User Comments - bodawei

Posted on: Focus and Specialization

'Does anyone transcribe the dialogues now when they are there in the pdf or dialogue tab?'

I think that the answer is yes - this is in effect a 听写. I am sure I have seen comments here from learners who say that they painstakingly write out the dialogue as part of the learning process. I guess that they could do this as a 听写 or by (low level) simply copying the characters from the pdf.

But if there is value in actually doing the transcript (and I am agreeing that there is some value) it should not matter whether ChinesePod has done it or not.

This reminds me of 听力 classes I have done in the past - in some texts there are transcriptions in the back of the book. But if all you did was read the transcripts you would miss the exercise of 听力. The difference between 听写 and 听力 is actual comprehension. In my 听力 classes I was often able to identify the words being said but not understand the sentence - totally miss the point. The 听力 class however takes you the next step - you typically have to answer questions about what you heard, to ascertain whether you understood the conversation. There is at least three steps: hear the words (increasingly difficult for me as I get older particularly if in a restaurant or the like), understand the words, understand the sentence. At ChinesePod the first step is almost redundant because the speakers are so clear. Although even there problems remain: you might get words run into one another, tones you miss or they are changed by the speaker, or the rhythm of the sentence may be unfamiliar.

That's a long answer that says that it should be worthwhile doing even if ChinesePod itself does the transcript.

When I said 'no chance' it was partly rhetorical, partly a reflection of Jenny and John's separate comments above.

Posted on: Matchmaking in the Park

Hi recordvoice

' "why haven't you come home yet", wouldn't we use 没 to say "你怎么还没回家“ ?'

I hope you don't mind debating with a grammar idiot - I really have no pretensions in this area.

You sentence above I would translate as 'why haven't you been home yet?' So the 没 puts the action 'going home' sometime in the period A to B where B is the present and A is sometime in the past.

I'm still happy with the original ChinesePod translation but I am wondering if we wanted to make clear that the speaker is at home wouldn't we use 回来家?

You are probably right about the 还 - I think that it does add emphasis to 'late' - in my mind this is consistent with a translation 'still'.

Posted on: Plane Ticket Prices

'both cheap compared to the quotes I got from non-chinese carriers'

Not 100% sure what you mean by 'carrier' (usually refers to an airline.) I'm interested in what you are saying but don't really understand. I can get tickets on ticket9588 that are as little as 40% of full price, but there are still discount seats on the site that we can't access. So this might make a flight unavailable to us because they show as full. I have never used ctrip so don't know how that works.

Posted on: Plane Ticket Prices

'didn't even know you could ask for gluten-free meals.'

It's a case study in how Chinese industry learns fast. Despite almost complete absence of coeliac disease in the country, you can now get gluten free meals. Outside the airline industry there is no comprehension of the words 无谷蛋白。

Posted on: Focus and Specialization

'... setting up your own wireless at home.'

This is not so much specialized as mysterious. I have done this twice in China. First we took over a friend's place, they left a router. A Chinese friend gave me a name 'Mr Wang' and a mobile phone number. I spent half a day at least learning the terminology I thought I would need (way too much), then gave him a call. He sent a young man who did the job for us .. then I asked 'how much?' and he didn't charge us. We moved houses and I had to do it again. This time I had a China Telecom ADSL account in the landlord's name and bought a wireless router at the computer market. Again I called Mr Wang, and the same young man promptly appeared. Again they did the job for nothing. This is a business model that I still find mysterious.

Posted on: Plane Ticket Prices

'foreigners have figured out how to get around such hurdles. '

Foreigners can't get around it if purchasing on-line, because you need to provide your ID number to proceed to the cheapest seats. Unless you use a Chinese friend's ID. Ctrip can't get you around this barrier.

'Food on flights'

Yes, you get food on flights - pretty basic, usually a choice of 'chicken or beef'. My 无谷蛋白 (gluten free) requests are getting a better response. It seems that the airline industry is learning what gluten free is.

Posted on: Plane Ticket Prices

'if you wait until the 25th of the month, the cheap fares come out'

Yes, they seem to periodically release more seats - it's unnerving. Did you know that the cheapest seats are reserved for Chinese citizens? It's (perhaps) the last gasp of the old policies of official discrimination against foreigners.

Posted on: Plane Ticket Prices

'wasn't a promotion, but an interview'

I don't know it is a long time ago now, I thought that there was an out and out plug for Ctrip. I remember them giving the impression that Ctrip was unique.

'wedded to United' - sounds like they might pay your fares .. :)

In China we use one of the on-line booking sites, never had a problem, usually get about 50% off. In Aust we buy direct from the airline.

I have used an agent in China for flying to Aust with ok results, but was alarmed when she wouldn't give me a receipt of any kind. All I had over her if anything went wrong was 'mother of a student' and a mobile number. Turned out fine.

Posted on: Taking the Plunge into Intermediate

Hi xiao_liang - you've been hiding. Good to see you again.

Posted on: Matchmaking in the Park

Hi recordvoice

The ChinesePod translation looks more accurate to me. It has a 还 there meaning 'still' which is missing from your translation, and your sentence would probably be along the lines of 你回家吧？