Archive for January 26th, 2009

Chinese Character – Chile (nation):智利

Monday, January 26th, 2009

Chile (nation):

Chinese Pinyin: zhi4 li4

(Source: about.com)

Learn Chinese Podcast – Happy China 400

Monday, January 26th, 2009
 
 

   大牛:头顶一片蓝天,脚下万亩良田。

  With a blue sky overhead and a

  vast pastureland underfoot,

  韩佳:大牛就在旁边,散步吃草悠闲。

  Daniu (cattle) close by are strolling

  and grazing leisurely.

  大牛:什么?

  What?

  韩佳:嗨,我说的呀,是那边的大牛。

  Hey, what I meant were those cattle.

  你看它们,多悠闲自在啊。

  You see how carefree and leisurely

  they are.

  大牛:嗨,吓我一跳,我以为她说的是我呢。

  Oh, she stunned me and thought

  she was referring to me.

  这里的景色真不错。

  The scenery here isn’t bad.

  韩佳:是啊。齐齐哈尔啊,土地肥沃、

  Yeah. The Qiqihar area is

  known for its fertile land

  生态农业十分发达。

  and advanced ecological agriculture.

  大牛:今天就让我们好好欣赏这里

  Today, we’ll take a close look at

  迷人的田园风光吧。

  the fascinating idyllic scenery.

  韩佳,你看。

  Han Jia, look.

  这些高粱长得多好啊!

  How well these sorghum plants

  are growing!

  韩佳:哎,大牛,你认识高粱吗?

  Daniel, do you know what sorghum

  looks like?

  大牛:小瞧人了吧。高粱谁不认识。

  You are underestimating me. Sure I do.

  韩佳:那你再好好看看。这是高粱吗?

  Then look carefully. Are they

  sorghum plants?

  大牛:这些谷子长得还真像高粱。

  These millet plants are very much

  like sorghum.

  韩佳:哎,大牛,我真服了你了。

  Hey, Daniel, you are so glib-tongued.

  这些庄稼明明是玉米。

  These crops are clearly corn.

  Zhèxiē zhuāngjia míngmíng shì yùmǐ.

  这些 庄稼 明明 是 玉米。

  It’s obvious that these crops are corn.

  大牛:这里的玉米怎么长得那么像高粱呢?

  Why the corn plants resemble

  sorghum so much?

  韩佳:你就别再提你那高粱了。

  No more sorghum, okay?

  老老实实承认自己是外行吧。

  Just admit that you are a layman.

  大牛:的确,我对这些是七窍不通。

  Indeed, about crops, I am “qi

  qiao bu tong”.

  韩佳:那叫一窍不通。

  We say “yi qiao bu tong” (utterly ignorant).

  窍啊,是比喻事情的关键。

  ”qiao” means a knack, a key to something.

  一窍不通是指对某种事物

  ”yi qiao bu tong” means not to have the least

  没有任何的知识,一点都不懂。

  knowledge about something.

  大牛:一窍不通是指对某种事物没有任何的知识,

  ”yi qiao bu tong” means to be completely

  ignorant of and have no knowledge

  一点都不懂。

  about certain topic.

  一窍不通。

  ”yi qiao bu tong”.

  其实我对庄稼什么的不在行。

  Actually, I know very little about crops.

  还是让我们看风景吧。

  We’d better go watch the scenery.

  哎,韩佳,

  Han Jia,

  我发现这里到处都是树木和农田。

  I find trees and crop fields everywhere here.

  而且这些树木连起来好像一个一个的方格子。

  And these trees are grown in crisscrossing

  lines to form rows upon rows of squares.

  韩佳:在拜泉啊,有一万多个

  In Baiquan, for instance, there are over

  这样的防护林网格呢。

  10,000 such protective squares of trees.

  大牛:啊,这么多,为什么要这样呢?

  Why so many trees planted in

  a grid pattern?

  韩佳:这样栽树啊,既可以保持水土,

  Trees planted this way can not

  only prevent soil erosion,

  又可以防止风沙侵害农作物。

  but also fend off the onslaught

  of sandstorms.

  大牛:哦,这倒是个不错的办法。

  Oh, this is really a very good method.

  韩佳:是啊 树林涵养了水源,

  Yeah, trees also help conserve

  water resources

  又有效地防止了水分的蒸发,

  by effectively preventing the

  evaporation of soil moisture,

  增加了空气中的湿度。

  while increasing the humidity of the air.

  构成了一个生物水库。

  These trees constitute an ecological reservoir.

  大牛:哦,原来生态农业就是这么简单。

  Oh, ecological agriculture is so simple.

  韩佳:哎,这你可就理解错了。

  No, you misunderstood.

  拜泉的生态农业是一个既庞大

  The ecological agriculture in

  Baiquan s a huge

  而又复杂的工程。

  and complex project.

  Shēngtài nóngyè shì gè pángdà fùzá de gōngchéng.

  生态 农业 是 个 庞大 复杂 的 工程。

  Ecological agriculture is a vast

  and complex engineering project.

  大牛:这里又安静,空气又清新,

  This is a quiet place with clean air

  景色好得很。

  and very nice scenery.

  韩佳:你啊,别光顾着看风景。

  Don’t just care for the scenery.

  我来给你讲讲…

  Let me tell you something …

  大牛:哎,等等,等等。

  Hey, wait, wait.

  你要讲,待会儿再讲。

  Tell me that later if you really want to.

  现在看风景要紧。

  Seeing the scenery is more important.

  韩佳:那你说说,你都看到了什么啊?

  Then tell me what exactly have

  you seen?

  大牛:你看,山顶上绿树成荫;

  You see dense green trees on

  the mountaintop,

  山坡上片片农田;

  stretches of crop fields on the slopes

  山脚下小河流水。

  and a stream flowing at the foot

  of the mountain.

  好一派田园风光啊!

  What a typical idyllic landscape!

  韩佳:不错吧?其实你看到的每一处风景啊

  Great? Actually every sight you

  have seen

  都是生态农业的一部分。

  is part of the area’s ecological agriculture.

  大牛:哦,怎么讲?

  Can you be more specific?

  韩佳:你看,山上的树木和梯田

  You see, the trees and terraced

  fields on the

  一层层地保持了水土,

  mountain help conserve soil and water

  多余的水分通过山下的河流

  while the surplus water flows

  into the stream

  汇集到池塘中保存了起来。

  below, which links various ponds.

  这样呢,在缺水的情况下,

  Thus, in times of drought,

  就可以用来灌溉农田。

  the conserved water can be used

  to irrigate the crop fields.

  这样设计是不是很巧妙呢?

  Is the whole idea quite ingenious?

  大牛:这个办法太棒了,

  This is indeed a great idea of

  既节省资源,又很环保。

  conserving water resources and protecting

  the environment at the same time.

  真可以说是一箭双雕。

  It is surely “yi jian shuang diao”

  (killing two birds with one stone).

  韩佳:哎,在这里啊,用一举两得比较合适。

  Here, the idiom “yi ju liang de”

  is more suitable.

  就是说做了一件事情而得到两种收获。

  It means an effort producing

  double benefits.

  一举两得。

  That’s “yi ju liang de”.

  大牛:哎,对了。

  Oh, yes.

  一举两得和英语中的一石两鸟的意思相近。

  ” yi ju liang de” is similar to the English

  expression “killing two birds with one stone”.

  就是说做了一件事情而得到两种收获。

  It means that two goals are accomplished

  by performing one action.

  一举两得。

  ”yi ju liang de”.

  例如,生态农业的确是一举两得的事。

  For example, ecological agriculture

  is a double-purpose undertaking.

  Shēngtài nóngyè díquè shì yì jǔ liǎng dé.

  生态 农业 的确 是 一 举 两 得。

  Ecological agriculture kills two

  birds with one stone.

  没想到这农业也这么有看头。

  I didn’t realize agriculture could be

  is so interesting.

  韩佳:是啊。这里的生态农业啊

  Yeah. The ecological agriculture here

  在世界上也非常有名。

  is world-famous.

  但可能你想象不到,

  But you may hardly imagine that

  这里啊,其实是一个缺水的地区。

  water shortage used to a big

  problem here.

  大牛:不可能吧!

  That’s impossible!

  在这里到处都能看到池塘。

  We can see ponds everywhere

  in this area.

  韩佳:真的是这样。

  That’s true.

  如果不植树造林、筑塘蓄水,

  But for these trees and ponds,

  这里啊,很快就会变成荒漠了。

  this place would turn into a desert soon.

  大牛:这么说我们看到的每片树林、

  That is to say that all the trees

  and ponds

  每片池塘都是人造的呀。

  we see here are not natural.

  韩佳:没错。

  Exactly.

  在这里三千五百多平方公里内的每一棵树啊,

  In this area, 3,500 square kilometers

  in size,

  都是人工栽种的。

  every tree was planted by local people.

  大牛:真是一项浩大的工程。

  This was an extremely huge project.

  要不是我亲眼看到,

  If I didn’t see it with my own eyes,

  我还真不敢相信这里有这么美的地方,

  I wouldn’t believe it’s true. Since there

  is such a beautiful place here,

  我还想在这里多待一会儿。

  I really want to stay here a little longer.

  韩佳:没问题。那就进入我们今天的赏心悦目,

  No problem. Now let’s move into

  today’s Feast for the Eyes

  再到这迷人的田园中去游览一番吧。

  to take another glimpse of the

  fascinating crop fields here.

  大牛:请看。

  Please watch.

  赏心悦目:

  拜泉县因生态农业而闻名

  Baiquan County is known for its

  eco-agriculture.

  3599平方公里的绿色植被

  With an area of 3,599 sq. km.,

  为拜泉大地染上一片碧绿

  the county pays attention to forestation.

  每一片林带都为人工精心育成

  They have planted rows upon

  rows of trees

  一草一木无不经过悉心栽培

  and tended them with the utmost care.

  完备的生态系统变为丰厚的农业资源

  The sound ecosystem has prepared favorable

  青山绿水间绿色产业蓬勃发展

  conditions for the development

  green agriculture.

  怎么样,很美吧?

  Well, is it beautiful?

  韩佳:如果有机会的话,

  If you have the chance,

  您一定要亲自来看一看。

  we suggest you come here

  for a visit.

  好了,接下来呢就要出我们今天的问题了。

  Now, it’s time to check out the

  question for today.

  本期问题:

  成语“一窍不通”里的“窍”比喻的是什么?

  What does “qiao” in the idiom “yi qiao bu tong” mean?

  dòng

  A.洞 A cave

  Wǔ guān

  B.五 官 Five sense organs on the face

  Bǐ yù shì qíng de guān jiàn

  C.比 喻 事 情 的 关 键

  A key to something,a knack

  大牛:精美礼品等您拿。

  A cool gift is awaiting you.

  韩佳:如果您还有什么问题或者是建议,

  If you have any questions or suggestions,

  可以用屏幕上的方式随时跟我们联系。

  please let us know anytime, using

  the method given on the screen.

  大牛:今天的节目就到这里了。

  I’m afraid that all we have time

  for today.

  在节目的最后,我们要说什么呢?

  What do we always say at the

  end of the show?

  合: 学说中国话,朋友遍天下。

  Learn Chinese and have friends everywhere.

(Source: cctv.com)

Cri – Lesson 215

Monday, January 26th, 2009

Y: Welcome to Chinese Studio! Wo Shi Yajie.
R: And Wo Shi Raymond. Say Yajie you look very nice today.
Y: Why thank you Raymond and so do you.
R: Well well I think your shoes look especially good.
Y: Well and you are quite the smart little bug.
R: Ok that’s enough before I throw up. It’s time for the key words of the day.
 
Key Words of the Day
smart 聪明 you are so smart. 你很聪明。Thank you, I’m flattered. 谢谢你,过奖了。 All in today’s Chinese Studio. 

Y: Hey there smarty pants.
R: Whatever four eyes.
Y: Ok Pocket protector.
R: Great I think you’re very smart.
Y: And I think you’re very sarcastic.
R: Well, actually I think you really are smart. As you know wit is a very difficult skill to pull off.
Y: Well then you probably want to know how to say that: “You are so smart.”
你很聪明。
ni2 hen3 cong1 ming.

Ni3: you
Hen3: very much, quite,
cong1 ming: smart,

R: Well I think we should now focus on how to respond when you hear compliments.
Y: yeah, let’s say someone is saying that: Raymond, your Chinese is really amazing, and then you can say: Thank you. I’m flattered.
R: how do you say that in Chinese?
Y: you can say: 谢谢你,过奖了。

xie4 xie4 ni3, guo4 jiang3 le. 

Xie4 xie4: thanks,
Ni3: you,
xie4 xie4 ni3: thank you, 

Guo4: too much, overdo something,
Jiang3:  praise
Guo4 jiang3: overpraise, flatter,
guo4 jiang3 le: I’m flattered.

R: Well that wraps up our attempts to compliment each other.
Y: Yea but before we give away these great Chinese books of idioms or a free class from the bridge school lets do the quiz.
R: How do you say “you’re smart.” in Chinese and send it to Chinese@crifm.com
Y: Don’t forget to check out our website at crienglish.com and click learn chinese.

(Source:english.cri.cn)