An Easy Reading Passage for Intermediates
danjo
July 18, 2007, 07:07 AM posted in General DiscussionI find it very satisfying to read and understand authentic written Chinese, so I thought I'd point out a short, easy article I read yesterday. I read it in 读者 (a good source for not overly difficult magazine reading) but I see that it is online as well:
http://www.chinaqking.com/sh/2007/6900.html
I did look up a number of words, which I'll copy and paste here:
探望
tànwàng
pay a visit
挫折
cuòzhé
setback
诸
zhū
various, all, these
即使
jíshǐ
even if; even though
宁愿
nìng yuàn
would rather; better
窝
wō
nest
然而
ránér
however; yet; but
沮丧
jǔsàng
dejected
多么
how (wonderful, etc)
what (a great idea, etc)
however (difficult it may be, etc)
出卖
chūmài
to sell (off)
如意
rúyì
(adj) matches ones wishes
坦白
tǎnbái
honest; forthcoming
厌倦
yànjuàn
dreary
疗
liáo
be healed
挫败
cuòbài
defeat
半夜三更
bànyèsāngēng
in the dead of the night
更
gēng
a 2 hour period in the night
In the second to last paragraph I'm still a little confused by "那头" and "那一刻", however.
babliku
July 18, 2007, 08:53 AM头 in this case refers to the extreme end of something, in this case it's one side of the telephone line. So 那一头 is like "on the other side of the line" or "on that side of the line". And on that side, your mom's glad that you're coming back for a meal. 刻 is simply a moment in time; 那一刻 is "at that moment", or more simply, "then, [etc etc]". BTW I'm new to Chinesepod. Those conversations marked with a white cross on green are inaccessible to free subscribers?
excuter
July 18, 2007, 08:56 AMnot all, but it tells you it´s an extra
bazza
July 18, 2007, 09:21 AMGood site, thanks for sharing.
excuter
July 18, 2007, 08:45 AM那 - that, that one,those 头- head, top, chief, first, Boss 那一刻 - that quarter hour my translatingattempt with help of ChinesePera-kun