User Comments - sebire

Posted on: Autumn Outing

I have a vocab tour request: clothes shopping!

Posted on: Get in line!

It was funny queueing in the Chinese embassy in London. This Chinese guy kept trying to push in, and he kept pretending to look totally bemused by the line. Everyone ended up yelling at him though, but he either couldn't speak English, or was making a good pretence that he couldn't. Shame I didn't know 排队 then!

Posted on: More Chinese lessons, and now EnglishPod!

Light, what's global english? An Aussie slant on things is probably no better or worse than any other slant, plus people ought to know that in Australia, "barbies and swimmers" are not simply dolls and athletes. The second one confused me on a couple of occassions. If advanced English learners only hear one kind of English they'll be super confused when they go to another English-speaking country. I definitely get confused on a disturbingly regular basis!

Posted on: Often: Using 常常，经常，通常 (chángcháng, jīngcháng, tōngcháng)

Thanks elpeggy. That was very informative. I think I need more practice.

Posted on: Often: Using 常常，经常，通常 (chángcháng, jīngcháng, tōngcháng)

Taking in the above comments, would it be more elegant to write:

前年夏天我通常下班打网球。去年夏天常常下雨所以我没去打网球，去了酒吧。

Does it sound funny in Chinese to say tennis twice in this situation? I would have written something like this originally, but it doesn't seem as "word-saving" as it could be.

Posted on: Lao Wang's Office 5: Wang Tries to Excel at the Office

No RJ, it's not because you haven't learnt how to use it. It's just so badly designed. I hate the way it justifies text. I hate the way it can't handle document outlines. I hate the way you move a graphic and it jumps to a completely random page. I hate the way that stupid paperclip always complains about the "passive voice". I just hate it!!!

One day, a modern, user-friendly version of LaTeX will turn up. One day.

Posted on: Lao Wang's Office 5: Wang Tries to Excel at the Office

I loathe Word. It is just so unbelievably crap, I have to resist the urge to throw the entire computer out of the window when using it. Are you saying Henning that in the new version it still cannot handle a few graphics? How hard is that to fix?

Outlook could be another programme to look at.

Posted on: Often: Using 常常，经常，通常 (chángcháng, jīngcháng, tōngcháng)

谢谢 Pete and Connie! I'm completely happy with "instead" being rare! Simple is good.

Posted on: Often: Using 常常，经常，通常 (chángcháng, jīngcháng, tōngcháng)

前年夏天我通常下班打网球。去年夏天常常下雨所以我通常去酒吧。

Is this right? What I wanted to say was "I went to bars instead", but I don't know how to.

Posted on: 练书法

Ah. I thought it was "little did they know". Along  similar lines. Thanks qiuyu.