User Comments - bodawei
bodawei
Posted on: Plane Ticket Prices
October 4, 2011 at 11:12 AMpretzellogic
I'm referring to a 'culture' lesson - was it one in Jenny's series of interviews? didn't they do one on CTrip? Whatever it was there was a substantial endorsement of the business.
Posted on: Plane Ticket Prices
October 4, 2011 at 8:37 AMHi kong_yi
This is a sponsored lesson I guess - I think a couple of years ago ChinesePod made an explicit plug - I don't mind that so much.
Most people are aware of the saying 'buyer beware' ... you also have to beware the ad creep. :) Do you ever catch the Gruen Factor? Great comments on the advertising industry.
Posted on: Napping in the Meeting
October 3, 2011 at 11:19 AMHi hggrty666
'You can access things by first going to www.google.hk'
I don't know whether it is you or me, but I don't think this has got anything to do with the problem at hand. Going to www.google.hk does not give you special access to the various sites that are blocked by China, such as Twitter and Facebook. If you use google there it pops you to www.google.hk anyway.
Not sure about your reference to Skype.. has Skype ever been blocked? Not in the three years I have lived in China; maybe it is a new thing?
Posted on: All About Chinese Tea
September 18, 2011 at 7:02 AMThanks David and Greg - listening to these gentle ramblings is a wonderful way to relax on a Sunday afternoon. The subject of tea brings back lots of memories for me, not only in China.
Right at the start I have to say that I am no tea expert, but I have come under the sway of some tea experts. Snobs you could say. I have also had some wonderful experiences sitting drinking tea for hours on end - one notable time captive to tea enthusiasts on a 15 hour train trip.
I am always learning new things about tea. Although Chinese people are not big on tea bags, they do drink increasing amounts of 茶粉 (tea powder); it comes in bottles rather like instant coffee.
Early this year I tasted tea from the ancient tea trees - the leaves are picked by people who climb into these old trees said to be several hundred years old.
I once lived at the base of a hill planted in 龙井茶 - in the picking season we were woken at dawn to the sound of the women tea pickers chatting to each other as they worked.
Posted on: How Old Are You?
September 11, 2011 at 10:58 AMHi Jenny, thanks for the correction - I sensed it wasn't right as I wrote it, but wasn't sure, even thought fleetingly that using 是 was safe, because otherwise there is no verb. 岁是量词，对吧？ 所以那个句词，'我二十五岁'，没有动词，对吧？
I get it that many people tell you their age plus one year, but it is confusing these days as you may then have to ask for clarification.
Posted on: How Old Are You?
September 11, 2011 at 1:49 AM'You can omit 了, it's still correct and pretty natural.'
A teacher of mine once explained that the use of 了 (attained the age of) can lead to subtle differences of meaning. eg.
我是二十五岁 (I'm 25 years old)
This means I'm 25 this year, but may not have actually had my birthday yet.
我是二十五岁了 (I'm 25 years old)
This means I have already had my birthday this year.
In the same way I guess 你多大? and 你多大了? can have a subtle difference in meaning.
This is archaic, dating back to when people were said to all become a year older at New Year, right?
Of no real practical use I know ... :)
(most young people have no idea about this old way of counting the years)
but it is a cute example of how 了 can change the meaning.
Posted on: Addressing People Revisited
September 11, 2011 at 1:27 AM'Is 师傅 still commonly used?'
Definitely.
'Would you call a guy younger than you by say 20 or 30 years 师傅 ?'
Yes. Any person doing skilled work or a manual job I think deserves this form of address.
Posted on: How Old Are You?
September 5, 2011 at 3:36 AM沙发 shāfā (sofa)!
A little technical glitch - there is something wrong with the recording of 你 nǐ in the 4th line of the Dictation.
Posted on: Plane Ticket Prices
October 4, 2011 at 11:16 AM'Make an ad that encourages Australia to go to war with New Zealand.' Damn I missed that one - that could be very amusing. The latest one was to make an ad that promoted higher pay for federal politicians. But the thing is that you don't need to waste money on ads - just do it. :)
Actually it is a wildly successful show .. amongst those people who watch the ABC.