User Comments - barryb

Posted on: At the Hair Salon

I've got no hair, so I'll wait outside.

WHAT???????.... a blue-lipped GMO fish - half goldfish/half American flag and..... and congenitally-joined Siamese-twin Dalmation dogs! Children are supposed to ride in these things? I've lived for over 5 decades and I find the world of Chinese 5 yr olds profoundly disturbing. But Chinese adults are so well-adjusted...

I find the labelling a bit unclear, too (5 decades too many?), but that's good - it makes me question, think and double check. And remember.

Posted on: Afraid of Dogs

I love the 好吧 - hao3ba  at the end - no need for translation.

Does 好吧 always sound petulant, like the English phrase "if you must", or does it depend on the tone of voice? Could I say it enthusiastically, without irony?

Posted on: Traffic

BTW, Jenny, thanks for your prompt reply to my post. My next post sounded as though I hadn't seen your helpful comment - I had (trying to do more than one thing at a time).

So, Chinese marketeers turn 面包车 - mian4bao1che1 - bread vans  into 商务车 - shang1 wu4 che1 - business cars with a stroke of the pen. Easier than engineering! British (real-)estate agents have started turning our boring old "flats" into glamorous "apartments" - same old tricks...

Posted on: Traffic

Interesting how one little video has sparked so many questions in my head. More than the other lessons. Is this because I have to think for myself?

面包车 - mian4bao1che1 - minivan - several of us have wondered about this "bread vehicle".

卡车 - ka3che1 - truck. Perhaps it's "up-down vehicle"? 卡 - seems to be a combination of 上 - up and 下 - down. Makes sense for a pick-up truck or delivery van (UPS style), doing multiple "drop-offs" and "pick-ups".

公交车 - gong1jiao1che1 - bus - I'd learned gong1gong4qi4che1, too

It's 骑 - qi2 for bikes and motorbikes, but 坐 - zuo4 for cars and buses. So, it's zuo4 when you get inside it (I imagine tone 4 as I sink DOWN into the seat), but qi2 when you sit on top of it (tone 2 as I climb UP on top of it)?

大巴 da4ba1 - charter bus (UK coach?) is a strange word - the Chinese characters don't seem to make much sense, 巴 - ba1 seems to be for transliterations. So, what's it a transliteration of? Of "bus", perhaps?  "Big bus."

Sorry, I realise CPod staff are probably very busy, at the moment.

Posted on: Traffic

I like this - relaxing and effortless. I think it will help the vocab to sink in. Is it possible to make it loop? that would make it even more effortless - repetition by default.

mian4bao1che1 - "bread car"?  Is that the generic Chinese name for a delivery van, or does it refer only to bread delivery vans? Actually, it looks like what I would call a mini-bus (usually 12 seater).

Posted on: On Location at the Beijing 2008 Olympics

Hi, Renny.

Sorry if I've upset you, I certainly meant no offence. I know I post too much with off-topic rants, but I'm only trying to restore balance and point out great injustices in the world, as I see them.

You'll be pleased to know that in the last couple of days I've decided to stop. Who do I think I am? What do I know? Sorry I've been so embarrassing.

Most importantly, Chinesepod is about language learning, and I'm not helping. (I've tried hard in other places to contribute to this with mnemonics etc. but I don't think my style fits in - maybe I'm a bit weird!) I think a lot of what I've said is highly relevant to China, but not to Chinese language or culture.

Anyway, I wish you all the best. Please believe that I have nothing against any individual or nation.

Peace. Eyux

Posted on: Caught in the Act

My mnemonic for the tones of 老板  - lǎobǎn - boss was to think of my ugly fat boss with his saggy man-boobs drooping like two tone threes. Ugh.

(The female boss in the picture looks like a big girl, but that's fine by me.)

Posted on: On Location at the Beijing 2008 Olympics

Thanks, Xiao Hu!

Posted on: On Location at the Beijing 2008 Olympics

Hi, Xiaohu, let's talk about Chinese, much more fun. I'm very jealous of your Chinese language skill. Who am I to judge(?), but it looks like a big achievement to me. Much better than I'll ever be, so,敬个礼呀，握握手(do I sound like a 5yr old?), respect!

Posted on: On Location at the Beijing 2008 Olympics

Xiaohu says: "I really don't know where these Europeans get off talking all this smack..."

Of course, Europeans can be negative, but in the interests of balance...

1) Here's a clip of the US cycling team arriving at Beijing airport... wearing face-masks! A bit rude?

US cyclists arrive

2) Out of 20 responses to Amber longer than a few seconds, only 6 contain negative elements:

- an Englishman doesn't like people staring at his genitals. Fair enough.
- an Englishman doesn't like the food. A shame, but fair enough.
- a Canadian complains about the "overwhelming" military prescence..... ????....

Two concern taxis: a Dutch(?) woman and an Englishman both complain the taxi drivers don't know where they're going. Would speaking Chinese have helped them?

One concerns pollution: yes, a German(?) is negative. But, he says, it's got better since the rain.

3) People say Chinese cities are very polluted because they are very polluted. China's State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) says so:

"The air quality in only 37.6 percent of the cities was above Grade II, a national standard indicating a clean and healthy environment; the figure was 7.3 percentage points lower than for 2005.

Thirty-nine cities, four less than the number in 2005, were put on SEPA's black list, with air quality below Grade III, meaning they suffered severe air pollution."

Source: "China Struggling to Control Urban Pollution", SEPA

Of course China's polluted, it's the industrial powerhouse of the world, the West has exported its pollution. I remember when the cities of Northern England were, literally, black...