User Comments - bodawei

Posted on: Ordering Fancy Coffee

(I reckon) this is a pretty good question Chris..

The dialogue is correct I think, and the way I would explain it is that the second 杯 is not a 量词, 大杯的 is an adjective describing the noun 每日咖啡 .. but I am the first to admit that I have a grammatical tin ear.

Although it soooounds fine to me I would not normally say this - I say it like in the second line of the dialogue: 一杯每日咖啡，小杯的 - this is what I commonly hear. The size, qualifying the order, comes straight after - particularly if you are ordering two or three different sizes. I think maybe people say it this way because the other option is a bit of a mouthful.

Posted on: I don't smoke

sclim

This reference of yours is two years old - a lot has happened since then. Australia is not enlightened on the subject unfortunately (wish that was the case) - we have an industrial history concerning asbestos that is nothing to be proud of - as I said above I understand that we have the highest rate of asbestos related death per capita in the world.

Posted on: I don't smoke

' "encouraged" countries that import Canadian asbestos to follow the 1986 Geneva conventions on asbestos use and regulation"'

:) I hope the 1986 conventions have been updated from time to time - Australia was into asbestos up to its neck way after that. I understand that Australia has the highest rate of asbestos related deaths per capita in the world.

Posted on: I don't smoke

'Asbestos here in Canada: you can't use it in Canada because it is really dangerous, causing Mesothelioma, a particularly nasty form of lung cancer, but we still mine it, so we can sell it for use in China. '

Is this really so sclim - are you sure? Given the history of insurance claims over the last 20 years of so, and corporate collapses (eg. James Hardie), I guess I find this hard to believe.. I cannot imagine it being mined (who would insure the workers? which bank would fund a company mining asbestos?) and I cannot imagine China buying it..

I would like to know more about this ..

Posted on: I don't smoke

I have seen a few people recently with them..

Posted on: Common Measure Words

But this is a good question: why is it often the case that the measure word is preferred over the noun? 抄本，剧本，普基本，等等。 With many other words this is also the case.

And 本 is also an adverb and a demonstrative determiner; I definitely had to look that up. A confusing word because it has so many uses.

Posted on: I don't smoke

'your body sissies out on you'

Is that expression an RJ special or par for the course under the stars and stripes? That definitely happens, anyway. :) I have such a sissy body my GP has advised me to go and chop firewood. Every day. (Easier said than done.)

'Smoke to keep the social peace' - that happened in the Wild West didn't it?

'newer graduates we have hired are not smokers'

Makes me wonder about health insurance - when you hire I assume that you don't self-insure health cover, so do insurers in China want to know if a person smokes before they put them on the books?

Posted on: I don't smoke

The picture is not meant to be too sharp - more sepia tinted because it happened a long time ago. So I can't just make out any faces... :)

Contemplation of a wide dry sandy river bed under the clear cold desert sky is, I guess, romantic.

Posted on: Baijiu or Beer

Just watched a feature film 《一线辑毒》yesterday about a young woman gaining acceptance in a male-dominated drugs unit of the police, based I think on a true story. I was intrigued because it was made where I live and they filmed where I go almost every day.

Anyway, early on the men have a round of baijiu in the office in celebrating success of a raid, and the woman has to plead for some baijiu - eventually the boss gives her a small measure, about half what the men received. She is delighted and so grateful. And then when she drinks it she coughs and splutters and all the men laugh. Pretty authentic I think.

Posted on: Baijiu or Beer

It's easier to cheat with baijiu (and wine) than beer. With beer, everyone has their own bottle (unless you go to one of those places that have a dispenser on the table!) With baijiu, the Chinese can pour larger measures for the foreigner, and feign drinking while the foreigner is fully occupied with their attempts to swallow. You'll note that foreigners always screw up their eyes when swallowing baijiu, or Chinese wine, which is a perfect opportunity for deception. :)