Learning Chinese with April's Mandarin Podcast

Aversion to work Vocab

2010-12-18T10:09:00.000+02:00

大家好！

工作不再具有什么意义呢？我还是只四十五岁, 所以我还得等十五年才可以想到退休。工作正在太多了，我没有时间学习。可是我跟这次的题目多么同意，我就觉得我得学习这个播客。生活根本是恶性循环。我们为了生活去工作，又为了工作生活。我觉得工作有很重要的意义。人类跟上帝共有一个特性：我们也得继续创造--- 天天工作就是我们创造的办法。因为我是老师，所有我有很多的假期。假期的时候我常常感觉生活无趣。我就得确认“工作是生命中不可缺少的一部分”。我学中文最主要的一个原因就是假期的时候我就还想做什么。
你呢？你爱不爱工作？
(Please do not use my text to learn from. This is just an exercise, definitely full of mistakes. Feel free to correct it and send the correction to vanwykj8@gmail.com I would appreciate your input. I would also like to hear your view on the matter.)

My vocab list for this lesson can be accessed at:
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B0p66GGW9tgRZWVlODM4Y2UtZDUxZi00MjAxLTlhZTYtYmM5NTY2ZDk5MDRm&hl=en&authkey=CLGfnKMH

Copy and paste link into Teach2000 to learn.

再见！

Vocab For Brain Food 1

2010-10-26T16:53:00.000+02:00

同学好！

这里是“Brainfood"第一部分的生词。

内容; nèi róng = content; substance; details

启发; qǐ fā = enlighten

进化; jìn huà = evolution

唯一; wéi yī = only; sole

熟; shú = done; ripe; cooked

精雕细刻; jīngdiāoxìkè = work at sth. with the care and precision of a sculptor; work at sth. with great care

挑剔; tiāo ti = picky; fussy

过分; guò fèn = excessive; undue; overly

略微; luè wēi=(adv) a little bit; slightly

众所周知; zhòng suǒ zhōu zhī = (saying) as is known to everone

事实; shì shí = (the) fact (that)

对比; duì bǐ = contrast; balance

古猿人; gǔ yuán rén = paleolithis man; ape man

比重; bǐ zhòng = proportion; specific gravity

标志; biāo zhì = sign; mark; symbol; symbolize; to indicate; to mark

发达; fā dá = developed (country, etc.); flourishing; to develop

提供; tí gōng = to supply; to provide; to furnish

煮熟; zhǔ shóu = boil

消化; xiāo huà = digest; digestion; digestive

吸收; xī shōu = absorb; assimilate

人体器官; rén tǐ qì guān = human organ

这里是‘坦诚交换意见’ 的生词

2010-10-09T14:01:00.000+02:00

同学，你好！

这里是”坦诚交换意见“的生词

We all have ways of learning our vocab Here is another suggestion:

For this you will need:
Windows with Chinese simplified enabled (I have not used other platforms)
Microsoft Word,
Microsoft Excell
or OpenOffice (an open source office package which is absolutely free)

ZDT (an open source Chinese annotator-dictionary- flashcard application) freeware

Teach2000 (an open source vocabulary trainer) freeware

Once you have the above installed on your computer, you are ready to learn.

A) Copy and paste the back PDF transript, the one without pinyin, into a Word file.

B) You will notice that everything is there except the punctuation marks. Compare with the PDF to see which punctuation marks have been changed to - or _ or ",etc. Use the REPLACE function under EDIT to quickly repair this. （If you are not a perfectionist, don't even bother, since the chinese hanzi are understandable without the punctuation)

C) Now you can cut and paste the whole text or chunks of the text into ZDT's annotator. If you do not have this free tool, download it from here: http://zdt.sourceforge.net/
Here you can read the text with popup definitions.

D）Open a new category in ZDT.

E) Drag the words that are new from the annotator to the wordlist. ZDT automatically gives you the pinyin and the meaning from a built in CEDICT dictionary. Sometimes the word is not there and you can find it in another dictionary, then you can right click to ADD NEW WORD and manually add it to your wordlist. You can also edit the given word. Often ZDT gives you too many definitions that don't apply to the context. You can simply delete them or add a more suitable definition from your own dictionary. You are already starting to learn the new words as you work.
Since ZDT has a built in flash card game, you can stop here and only use the ZDT flashcards. Should you wish to discover another programme with many more test modes, then continue.

PREPARING A WORDLIST FOR USE IN TEACH2000
F) Once your wordlist is complete, you can copy and paste the whole table into an Excell file. Make a new column between the hanzi and the pinyin and another new column between the pinyin and the definitions.

G) Add a semicolon (;) into the first column you added and copy it all the way down.

H) Add a colon (:) into the second new column you created and copy it all the way down. It will look something like this:

一直	;	yì zhí	:	continuously; always; from the beginning of ... up to ...; all along
觉得	;	jué de	:	to think; to feel
坦诚	;	tǎnchéng	:	frankly and honestly
交换	;	jiāo huàn	:	to exchange; to swap; (telecom) to switch; (math.) to commute; (math.) commutative
意见	;	yì jiàn	:	view; opinion; suggestion; proposal
不至于	;	bù zhì yú	:	cannot go so far; be unlikely
引起	;	yǐn qǐ	:	to give rise to; to lead to; to cause; to arouse
矛盾	;	máo dùn	:	contradictory; contradiction
经验	;	jīng yàn	:	to experience; experience
确认	;	què rèn	:	confirm; verify
看法	;	kàn fǎ	:	way of looking at a thing; view; opinion
讨论	;	tǎo lùn	:	to discuss; to talk over
研讨会	;	yán tǎo huì	:	discussion forum; seminar
各自	;	gè zi	:	each; respective; apiece
材料	;	cái liào	:	material; data; makings; stuff
理解	;	lǐ jiě	:	to comprehend; understanding; comprehension; to understand
总体	;	zǒng tǐ	:	completely; totally; total; entire; overall

I) Now you can copy and paste this into the input window of Teach2000 .

J) Choose the colon (:) as your separator and click on down. Now the words are
in Teach2000 and you can save your wordlist to practice in the many different test
modes that this programme has.

For this lesson's 生词 I have already prepared a wordlist. However, since we are
all at different levels and have a different knowledge base, it is preferable that
each person makes up his or her own wordlists.

Simply cut and paste the following wordlist into Teach2000 to practice. Once
you get to know the programme, you can delete and add words from the lists
I will be posting on my blog.

一直; yì zhí = continuously; always; from the beginning of ... up to ...; all along

觉得; jué de = to think; to feel

坦诚; tǎnchéng = frankly and honestly

交换; jiāo huàn = to exchange; to swap; (telecom) to switch; (math.) to commute; (math.) commutative

意见; yì jiàn = view; opinion; suggestion; proposal

不至于; bù zhì yú = cannot go so far; be unlikely

引起; yǐn qǐ = to give rise to; to lead to; to cause; to arouse

矛盾; máo dùn = contradictory; contradiction

经验; jīng yàn = to experience; experience

确认; què rèn = confirm; verify

看法; kàn fǎ = way of looking at a thing; view; opinion

讨论; tǎo lùn = to discuss; to talk over

研讨会; yán tǎo huì = discussion forum; seminar

各自; gè zi = each; respective; apiece

材料; cái liào = material; data; makings; stuff

理解; lǐ jiě = to comprehend; understanding; comprehension; to understand

总体; zǒng tǐ = completely; totally; total; entire; overall

总体感觉上; zǒngtǐgǎnjuéshàng = The overall impression is that ...

有礼貌; yǒu lǐ mào = courteous; polite; politeness

提出; tí chū = to raise (an issue); to propose; to put forward; to post (Usenet)

意识; yì shì = consciousness

下意识地; xìayìshide = subconsciously

听意见的人; tīngyìjiàndìrén = the person being critisized; the person receiving suggestions

尴尬; gān gà = awkward; embarrassed

谨慎; jǐn shèn = cautious; prudent

干脆; gān cuì = straightforward; clear-cut; simply; might as well

难堪; nán kān = (adj) hard to endure; (adj) embarrassing

正式; zhèng shì = formal; official

进展; jìn zhǎn = to make headway; to make progress

倒是; dàoshì = contrariwise; but then

非正式; fēi zhèng shì = unofficial

更好一些; gēnghǎoyīxiē = somewhat better

扭着脖子; niǔzhùbózǐ = straining our necks

收获; shōu huò = the yield; the result; the harvest

似乎; sì hu = apparently; to seem; to appear; as if; seemingly

黑乎乎; hēihūhū = the blackened

车厢; chē xiāng = carriage

保护; bǎo hù = to defend; to protect; to safeguard

表情; biǎo qíng = (facial) expression; to express one's feelings; expression

无妨; wúfáng = harmless

外交; wài jiāo = diplomacy; diplomatic; foreign affairs

手段; shǒu duàn = method; mean (of doing sth)

解决; jiě jué = to settle (a dispute); resolve; to resolve; to solve

实在; shí zài = in reality; honestly; really; verily; concrete

争论; zhēng lùn = to argue; to debate; to contend; argument; contention; controversy; debate

扣押; kòu yā = detain; keep (someone) in custody

平民; píng mín = (ordinary) people; commoner; civilian

讨价还价; tǎo jìa huán jìa = haggle over price

筹码; chóu mǎ = bargaining chip

顾全面子; gùquánmiànzǐ = to save face

离谱; lípǔ = excessive; irregular; beyond reasonable limits

谴责; qiǎn zé = denounce; condemn; criticize

利益; lì yì = benefit; (in someone's) interest

责任; zé rèn = responsibility; blame; duty

混杂; hùn zá = mix

损失; sǔn shī = a (financial, etc.) loss; to lose

民间; mín jiān = among the people; popular; folk; non-governmental; involving people rather than governments

谩骂; mànmà = to curse; to hurl abuse

指责; zhǐ zé = criticize; find fault with

会议; huì yì = meeting; conference

推出; tuī chū = to release

共识; gòng shì = consensus

大会; dà huì = general assembly; general meeting

联合国; lián hé guó = United Nations

议题; yì tí = topic of discussion; topic; subject; issue (under discussion)

滑稽; huá ji = comical

百年大计; bǎi nián dà jì = a project of vital and lasting importance

衡量; héng liang = weight; measure

进度; jìn dù = (n) degree of advancment; speed; tempo

不动; bù dòng = motionless

突飞猛进; tū fēi měng jìn = advance by leaps and bounds

计划; jì huà = plan; project; program; to plan; to map out

发愁; fā chóu = (v) worry about sth

可疑; kě yí = suspicious; dubious

You will notice that this list has different separator signs. It is
just because I generated it with Teach2000.

Teach2000 is the best Vocab Trainer I have come accross,
both for its multi mode learning possibilities and because it is
so user friendly!

I hope you will find it as useful as I have.

再一次, 再见！

维湛宁

‘坦诚交换意见’ 的翻译

2010-10-09T12:10:00.000+02:00

同学你好!

Herewith the first attemp at translating April's article on the difficulties of having open and honest discussions. Please feel free to comment, add suggestions or to email me at vanwykj8@gmail.com with alternative translations.

我一直觉得坦诚交换意见又不至于引起矛盾是一件很难的事。

I always believed that exchanging ideas openly and frankly without going as far as arousing a quarrel is a very difficult thing.

从个人到国家都很难。

From the individual to the state it’s very difficult.

从我个人的经验到电视上的新闻经常确认我的这一个看法。

From my personal experience to the news on TV, regularly confirm this opinion of mine.

星期三晚上我和六个同学坐下来一起讨论我们下个星期的研讨会的准备工作。

On Wednesday evening six colleagues and me sat down to discuss the preparations for next week’s discussion class.

我们把各自准备的那部分材料拿出来讲，

We took out the materials that each one had to prepare in order to discuss it,

然后问自己理解上有没有错误，

afterwards we asked each other whether there were any comprehension mistakes

准备得是不是太多，等等。

or whether what we had prepared was not too much, etc.

总体感觉上，我们这六个人都太有礼貌了。

On the whole it seemed as though we were all too polite.

我们总是先提出一点小意见，下意识地看看听意见的人是不是觉得尴尬，然后才继续谨慎地多提一点意见。

We always first bring up a tiny suggestion and then consciously look and listen whether the person to whom we suggest something is feeling awkward or not, only then do we proceed to cautiously give another suggestion.

有两个人干脆就没有开口。

There were two people who then just wouldn’t say a word.

我们都又想做好工作，又不想让人难堪。

We only wanted to do a good job without embarrassing anyone.

所以正式讨论的进展不太大。

As a result, this formal discussion does not allow for adequate progression.

倒是后来非正式的讨论更好一些。

On the other hand the ensuing informal discussion is far better.

非正式的讨论是我们有三个人一起坐车，坐在前后座位上，一直扭着脖子说了一路，收获很大。The informal discussion takes place when we three people travel in the car (bus) together, sitting back to back and straining our necks and talking the whole way, then a lot comes out.

似乎黑乎乎的车厢就是我们的保护伞，如果看不到别人的表情，那多说一点也无妨了。

It is as if the darkness in the car’s cabin is our protective umbrella, if you cannot see another person’s facial expressions, then you say more without doing any harm.

还有人少了一半，可能也有关系。

It could also be due to the fact that there are only half as many people.

国家与国家之间的讨论就更难了。

Discussions between nations are then even more difficult.

怎么样能用外交的手段解决真实的问题实在是一个大难题。

It is a real problem using diplomatic means to solve actual problems.

就看最近的中国和日本的关于钓鱼岛的争论就知道了，日本到现在还扣押着一个平民老百姓来做讨价还价的筹码。

Just look at the recent quarrel between China and Japan over Diaoyu Island to know that Japan is still detaining a civilian to use as a bargaining chip.

两个国家的政府都既要顾全自己的面子，

The governments of both countries want to keep face,

又不能做得太离谱而让国际谴责，

can’t act so far from the norm and risk international condemnation,

又要维护基本的文化贸易的往来，

want to maintain basic cultural and trade relations,

又要保护本国人民的利益，

want to safeguard their own peoples interests,

这么多责任混杂在一起而要都达到，几乎是不可能的。

so many responsibilities are mixed into the equation that they want to reach, that it is almost impossible.

一些中国和日本的民间活动已经受到影响，不知道谁的损失更大。

Some Sino-Japanese popular activities have already been affected; I do not know whose loss is the greatest.

坦诚地交换意见一定不是互相谩骂，互相指责。

To openly exchange ideas definitely does not mean to insult or to criticize

each other.

但是电视上看到的对话多数会变成这一类的。

But a large number of dialogues one sees on TV can end up like this.

如果不是，那就是没人说不好听的，每个人都挑好听的说。

If it is not the case, then no one says anything bad and each one chooses to only say what sounds good.

世界的大部分峰会都属于这后一种，

Most of the world summit meetings belong to this last kind,

在会议结束时推出一些所谓的达成的共识，

at the end of the conference they release some so-called agreements that have been reached.

然后就等着下一次的峰会。And then afterwards they just wait for the following summit meeting.

我觉得最近这次联合国大会的千年发展议题简直有点滑稽。

I think this recent United Nations Thousand year development plan is simply hilarious.

为什么要千年，Why is it a thousand years

为什么不是万年发展，why not ten thousand years development

或者百年大计? or a hundred year plan?

谁能衡量发展的进度? Who can measure the pace of development?

是不是前面的九百九十年可以什么都不动，Is it possible that nothing happens for the first 990 years

等最后的十年来一个突飞猛进? and that a spurt of progress is made in the last ten years?

或者过去二十年以后大家都忘了还有什么千年的计划? Or when 20 years have passed everyone has forgotten that there was a thousand year plan?

不过千年发展听起来好听，Nevertheless, a thousand year development plan sounds good.

以后一千年联合国都不发愁没东西讲了。For the following thousand years the United Nations does not need to worry not to have anything to talk about.

但是没有一个国家说出不同的意见。But there was not a single nation who expressed an opinion of disagreement.

光这点，就很可疑了。Just this point is already very suspicious.

所以，坦诚地交换意见，人类不知道什么时候才能学会。So, we do not know when mankind will learn how to share opinions frankly and honestly.

我请同学们都坦诚地批评我的翻译试图。我不要觉得尴尬。我觉得不同意的人讨论的时候又不至于引起矛盾，倒是是很健康的情况。最好的世界，就是让人不怕坦诚地交换意见的那个地方。所以，我要求你，纠正我的错误吧！也许我们可以互相帮助改善我们的中文。

在会儿！
湛宁

Where are all the users of April Zhang's podcasts?

2010-10-02T16:08:00.000+02:00

大家好！

Why on earth have a blog on a blog?

To share knowledge by means of a forum
To pool resources
To start a translation project of each podcast
To practice Chinese sharing our views on the given topics

April Zhang has been very busy supplying us with podcasts and transcripts. Each of her podcast students then uses these texts to study and enrich their Mandarin skills in isolation. This blog is first and foremost an attempt to create some contact between all of us using April's podcasts. Due to the nature of the podcasts, we have all already learnt the basics of Mandarin Chinese, or else the podcasts would be useless to us. Therefore, I think we can all help each other to get a greater benefit from the podcasts and change them into a powerful learning tool.

Compared to a standard textbook of Mandarin, we are still missing three or possibly four elements that would really turn the podcasts into a powerful learning tool. These are

A vocab lists
B translations of the text
C grammar

D language exercises, practice

Lets pool our resources to our own benefit. As far as vocab is concerned, I use a text reader such as ZDT to extract the vocabulary that's new to me and then export them into Teach2000 to learn. These are 2 open source programmes that can be downloaded and used for free. They work great. Of course a little computer knowledge is required to get the data from the one ducument to the other. This is what we can teach each other here.

I often stumble on sentences of which the precise translation is unclear or uncertain. Using the blog we can all submit translations for cross checking or even work together on a translation for each podcast. This will go hand in hand with clarifying points of grammar and structure. As far as preparing excercises, I think this can develop at a later stage as this is extra work which will detract from the text.

Ultimately I would really appreciate fellow learners who would like to improve their skills by entering discussions on the theme introduced by April.

So, the invitation is open to all who would like to participate.

Kind regards

维湛宁
Wei Zhanning