vitamins in them. [they are in the frozen foods aisle] Kim, how are these TV dinners?
Kim: I prefer frozen pizzas! And the mashed potato sets aren’t bad either.
Mom: OK. [grabs frozen pizza boxes] Let’s get some parmesan cheese, and maybe some seasonings, too.
Kim: Yummy! Can we go to the cereal section, too?
Mom: Sure. I actually clipped a coupon for puffed rice.
Kim: My favorite! And I want some alphabet soup, too!
Mom: OK, we’ll get some canned foods next.

 

(Source: wwenglish.com)