Archive for October 29th, 2008

Learn Chinese Podcast – Happy China 311

Wednesday, October 29th, 2008
 
 

  (6月22日播出)

  合: 快乐学汉语,轻松又好记。

  Enjoy learning Chinese,

  It is carefree and easy.

  大牛:快乐的大牛、韩佳在香港向您问好。

  Happy Daniel and Han Jia say hello

  to you in Hong Kong.

  韩佳:大牛,你干吗要这样向大家问好啊?

  Daniel, why do you greeting the

  audience like that?

  大牛:做好准备活动啊。

  I need to stretch my muscles

  for preparation.

  我们不是马上要去爬山了吗?

  Aren’t we going to climb the mountain?

  韩佳:爬山?我们今天有爬山的计划吗?

  Climbing? Do we have such a plan?

  大牛:不是已经说好了吗?

  That’s a deal, isn’t it?

  今天我们要到香港的太平山山顶。

  Today we’ll mount to the top of

  Tai Ping Hill.

  不爬怎么到山顶?飞上去?

  How could we get to the top of the

  mountain without climbing? Fly?

  韩佳:那儿不是有缆车吗?

  It has cable cars there, doesn’t it?

  大牛:这个缆车真有特色。

  This cable car is so unique.

  不是我们常见的悬挂在空中的,

  It’s not like the ordinary one that is

  hung in the air.

  而是轨道式的。

  It has its own rail.

  韩佳:没错儿。

  Right.

  这里的一大特色就是这山顶缆车。

  This mountaintop cable car is actually

  a unique characteristic here.

  如果你非要自己爬上去,我也不拦着你。

  If you insist on mounting this hill

  by yourself, I’ll not stop you.

  大牛:哦,不。那么方便的交通工具哪能错过。

  Oh, no. I can’t miss such a

  convenient vehicle.

  韩佳:大牛刚才用到了一个动词,错过。

  Daniel used a word just now,

  Cuo Guo.

  当我们没有留意失去了机会的时候,

  When we missed opportunities due

  to carelessness,

  就要用错过这个词。

  we could use the word Cuo Guo.

  比如说,错过了机会,

  For example, missed an opportunity,

  或者是错过了一场球赛。

  or missed a match.

  大牛:没错。错过,读二声,就是没有留意

  Right, Cuo Guo, two fourth tones, is

  a Chinese expression which means

  失去了机会。错过。

  to miss out on something. Cuo Guo.

  比如说我差一点错过了这趟车。

  For instance, I almost missed the

  cable car.

  Wǒ chà yìdiǎnr cuòguòle zhè tang chē.

  我 差 一点儿 错过了 这 趟 车。

  I almost missed the bus.

  韩佳:听说这山顶缆车已经有一百多年的历史了。

  I heard this mountaintop cable car

  is more than 100-year old.

  那今天呢,我们也去体验一下。走。

  So today, we’ll try it personally.

  Come on.

  大牛:哟,到站了。

  Oh, Here we are.

  韩佳,还要坐车吗?

  Han Jia, do we need another drive?

  韩佳:不用啊。我们已经到山顶了。

  No. We are on the mountaintop now.

  你说那辆车啊?

  Do you refer to that car?

  你猜它是干什么用的?

  Could you guess what it is for?

  大牛:一辆绿色的车。是邮车吗?

  A green car. Is it a mail cart?

  韩佳:说对了一半。

  You’re partially right.

  这是邮局,不是邮车。

  This is a post office, instead of a

  mail cart.

  大牛:邮局?汽车是邮局?

  Post office? The car is a post office.

  韩佳:不信啊?

  Don’t you believe it?

  那你就去买点山顶美景的明信片

  So you could buy some post cards

  with beautiful mountaintop scenery

  寄给朋友。

  for your friends.

  合: 我还真不信。走。

  I really doubt it. Let’s go to have

  a look.

  大牛:还真是邮局。

  It’s a real post office.

  先生您好,您这儿有明信片吗?

  Excuse me, sir. Do you have post

  cards here?

  嘉宾:有。

  Yes.

  大牛:韩佳,你帮我选一张最有特色的。

  Han Jia, please help me to select

  the most unique one.

  韩佳:我看就选这张吧。

  I favor this one.

  你看,这就是凌霄阁。

  Look, this is Ling Xiao Ge.

  合: 就是那边的那座建筑。造型很特别。

  It’s the architecture there with

  extraordinary design.

  大牛:韩佳,太平山山顶真是惊喜连连。

  Han Jia, we met so many pleasant

  surprises on the top of the Tai Ping Hill.

  韩佳:没错儿。还有更多惊喜呢,

  Right. More pleasant surprises

  are waiting for us

  就在那凌霄阁里。走。

  just in that Ling Xiao Ge. Come on.

  大牛:还没付钱呢。

  We haven’t paid yet.

  天哪,我竟然碰上了我的偶像啊。

  Oh, my God. I saw my idol.

  Wǒ jūrán pèngdàole wǒ de ǒuxiàng.

  我 居然 碰到了 我 的 偶像。

  I am lucky to meet my idol.

  韩佳:谁啊?哪儿呢?

  Who? Where?

  大牛:就是他!就是他!

  It’s him! Him!

  功夫巨星,成龙啊。

  Martial Arts superstar Jackie Chan.

  韩佳,你说我是先跟他合影

  Han Jia, do you think I should

  take a photo with him at first

  还是先请他签名,要不…

  or firstly ask a signature of him, or…

  韩佳,成龙怎么一动不动的?

  Han Jia, why is Jackie Chan

  standing there still?

  韩佳:这是成龙大哥的蜡像。

  This is the wax figure of Jackie Chan.

  大牛:哦,是这样。这里一定是香港杜莎夫人蜡像馆。

  Oh, I see. This must be Madame

  Tussaud’s in Hong Kong.

  韩佳:这里有一百多尊名人蜡像呢。

  There are more than one hundred wax

  figures of famous celebrities

  政治、经济、文化、体育,

  from all fields of politics, economy,

  culture and sports

  各个领域的名人都有。

  and so on.

  大牛:我们赶快抓紧时间和明星们面对面。

  We’d better hurry up to meet those stars.

  嘉宾:又多了两尊蜡像,合个影吧。

  Here are two wax figures.

  Let’s take a photo.

  大牛:这里的蜡像真可以以假乱真。

  The wax figures here are really of

  verisimilitude.

  不过也有美中不足之处。

  But there is also Mei Zhong Bu Zu.

  韩佳:你知道美中不足的意思吗?

  Do you know the meaning of

  Mei Zhong Bu Zu?

  就是说虽然很好,

  That means that though it’s very good,

  但是也有不完美,不理想的地方。

  there is still something imperfect.

  大牛:这我知道。

  I know it.

  美中不足就是说虽然很好,

  Mei Zhong Bu Zu used here, this expression

  which means a slight disappointment,

  但也有不完美的地方。美中不足。

  in an otherwise perfect experience.

  Mei Zhong Bu Zu.

  Měi zhōng bù zú

  美 中 不 足

  A disappointment in an

  otherwise perfect experience

  韩佳:那你倒是说说哪儿美中不足啊?

  Could you name some of such blemishes?

  大牛:美中不足的地方就是

  They are…

  要是这些蜡像都是真人那该多好啊。

  it will be better if all those wax figures

  are alive.

  韩佳,这里就是山顶广场吧?

  Han Jia, is this the mountaintop square?

  建得不错。

  Well-built.

  合: 那我们好好去逛逛吧。走。

  Let’s have a good look at it.

  Come on!

  韩佳:大牛,你看。从这里可以看到香港的全景。

  Daniel, look! We could see the panorama

  of Hong Kong from here.

  大牛:真是太棒了!

  Great!

  从这里看,香港的楼房就像小模型一样。

  Seen from here, buildings of Hong Kong

  are just like small models.

  韩佳:那当然了。

  Sure.

  这太平山顶是香港岛的最高点。

  The top of the Tai Ping Hill is the

  highest peak of Hong Kong.

  大牛:我要从这里看看香港到底

  I’ll see from here

  有哪些好玩的地方。

  where we could spend our pleasant

  tour in Hong Kong.

  韩佳:那你就慢慢找吧。

  OK, take your time.

  接下来让我们到赏心悦目中

  Let’s go to today’s Enjoyable Scenery

  再去看看香港的美景吧。

  for more beautiful places of Hong Kong.

  别忘了我们的口号:

  Don’t forget our motto,

  合: 学说中国话,朋友遍天下。

  Learn to speak Chinese and

  make friends everywhere.

  赏心悦目:

  太平山雄踞港岛西南部

  Tai Ping Hill is in the southwest of

  Hong Kong Island.

  轨道式山顶缆车已有一百多年历史

  The rail cable car has a history of

  over 100 years.

  站在山顶一览香港全景

  On the mountaintop, have a birds’-eye

  view over the Hong Kong Island.

  游览凌宵阁和杜莎夫人蜡像馆

  Tour the Ling Xiao Ge and Madame

  Tussaud’s Wax Museum,

  馆内名人荟萃

  where celebrities assemble

  人物造型逼真 栩栩如生

  in vivid forms.

  俯瞰港岛 一览无余

  Have a panoramic view of the Hong Kong

  Island, everything is in sight in a glance.

  夕阳远眺 风光无限

  Overlook the setting sun, the scene

  is charming.

(Source: cctv.com)

Chinese Conversation – lesson 244

Wednesday, October 29th, 2008

你听过“命运之手”或是“命运的捉弄”之类的话吗?和其它语言一样,英语用生动而丰富的暗喻,将“手”和“我们难以控制的影响力”的观念联系起来。自古以来,手一直在引发人们的兴趣。相手术,即看手相在全世界也已经应用几个世纪了。

Have you ever heard of the hand of destiny, or the fickle finger of fate? English, like other languages, has colorful metaphors linking the hand to notions of influence by forces beyond our control. In fact, the hand has been a source of fascination since ancient times, and palmistry, the reading of the hand, has been practiced around the world for centuries.

(Source: wwenglish.com)

Chinese Culture – Site in the North of Dongwantsai

Wednesday, October 29th, 2008

 

Site from the Neolithic Age to the early Bronze Age

 

Location: Mawan Island, Hong Kong

 

Period: 3700-500 BC

 

Excavated in 1997

 

Significance: It has provided important materials for the study of the prehistoric cultures of Hong Kong

Stand of pottery vessels: kitchen utensil (up, height 18.2 cm); Pottery pot with long neck and circular leg: food container or water vessel (bottom, height 26 cm)

 

 Introduction

 

Site in the North of Dongwantsai, with an unearthed area of 1,500 square meters, is a typical sand-mound site. More than 20 tombs were discovered, with abundant cultural relics such as pottery, stone and bone wares, and mussel tools. Most astonishingly, archaeologists found 15 skeletons of ancient people in the site.

Source: chinaculture.org