User Comments - bill
bill
Posted on: All About Measure Words
October 15, 2007 at 3:14 AMI think it would be great if you used more measure words in your lessons. They usage is very common and yet they seem to be rarely used in lessons. I've never seen examples like, "两辆气车," or “三只动物," in the chinesepod lessons. It would also be handy to have a good list of measure words with examples on your site. In fact, it would be great if every dictionary entry for a noun had its measure word included. 请问很好！ Bill
Posted on: Beyond Or: Another Use of 还是 (háishi)
October 11, 2007 at 4:03 PMI don't think enough can be said about Connie's contribution to 请问。 The combination of Amber, Connie and Ken is 完美。 Minor correction: 你还是自己决定吧！ Ni3 hai2shi4 zi4ji3 JUE2ding4 ba! Bill
Posted on: Don't Leave
September 28, 2007 at 10:50 PMAlwingate, I'm on my forth language now. English is my maternal language, I learned Spanish as a child, and took 4 years in high school, and 3 semesters at UC Berkeley. We actually had a language requirement for our degree in the 60's. I taught myself French by immersion and with the help of some good friends, and always remaining in French: French to French dictionaries; French grammar books in French - primary school first - then a leap to adult level. What I've learned about listening through all of this is simple: Just listen and be patient. Your brain knows how to learn a language - you did it very well as a child - and you need to let it do its work while you fill your mind with the sounds of Chinese. I always play Chinese popular music in my car as well as French by the way, and it's really magic. In time the lyrics begin to reveal themselves. A wonderful experiment. I also make tours of the Chinese Pod dictionary and listen over and over to the sounds and ALWAYS cover up the English by making my browser's height small. I've been at this for over a year, and sure, I'm no where near 100% on 请问 but I get most of it; I diligently study the elementary and intermediate lessons and listen to the advanced intermediate for the musicality of the language and to perhaps enhance my vocabulary. Whenever I go to either a French or Chinese film, I cover up the English subtitles if they are present. If there are native language subtitles I use them as aids. Keep the faith - you'll do quite well in time, Bill
Posted on: Godzilla in Shanghai
September 25, 2007 at 2:01 AMOn the origin of "Mozilla:" From the Wikipedia: Mozilla was the mascot of the now-disbanded Netscape Communications Corporation, formerly called Mosaic Communications Corporation. Initially, the mascot took various forms, including that of a helmeted astronaut or "spaceman", but the eventual choice was a Godzilla-like lizard thought to go well with the Godzilla-like name. It was designed by Dave Titus in 1994.
Posted on: Godzilla in Shanghai
September 22, 2007 at 3:54 AMHi changye, 我的好朋友是 Mozilla 北京 的 主任。他可能知道. 我要请他 ...
Posted on: Godzilla in Shanghai
September 21, 2007 at 3:40 PMI'm waiting for Godzilla to attack the Internet in an Anime film. Could be a sequel to the "Lain" series which is excellent by the way. What brings this to mind is the once possible "Godzilla Gram." In the early 80's when the Internet was still in the craddle so to speak, it was possible to send a datagram addressed to every computer on the Internet. Everything one sends on the Internet is a well defined sequence of small messages called datagrams. This datagram to everyone was apply named the "Godzilla Gram" since the results of unleashing such a beast would have been a disaster. More or less Godzilla eating the Internet is the image, or really, trillions and trillions of very small ones gobbling away at the speed of light. While the Godzilla Gram is no longer possible (it was stopped in its tracks way back then), one can imagine a rather fun film - Godizilla vrs the Internet Wizards - lots of hackers and people freaked out because they can't download the next cpod lesson all banding together stop "Godzilla Gram." Hmmm ... time to get up I think. It's 8:30AM here in California. Perhaps all of this is inspired by the current renovation of our home. Tractors just ate half of it. Bill Bill
Posted on: You Can and Will Use 会 (huì)!
September 18, 2007 at 3:21 AMBazza, 很多人总是都听请问 with or without podcasts。The message is not the medium. 请问 is the "Best of the best." It's a privilege to be able to participate, and to learn with the help of Amber, Ken, and what's her name?, oh yes, dear Jenny (-: And from time-to-time John too. Bill
Posted on: More or less? 多 (duō) and 少 (shǎo)
September 11, 2007 at 3:45 AMOops ... typo again )-: 多懂中文。但是大家懂我 (-:
Posted on: More or less? 多 (duō) and 少 (shǎo)
September 11, 2007 at 3:40 AM多听请问，多董中文. 我觉得Connie说清楚. 谢谢! Bill
Posted on: Yang Jie's Diary: Date with a Nerd
October 16, 2007 at 4:40 PMGiven the 请问 lesson, "Something's About to Happen," it seems to me that: 马上就要考试了。我死定了！ is something one would say when about to enter the exam room. Here, I am referring to the ”马上就 ...了" construct. To quote Ken, "That means really soon, it's a matter of a few seconds." In this lesson the exam is at least two days away. Bill