User Comments - chris
chris
Posted on: I Can/Can't Afford it (...得起 & ...不起）
June 11, 2008 at 9:49 AMRash,
I have to agree, Wild Swans is a beautifully written book. I also believe it is a "must read" for any foreigners coming to live and work in China, to give some cultural context to how the country has developed over the last 100 years or so.
The only thing I find frustrating about it is the fact it stops at 1978 (although the edition I have has an epilogue dated 1990). I'd love to read some equivalent literature covering the period from 1978 to now. I believe the author has lived overseas since 1978. If anyone can recommend any other works that cover this period it would be appreciated. Thanks
Posted on: I Can/Can't Afford it (...得起 & ...不起）
June 10, 2008 at 12:57 PMJust in respect of the lesson intro text - one of the most striking things I've noticed in Shanghai over the last couple of years is the sheer number of Porsche Cayennes (this is the SUV in Porsche's range). Not only that, but there are an awful lot of the top-end models (for the petrolheads out there the Cayenne S and Cayenne Turbo). These are NOT cheap vehicles back home in the UK. So if they're twice as much in Shanghai, there must be some seriously rich locals driving about......I guess at least the government caps the price of fuel so they're pretty cheap to run.. Oh well, back to work so that maybe I can afford one soon ;-)
Posted on: Airplane Arrival
June 8, 2008 at 2:58 AMMy experience on planes is that "ge4wei4 cheng2ke4" is never used to address the passengers. Rather they use the phrase for "ladies and gentlemen". I keep meaning to find out what the Pinyin is for this, but keep forgetting to follow up. This comments board seems as good a place as any to enquire. It sounds like "neishimen, seishimen". Can anybody correct me? Many thanks.
Posted on: KTV
May 29, 2008 at 5:41 AMIs there any way to change the font of the text so that the Pinyin 3rd tones show up as a little "v" on the top of the relevant letter, rather than just showing a square in the place of the whole letter? Can I change it from my end or is this a ChinesePod source matter? (I have an IBM X60 Thinkpad laptop). Sorry - I know it's off topic. Thanks, Chris.
Posted on: Baseball
March 24, 2008 at 1:51 PMI had exactly the same question as Boran above. Can "le" be used instead of "de"? I'm guessing that maybe "le" would be used if you had mentioned the previous time-period during which you learned, rather than the physical location. E.g. "I learned last year" = "wo qunnian xue le". But when you give the physical location where you learned it would be, e.g. "wo qunnian zai taibei xue de". Just my guess - would appreciate confirmation from one of the CPod team! thanks
Posted on: Pedestrian Peril
January 22, 2008 at 5:53 AMWhilst Upper Intermediate is still a bit beyond me, I have read the comments above with interest. I am with the majority in that my listening lags way behind speaking, reading and writing (although writing is a close second!). What I find most frustrating is that I've been living in Shanghai for exactly a year now, but I still deal so much in English. It seems so difficult to make the time from work to really immerse myself in my surroundings. My biggest fear is that I'll go back to London next January, without making the most of the opportunity to nail the language. Some work/life balance discipline needed I think!
Posted on: Diving
January 21, 2008 at 6:22 AMBrims, based on my limited Chinese experience, I believe this construction "tai [....] le" basically just emphasises whatever is inside the brackets. For example, "hao3" means "good", but "tai hao3 le" means "fantastic". I'm sure others will correct me if I'm wrong! Thanks
Posted on: Is someone in here?
January 19, 2008 at 2:24 AMCpod, I think the photo for this lesson should be for the "You first" lesson, rather than "Is someone in here?". Thanks
Posted on: No Kidding
January 17, 2008 at 7:09 AMI may be alone in this, but I really struggle with the various forms of "de" and also "le". In the Expansion section on "zhe4me" each of the three sentences uses a "de". In the first and third sentence it is "的" and in the second sentence it is "得". My question is whether the "de" is really necessary in the 1st and 3rd sentence? Also, could somebody explain what the "de" in the second sentence is doing? (Apologies to those without access to the Expansion). Thanks
Posted on: I Can/Can't Afford it (...得起 & ...不起）
June 11, 2008 at 12:49 PMAuntie68,
That is a truly moving recollection. And is also consistent with the episodes narrated in the book. The change in China just in the last 25 years must be unfathomable to many of the older inhabitants.