|
|
|||
时间是什么？你会说那是一个简单的问题。不管你去那里，一分钟都是60秒，一小时是60分钟，一天是24个小时，以此类推。嗯，也许是这样吧。但是在美国，时间的意义不只是如此而已。美国人视时间为一项重要的资源，也许这就是为什么他们喜欢说‘时间就是金钱’的缘故。
What is time? That’s an easy question, you say. Wherever you go, a minute is 60 seconds, an hour is 60 minutes, a day is 24 hours, and so forth. Well, maybe. But in America, time is more than that. Americans see time as a valuable resource. Maybe that’s why they are fond of the expression, “Time is money.”
(Source: wwenglish.com)
M: Dà jiā hǎo! Huānyíng shōutīng Xiànzài Xué Hànyǔ. Wǒ shì ML.
S: Wǒ shì Stuart.
M: And we’ll continue with our banking adventure.
S: Now we’ll pop over to the Bank of China, to cash some traveller’s cheques. 现在我们去中国银行兑现旅行支票 xiànzài wǒmen qù Zhōngguó Yínháng duìxiàn lǚxíng zhīpiào.
M: Ok. You’re the customer 你是顾客 nǐ shì gùkè. I’m the manager 我是经理 wǒ shì jīnglǐ. Let’s begin. Kāishǐ.
S: I’m a very impolite customer. 我是一个很没有礼貌的顾客 wǒ shì yíge hěn méiyǒu lǐmào de gùkè.
M: 先生，您好 Can I help you with something? 我能帮您什么吗? wǒ néng bāng nín shénme ma?
S: Who are you? 你是谁 nǐ shì shéi?
M: I am the Manager. 我是经理 wǒ shì jīnglǐ
.
S: Now I will be very polite, 很有礼貌 hěn yǒu lǐmào, and help ML start explaining the new things.
M: I said, you’re the customer 你是顾客. 顾客 GU KE gùkè, both fourth tone, ‘customer’, gùkè.
S: So everybody say, I am a customer. Hěn hǎo. 我是顾客 wǒ shì gùkè.
M: And I said, 我是经理 经理 JING LI jīnglǐ, ‘manager’, jīnglǐ.
S: In Chinese a person’s title comes after his or her name; we don’t say for example, King Stuart, we say, Stuart King. So, how do we say, he is Manager Wang?
M: Duìle! 他是王经理 tā shì Wáng Jīnglǐ.
S: Then I said, I’m a very impolite customer. Try to pick out the words for very impolite. 我是一个很没有礼貌的顾客。
M: Hěn méiyǒu lǐmào de gùkè. Hear it? Méiyǒu lǐmào. 礼貌 LI MAO lǐmào, third tone and fourth tone, ‘courtesy’ or ‘manners’. 没有 makes it negative, as in, ‘don’t have’ or ‘there aren’t any’.
S: So méiyǒu lǐmào means ‘without manners’ ‘impolite’, and hěn méiyǒu lǐmào, ‘very impolite’. Hěn méi yǒu lǐmào de gùkè. Note the little de after lǐmào – Hěn méi yǒu lǐmào de gùkè.
M: The little ‘de’ is used after intensive forms of adjectives and words that work like adjectives. For example, ‘a very big dog’, 一只很大的狗 yì zhì hěn dà de gǒu.
S: Or, ‘a very good person’, 一个很好的人 yíge hěn hǎo de rén.
M: And can you guess what this means, 我很有礼貌。 Wǒ hěn yǒu lǐmào. Méi cuò. I am very polite. Literally, we say so-and-so ‘has manners’. Tà yǒulǐmào, he or she is polite. And in my case we say ‘very has manners’, 很有礼貌. I am very polite, wǒ hěn yǒu lǐmào.
S: 对了，曼丽是一个很有礼貌的人 Mànlì shì yígè hěn yǒu lǐmào de rén.
M: And she’s also very modest!
S: Oh dear, Now ML is adoring herself in the mirror! I think it’s time to xiàkè. Zài jiàn.
(Source:english.cri.cn)
Except for the Two-Coins Knot, the Chinese knot is three dimensional in structure. It comprises two planes tied together leaving a hollow center. Such a structure lends rigidity to the work as a whole and keeps its shape when hung on the wall. The hollow center also allows for the addition of precious stones.
Crafting the Chinese knot is a three-step process which involves tying knots, tightening them and adding the finishing touches. Knot-tying methods are fixed, but the tightening can determine the degree of tension in a knot, the length of loops (ears) and the smoothness and orderliness of the lines. Thus, how well a Chinese knot has been tightened can demonstrate the skill and artistic merit of a knot artist. Finishing a knot means inlaying pearls or other precious stones, starching the knot into certain patterns, or adding any other final touches.
Since ancient times, the Chinese knot has adorned both the fixtures of palace halls and the daily implements of countryside households. The Chinese Macrame has also appeared in paintings, sculptures and other pieces of folk art. For instance, the Chinese Macrame was used to decorate chairs used by the emperor and empress, corners of sedans, edges of parasols, streamers attached to the waistbands of lady’s dresses, as well as all manners of seals, mirrors, pouches, sachets, eyeglass cases, fans and Buddhist rosaries.
The endless variations and elegant patterns of the Chinese knot, as well as the multitude of different materials that can be used (cotton, flax, silk, nylon, leather and precious metals, such as gold and silver, to name a few) have expanded the functions and widened the applications of the Chinese knot. Jewelry, clothes, gift-wrapping and furniture can be accentuated with unique Chinese knot creations. Large Chinese knot wall hangings have the same decorative value as fine paintings or photographs, and are perfectly suitable for decorating a parlor or study.
The Chinese knot, with its classic elegance and ever-changing variations, is both practical and ornamental, fully reflecting the grace and depth of Chinese culture.
（Source: chinaculture.org）
Learn Chinese
|
|
|||
Learn Chinese Blog - Free Daily Chinese Learning Resource offered by Beijing Chinese School
Entries (RSS)
and Comments (RSS).
