Advanced - 自然灾害

My biggest gripe with what they did to simplified characters is the loss of meaningful radicals, even radicals that themselves have been modified! Best example is 开(kāi open) and 关(guān close). Tradition is 開 and 関. As you can see, our two little simplified friends are in the middle of the tradition character for door 門(mén). Isn't "door" what these two characters are mostly all about, especially before there were lights, cell phones and televisions to turn on and off???? Yet they couldn't even put 开 and 关 in the simplified version of door, 门, like 问(wèn ask) 间(jiān room) and 闭(bì shut [for eyes,mouth,etc.]) get to be. Would three more strokes around those 4 and 6 strokes characters really been too complicated? Yet they leave things like 警察 (just explained the radicals for this character on a post I made in my bio) Will the person responsible step forward????!!! (or at least someone who can explain this 有一点笨的事情？)

Haha Rich nice one!

By the power invested in me (none) I now declare the word 警察(jǐngchá police) forever more simplified as well, which is now 言示(yánshì). So forget you ever heard the word jǐngchá.

And if you don't like it... well, you can call the 言示 to come get me.(and tell them about this change when you do)

Having studied both traditional and simplified characters I'd say the simplified are much easier to learn and more practical when writing by hand. I also think it's ridiculous to suggest they are a Western construction--the last time I checked they were a Chinese invention.

In the forums, they said traditional is coming back soon. When is traditional coming back? or has Cpod deemed 繁體字太麻煩啦！ Clever of the PRC govn't to give Traditional characters such a negative name. Cpod網站已經破壞了。 我很討厭Cpod 的新界面。

Sorry to post these technical issues here but not sure where else to post because: 1. "contact chinesepod" function also seems not to be working.When I hit the button and get taken to my email program, the "to" header is weird: "chinesepod chinespod". It didn't use to repeat your name twice so I fear that the emails to you are not going through. 2. Another function that is not working: the sound /audio feature of the flash cards no longer works either. I concur with Rich's last post: I feel like I've fallen into some very disorienting site and have no idea how to get to where I want to go.

What happened to the traditional character version? This is a huge omission? I'm learning Chinese in Taiwan, so traditional is a must! Please provide a traditional character supplement as was done in the past. Also, this new site is really hard to navigate and I'm unable to pull up old lessons. What is going on?

隔三差五 doesn't necessarily refer to days right? More like an expression?

I don't know why my previous posting has been repeated. Oh well. Anyway, thank you Rich, for your comments. For me, it would be best to have an English translation as a kind of appendix, separate from the actual dialogue. Then, when I have finished with my English translation, I could go back and compare and see how I have done. As for how I check the right meaning, I check all the main dictionaries and, in the very end, I ask Chinese friends. In translating from Chinese to English, sometimes you have to fill in information that is understood in Chinese but left out but such information is called for in English. You have to fill in the dots as it were. I have studied many languages and the more different the languages are, the more "paraphrasing" you have to do. When translating from a Western language to English, the underlying substratum is Graeco-Roman culture with all its references. Even if the Western language is not Indo-European, e.g. Basque, Finnish, Hungarian, etc., the underlying Graeco-Roman Judaeo-Christian tradition is there. The fascination is when translating from an Asian language into English, you also have to translate different substrata. For example, from Thai to English, you have to take into account the Sanskrit-Pali Buddhist context. From Chinese to English, you have to take into account Chinese history, Taoism, etc. An example of this substratum is the name of the planets. In Thai, many of the words are from Sanskrit-Pali while English takes the names from Latin (or a Frenchified version of Latin, e.g. Mercury, Saturn, Neptune instead of Mercuriious, Saturnus, Neptunus). The Chinese have their own words for planets. But I digress. The main thing is to compare one's feeble attempts at translation with someone else's. In that way, you learn from your mistakes and from someone else's prowess

user36152, I am having the same problem when trying to download the mp3 files. Here's an easy fix. Right click on the link and change the file extension from "htm" to mp3 and save it. For some reason the program thinks that it's an html file and automatically gives it that extension. Good luck, Tracy

uhhh... i can only read 'le' and 'bu' I'm done.

Again, unable to download mp3 full episode. Shows as an HTML document.

I had the same problem with Internet Explorer, but when I switched browser to Firefox , it worked. good lucks user 7302

I've had a lot of trouble connecting to ChinesePod since the new site went online. Once I connect, however, everything works. And help bring China into the 1990s, STOP USING IE!

Still can't download mp3 file. Appears as html document. Pls help.

Tech issues... 自然灾害/zi4 ran2 zai1 hai4/natural disaster! There is really a use for every lesson.

: ) mmmmm... advanced lessons are good.

先知耶利米说：“耶和华啊，我清楚知道，世人不能掌握自己的道路，人行走也无法确定该走的方向。”　(耶利米书10:23)　这话千真万确！ 造物主的原意就是希望地球受到合适的照料。根据圣经的创世记载，耶和华上帝把所造的人安置在伊甸园里，叫他耕种，料理园子。(创世纪2:15)人类家庭接受的委派不仅是照料伊甸园而已，还要将乐园的疆界扩展到整个地球。(创世纪1:28) 可悲的事，由于亚当夏娃反叛，他们不再完美，而且失去了照料乐园和扩展乐园疆界的机会。作为第一对人类的后代，我们遗传了他们的罪和不完美。（罗马书5：12)　人类妄图自我管治，造成可悲的后果，滥用地球资源只是其中一个列证。显而易见，人类对于自己制造的问题束手无策，需要外来的帮助。

Jenny 人类致力解决环境问题已经三十多年了，为什么他们的努力收效这么小呢？一个原因是经济增长的需求。国家经济是靠消费推动的，因此企业需要推出产品，而生产则需要消耗自然资源。如此恶性循环，环境就成了牺牲品。那么，问题如何解决呢？ 人类自行管治却落得可悲下场，圣经提示了这个原因。先知也

睡太少。。。

Jenny, 别担心。我们大多数意识到你们大家都辛苦， 非常努力地工作。 我每天发现新安装的功能，新提供的选项， 许多改正的错误。 我信服换你们的服务到V3是对的决定， 有无限的潜力！！ 可是我一点担心因为你们不够休息， 水太少。应该保重身体。 Hope this was roughly understandable - it got late...

Andy 食神 我没错吧？（看你吃东西的照片） V3一天一天在改进，你的鼓励很重要！大家辛苦再辛苦地工作，真是1000%地拼命。你一定会很快看到结果的。Meanwhile, give us patience and support. 祝你好心情好胃口！ jenny

How come everyone stopped posting in Chinese???

Yes, translations would be great please!

Thank you for the Firefox tip. I downloaded the mp3 file using Firefox. Xiexie

When I said you should copy the text, I didn't mean your blog entries... ha ha. Just kidding. that is weird it is happening. Remember not to press the back button when surfing ChinesePod (an unfortunate fate) or things get posted again, and I found Firefox is a lot more friendly with ChinesePod (or vice versa)

I don't know why my previous posting has been repeated. Oh well. Anyway, thank you Rich, for your comments. For me, it would be best to have an English translation as a kind of appendix, separate from the actual dialogue. Then, when I have finished with my English translation, I could go back and compare and see how I have done. As for how I check the right meaning, I check all the main dictionaries and, in the very end, I ask Chinese friends. In translating from Chinese to English, sometimes you have to fill in information that is understood in Chinese but left out but such information is called for in English. You have to fill in the dots as it were. I have studied many languages and the more different the languages are, the more "paraphrasing" you have to do. When translating from a Western language to English, the underlying substratum is Graeco-Roman culture with all its references. Even if the Western language is not Indo-European, e.g. Basque, Finnish, Hungarian, etc., the underlying Graeco-Roman Judaeo-Christian tradition is there. The fascination is when translating from an Asian language into English, you also have to translate different substrata. For example, from Thai to English, you have to take into account the Sanskrit-Pali Buddhist context. From Chinese to English, you have to take into account Chinese history, Taoism, etc. An example of this substratum is the name of the planets. In Thai, many of the words are from Sanskrit-Pali while English takes the names from Latin (or a Frenchified version of Latin, e.g. Mercury, Saturn, Neptune instead of Mercuriious, Saturnus, Neptunus). The Chinese have their own words for planets. But I digress. The main thing is to compare one's feeble attempts at translation with someone else's. In that way, you learn from your mistakes and from someone else's prowess

My only wish is that there could be an English translation for the Advanced level. It is always interesting to compare the two languages and how they differ in expressing ideas. Perhaps that will be done in the future. I hope so. Of course I can work it out the meaning but it would be great to compare what I can work out with a reliable translation

Oh, forgot to add: How do you check to make sure you have the right meaning? The English version should also make sense! :-) (Since advanced text is longer, it is usually self correcting... remember, we are learning a new language, we aren't learning new concepts, e.g. we understand Natural Disasters in English, so you should know if what they are saying would be the way you translated it or not. Don't mean to make this sound like a big chore... take baby steps... one step at a time.)

Mikeledorta, As an advanced student, while I would also like to check to see if I really understand the meaning of more than just a word or sentence, but a whole block of text, it also accord to me that, for me personally anyway, since I want to do translation work in the future, the best learning exercise I can do is actually copy each sentence of the dialog (try to look at the sentence and then write it if you are also learning to write) but write it douple spaced. After one line in the dialog, in the blank lines write the English translation, using English thought but try to keep it as close to the actual word usage as possible. My Chinese friends love reading my in-between-the-lines English translations. Sure, sometimes I goof big time, but if I had the English translation at hand I'd probably be less likely to get around to doing it. (oh, and when you're done, post it here... ha ha) 加油！ 小明

My only wish is that there could be an English translation for the Advanced level. It is always interesting to compare the two languages and how they differ in expressing ideas. Perhaps that will be done in the future. I hope so. Of course I can work it out the meaning but it would be great to compare what I can work out with a reliable translation

Hi there one - maybe very stupid - question: But how do I get the new lesson automatically in iTunes "my podcasts". Before the upgrade I could enter an "url" at iTunes, and it downloaded automatically my bookmarked lessons...how does that work now ?!

谢谢大家的支持！对我们是无限的鼓励。

At university, we are only being taught the simplified version of characters. Unfortunately, this prevents us from comprehending many on-line materials, and it's also frustrating not being able to read ads and placards in the streets. It would be very useful to learn both versions...though it means a lot of work! marta

Andy, I love you for your comments. Traditional characters will come back. It will happen and we must help it happen as you have done with your little comments. Simplified characters were promoted by the West, against the Chinese culture. Looks can be deceiving and simplified characters are not simple at all they are not only illogical, buy very "complex" as unstructured. 簡體字太麻煩啦!

I don't know why my previous posting has been repeated. Oh well. Anyway, thank you Rich, for your comments. For me, it would be best to have an English translation as a kind of appendix, separate from the actual dialogue. Then, when I have finished with my English translation, I could go back and compare and see how I have done. As for how I check the right meaning, I check all the main dictionaries and, in the very end, I ask Chinese friends. In translating from Chinese to English, sometimes you have to fill in information that is understood in Chinese but left out but such information is called for in English. You have to fill in the dots as it were. I have studied many languages and the more different the languages are, the more "paraphrasing" you have to do. When translating from a Western language to English, the underlying substratum is Graeco-Roman culture with all its references. Even if the Western language is not Indo-European, e.g. Basque, Finnish, Hungarian, etc., the underlying Graeco-Roman Judaeo-Christian tradition is there. The fascination is when translating from an Asian language into English, you also have to translate different substrata. For example, from Thai to English, you have to take into account the Sanskrit-Pali Buddhist context. From Chinese to English, you have to take into account Chinese history, Taoism, etc. An example of this substratum is the name of the planets. In Thai, many of the words are from Sanskrit-Pali while English takes the names from Latin (or a Frenchified version of Latin, e.g. Mercury, Saturn, Neptune instead of Mercuriious, Saturnus, Neptunus). The Chinese have their own words for planets. But I digress. The main thing is to compare one's feeble attempts at translation with someone else's. In that way, you learn from your mistakes and from someone else's prowess

I have to admit, as much as I've been using this V3 ChinesePod the last few days, I still feel like it is really hard to get a glance at all the recent lessons like before (the main page), who was the last to post what on which blog and when (like on the side of V2 pages), etc. I feel like I'm in a tunnel maze trying to find others and pop out at various lesson blogs. V3 is more modern, but it is missing some of the colors and details of the old V2... anyway to keep this new login/profile/personal blog interface (the only plus I've seen) but tweak it more like the old way? Guess this isn't the best place to be posting this, but like I said, it's not always the easiest to find where to post. Off to Ken's blog pages and see if I can't figure those out better.

The new site has a nicer, more open look but I am having major problems with just about every dimension of the site: 1. The mp3 files no longer download smoothly 2. 25% of the time the regular lesson button will not launch today's lesson, so I've not been able to do my daily lesson at all on several days 3. Finding the older lessons is now more difficult--you have to click on "explore" which launches extremely slowly--takes my computer close to 30 seconds to 60 seconds to launch the screen 4. The Concentration game, which I used to use extensively, is far less functional because a) the dark gray "Wrong" banner is a huge distraction and makes it difficult to see the word one has chosen beneath the opaque banner; and b) because the cards seem to flip faster, making it impossible to see where one went wrong (although the cards may just seem to flip faster because of the annoying Wrong banner). 5. The exercises are now far less functional because you don't get graded for each answer but instead are told only that you got 9/10 right. Ok, but I don't have all day to go back and vary my answers to figure out which one is wrong. The permutations of possible answers is very large! 6. The vocabulary matching exercise for the daily lesson no longer works--the line does not appear linking words and so you can't use this function either. Hope you can fix these issues quickly. I miss my smoothly functioning Chinesepod. Daryl

xianzai huanjing ye gei women lianse kan le What is a good way to translate this into English? does it mean since weve destroyed the environment, the environment is now showing us its true colours? or does it mean it is showing us our own face color aka scaring us? (by making our face colour pale?) not sure...somebody please explain! Thanks

ok, I finally paid for a year (albeit the basic subscription) can somebody please now help me out with this question!?!??!?!?!?? onegai shimasu!!!! sorry that was Japanese...qing gei wo jieshi zhege wenti xiexie ya!!!!!! xianzai huanjing ye gei women lianse kan le What is a good way to translate this into English? does it mean since weve destroyed the environment, the environment is now showing us its true colours? or does it mean it is showing us our own face color aka scaring us? (by making our face colour pale?) not sure...somebody please explain! Thanks

Please chinesepod answer my question!!!

hi robertk, First and foremost, so very sorry for missing your very good question for this long. 请原谅 qǐng yuánliàng!! The sentence: 我们破坏环境，现在环境也给我们脸色看了。 (Wǒmen pòhuài huánjìng, xiànzài huánjìng yě gěi wǒmen liǎnsè kàn le.) What it means is that, because humans have been destroying the environment, now the environment is showing us how it feels about it; or retaliating against us for it. 脸色 (liǎnsè) here literally means "facial expression." Hope that helps to clear it up a bit! :)

Thanks so much...very much appreciatted! Helped a lot

RE: simplified characters. The worst part about them is that they treat several words that are COMPLETELY unrelated as the same word. For example, "fa" in "toufa" (hair) and "fa" in "fazhan" (develop). They are even pronounced differently! What is the deal with that? I never liked that.

Probably a foolish question: am I missing a link to a traditional version of the html? Or do they not exist in advanced lessons this old? Another odd note: entering the title of this lesson, 自然災害, in the "find a lesson about" box returns... nothing. I need to just enter 自然. (At least "natural disasters" also works.)