User Comments - helzcurrah
helzcurrah
Posted on: A Simple Tour of the Office
February 14, 2012 at 4:50 AMI like the bit about "welcome you come" (欢迎你来). It reminds me of the taxis in Shanghai which always have an automated voice saying "welcome to take my taxi" in English.
Posted on: Spending Money in Hong Kong
February 6, 2012 at 4:37 AMMy colleagues always ask me "Are you back?" when I come into the office. Sometimes, I tell them "no, I'm still away.....".
Posted on: I don't smoke
January 11, 2012 at 6:17 AMThanks!
Posted on: I don't smoke
January 10, 2012 at 5:03 AMIn the first phrase of the dialogue, it says 抽根烟 (smoke- measure word -cigarette). Would it be weird to say 抽一根烟 (smoke-one-measure word-cigarette)? If so, why?
Posted on: Afternoon Meeting
January 6, 2012 at 4:05 AMGreat lesson as usual! :-) On a related topic, could we have one in the future about giving a presentation?
Posted on: Quirky Ways of Staying Warm in China
January 4, 2012 at 4:59 AMWe have electric blankets in the UK, but not that many people use them because we usually have central heating. (I miss gas central heating so much!). A Taiwanese friend of mine in Shanghai did not know about electric blankets, so she was using a hairdryer to heat up the bed before she got into it at night!
Posted on: Boxing Day
December 26, 2011 at 6:27 AMThe girl in the audio sounds FAAAAAAAR too excited about the sale. In Britain it tends to be sofas, DIY stuff and other really boring stuff that is on sale. Most companies aren't even waiting until boxing day to start their sales, in the recession they are doing sales at the beginning of December.
Posted on: Boxing Day
December 26, 2011 at 6:18 AMYes, I agree. Boxing Day is really not about sales. When I was a child, shops did not reopen until 27th December. It has an actual significance, but much like Christmas, it has become very commercialised in recent years.
Posted on: Boxing Day
December 26, 2011 at 5:53 AMIt used to be a day when workers went back to work and the bosses gave them each a Christmas "box" (gift). Now it's a public holiday in the UK.
Posted on: A Simple Tour of the Office
February 15, 2012 at 4:51 AMI'm a Brit and I use a variety of words for the room where the toilet is: toilet, loo, bathroom, washroom, restroom, WC, cloak room, powder-my-nose room, little girls' room...... Granted, some of these like "bathroom", "washroom" and "restroom" are American imports. I just choose whichever one seems most appropriate at the moment. I really like being able to ask for a "wash hands room" in China. Before I learnt the word, I just used to mime washing my hands in restaurants, and the waiters would point me in the right direction!