User Comments - zhanglihua

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zhanglihua

Posted on: The More Than One Child Policy and Taking Trains
August 12, 2008, 12:15 PM

Taking Trains: The experience you will have with taking the train also depends on which route you take, although heavily frequented doesn't automatically equal good quality.

On one of my first longer, unaccompanied train trips (must have been 12 or 13), I didn't get a seat so I had to stand for 15 hours. It's alright during day time, when here's enough light to read, but at night all one can do is stare out of the window and eat sunflower seeds.

Last time I took the train to Beijing, I was in a compartment with several university students. They were so diligent, they studied all the time, discussing very loudly so the whole train could overhear. I finally gave up trying to sleep and decided to help them design a circuit. I'm not sure whether I was a big help since I hadn't done this kind of stuff for 8 years. But it was better than being dulled by the constant noise and only having one's idleness interrupted by the snack cart.

If you watch Chinese TV, there are sometimes education programmes on, alerting people to dangers in their everyday life. Some of the scenarios are rather unlikely, but you should watch out for scammers. If someone really suspicious (for example, if he's too friendly, in a way that's not typical for Chinese) offers you food or drink, consider the possibility that it might consider an unwanted "additive". Chinese trains are generally safe, but make sure you have your valuables on you!

Children: It's a real hassle for couples trying to avoid "accidents" and considering a sterilisation after the first child is somewhat scary for a woman who's still in her twenties. ;-)

What yase says happened to the family of my aunt and uncle, who held a position in the local government. They had a child in 1977 and another in 1984, so the father was kicked out of the municipal administration. The tragedy came in when the first child drowned a few months after that. The superstitious grandparents claimed that a bit of her spirit entered the newborn child (my cousin), making him effeminate. :-P

In fact, I don't really think many families could afford to have more than one child and still give both the same amount of care and money as before. A lot of my students who are only children own expensive goods, even if that takes up half a year's wage of their father, and the parents save huge sums to pay for the education. Personally, I have an ok job and earn almost as much tutoring foreigners, my husband is a relatively successful businessman, but I don't think it would be wise for us to have a second child, especially bearing in mind that someone would have to care for him or her. Chinese want their children to succeed, so that one child can take care of both parents when they retire which is crucial since the demographic shift is enormous.

 

Posted on: Money Values and Beating the Summer Heat
July 16, 2008, 09:02 PM

双皮奶 is really delicious, the bean cream tastes a bit like the azuki bean sauce to go with these little Japanese rice flour balls (changye, please tell me what they're called, if you know what I mean).

Don't confuse 绿豆沙 with that colourful-but-chemical slush.

You can also make your own ice cream with SOFT DOUFU. I'm sure vegans are familiar with it. Prepared with silk tofu, the ice cream contains less water, so it's not as hard, if you stir every 30 minutes it will be quite creamy.

Posted on: The Attitude Pattern (yǒu shénme... 有什么...)
July 16, 2008, 08:25 PM

Hey, the Little Prince is great literature! Everyone who thinks it's only appropriate for children has not read the first three pages of it properly, with an open mind AND heart!

It seems to be very popular amongst learners of foreign languages, though - it was the first book I ever read in Spanish and German, respectively, and I see so many students sitting around with the Japanese or French version clutched in their hands.

By the way, Clay, (oh, it rhymes...lame, I know) I'd like to encourage you to reflect on 美国菜 (what qualifies as American food?) and your distaste for Chinese food in the 真好吃的! group. ;-)

Posted on: The Attitude Pattern (yǒu shénme... 有什么...)
July 16, 2008, 08:46 AM

Amber already gave you the answer, I'd merely like to add why : 什么 is just a question word, like 哪 or 谁. If you expect an answer, use your voice to indicate this (a high pitched "na" and raising the voice towards the end), or use a different pattern, for example, "So, why do you think that's romantic?" (But if you manage to annoy your interlocutor by questioning the validity of his assessment, he'll probably reply anyway ;-) )

Posted on: Wait!
July 14, 2008, 09:31 PM

Hmm, wolson, have you forgotten a 不? And the last sentence only refers to *whether* they are different.

Posted on: Golf
July 14, 2008, 09:04 PM

Ah, yeah, the DLI... so assuming that you're not opting to become an SF soldier,  here's my take on this issue:

I work as a tutor for foreigners and language teacher, so I might have some experience regarding language acquisition. I know that it is possible to reach intermediate level of Chinese proficiency (at least what's called intermediate here on CP) within less than 7 months if you study diligently and devote the better part of you leisure time to it. You probably wouldn't be able to pass even the lowest HSK test, but it is definitely possible, even if you work on your own. Concerning autodidactic learning, it is absolutely crucial that you seek feedback from native speakers. Find an online friend, enroll in an evening school course or use the CP community. In my opinion, you can make rapid progress on our own if that's your learning style, but there will be huge gaps, especially when it comes to functional vocab and active processes. The passive part will usually be good, the self-learner can reach a high level of listening and reading comprehension and even knowledge of grammar, because these are the skills he/she can hone efficiently. I have had students who managed to learn 3000 Hanzi within less than 10 months but couldn't keep up a chat for more than a minute. Conversation often fails because the student has to overcome a huge obstacle first - his/her anxiety and lack of self-confidence.

So, for a time frame...give yourself the time you need, don't put yourself under pressure. It also depends on in which areas you want to achieve fluency first. Do you want to be able to read as well as speak? Would conversation skills be enough? Do you have to be able to actually *write* the characters by hand, or would recognizing (and typing on a PC which is simple once you know the pinyin and can recognize the hanzi in question) be sufficient?

I think my foreign language studies are pretty symptomatic - I learn completely on my own, without being able to get into the appropiate environment. After just half a year respectively, I could read and understand by listening both Spanish and French (so much easier than Chinese, admittedly) effortlessly. The same took me one year for Arabic and Russian. But speaking and writing is a completely different matter and I wouldn't boast any kind of fluency in either of these languages.

Once you have defined your goals, you can then decide how much time to devote to it. So if you're dedicated, have a little talent, and find a method that suits you, you can make astounding progress within as little as 6 months. Don't expect to be able to read the news or follow CCTV, but be prepared for that empowering feeling that comes with a post-elementary level of Chinese.

Many students get so caught up in the "Oh, Chinese is such a obscure language"-myth or expect too much of themselves (perhaps based on their experience with European languages, if they have learned a foreign language at all) that they become discouraged. Just go with the flow, view it a lovely challenging pasttime instead of an obligation. You will learn lots about yourself and your learning style.

If you want some personal advice, send me a private message.

Oh, and sorry for the long-winded comment.

Regarding golf, I just today realised that there is a golf course not far a way from where I live. So should you happen to spend time in Wuhan, take a bus to the 2-7 incident memorial and then ask your way to the golf club.

Posted on: Golf
July 13, 2008, 12:53 PM

There's a small mistake is the expansion section: 喜欢网球? should be translated as "Do you like to play tennis?", not golf.

@dongni 高尔夫球 is the correct term, but 高尔夫 is commonly used.

The intonation of the speakers was very funny.

Personally, I'm not too fond of golf. It is a very slow game and does not involve a high level of physical effort. Due to the high price, it is only played by kids with rich parents, successful businesspeople and expats.

Posted on: Where are you from?
July 11, 2008, 08:25 PM

@sideeffect   You can say: 我是土耳其人。 (Wo3shi4 tu3er3qi2 ren2)

Posted on: 磁悬浮
July 08, 2008, 09:46 PM

Since the comment section for this lesson has become a discussion forum for the very approach of CP (perhaps it's the influence of the magnetic fields), I'd like to let you know what I think about this issue, offering my humble opinion. First of all, I am in favor of not deleting any posts that are on-topic. A tiny suggestion for Dave: Perhaps not taking everything as an ad-hominem argument would be worth consideration? Discarding the actual content of a comment is of no use at all. Call a spade a spade but keep calm a bit. (What kind of reply can you expect, otherwise?) 消气啊。。。

That being said, there really is room for improvement: What I'd like to see is just a tad more grammar insights. It would be highly educational for the users, even (or especially) at an advanced level, to hear more Chinese explanations of patterns and also interesting to hear alternative forms of expressing the same thought instead of repeating the vocab. At this stage, English is not necessary at all. (If there's something you didn't catch, there's always the comment section.) The banter is highly amusing and authentic. I find enough structure in the podcasts already, but the the overall content ought to be revised somewhat, also for the other levels starting from intermediate.

@winnielee

I think they have had sufficient teaching experience to call themselves teachers. It's just the peculiar nature of teaching via podcast that make the hosts  seem so unlike traditional instructors. It is noticeable that their Mandarin sometimes isn't standard, especially in the Intermediate podcasts when Jenny has to do a lot of switching (some Shanghainese creeping in from time to time). Yeah, but so what? Who speaks Oxford English, after all? The intonation is pleasant and the actors are really good. After listening to ChinesePod, you'll be braced for a variety of pronunciation peculiarities instead of just being able to understand CCTV presenters. In fact, more Beijing accent has been included recently. It might not be a bad idea to introduce even more accents/dialects, because taking the plunge is very distressing for a learner. More exposure (listing to longer texts read by people [from the street, not trained speakers!] with distinct accents, not just isolated sentences) would be nice, perhaps even as a separate show/series. A learner cannot find out about this kind of stuff him/herself!

winnielee, Are you complaining about the use of the particles for emphasis etc? That's the way people talk, not merely younger ones.

I wouldn't recommend relying on your still somewhat dodgy (I don't want to offend anyone, but even at what CP calls Advanced you cannot boast high proficiency yet) Chinese skills when it comes to contracting a huge business deal in China anyway. In addition to that, I hope users look for other sources of audio input as well, to accelerate the learning process.

Have fun learning, don't distress yourself with this kind of issues. Chinese is hard enough as it is!

Posted on: Characters in the Desert and Chinese Kitchens
June 29, 2008, 11:09 AM

You can also get one of these flat metal pans that are usually used to make crepe-like street food. They are useful for making cookies, kebabs and pancakes, something that doesn't really work in a real wok.

I have been told that in some of the north-western provinces, ovens can be found.

Speaking of tiny kitchens, I don't even have a counter, just a very small table with dodgy legs. I put a bag of rice below it for support.