Archive for September 23rd, 2008

Chinese Conversation – lesson 208

Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008

光电技术利用半导体捕获太阳光能,然后把太阳光能转换成电能。这类太阳能已应用在诸如计算机和哈伯太空望远镜等各种装置中。 上述各项应用成果均证明了太阳能是可以加以利用的,只是还很昂贵,而且成效还不够明显。科学家们至今仍在设法充分利用太阳能。虽然这是一大挑战,但是许多人都认为地球的未来就靠太阳能了。

Photovoltaic technologies use semiconductors to trap the son’s light and convert it to electricity. Such solar power is already being used to run all sorts of devices, from calculator to the Hubble Telescope in outer space. These accomplishments show that harnessing solar power is possible, but it remains expensive and in efficient. Scientists are still trying to find ways to make solar power a more widely used energy source. It is a big challenge, but many believe that the future of our planet depends on it.

(Source: wwenglish.com)

Cri – Lesson 90

Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008

(mms://media.chinabroadcast.cn/eng/language/studio/lesson204.wma)

Cam: Welcome to our review show everyone, Wo shi Cam, and ni shi Yajie.
YJ: Right.  We know that nobody likes going to the hospital or feeling sick.
Cam: But if you ever need to see the dreaded doctor in China, this show will certainly help.
YJ: Let’s get started.

Sentences in the week
Hospital. 医院  Doctor. 医生You look pale. Are you okay? 你脸色不太好,没事吧. I have a headache. 我头疼I have a toothache. 我牙疼。I have a sore throat. 我嗓子疼。I think I have a fever. 我好像发烧了。I feel much better now. Thanks. 我觉得好多了,谢谢。

Cam:  So I might need to go to the hospital to see a doctor. Yajie, let’s review the Chinese for hospital and doctor.
YJ: okay, hospital is yi1 yuan4.
CM:. yi1 yuan4.
YJ: yi1 means cure,
CM: yi1
YJ: yuan4 means such a place or an institute.
CM: yuan4
YJ: yi1 yuan4,
CM:. yi1 yuan4. hospital. A place to cure patients.
YJ: doctor is yi1 sheng1.
CM:. yi1 sheng1.

Conversation 1:
A: 我想去看医生,你知道最近的医院在哪儿吗?
B: 地铁旁边就有一家 。

Cam: Yajie, let’s review all these aches. Firstly, I have a headache.
YJ: wo3 tou2 teng2,
CM: wo3 tou2 teng2,
YJ: right. Tou2 means head,
C: tou2,
Y: teng2 means ache,
C: teng2.
Y: wo3 tou2 teng2, I have a headache. Then what’s the Chinese for “I have a toothache. ”
C: it’s wo3 ya2 teng2.
Y: right, ya2 means tooth,
C: ya2, and teng2 means ache,
Y: Yes. Ya2 teng2, toothache.
C: ya2 teng2.
Y: wo3 ya2 teng2.
C: wo3 ya2 teng2. I have a toothache. Well, I do have a sore throat Yajie. What’s the Chinese for throat?
YJ: sang3 zi
CM: snag3 zi, ,
YJ: wo3 sang3 zi teng2.
CM: wo3 sang3 zi teng2. I have a sore throat.

Conversation2:
(1)A: 大夫,我牙疼。
B: 那我给你开点消炎药。

(2)A: 我嗓子疼。
B: 那就少说点话,多喝水。

Cam: Yajie, I think I have a fever. How do I say it in Chinese?
YJ: you can say wo3 hao3 xiang4 fa1 shao1 le.
CM: wo3 hao3 xiang4 fa1 shao1 le.
YJ: I think I have something in Chinese is hao3 xiang4.
CM: hao3 xiang4,
YJ: fa1 shao1 means have a fever,
CM: fa1 shao1,
YJ: wo3 hao3 xiang4 fa1 shao1 le
CM: wo3 hao3 xiang4 fa1 shao1 le. I think I have a fever.
Conversation3:
(1)A: 你怎么了,看上去精神不太好?
B: 我好像发烧了。

(2)A: 你的脸色不太好,没事吧?
B:  我好像发烧了。

YJ: Cam, are you feeling better now?
CM: “I feel much better now. Thanks.” How do I tell you that in Chinese?
YJ: you can say我觉得好多了,谢谢。
CM: wo3 jue2de hao3 duo1 le, xie4 xie.
YJ: jue2de, feel,
CM: jue2de,
YJ: hao3 duo1 le, much better,
CM: hao3 duo1 le,
YJ: xie4 xie, means thanks
CM: xie4 xie,
YJ: wo3 jue2de hao3 duo1 le, xie4 xie.
CM: wo3 jue2de hao3 duo1 le, xie4 xie. I feel much better now, thanks.
 
Conversation 4:
(1)A: 感觉好点儿没?
B: 我觉得好多了,谢谢。

(2) A: 怎么样?还难受吗?
B: 我觉得好多了,谢谢。

Cam: It’s been a great week Yajie.  I’ve used all of this at the hospital, and I’m feeling much better!
YJ: That is great news.  Now time for our question of the day.
Cam: How do you say, “I feel much better now” in Chinese?
YJ: Send your answer to Chinese@crifm.com and you might win a prize.
Cam: Mingtianjian!

(Source:english.cri.cn)

Chinese Culture – Royal Kilns of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Jingdezhen

Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008

Location: Jingdezhen, East China’s Jiangxi Province

Period: Ming  and Qing  dynasties (1368-1911)

Excavation period: October 2002-January 2003, October-December 2003

A joint team of researchers from Peking University , the Jiangxi Provincial Cultural Relics Archeological Research Institute and Jingdezhen Porcelain Archeological Research Institute, led by Liu Xinyuan

 Findings

From 2002 to 2003, Chinese archeologists carried out two excavations at the royal kiln site in Zhushan of Jingdezhen, East China’s Jiangxi Province, unearthing wall remains, kiln ruins and house foundations in an area of 788 square meters.

A group of six gourd-shaped kilns were discovered arranged in a straight line. The kilns, dating back to the Hongwu to Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), were all built with wedge-shaped red bricks and consisted of a kiln door, fire chamber, front chamber, rear chamber and protective walls. This is the first time that gourd-shaped kilns were discovered in royal kilns.

Large quantities of porcelain craftworks were harvested at the site, such as bottles, pots, jars, bowls, plates, cups, flowerpots and boxes, to name a few, most with inscriptions. Various types of porcelain from the early and mid Ming Dynasty were the pride of the excavation, which produced some of the rarest porcelain in history. 

Significance

The new findings provide valuable materials for further study on royal kilns, firing techniques and characteristics, and the porcelain-manufacturing administration system of the Ming and Qing (1644-1911) period, inspiring contemporary artists to create works comparable to those made by their ancestors.

Jingdezhen, reputed as “the porcelain capital of China”, has a history of more than 600 years. During the Ming and Qing dynasties the “Imperial Porcelain Factory” — royal kilns producing porcelain exclusively for the imperial family — was set up in Zhushan of Jingdezhen, boosting the porcelain-making skills in Jingdezhen. It is recorded that when the factory had just been established, there was a total of 20 kilns; by the time of the Xuande (1426-1435) reign the number had reached 58.

Source: chinaculture.org