User Comments - urcto

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urcto

Posted on: Reporting a Loss
March 13, 2009 at 1:41 AM

Hi,pete.

what is the meaning of "making a splash"?Did I do a stupid thing to josht?

Posted on: Stinky Feet
March 13, 2009 at 1:12 AM

hi,changye,

对不起 I'm sorry, excuse me
不好意思 feel ashamed (to), feel embarrassed

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不好意思 is  used as 'Excuse me' more often.

Ep.不好意思,请问××怎么走?Excuse me,how could I go to **,please.Here we would not say "对不起"。

不好意思,失陪了。(Excuse me.) (in Janpanese:shirrei shi ma su)

Posted on: Reporting a Loss
March 12, 2009 at 11:12 AM

josht非常可爱啊,you are smart and courageous,but you made some mistakes in the Chinese described story.I translate your story from your mother tongue(English) into Chinese as blow:

有一次我在自动取款机取钱慢了,卡就被吞了。我想说中国银行的出纳员一点用都没有。他们让我去了另外的四家分行也没找回我的卡。我把我的钱都取回来了,并在其他银行开了新帐户。

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有一次我太慢拿我的钱从一个自动提款机, 它吃掉了我的卡。中国银行的银行出纳员都笨死了!让我去四个另外的银行也还找不到我的卡。总之我都收回我的钱开始新的账户别的银行。

“总之”要用作列举的总结,used after enumerations.

'start' here means 开设,not 开始

object should be at last.In English,we can use a clause to embellish or explan the object,but not in Chinese except there is a complement. 如果没有补语,一般来说,宾语会在句子的最后。所以“开始新的账户别的银行”应该是“在别的银行开设新帐户

太慢拿我的钱从一个自动提款机”the full sentence should be“从一个自动提款机拿我的钱拿得太慢”,but we can usually say like “从一个自动提款机拿我的钱太慢”,in this sentence,“从一个自动提款机”is as adverbial modifier and“太慢” is complement. A adverbial modifier comes before the predicate,and the complement comes after it.

四个”and “另外的”:here should be “另外的四个”。In Chinese,it should be the small one first,the less important first,the most important or the largest would always stay at last. 

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my english is not very well.forgive me.I hope you can understand what I am saying.

Posted on: 日本动漫
March 12, 2009 at 8:38 AM

钢之炼金术士 Fullmetal Alchemist

新世纪福音战士 Neon Genesis Evangelion

I like the best!

Posted on: 中国新富豪
March 12, 2009 at 8:21 AM

Hi,pete,is buffalo 野牛 in Chinese?How about bison?what is the difference between bull and ox? 

Posted on: Talking with Numbers
March 12, 2009 at 6:45 AM

1458:一世唔发(cantonese)never get rich all your life

769394:出来搞三搞四(cantonese)Come out and plot secretly

15-16(fifteen sixteen):七上八下,忐忑不安或者拿不定主意 (Cantonese)  perturbed

All above,you can use in Hong Kong,Macao and Guangdong province.

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13:十三点(idiot,simp)

9413:九死一生 moribund,dying

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to Niels

三八,八婆,八卦,八 all mean busy body or nosy parker.就是好管闲事的。本来都是特别针对女性的,后来可以随便用了,尤其“八婆”,很多时候会用来辱骂女性。我印象中英语里面是不是有一句俚语说好管闲事的?但是我一下想不起来了。

Posted on: Remembering that Day on the Creek -- 如梦令: 常记溪亭日暮
March 12, 2009 at 6:01 AM

To Pete:

总之,学外语,光了解语法规定一定不够,还得研究文化和历史。我认识n个中国人,英文好的很,但很难跟他们沟通。问题不在于他们英文不够好,而在于除了“Forrest Gump" 和“Prison Break," 他们对美国文化简直是一无所知。希望我们能以这些podcasts让听众进一步了解博大精深的中国文化

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说得好(这个地道的英语怎么表达?),pete!这个回复我就不写英文了,因为写不出来。学习一种语言就是学习一种文化,这是我的英语老师告诉我的,同时也是我的切身体会。在我决定要考GRE之前,我的英语非常差,而且一点兴趣都没有,因为我们的学习完全就只是报纸,新闻,单词,考试。后来也是一时的头脑发热,我想尝试一下美国的考试,TOEFL和GRE,如果考好了就申请个学校出国走走,我从没出过国,我觉得自己很土,我应该出去看看,看看别人是怎么样生活的。于是我报了新东方的学习班。在那里,我第一次知道希腊神话和圣经在英语和西方文化中的重要位置,我开始看希腊神话,看圣经(KJV,中古英语,我看得很累,但是我还是想看),同时学习字根词源,这时我才发现学英语很有意思。

中国的英语教育比美国的中文教育差远了。我们虽然是必修课,但是很单薄,而且实用性不强,我从小学开始到现在,都学了十三年英语了,但是我知道我的英语水平还不如英美的一个小学毕业生,最重要的是,我们对西方文化一无所知。而美国就不一样了,美国有孔子学院(Confucius Institute,好像在电视上看到是这样的 ),还会学成语,学构字法。真的,我去年才知道英语里面有字根也有构字法,有大量的拉丁语,法语。我根本不敢说我学了十三年的英语,我觉得我是去年才开始学的英语,学习真正的英语,真正地在学英语。

Posted on: Remembering that Day on the Creek -- 如梦令: 常记溪亭日暮
March 12, 2009 at 5:40 AM

to questyn :

you are right.I made a mistake,I am sorry.

雁子 is ok,but it should be 雁字.

Posted on: Watch Out!
March 12, 2009 at 5:14 AM

Thank you Pete.I signed up at englishpod.

 

Posted on: Watch Out!
March 12, 2009 at 4:14 AM

azzote says link to this comment
3 days ago

 

Changye,

your comment reminds me : I have a Qing Wen request !

well, I never know how to say plus, minus, equals, etc (well, that's also a weak point in English !) and that's pretty useful in my job, as in many...

there's a Saved by the Gong on the subject but it's an Upper and something easier on the basics (*+-=/) would be welcome...

 A bon entendeur.

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plus:+;加(jia 1)

minus:-;减(jian 3)

equal:=;等于(deng 3 yu 2)

×;乘(以)【cheng2(yi3)】

Ep.2×3:二 乘以三 或者  三乘二

/;除(以)【chu2(yi3)】

9/3:九除以三  或者  三除九。But usually,we would like to leave out "以" ,so you will hear “九除三等于三”or “二乘三等于六”(when they want to express 2×3=6)here and there,it is ok.Chinese seldom use a passive tense,quotidianly,除以 is the same as 除,and 乘以 is the same as 乘,too.