Archive for October 28th, 2008

Learn Chinese Podcast – Happy China 310

Tuesday, October 28th, 2008
 
 

  (6月21日播出)

  大牛:快乐学汉语,轻松又好记。

  Enjoy learning Chinese.

  It is carefree and easy.

  大家好,我是快乐的大牛。

  Hello, everyone. I am happy Daniel.

  韩佳老说我贪玩。

  Han Jia always complains that I

  waste time playing all the time.

  今天她坐船逛香港。

  Today, she will visit Hong Kong

  by sea.

  好家伙,找不着地儿了。

  Good heavens! I can’t find the

  exact place.

  她让我到码头去接她。

  She asked me to meet her at

  the dock.

  您先等等啊,我去去就来。

  Please wait for a while. I’ll come

  back soon.

  这么多船,上哪儿找她去啊?

  So many ships! Where can I

  Catch her?

  她不会是真走丢了吧?

  Wasn’t she lost?

  韩佳:大牛,让你去接我,你怎么跑这儿来了?

  Daniel, I asked you to meet me.

  Why are you here?

  合: 找你半天了。你到啦?

  I’ve been looking for you for a while.

  You’re here actually.

  大牛:你是从哪条大船下来的呀?

  Which ship did you just leave from?

  韩佳:你怎么净说不着边际的话呀?

  Why are you always shooting those

  strange remarks?

  哪有人坐货轮旅游的呀?

  Who will travel by freighter?

  大牛:原来,这里是货运码头啊。

  Oh, this is the dock for

  freight transport.

  怪不得有那么多吊车。

  No wonder so many cranes.

  韩佳:这葵涌货柜码头是世界上

  Kui Yong Container Dock is one of

  名列前茅的集装箱中心。

  the top container distribution centers

  in the world.

  就在维多利亚港的西北部。

  It’s just at northwest of Victoria Harbor.

  大牛:我对货柜码头不太了解,

  Well, I’m not so knowledgable about

  the container port,

  但我知道维多利亚港。

  but I know about Victoria Port.

  韩佳:那好。

  OK.

  今天我们就去看看这著名的港湾。

  We’re going to visit the famous

  Harbor today.

  Zánmen jīntiān jiùyào kàn zhè zhùmíng de gǎngwān.

  咱们 今天 就要 看 这 著名 的 港湾。

  Today, we’re going to visit a

  famous Harbour.

  大牛,这维多利亚港

  Daniel, the Victoria Harbor

  可是中国第一,世界第三大海港呢。

  is the largest harbor in China and

  the third largest in the world.

  大牛:真的吗?看着也不宽哪。

  Really? It doesn’t seem very broad.

  韩佳:这里虽然不宽,但是有宽的地方呀。

  Though it’s not broad here, it has

  broader sections somewhere else.

  港区水域辽阔,可以同时停泊五十艘巨轮呢。

  The water area here is really vast.

  It can hold 50 large ships at a time.

  像那样的远洋巨轮全天候进出港口。

  Deep-sea vessels like that enter into or

  depart from the harbor all-weather.

  大牛:全天候。就是说从早上到晚上吗?

  Quan Tian Hou. Does it mean “from

  morning till night”?

  韩佳:全天候

  Quan Tian Hou

  就是指任何气侯条件下都可以使用,

  means that the harbor is available

  under any weather conditions

  二十四小时都不停。

  round-the-clock.

  大牛:哦,是这样。

  Oh, I see.

  全天候,全读二声,天读一声,候读四声,

  Quan Tian Hou, second tone, first tone,

  fourth tone,

  就是在任何气候条件下都能使用。

  means that something can be used

  whatever the weather.

  全天候。

  Quan Tian Hou.

  韩佳:投身在维多利亚港的怀抱中,

  Embraced by the Victoria Harbor

  海上渡船真是怡然自得呀。

  boating at sea is a real pleasure.

  大牛:你看!维多利亚港周边的建筑

  Look! Victoria Harbor is surrounded

  什么样的都有,各具特色。

  by various characteristic buildings.

  Wéiduōlìyà gǎng zhōubiān de jiànzhù gè jù tèsè.

  维多利亚 港 周边 的 建筑 各 具 特色。

  Victoria Harbour is surrounded by

  various buildings of all shapes and sizes.

  韩佳:这维多利亚港要是没有周围的这些建筑,

  If not with all those buildings around,

  the Victoria Harbor

  还真没那么好看。

  couldn’t be such beautiful.

  不如我带你去看看港口两岸的建筑吧。

  ǘLet me show you buildings on both

  banks of the harbor.

  大牛:您受累了。

  Sorry to trouble you.

  韩佳:没事儿。

  That’s OK.

  大牛:这栋楼挺有意思。

  This building is really interesting.

  你看,跟船似的,都是圆窗户。

  It seems like a ship with all those

  round windows.

  韩佳:这是怡和大厦。

  This is Jardine House.

  香港人亲切地称它为瑞士乳酪。

  Hong Kong people give it a nickname

  ”Swiss cheese”,

  因为整栋大厦一共有一千七百四十八扇窗户,

  because the whole building has

  1,748 windows in total.

  远远地看就像一块大乳酪。

  It looks like a large piece of cheese

  at a distance.

  大牛:它是我见过的最大的乳酪了。

  Well, it certainly is the biggest piece

  of cheese I’ve ever seen.

  韩佳,我给你出个歇后语。

  Han Jia, I have a two-part allegorical

  saying for you.

  我来说前半句,

  I’ll present the first part,

  你来对后半句,怎么样?

  you do the second part, OK?

  韩佳:好,没问题,请。

  OK, no problem, please.

  大牛:怡和大厦的窗户。

  Windows of the Jardine House.

  韩佳:怡和大厦的窗户。

  Windows of the Jardine House.

  什么呀?

  What?

  大牛:圆圆满满。

  Yuan Yuan Man Man.

  韩佳:怎么讲?

  Why?

  大牛:你看,怡和大厦的窗户都是圆形的,

  Look, all windows of the Jardine House

  are round,

  而且整栋楼上满满的,全是窗户。

  and this building has so many windows.

  这不是圆圆满满吗?

  Couldn’t it be called “extremely

  satisfactory”?

  韩佳:你还挺有创造力。

  You are so creative.

  大牛:过奖,过奖。

  You overpraised me.

  圆圆满满就是没有缺欠,

  Yuan Yuan Man Man is a Chinese

  expression which means

  非常完美。

  without any defects or perfect.

  圆圆满满。

  Yuan Yuan Man Man.

  这栋大厦真有立体感。

  This building is very vivid.

  韩佳:这是美国的设计师保罗.鲁道夫

  This is the Li Bao Center designed

  by Paul Rudolph,

  合: 设计的力宝中心。有创意。

  a creative American architect.

  韩佳:这栋大厦不光外形看上去很有创意,

  This mansion is creative in its outlook.

  建筑师还把行人和车辆分流。

  Moreover, the architect also separates

  passengers from vehicle.

  一楼是行人区,地下楼层是公车站。

  The ground floor is for passengers and

  the underground floor is for bus stops.

  这样您想到哪儿去都很方便。

  It is very convenient for you to go

  anywhere you like.

  Nǐ xiǎng dào nǎr qù dōu hěn fāngbiàn.

  你 想 到 哪儿 去 都 很 方便。

  It is very convenient to go

  anywhere you like.

  大牛:哟,都六点半了。时间过得真快。

  Hey, it’s six and a half already.

  How time flies.

  韩佳:这是尖沙咀钟楼。

  This is Tsim Sha Tsui Bell Tower.

  是旧的九广铁路总站大楼

  It is the only construction left of

  惟一留下来的建筑物。

  the old terminal building of the

  Kowloon-Guangzhou Railway.

  我们身后的是香港文化中心。

  The Hong Kong Cultural Center is

  behind us.

  大牛:对了,就是这儿。

  Yes, here it is.

  韩佳:什么呀?

  What?

  大牛:从这个位置看到的景色最有名了。

  The scenery we see from our current

  position is most famous.

  许多维多利亚港的照片就是在这儿拍的。

  Many photos of the Victoria Harbor

  were taken here.

  韩佳:没错儿。

  Right.

  要是到了晚上,环顾四周,万家灯火。

  Looking around in the evening, you

  may see a myriad of twinkling lights.

  您可以欣赏到维多利亚港

  You’ll see more beautiful night scenery

  更美丽的夜色呢。

  of the Victoria Harbor.

  大牛:时间怎么过得这么慢呢?

  Why does the clock go so slowly?

  韩佳:快慢都让你给说了。

  You’ve complained about both

  quickness and slowness.

  别急,别急。

  Take it easy.

  现在就到赏心悦目中去欣赏夜景吧。

  Let’s go to today’s Enjoyable Scenery

  to enjoy night scene.

  大牛:早说啊。

  Why didn’t you tell me early?

  学说中国话,朋友遍天下。

  Learn to speak Chinese and make

  friends everywhere.

  合: 我们明天再见吧。再见。

  See you tomorrow. Bye-bye.

  赏心悦目:

  维多利亚港位于九龙尖沙咀南岸海域

  The Victoria Harbor is located in the south

  maritime belt of Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon.

  岸边高楼林立 建筑雄伟

  There are serried skyscrapers and

  majestic buildings along the bank.

  港内货船轮渡穿梭往来

  Freighters and ferries come and go

  busily in the harbor.

  葵涌货柜码头在香港货运业中占有重要地位

  Kui Yong Container Dock enjoys a very important

  position in Hong Kong’s carrying trade.

  海面宽广 白浪翻飞

  Surrounded by broad sea area and

  surging waves,

  白日里高速运转的都市

  the busy city in the daytime

  入夜则显得更加温馨

  is brimmed with warmth at night.

(Source: cctv.com)

Chinese Conversation – lesson 243

Tuesday, October 28th, 2008

莎莉:这次不是他第二次被控告性骚扰儿童了吗?我不认为他这次能够用月球漫步的方式脱身。
阿良:他还做了其它的怪事。好比他还把他的小孩举出阳台外。
莎莉:是啊。那次真吓人。一直都有一堆关于他的传言呢。
阿良:你是说好比他做过的一堆整形手术。
莎莉:还有传言中他把皮肤染白的方式。
阿良:他一年比一年看来更像是外星人。
莎莉:想想看其它的囚犯在监狱里会怎么对待他吧。
阿良:为了他好,我希望他真的会有自己说的那么‘坏’。

Shelly: Isn’t this already the second time he’s been accused of child molestation? I don’t think he’ll be able to Moonwalk his way out this time.
Aliang: He’s done other weird things, you know. Like when he held his kid over a balcony.
Shelly: Yeah. That was shocking. There have always been so many rumors about him.
Aliang: You mean like his multiple plastic surgeries.
Shelly: And the way people say he dyed his skin white.
Aliang: He looks more and more like an alien every year.
Shelly: Just imagine how the other prisoners are going to treat him behind bars.
Aliang: I hope for his sake that he’s really as “Bad” as he says he is.

(Source: wwenglish.com)

Chinese Culture – Shixia Site

Tuesday, October 28th, 2008

 

Archaeological site of the Neolithic Age

 

Location: Qujiang County, Guangdong Province

 

Period: 2,900-2,700 BC

 

Excavated in 1973

 

Jue, a jade ring from which a segment has been cut: ornament (up, diameter 6.3 cm); Jue, a jade ring from which a segment has been cut: ornament (mid, diameter 8.8 cm); Cong, a jade cuboid with a hole in the middle: ritual object (bottom, length 14.1 cm)

Significance: The finding has provided important material objects for the study of the disintegration of the primitive society of Lingnan area, which covers the present-day Guangdong Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

 

 Introduction

 

A site which overlaps chronologically both Hemudu and the southwest Guangxi Shell Middens is in northern Guangdong at Shixia. This site has three stratums corresponding to the Western Zhou to Spring and Autumn period, Xia and Shang, and the late Neolithic Age. Shixia is far closer to Hemudu in its richness than the Guangxi Shell Middens, and seemingly is tied to the late Neolithic cultures of the middle and lower Yangtze regions.

 

Shixia Site covers about 30,000 square meters. So far, foundation of ancient houses, storage pits, pottery kilns and tombs were discovered in the site and about 3,000 pieces of stoneware, pottery, bone ware and jade were unearthed.

Source: chinaculture.org