Archive for June 10th, 2009

Learn Chinese Podcast – Happy China 535

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009

Click to Watch Video Podcast

大牛:快乐学汉语,

Learn Chinese the fun way.

轻松又好记。

It’s easy to remember.

今天我大牛被尊为傈僳族的勇士。

Today I was revered as a warrior

of the ethnic Lisu minority people.

太让我高兴了。

I am so happy about it.

韩佳:大家好!

Hello, everyone!

我是快乐的韩佳。

I am Merry Han Jia.

哎,大牛,都找你半天了,

Oh, Daniel, I’ve been looking for

you for a long time

原来你躲这儿来了呀。

and you’re hiding yourself here.

大牛:什么叫躲在这里?

What do you mean hiding myself here?

再说你没看我这身打扮。

Look how I am dressed today.

现在你应该叫我大牛勇士。

You ought to call me Warrior Daniel.

韩佳:大牛勇士?

Warrior Daniel?

那傈僳族的传统,你不会不知道吧?

Don’t you know Lisu people’s traditions?

大牛:不就是爬刀山嘛,容易。

Isn’t it that people should climb the

mountain of knives? It’s easy.

韩佳:容易?

Easy?

哎,大牛,

Are you sure, Daniel,

不,大牛勇士。

oh no, Warrior Daniel?

大牛:对了。

That’s right.

韩佳:你倒是爬一个给我们看看呀。

Then have a climb for us to see.

大牛:爬?没问题。

You mean a climb? No problem.

韩佳:嗬。

Ha.

大牛:观众朋友们,

Audience friends,

这刀山虽然很难爬,

despite the difficulty involved,

但是还是被我大牛勇敢地征服了!

I have conquered the mountain

of knives!

Suīrán dāo shān hěn nán pá dàn háishi bèi wǒ zhēngfú le

虽然 刀 山 很 难 爬,但 还是 被 我 征服 了。

Despite the difficulty involved, I have

conquered the mountain of knives.

韩佳:我说大牛。

Listen to me, Daniel.

你怎么就待在那儿不动了呀?

Why are you staying there

without any move?

继续往上爬呀!

Go on climbing!

大牛:爬高爬低还不都一样嘛!

Isn’t it the same to climb up or down!

韩佳:那哪能一样。

No, it isn’t.

继续!继续!

Go up! Up!

停!

Stop!

大牛:怎么样?这下服了吧?

What do you say? Are you convinced?

韩佳:你还好意思说呢?

Do you have the nerve to say that?

你怎么是穿着鞋爬的呀!

You climbed with your shoes on!

大牛:我这不是怕天冷嘛。

That’s because I feared it was

cold here.

韩佳:可是傈僳族的勇士们

But all those Lisu warriors

都是光着脚爬刀山的。

climb the mountain without shoes.

大牛:啊!光着脚?

What! Do they climb it barefoot?

旁白:光脚,光脚。

Yes, barefoot, barefoot.

大牛:傈僳族勇士我不当了。

I don’t want to be a Lisu warrior now.

我还是当快乐的大牛。走吧!

I’d better continue to be Happy Daniel.

I’m quitting!

还好我跑得快。

It is good that I run pretty fast.

什么光着脚爬刀山!

She wants me to climb barefoot!

我才不干呢!

No way!

哎,韩佳呢?

Eh, where is Han Jia?

哇,这条街真不错!

Wow, what a nice street it is here!

各种各样的工艺品都有,

There are all kinds of craftworks

还有铜器呢。

and even copper wares.

这里的铜器真不少,

In fact, a lot of copper wares,

连铜挂锁都有。

even including some copper padlocks.

我听说这种锁的制作技术都濒临失传了。

I heard the technique of making such

locks is on the verge of extinction.

我得赶紧把它们都买下来。

I have to buy them all now.

Wǒ děi gǎnjǐn bǎ tāmen dōu mǎi xià lai

我 得 赶紧 把 它们 都 买 下 来。

I have to buy them all now.

韩佳:哎,大牛,

Hey, Daniel,

你什么时候变得这么阔绰了呀?

when did you become so “kuochuo”?

大牛:什么叫阔绰?

What does “kuochuo” mean?

韩佳:“阔绰”就是形容排场大,

“Kuochuo” means ostentatious

生活很奢侈。

or extravagant.

大牛:阔绰,读四声,

“kuochuo” two fourth tones,

形容排场大,生活很奢侈。

means ostentatious or extravagant.

阔绰。

“Kuochuo”.

韩佳,怎么是你呀?

Han Jia, why are you here?

韩佳:我呢,现在是这家店的老板。

I am here as the manager

of this shop.

大牛:那韩老板,

Ms. Manager Han,

你赶紧告诉我这里是什么地方?

could you please tell me

what place it is?

韩佳:这里就是东巴谷的民俗生态村。

This is the Dongba Valley Folk-Custom

and Eco Village.

大牛:民俗村?

A folk-custom and eco village?

哦,怪不得在这里能看到傈僳族。

Oh! No wonder I can see Lisu

people here.

韩佳:这里不光有傈僳族,

In addition to Lisu people,

还有普米族和他留人等等。

there are also Pumi and Taliu

ethnic minorities here.

那么这条街就是由各族的,

This is Jiangren Street,

能工巧匠组成的匠人街了。

featuring skilled artisans of

various ethnicities.

大牛:嘿,这么好玩的地方,

Hey, what an interesting place it is!

你得带我好好逛逛。

You should take me for a nice

stroll here!

韩佳:嗯,好吧。

Yeah, okay.

伙计们,看好铺子啊!

You guys, take care of the shop!

大牛:韩佳,等等。

Han Jia, wait a minute.

这谁家盖房子那么不仔细啊?

Whose house is it which was

built so carelessly?

这墙上怎么还有一个洞啊!

Why, there’s even a hole in the wall!

韩佳:这是他留人的房子。

This is a Taliu home.

这个洞是故意留的。

The hole was opened on purpose.

大牛:故意留的?

On purpose?

它有什么作用吗?

What’s the use of it?

韩佳:这说来话就长了。

There is story about it.

他留人的姑娘在成年之后,

When a Taliu girl reaches adulthood,

会有一间自己单独的屋子,

she normally has a room of her own,

叫青春棚。

called the adolescence shed.

是用来和他留人的小伙子们

It is used as a place

谈情说爱,花前月下的地方。

for a girl to date her young lover.

大牛:花前月下?

“Hua qian yue xia”?

韩佳:花前月下,

“Hua qian yue xia”,

原来是指环境优美的地方,

literally in front of the flowers and

under the moon,

现在专用它来指男女约会的地方。

means a place where young

lovers meet.

大牛:“花前月下”原来是指环境优美的地方,

“hua qian yue xia”, literally in front

of the flowers and under the moon,

现在专用它来指男女约会的地方。

means a place where young

lovers meet.

花前月下。

“Hua qian yue xia”.

Huā qián yuè xià

花 前 月 下

a place where young lovers meet

哦,原来这个房子

Oh, this house is actually

是用来约会的啊。

a place for dating.

韩佳:慢点儿,大牛。

Hold on, Daniel.

大牛:怎么了?

What’s the matter?

韩佳:如果他留人的小伙子

Only when a Taliu young man really

想跟屋里的姑娘谈恋爱,

wants to have a date with

the girl inside,

那才会把竹竿插进洞去,

could he put a bamboo pole

into that hole

看姑娘是否同意。

to see if she agrees to the date.

大牛:那现在怎么办哪?

What should I do now?

哟,怎么又出来了?

Gee, why was it pushed out?

韩佳:这个呀

This shows

就证明那个小伙子被拒绝了呗。

that young man has been turned down.

大牛:那就是说我?

You mean me?

韩佳:这个嘛

You should understand

whom I mean

我不说你也应该知道了喽。

without my further explanation.

大牛:没眼光!

Lacking judgment!

赏心悦目:

沐浴着阳光与山风

The warm sunshine and gentle

mountain breeze,

伴随着欢快的民族歌舞

the jovial ethnic songs and dances

自然景观与民族风情完美融合

as well as various scenic attractions

一切都在东巴谷中呈现

are just parts of the beauty of

Dongba Valley.

纳西族的图腾雄伟壮观

The Naxi ethnicity’s totems

are impressive.

彝族健儿攀登刀山 异常惊险

Ethnic Yi young people have the tradition

of climbing the mountain of knives.

纯朴的民风 特有的民俗

The centuries-old traditions and customs

在美丽的东巴谷中处处体现

can be seen everywhere in

Dongba Valley.

大牛:好。

Good.

韩佳:太好喽。

Wonderful.

大牛:这些奇特的风俗真有意思!

This unique folk custom is

so interesting!

韩佳:哎,说起来

Eh, don’t you think

你是不是应该谢谢我啊?

you should be grateful to me?

要不然,今天看你怎么办?

Otherwise, what could have

happened to you?

大牛:嘿,靠自己也不会有什么问题啊。

Hey, I wouldn’t have had any problem

if I had to deal with it alone.

韩佳:那倒是。

Sure.

反正人家也看不上他。

Anyway she doesn’t fall for you.

大牛:那是人家没眼光。

That’s because she lacks judgment.

算了。

Oh, forget about it.

我还是给大家出今天的问题吧。

I’d like again to set a question

for today.

(问题部分略)

韩佳:赶快把您的答案,

If you know the answer,

通过屏幕上的方式发送给我们吧。

send it to us now using the method

given here.

精美礼品等您拿。

A classy gift is awaiting you.

大牛:最后别忘了我们的口号:

Before we go, please don’t

forget our slogan-

合: 学说中国话,朋友遍天下。

Learn Chinese and make friends everywhere!

(Source: cctv.com)

Chinese Conversation – lesson 468

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009

向陶瓷展览区移动
曼蒂:这是我们要参观的最后一个地方——陶瓷。
盖柏:我想我的头要爆炸了。
曼蒂:哈,那么,这个展览区只会让你更糟。这里就像玉跟青铜器一样,是最大的展览区之一。
盖柏:喔……
曼蒂:陶瓷跟玉一样,也有几千年的历史。但我想从汉代的丧葬器皿开始说起。
盖柏:(小声地对莫理说)哇咧,又是死人的东西啊。

Moving over to the Ceramics Exhibition
Maddie: This is the last area we’ll look at-ceramics.
Gabe: I think my head is going to explode.
Maddie: Hah, well, this exhibit won’t help you. This, like jade and bronze, is one of the largest exhibits we have.
Gabe: Ohhhh…
Maddie: Like jade, there’s thousands of years of ceramic history. But I’d like to start with a focus on Han funerary items.
Gabe: [Under his breath to Morley] Great, more death stuff.

(Source: wwenglish.com)

Cri – Lesson 350

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009
Greeting is a way for human beings to intentionally communicate awareness of each other’s presence, to show attention to, and to suggest a type of relationship or social status between individuals or groups of people coming in contact with each other. New year greetings are looked upon by Chinese people.

The Chinese New Year is often accompanied by loud, enthusiastic greetings, often referred to as 吉祥話 (Jíxiánghùa) , or loosely translated as auspicious words or phrases. Some of the most common examples may include:

Happy New Year
simplified Chinese: 新年快乐; traditional Chinese: 新年快樂; pinyin: Xīnnián kuàilè; Cantonese: San nin faai lok.

A more contemporary greeting reflective of western influences, it literally translates from the greeting “Happy new year” more common in the west. But in northern parts of China, traditionally people say simplified Chinese: 过年好; traditional Chinese: 過年好; pinyin: guònian hǎo instead of simplified Chinese: 新年快乐, to differentiate it from the international new year. And 過年好 can be used from the first day to the fifth day of Chinese new year.

(Source: bjchinese.bjedu.cn)