User Comments - marc__d
marc__d
Posted on: Hong Kong Visa Run
September 07, 2009, 10:59 PMhow about a lesson on this Magic Chen?
Posted on: Why, why, why??
February 12, 2009, 08:50 PMHere's a follow-on to shenhe's unanswered question:
Is it OK to say 一会 to mean later? Is 一会儿 mostly a Beijing term, like 哪儿, etc?
谢谢
Posted on: Dumb Joke
February 12, 2009, 06:23 PMIn the dialogue, it says 我说个特好笑的笑话给你听。 You explained how 特 is short for 特别, but is 个 short for 一个? If so, is that contraction also typical of Beijing dialect, like 特?
谢谢！
Posted on: New Lessons, Video, and Groups
September 07, 2008, 06:26 PM@cytj:
I think you raise some important fundamental points beneath your insensitive language:
1) Subscriptions & Upgrading - I think you're saying that you want more (free) content, especially at the Int & UpInt level. I feel compelled to disagree and to defend CPod's approach here. If you 说汉语 at that level, you have enough skill to improve further using a variety of sources. Improving to Advanced level requires a pretty serious committment, I imagine, so the $39 for 6-month Premium subscription is a pretty good value. If you still don't like it after 6mo, then don't renew. If you can't afford it to begin with, well, then there are lots of other ways to learn Chinese. It's the relatively clueless Newbies and Ellementary students who need the most help, so I understand CPod directing most of their content at this level (free Newbie lessons, QW is usually Ellie level, etc). I'm curious, does CPod price access regionally? I think $40USD is quite a lot in some places. Is there any top-down initiative to make access more affordable for those people?
2) Videos - You and several others have criticized the videos for being ineffective learning tools. That is the start of good feedback for CPod, but why not follow through and recommend how they might improve. This is a podcast, not an office tower. The point being that once you build an office tower you never tear it down and start over no matter how ugly people think it is. If enough of the video-skeptics offer good constructive feedback, they will probably influence that program's production in ways that we all benefit.
3) Women of CPod - Finally, I think you are right about the voyeuristic dangers of the videos. I'm sure CPod is sensitive to this. There are definite advantages and disadvantages to filming CPod staff. I mean, the danger of converting customers into stalkers is enough without slow-motion hair tossing! How about a vid of Ken stripped down for some cupping and acupuncture? Now that's worth the subscription price!
Posted on: Traffic
September 06, 2008, 09:24 PMI want to see a video Vocab Tour of an electronics lab. You could tell me how to call all of my stuff:
oscilloscope, soldering iron, network analyzer, digital multimeter
Seriously, there's just not enough science on CPod.
Posted on: Traffic
September 06, 2008, 09:21 PMWhat would I call my beloved scooter? It's not quite a 摩托车, and neither is it a 电动车.
Posted on: Beijing Olympics: Opening Ceremony
August 26, 2008, 07:57 AMBTW, I find the dialogue a bit confusing on this one. First, A is clueless, and B has the answer. Then, after A gets all dreamy, it's B's turn to be clueless while A supplies the answer. If A didn't even know when's the opening ceremony, how did she know when they start selling tickets?
Posted on: Beijing Olympics: Opening Ceremony
August 26, 2008, 07:16 AMThe dialogue and vocab page list 才 (cái) = only, but the PDF has a slightly different character. I am unable to copy-paste, so I can only describe it as looking identical to Japanese katakana "o". Check the PDF - you'll see what I mean. Which is correct?
Posted on: 会 (Huì) and 能 (Néng) Face-off
August 26, 2008, 06:03 AMI am curious about 会 used to express that something will happen, like JP's:
今天会下雨吗？
How does this usage of 会 relate to 要？ Is it just that you use 要 if it's a person performing an action, as opposed to raining, which is a verb not "performed" by the subject.
Posted on: 会 (Huì) and 能 (Néng) Face-off
August 31, 2010, 07:33 AMI'm studying the Intermediate lesson "Going to the toy store". It features the following interesting overlap between 能 and 可以 :
妈妈: 那是男孩子玩的，女孩子不能玩。(referring to an RC car 遥控车)
贝贝: 可以玩.
The context is critical in this situation, as the daughter keeps asking her Mom to buy various toys, but Mom is not giving in. So, does the daughter imply that Mom's sexist statement is a weak excuse for not buying her a present?