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(2029, 1, '2016-11-04 05:41:11', '2016-11-04 09:41:11', 'Your basic \"it\'s what\'s on the inside that counts\", moral-of-the-story story about a rabbit filled with self-loathing. \r\n\r\n<h3>Burrowing into 钻</h3>\r\nDifficult bits in this passage include the phrase 钻出来 [pinyin]zuan1 chu1 lai2[/pinyin]. We know that 出来 means to \"come out of\". But 钻? If you check the dictionary, the first definition that comes up for this word is \"diamond\", but that wasn\'t the correct definition in this case. Secondly, it also means to \"drill\" or \"bore\", which makes sense as a second definition of \"diamond\" - lots of diamond drill bits out there. But that still doesn\'t work in context of the whole sentence. But if you run a Baidu image search on the phrase, and you\'ll find lots of pictures of people squeezing out of small spaces, children coming out of playground tunnels, workers coming out of manholes, and you\'ll probably realize that 钻出来 means to wiggle out of a space via a small opening. Imagine a secret agent crawling through an air duct; in Chinese, there\'s a word for that, and that word is 钻. So it\'s really more like \"to burrow out of or in to\". I often hear it used in Beijing in reference to \"burrowing under the covers\" (钻进被窝).\r\n\r\n<h3>Sources</h3>\r\nI got this story from Sina user <a href=\"http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_6ace1efa0100kltk.html\" target=\"_blank\">Zifengling\'s personal blog</a>, in a post where she lists a few different easy stories, so if you wanna read some more on your own, head on over. I\'ll probably translate another couple from there before too long. \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\r\n森林里住着一只小兔子，它叫“丑丑”。它的眼睛红红的，像一对红宝石。可是它的毛灰灰的，像是从灰炉里钻出来似的，它觉得自己太丑了，常常一个人躲在家里。\r\n\r\n虽然它长得不好看，但是它有一颗无比善良的心。小猴子乐乐的家被大水冲垮了，无家可归。丑丑就让乐乐住在自己的家，还把自己最喜欢吃的巧克力分给乐乐吃。不仅如此，谁头痛、生病了，没钱买药，它都会尽其所能进行帮助。\r\n\r\n日子一天天过去了，丑丑还是很孤单。一次，森林里最好看的小兔子美美来找它玩，可丑丑觉得自己太丑了，没脸见它。美美告诉丑丑：“人的外表并不重要，重要的是内在美。”丑丑恍然大悟，它跑了出去，和伙伴们一起尽情地玩耍。\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nIn the forest there lived a little rabbit whose name was \"Chouchou\". His eyes were red, like a pair of rubies. But his fur was grey, like he\'d wiggled out of a furnace, and he felt himself to be very ugly, often hiding in his house alone. \r\n\r\nAlthough he wasn\'t nice to look at, he had an incomparably kind heart. When Little Monkey Lele\'s home was burst apart by a flood, he had no house to return to. Chouchou let Lele live with him, and he divided up his favorite chocolate to give some to Lele to eat. Not only that, whoever had a headach, or got sick, with no money to buy medicine, he did everything he was able to do to help. \r\n\r\nThe days passed one by one, and Chouchou was still alone. One time, the forest\'s most beautiful rabbit Meimei came looking for Chouchou to play, but Chouchou thought of himself as just too ugly, he couldn\'t face seeing her. Meimei told Chouchou: \"It\'s not what\'s on the outside that counts, the important thing is what\'s on the inside.\" Chouchou suddenly saw the light, he ran outside, and played with his friends to his heart\'s content.  \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Short Stories] “美丽”的小兔 - The \"Beautiful\" Rabbit', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1565-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 05:41:11', '2016-11-04 09:41:11', '', 1565, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1565-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1708, 1, '2016-10-31 02:45:05', '2016-10-31 06:45:05', 'A fairly simple read for newbies about a self-hating rabbit. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nIn terms of plot, this is your basic \"it\'s what\'s on the inside that counts\", moral-of-the-story story. Frankly, it\'s a bit boring, but there are a couple of good words and phrases in here. One in particular is difficult, and I couldn\'t figure it out just by looking at the definition, I had to go hunt around a bit: 钻出来 [pinyin]zuan1 chu1 lai2[/pinyin]. We know that 出来 means to \"come out of\". But 钻? The first definition that came up when I looked was \"diamond\", but that wasn\'t the correct definition in this case. Secondly, it also means to \"drill\" or \"bore\", which makes sense as a second definition of \"diamond\" - lots of diamond drill bits out there. But that still doesn\'t work in context of the whole sentence. I finally ran a Baidu image search on the phrase, and there were lots of pictures of miners squeezing out of small spaces, children coming out of playground tunnels, workers coming out of manholes, and I realized that 钻出来 means to wiggle out of a space via a small opening. Imagine a secret agent crawling through an air duct; in Chinese, there\'s a word for that, and that word is 钻. \r\n\r\nI got this from Sina user <a href=\"http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_6ace1efa0100kltk.html\" target=\"_blank\">Zifengling\'s personal blog</a>, in a post where she lists a few different easy stories, so if you wanna read some more on your own, head on over. I\'ll probably translate another couple from there before too long. \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\r\n森林里住着一只小兔子，它叫“丑丑”。它的眼睛红红的，像一对<strong>红宝石</strong>。可是它的毛灰灰的，像是从<strong>灰炉</strong>里钻出来似的，它觉得自己太<strong>丑</strong>了，常常一个人躲在家里。\r\n\r\n虽然它长得不好看，但是它有一颗无比善良的心。小猴子乐乐的家被大水<strong>冲垮</strong>了，无家可归。丑丑就让乐乐住在自己的家，还把自己最喜欢吃的巧克力分给乐乐吃。<strong>不仅如此</strong>，谁头痛、生病了，没钱买药，它都会尽其所能进行帮助。\r\n\r\n日子一天天过去了，丑丑还是很<strong>孤单</strong>。一次，森林里最好看的小兔子美美来找它玩，可丑丑觉得自己太丑了，没脸见它。美美告诉丑丑：“人的<strong>外表</strong>并不重要，重要的是<strong>内在</strong>美。”丑丑恍然大悟，它跑了出去，和伙伴们一起尽情地玩耍。\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nIn the forest there lived a little rabbit whose name was \"Chouchou\". His eyes were red, like a pair of rubies. But his fur was grey, like he\'d wiggled out of a furnace, and he felt himself to be very ugly, often hiding in his house alone. \r\n\r\nAlthough he wasn\'t nice to look at, he had an incomparably kind heart. When Little Monkey Lele\'s home was burst apart by a flood, he had no house to return to. Chouchou let Lele live with him, and he divided up his favorite chocolate to give some to Lele to eat. Not only that, whoever had a headach, or got sick, with no money to buy medicine, he did everything he was able to do to help. \r\n\r\nThe days passed one by one, and Chouchou was still alone. One time, the forest\'s most beautiful rabbit Meimei came looking for Chouchou to play, but Chouchou thought of himself as just too ugly, he couldn\'t face seeing her. Meimei told Chouchou: \"It\'s not what\'s on the outside that counts, the important thing is what\'s on the inside.\" Chouchou suddenly saw the light, he ran outside, and played with his friends to his heart\'s content.  \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Short Story] “美丽”的小兔 - The \"Beautiful\" Rabbit', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1565-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 02:45:05', '2016-10-31 06:45:05', '', 1565, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1565-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1709, 1, '2016-10-31 02:52:37', '2016-10-31 06:52:37', '[two_third]\nHey, whaddaya know! A guest post. Been a while since we got one of these. Many thanks to Ryan, who submitted recently. Ryan tells us: \"This is a very interesting article about Chinese-Americans that shouldn\'t be too hard for intermediate-level readers. The grammar in this article is fairly simple, and I could understand most of it, having learnt Chinese for half a year.\" <!--more-->\n\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/20140730-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Learn Chinese Reading: Learn to Read Chinese Characters\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" /> This post was taken from a passage in one of Ryan\'s old Chinese textbooks, given to him by a friend. It introduces what we presume is a much longer treatise on the history of Chinese immigration to North America. In this text, we learn a couple of cool place names and period names here. \n\nThe Chinese title is:  华裔美国人. \n\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n中国人是从19<strong>世纪</strong>二十年代开始到美国来的。他们大多来自<strong>广东省</strong>和<strong>福建省</strong>。一开始，他们在加利福尼亚<strong>淘金</strong>；后来，又在西部修建<strong>铁路</strong>、经营农场。20世纪四五十年代，一些人因为中国<strong>内战</strong>来到美国。从20世纪七十年代开始，越来越多的中国人到美国来留学。学习结束后，有的人继续留在美国工作和生活。\n\n中国人到美国的时候，最先是在大城市里居住。所以，现在很多城市像旧金山、纽约、<strong>檀香山</strong>和加拿大的温哥华等都有很大的<strong>中国城</strong>。\n\n以前，中国人在美国生活非常艰难。在几代人的共同努力下，很多人取得了很大的成就。\n\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nFrom the 1820\'s, Chinese people started arriving in America. Most of them came from Guangdong Province and Fujian Province. Initially, they came to California to pan for gold [during the Gold Rush] ; later, they built railroads and started farms in the West. In the 1940s and 1950s, more people [immigrated to the United States] because of the Chinese cCivil war. Beginning in the 1970s, more and more Chinese people came to America to study. After they graduated, some people stayed in America to work and live.\n\nWhen the Chinese arrived in the United States, most of them lived in big cities. Thus, now many cities like San Francisco, New York, Honolulu, Canada\'s Vancouver, and others have large Chinatowns.\n\nPreviously, Chinese people living in the United States had it very hard. But through the joint efforts of several generations, many [Chinese] people have achieved great things. \n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Guest Post: The History of Chinese Americans', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1519-autosave-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 02:52:37', '2016-10-31 06:52:37', '', 1519, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1519-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1710, 1, '2016-10-31 02:53:31', '2016-10-31 06:53:31', '[two_third]\r\nHey, whaddaya know! A guest post. Been a while since we got one of these. Many thanks to Ryan, who submitted recently. Ryan tells us: \"This is a very interesting article about Chinese-Americans that shouldn\'t be too hard for intermediate-level readers. The grammar in this article is fairly simple, and I could understand most of it, having learnt Chinese for half a year.\" <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/20140730-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Learn Chinese Reading: Learn to Read Chinese Characters\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" /> This post was taken from a passage in one of Ryan\'s old Chinese textbooks, given to him by a friend. It introduces what we presume is a much longer treatise on the history of Chinese immigration to North America. In this text, we learn a couple of cool place names and period names here. \r\n\r\nThe Chinese title is:  华裔美国人. \r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\r\n世纪 - [pinyin]shi4 ji4[/pinyin] - Century\r\n广东省 - [pinyin]guang3 dong1 sheng3[/pinyin] - Guangdong Province\r\n福建省 - [pinyin]fu2 jian4 sheng3[/pinyin] - Fujian Province\r\n淘金 - [pinyin]tao2 jin1[/pinyin] - Gold Rush\r\n铁路 - [pinyin]tie3 lu4[/pinyin] - Railroads\r\n内战 - [pinyin]nei4 zhan4[/pinyin] - Civil War\r\n中国城 - [pinyin]zhong1 guo2 cheng2[/pinyin] - Chinatown\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_third]\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n中国人是从19<strong>世纪</strong>二十年代开始到美国来的。他们大多来自<strong>广东省</strong>和<strong>福建省</strong>。一开始，他们在加利福尼亚<strong>淘金</strong>；后来，又在西部修建<strong>铁路</strong>、经营农场。20世纪四五十年代，一些人因为中国<strong>内战</strong>来到美国。从20世纪七十年代开始，越来越多的中国人到美国来留学。学习结束后，有的人继续留在美国工作和生活。\r\n\r\n中国人到美国的时候，最先是在大城市里居住。所以，现在很多城市像旧金山、纽约、<strong>檀香山</strong>和加拿大的温哥华等都有很大的<strong>中国城</strong>。\r\n\r\n以前，中国人在美国生活非常艰难。在几代人的共同努力下，很多人取得了很大的成就。看看下面的当代华裔美国人，有哪些是你认识的？ \r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nFrom the 1820\'s, Chinese people started arriving in America. Most of them came from Guangdong Province and Fujian Province. Initially, they came to California to pan for gold [during the Gold Rush] ; later, they built railroads and started farms in the West. In the 1940s and 1950s, more people [immigrated to the] United States] because of the Chinese civil war. Beginning in the 1970s, more and more Chinese people came to America to study. After they graduated, some people stayed in America to work and live.\r\n\r\nWhen the Chinese arrived in the United States, most of them lived in big cities. Thus, now many cities like San Francisco, New York, Honolulu, Canada\'s Vancouver, and others have large Chinatowns.\r\n\r\nPreviously, Chinese people living in the United States had it very hard. But through the joint efforts of several generations, many [Chinese] people have achieved great things. Here\'s a look at contemporary Chinese Americans, which ones are you familiar with?\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Guest Post: The History of Chinese Americans', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1519-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 02:53:31', '2016-10-31 06:53:31', '', 1519, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1519-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2022, 1, '2016-11-04 05:26:53', '2016-11-04 09:26:53', 'Yayzors, horsies. \r\n\r\nI know that when you first start reading, it\'s hard to hold a narrative thread through a longer post, but give this one a try - 6 short paragraphs, all of them very straightforward. This one has mostly very beginner language, with a couple of intermediate or upper-intermediate words. The grammar, rather than the vocab, is probably the hard part of this post, which is an great survey of every basic Chinese sentence structure. If you can read this, your foundation in Chinese grammar is very solid. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<h3>Using 过</h3>\r\n\r\n他过的很快乐，时光飞快地过去了。\r\n\r\nI figure that might be confusing for new readers, since there are two different uses of the word 过 [pinyin]guo4[/pinyin] here. I tend to find that the easiest way to remember what 过 means in every context is that it almost always means either \"past\" or \"pass\", or one of many variations thereon. Let\'s look a few usages of 过.\r\n\r\n1) In the most common usage, the one we see earliest in our learning, 过, when used after an action, means that the action has \"been done before\", or \"has been done in the past\", as in \"Have you ever been to Shanghai (in the past)?\" （你去过上海吗?), or \"Have you ever eaten this type of fish (in the past)?\" (你吃过这种鱼吗?). \r\n\r\n2) Usage two, 过去, means \"to pass by\", as in “The days passed one by one\" (一关一天就过去了). \r\n\r\n3) Usage three, also 过去, means \"The Past\", a noun, as in the opposite of the future. \"To forget the past is a betrayal.\" (忘记过去，就意味着背叛)\r\n\r\n4) The fourth usage is \"to pass (time)\", or \"to pass one\'s days\" (过日子), or to \"How were you [how did you pass] the last few days?\" (这些天过得怎么样？). \r\n\r\n5) Another 过去 - to \"pass across\", \"to cross\" (as in a river or street).\r\n\r\n6) 过去 \"to pass by\" (someone or something). \r\n\r\nAnd on and on. In our sentence here, we\'re using #4 first, and then #2. \r\n\r\n他<strong>过</strong>的很快乐，时光飞快地<strong>过</strong>去了。\r\n\r\n\"He <strong>passed</strong> [his days] very happily, time flew <strong>past</strong>.\"\r\n\r\nMake sense? Hope so, because several different usages of 过去 come up in this post, so keep an eye out. \r\n\r\n<h3>Not you, stoopid: 咱们 vs. 我们</h3>\r\n\r\n咱们 [pinyin]zan2 men5[/pinyin]. This means \"us\" or \"we\". I know, I know, you learned that 我们 means \"us\" and \"we\", and it does.  咱们 only refers to \"us\" and \"we\" when the speaker is including the person they\'re talking to. So 咱们 means really \"You and I\", not \"we\". Confusing, right? Here are some examples：\r\n\r\n我们： \"Sorry, you can\'t come with us, we\'re going to see a movie alone.\" (The person being spoken to is not included in the \"we\".)\r\n咱们： \"Why don\'t we see a movie this afternoon?” （The speaker is including the person spoken to in the \"we\".)\r\n\r\n我们： \"I\'ll call you as soon as we get back.\" (The person being spoken to is not included in the \"we\".)\r\n咱们： \"What should we do when we get back?” （The speaker is including the person spoken to in the \"we\".)\r\n\r\n我们： \"We\'re not home right now, leave a message!\" (The person being spoken to is not included in the \"we\".)\r\n咱们： \"We could go home right now and check the messages.” （The speaker is including the person spoken to in the \"we\".)\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text:</h3>\r\n<strong>1)</strong> 小马和他的妈妈住在小河边。他过的很快乐，时光飞快地过去了。有一天，妈妈把小马叫到身边说：“小马，你已经长大了，可以帮妈妈做事了。今天你把这袋<strong>粮食</strong>送到河对<strong>岸</strong>的村子里去吧。”\r\n\r\n<strong>2)</strong> 小马非常高兴地答应了。他<strong>驮</strong>着粮食飞快地来到了小河边。可是河上没有桥，只能自己<strong>淌</strong>过去。可又不知道河水有多深呢？<strong>犹豫</strong>中的小马一抬头，看见了正在不远处吃草的牛伯伯。小马赶紧跑过去问到：“牛伯伯，您知道那河里的水深不深呀？”\r\n\r\n<strong>3)</strong> 牛伯伯挺起他那高大的身体笑着说：“不深，不深。才到我的小腿。”\r\n\r\n<strong>4)</strong> 小马高兴地跑回河边准备淌过河去。他刚一<strong>迈</strong>腿，忽然听见一个声音说：“小马，小马别下去，这河可深啦。”小马低头一看，原来是小松鼠。小松鼠<strong>翘</strong>着她漂亮的尾巴，睁着圆圆的眼睛，很认真地说：“前两天我的一个伙伴不小心掉进了河里，河水就把他<strong>卷</strong>走了。”\r\n\r\n<strong>5)</strong> 小马一听没主意了。牛伯伯说河水浅，小松鼠说河水深，这可怎么办呀？只好回去问妈妈。马妈妈老远地就看见小马低着头驮着粮食又回来了。心想他一定是遇到困难了，就迎过去问小马。小马哭着把牛伯伯和小松鼠的话告诉了妈妈。妈妈安慰小马说：“没关系，<strong>咱们</strong>一起去看看吧。”\r\n\r\n<strong>6)</strong> 小马和妈妈又一次来到河边，妈妈让小马自己去试探一下河水有多深。小马小心地试探着，一步一步地淌过了河。噢，他明白了，河水既没有牛伯伯说的那么浅，也没有小松鼠说的那么深。只有自己亲自试过才知道。\r\n \r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n<strong>1)</strong> Little Horse and his mother lived by the river. He passed his days happily, and time flew by. One day, Mother called little horse to her side and said: \"Little Horse, you\'re all grown up, you can help mother with a few things. Today, take that sack of grain and take it to the village on the opposite riverbank.\" \r\n\r\n<strong>2)</strong> Little Horse happily agreed. Carrying the grain on his back he flew to the river. But there was no bridge over the river, he could only wade across. But he didn\'t know how deep the river was.(?) While he was hesitating he lifted his head, and saw Uncle Ox eating grass not far away. Little horse hurriedly ran over and asked: \"Uncle Ox, do you know if the river is deep or not?\" \r\n\r\n<strong>3)</strong> Uncle Ox straightened his big, tall body and laughing, said: \"Not deep, not deep. It only comes up to my calf.\" \r\n\r\n<strong>4)</strong> Little Horse happily ran back to the riverside and prepared to wade across. He\'d just taken one step, when suddenly he heard a voice say: \"Little Horse, Little Horse, don\'t go in, this river is so deep!\" Little Horse lowered his head and looked down, and saw it was Little Squirrel. Little Squirrel raised her pretty tail, round eyes opened wide, and spoke earnestly: \"Two days ago my companion accidentally fell into the river, and the water swept him away.\" \r\n\r\n<strong>5)</strong> Little Horse didn\'t know what to think. Uncle Ox said the water was shallow, Little Squirrel said the water was deep, what was he to do? He had to go back and ask Mother. From a distance, Mother Horse saw Little Horse returning with a lowered head and carrying the sack of grain. She knew in her heart that he must have run into trouble, so she went to welcome Little Horse and ask. Little horse, crying, told Mother what Uncle Ox and Little Squirrel had said. Mother consoled Little Horse, saying: \"Don\'t worry, let\'s go together and have a look.\" \r\n\r\n<strong>6)</strong> Little Horse and Mother went back to the riverbank again, and Mother let little horse test out how deep the water was. Little Horse carefully tried it out, and step by step waded across the river. Hey, he understood, the river on the one hand wasn\'t as shallow as Uncle Ox said, and also wasn\'t as deep as Little Squirrel said. You only know if you find out for yourself. \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Short Stories] 小马过河 - Little Horse Crosses the River', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1596-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 05:26:53', '2016-11-04 09:26:53', '', 1596, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1596-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2023, 1, '2016-11-04 05:27:37', '2016-11-04 09:27:37', 'Yayzors, horsies. \r\n\r\nI know that when you first start reading, it\'s hard to hold a narrative thread through a longer post, but give this one a try - 6 short paragraphs, all of them very straightforward. This one has mostly very beginner language, with a couple of intermediate or upper-intermediate words. The grammar, rather than the vocab, is probably the hard part of this post, which is an great survey of every basic Chinese sentence structure. If you can read this, your foundation in Chinese grammar is very solid. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<h3>Using 过</h3>\r\n\r\n他过的很快乐，时光飞快地过去了。\r\n\r\nI figure that might be confusing for new readers, since there are two different uses of the word 过 [pinyin]guo4[/pinyin] here. I tend to find that the easiest way to remember what 过 means in every context is that it almost always means either \"past\" or \"pass\", or one of many variations thereon. Let\'s look a few usages of 过.\r\n\r\n1) In the most common usage, the one we see earliest in our learning, 过, when used after an action, means that the action has \"been done before\", or \"has been done in the past\", as in \"Have you ever been to Shanghai (in the past)?\" （你去过上海吗?), or \"Have you ever eaten this type of fish (in the past)?\" (你吃过这种鱼吗?). \r\n\r\n2) Usage two, 过去, means \"to pass by\", as in “The days passed one by one\" (一关一天就过去了). \r\n\r\n3) Usage three, also 过去, means \"The Past\", a noun, as in the opposite of the future. \"To forget the past is a betrayal.\" (忘记过去，就意味着背叛)\r\n\r\n4) The fourth usage is \"to pass (time)\", or \"to pass one\'s days\" (过日子), or to \"How were you [how did you pass] the last few days?\" (这些天过得怎么样？). \r\n\r\n5) Another 过去 - to \"pass across\", \"to cross\" (as in a river or street).\r\n\r\n6) 过去 \"to pass by\" (someone or something). \r\n\r\nAnd on and on. In our sentence here, we\'re using #4 first, and then #2. \r\n\r\n他<strong>过</strong>的很快乐，时光飞快地<strong>过</strong>去了。\r\n\r\n\"He <strong>passed</strong> [his days] very happily, time flew <strong>past</strong>.\"\r\n\r\nMake sense? Hope so, because several different usages of 过去 come up in this post, so keep an eye out. \r\n\r\n<h3>Not you, stoopid: 咱们 vs. 我们</h3>\r\n\r\n咱们 [pinyin]zan2 men5[/pinyin]. This means \"us\" or \"we\". I know, I know, you learned that 我们 means \"us\" and \"we\", and it does.  咱们 only refers to \"us\" and \"we\" when the speaker is including the person they\'re talking to. So 咱们 means really \"You and I\", not \"we\". Confusing, right? Here are some examples：\r\n\r\n我们： \"Sorry, you can\'t come with us, we\'re going to see a movie alone.\" (The person being spoken to is not included in the \"we\".)\r\n咱们： \"Why don\'t we see a movie this afternoon?” （The speaker is including the person spoken to in the \"we\".)\r\n\r\n我们： \"I\'ll call you as soon as we get back.\" (The person being spoken to is not included in the \"we\".)\r\n咱们： \"What should we do when we get back?” （The speaker is including the person spoken to in the \"we\".)\r\n\r\n我们： \"We\'re not home right now, leave a message!\" (The person being spoken to is not included in the \"we\".)\r\n咱们： \"We could go home right now and check the messages.” （The speaker is including the person spoken to in the \"we\".)\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text:</h3>\r\n<strong>1)</strong> 小马和他的妈妈住在小河边。他过的很快乐，时光飞快地过去了。有一天，妈妈把小马叫到身边说：“小马，你已经长大了，可以帮妈妈做事了。今天你把这袋<strong>粮食</strong>送到河对<strong>岸</strong>的村子里去吧。”\r\n\r\n<strong>2)</strong> 小马非常高兴地答应了。他<strong>驮</strong>着粮食飞快地来到了小河边。可是河上没有桥，只能自己<strong>淌</strong>过去。可又不知道河水有多深呢？<strong>犹豫</strong>中的小马一抬头，看见了正在不远处吃草的牛伯伯。小马赶紧跑过去问到：“牛伯伯，您知道那河里的水深不深呀？”\r\n\r\n<strong>3)</strong> 牛伯伯挺起他那高大的身体笑着说：“不深，不深。才到我的小腿。”\r\n\r\n<strong>4)</strong> 小马高兴地跑回河边准备淌过河去。他刚一<strong>迈</strong>腿，忽然听见一个声音说：“小马，小马别下去，这河可深啦。”小马低头一看，原来是小松鼠。小松鼠<strong>翘</strong>着她漂亮的尾巴，睁着圆圆的眼睛，很认真地说：“前两天我的一个伙伴不小心掉进了河里，河水就把他<strong>卷</strong>走了。”\r\n\r\n<strong>5)</strong> 小马一听没主意了。牛伯伯说河水浅，小松鼠说河水深，这可怎么办呀？只好回去问妈妈。马妈妈老远地就看见小马低着头驮着粮食又回来了。心想他一定是遇到困难了，就迎过去问小马。小马哭着把牛伯伯和小松鼠的话告诉了妈妈。妈妈安慰小马说：“没关系，<strong>咱们</strong>一起去看看吧。”\r\n\r\n<strong>6)</strong> 小马和妈妈又一次来到河边，妈妈让小马自己去试探一下河水有多深。小马小心地试探着，一步一步地淌过了河。噢，他明白了，河水既没有牛伯伯说的那么浅，也没有小松鼠说的那么深。只有自己亲自试过才知道。\r\n \r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n<strong>1)</strong> Little Horse and his mother lived by the river. He passed his days happily, and time flew by. One day, Mother called little horse to her side and said: \"Little Horse, you\'re all grown up, you can help mother with a few things. Today, take that sack of grain and take it to the village on the opposite riverbank.\" \r\n\r\n<strong>2)</strong> Little Horse happily agreed. Carrying the grain on his back he flew to the river. But there was no bridge over the river, he could only wade across. But he didn\'t know how deep the river was.(?) While he was hesitating he lifted his head, and saw Uncle Ox eating grass not far away. Little horse hurriedly ran over and asked: \"Uncle Ox, do you know if the river is deep or not?\" \r\n\r\n<strong>3)</strong> Uncle Ox straightened his big, tall body and laughing, said: \"Not deep, not deep. It only comes up to my calf.\" \r\n\r\n<strong>4)</strong> Little Horse happily ran back to the riverside and prepared to wade across. He\'d just taken one step, when suddenly he heard a voice say: \"Little Horse, Little Horse, don\'t go in, this river is so deep!\" Little Horse lowered his head and looked down, and saw it was Little Squirrel. Little Squirrel raised her pretty tail, round eyes opened wide, and spoke earnestly: \"Two days ago my companion accidentally fell into the river, and the water swept him away.\" \r\n\r\n<strong>5)</strong> Little Horse didn\'t know what to think. Uncle Ox said the water was shallow, Little Squirrel said the water was deep, what was he to do? He had to go back and ask Mother. From a distance, Mother Horse saw Little Horse returning with a lowered head and carrying the sack of grain. She knew in her heart that he must have run into trouble, so she went to welcome Little Horse and ask. Little horse, crying, told Mother what Uncle Ox and Little Squirrel had said. Mother consoled Little Horse, saying: \"Don\'t worry, let\'s go together and have a look.\" \r\n\r\n<strong>6)</strong> Little Horse and Mother went back to the riverbank again, and Mother let little horse test out how deep the water was. Little Horse carefully tried it out, and step by step waded across the river. Hey, he understood, the river on the one hand wasn\'t as shallow as Uncle Ox said, and also wasn\'t as deep as Little Squirrel said. You only know if you find out for yourself. \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Short Stories] 小马过河 - Little Horse Crosses the River', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1596-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 05:27:37', '2016-11-04 09:27:37', '', 1596, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1596-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
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(1713, 1, '2016-10-31 02:58:39', '2016-10-31 06:58:39', '[two_third]\r\nHappy Year of the Sheep! Couple of days ago, I stumbled across the Book \"The Last Yin Yang Master\", aka \"The Last Onmyoji\", a supernatural ghost story available for free online. It\'s incredibly rare to find full-length books that aren\'t impossibly difficult to get through, but this one is phenomenal for learners. I\'m gonna put part of the first chapter here, so you can dive on in. The rest can be grabbed on <a href=\"http://www.zhuaji.org/read/146/\" target=\"_blank\">Zhuaji.com</a>. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nI\'ve recently sort of discovered that ghost stories and detective novels are where it\'s at for practicing reading. The cliches in a Chinese murder mystery are exactly the same as they are anywhere: hard-boiled cop, confused rookie, seductive woman, shady business, and definitely a chase scene. It\'s easier to follow a story when you have a semi-expectation of what\'s supposed to happen. They get hard when people start talking about blood spatter and ballistics, but you can kind of get the gist. Ghost stories are the same way - a scene of normalcy is set, followed by some red-flag strangeness that everyone completely ignores because they don\'t believe in the supernatural, followed by some myths and legends, or maybe a mysterious old man, or maybe a body goes missing, and then things really freaky. Again, the read gets hard when characters start talking about the mystic books of old, or funeral customs, so you should probably be reading this with the help of Pleco (which I do), but The Last Onmyoji is accessible enough that those parts shouldn\'t totally derail you. Highly recommended.\r\n\r\nThis really is worth a go for readers at almost all levels. The read is late-intermediate, but using Pleco, late-stage beginners and early-intermediates will be able to understand large chunks of it, enough to motivate you to puzzle through the parts you don\'t get, more so because this is being told in first-person. Remember, now, that the beginning of a book is usually the hardest as you try to get a sense of the story. Once the story gets rolling, it\'s easier to flow with it. Advanced readers may just appreciate learning a bit of spooky vocab. \r\n\r\nThe segment that I\"m translating here doesn\'t have any ghostly bits in it, this is the first chapter to get you going on the story. It\'s packed full of Chinese village culture, and some parts at the end that would be considered extremely un-PC in the west: a little anti-Japanese talk, and a little bit about buying women, the rarities of college education in the countryside: the realities of village life in China, even these days. \r\n\r\nThere\'s a lot I could talk about in here, but I do like the word 投 [pinyin]tou2[/pinyin] - This word had a ton of meanings. Imagine slipping a piece of paper into a suggestion box. Got it? That\'s what this word embodies, that action, or anything related to a similar action of taking a flat object and dropping it into a slot, literally or figuratively. So it can mean to \"vote\", as in an election, because you\'re submitting a ballot. It can mean to \"slide\" an envelope into a letter box. In this case, it means to \"submit\" a resume while seeking a job offer. We don\'t have a word for that concept in English, I think. \r\n\r\nEnjoy!\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese Text</h3>\r\n<strong>1)</strong> 我叫林小凡,今年23岁。大学刚毕业。一个三流的大学四流的成绩,大学是在杭州读,毕业之后最开始在一家房地产公司做销售员,底薪一千八。因为业绩太差,公司没说辞退我,我自己就不好意思待了。\r\n\r\n<strong>2)</strong> 在杭州转了两个月,<strong>投</strong>了不知道多少份儿简历,面试了多少次,都没有通过。<strong>盘缠</strong>花光之后,就回了老家。\r\n\r\n<strong>3)</strong> 我的老家是洛阳。洛阳的乡下,一个叫做十里铺儿的小村儿落。\r\n\r\n<strong>4)</strong> 之所以回来,是因为村儿里小学唯一的教师得了<strong>肺痨</strong>,病的已经非常严重,我作为村里走出来唯一的大学生,村长愿意一月掏出一千块的巨资来请我去代课。\r\n\r\n<strong>5)</strong> 所以我回来了。\r\n\r\n<strong>6)</strong> 在外面活的不如一条狗的我,在老家得到了极大的尊严。\r\n\r\n<strong>7)</strong> 在偏远的山村,大学生,还是一个极其厉害的存在,村民们在看到我父亲的时候,都会为他竖起大拇指,说:“老林家祖坟冒了青烟,竟然出了个大学生,以后你就走出了大山咯。”\r\n\r\n<strong>8)</strong> 每当这个时候,我父亲都会憨厚的笑一笑,抹去他脸上的汗水。\r\n\r\n<strong>9)</strong> 我回到村子之后,方圆几里的媒婆都争着抢着给我介绍对象,几乎踏破我家的门槛儿,这不是吹牛。你不在那个环境里,不知道大学生三个字的分量。\r\n\r\n<strong>10)</strong> 父亲也极力的给我<strong>张罗</strong>,在他们眼里,23岁,甚至已经过了结婚的年纪。跟我同龄的人,现在儿子已经可以光着<strong>屁股</strong>到处跑了。\r\n\r\n<strong>11)</strong> 为了不让他们操心,我也去一次次的应付相亲。\r\n\r\n<strong>12)</strong> 对,是应付。\r\n\r\n<strong>13)</strong> 大学,说白了就是一个区分性与理性的地方,虽然是山村出来的,可是我的相貌并不算丑,甚至可以说英俊。也谈过一个女朋友,我没钱,她也不是非常的富裕,可是就算这样,我们还在在一起了三年,我尽我所能的打零工,来做一个男朋友该做的。大三那年,我们分手。\r\n<strong>14)</strong> \r\n那一天,我在我们学校的后山喝了一瓶2块钱的二锅头。醒来之后,不再悲伤,继续<strong>浑浑噩噩</strong>的过日子。\r\n\r\n<strong>15)</strong> 关于相貌这一点,我继承了我母亲。\r\n\r\n<strong>16)</strong>  一个不知道故乡在哪里的美貌女人。\r\n\r\n<strong>17)</strong> 她有痴呆症。\r\n\r\n<strong>18)</strong> 在几十年前,我父亲进城,用了三百块钱把她买了回来。\r\n\r\n<strong>19)</strong> 我父亲说,他那一天花了两元钱给母亲买了一身衣服,回来的时候母亲的美貌,让村里的人哈喇子都流到了地上。\r\n\r\n<strong>20)</strong> 可惜,她是个傻子。\r\n\r\n<strong>21)</strong> 如果不是傻子,我父亲也买不起。\r\n\r\n<strong>22)</strong> 后来有了我,母亲的痴傻一直都是那样,可是她的傻,并不是像街头的疯子一样,她非常安静。\r\n\r\n<strong>23)</strong> 不说话,不动。只是安静的坐着。\r\n\r\n<strong>24)</strong> 我就在这样的一个环境下长大,可是我并不想文艺的说,我有孤僻的性格,因为就算是这样,我还是有完整的童年。\r\n\r\n<strong>25)</strong> 我父亲非常的勤劳,他尽一个农民的极限,利用手中的农具,养活一个家。我没有什么怪他的地方。\r\n\r\n<strong>26)</strong> 没钱,这是命。\r\n\r\n<strong>27)</strong> 我爷爷,是一个退伍的老军人,他不识字,没有农民典型的精明,反倒是实诚的可怕。有人说他是gmd,有人说他是gcd,可是他自己都不知道自己到底是哪个党,他唯一知道的,就是他拿枪打日本鬼子,鬼子打跑之后,他就回到了家。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n<strong>1)</strong> My name is Lin Xiaofan, I\'m 23 years old this year. I just graduated from college. A third-rate school with fourth-tier grades, my college was in Hangzhou, and after I graduated I first went to work as sales staff at a real estate agency with a salary of 1,800 [translator\'s note: this is a very low salary, about $300 USD / month]. My sales performance was poor, and the company never fired me, but I was so embarrassed that I left. \r\n\r\n<strong>2)</strong> I wandered around Hangzhou for two months, submitted I don\'t even know how many resumes, or went to how many interviews, but nothing came through. After I\'d spent all my travel money, I went back to my home town.\r\n\r\n<strong>3)</strong> My home town is Luoyang. In the Luoyang countryside falls a little village called Shilipu\'er. \r\n\r\n<strong>4)</strong> The reason I went home is because the village\'s only teacher got tuberculosis, and he was very seriously ill, so as the village\'s only person who\'d ever gone off to college, the village chief dug up a thousand-dollar [translator\'s note: \"1000 kuai\" is \"1000 Chinese Renminbi\"] investment and asked me to substitute teach. \r\n\r\n<strong>5)</strong> So I went home. \r\n\r\n<strong>6)</strong> My life away from home wasn\'t even as good as a dog\'s, but I get plenty of respect in my home town. \r\n\r\n<strong>7)</strong> In such a remote village, being a college graduate is still an extremely awesome thing to be, and every time the villagers see my father, they all give him a thumbs-up and say, \"Your family\'s ancestral grave is emitting green smoke, unexpectedly out popped a college student! You\'ll be walking off this mountain after a while!\" [translator\'s note: this is a compliment regarding the family\'s lineage.]\r\n\r\n<strong>8)</strong> Of course at these times, my father would smile in a simple and honest way, wiping the sweat off his brow. \r\n\r\n<strong>9)</strong> After I came back to the village, all the local matchmakers tried to set me up with someone, almost trampling down my door, no exaggeration. If you\'ve never been in that [village] environment, you don\'t know the power of those three words, \"College Degree Holder\".\r\n\r\n<strong>10)</strong> My dad also made a supreme effort to settle me, because in his eyes, at 23 years old I\'d already passed marrying age. Everyone my age already had kids running around with their bare butts hanging out. \r\n\r\n<strong>11)</strong> So as not to make him worry, I\'d already coped with my first blind date. \r\n\r\n<strong>12)</strong> Yes, it was definitely \"coping\". \r\n\r\n<strong>13)</strong> College, speaking frankly, was a place with completely different place with different rationales, but although I came from a farm village, I wasn\'t considered ugly, you might even say I\'m handsome. I had a girlfriend, but I had no money, and she wasn\'t very rich either, but that\'s just the way it was, we were together three years, and I used up all my part-time work money trying to do all the things a boyfriend is supposed to do. In the third year, we broke up. \r\n\r\n<strong>14)</strong> On that day, on the hill behind our school, I drank a bottle of 2-dollar liquor. After I woke up, I wasn\'t sad anymore, and I just continued muddle-headedly passing the days. \r\n\r\n<strong>15)</strong> About my looks, those I inherited from my mother. \r\n\r\n<strong>16)</strong> A good-looking woman from who-knows-where.  \r\n\r\n<strong>17)</strong> She had dementia.\r\n\r\n<strong>18)</strong> A few decades ago, my father went to the city, and spent three hundred dollars to buy her and bring her home.\r\n\r\n<strong>19)</strong> My dad said, that day he spent two bucks to buy mom some clothes, and when he returned, mom\'s good looks made everyone in the village drool all over the ground. \r\n\r\n<strong>20)</strong> Pity, she was an idiot.\r\n\r\n<strong>21)</strong> If she hadn\'t been an idiot, my dad could never have afforded her. \r\n\r\n<strong>22)</strong> Then I came along, and mom\'s dementia continued as before, but her brand of dementia wasn\'t like a crazy street person\'s, she was very quiet. \r\n\r\n<strong>23)</strong> She didn\'t speak, didn\'t move. Just quietly sat there.\r\n\r\n<strong>24)</strong> This is the environment I grew up in, but I don\'t want to make it sound literary, I had an antisocial nature, but even so, I still had a full childhood. \r\n\r\n<strong>25)</strong> My father is very industrious, he has a farmer\'s strength, using the farm tools in his hands, he nurtured a household. I don\'t have anything to blame him for. \r\n\r\n<strong>26)</strong> No money, that\'s just life. \r\n\r\n<strong>27)</strong> My grandfather is a retired soldier, he\'s illiterate, and he doesn\'t have any of a villager\'s typical shrewdness, on the contrary he\'s terrifyingly honest. Some people said he was GMD [translator\'s note: GMD = guo min dang, the fascist party in the Chinese civil war, who lost], some people said he was GCD [GCD = gong chang dang, the communist party that won the war and remains in power today], but he doesn\'t even know himself which \"dang\" [translator\'s note - this \"dang\" means \"political party\"] he was in, the only thing he knows is that he grabbed a gun and fought the Japanese devils [the Japanese invaded while the GMD and the GCD were fighting each other], and after the devils ran away, he went home.\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Books ] 《最后一个阴阳师》 - The Last Yin Yang Master', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1539-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 02:58:39', '2016-10-31 06:58:39', '', 1539, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1539-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1714, 1, '2016-11-04 06:24:22', '2016-11-04 10:24:22', 'Eeps - bad medicine! In this story, the mischievous Monkey - always a trickster figure in Chinese stories - pulls the wool over Little Bear\'s eyes. If Little Bear was American, he\'d sue the hospital for negligence and rake in millions of baskets of peaches. \n\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/20130617-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Read Chinese: Bedtime Stories in Mandarin Chinese Characters\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />Though the majority of this text is very basic reading, there are three phrases which jump out at me as being difficult, or words I couldn\'t find in basic dictionaries. \n\n理所应当 - [pinyin]li3 suo3 ying1 dang1[/pinyin] This phrase means to feel something is well-deserved, that something has been earned through hard work, usually when it actually hasn\'t. So I guess that roughly translates to \'taking a reward for granted\'? In this story, Monkey feels that his payment is well-earned or well-deserved. But as readers, we know Monkey doesn\'t deserve anything at all - he\'s taking that payment for granted when he didn\'t really earn it. Consider this phrase in another context:\n\n别人帮助你那是义气，你不能当作是理所应当的。 - \"When other people help you it\'s in the spirit of self-sacrifice, you shouldn\'t consider this something you deserve as a matter of course.\"  \n\n甜头 - Though this looks like two words, the first meaning \"sweet\" and the second meaning \"head\" or \"brain\", it\'s actually a colloquialism that just means \"sweet flavor\" or \"pleasant taste\".  \n\n贪念 - These two characters also seem separate, they don\'t appear together in my dictionary, but they\'re actually one word. According to <a href=\"http://baike.baidu.com/view/3187101.htm\">Baidu Bai Ke</a>, the Baidu dictionary (a Chinese-language resource for word meanings and derivations), 贪念 [pinyin]tan1 nian4[/pinyin] just means \"greedy\" (I presume the \"念\" probably adds the meaning \"idea\" or \"thoughts\" here, so 贪念 could be read as \"greedy thoughts\"). \n\n<a href=\"http://www.tom61.com/ertongwenxue/yuyangushi/2012-10-06/26930.html\">You can read the original here.</a> \n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\n<strong>1)</strong> 猴子去医院<strong>玩耍</strong>,进了大夫的房间。正好大夫不在,衣服也落在了房间内。\n\n<strong>2)</strong> 猴子觉得好玩,就穿上了大夫的衣服,也就是我们常见的那种<strong>白大褂子</strong>。这时候有一只小熊来医院<strong>看病</strong>。小熊是第一次上医院,并不了解医院的情况。它所知道的,就是大夫们都穿着白大褂子。\n\n<strong>3)</strong> 小熊提着一篮桃子(这是它准备送给大夫的<strong>酬金</strong>)来到医院,正好走进猴子所在的房间。小熊不认识猴子,但是它认识那件白大褂子,于是就请猴子给它看病。\n\n<strong>4)</strong> 猴子本来只是玩耍,并不会看病,但是它看到小熊的篮子后,就起了<strong>贪念</strong>。于是猴子便<strong>装模作样</strong>地给小熊看了病,并且<strong>理所应当地</strong>收下了那篮桃子。至于小熊的病是否给猴子看好了,这一点<strong>不得而知</strong>。\n\n<strong>5)</strong> 但是猴子却尝到了甜头,以后常常<strong>潜入</strong>医院,趁大夫不在的时候,穿上大夫的衣服,给病人看病。到后来,猴子<strong>干脆</strong>给自己也做了一身那样的白大褂子。\n\n<strong>6)</strong> 唉!我们不知道有多少人是在猴子那里看的病啊!\n\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\n<strong>1)</strong> Monkey went to the hospital on a lark, and entered the doctor\'s room. At that moment, the doctor wasn\'t in, and he\'d left his [doctor\'s] clothes in the room.\n\n<strong>2)</strong> Monkey thought this would be fun, so he put on the doctor\'s clothes, that white lab coat we see so often. Just then a little bear came to the hospital to see the doctor. This was the little bear\'s first time at the hospital, and he didn\'t know what hospitals were like [lit: didn\'t know the hospital situation]. All he knew was that doctors wear white lab coats. \n\n<strong>3)</strong> The little bear had shown up at the hospital carrying a basket of peaches (this was the payment he had prepared to give to the doctor), and he happened to walk into the room where Monkey was. Little Bear didn\'t know Monkey, but he recognized the white lab coat, so he asked Monkey to examine him.\n\n<strong>4)</strong> Monkey originally just [intended to] have a bit of fun, but when he saw Little Bear\'s basket, he coveted it fiercely. So Monkey put on a big show of examining Little Bear, and accepted his well-earned basket of peaches. As to whether or not Monkey actually cured Little Bear, we will never know. \n\n<strong>5)</strong> However, after Monkey tasted that sweetness, he often stole into the hospital, taking advantage of the doctor\'s absence, and examined patients. Later, Monkey simply made himself one of those white lab coats. \n\n<strong>6)</strong> Ai! We don\'t know how many people were examined by Monkey!\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Short Stories] 大夫和猴子 - The Doctor and the Monkey', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1401-autosave-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 06:24:22', '2016-11-04 10:24:22', '', 1401, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1401-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1717, 1, '2013-08-05 07:23:32', '2013-08-05 11:23:32', '[two_third]\r\nFather\'s Day\'s coming up in a few weeks, and we\'ll be looking at the lyrics of a beginner-level saccharine-cute song written for children to sing to their dads (or, for the children of the digital generation, to forward to their dads) on their special day. This post is accompanied by a Flash Father\'s Day video where you can listen to the song on an INFINITE LOOP. Lucky you. <!--more-->\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130521-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Learn to Read Chinese: Drills for Learning to Read Mandarin Characters\" title=\"Reading in Simplified Chinese: Easy Exercises for Language Study\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />\r\nHere\'s the original video with the actual song. <a href=\"http://new.060s.com/flash/flashbrow.php?flash=70648ecb985590c987c8ffd9b0b5edb1\" target=\"_blank\">http://new.060s.com/flash/flashbrow.php?flash=70648ecb985590c987c8ffd9b0b5edb1</a>, have a listen if you dare. \r\n\r\nBecause this is a song, we have a couple of instances where a similar sentence structure is used with different words - these are probably the hardest sentences in the song. Example: 脏活累活他全包了. First, let me break down this sentence: \r\n\r\n脏 - Dirty\r\n活 - Activity, work\r\n累 - Tired\r\n活 - Activity, work\r\n他 - He\r\n全包 - All included\r\n了 - (grammar word)\r\n\r\nWhat? Dirty activity tired activity he all included?! What the heck does that mean? In proper English, we might translate that as \"Dirty work, Tired work, he does it all!\" We are, of course, talking about our amazing dads and all the thanklessly exhausting housework and job work they do. Thing is, there\'s nowhere in this sentence where the verb \"does\" as in \"to do work\" actually appears. We\'re just expected to infer the word from the context of 全包 - \"all included\". \r\n\r\nWe see the same sentence structure later in the song: 剩菜剩饭他全包了. The breakdown: \r\n\r\n剩 - Leftover\r\n菜 - Vegetables\r\n剩 - Leftover\r\n饭 - Rice\r\n他 - He \r\n全包 - All included\r\n了 (grammar word). \r\n\r\nOnce again, that strange \"all included\" - we are again expected to infer the verb here. Any guesses? The sentence means \"Leftover Vegetables, Leftover Rice, he eats it all!\" or \"He eats all the leftovers!\" So the missing word we kinda have to mentally fill in is \"eats\". \r\n\r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\r\n力气 - [pinyin]li4 qi4[/pinyin] - Strength\r\n脏活 - [pinyin]zang4 huo2[/pinyin] - Dirty work\r\n累活 - [pinyin]lei4 huo2[/pinyin] - Exhausting work\r\n肚量 - [pinyin]du4 liang4[/pinyin] - Generosity\r\n挣 - [pinyin]zheng1[/pinyin] - Earn (usually money)\r\n花 - [pinyin]hua1[/pinyin] - Spend (money)\r\n剩 - [pinyin]sheng4[/pinyin] - Surplus, leftover\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_third]\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n爸爸好, 爸爸好, 爸爸好\r\n爸爸的<strong>力气</strong>真不小\r\n做得多说得少\r\n<strong>脏活</strong><strong>累活</strong>他全包了\r\n爸爸好, 爸爸好, 爸爸好\r\n爸爸的<strong>肚量</strong>真不小\r\n<strong>挣</strong>得多<strong>花</strong>得少\r\n<strong>剩</strong>菜剩饭他全包了\r\n挣得多花得少\r\n剩菜剩饭他全包了\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nDad\'s the best, Dad\'s the best, dad\'s the best!\r\nDad\'s really got no shortage of strength \r\nHe does a lot but speaks little\r\nHe does all the dirty and tired work.\r\nDad\'s the best, dad\'s the best, dad\'s the best! \r\nDad\'s really got no shortage of generosity\r\nHe earns a lot but spends little\r\nAnd he eats all the leftovers! \r\nHe earns a lot but spends little \r\nAnd he eats all the leftovers! \r\n[/hide-this-part]', 'Lyrics: Baba Hao, a Song for Father\'s Day', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1363-revision-v1', '', '', '2013-08-05 07:23:32', '2013-08-05 11:23:32', '', 1363, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2013/08/1363-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(1715, 1, '2013-08-05 07:24:46', '2013-08-05 11:24:46', '[two_third]\r\nWell well well, lookie here. A guest post! Today we\'ll be reading Rebecca Chua\'s (Chinese name: 蔡幸彤) translation of an essay from her textbook. The post is about the rewards of honesty. I remember my own textbook being full of these types of essays, so thank you, Rebecca, for the traditional read. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img class=\"imgborder alignleft\" title=\"20130506-inline\" src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130506-inline.jpg\" alt=\"Learn Mandarin Chinese Characters: Practice Reading Simplified Chinese Character Essays\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" />Rebecca has this to say about the post: <em>This story talks about a school-going child\'s problems of getting his parents to sign his papers. It also talks about being honest, and that life\'s exam papers matter the most. This essay was from my tutoring centre\'s teaching materials. This was done with help. Thank you for those who helped me!</em>\r\n\r\n(And the same in Chinese:) 这个故事是讲述华文考试卷要签名所遇到的困难。这个故事教我们要诚实，也教我们，虽然考卷的真正分数低，但人生的考卷上有高分才是最重要的。\r\n\r\nOne of the interesting things about this post is the punctuation. In Chinese, they use a six-dot ellipses …… where we only use... three. (u c wat i did thar?). We also learn a little culture here: it\'s worth noting that in most Chinese highschools, parents actually have to sign your test results to prove you showed it to them. We also see that Rebecca\'s book spells \"A+\" as \"A*\".\r\n\r\nI\'m super loving this phrase - 从天堂降落到地狱 - though it might need a little breakdown:\r\n\r\n从 - From\r\n天堂 - Heaven\r\n降落 - descend\r\n到 - to\r\n地狱 - Hell\r\n\r\nThis phrase means to \"have a sinking heart\" or to \"fall from joy to misery\".\r\n\r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\r\n发下来 - [pinyin]fa1 xia4 lai5[/pinyin] - To pass out (papers), hand back (homework)\r\n考卷 - [pinyin]kao3 juan4[/pinyin] - Exam paper\r\n沉重 - [pinyin]chen2 zhong4[/pinyin] - Hard, serious\r\n羡慕 - [pinyin]xian4 mu4[/pinyin] - To envy\r\n竟然 - [pinyin]jing4 ran2[/pinyin] - Unexpectedly\r\n松了一口气 - [pinyin]song1 le yi1 kou3 qi4[/pinyin] - Let out a sigh (usually of relief) \r\n顿 - [pinyin]dun4[/pinyin] - Classifier for a period of time when a beating, scolding or critique takes place\r\n到底 - [pinyin]dao4 di3[/pinyin] - When all is said and done\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_third]\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">我背着书包，手里拿着刚刚<strong>发下来</strong>的<strong>考卷</strong>，一边拖着<strong>沉重</strong>的脚步向家走着，一边紧张的思考怎样让爸爸在考卷上签名……前两天的考卷，今天老师发下来了。我拿了一个A*，考到了97分！同学们都很<strong>羡慕</strong>我，我也得到老师的肯定。在老师要我们做改正的时候，我就<strong>从天堂降落到地狱</strong>。天啊！我<strong>竟然</strong>忘了一整页试题，整整要被扣十分！但是老师却没发现，我还真不知该不该对她说。这时，我的头脑出现了两个“我”，一个说：“算了，不要告诉老师，我已经得了老师的肯定，同学们又那么羡慕我，如果我告诉老师，不就等于丢我的脸，还失去爸爸要给我的礼物。”另一个说：“不行，要做个诚实的人，一定要告诉老师。”于是，我对老师说：“我漏掉了这些题，应该是87 分！”老师帮我改分数的那一刻，我立刻<strong>松了一口气</strong>。\r\n\r\n在回家的路上，我真希望我没有对老师说这番话。现在，我不仅要丢掉爸爸的礼物，还得被他骂一<strong>顿</strong>。晚上，我把考卷交给爸爸，爸爸说：“你为什么那么不小心？为什么一整页的题目没做？为什么？” 如在平时，当他问我这些问题时，我会叫他一个“十万个为什么”的人。可现在，我不敢，应为他生气得好像要打我似的。突然，他看见97分改成87分，很奇怪地问我：\"<strong>到底</strong>怎么一回事？“我把情况如实地告诉了他。我低着头，准备继续挨训。\r\n\r\n爸爸沉默了一会儿，突然惊喜地看着我：“不，宝贝儿，虽然你考卷上的分数不尽人意，但是在人生考卷上你却得了高分。爸爸为你骄傲！你做得对......”说完他在考卷上签了名。\r\n\r\n第二天早上，我背起书包，手里拿着由爸爸签名的考卷，迈着轻快的脚步，迎着初升的朝阳，信心十足地向学校走去……\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nCarrying a heavy load on my back, holding the exam papers that were just handed back to us, I wondered how I could make my father sign this paper......\r\n\r\nThe exam, which was held just two days before, was handed back to us. I got an A+, a high score of 97 points! All the students in my class were envious of me, and I got the praise of my teacher. But when we were asked to do corrections, I found myself dropping all the way from heaven to hell. I actually forgot to do a whole page of questions, and had to be deducted of ten marks! But my teacher hadn\'t discovered yet, and I wasn\'t sure if I had to say it to her. I was in two minds. One said, \"Don\'t tell her, otherwise you would lose face and lose your father\'s present!\" The other said, \"No, you should be honest, just tell her!\" So, I said, \"I missed these questions, the actual points should be 87!\" When she helped me change my score, I heaved a sigh of relief.\r\n\r\nWhen I was going home, I wished I had not said all that. Now, not only was I going to lose my father\'s present, but I was also going to be scolded by him. At night, when I passed my paper to him, he said,\"Why were you so careless? Why did you miss out a whole page of questions?\" Usually, when he asks me all these questions, I call him a \"dad of ten-thousand questions\". But now, I daren\'t, because he seems so angry that he might hit me. Suddenly, when he saw that my 97 points became 87 points, he asked me,\"What happened?\" I told him the truth, and lowered my head, ready to continue being scolded.\r\n\r\nMy father silenced for a while. Then he suddenly said, \"No, darling, even though you results aren\'t satisfactory, in life\'s exam, you have gotten a high score. I am proud of you! You have done it right......\" after saying that he signed his name.\r\n\r\nThe next morning, carrying my schoolbag, with light steps, I was feeling happy. Welcoming the rising sun, I walked towards my school with confidence......\r\n[/hide-this-part]', 'Guest Post by Rebecca Chua: The difference between life\'s exam and exam papers', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1348-revision-v1', '', '', '2013-08-05 07:24:46', '2013-08-05 11:24:46', '', 1348, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2013/08/1348-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1716, 1, '2016-11-04 07:03:25', '2016-11-04 11:03:25', 'Hey hey! This site has made it through two years online and 100 posts! That makes an average of 50 posts a year, which averages out to a little less than one a week. Not terribly shabby, huh? In any case, on with the Chinese. \n\nThough we could probably skip this info, you might want to know that 晨练 - meaning \"morning exercise\" - is a much more formalized concept in China than in west. Here, every morning in almost any weather, crowds of old people gather together in parks around 6-7a.m. to do group taiqi, stretch and take brisk walks. This is so prevalent that you can show up at any park or open community space in China early in the morning and see groups of mostly old people doing their exercises. So, while reading the first joke, you should imagine a scene of 40 or so retirees doing taiqi forms in the park. \n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\n1) 小姑娘指着晨练的老人问： 为什么他们能天天到公园来玩？\n奶奶：因为他们是退休人员。\n一天，爸爸问女儿：你长大当什么？\n小姑娘：退休人员。\n\n<hr />\n\n2) 父亲教儿子学算术：“一加一是多少？”\n儿子：“不知道。”\n父亲：“是两个，<笨蛋！知道了吗？”\n儿子：“知道了。”\n父亲：“那么，我和你，加起来是几个人？”\n儿子：“是两个笨蛋！” \n\n<hr />\n\n3) 一个女孩和一个男孩吃汉堡。男孩说女孩：“我要告诉你一件事！”\n女孩说：“不要跟我说话在我吃的时候，当我吃我的汉堡，那么你就可以谈。”\n所以，当他们吃完了女孩问男孩：“现在你想说什么呢？”\n男孩说：“嗯，我是说，有一只蟑螂在你的汉堡里！” \n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\n1) A little girl pointing at old people doing morning exercises, said: \"Why are they allowed to play in the park all day?\"\nGrandmother: \"Because they are retirees.\"\nOne day, the father asked the little girl: What do you want to be when you grow up?\nLittle girl: A retiree!\n\n<hr />\n\n2) Father is teaching his son arithmetic: \"One plus one is how much?\"  \nSon: \"I don\'t know.\" \nFather: \"It\'s two, idiot! You get it?\"\nSon: \"I get it.\" \nFather: \"Now, me and you, put us together and how many people is that?\"\nSon: \"Two idiots!\" \n\n<hr />\n\n3) A girl and a boy are eating hamburgers. The boy says to the girl: \"I want to tell you something!\" \nThe girl says: \"Don\'t talk to me while I\'m eating, when I\'m done with my hamburger, then you can speak.\"\nSo, when they finished eating the girl asked the boy: \"Now what do you want to say?\"\nBoy says: \"Huh, I was saying, there\'s a cockroach in your hamburger.\"\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Jokes] Three kid-friendly Chinese jokes', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1329-autosave-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 07:03:25', '2016-11-04 11:03:25', '', 1329, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1329-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1718, 1, '2016-10-31 03:04:59', '2016-10-31 07:04:59', 'Happy Year of the Sheep! Couple of days ago, I stumbled across the Book \"The Last Yin Yang Master\", aka \"The Last Onmyoji\", a supernatural ghost story available for free online. It\'s incredibly rare to find full-length books that aren\'t impossibly difficult to get through, but this one is phenomenal for learners. I\'m gonna put part of the first chapter here, so you can dive on in. The rest can be grabbed on <a href=\"http://www.zhuaji.org/read/146/\" target=\"_blank\">Zhuaji.com</a>. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nI\'ve recently sort of discovered that ghost stories and detective novels are where it\'s at for practicing reading. The cliches in a Chinese murder mystery are exactly the same as they are anywhere: hard-boiled cop, confused rookie, seductive woman, shady business, and definitely a chase scene. It\'s easier to follow a story when you have a semi-expectation of what\'s supposed to happen. They get hard when people start talking about blood spatter and ballistics, but you can kind of get the gist. Ghost stories are the same way - a scene of normalcy is set, followed by some red-flag strangeness that everyone completely ignores because they don\'t believe in the supernatural, followed by some myths and legends, or maybe a mysterious old man, or maybe a body goes missing, and then things really freaky. Again, the read gets hard when characters start talking about the mystic books of old, or funeral customs, so you should probably be reading this with the help of Pleco (which I do), but The Last Onmyoji is accessible enough that those parts shouldn\'t totally derail you. Highly recommended.\r\n\r\nThis really is worth a go for readers at almost all levels. The read is late-intermediate, but using Pleco, late-stage beginners and early-intermediates will be able to understand large chunks of it, enough to motivate you to puzzle through the parts you don\'t get, more so because this is being told in first-person. Remember, now, that the beginning of a book is usually the hardest as you try to get a sense of the story. Once the story gets rolling, it\'s easier to flow with it. Advanced readers may just appreciate learning a bit of spooky vocab. \r\n\r\nThe segment that I\"m translating here doesn\'t have any ghostly bits in it, this is the first chapter to get you going on the story. It\'s packed full of Chinese village culture, and some parts at the end that would be considered extremely un-PC in the west: a little anti-Japanese talk, and a little bit about buying women, the rarities of college education in the countryside: the realities of village life in China, even these days. \r\n\r\nThere\'s a lot I could talk about in here, but I do like the word 投 [pinyin]tou2[/pinyin] - This word had a ton of meanings. Imagine slipping a piece of paper into a suggestion box. Got it? That\'s what this word embodies, that action, or anything related to a similar action of taking a flat object and dropping it into a slot, literally or figuratively. So it can mean to \"vote\", as in an election, because you\'re submitting a ballot. It can mean to \"slide\" an envelope into a letter box. In this case, it means to \"submit\" a resume while seeking a job offer. We don\'t have a word for that concept in English, I think. \r\n\r\nEnjoy!\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese Text</h3>\r\n<strong>1)</strong> 我叫林小凡,今年23岁。大学刚毕业。一个三流的大学四流的成绩,大学是在杭州读,毕业之后最开始在一家房地产公司做销售员,底薪一千八。因为业绩太差,公司没说辞退我,我自己就不好意思待了。\r\n\r\n<strong>2)</strong> 在杭州转了两个月,<strong>投</strong>了不知道多少份儿简历,面试了多少次,都没有通过。<strong>盘缠</strong>花光之后,就回了老家。\r\n\r\n<strong>3)</strong> 我的老家是洛阳。洛阳的乡下,一个叫做十里铺儿的小村儿落。\r\n\r\n<strong>4)</strong> 之所以回来,是因为村儿里小学唯一的教师得了<strong>肺痨</strong>,病的已经非常严重,我作为村里走出来唯一的大学生,村长愿意一月掏出一千块的巨资来请我去代课。\r\n\r\n<strong>5)</strong> 所以我回来了。\r\n\r\n<strong>6)</strong> 在外面活的不如一条狗的我,在老家得到了极大的尊严。\r\n\r\n<strong>7)</strong> 在偏远的山村,大学生,还是一个极其厉害的存在,村民们在看到我父亲的时候,都会为他竖起大拇指,说:“老林家祖坟冒了青烟,竟然出了个大学生,以后你就走出了大山咯。”\r\n\r\n<strong>8)</strong> 每当这个时候,我父亲都会憨厚的笑一笑,抹去他脸上的汗水。\r\n\r\n<strong>9)</strong> 我回到村子之后,方圆几里的媒婆都争着抢着给我介绍对象,几乎踏破我家的门槛儿,这不是吹牛。你不在那个环境里,不知道大学生三个字的分量。\r\n\r\n<strong>10)</strong> 父亲也极力的给我<strong>张罗</strong>,在他们眼里,23岁,甚至已经过了结婚的年纪。跟我同龄的人,现在儿子已经可以光着<strong>屁股</strong>到处跑了。\r\n\r\n<strong>11)</strong> 为了不让他们操心,我也去一次次的应付相亲。\r\n\r\n<strong>12)</strong> 对,是应付。\r\n\r\n<strong>13)</strong> 大学,说白了就是一个区分性与理性的地方,虽然是山村出来的,可是我的相貌并不算丑,甚至可以说英俊。也谈过一个女朋友,我没钱,她也不是非常的富裕,可是就算这样,我们还在在一起了三年,我尽我所能的打零工,来做一个男朋友该做的。大三那年,我们分手。\r\n<strong>14)</strong> \r\n那一天,我在我们学校的后山喝了一瓶2块钱的二锅头。醒来之后,不再悲伤,继续<strong>浑浑噩噩</strong>的过日子。\r\n\r\n<strong>15)</strong> 关于相貌这一点,我继承了我母亲。\r\n\r\n<strong>16)</strong>  一个不知道故乡在哪里的美貌女人。\r\n\r\n<strong>17)</strong> 她有痴呆症。\r\n\r\n<strong>18)</strong> 在几十年前,我父亲进城,用了三百块钱把她买了回来。\r\n\r\n<strong>19)</strong> 我父亲说,他那一天花了两元钱给母亲买了一身衣服,回来的时候母亲的美貌,让村里的人哈喇子都流到了地上。\r\n\r\n<strong>20)</strong> 可惜,她是个傻子。\r\n\r\n<strong>21)</strong> 如果不是傻子,我父亲也买不起。\r\n\r\n<strong>22)</strong> 后来有了我,母亲的痴傻一直都是那样,可是她的傻,并不是像街头的疯子一样,她非常安静。\r\n\r\n<strong>23)</strong> 不说话,不动。只是安静的坐着。\r\n\r\n<strong>24)</strong> 我就在这样的一个环境下长大,可是我并不想文艺的说,我有孤僻的性格,因为就算是这样,我还是有完整的童年。\r\n\r\n<strong>25)</strong> 我父亲非常的勤劳,他尽一个农民的极限,利用手中的农具,养活一个家。我没有什么怪他的地方。\r\n\r\n<strong>26)</strong> 没钱,这是命。\r\n\r\n<strong>27)</strong> 我爷爷,是一个退伍的老军人,他不识字,没有农民典型的精明,反倒是实诚的可怕。有人说他是gmd,有人说他是gcd,可是他自己都不知道自己到底是哪个党,他唯一知道的,就是他拿枪打日本鬼子,鬼子打跑之后,他就回到了家。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n<strong>1)</strong> My name is Lin Xiaofan, I\'m 23 years old this year. I just graduated from college. A third-rate school with fourth-tier grades, my college was in Hangzhou, and after I graduated I first went to work as sales staff at a real estate agency with a salary of 1,800 [translator\'s note: this is a very low salary, about $300 USD / month]. My sales performance was poor, and the company never fired me, but I was so embarrassed that I left. \r\n\r\n<strong>2)</strong> I wandered around Hangzhou for two months, submitted I don\'t even know how many resumes, or went to how many interviews, but nothing came through. After I\'d spent all my travel money, I went back to my home town.\r\n\r\n<strong>3)</strong> My home town is Luoyang. In the Luoyang countryside falls a little village called Shilipu\'er. \r\n\r\n<strong>4)</strong> The reason I went home is because the village\'s only teacher got tuberculosis, and he was very seriously ill, so as the village\'s only person who\'d ever gone off to college, the village chief dug up a thousand-dollar [translator\'s note: \"1000 kuai\" is \"1000 Chinese Renminbi\"] investment and asked me to substitute teach. \r\n\r\n<strong>5)</strong> So I went home. \r\n\r\n<strong>6)</strong> My life away from home wasn\'t even as good as a dog\'s, but I get plenty of respect in my home town. \r\n\r\n<strong>7)</strong> In such a remote village, being a college graduate is still an extremely awesome thing to be, and every time the villagers see my father, they all give him a thumbs-up and say, \"Your family\'s ancestral grave is emitting green smoke, unexpectedly out popped a college student! You\'ll be walking off this mountain after a while!\" [translator\'s note: this is a compliment regarding the family\'s lineage.]\r\n\r\n<strong>8)</strong> Of course at these times, my father would smile in a simple and honest way, wiping the sweat off his brow. \r\n\r\n<strong>9)</strong> After I came back to the village, all the local matchmakers tried to set me up with someone, almost trampling down my door, no exaggeration. If you\'ve never been in that [village] environment, you don\'t know the power of those three words, \"College Degree Holder\".\r\n\r\n<strong>10)</strong> My dad also made a supreme effort to settle me, because in his eyes, at 23 years old I\'d already passed marrying age. Everyone my age already had kids running around with their bare butts hanging out. \r\n\r\n<strong>11)</strong> So as not to make him worry, I\'d already coped with my first blind date. \r\n\r\n<strong>12)</strong> Yes, it was definitely \"coping\". \r\n\r\n<strong>13)</strong> College, speaking frankly, was a place with completely different place with different rationales, but although I came from a farm village, I wasn\'t considered ugly, you might even say I\'m handsome. I had a girlfriend, but I had no money, and she wasn\'t very rich either, but that\'s just the way it was, we were together three years, and I used up all my part-time work money trying to do all the things a boyfriend is supposed to do. In the third year, we broke up. \r\n\r\n<strong>14)</strong> On that day, on the hill behind our school, I drank a bottle of 2-dollar liquor. After I woke up, I wasn\'t sad anymore, and I just continued muddle-headedly passing the days. \r\n\r\n<strong>15)</strong> About my looks, those I inherited from my mother. \r\n\r\n<strong>16)</strong> A good-looking woman from who-knows-where.  \r\n\r\n<strong>17)</strong> She had dementia.\r\n\r\n<strong>18)</strong> A few decades ago, my father went to the city, and spent three hundred dollars to buy her and bring her home.\r\n\r\n<strong>19)</strong> My dad said, that day he spent two bucks to buy mom some clothes, and when he returned, mom\'s good looks made everyone in the village drool all over the ground. \r\n\r\n<strong>20)</strong> Pity, she was an idiot.\r\n\r\n<strong>21)</strong> If she hadn\'t been an idiot, my dad could never have afforded her. \r\n\r\n<strong>22)</strong> Then I came along, and mom\'s dementia continued as before, but her brand of dementia wasn\'t like a crazy street person\'s, she was very quiet. \r\n\r\n<strong>23)</strong> She didn\'t speak, didn\'t move. Just quietly sat there.\r\n\r\n<strong>24)</strong> This is the environment I grew up in, but I don\'t want to make it sound literary, I had an antisocial nature, but even so, I still had a full childhood. \r\n\r\n<strong>25)</strong> My father is very industrious, he has a farmer\'s strength, using the farm tools in his hands, he nurtured a household. I don\'t have anything to blame him for. \r\n\r\n<strong>26)</strong> No money, that\'s just life. \r\n\r\n<strong>27)</strong> My grandfather is a retired soldier, he\'s illiterate, and he doesn\'t have any of a villager\'s typical shrewdness, on the contrary he\'s terrifyingly honest. Some people said he was GMD [translator\'s note: GMD = guo min dang, the fascist party in the Chinese civil war, who lost], some people said he was GCD [GCD = gong chang dang, the communist party that won the war and remains in power today], but he doesn\'t even know himself which \"dang\" [translator\'s note - this \"dang\" means \"political party\"] he was in, the only thing he knows is that he grabbed a gun and fought the Japanese devils [the Japanese invaded while the GMD and the GCD were fighting each other], and after the devils ran away, he went home.\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Books ] 《最后一个阴阳师》 - The Last Yin Yang Master', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1539-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 03:04:59', '2016-10-31 07:04:59', '', 1539, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1539-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1720, 1, '2016-10-31 03:06:23', '2016-10-31 07:06:23', '', 'read-mandarin-chinese-peppers', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'read-mandarin-chinese-peppers', '', '', '2016-10-31 03:08:43', '2016-10-31 07:08:43', '', 1480, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/read-mandarin-chinese-peppers.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1721, 1, '2016-11-04 05:52:25', '2016-11-04 09:52:25', 'Science! A quick paragraph about why peppers come in so many hues. Though the sentence structure here isn\'t too bad and the article is very short, I\'m classifying this as \'advanced\' since several of the words are quite chemistry-specific. Advanced readers will recognize the words \"被破坏\" - to be broken by - as the phrase itself is common. In this case, though, we\'re not talking about a literal breaking, we\'re talking about the chemical process of an element \"breaking down\". \n\nHere\'s <a href=\"http://www.tom61.com/shiwangeweishime/youqudezhiwu/2012-01-30/25368.html\" target=\"_blank\">the original</a>. \n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\n辣椒的品种有很多，但不论哪一个品种，在未成熟前都是青绿色的，那是因为含有叶绿素的缘故。到了成熟期，叶绿素被破坏，辣椒中含有的黄色素和叶红素就相应增多，于是变成黄色和红色。而有的辣椒品种是在青绿色时味道更好，因而在未成熟前就上市了。所以，我们可看到各种颜色的辣椒。  \n\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nThere are many types of peppers, but all types of pepper are green in color before they ripen, which is because they contain chlorophyll. When it finally comes time for them to ripen, the chlorophyll breaks down, and the yellow and red pigments in the peppers increase accordingly, so they become yellow and red. In addition, some types of peppers taste better when they\'re still green, so they are brought to market before they ripen. That\'s why we see so many different colors of peppers.  \n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Facts in Chinese] Why are some peppers different colors?', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1480-autosave-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 05:52:25', '2016-11-04 09:52:25', '', 1480, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1480-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1726, 1, '2016-11-04 08:34:51', '2016-11-04 12:34:51', 'This essay about a kid who takes his father\'s advice a little too literally (with amusing results) is almost as beginner as a five-paragraph read can get. You\'ll find very few intermediate-level words, and extremely basic sentence structure. Only thing intermediate about this read is the very first sentence, which we\'ll talk about here. After this it\'s pretty easy going. The essay starts out 童年仿佛是一条小船，里面装满了甜蜜的糖果，也装满了许多忧伤。 Let\'s break this one down word by word:\n\n童年 - [pinyin]tong2 nian2[/pinyin] - Childhood\n仿佛 - [pinyin]fang3 fu2[/pinyin] - seems like\n是 - [pinyin]shi4[/pinyin] - [it] is\n一条 - [pinyin]yi1 tiao2[/pinyin] - a (literally: the word \"one\" plus the classifier for boats, which is 条)\n小船,  - [pinyin]xiao3 chuan2[/pinyin] - boat,\n里面  - [pinyin]li3 mian4[/pinyin] - inside\n装满了  - [pinyin]zhuang1 man3 le5[/pinyin] - is full (of)\n甜蜜的  - [pinyin]tian2 mi4 de5[/pinyin] - sweet\n糖果,  - [pinyin]tang2 guo3[/pinyin] - candy,\n也  - [pinyin]ye3[/pinyin] - also\n装满了  - [pinyin]zhuang1 man3 le5[/pinyin] - is full (of)\n许多  - [pinyin]xu3 duo1[/pinyin] - much\n忧伤 - [pinyin]you1 shang1[/pinyin] - distress.\n\nPretty straightforward when you look at it that way. A quick note on that: though the word 糖果 (which appears a lot in this text) means \"candy\", it does not mean \"candy fruit\" or \"sweet fruit\", as you might guess from the character 果. This is just a general word for candy, though the Chinese don\'t consider chocolate a \"candy\" - it\'s in its own category. \n\nThe original is from a Chinese <a href=\"http://www.61zuowen.com/jishi/2011113020504.html\">essay composition site</a>. \n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\n<h3>Chinese Text</h3>\n<strong>1)</strong> 童年仿佛是一条小船，里面装满了甜蜜的糖果，也装满了许多忧伤。\n\n<strong>2)</strong> 我出生在一个幸福的六口之家。有爸爸、妈妈、爷爷、奶奶、姐姐，还有我。\n\n<strong>3)</strong> 我四岁时，一个烈日炎炎的中午。爷爷、奶奶、妈妈和姐姐都忙着自己手中的活。爸爸抱上我去商店、给我买了很多糖果。回到家中，爸爸放下我，就去我们家的后院种苹果树去了。我也跟了过去，我问爸爸你在干什么？爸爸说：“我在种苹果树，到了秋天你就有苹果吃了。”爸爸还说：“你种什么种子就会长什么。”爸爸说完就回家喝茶去了。当时我心想如果把刚刚买的糖果种到土中，秋天不就有很多糖果了吗！\n\n<strong>4)</strong> 我说做就做，我刨了个坑，把刚才剩下的糖果都放在坑里，用土埋了。我默默的许下愿说：“糖果快长！糖果快长！长成大树，长出很多很多糖果。”我把这个愿望告诉了爸爸，爸爸听了。大笑起来说：“糖果不会长出大树，也更不会长出糖果。”我听了爸爸话坐在地上大哭起来，我的糖果，我的糖果。爸爸赶快跑到我面前，抱起我说：“哦，不哭了小宝贝，爸爸给你买很多很多糖果。我听了就不哭了。\n\n<strong>5)</strong> <strong>如今</strong>我已经长大了，种糖果的傻事也不会再做了。\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\n<strong>1)</strong> Childhood seems like a boat that is full of sweet candy, but is also laden with grief. \n\n<strong>2)</strong> I was born into a happy six-person family. There\'s father, mother, grandpa, grandma, my elder sister and myself. \n\n<strong>3)</strong> [The story begins] when I was four, on a scorching afternoon. Grandpa, grandma, mother and my elder sister were all busy doing their own thing. Dad picked me up and carried me to the store, and bought me lots of candy. On the way back to the house, dad put me down, and went to our house\'s back garden to plant apple trees. I went with him, and asked him \'what are you doing\'? Father said: \"I\'m planting apple trees, when autumn arrives you\'ll have apples to eat.\" Father continued: \"Whatever seeds you plant will grow.\" Father finished speaking and went back into the house to drink tea. Then I thought to myself if I take the candy I just bought and plant it in the earth, in autumn I should have lots of candy! \n\n<strong>4)</strong> I did just that, I dug a hole, took my left over candy and put it all in the hole, using dirt to bury it. In silence I fervently hoped: \"Candy, grow quickly! Candy, grow quickly! Grow into a big tree, and sprout lots and lots of candy.\" I told this wish to my father, and he listened. Laughing heartily he said: \"Candy can\'t grow into a big tree, and it definitely can\'t sprout more candy.\" I heard my father\'s words and I sat down on the grass and started sobbing, my candy, my candy. Father quickly ran up to me, embraced me and said: \"Oh, don\'t cry little darling, daddy will buy you lots and lots of candy.\" I listened to him and stopped crying.\n\nNowadays I\'ve already grown up, and I won\'t try foolishly planting candy again.\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Essays] 童年傻事 - A Foolish Affair from my Childhood', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1235-autosave-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 08:34:51', '2016-11-04 12:34:51', '', 1235, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1235-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1728, 1, '2016-11-04 23:47:41', '2016-11-05 03:47:41', 'This melancholy kid doesn\'t seem to have very much luck with pets or siblings. You may or may not have a little difficulty with the sentence 楼区不让养, which is said in regards to a pet dog. Looking at each word...\n\n楼 - [pinyin]lou2[/pinyin] Building\n区 - [pinyin]qu1[/pinyin] District / region / area\n不 - [pinyin]bu4[/pinyin] No, not, doesn\'t\n让 - [pinyin]rang4[/pinyin] Allow, let\n养 - [pinyin]yang3[/pinyin] Raise, take care of (as in a child or a pet)\n\n... the meaning isn\'t too hard to decipher \"the building doesn\'t allow raising [of dogs]\". But while the meaning isn\'t difficult, some of the words are used a little bit differently than they are in English. For example, in English, when we say someone \"raises dogs\", or \"raises\" any type of animal, it usually indicates some kind of professional or large-scale dedication to breeding that type of animal. When people casually keep a pet or pets, we say they \"have a dog\", or \"own a dog\". Not so in Chinese. The correct Chinese term for having a pet dog (or many types of pet) is \"raising a dog\" - 养狗. So, for example, saying \"I want to raise a dog\" (我想养一只狗) is the equivalent of saying \"I want a dog\" in English. \n\nThe other question this raises is \"what do they mean by 楼区, \'building district\'\"? You\'d assume this means the area around your apartment building, and you\'d be right - but why \"区\"? This is because in China, many older apartment blocks are much more like tiny districts or communities than they are in the western world. In one complex, there may be several buildings that make up your block, with little numbered sub-staircases (单元) that each contain 12 or so apartments, and they may include small playgrounds inside the block or have other amenities. 楼区 refers to all buildings in the apartment block, any outdoor areas or amenities for that apartment area. \n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\n我是个<strong>独生子</strong>，家里没有兄弟，只好养动物来解闷。可是，小黄狗，楼区不让养，只好放走；大白鹅，被人偷走了；小松鼠，不小心从窗台上摔了下来，死了。就这样，我的小动物死的死，放的放。现在只有两只小乌龟<陪伴着我。我心想：你们俩可算得上“忠臣”了。\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nI\'m an only child, I have no brothers, so I have to raise pets to relieve my boredom. But as to the little yellow dog, the building [management] doesn\'t allow [people to have dogs], so we had to set it free; the big white goose was stolen, and the little squirrel accidentally leaped from the window ledge and died. In these ways, my pets have died, or been let go. Right now I only have two turtles to accompany me. In my heart I think: \"You two are my only \"loyal subjects\".  \n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Essays] 我孤独 - I am All Alone', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1201-autosave-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 23:47:41', '2016-11-05 03:47:41', '', 1201, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1201-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2139, 1, '2016-11-04 23:47:34', '2016-11-05 03:47:34', '', 'Learn Beginner Chinese Characters: Chinese Character Practice for Beginner Learners', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'im-all-alone-2', '', '', '2016-11-04 23:47:42', '2016-11-05 03:47:42', '', 1201, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/im-all-alone.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1730, 1, '2012-08-09 04:38:39', '2012-08-09 08:38:39', '[two_third]\r\nThis very indignant kid seems destined to be a vegetarian.  <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/20120804-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Learn Chinese Reading: Beginner Practice Exercises for Mandarin Chinese: Children&#039;s Essays\" title=\"Learn to Read Chinese: Exercises for Beginner Mandarin Chinese Learners\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />I\'d say the most difficult phrase in this little passage is: 家里人都<strong>吃得很香</strong>. The beginning of that sentence is no problem: 家里人都 \"Everyone in the family...\", but 吃得很香 is a bit more difficult, as we don\'t have sentence structure similar to this in English. Let\'s break it down:\r\n\r\n吃 - [pinyin]chi1[/pinyin] - To eat\r\n得 - [pinyin]de[/pinyin] - Grammar word, which kind of acts as a bridge between \"吃\" and \"香\", indicating that the result of 吃 (eating) is that it was very 香 (savory)\r\n很 - [pinyin]hen3[/pinyin] - Very\r\n香 - [pinyin]xiang1[/pinyin] - Savory\r\n\r\nAnother interesting thing about this sentence is the word 香, which can mean both \"fragrant\" (smells good) and / or \"savory\" (tastes good). I find it particularly interesting that the Chinese recognize in language the interconnectedness of good taste and smell. \r\n\r\nOne other notable point is the word 又, which means \"again\". But did you know that in Chinese, there are two ways to say \"again\"? There\'s 又, and there\'s also 再. It\'s a little alien to a native English speaker that there might be two different ways to say \"again\", so let me explain the difference:\r\n\r\n又 - Indicates that the action has already been repeated in the past. Example: \"<strong>You forgot your homework again? You\'re going to get in trouble.</strong>\" The person being scolded forgot their homework once, then already forgot it again (maybe many times). The forgetting of homework again has already happened. So we use 又.\r\n\r\n再 - Indicates that something will happen again <em>in the future</em>. An example of this would be: <strong>Don\'t forget your homework again or you\'ll get in trouble.</strong> In other words, you forgot your homework at least once already, don\'t repeat that action again in the future. Another example of this is would be a sentence like, \"When will I see you again?\" The seeing again hasn\'t yet happened - it may happen in the future. So we would use 再. \r\n\r\nThe Chinese title of this text is 爸爸是个大坏蛋.\r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\r\n青蛙 - [pinyin]qing1 wa1[/pinyin] - Frog\r\n害虫 - [pinyin]hai4 chong2[/pinyin] - Harmful pests (insects, etc.)\r\n庄稼 - [pinyin]zhuang1 jia5[/pinyin] - Farm crop\r\n消灭 - [pinyin]xiao1 mie4[/pinyin] - Nasty, vile\r\n能手 - [pinyin]neng2 shou3[/pinyin] - Put an end to, annihilate\r\n煮 - [pinyin]zhu3[/pinyin] - Cook, boil\r\n却 - [pinyin]que4[/pinyin] -  But, however\r\n可怜 - [pinyin]ke3 lian2[/pinyin] - A pity \r\n</div>\r\n[/one_third]\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<strong>青蛙</strong>捉<strong>害虫</strong>，是<strong>庄稼</strong>的好朋友。可我爸爸成天出去捉青蛙。\r\n\r\n我对爸爸说：“青蛙是<strong>消灭</strong>害虫的<strong>能手</strong>，你不能捉它！”爸爸却笑着说：“大人的事，小孩别管。”我很着急。\r\n\r\n爸爸又捉了许多青蛙，<strong>煮</strong>了一锅青蛙肉。家里人都吃得很香，我<strong>却</strong>一点儿也不想吃。我想：我们吃了青蛙肉，又有许多小青蛙没妈妈了，他们一定在哭着找妈妈，多<strong>可怜</strong>呀！爸爸真是个大坏蛋！\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nFrogs catch pests, so they\'re a farm crop\'s good friend. But my dad goes out during the day and catches frogs. \r\n\r\nI said to dad: \"Frogs are experts at annihilating pests, you can\'t catch them!\" But my dad only smiled and said: \"Children should stay out of adult business.\" I\'m very worried.\r\n\r\nOnce again, dad caught several frogs and boiled up a pot of frog meat. Everyone in the family ate up the savory [food], but I didn\'t even want to eat a little. I thought: here we are eating frog meat, that means there are many small frogs with no mama, surely they\'re crying for their mother, it\'s such a pity! My dad is a big scoundrel! \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'My Dad is a Scoundrel!', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1192-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-08-09 04:38:39', '2012-08-09 08:38:39', '', 1192, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/08/1192-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2096, 1, '2016-11-04 09:09:53', '2016-11-04 13:09:53', 'This is an upper-beginner or low-intermediate level text. It\'s good for beginner readers in the sense that a) it\'s short, and b) it\'s extremely repetitive - if you can puzzle out the first two or three sentences, the rest should be clear. To get you going, it might be worth noting there that the protagonist is a small blade of (or lump of, or field of - it\'s never really defined) grass named \"YinYin\" (小草银银), who keeps asking one particular favor of each season. The seasons are personified as ladies - for example, \"The Lady of Spring\" (春姑娘) and \"the Lady of Summer\" (夏姑娘), etc. \r\n\r\nThere\'s so much metaphor going on in this I\'m not sure where to start. You could choose to interpret this as a statement about aging, about changing seasons, go nuts. \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\r\n1) 小草银银喜欢银色。\r\n2) <strong>春天</strong>，小草银银让春姑娘把她的头发<strong>染</strong>成银色。春姑娘说：“对不起，银银，我只能把你的头发染成<strong>青色</strong>”。银银非常<strong>伤心</strong>。\r\n3) <strong>夏天</strong>小草银银让夏姑娘把她的头发染成银色。夏姑娘说：“对不起，银银，我只能把你的头发染成<strong>深绿</strong>色”。银银非常伤心。\r\n4) <strong>秋天</strong>小草银银让秋姑娘把她的头发染成银色。秋姑娘说：“对不起，银银，我只能把你的头发染成金黄色”。银银非常伤心。\r\n5) <strong>冬天</strong>小草银银让冬姑娘把她的头发染成银色。冬姑娘说：“好啊，不过你<strong>可不要</strong><strong>后悔</strong>呦”？银银说：“不会的，有了那么漂亮的头发我高兴还来不及呢”！就这样银银的头发变成了银色。<strong>忽然</strong>，银银的头发<strong>掉下来</strong>了，这是怎么回事呢？原来，头发染多了是会伤害身体的。这下银银真的后悔了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n1) The little grass YinYin liked the color silver. \r\n\r\n2) In spring time, little grass Yinyin asked the Lady of Spring to dye her hair silver. The Lady of Spring said: \"I\'m sorry, YinYin, I can only dye your hair blue/green [see explanation]. YinYin was very broken-hearted. \r\n\r\n3) In summer time, little grass YinYin asked the Lady of Summer to dye her hair silver. The lady of summer said, \"I\'m sorry, YinYin, I can only dye your hair green!\" YinYin was very broken-hearted. \r\n\r\n4) In autumn, little grass YinYin asked the Lady of Autumn to dye her hair silver. The Lady of Autumn said: \"I\'m sorry, YinYin, I can only dye your hair golden yellow.\" YinYin was very broken-hearted.\r\n\r\n5) In winter, little grass YinYin asked the Lady of Winter to dye her hair silver. The Lady of Winter said, \"Okay, but won\'t you regret it?\" YinYin said, \"I won\'t, if I had hair that beautiful I couldn\'t be happier!\" And so YinYin\'s hair turned silver. Suddenly, YinYin\'s hair fell out - how could this be? Of course, if you dye your hair too often, it\'s not good for you. And after this YinYin was indeed regretful. \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Fables] 小草银银 - Little Grass\' Silver Hair', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1123-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 09:09:53', '2016-11-04 13:09:53', '', 1123, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1123-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1733, 1, '2016-10-31 03:18:28', '2016-10-31 07:18:28', 'This is an upper-beginner or low-intermediate level text. It\'s good for beginner readers in the sense that a) it\'s short, and b) it\'s extremely repetitive - if you can puzzle out the first two or three sentences, the rest should be clear. To get you going, it might be worth noting there that the protagonist is a small blade of (or lump of, or field of - it\'s never really defined) grass named \"YinYin\" (小草银银), who keeps asking one particular favor of each season. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/20120615-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Simplified Chinese Literacy: Easy Passages in Chinese for Beginners\" title=\"Simplified Chinese Literacy: Easy Passages in Chinese for Beginners\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />The seasons are personified as ladies - for example, \"The Lady of Spring\" (春姑娘) and \"the Lady of Summer\" (夏姑娘), etc. \r\n\r\nThere\'s so much metaphor going on in this I\'m not sure where to start. You could choose to interpret this as a statement about aging, about changing seasons, go nuts. \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\r\n小草银银喜欢银色。\r\n　　<strong>春天</strong>，小草银银让春姑娘把她的头发<strong>染</strong>成银色。春姑娘说：“对不起，银银，我只能把你的头发染成<strong>青色</strong>”。银银非常<strong>伤心</strong>。\r\n　　<strong>夏天</strong>小草银银让夏姑娘把她的头发染成银色。夏姑娘说：“对不起，银银，我只能把你的头发染成<strong>深绿</strong>色”。银银非常伤心。\r\n　　<strong>秋天</strong>小草银银让秋姑娘把她的头发染成银色。秋姑娘说：“对不起，银银，我只能把你的头发染成金黄色”。银银非常伤心。\r\n　　<strong>冬天</strong>小草银银让冬姑娘把她的头发染成银色。冬姑娘说：“好啊，不过你<strong>可不要</strong><strong>后悔</strong>呦”？银银说：“不会的，有了那么漂亮的头发我高兴还来不及呢”！\r\n　　就这样银银的头发变成了银色。<strong>忽然</strong>，银银的头发<strong>掉下来</strong>了，这是怎么回事呢？原来，头发染多了是会伤害身体的。这下银银真的后悔了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nThe little grass YinYin liked the color silver. \r\n\r\n　　In spring time, little grass Yinyin asked the Lady of Spring to dye her hair silver. The Lady of Spring said: \"I\'m sorry, YinYin, I can only dye your hair blue/green [see explanation]. YinYin was very broken-hearted. \r\n\r\nIn summer time, little grass YinYin asked the Lady of Summer to dye her hair silver. The lady of summer said, \"I\'m sorry, YinYin, I can only dye your hair green!\" YinYin was very broken-hearted. \r\n\r\nIn autumn, little grass YinYin asked the Lady of Autumn to dye her hair silver. The Lady of Autumn said: \"I\'m sorry, YinYin, I can only dye your hair golden yellow.\" YinYin was very broken-hearted.\r\n\r\nIn winter, little grass YinYin asked the Lady of Winter to dye her hair silver. The Lady of Winter said, \"Okay, but won\'t you regret it?\" YinYin said, \"I won\'t, if I had hair that beautiful I couldn\'t be happier!\" And so YinYin\'s hair turned silver. Suddenly, YinYin\'s hair fell out - how could this be? Of course, if you dye your hair too often, it\'s not good for you. And after this YinYin was indeed regretful. \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Fable] 小草银银 - Little Grass\' Silver Hair', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1123-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 03:18:28', '2016-10-31 07:18:28', '', 1123, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1123-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1734, 1, '2016-10-31 03:18:46', '2016-10-31 07:18:46', 'This very indignant kid seems destined to be a vegetarian.  <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/20120804-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Learn Chinese Reading: Beginner Practice Exercises for Mandarin Chinese: Children&#039;s Essays\" title=\"Learn to Read Chinese: Exercises for Beginner Mandarin Chinese Learners\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />I\'d say the most difficult phrase in this little passage is: 家里人都<strong>吃得很香</strong>. The beginning of that sentence is no problem: 家里人都 \"Everyone in the family...\", but 吃得很香 is a bit more difficult, as we don\'t have sentence structure similar to this in English. Let\'s break it down:\r\n\r\n吃 - [pinyin]chi1[/pinyin] - To eat\r\n得 - [pinyin]de[/pinyin] - Grammar word, which kind of acts as a bridge between \"吃\" and \"香\", indicating that the result of 吃 (eating) is that it was very 香 (savory)\r\n很 - [pinyin]hen3[/pinyin] - Very\r\n香 - [pinyin]xiang1[/pinyin] - Savory\r\n\r\nAnother interesting thing about this sentence is the word 香, which can mean both \"fragrant\" (smells good) and / or \"savory\" (tastes good). I find it particularly interesting that the Chinese recognize in language the interconnectedness of good taste and smell. \r\n\r\nOne other notable point is the word 又, which means \"again\". But did you know that in Chinese, there are two ways to say \"again\"? There\'s 又, and there\'s also 再. It\'s a little alien to a native English speaker that there might be two different ways to say \"again\", so let me explain the difference:\r\n\r\n又 - Indicates that the action has already been repeated in the past. Example: \"<strong>You forgot your homework again? You\'re going to get in trouble.</strong>\" The person being scolded forgot their homework once, then already forgot it again (maybe many times). The forgetting of homework again has already happened. So we use 又.\r\n\r\n再 - Indicates that something will happen again <em>in the future</em>. An example of this would be: <strong>Don\'t forget your homework again or you\'ll get in trouble.</strong> In other words, you forgot your homework at least once already, don\'t repeat that action again in the future. Another example of this is would be a sentence like, \"When will I see you again?\" The seeing again hasn\'t yet happened - it may happen in the future. So we would use 再. \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<strong>青蛙</strong>捉<strong>害虫</strong>，是<strong>庄稼</strong>的好朋友。可我爸爸成天出去捉青蛙。\r\n\r\n我对爸爸说：“青蛙是<strong>消灭</strong>害虫的<strong>能手</strong>，你不能捉它！”爸爸却笑着说：“大人的事，小孩别管。”我很着急。\r\n\r\n爸爸又捉了许多青蛙，<strong>煮</strong>了一锅青蛙肉。家里人都吃得很香，我<strong>却</strong>一点儿也不想吃。我想：我们吃了青蛙肉，又有许多小青蛙没妈妈了，他们一定在哭着找妈妈，多<strong>可怜</strong>呀！爸爸真是个大坏蛋！\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nFrogs catch pests, so they\'re a farm crop\'s good friend. But my dad goes out during the day and catches frogs. \r\n\r\nI said to dad: \"Frogs are experts at annihilating pests, you can\'t catch them!\" But my dad only smiled and said: \"Children should stay out of adult business.\" I\'m very worried.\r\n\r\nOnce again, dad caught several frogs and boiled up a pot of frog meat. Everyone in the family ate up the savory [food], but I didn\'t even want to eat a little. I thought: here we are eating frog meat, that means there are many small frogs with no mama, surely they\'re crying for their mother, it\'s such a pity! My dad is a big scoundrel! \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Essay] 爸爸是个大坏蛋 - My Dad is a Scoundrel!', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1192-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 03:18:46', '2016-10-31 07:18:46', '', 1192, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1192-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1736, 1, '2016-11-04 05:09:19', '2016-11-04 09:09:19', 'Hoo boy, this song is an AWESOME find. Not only is it politically charged in the most amazing way, it\'s ultra-beginner reading. \n\nBut first, a little back story so we all know what we\'re reading here. The big campaign here right now is an expansion of the \"Harmonious Society\" campaign. It\'s on every political poster on the roadsides - there are 20 such signs on my street alone. The point, basically, is to do your job in your place and not make waves, or make life uncomfortable for those around you. Sounds nice, but you can kind of see a little ways down that road, and you can understand why \"harmo ny\" has become a euphemism for ce n z*or*sh p. For example, whenever something \"offensive\" is, erm, stricken from the internet, Chinese sarcastically say that it has been \"harmonised\".  This concept goes right back to Confucius, whose big idea was that everyone has their duty and their place, and should follow a very strict set of rules governing what people in their position should and should not be able to do. \n\nSo the concept of harmony (和谐 - [pinyin]he2 xie2[/pinyin]) has long been an integral part of Chinese culture, but it\'s also been a point of criticism. Sadly, this whole \"nail that sticks up gets hammered down\" mentality is now giving the honchos a headache, because while the Chinese now have the manpower and the money to take the world economy by storm, they can\'t get enough people to break away, be creative and innovate. \n\nAmusingly, the solution to this has apparently been to put signs up all over Beijing that say: \"Beijing Spirit: Patriotism, Innovation, Inclusiveness, Morality.\" So now, the message is \"Don\'t piss anyone off, but hurry up and do something unique\".\n\nGuess that solves that problem. NEXT!\n\nAnyway, the below is a children\'s song that has probably been made up in the last few years, teaching children why harmony is so important. There are a couple of intermediate words in the last sentence, but they\'re easy to figure out. \n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\n蓝蓝的天上鸟儿飞，\n清清的水里鱼儿游，\n密密的森林动物跑，\n空空的草地孩子忙，\n　　……\n啊！这一切多么美好！\n和谐的环境需要我们去创造。\n</div>\n\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH\"]\nBirds fly in a blue blue sky, \nFish swim in the clear clear water, \nAnimals run in the thick thick forest, \nChildren run around in the open open meadow, \n　　……\nOh, how wonderful everything is like this, \nA harmonious environment requires us to create it.\n\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Song] 和谐环境 - The Harmonious Environment Song', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1065-autosave-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 05:09:19', '2016-11-04 09:09:19', '', 1065, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1065-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(2016, 1, '2016-11-04 05:12:55', '2016-11-04 09:12:55', 'The most interesting thing you\'ll learn here is the contrast between the two phrases \"三心二意\" and \"一心一意\". The first, 三心二意, literally translates as \"three hearts two intentions\", and it means to be of two minds about something, or to be a bit scatterbrained while doing something. The second, 一心一意, translates into \"one heart one intention\", which means \"intently\", or to really concentrate on what you\'re doing. \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese Text</h3>\r\n1) 老猫和小猫一块儿在河边钓鱼。\r\n\r\n2) 一只蜻蜓飞来了。小猫看见了，放下钓鱼竿，就去捉蜻蜓。蜻蜓飞走了，小猫没捉着，空着手回到河边来。小猫一看，老猫钓着了一条大鱼。\r\n\r\n3) 一只蝴蝶飞来了。小猫看见了，放下钓鱼竿，又去捉蝴蝶。蝴蝶飞走了，小猫又没捉着，空着手回到河边来。小猫一看，老猫又钓着了一条大鱼。\r\n\r\n4) 小猫说: “真气人，我怎么一条小鱼也钓不着？”\r\n\r\n5) 老猫看了看小猫，说: “钓鱼就钓鱼，不要这么三心二意的。一会儿捉蜻蜓，一会儿捉蝴蝶，怎么能钓着鱼呢？”\r\n\r\n6) 小猫听了老猫的话，就一心一意地钓鱼。\r\n\r\n7) 蜻蜓又飞来了，蝴蝶又飞来了，小猫就象没看见一样。不大一会儿，小猫也钓着了一条大鱼。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n\r\n1) Old Cat and Little Cat were fishing together on the riverbank.\r\n\r\n2) A dragonfly flew over. The little cat saw it, put down his fishing pole, and tried to grab the dragonfly. The dragonfly flew away, and the little cat, unable to grab it, stopped trying and went back to fishing on the riverbank. As soon as Little Cat was back [lit: as soon as little cat looked], Old Cat caught a big fish. \r\n\r\n3) [This time] a butterfly flew over. The little cat saw it, put down his fishing pole and again tried to catch it. The butterfly flew away without the little cat having caught it, and Little Cat again went back to the riverbank. As soon as he looked over at Old Cat, Old Cat had caught another big fish.\r\n\r\n4) Little Cat said: \"How annoying, why is it that I haven\'t caught even one little fish?\" \r\n\r\n5) Old Cat looked him over and said: \"If you\'re fishing just fish, don\'t be in two minds about it. If you spend a while catching dragonflies, then you spend another while catching butterflies, how can you catch fish?\" \r\n\r\n6) Little Cat listened to Old Cat\'s words and begin to fish intently. \r\n\r\n7) The dragonfly flew over again, and the butterfly flew over also, but it was as if Little Cat didn\'t see them. Not long after that, Little Cat caught a big fish.  \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]\r\n', '[Chinese Short Stories] 小猫钓鱼 - Cat Goes Fishing', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '607-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 05:12:55', '2016-11-04 09:12:55', '', 607, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/607-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2018, 1, '2016-11-04 05:13:22', '2016-11-04 09:13:22', 'Hoo boy, this song is an AWESOME find. Not only is it politically charged in the most amazing way, it\'s ultra-beginner reading. \r\n\r\nBut first, a little back story so we all know what we\'re reading here. The big campaign here right now is an expansion of the \"Harmonious Society\" campaign. It\'s on every political poster on the roadsides - there are 20 such signs on my street alone. The point, basically, is to do your job in your place and not make waves, or make life uncomfortable for those around you. Sounds nice, but you can kind of see a little ways down that road, and you can understand why \"harmo ny\" has become a euphemism for ce n z*or*sh p. For example, whenever something \"offensive\" is, erm, stricken from the internet, Chinese sarcastically say that it has been \"harmonised\".  This concept goes right back to Confucius, whose big idea was that everyone has their duty and their place, and should follow a very strict set of rules governing what people in their position should and should not be able to do. \r\n\r\nSo the concept of harmony (和谐 - [pinyin]he2 xie2[/pinyin]) has long been an integral part of Chinese culture, but it\'s also been a point of criticism. Sadly, this whole \"nail that sticks up gets hammered down\" mentality is now giving the honchos a headache, because while the Chinese now have the manpower and the money to take the world economy by storm, they can\'t get enough people to break away, be creative and innovate. \r\n\r\nAmusingly, the solution to this has apparently been to put signs up all over Beijing that say: \"Beijing Spirit: Patriotism, Innovation, Inclusiveness, Morality.\" So now, the message is \"Don\'t piss anyone off, but hurry up and do something unique\".\r\n\r\nGuess that solves that problem. NEXT!\r\n\r\nAnyway, the below is a children\'s song that has probably been made up in the last few years, teaching children why harmony is so important. There are a couple of intermediate words in the last sentence, but they\'re easy to figure out. \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\r\n蓝蓝的天上鸟儿飞，\r\n清清的水里鱼儿游，\r\n密密的森林动物跑，\r\n空空的草地孩子忙，\r\n　　……\r\n啊！这一切多么美好！\r\n和谐的环境需要我们去创造。\r\n</div>\r\n\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH\"]\r\nBirds fly in a blue blue sky, \r\nFish swim in the clear clear water, \r\nAnimals run in the thick thick forest, \r\nChildren run around in the open open meadow, \r\n　　……\r\nOh, how wonderful everything is like this, \r\nA harmonious environment requires us to create it.\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Song] 和谐环境 - The Harmonious Environment Song', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1065-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 05:13:22', '2016-11-04 09:13:22', '', 1065, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1065-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1738, 1, '2016-10-31 03:23:15', '2016-10-31 07:23:15', 'Hoo boy, this song is an AWESOME find. Not only is it politically charged in the most amazing way, it\'s ultra-beginner reading. \r\n\r\nBut first, a little back story so we all know what we\'re reading here. The big campaign here right now is an expansion of the \"Harmonious Society\" campaign. It\'s on every political poster on the roadsides - there are 20 such signs on my street alone. The point, basically, is to do your job in your place and not make waves, or make life uncomfortable for those around you. Sounds nice, but you can kind of see a little ways down that road, and you can understand why \"harmo ny\" has become a euphemism for ce n z*or*sh p. For example, whenever something \"offensive\" is, erm, stricken from the internet, Chinese sarcastically say that it has been \"harmonised\".  This concept goes right back to Confucius, whose big idea was that everyone has their duty and their place, and should follow a very strict set of rules governing what people in their position should and should not be able to do. \r\n\r\nSo the concept of har mony (和谐 - [pinyin]he2 xie2[/pinyin]) has long been an integral part of Chinese culture, but it\'s also been a point of criticism. Sadly, this whole \"nail that sticks up gets hammered down\" mentality is now giving the honchos a headache, because while the Chinese now have the manpower and the money to take the world economy by storm, they can\'t get enough people to break away, be creative and innovate. \r\n\r\nAmusingly, the solution to this has apparently been to put signs up all over Beijing that say: \"Beijing Spirit: Patriotism, Innovation, Inclusiveness, Morality.\" So now, the message is \"Don\'t piss anyone off, but hurry up and do something unique\".\r\n\r\nGuess that solves that problem. NEXT!\r\n\r\nAnyway, the below is a children\'s song that has probably been made up in the last few years, teaching children why harmony is so important. There are a couple of intermediate words in the last sentence, but they\'re easy to figure out. \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\r\n蓝蓝的天上鸟儿飞，\r\n<strong>清</strong>清的水里鱼儿游，\r\n<strong>密</strong>密的森林动物跑，\r\n<strong>空</strong>空的草地孩子<strong>忙</strong>，\r\n　　……\r\n<strong>啊</strong>！这一切<strong>多么</strong>美好！\r\n<strong>和谐</strong>的<strong>环境</strong>需要我们去<strong>创造</strong>。\r\n</div>\r\n\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH\"]\r\nBirds fly in a blue blue sky, \r\nFish swim in the clear clear water, \r\nAnimals run in the thick thick forest, \r\nChildren run around in the open open meadow, \r\n　　……\r\nOh, how wonderful everything is like this, \r\nA harmonious environment requires us to create it.\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Song] 和谐环境 - The Harmonious Environment Song', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1065-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 03:23:15', '2016-10-31 07:23:15', '', 1065, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1065-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2063, 1, '2016-11-04 07:04:22', '2016-11-04 11:04:22', '', 'read-mandarin-chinese-learning-jokes', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'read-mandarin-chinese-learning-jokes', '', '', '2016-11-04 07:04:46', '2016-11-04 11:04:46', '', 1329, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/read-mandarin-chinese-learning-jokes.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1743, 1, '2016-11-04 06:18:03', '2016-11-04 10:18:03', 'I love it when I find a longer story that\'s suitable for beginning readers. This one, which is either a tale that reminds us what happens when you try to be something you\'re not, or a tale that reminds us that men should never be allowed to give each other fashion advice, definitely fits the bill. The first sentence isn\'t super simple, so push through that one if you can, it gets much easier in the following paragraphs. Four points of grammar: \n\n能有幸请 [pinyin]neng2 you3 xing4 qing3[/pinyin] - A politely formal phrase of invitation \"May have the pleasure of inviting you ...\" or more specifically, \"May I be so lucky as to...\" (have this dance?) (take you on a date?). \n\n看上去 [pinyin]kan4 shang4 qu4[/pinyin] - To look like. \n\n你要是再不走开 [pinyin]ni3 yao4 shi4 zai4 bu4 zou3 kai1[/pinyin] - This one might be a little confusing. Let\'s break it down: \n\n你 - You\n要是 - If\n再不 - Otherwise / If not\n走开 - Go away\n\nThe full phrase means \"If you don\'t go away....\"\n\n他会来收拾你的 [pinyin]ta1 hui4 lai2 shou1 shi5 ni3 de5[/pinyin]. In the story, Miss Pig says this to an unwelcome guest. The \"他\" in this case is Mr. Pig. The Beginners often learn the word \"收拾\", meaning \"to tidy up\". Usually, this means exactly what it sounds like, and applies to cleaning up a room or an apartment. In this case, it\'s being used in kind of an action movie way, meaning \"He\'ll come over and <strong>deal with</strong> you!\" or \"He\'ll come <strong>straighten you out</strong>!\". So Miss Pig is threatening the unwelcome guest, telling him that Mr. Pig will come over and beat him up. \n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\n<strong>1)</strong> 今天，真是个<strong>野餐</strong>的好日子。 猪先生精心打扮着自己，他<strong>期待</strong>着猪小姐能与他一起去野餐。\n\n<strong>2)</strong> “呵呵，真希望她会说‘我愿意’啊。 嗯，我再摘朵花送给她，一定能够打<strong>动她</strong>！”\n\n<strong>3)</strong> 路上，猪先生<strong>遇到</strong>了他的朋友狐狸。狐狸听说了野餐的事，就说：“让我给你一个建议，把我美丽的尾巴<strong>借</strong>去吧。瞧，你<strong>看上去</strong>有多聪明啊，猪小姐肯定会喜欢的。” 猪先生很满意。\n\n<strong>4)</strong> <strong>接着</strong>，他又遇到了他的朋友狮子。狮子听说了野餐的事，就说：“让我给你一个建议，把我美丽的头发借去吧。 瞧，你看上去有多<strong>威猛</strong>啊，猪小姐肯定会喜欢的。” 猪先生很满意。\n\n<strong>5)</strong> 后来，他又遇到他的朋友斑马。斑马听说了野餐的事，就说：“让我给你一个建议，把我美丽的条纹借去吧。 瞧，你看上去有多<strong>英俊</strong>啊，猪小姐肯定会喜欢的。” 猪先生很满意。他觉得自己从来没有这样英俊过。\n\n<strong>6)</strong> 终于来到猪小姐家了，猪先生<strong>激动</strong>地敲了敲门。“能有幸请你一起去野餐吗？”他问。\n\n<strong>7)</strong> 猪小姐吓了一大跳：“噢，不行！你是哪儿来的<strong>妖怪</strong>呀？你要是<strong>再不走开</strong>，我就去叫猪先生了，他会来收拾你的！”\n\n<strong>8)</strong> 猪先生连忙往回跑。一路上，他把条纹还给了斑马，把头发还给了狮子，把尾巴还给了狐狸。然后，他又赶回到猪小姐的家，再一次摁响了门铃。\n\n<strong>9)</strong> “能有幸请你一起去野餐吗？”他又问。\n\n<strong>10)</strong> “啊呀，猪先生！” 猪小姐叫道，“看到你我真是太高兴啦，我很愿意跟你一起去野餐。刚才来了个<strong>丑八怪</strong>，就站在我的院子里，可把我吓坏啦。”\n\n<strong>11)</strong> 一路上，猪小姐把那个丑八怪的故事仔细地讲给了猪先生。她英俊的朋友猪先生，则一直满怀同情地听着。这真是一个去野餐的好日子啊。\n\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\n<strong>1)</strong> Today, it\'s a great day for a picnic. Mr. Pig dressed himself with care, looking forward to [the possibility of] Miss Pig and himself going on a picnic together.\n\n<strong>2)</strong> \"Heh, I hope she says \'Yes\' [lit: I\'m willing]. Hm, I\'ll also pick some flowers to give her, that will certainly be enough to sway her!\"\n\n<strong>3)</strong> On the road, Mr. Pig ran into his friend Fox. When fox heard about the picnic, he said: \"Let me give you a suggestion, let me lend you my beautiful tail. See, you look so clever, Miss Pig will certainly like it.\" Mr. Pig was very pleased. \n\n<strong>4)</strong> Continuing on, he ran into his friend Lion. Lion heard about the picnic and said: \"Let me give you a suggestion, borrow my beautiful hair for when you go over there. See, you look so powerful, Miss Pig will certainly like it.\" Mr. Pig was very pleased.  \n\n<strong>5)</strong> After a while, he ran into his friend Zebra. Zebra heard about the picnic and said: \"Let me give you a suggestion, I\'ll lend you my beautiful stripes. See, you look so handsome. Miss Pig will certainly like it.\" Mr. Pig was very pleased. He felt that he\'d never before looked so handsome.\n\n<strong>6)</strong> Finally arriving at Miss Pig\'s house, Mr. Pig excitedly knocked on the door. \"Would you do me the honor of going on a picnic with me?\" he asked. \n\n<strong>7)</strong> Miss Pig was terrified: \"Oh, no way! What kind of monster are you? If you don\'t go away, I\'ll go get Mr. Pig, he\'ll straighten you out!\"\n\n<strong>8)</strong> Mr. Pig hurriedly ran away. On the road, he gave the stripes back to Zebra, the hair back to Lion, and the tail back to Fox. AFter that, he hurried back to Miss Pig\'s house, and again pressed the doorbell. \n\n<strong>9)</strong> \"Would you do me the honor of having a picnic with me?\" he asked again. \n\n<strong>10)</strong> \"Goodness, Mr. Pig!\" Miss Pig cried out. \"I\'m so happy to see you, I\'d love to go on a picnic with you. An ugly wretch just came by here, standing in my garden, and scared me so.\" \n\n<strong>11)</strong> On the way, Miss Pig told Mr. Pig the story of the \'ugly wretch\' in great detail. Her handsome friend Mr. Pig, though, listened with great sympathy. It really was a great day for a picnic.\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Short Stories] 猪先生去野餐 - Mr. Pig\'s Picnic', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1450-autosave-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 06:18:03', '2016-11-04 10:18:03', '', 1450, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1450-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1745, 1, '2016-11-04 23:30:11', '2016-11-05 03:30:11', 'Not sure what the life lesson is in this story or if it\'s supposed to have one at all. Maybe \"don\'t gossip\"? Or \"don\'t make wild assumptions?\" Not sure. I\'d say the most interesting word in here is 天哪, which means \"My goodness!\" This is used with relative frequency in China, and it\'s a good interjection to use when you\'re shocked or unpleasantly surprised about something but don\'t want to swear or be offensive. For example, if you walked into a room that smelled badly, or if you were jostled by a few dozen people coming off the subway, or if you found out that something you want to buy is outrageously expensive. It doesn\'t always have negative connotations, though - this can be used neutrally as well, but I rarely hear it used in a super positive context. Because the word 天 \"Tian\" ends with an \"n\" and the word 哪 \"na\" starts with one, this usually comes out sounding like \"Tian ah!\" rather than \"Tian na\".\n\nAnother notable word here is 假如 [pinyin]jia1 ru2[/pinyin], which means \"if\". Thing is, in Chinese, there are quite a few ways to say \"if\". There\'s the most common, which is 如果，there\'s 要是，there\'s 假使，若是，and so on. At a loss for a good explanation myself, I <a href=\"http://www.italki.com/answers/question/116228.htm\">found a site</a> that does a great job of summing this up. In short:\n\n<blockquote>1) expressing a fact: 要是你水烧到摄氏一百度就会沸腾, if you heat the water to 100 degrees celcius [then] it will boil.\n2) talking about a future result: 假如你认真学外语就会进步- if you study foreign language hard, it will improve.\n3)an imagined situation: 假使我很有钱，我就带她去很多地方- If I were rich,I would take her to so many places.\n4)if something didn\'t happen: 如果你没迟到，我就不会那么生气 (if you weren\'t late, I wouldn\'t of been so mad.\n\n\"ruguo\" is more common than all of them. In a learning Chinese book you might only see \"ruguo\" and you would hear \"ruguo\" in daily speech. They are all correct to say, and you can use them interchangeably. However, i\'d like to note that 要是 can also be used negatively if you place 不 in the middle, i.e. 要是 means \"if\" 要不是 means \"If not..\" such as 要不是你，我就不会来- If it wasn\'t for you, I wouldn\'t come. Whereas \"ruguo\" and the others cannot be used in that way.</blockquote>\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\n<strong>1)</strong> 一只白鹭在浅浅的池水中站着。\n\n<strong>2)</strong> 一只小刺猬走过，他说: “天哪，这只白鹭怎么没有脑袋！”\n\n<strong>3)</strong> “真的！”一只小鼹鼠也叫了起来，“没有脑袋的鸟，我第一次看到!”\n\n<strong>4)</strong> “假如我没有了脑袋就不能活了！”小刺猬说。\n\n<strong>5)</strong> “是啊，可这只鸟还能站着不动，真了不起!”小鼹鼠说。\n\n<strong>6)</strong> 这时，白鹭从她那翅膀底下，伸出了长脖子，长脖子上长着一颗好短短的脑袋。\n\n<strong>7)</strong> 白鹭笑着说: “我是把脑袋钻进翅膀底下，梳理梳理羽毛，我怎么是没有脑袋的鸟呢?”\n\n<strong>8)</strong> 小刺猬和小鼹鼠都笑了，他们说:\n\n<strong>9)</strong> “是我们没有用脑袋好好想一想，对不起，白鹭姐姐！”\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\n<strong>1)</strong> An egret stood in the middle of a shallow pond. \n\n<strong>2)</strong> A hedgehog walked up and said, \"Goodness gracious! Somehow, that egret has no head!\" \n\n<strong>3)</strong> \"Really!\" a little mole also cried out, \"This is the first time I\'ve seen a bird without a head!\"　　\n\n<strong>4)</strong> \"If I didn\'t have a head, I wouldn\'t be able to live!\" the little hedgehog said.　　\n\n<strong>5)</strong> \"Yes, but this bird can still stand there not moving, how very impressive!\"　　\n\n<strong>6)</strong> At this time, from beneath her wing the egret stretched out a long neck, and on top of that long neck grew a very short head.　　\n\n<strong>7)</strong> Smiling, the egret said, \"I had my head tucked beneath my wing to comb out my feathers, how could I be a bird with no head?\"　　\n\n<strong>8)</strong> The little hedgehog and the little mole smiled, and they said:　　\n\n<strong>9)</strong> \"We weren\'t using our heads, sorry Sister Egret!\"　　\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Fables] 没有脑袋的鸟 - The Little Bird with No Head', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1007-autosave-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 23:30:11', '2016-11-05 03:30:11', '', 1007, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1007-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2127, 1, '2016-11-04 23:31:18', '2016-11-05 03:31:18', '', 'Easy Beginner Chinese Reading Passage: The Little Bird with No Head', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'little-bird-with-no-head-chinese-fables', '', '', '2016-11-04 23:31:29', '2016-11-05 03:31:29', '', 1007, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/little-bird-with-no-head-chinese-fables.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(2060, 1, '2016-11-04 06:47:38', '2016-11-04 10:47:38', 'Father\'s Day\'s coming up in a few weeks, and we\'ll be looking at the lyrics of a beginner-level saccharine-cute song written for children to sing to their dads (or, for the children of the digital generation, to forward to their dads) on their special day. This post is accompanied by a Flash Father\'s Day video where you can listen to the song on an INFINITE LOOP. Lucky you. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nHere\'s the original video with the actual song. <a href=\"http://new.060s.com/flash/flashbrow.php?flash=70648ecb985590c987c8ffd9b0b5edb1\" target=\"_blank\">http://new.060s.com/flash/flashbrow.php?flash=70648ecb985590c987c8ffd9b0b5edb1</a>, have a listen if you dare. \r\n\r\nBecause this is a song, we have a couple of instances where a similar sentence structure is used with different words - these are probably the hardest sentences in the song. Example: 脏活累活他全包了. First, let me break down this sentence: \r\n\r\n脏 - Dirty\r\n活 - Activity, work\r\n累 - Tired\r\n活 - Activity, work\r\n他 - He\r\n全包 - All included\r\n了 - (grammar word)\r\n\r\nWhat? Dirty activity tired activity he all included?! What the heck does that mean? In proper English, we might translate that as \"Dirty work, Tired work, he does it all!\" We are, of course, talking about our amazing dads and all the thanklessly exhausting housework and job work they do. Thing is, there\'s nowhere in this sentence where the verb \"does\" as in \"to do work\" actually appears. We\'re just expected to infer the word from the context of 全包 - \"all included\". \r\n\r\nWe see the same sentence structure later in the song: 剩菜剩饭他全包了. The breakdown: \r\n\r\n剩 - Leftover\r\n菜 - Vegetables\r\n剩 - Leftover\r\n饭 - Rice\r\n他 - He \r\n全包 - All included\r\n了 (grammar word). \r\n\r\nOnce again, that strange \"all included\" - we are again expected to infer the verb here. Any guesses? The sentence means \"Leftover Vegetables, Leftover Rice, he eats it all!\" or \"He eats all the leftovers!\" So the missing word we kinda have to mentally fill in is \"eats\". \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\r\n爸爸好, 爸爸好, 爸爸好\r\n爸爸的力气真不小\r\n做得多说得少\r\n脏活累活他全包了\r\n爸爸好, 爸爸好, 爸爸好\r\n爸爸的肚量真不小\r\n挣得多花得少\r\n剩菜剩饭他全包了\r\n挣得多花得少\r\n剩菜剩饭他全包了\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nDad\'s the best, Dad\'s the best, dad\'s the best!\r\nDad\'s really got no shortage of strength \r\nHe does a lot but speaks little\r\nHe does all the dirty and tired work.\r\nDad\'s the best, dad\'s the best, dad\'s the best! \r\nDad\'s really got no shortage of generosity\r\nHe earns a lot but spends little\r\nAnd he eats all the leftovers! \r\nHe earns a lot but spends little \r\nAnd he eats all the leftovers! \r\n[/hide-this-part]', '[Chinese Children\'s Songs] 爸爸好 - Baba Hao, a Song for Father\'s Day', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1363-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 06:47:38', '2016-11-04 10:47:38', '', 1363, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1363-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1748, 1, '2016-10-31 03:37:34', '2016-10-31 07:37:34', 'Father\'s Day\'s coming up in a few weeks, and we\'ll be looking at the lyrics of a beginner-level saccharine-cute song written for children to sing to their dads (or, for the children of the digital generation, to forward to their dads) on their special day. This post is accompanied by a Flash Father\'s Day video where you can listen to the song on an INFINITE LOOP. Lucky you. <!--more-->\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130521-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Learn to Read Chinese: Drills for Learning to Read Mandarin Characters\" title=\"Reading in Simplified Chinese: Easy Exercises for Language Study\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />\r\nHere\'s the original video with the actual song. <a href=\"http://new.060s.com/flash/flashbrow.php?flash=70648ecb985590c987c8ffd9b0b5edb1\" target=\"_blank\">http://new.060s.com/flash/flashbrow.php?flash=70648ecb985590c987c8ffd9b0b5edb1</a>, have a listen if you dare. \r\n\r\nBecause this is a song, we have a couple of instances where a similar sentence structure is used with different words - these are probably the hardest sentences in the song. Example: 脏活累活他全包了. First, let me break down this sentence: \r\n\r\n脏 - Dirty\r\n活 - Activity, work\r\n累 - Tired\r\n活 - Activity, work\r\n他 - He\r\n全包 - All included\r\n了 - (grammar word)\r\n\r\nWhat? Dirty activity tired activity he all included?! What the heck does that mean? In proper English, we might translate that as \"Dirty work, Tired work, he does it all!\" We are, of course, talking about our amazing dads and all the thanklessly exhausting housework and job work they do. Thing is, there\'s nowhere in this sentence where the verb \"does\" as in \"to do work\" actually appears. We\'re just expected to infer the word from the context of 全包 - \"all included\". \r\n\r\nWe see the same sentence structure later in the song: 剩菜剩饭他全包了. The breakdown: \r\n\r\n剩 - Leftover\r\n菜 - Vegetables\r\n剩 - Leftover\r\n饭 - Rice\r\n他 - He \r\n全包 - All included\r\n了 (grammar word). \r\n\r\nOnce again, that strange \"all included\" - we are again expected to infer the verb here. Any guesses? The sentence means \"Leftover Vegetables, Leftover Rice, he eats it all!\" or \"He eats all the leftovers!\" So the missing word we kinda have to mentally fill in is \"eats\". \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\r\n爸爸好, 爸爸好, 爸爸好\r\n爸爸的<strong>力气</strong>真不小\r\n做得多说得少\r\n<strong>脏活</strong><strong>累活</strong>他全包了\r\n爸爸好, 爸爸好, 爸爸好\r\n爸爸的<strong>肚量</strong>真不小\r\n<strong>挣</strong>得多<strong>花</strong>得少\r\n<strong>剩</strong>菜剩饭他全包了\r\n挣得多花得少\r\n剩菜剩饭他全包了\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nDad\'s the best, Dad\'s the best, dad\'s the best!\r\nDad\'s really got no shortage of strength \r\nHe does a lot but speaks little\r\nHe does all the dirty and tired work.\r\nDad\'s the best, dad\'s the best, dad\'s the best! \r\nDad\'s really got no shortage of generosity\r\nHe earns a lot but spends little\r\nAnd he eats all the leftovers! \r\nHe earns a lot but spends little \r\nAnd he eats all the leftovers! \r\n[/hide-this-part]', '[Song] 爸爸好 - Baba Hao, a Song for Father\'s Day', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1363-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 03:37:34', '2016-10-31 07:37:34', '', 1363, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1363-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1749, 1, '2016-10-31 03:37:57', '2016-10-31 07:37:57', 'Though this post is beginner-level, it\'s also very condensed. I\'d say you\'ll have to stop and remind yourself what something means every few words or so. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<h3>A few notes:</h3>\r\n\r\n- There\'s a proper noun in here you probably won\'t find in the dictionary: 江东 is a place, [pinyin]jiang1 dong1[/pinyin], it\'s a district of Ningbo in Zhejiang Province (south China). So 江东公园 is \"JiangDong Park\". \r\n\r\n- 小朋友 [pinyin]xiao3 peng2 you5[/pinyin], literally \"Little Friend\", actually just means \"small children\", often used when one child is referring to a other children he or she doesn\'t know. \r\n\r\nSource: <a href=\"http://www.zuowen.com/e/20120522/4fbb17e8c23c9.shtml\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.zuowen.com/e/20120522/4fbb17e8c23c9.shtml</a>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n　　前几天，我做了一件不<strong>光彩</strong>的事。说出来真<strong>难为情</strong>。晚上，我去江东公园玩，看到有几位小朋友在捉青蛙，我也赶忙<strong>捉青蛙</strong>，捉了青蛙就把它们带回家。在家里养了几天，青蛙<strong>渐渐</strong>瘦了下来，它们好像在对我说：“把我们放回<strong>大自然</strong>吧，我们一定会多捉<strong>害虫</strong>。”我听了感到真不好意思，晚上，就悄悄把它们放回了大自然。\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nIn the last few days, I did a not-so-illustrious thing, and I\'m ashamed to say it. In the evening, I went to JiangDong Park to play, and I saw that there were a few other children catching frogs, so I also hurriedly started catching frogs, and after I caught them I brought them back to my house. At my house I took care of them for a few days, but the frogs gradually became thinner and thinner, it\'s like they were saying to me: \"Put us back in nature, and we can catch more insects.\" I listened to this and was truly embarrassed0 so that night, I secretly put them back outside. \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Essay] 抓青蛙 - Catching Frogs', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1483-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 03:37:57', '2016-10-31 07:37:57', '', 1483, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1483-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1750, 1, '2014-02-04 03:49:05', '2014-02-04 08:49:05', '[two_third]\r\nBeen a couple of months since I tossed a post out there - the latter half of 2013 was a bit of a shake-up, so please forgive the lapse. In other news, I can\'t get my favorite Chinese story website, tom61.com, to load anymore, #sadface. Fingers crossed that\'s a temporary glitch, but if not, I\'ll mourn the loss of a fantastic learner\'s website. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/20140204-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Practice Chinese Simplified Essays Stories for Beginners\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />In the meantime, I\'ve pulled something off <a href=\"http://gushi365.com\">gushi365.com</a>. \r\n\r\nThe content of <a href=\"http://www.gushi365.com/info/9851.html\">this story</a> is for children, but the language is not beginner, and neither is the sentence structure - this is an intermediate read for sure. I say that because it feels very \"fairy-tale\" language-y, in the sense that sentences are formed in a more literary way, rather than in a chatty way, and there are some uncommonly-heard words, like \"footprint\" (脚印), etc. The tone of the story, on the other hand, is very tra-la-la, winter sparkly glitter magic.\r\n\r\nTwo quick notes on phrases here: 传来了 [pinyin]chuan4 lai2[/pinyin] is an intermediate phrase that can be a little hard to understand, but it is used in reference to things we hear that come to us from afar. This may include voices (like hearing someone\'s voice from outside your house), or noises, or smells, or a piece of news. You can use this to talk about sensations and things that come to you from no particular person or direction - from \"afar\" or \"all around\". \r\n\r\n掏出 [pinyin]tao1 chu1[/pinyin]: this means to fish something out of something else. For example, to fish your phone out of your pocket, or to fish your sweatshirt out of your backpack. \r\n\r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\r\n蒲公英 - [pinyin]pu2 gong1 ying1[/pinyin] - Dandelion\r\n翩翩起舞 - [pinyin]pian1 pian1 qi3 wu3[/pinyin] - Lightly dance about\r\n扭到脚了 - [pinyin]niu3 dao4 jiao3 le[/pinyin] - Sprain / twist one\'s foot / ankle\r\n载歌载舞 - [pinyin]zai4 ge1 zai4 wu3[/pinyin] - Singing and dancing\r\n自言自语- [pinyin]zi4 yan2 zi4 yu3[/pinyin] - Talk to yourself\r\n说不定 - [pinyin]shuo1 bu5 ding4[/pinyin] - Who can say... [that sthng won\'t happen]\r\n奇迹 - [pinyin]qi2 ji4[/pinyin] - Miracle\r\n活蹦乱跳 - [pinyin]huo2 beng4 luan4 tiao4[/pinyin] - Leap and frisk about\r\n吵醒 - [pinyin]chao2 xing3[/pinyin] - To be woken up by noise\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_third]\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n下雪啦，下雪啦！一片片雪花像<strong>蒲公英</strong>一样在空中<strong>翩翩起舞</strong>，不一会儿，大地就穿上了一件洁白的衣裳。\r\n\r\n可爱的小熊不小心<strong>扭到脚了</strong>，只得孤零零地躺在小床上。忽然，从窗外<strong>传来了</strong>欢快的歌声。小熊朝窗外看去，原来是小老鼠和小白兔在雪地里<strong>载歌载舞</strong>呢！雪地上还留下了他们可爱的小脚印。小熊心里真羡慕呀！可是，他有什么办法呢？小熊深深地叹了一口气，<strong>自言自语</strong>：“还是睡一觉吧，<strong>说不定</strong>梦里会出现<strong>奇迹</strong>！”\r\n\r\n小熊果然做了一个好梦。他梦见一位留着长胡子的老爷爷来到了他的小屋里。老爷爷从衣袋里<strong>掏出</strong>一个小瓶子，笑眯眯地喷了喷小熊受伤的脚。小熊马上就<strong>活蹦乱跳</strong>了，快活地在雪地上和小伙伴们玩耍……\r\n\r\n小鸟们的欢声笑语把小熊<strong>吵醒</strong>了，原来这只是一场梦。可是小熊发现自己的手里竟然有一个小瓶子！小熊拿起小瓶子往脚上一喷，受伤的脚马上就好了。这真是一瓶神水啊！从此，小熊再也不怕摔伤了。 \r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nIt\'s snowing, it\'s snowing! Flakes of snow lightly danced like dandelions in the air, and after a while, the earth wore clothes of pure white. \r\n\r\nCute little bear incautiously sprained his ankle, and had to lie in bed all alone. Suddenly, from outside the window came the sound of lighthearted singing. Little bear looked out the window, and [saw that it was] Little Mouse and Little White Rabbit dancing and singing! The snow still held [impressions of] their cute little footprints. Little Bear was truly envious! But what could he do? Little Bear gave a deep sigh, and said aloud to himself: \"Better get some more sleep, and maybe in my dream there will be a miracle!\" \r\n\r\nSure enough, Little bear had a good dream. In his dream, an old man with a long beard came into his room. The old man fished a little bottle out of his pocket, and smilingly sprayed [some liquid from the bottle] on Little Bear\'s wounded foot. Little Bear immediately leaped up and frisked about, playing cheerfully with his [two] buddies on the snowy ground.\r\n\r\nThe happy sounds of the small birds woke Little Bear up, and [found that] actually it was all just a dream. But then he discovered that there was a small bottle in his hand! Little Bear took up the small bottle and sprayed it on his foot, and the wounded foot was immediately better! This really was a bottle of magic water! After that, Little Bear never again feared bumps and bruises. \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Little Bear\'s Beautiful Dream', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1460-revision-v1', '', '', '2014-02-04 03:49:05', '2014-02-04 08:49:05', '', 1460, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2014/02/1460-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1752, 1, '2016-11-04 06:11:11', '2016-11-04 10:11:11', 'I can\'t vouch for the accuracy of the history here, not being a pencil history expert myself, but this read has a lot of good words for larnin\'. I\'d put this in the lower-advanced spectrum, as the sentence structure isn\'t over-the-top literary, but there are a ton of specialized words and proper nouns. The tone is very encyclopedic, so, rather serious and not a lot of fun. \n\nA couple of proper names for you: \n<strong>巴罗代尔</strong> - Borrowdale, England\n<strong>乔治二世</strong> - George the Second (English King)\n<strong>法伯</strong> - Eberhard Faber, a German chemist\n<strong>孔德</strong> - Nicolas-Jacques Conté, French scientist\n\nSource: <a href=\"http://www.gushi365.com/info/9763.html\" target=\"_blank\">http://www.gushi365.com/info/9763.html</a>\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\n<strong>1)</strong> 铅笔的历史非常悠久，它起源于2000多年前的古罗马时期。那时的铅笔很<strong>简陋</strong>，只不过是金属套里夹着的一根铅棒，甚至是铅块，倒真是<strong>名副其实</strong>的“铅”笔。而我们今天使用的铅笔是用石墨和黏土制成的，里面并不含铅。\n\n<strong>2)</strong> 现代铅笔<strong>诞生</strong>于16世纪的英国。1564年，有人在巴罗代尔发现了一种名叫石墨的黑色<strong>矿物</strong>。石墨能像铅一样在纸上留下痕迹，而且比铅的痕迹要黑得多，因此，人们称石墨为“黑铅”。巴罗代尔一带的牧羊人常用石墨在羊身上做记号。后来，人们又将石墨块切成小条，用于写字、绘画。不久，英王乔治二世将巴罗代尔石墨矿收归<strong>皇室</strong>所有，把它定为皇家的专用品。\n\n<strong>3)</strong> 不过，石墨条也有它的<strong>缺点</strong>：容易弄脏手，还容易折断。1761年，德国化学家法伯用石墨粉同<strong>硫磺</strong>、<strong>松香</strong>等混合起来，制成条，这比纯石墨条的韧性大得多，也不大容易弄脏手。18世纪末时，只有英、德两国能够生产铅笔。\n\n<strong>4)</strong> 后来，法国也在自己的国土上找到了石墨矿，但矿的质量不高，储量也少。法国科学家孔德便在石墨中<strong>掺入</strong>黏土，放进窑里烧制，制成了既好用又耐用的铅笔<strong>芯</strong>。石墨中掺入的黏土的比例不同，铅笔芯的硬度也就不同。我们常看到铅笔头上标着B、HB一类的字母，表示的就是铅笔芯的硬度和颜色深浅。B表示黑度，H表示硬度，所以，HB就是软硬和颜色深浅都适中的铅笔芯，适合写字。 \n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\n<strong>1)</strong> The history of the pencil is very long, dating back 2000 years to ancient Roman times. The pencils of that time were very crude, being nothing more than a gold cover cripping a lead stick, or even a lead block, and it really was a \"lead\" pen (not just in name only). Whereas the pencils we use toady are manufactured from graphite and clay, the inside doesn\'t really contain lead.  \n\n<strong>2)</strong> Modern pencils were born in 16th Century England. In 1564, people in Borrowdale discovered a kind of black mineral called graphite. Like lead, graphite could leave marks on paper, and the marks it left were much darker than lead, thus, people called graphite \"black lead\". Shepherds in the Borrowdale region commonly used graphite to mark seals on the bodies of sheep. Later, people carved lead into little strips, using them for writing and drawing. After long, the English king George the Second brought Borrowdale graphite ore back to the imperial household for the royal family\'s particular use.   \n\n<strong>3)</strong> However, graphite strips also had their weak point: they dirty the hands, and they break easily. In 1761, German chemist Faber mixed graphite powder together with sulfer, pine resin and other things, and manufactured them as strips, which was much tougher than simple graphite, and didn\'t dirty the hands as easily. At the end of the 18th century, only England and Germany were capable of producing pencils.    \n\n<strong>4)</strong> Later, France discovered [deposits of] graphite ore in their earth, but the ore\'s quality wasn\'t high, and the quantities weren\'t great. French Scientist Conte mixed the ore with clay, fired it in a kiln, making a more easy to use and durable pencil wick. The amount of clay mixed with the graphite wasn\'t always the same, and so the hardness of the lead [wick] also changed accordingly. We often see \"B\" and \"HB\" letters marked out on the head of the pencil, indicating hardness and light or darkness of color. \"B\" indicates color, H indicates hardness, therefore, \"HB\" indicates that hardness and darkness  of the lead are both moderate, and are suitable for writing.   \n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Facts in Chinese] 铅笔的历史 - The History of the Pencil', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1466-autosave-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 06:11:11', '2016-11-04 10:11:11', '', 1466, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1466-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2041, 1, '2016-11-04 06:11:47', '2016-11-04 10:11:47', '', 'Learn to Read Chinese for Beginners: Beginner Chinese Essays', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'learn-to-read-chinese-pencils', '', '', '2016-11-04 06:12:15', '2016-11-04 10:12:15', '', 1466, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/learn-to-read-chinese-pencils.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1754, 1, '2016-10-31 03:41:52', '2016-10-31 07:41:52', 'I was away for a couple of months towards the end of last year, so I missed a few awesome comments until just recently. \r\n\r\nGrace, a commenter on this blog, brought her Chinese reading practice website to my attention, and it\'s the jam. She has a fabulous collections of translated materials for Elementary, Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced readers, including my absolute fav genre, Chinese detective stories. Yay!\r\n\r\nDon\'t miss adding <a href=\"http://www.justlearnchinese.com\">Justlearnchinese.com</a>to your blogroll. \r\n\r\n', '[Blog] New Resource: Justlearnchinese.com', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1474-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 03:41:52', '2016-10-31 07:41:52', '', 1474, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1474-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1755, 1, '2016-10-31 03:42:27', '2016-10-31 07:42:27', '', 'History', '', 'publish', 'closed', 'closed', '', 'history', '', '', '2016-10-31 10:57:04', '2016-10-31 14:57:04', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1755', 7, 'nav_menu_item', '', 0),
(1756, 1, '2016-11-04 06:14:04', '2016-11-04 10:14:04', 'The content of <a href=\"http://www.gushi365.com/info/9851.html\">this story</a> is for children, but the language is not beginner, and neither is the sentence structure - this is an intermediate read for sure. I say that because it feels very \"fairy-tale\" language-y, in the sense that sentences are formed in a more literary way, rather than in a chatty way, and there are some uncommonly-heard words, like \"footprint\" (脚印), etc. The tone of the story, on the other hand, is very tra-la-la, winter sparkly glitter magic.\n\nTwo quick notes on phrases here: 传来了 [pinyin]chuan4 lai2[/pinyin] is an intermediate phrase that can be a little hard to understand, but it is used in reference to things we hear that come to us from afar. This may include voices (like hearing someone\'s voice from outside your house), or noises, or smells, or a piece of news. You can use this to talk about sensations and things that come to you from no particular person or direction - from \"afar\" or \"all around\". \n\n掏出 [pinyin]tao1 chu1[/pinyin]: this means to fish something out of something else. For example, to fish your phone out of your pocket, or to fish your sweatshirt out of your backpack. \n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\n<strong>1)</strong> 下雪啦，下雪啦！一片片雪花像<strong>蒲公英</strong>一样在空中<strong>翩翩起舞</strong>，不一会儿，大地就穿上了一件洁白的衣裳。\n\n<strong>2)</strong> 可爱的小熊不小心<strong>扭到脚了</strong>，只得孤零零地躺在小床上。忽然，从窗外<strong>传来了</strong>欢快的歌声。小熊朝窗外看去，原来是小老鼠和小白兔在雪地里<strong>载歌载舞</strong>呢！雪地上还留下了他们可爱的小脚印。小熊心里真羡慕呀！可是，他有什么办法呢？小熊深深地叹了一口气，<strong>自言自语</strong>：“还是睡一觉吧，<strong>说不定</strong>梦里会出现<strong>奇迹</strong>！”\n\n<strong>3)</strong> 小熊果然做了一个好梦。他梦见一位留着长胡子的老爷爷来到了他的小屋里。老爷爷从衣袋里<strong>掏出</strong>一个小瓶子，笑眯眯地喷了喷小熊受伤的脚。小熊马上就<strong>活蹦乱跳</strong>了，快活地在雪地上和小伙伴们玩耍……\n\n<strong>4)</strong> 小鸟们的欢声笑语把小熊<strong>吵醒</strong>了，原来这只是一场梦。可是小熊发现自己的手里竟然有一个小瓶子！小熊拿起小瓶子往脚上一喷，受伤的脚马上就好了。这真是一瓶神水啊！从此，小熊再也不怕摔伤了。 \n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\n<strong>1)</strong> It\'s snowing, it\'s snowing! Flakes of snow lightly danced like dandelions in the air, and after a while, the earth wore clothes of pure white. \n\n<strong>2)</strong> Cute Little Bear incautiously sprained his ankle, and had to lie in bed all alone. Suddenly, from outside the window came the sound of lighthearted singing. Little bear looked out the window, and [saw that it was] Little Mouse and Little White Rabbit dancing and singing! The snow still held [impressions of] their cute little footprints. Little Bear was truly envious! But what could he do? Little Bear gave a deep sigh, and said aloud to himself: \"Better get some more sleep, and maybe in my dream there will be a miracle!\" \n\n<strong>3)</strong> Sure enough, Little bear had a good dream. In his dream, an old man with a long beard came into his room. The old man fished a little bottle out of his pocket, and smilingly sprayed [some liquid from the bottle] on Little Bear\'s wounded foot. Little Bear immediately leaped up and frisked about, playing cheerfully with his [two] buddies on the snowy ground.\n\n<strong>4)</strong> The happy sounds of the small birds woke Little Bear up, and [found that] actually it was all just a dream. But then he discovered that there was a small bottle in his hand! Little Bear took up the small bottle and sprayed it on his foot, and the wounded foot was immediately better! This really was a bottle of magic water! After that, Little Bear never again feared bumps and bruises. \n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Short Story] Little Bear\'s Beautiful Dream', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1460-autosave-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 06:14:04', '2016-11-04 10:14:04', '', 1460, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1460-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2043, 1, '2016-11-04 06:14:48', '2016-11-04 10:14:48', '', 'Practice Chinese Simplified Essays Stories for Beginners', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'mandarin-chinese-reading-exercises-bears-beautiful-dream', '', '', '2016-11-04 06:14:55', '2016-11-04 10:14:55', '', 1460, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/mandarin-chinese-reading-exercises-bears-beautiful-dream.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(2044, 1, '2016-11-04 06:15:16', '2016-11-04 10:15:16', 'The content of <a href=\"http://www.gushi365.com/info/9851.html\">this story</a> is for children, but the language is not beginner, and neither is the sentence structure - this is an intermediate read for sure. I say that because it feels very \"fairy-tale\" language-y, in the sense that sentences are formed in a more literary way, rather than in a chatty way, and there are some uncommonly-heard words, like \"footprint\" (脚印), etc. The tone of the story, on the other hand, is very tra-la-la, winter sparkly glitter magic.\r\n\r\nTwo quick notes on phrases here: 传来了 [pinyin]chuan4 lai2[/pinyin] is an intermediate phrase that can be a little hard to understand, but it is used in reference to things we hear that come to us from afar. This may include voices (like hearing someone\'s voice from outside your house), or noises, or smells, or a piece of news. You can use this to talk about sensations and things that come to you from no particular person or direction - from \"afar\" or \"all around\". \r\n\r\n掏出 [pinyin]tao1 chu1[/pinyin]: this means to fish something out of something else. For example, to fish your phone out of your pocket, or to fish your sweatshirt out of your backpack. \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\r\n<strong>1)</strong> 下雪啦，下雪啦！一片片雪花像<strong>蒲公英</strong>一样在空中<strong>翩翩起舞</strong>，不一会儿，大地就穿上了一件洁白的衣裳。\r\n\r\n<strong>2)</strong> 可爱的小熊不小心<strong>扭到脚了</strong>，只得孤零零地躺在小床上。忽然，从窗外<strong>传来了</strong>欢快的歌声。小熊朝窗外看去，原来是小老鼠和小白兔在雪地里<strong>载歌载舞</strong>呢！雪地上还留下了他们可爱的小脚印。小熊心里真羡慕呀！可是，他有什么办法呢？小熊深深地叹了一口气，<strong>自言自语</strong>：“还是睡一觉吧，<strong>说不定</strong>梦里会出现<strong>奇迹</strong>！”\r\n\r\n<strong>3)</strong> 小熊果然做了一个好梦。他梦见一位留着长胡子的老爷爷来到了他的小屋里。老爷爷从衣袋里<strong>掏出</strong>一个小瓶子，笑眯眯地喷了喷小熊受伤的脚。小熊马上就<strong>活蹦乱跳</strong>了，快活地在雪地上和小伙伴们玩耍……\r\n\r\n<strong>4)</strong> 小鸟们的欢声笑语把小熊<strong>吵醒</strong>了，原来这只是一场梦。可是小熊发现自己的手里竟然有一个小瓶子！小熊拿起小瓶子往脚上一喷，受伤的脚马上就好了。这真是一瓶神水啊！从此，小熊再也不怕摔伤了。 \r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n<strong>1)</strong> It\'s snowing, it\'s snowing! Flakes of snow lightly danced like dandelions in the air, and after a while, the earth wore clothes of pure white. \r\n\r\n<strong>2)</strong> Cute Little Bear incautiously sprained his ankle, and had to lie in bed all alone. Suddenly, from outside the window came the sound of lighthearted singing. Little bear looked out the window, and [saw that it was] Little Mouse and Little White Rabbit dancing and singing! The snow still held [impressions of] their cute little footprints. Little Bear was truly envious! But what could he do? Little Bear gave a deep sigh, and said aloud to himself: \"Better get some more sleep, and maybe in my dream there will be a miracle!\" \r\n\r\n<strong>3)</strong> Sure enough, Little bear had a good dream. In his dream, an old man with a long beard came into his room. The old man fished a little bottle out of his pocket, and smilingly sprayed [some liquid from the bottle] on Little Bear\'s wounded foot. Little Bear immediately leaped up and frisked about, playing cheerfully with his [two] buddies on the snowy ground.\r\n\r\n<strong>4)</strong> The happy sounds of the small birds woke Little Bear up, and [found that] actually it was all just a dream. But then he discovered that there was a small bottle in his hand! Little Bear took up the small bottle and sprayed it on his foot, and the wounded foot was immediately better! This really was a bottle of magic water! After that, Little Bear never again feared bumps and bruises. \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Short Story] Little Bear\'s Beautiful Dream', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1460-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 06:15:16', '2016-11-04 10:15:16', '', 1460, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1460-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(1757, 1, '2016-10-31 03:44:17', '2016-10-31 07:44:17', 'Been a couple of months since I tossed a post out there - the latter half of 2013 was a bit of a shake-up, so please forgive the lapse. In other news, I can\'t get my favorite Chinese story website, tom61.com, to load anymore, #sadface. Fingers crossed that\'s a temporary glitch, but if not, I\'ll mourn the loss of a fantastic learner\'s website. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/20140204-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Practice Chinese Simplified Essays Stories for Beginners\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />In the meantime, I\'ve pulled something off <a href=\"http://gushi365.com\">gushi365.com</a>. \r\n\r\nThe content of <a href=\"http://www.gushi365.com/info/9851.html\">this story</a> is for children, but the language is not beginner, and neither is the sentence structure - this is an intermediate read for sure. I say that because it feels very \"fairy-tale\" language-y, in the sense that sentences are formed in a more literary way, rather than in a chatty way, and there are some uncommonly-heard words, like \"footprint\" (脚印), etc. The tone of the story, on the other hand, is very tra-la-la, winter sparkly glitter magic.\r\n\r\nTwo quick notes on phrases here: 传来了 [pinyin]chuan4 lai2[/pinyin] is an intermediate phrase that can be a little hard to understand, but it is used in reference to things we hear that come to us from afar. This may include voices (like hearing someone\'s voice from outside your house), or noises, or smells, or a piece of news. You can use this to talk about sensations and things that come to you from no particular person or direction - from \"afar\" or \"all around\". \r\n\r\n掏出 [pinyin]tao1 chu1[/pinyin]: this means to fish something out of something else. For example, to fish your phone out of your pocket, or to fish your sweatshirt out of your backpack. \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\r\n<strong>1)</strong> 下雪啦，下雪啦！一片片雪花像<strong>蒲公英</strong>一样在空中<strong>翩翩起舞</strong>，不一会儿，大地就穿上了一件洁白的衣裳。\r\n\r\n<strong>2)</strong> 可爱的小熊不小心<strong>扭到脚了</strong>，只得孤零零地躺在小床上。忽然，从窗外<strong>传来了</strong>欢快的歌声。小熊朝窗外看去，原来是小老鼠和小白兔在雪地里<strong>载歌载舞</strong>呢！雪地上还留下了他们可爱的小脚印。小熊心里真羡慕呀！可是，他有什么办法呢？小熊深深地叹了一口气，<strong>自言自语</strong>：“还是睡一觉吧，<strong>说不定</strong>梦里会出现<strong>奇迹</strong>！”\r\n\r\n<strong>3)</strong> 小熊果然做了一个好梦。他梦见一位留着长胡子的老爷爷来到了他的小屋里。老爷爷从衣袋里<strong>掏出</strong>一个小瓶子，笑眯眯地喷了喷小熊受伤的脚。小熊马上就<strong>活蹦乱跳</strong>了，快活地在雪地上和小伙伴们玩耍……\r\n\r\n<strong>4)</strong> 小鸟们的欢声笑语把小熊<strong>吵醒</strong>了，原来这只是一场梦。可是小熊发现自己的手里竟然有一个小瓶子！小熊拿起小瓶子往脚上一喷，受伤的脚马上就好了。这真是一瓶神水啊！从此，小熊再也不怕摔伤了。 \r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n<strong>1)</strong> It\'s snowing, it\'s snowing! Flakes of snow lightly danced like dandelions in the air, and after a while, the earth wore clothes of pure white. \r\n\r\n<strong>2)</strong> Cute Little Bear incautiously sprained his ankle, and had to lie in bed all alone. Suddenly, from outside the window came the sound of lighthearted singing. Little bear looked out the window, and [saw that it was] Little Mouse and Little White Rabbit dancing and singing! The snow still held [impressions of] their cute little footprints. Little Bear was truly envious! But what could he do? Little Bear gave a deep sigh, and said aloud to himself: \"Better get some more sleep, and maybe in my dream there will be a miracle!\" \r\n\r\n<strong>3)</strong> Sure enough, Little bear had a good dream. In his dream, an old man with a long beard came into his room. The old man fished a little bottle out of his pocket, and smilingly sprayed [some liquid from the bottle] on Little Bear\'s wounded foot. Little Bear immediately leaped up and frisked about, playing cheerfully with his [two] buddies on the snowy ground.\r\n\r\n<strong>4)</strong> The happy sounds of the small birds woke Little Bear up, and [found that] actually it was all just a dream. But then he discovered that there was a small bottle in his hand! Little Bear took up the small bottle and sprayed it on his foot, and the wounded foot was immediately better! This really was a bottle of magic water! After that, Little Bear never again feared bumps and bruises. \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Short Story] Little Bear\'s Beautiful Dream', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1460-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 03:44:17', '2016-10-31 07:44:17', '', 1460, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1460-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1758, 1, '2016-11-04 05:54:34', '2016-11-04 09:54:34', 'This post kicks ass, if I do say so myself. This kid was asked to imagine the perfect desk-chair of the future - what it would look like, and what it would do - and boy, does he ever. The chair turns into all kinds of utopian machinery. It flies, it helps you sleep, and it carries your books to school. Sentence structure is pretty easy and the language is solidly intermediate, with very little advanced vocab (one idiom, a couple of advanced words but not much). At six paragraphs, the text is a bit long, though. <!--more-->\n\nIn this text, you\'ll notice several uses of the character \"型\". 型 [pinyin]xing2[/pinyin] means \"type\", \"kind\", \"sort\". The character can be combined with other descriptive words, and in this text you\'ll see 新型 - \"New Type of...\" and 大型, meaning \"big type\" or \"large-scale\". \n\nHere\'s the <a href=\"http://www.tom61.com/youxiuzuowen/xiaoxueyinianjizuowen/2014-04-02/1396399386256109.html\" target=\"_blank\">original</a>. \n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\n你想知道未来的桌椅是什么样子吗? 还是让我这个发明人来介绍一下吧!\n\n未来的桌椅是高科技材料制成的，大小、颜色、形状能随意变化。早晨去上学，就按第一个按钮，颜色可以变成绿色，象征新的一天朝气蓬勃，这个桌椅变成了新型自行车，那时候人们讲究环保，每个学生都骑这样的车去上学，不用别的<strong>能源</strong>，有太阳能和风就够了。如果遇见堵车的现象，自行车就会飞跃过去，保证准时到达学校。\n\n到了学校，请按第二个按钮，绿色自行车变成了蓝色电脑桌椅，开始上课学习，根本不用带书包呀、文具盒、教材什么的。一切学习任务都在电脑上完成。\n\n到了放学的时候，又变回自行车回到家。当然这时候的车速可以放慢，好好欣赏一下大自然的风光。回到家没有作业，这时请按第三个橘色按钮，自行车再变成大型游戏机，你就可以玩各种游戏了。当然，对眼睛没有害处。\n\n到了晚上，请按第四个按钮，游戏机变成了你喜欢颜色的折叠床，发出美妙的音乐，催你甜蜜地入眠。假如你感觉哪儿不舒服了，就从床头伸出几个按摩头给你按摩，让你安然入睡。\n\n怎么样，我发明的未来的桌椅你一定喜欢吧?欢迎你现在就来预订一套。\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nDo you want to know what chairs and tables will be like in the future? Well then let this inventor [author is referring to self] introduce you!\n\nChairs and tables in the future are manufactured from high-tech materials, and the size, color and shape can change according to your wishes. In the morning when you go to school, you just push the first button, and the color will change to green, symbolizing a new day full of youthful energy, and its shape will change into a new type of bicycle, since at that time [the future] people will all pay attention to the environment, and every student will ride this kind of bike to go to school, and no other power source will be needed, just solar and wind will be enough. If you run into traffic, this bike can leap over it, ensuring you\'ll arrive at school on time. 　\n\nOnce you get to school, please push the second button, and the green bike will turn into a blue computer desk and chair, and when you start to study, you don\'t even need to have your book bag, stationery box or other study materials. Everything you need [to accomplish studying] is all in the computer. 　\n\nWhen school gets out, it will again turn into a bike so you can return home. Of course at this time, the bike is also freed to go slowly, so that you can take a moment to appreciate the natural scenery. When you get home and you have no homework, press the third orange-colored button, and the bike will change into a large video game machine, and you can play all kinds of games. Of course, it will do no damage to your eyes. \n\nAt night, press the fourth button, and the video game machine will turn into a fold-out bed in any color you want, playing splendid music, that will encourage you to drift into sweet sleep. If you feel at all uncomfortable, a few massagers will extend from the head of the bed and give you a massage, to let you rest peacefully. \n\nWhat do you think? Surely you\'ll like my future desk chair. You\'re welcome to place an order for one now. \n\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Essays] 未来的桌椅 - Desk-chairs of the Future', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1481-autosave-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 05:54:34', '2016-11-04 09:54:34', '', 1481, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1481-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1760, 1, '2016-10-31 03:45:58', '2016-10-31 07:45:58', 'Happy Year of the Sheep! Couple of days ago, I stumbled across the Book \"The Last Yin Yang Master\", aka \"The Last Onmyoji\", a supernatural ghost story available for free online. It\'s incredibly rare to find full-length books that aren\'t impossibly difficult to get through, but this one is phenomenal for learners. I\'m gonna put part of the first chapter here, so you can dive on in. The rest can be grabbed on <a href=\"http://www.zhuaji.org/read/146/\" target=\"_blank\">Zhuaji.com</a>. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nI\'ve recently sort of discovered that ghost stories and detective novels are where it\'s at for practicing reading. The cliches in a Chinese murder mystery are exactly the same as they are anywhere: hard-boiled cop, confused rookie, seductive woman, shady business, and definitely a chase scene. It\'s easier to follow a story when you have a semi-expectation of what\'s supposed to happen. They get hard when people start talking about blood spatter and ballistics, but you can kind of get the gist. Ghost stories are the same way - a scene of normalcy is set, followed by some red-flag strangeness that everyone completely ignores because they don\'t believe in the supernatural, followed by some myths and legends, or maybe a mysterious old man, or maybe a body goes missing, and then things really freaky. Again, the read gets hard when characters start talking about the mystic books of old, or funeral customs, so you should probably be reading this with the help of Pleco (which I do), but The Last Onmyoji is accessible enough that those parts shouldn\'t totally derail you. Highly recommended.\r\n\r\nThis really is worth a go for readers at almost all levels. The read is late-intermediate, but using Pleco, late-stage beginners and early-intermediates will be able to understand large chunks of it, enough to motivate you to puzzle through the parts you don\'t get, more so because this is being told in first-person. Remember, now, that the beginning of a book is usually the hardest as you try to get a sense of the story. Once the story gets rolling, it\'s easier to flow with it. Advanced readers may just appreciate learning a bit of spooky vocab. \r\n\r\nThe segment that I\"m translating here doesn\'t have any ghostly bits in it, this is the first chapter to get you going on the story. It\'s packed full of Chinese village culture, and some parts at the end that would be considered extremely un-PC in the west: a little anti-Japanese talk, and a little bit about buying women, the rarities of college education in the countryside: the realities of village life in China, even these days. \r\n\r\nThere\'s a lot I could talk about in here, but I do like the word 投 [pinyin]tou2[/pinyin] - This word had a ton of meanings. Imagine slipping a piece of paper into a suggestion box. Got it? That\'s what this word embodies, that action, or anything related to a similar action of taking a flat object and dropping it into a slot, literally or figuratively. So it can mean to \"vote\", as in an election, because you\'re submitting a ballot. It can mean to \"slide\" an envelope into a letter box. In this case, it means to \"submit\" a resume while seeking a job offer. We don\'t have a word for that concept in English, I think. \r\n\r\nEnjoy!\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese Text</h3>\r\n<strong>1)</strong> 我叫林小凡,今年23岁。大学刚毕业。一个三流的大学四流的成绩,大学是在杭州读,毕业之后最开始在一家房地产公司做销售员,底薪一千八。因为业绩太差,公司没说辞退我,我自己就不好意思待了。\r\n\r\n<strong>2)</strong> 在杭州转了两个月,<strong>投</strong>了不知道多少份儿简历,面试了多少次,都没有通过。<strong>盘缠</strong>花光之后,就回了老家。\r\n\r\n<strong>3)</strong> 我的老家是洛阳。洛阳的乡下,一个叫做十里铺儿的小村儿落。\r\n\r\n<strong>4)</strong> 之所以回来,是因为村儿里小学唯一的教师得了<strong>肺痨</strong>,病的已经非常严重,我作为村里走出来唯一的大学生,村长愿意一月掏出一千块的巨资来请我去代课。\r\n\r\n<strong>5)</strong> 所以我回来了。\r\n\r\n<strong>6)</strong> 在外面活的不如一条狗的我,在老家得到了极大的尊严。\r\n\r\n<strong>7)</strong> 在偏远的山村,大学生,还是一个极其厉害的存在,村民们在看到我父亲的时候,都会为他竖起大拇指,说:“老林家祖坟冒了青烟,竟然出了个大学生,以后你就走出了大山咯。”\r\n\r\n<strong>8)</strong> 每当这个时候,我父亲都会憨厚的笑一笑,抹去他脸上的汗水。\r\n\r\n<strong>9)</strong> 我回到村子之后,方圆几里的媒婆都争着抢着给我介绍对象,几乎踏破我家的门槛儿,这不是吹牛。你不在那个环境里,不知道大学生三个字的分量。\r\n\r\n<strong>10)</strong> 父亲也极力的给我<strong>张罗</strong>,在他们眼里,23岁,甚至已经过了结婚的年纪。跟我同龄的人,现在儿子已经可以光着<strong>屁股</strong>到处跑了。\r\n\r\n<strong>11)</strong> 为了不让他们操心,我也去一次次的应付相亲。\r\n\r\n<strong>12)</strong> 对,是应付。\r\n\r\n<strong>13)</strong> 大学,说白了就是一个区分性与理性的地方,虽然是山村出来的,可是我的相貌并不算丑,甚至可以说英俊。也谈过一个女朋友,我没钱,她也不是非常的富裕,可是就算这样,我们还在在一起了三年,我尽我所能的打零工,来做一个男朋友该做的。大三那年,我们分手。\r\n<strong>14)</strong> \r\n那一天,我在我们学校的后山喝了一瓶2块钱的二锅头。醒来之后,不再悲伤,继续<strong>浑浑噩噩</strong>的过日子。\r\n\r\n<strong>15)</strong> 关于相貌这一点,我继承了我母亲。\r\n\r\n<strong>16)</strong>  一个不知道故乡在哪里的美貌女人。\r\n\r\n<strong>17)</strong> 她有痴呆症。\r\n\r\n<strong>18)</strong> 在几十年前,我父亲进城,用了三百块钱把她买了回来。\r\n\r\n<strong>19)</strong> 我父亲说,他那一天花了两元钱给母亲买了一身衣服,回来的时候母亲的美貌,让村里的人哈喇子都流到了地上。\r\n\r\n<strong>20)</strong> 可惜,她是个傻子。\r\n\r\n<strong>21)</strong> 如果不是傻子,我父亲也买不起。\r\n\r\n<strong>22)</strong> 后来有了我,母亲的痴傻一直都是那样,可是她的傻,并不是像街头的疯子一样,她非常安静。\r\n\r\n<strong>23)</strong> 不说话,不动。只是安静的坐着。\r\n\r\n<strong>24)</strong> 我就在这样的一个环境下长大,可是我并不想文艺的说,我有孤僻的性格,因为就算是这样,我还是有完整的童年。\r\n\r\n<strong>25)</strong> 我父亲非常的勤劳,他尽一个农民的极限,利用手中的农具,养活一个家。我没有什么怪他的地方。\r\n\r\n<strong>26)</strong> 没钱,这是命。\r\n\r\n<strong>27)</strong> 我爷爷,是一个退伍的老军人,他不识字,没有农民典型的精明,反倒是实诚的可怕。有人说他是gmd,有人说他是gcd,可是他自己都不知道自己到底是哪个党,他唯一知道的,就是他拿枪打日本鬼子,鬼子打跑之后,他就回到了家。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n<strong>1)</strong> My name is Lin Xiaofan, I\'m 23 years old this year. I just graduated from college. A third-rate school with fourth-tier grades, my college was in Hangzhou, and after I graduated I first went to work as sales staff at a real estate agency with a salary of 1,800 [translator\'s note: this is a very low salary, about $300 USD / month]. My sales performance was poor, and the company never fired me, but I was so embarrassed that I left. \r\n\r\n<strong>2)</strong> I wandered around Hangzhou for two months, submitted I don\'t even know how many resumes, or went to how many interviews, but nothing came through. After I\'d spent all my travel money, I went back to my home town.\r\n\r\n<strong>3)</strong> My home town is Luoyang. In the Luoyang countryside falls a little village called Shilipu\'er. \r\n\r\n<strong>4)</strong> The reason I went home is because the village\'s only teacher got tuberculosis, and he was very seriously ill, so as the village\'s only person who\'d ever gone off to college, the village chief dug up a thousand-dollar [translator\'s note: \"1000 kuai\" is \"1000 Chinese Renminbi\"] investment and asked me to substitute teach. \r\n\r\n<strong>5)</strong> So I went home. \r\n\r\n<strong>6)</strong> My life away from home wasn\'t even as good as a dog\'s, but I get plenty of respect in my home town. \r\n\r\n<strong>7)</strong> In such a remote village, being a college graduate is still an extremely awesome thing to be, and every time the villagers see my father, they all give him a thumbs-up and say, \"Your family\'s ancestral grave is emitting green smoke, unexpectedly out popped a college student! You\'ll be walking off this mountain after a while!\" [translator\'s note: this is a compliment regarding the family\'s lineage.]\r\n\r\n<strong>8)</strong> Of course at these times, my father would smile in a simple and honest way, wiping the sweat off his brow. \r\n\r\n<strong>9)</strong> After I came back to the village, all the local matchmakers tried to set me up with someone, almost trampling down my door, no exaggeration. If you\'ve never been in that [village] environment, you don\'t know the power of those three words, \"College Degree Holder\".\r\n\r\n<strong>10)</strong> My dad also made a supreme effort to settle me, because in his eyes, at 23 years old I\'d already passed marrying age. Everyone my age already had kids running around with their bare butts hanging out. \r\n\r\n<strong>11)</strong> So as not to make him worry, I\'d already coped with my first blind date. \r\n\r\n<strong>12)</strong> Yes, it was definitely \"coping\". \r\n\r\n<strong>13)</strong> College, speaking frankly, was a place with completely different place with different rationales, but although I came from a farm village, I wasn\'t considered ugly, you might even say I\'m handsome. I had a girlfriend, but I had no money, and she wasn\'t very rich either, but that\'s just the way it was, we were together three years, and I used up all my part-time work money trying to do all the things a boyfriend is supposed to do. In the third year, we broke up. \r\n\r\n<strong>14)</strong> On that day, on the hill behind our school, I drank a bottle of 2-dollar liquor. After I woke up, I wasn\'t sad anymore, and I just continued muddle-headedly passing the days. \r\n\r\n<strong>15)</strong> About my looks, those I inherited from my mother. \r\n\r\n<strong>16)</strong> A good-looking woman from who-knows-where.  \r\n\r\n<strong>17)</strong> She had dementia.\r\n\r\n<strong>18)</strong> A few decades ago, my father went to the city, and spent three hundred dollars to buy her and bring her home.\r\n\r\n<strong>19)</strong> My dad said, that day he spent two bucks to buy mom some clothes, and when he returned, mom\'s good looks made everyone in the village drool all over the ground. \r\n\r\n<strong>20)</strong> Pity, she was an idiot.\r\n\r\n<strong>21)</strong> If she hadn\'t been an idiot, my dad could never have afforded her. \r\n\r\n<strong>22)</strong> Then I came along, and mom\'s dementia continued as before, but her brand of dementia wasn\'t like a crazy street person\'s, she was very quiet. \r\n\r\n<strong>23)</strong> She didn\'t speak, didn\'t move. Just quietly sat there.\r\n\r\n<strong>24)</strong> This is the environment I grew up in, but I don\'t want to make it sound literary, I had an antisocial nature, but even so, I still had a full childhood. \r\n\r\n<strong>25)</strong> My father is very industrious, he has a farmer\'s strength, using the farm tools in his hands, he nurtured a household. I don\'t have anything to blame him for. \r\n\r\n<strong>26)</strong> No money, that\'s just life. \r\n\r\n<strong>27)</strong> My grandfather is a retired soldier, he\'s illiterate, and he doesn\'t have any of a villager\'s typical shrewdness, on the contrary he\'s terrifyingly honest. Some people said he was GMD [translator\'s note: GMD = guo min dang, the fascist party in the Chinese civil war, who lost], some people said he was GCD [GCD = gong chang dang, the communist party that won the war and remains in power today], but he doesn\'t even know himself which \"dang\" [translator\'s note - this \"dang\" means \"political party\"] he was in, the only thing he knows is that he grabbed a gun and fought the Japanese devils [the Japanese invaded while the GMD and the GCD were fighting each other], and after the devils ran away, he went home.\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Books] 《最后一个阴阳师》 - The Last Yin Yang Master', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1539-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 03:45:58', '2016-10-31 07:45:58', '', 1539, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1539-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2151, 1, '2016-11-05 00:15:49', '2016-11-05 04:15:49', '', 'Beginner Chinese Texts - Learn to Read Mandarin Free', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'essay-happy-me', '', '', '2016-11-05 00:16:30', '2016-11-05 04:16:30', '', 933, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/essay-happy-me.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1766, 1, '2011-11-02 21:17:18', '2011-11-03 01:17:18', '[two_third]\r\nA short, sweet children\'s essay about how umbrellas look on a rainy day. The Chinese title is 小伞花. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/20111102-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Easy Chinese Reading - Simplified Texts, Passages and Essays\" title=\"Easy Chinese Reading - Simplified Texts, Passages and Essays\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />Most of this is beginner reading, but there is one part of a sentence towards the end of the text which is intermediate reading, so I\'ve outlined the more difficult words there in the \"click to listen\" area. \r\n\r\nYou\'ll also notice another onomatopoeia (I\'ve been running into those a lot lately), 滴滴答答. We\'re rather lucky when we describe sounds in English, we can mash a bunch of letters together until they sound similar to the sound we heard - we have a little more flexibility. I could write: pfffsssshhhh, and you could make that sound, or imagine that sound. The Chinese have no alphabet to work with, so they do this by taking existing characters that sound similar and arranging them together. In this case 滴滴答答 (di1 di1 da1 da1) represents the pattering of raindrops, as you might hear rain fall against a window or roof.\r\n\r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\r\n传来- [pinyin]chuan2 lai2[/pinyin] - Arrive\r\n滴滴答答 - [pinyin]di1 di1 da1 da1[/pinyin] - The sound of water droplets falling on something\r\n行人 - [pinyin]xing2 ren2[/pinyin] - Pedestrian\r\n雨伞 - [pinyin]yu3 san3[/pinyin] - Umbrella\r\n极了 - [pinyin]ji2 le5[/pinyin] - very, extremely [used after word it refers to]\r\n撑- [pinyin]cheng1[/pinyin] - To open up / unfurl\r\n晴朗 - [pinyin]qing2 lang3[/pinyin] - sunny and cloudless\r\n陪伴 - [pinyin]pei2 ban4[/pinyin] - Accompany\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_third]\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n今天，我回家写作业的时候，我听见外面<strong>传来</strong>了<strong>滴滴答答</strong>的声音，我想一定是下雨了。我赶忙跑到窗前，向下一看，街上的<strong>行人</strong>都打着<strong>雨伞</strong>，真的是下雨了。\r\n\r\n雨伞有黄色的、有白色的、有红色的、有紫色的，还有银灰色的……，美丽<strong>极了</strong>!\r\n\r\n我觉得雨伞可真好，它为我们<strong>撑</strong>起了一片<strong>晴朗</strong>的天空，它真是我们的好朋友。我希望每天都能下雨，让我的漂亮小雨伞每天都能<strong>陪伴</strong>我。\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nToday, when I had returned to my house and I was doing my homework, I heard the sound of droplets coming from outside, and I thought it surely must be raining. I hurriedly ran to the window, and looked down, on the street the pedestrians were all carrying umbrellas, and it was indeed raining. \r\n\r\nThere were yellow umbrellas, and there were white ones, and red ones, and purple ones, and also silver ones... so beautiful!\r\n\r\nI thought about how great umbrellas are, they unfurl a sunny and cloudless sky for us, they\'re really our good friends. I wish it could rain every day, so that my beautiful little umbrella could accompany me.\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Umbrella Flowers', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '887-revision-v1', '', '', '2011-11-02 21:17:18', '2011-11-03 01:17:18', '', 887, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/11/887-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1771, 1, '2011-09-06 18:36:43', '2011-09-06 22:36:43', '[two_third]\r\nA sweet essay about a young child doing something nice for her mother. \r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/20110906-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Beginner Chinese Vocabulary and Simplified Reading Materials\" title=\"Beginner Chinese Vocabulary and Simplified Reading Materials\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />This story has two proper nouns in it, which I should probably explain. The words 《大宅门》, which is the title of a TV show called \"Grand Gate Mansion\". This is a real Chinese TV soap / drama. If you want to watch it, <a href=\"http://v.pptv.com/show/hs26OKAGdrQXlVk.html\"> here\'s a full video episode of Grand Gate Mansion</a>. Another interesting thing about that is the punctuation  《 and 》, marks that don\'t exist in English. In English, when we refer to the name of a book or movie, we often put the name in quotes, for example, \"Cinderella\" or \"Gone with the Wind\". These 《》 punctuation marks are the equivalent of quotes in English, but while we use quotes for lots of purposes, the Chinese only ever use these to describe the name of a play, book, movie or show.\r\n\r\nThe other proper noun is 明明, a young girl\'s name. \r\n\r\nOne of the things I really like about this is also the juxtaposition between the three words 小心, 放心 and 开心, which mean \"to be careful or cautious\", \"to stop worrying\", and \"to be happy / to have fun\", respectively. You\'ll notice these words all end in 心, \"heart\", and these words could literally be translated as \"small heart\", \"to let go of your heart\", and \"open heart\". When you\'re being careful, doesn\'t it feel like your heart is small? And when you stop worrying about something, isn\'t it just like \"putting your heart down\"? And when you\'re having fun, isn\'t it just like you have an \"open heart\"?\r\n\r\nThe Chinese title of this little narrative is 我为妈妈做点儿事.\r\n\r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\r\n津津有味 - [pinyin]jin1 jin1 you3 wei4[/pinyin] - To do sth. with great interest\r\n动画片 - [pinyin]dong4 hua4 pian1[/pinyin] - Cartoons [lit: moving drawing slides]\r\n屏幕 - [pinyin]ping2 mu4[/pinyin] - Screen [for TV, computer, etc.]\r\n片名 - [pinyin]pian1 ming2[/pinyin] - Show or movie title\r\n辛苦 - [pinyin]xin1 ku3[/pinyin] - Hard or exhausting work\r\n围裙 - [pinyin]wei2 qun2[/pinyin] -  Apron\r\n小心 - [pinyin]xiao3 xin1[/pinyin] - Be careful\r\n放心 - [pinyin]fang4 xin1[/pinyin] - Don\'t worry\r\n开心 - [pinyin]kai1 xin1[/pinyin] - Happy, fun\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_third]\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n吃完晚饭,妈妈在厨房里洗碗，明明坐在大大的沙发上，<strong>津津有味</strong>地看着自己喜欢的<strong>动画片</strong>。\r\n\r\n过了一会儿,动画片演完了，电视<strong>屏幕</strong>上出现了大宅门的<strong>片名</strong>。明明知道妈妈最喜欢看《大宅门》了，明明想妈妈要做事，要洗碗，很<strong>辛苦</strong>，一定要让妈妈看会儿《大宅门》，她边想边向厨房跑去。明明拉着妈妈的<strong>围裙</strong>说: “妈妈，您最喜欢看的《大宅门》开始了，您快去看吧,我来洗碗。”妈妈高兴地说: “好呀，你洗碗的时候一定要<strong>小心</strong>啊。”明明说: “妈妈您放心吧!”\r\n\r\n妈妈坐在舒服的沙发上看起电视，明明在厨房里认真地洗碗，这个晚上她们俩过得可<strong>开心</strong>了!\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nAfter dinner was done, mother was in the kitchen washing dishes, and Ming Ming was on the big sofa, watching her favorite cartoons with great interest.  \r\n\r\nAfter a while, the cartoons were over, and the TV show title \"Grand Gate Mansion\" appeared on the screen. Ming Ming thought about how her mother had things to do, she had to wash the dishes, which is very tiring work, so [Ming Ming] should certainly let mother watch Grand Gate Mansion for a while, and thinking this, she ran into the kitchen. Ming Ming pulled on her mother\'s apron and said, \"Mama, your favorite show \'Grand Gate Mansion\' is starting, quick, go and watch it, I\'ll wash the dishes.\" Mother happily said, \"Great, just be careful as you\'re washing the dishes.\" Ming Ming said, \"Mama, don\'t worry!\" \r\n\r\nMother sat on the comfortable sofa and watched television, and Ming Ming was in the kitchen diligently washing dishes - that night those two had a great time! \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'I Did Something for Mom', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '785-revision-v1', '', '', '2011-09-06 18:36:43', '2011-09-06 22:36:43', '', 785, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/09/785-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1773, 1, '2016-11-04 06:21:55', '2016-11-04 10:21:55', 'Welp, I swore I would never do this again but I found this (and several other short stories) in Hainan Airlines\' in-flight magazine (I\'m in Prague!) and couldn\'t resist typing it up (as opposed to copy-pasting from an online source). I\'ve checked and checked for typos, but I\'m not always the best at that, so if you run across one, please comment.\n\nThis is one of those reads where the sentence structure is basic and in parts very repetitive, but quite a few advanced words are used - \"advanced\" only because they\'re not used often in casual conversation, like parts of an animal (hooves, horns, etc.) So beginners, you can give this a go if you\'re feeling very patient but you\'ll be looking up every other word in some paragraphs even though you will be able to predict generally what the next few sentences are about.<!--more-->\n\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/20130624-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Learn to Read Simplified Chinese Characters: Intermediate Exercises for Chinese Learners\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />I wanted to post a quick comment about the words 一箭一般, because this looks like a typical four-character idiom, but it\'s actually two separate words, 一箭 (an arrow) and 一般 (like, as if). Together this means \"like an arrow\", or in context of this sentence \"to take off (running) like a shot\". \n\nThere\'s also the phrase 从草丛中闪出. We\'re talking here about a dog that is \"[darting] out in a flash\" (闪出) \"from the middle of a cluster of grasses\" (从草丛中). We can imagine a dog charging out of a field of tall grass and into a clearing. \n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\n<strong>1)</strong> 傍晚，一只羊独自在山坡上玩，突然从树木中窜出一只狼来，要吃羊，羊跳起来，拼命用角抵抗，并大声向朋友们救命。\n\n<strong>2)</strong> 牛在树丛中向这个地方望了一眼，发现是狼，跑走了。\n\n<strong>3)</strong> 马低头一看，发现是狼，一溜烟跑了。\n\n<strong>4)</strong> 驴停下脚步，发现是狼，悄悄溜下山坡。\n\n<strong>5)</strong> 猪经过这里，发现是狼，冲下山坡。\n\n<strong>6)</strong> 兔子一听，更是一箭一般离去。\n\n<strong>7)</strong> 山下的狗听见羊的呼喊，急忙奔上坡来，从草丛中闪出，一下咬住了狼的脖子，狼疼得直叫唤, 趁够换气时，怆惶挑走了。\n\n<strong>8)</strong> 回到家，朋友都来了，\n牛说：你怎么不告诉我？我的角可以剜出狼的肠子。\n马说：你怎么不告诉我？我的蹄子能踢碎狼的脑袋。\n驴说：你怎么不告诉我？我一声吼叫，吓破狼的胆。\n猪说：你怎么不告诉我？ 我用嘴一拱，就让它摔下山去。\n兔子说：你怎么不告诉我？ 我跑得快，可以传信呀。\n\n<strong>9)</strong> 在这闹嚷嚷的一群中，唯独没有狗。\n\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\n<strong>1)</strong> One nightfall, a sheep was playing alone on the mountainside, when suddenly a wolf emerged from among the trees, wanting to eat the sheep, so the sheep jumped up, using his horns to defend himself with all his might, and loudly called out for his friends to save his life.\n\n<strong>2)</strong> The bull looked over from among a cluster of trees, saw there was a wolf, and ran away.\n\n<strong>3)</strong> The horse lowered its head and looked, discovered there was a wolf, and slipped away in a puff of smoke.\n\n<strong>4)</strong> The mule stopped walking for a moment, discovered there was a wolf, and quietly slipped down the mountain.\n\n<strong>5)</strong> The pig passed through there, found out there was a wolf, and rushed down the mountainside.\n\n<strong>6)</strong> The rabbit listened a moment, then took off like a shot.\n\n<strong>7)</strong> From the bottom of the mountain, the dog heard the sheep\'s cry, and ran quickly up the mountainside, came out of the grass in a flash, and in a moment had grabbed the wolf\'s neck in his teeth, the wolf cried out in pain, and taking advantage of the dog\'s intake of breath, ran away full of sorrow and fear. [When the sheep] returned home, his friends all came over.\n\n<strong>8)</strong> The bull said: Why didn\'t you tell me? My horns could have gouged out the wolf\'s intestines.\nThe horse said: Why didn\'t you tell me? My hooves could have kicked the wolf\'s skull apart.\nDonkey said: Why didn\'t you tell me? I could have brayed and startled the wolf so as to break his courage. \nPig said: Why didn\'t you tell me? I could nuzzle him with my snout, and make him fall down the mountain.\nRabbit said: Why didn\'t you tell me? I run fast, I could have spread the word.\n\n<strong>9)</strong> In this noisy group, the only one who wasn\'t present was the dog.\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Fables] 沉默的狗 - The Silent Dog', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1432-autosave-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 06:21:55', '2016-11-04 10:21:55', '', 1432, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1432-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1776, 1, '2016-10-31 04:11:12', '2016-10-31 08:11:12', '', 'Learn to read Chinese Chengyu', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'chinese-reading-exercises-idiom-devotion', '', '', '2016-10-31 04:11:38', '2016-10-31 08:11:38', '', 1526, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/chinese-reading-exercises-idiom-devotion.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1777, 1, '2016-10-31 04:13:59', '2016-10-31 08:13:59', '', 'learn-to-read-mandarin-desk-chairs', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'learn-to-read-mandarin-desk-chairs', '', '', '2016-10-31 04:14:10', '2016-10-31 08:14:10', '', 1481, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/learn-to-read-mandarin-desk-chairs.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1779, 1, '2017-03-02 06:30:22', '2017-03-02 11:30:22', 'This little anecdote takes place during the <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_and_Southern_dynasties\" target=\"_blank\">Northern and Southern Dynasties</a>, which lasted 150 years or so (from 420 to 589 AD), and outlines the origin of the rather stalwart Chinese phrase 乘风破浪 [pinyin]cheng2 feng1 po4 lang4[/pinyin], which hints at spirited daring and ambition. Unless you regularly lay waste to English garrisons, I don\'t know how often you\'ll encounter 乘风破浪 in day-to-day conversations, but that\'s not to say it doesn\'t have its place. There are those rousing pep talks you give yourself in the bathroom mirror, for instance. \r\n\r\n<h3>Usage Examples</h3>\r\n\r\n<ol>\r\n<li>在工作上,我们要敢于乘风破浪。 - In my work, I must dare to dare.</li>\r\n<li>这艘轮船乘风破浪驶向大海。 - This ship, braving the winds and waves, flies towards the sea.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n\r\n<h3>Some good martial vocab</h3>\r\n<strong>勇敢 [pinyin]yong3 gan3[/pinyin] - Brave, courageous</strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>抱负 [pinyin]bao4 fu4[/pinyin] - Aspiration, ambition</strong>\r\nThis is something you have, rather than something you are, as in 很有抱负 / 没有抱负。 \r\n\r\n<strong><strong>勤学苦练 [pinyin]qin2 xue2 ku3 lian4[/pinyin]</strong> - Study diligently and train hard</strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>奋斗 [pinyin]fen4 dou4[/pinyin] - To struggle </strong>\r\nThis word is super useful outside of any martial context. Not only does it mean \"to struggle\" in the military sense, it also means \"to struggle\" in the \"life is hard\" sense. It can be used to describe the general struggle of the daily grind: getting up, getting the kids to school, working long hours, making dinner. If, for example, a husband and wife were to say to you: \"我们奋斗了六年。\" that would mean, \"We worked our butts off for six years.\" \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n1) 古代南北朝的时候，宋国有位将军姓宗名悫，他从小就很<strong>勇敢</strong>，也很有<strong>抱负</strong>。有一天，宗悫的叔父问他有什么志向，宗悫回答道：“愿乘长风，破万里浪。”意思是：我一定要突破一切障碍，勇往直前，干一番事业。宗悫经过<strong>勤学苦练</strong>，努力<strong>奋斗</strong>，终于成为一位能征善战的将军。\r\n\r\n2) 后来，人们就用“乘风破浪”来形容不怕困难，奋勇前进的精神。\r\n\r\nSee the <a href=\"https://zhidao.baidu.com/question/130604310.html\" target=\"_blank\">source</a>.\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n\r\n1) In ancient times, during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, there was a general of the Song State, whose surname was Zong, and whose family name Que. Even as a child he was brave and full of ambition. One day, Zong Que\'s uncle asked him about his aspirations, to which Zong Que replied, \"I will ride the long wind, and brave 10,000 waves.\" By this he meant: \"I will undoubtedly break through any obstructions, bravely forging ahead in a given undertaking.\" Zong Que underwent rigorous training, assiduously struggling on, finally becoming a skillful general. \r\n\r\n2) Later, people used the term \"Ride the wind and brave the waves\" to describe a spirit unafraid of meeting difficulty, one which plows ahead with courage and energy.      \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Idioms] 乘风破浪 - Bravery & Courage', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'chinese-idioms-%e4%b9%98%e9%a3%8e%e7%a0%b4%e6%b5%aa-bravery-courage', '', '', '2017-01-21 07:37:32', '2017-01-21 12:37:32', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1779', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1780, 1, '2016-10-31 04:43:32', '2016-10-31 08:43:32', '古代南北朝的时候，宋国有位将军姓宗名悫，他从小就很勇敢，也很有抱负。有一天，宗悫的叔父问他有什么志向，宗悫回答道：“愿乘长风，破万里浪。”意思是：我一定要突破一切障碍，勇往直前，干一番事业。宗悫经过勤学苦练，努力奋斗，终于成为一位能征善战的将军。\r\n\r\n后来，人们就用“乘风破浪”来形容不怕困难，奋勇前进的精神\r\n\r\nhttps://zhidao.baidu.com/question/130604310.html', '[Chinese Idiom] 乘风破浪 - Bravery & Courage', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1779-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 04:43:32', '2016-10-31 08:43:32', '', 1779, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1779-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1781, 1, '2017-01-13 03:20:52', '2017-01-13 08:20:52', 'Oh man, I dated this guy. Big dreams, no follow-through. Lots of watching CSI while speculating about how much money he was going to make with the project he\'d never get around to actually launching. You know what that guy was doing? He was 守株待兔 [pinyin]shou3 zhu1 dai4 tu4[/pinyin], or more cryptically, \"guarding a tree stump waiting for rabbits\". \r\n\r\n<h3>Usage Examples</h3>\r\n\r\n<ol>\r\n<li>我们要积极创造机会，而不是只会守株待兔而已。 - We have to actively create opportunities, otherwise we\'re just sitting around waiting for a stroke of luck.</li>\r\n<li>一分耕耘一分收穫，守株待兔终究不可靠。 - You reap what you sow, passively waiting for a lucky break is an unreliable strategy in the end.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n\r\nAs outlined in the first sentence of the text, this story takes place during the Warring States period (475 and 221 BC), a 250-year mess which was finally kind of resolved when legendary emperor Qin Shihuang (秦始皇) whipped everyone\'s butt and unified China for the first time. While he was doing that, on the other hand, the protagonist in our story here was farming. And then giving up farming for a career in sitting down. \r\n\r\n<h3>Pay attention to...</h3>\r\n<strong>不偏不倚 [pinyin]bu4 pian1 bu4 yi3[/pinyin] - Smack-dab</strong>\r\nIf you nab the definition directly out of the dictionary, this word makes zero sense. It translates as \"impartial\" or \"unbiased\", but in this case, it means \"straight\" or \"smack-dab\", as in \"He ran smack-dab into the door-frame\". \r\n\r\n<strong>日出而作，日入而息 - [pinyin]ri4 chu1 er zuo, ru4 ru4 er4 xi1[/pinyin]</strong>\r\nThis structure, specifically the way the character 而 is used, draws a little on ancient Chinese grammar. 而 has a ton of meanings. In this case, it connects what is done with the manner in which it is done. The manner in which something is done comes first. So 作 (do / go out) is what is done, and 日出 (when the sun comes out) is how or when it is done. 息 (rest) is what is done, and 日入 (when the sun recedes) is how or when it is done. \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n1) 相传在战国时代宋国，有一个农民，<strong>日出而作，日入而息</strong>．遇到好年景，也不过刚刚吃饱穿暖；一遇灾荒，可就要忍饥挨饿了．他想改善生活，但他太懒，胆子又特小，干什么都是又懒又怕，总想碰到送上门来的意外之财。\r\n\r\n2) 奇迹终于发生了。深秋的一天，他正在田里耕地，周围有人在打猎。吆喝之声四处起伏，受惊的小野兽没命的奔跑。突然，有一只兔子，<strong>不偏不倚</strong>，一头撞死在他田边的树根上。\r\n\r\n3) 当天，他美美地饱餐了一顿。从此，他便不再种地。一天到晚，守着那神奇的树根，等着奇迹的出现。\r\n\r\nSee the <a href=\"http://cy.5156edu.com/showzip.php?id=18359\" target=\"_blank\">source</a>.\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n\r\n1) Legend has it that during the Warring States period in the State of Song, there was a farmer who toiled every day from sunrise to sunset. Even in times of plenty, he was still only barely able to eat well and dress warmly; when times of famine came, he invariably went hungry. He wanted to change his life, but he was too lazy, and not particularly brave, and being always slack and afraid, was always hoping wealth would arrive at his door by chance. \r\n\r\n2) A miracle finally happened. One day in the depths of autumn, as he was plowing in the fields, there was someone hunting near by. The cries of the hunters sounded from all sides, and startled little beasts went running in desperation. Suddenly, one little hare ran smack-dab into a tree stump in the middle of the field and died. \r\n\r\n3) That day, the farmer joyously ate his fill. From then on, he never tended another field. From morning until night, he sat guarding that magical tree stump, waiting for miracles. \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Idiom] 守株待兔 - To sit around waiting for a lucky break', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'chinese-idiom-%e5%ae%88%e6%a0%aa%e5%be%85%e5%85%94-to-sit-around-waiting-for-a-lucky-break', '', '', '2017-01-13 03:20:52', '2017-01-13 08:20:52', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1781', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1782, 1, '2016-10-31 04:52:50', '2016-10-31 08:52:50', '　相传在战国时代宋国，有一个农民，日出而作，日入而息．遇到好年景，也不过刚刚吃饱穿暖；一遇灾荒，可就要忍饥挨饿了．他想改善生活，但他太懒，胆子又特小，干什么都是又懒又怕，总想碰到送上门来的意外之财。\r\n　　奇迹终于发生了。深秋的一天，他正在田里耕地，周围有人在打猎。吆喝之声四处起伏，受惊的小野兽没命的奔跑。突然，有一只兔子，不偏不倚，一头撞死在他田边的树根上。\r\n　　当天，他美美地饱餐了一顿。\r\n　　从此，他便不再种地。一天到晚，守着那神奇的树根，等着奇迹的出现。\r\n　　【释读】\r\n　　成语“守株待兔”，比喻亡想不劳而得，或死守狭隘的经验，不知变通。', '[Chinese Idiom] 守株待兔 - To sit around waiting for a lucky break', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1781-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 04:52:50', '2016-10-31 08:52:50', '', 1781, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1781-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1784, 1, '2016-10-31 04:53:20', '2016-10-31 08:53:20', '　相传在战国时代宋国，有一个农民，日出而作，日入而息．遇到好年景，也不过刚刚吃饱穿暖；一遇灾荒，可就要忍饥挨饿了．他想改善生活，但他太懒，胆子又特小，干什么都是又懒又怕，总想碰到送上门来的意外之财。\r\n　　奇迹终于发生了。深秋的一天，他正在田里耕地，周围有人在打猎。吆喝之声四处起伏，受惊的小野兽没命的奔跑。突然，有一只兔子，不偏不倚，一头撞死在他田边的树根上。\r\n　　当天，他美美地饱餐了一顿。\r\n　　从此，他便不再种地。一天到晚，守着那神奇的树根，等着奇迹的出现。\r\n　　【释读】\r\n　　成语“守株待兔”，比喻亡想不劳而得，或死守狭隘的经验，不知变通。\r\n\r\nhttp://cy.5156edu.com/showzip.php?id=18359', '[Chinese Idiom] 守株待兔 - To sit around waiting for a lucky break', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1781-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 04:53:20', '2016-10-31 08:53:20', '', 1781, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1781-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1785, 1, '2017-01-13 03:50:58', '2017-01-13 08:50:58', 'Ever gotten so distracted by trivialities that you missed the core issue? Haven\'t we all. 买椟还珠 [pinyin]mai3 du2 huan2 zhu1[/pinyin] means \"to trade the pearl for the box it came in\". Which\'ll make more sense after you read it, I swear. \r\n\r\n<h3>Usage Examples</h3>\r\n\r\n<ol>\r\n<li>学习上我们要有主次之分，千万不能买椟还珠。 - In our studies we must distinguish between primary and secondary, we certainly mustn\'t trade the pearl for the box it came in.</li>\r\n</ol>\r\n\r\n<h3>Pay attention to...</h3>\r\n<strong>动脑筋 [pinyin]ding4 nao3 jin1[/pinyin] - Use your brains</strong>\r\nYes, do. \r\n\r\n<strong>身份 - [pinyin]shen4 fen4[/pinyin]</strong>\r\n身份 translates directly as \"identity\", in both the abstract and practical senses. In modern Chinese, \"身份证\" is your \"ID Card\", for example. But in this case, the English word \"identity\" doesn\'t translate well. \r\n\r\n<h3>His (Dark?) Materials</h3>\r\nA couple of the words in this text don\'t appear in the dictionary, or if they do, the definitions don\'t make a ton of sense. 木兰 [pinyin]mu4 lan2[/pinyin], for one example. 桂椒香料 [pinyin]gui4 jiao1 xiang1 liao4[/pinyin] for another. \r\n\r\nThe most basic definition of 木兰 is a flower - magnolia, if we\'re splitting hairs. This is also the given name of 花木兰, the Chinese warrior princess of Disney movie fame (originally a <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hua_Mulan\" target=\"_blank\">poem</a> from the Northern Dynasties). We can assume here that this box was made from magnolia wood. 桂椒香料 uses the characters for \"cinnamon\" and \"pepper\" to make a general reference to fragrant, top-shelf spices. \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n1) 一个楚国人，他有一颗漂亮的珍珠，他打算把这颗珍珠卖出去。为了卖个好价钱，他便<strong>动脑筋</strong>要将珍珠好好包装一下，他觉得有了高贵的包装，那么珍珠的“<strong>身份</strong>”就自然会高起来。\r\n\r\n2) 这个楚国人找来名贵的<strong>木兰</strong>，又请来手艺高超的匠人，为珍珠做了一个盒子（即椟），用<strong>桂椒香料</strong>把盒子熏得香气扑鼻。然后，在盒子的外面精雕细刻了许多好看的花纹，还镶上漂亮的金属花边，看上去，闪闪发亮，实在是一件精致美观的工艺品。 \r\n\r\n3) 这样，楚人将珍珠小心翼翼地放进盒子里，拿到市场上去卖。\r\n\r\n4) 到市场上不久，很多人都围上来欣赏楚人的盒子。一个郑国人将盒子拿在手里看了半天，爱不释手，终于出高价将楚人的盒子买了下来。郑人交过钱后，便拿着盒子往回走。可是没走几步他又回来了。楚人以为郑人后悔了要退货，没等楚人想完，郑人已走到楚人跟前。只见郑人将打开的盒子里的珍珠取出来交给楚人说：“先生，您将一颗珍珠忘放在盒子里了，我特意回来还珠子的。”于是郑人将珍珠交给了楚人，然后低着头一边欣赏着木盒子，一边往回走去。\r\n\r\n5) 楚人拿着被退回的珍珠，十分尴尬地站在那里。他原本以为别人会欣赏他的珍珠，可是没想到精美的外包装超过了包装盒内的价值，以致于“喧宾夺主”，令楚人哭笑不得。\r\n\r\n6) 郑人只重外表而不顾实质，使他做出了舍本求末的不当取舍；而楚人的“过分包装”也有些可笑。\r\n\r\nSee the <a href=\"http://cy.5156edu.com/showzip.php?id=18359\" target=\"_blank\">source</a>.\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n\r\n1) There was a man from the State of Chu, who had a beautiful pearl, which he decided to sell. In order to sell it for a good price, he went all-out packaging it up well, so that the pearl\'s value seemed naturally increased.\r\n\r\n2) This man of Chu called for rare magnolia wood and invited highly skilled craftsmen in order to make a box for the pearl, smoking the box with the finest spices to tickle the nose. Then, on the outside of the box he engraved many lovely patterns inlayed in metal so that it sparkled before one\'s eyes, truly an exquisitely-wraught work of art.\r\n\r\n3) Just so, the man from Chu carefully placed the pearl inside the box, and went off to market to conduct the sale. \r\n\r\n4) Not long after he reached the market, many people gathered around to admire the Man from Chu\'s box. One man from the State of Zheng held it in his hand and examined it for what seemed like half the day, unable to put it down, and finally bought it for a steep price. After the man from Zheng had paid, he walked away carrying it. But he hadn\'t gone but a few steps before he headed back [towards the man from Chu] again. The man from Chu thought the man from Zheng regretted his purchase and wished to return it, but before he\'d had time to think it through, the man from Zheng was already standing before him. The man from Zheng opened the box, took out the pearl and held it out to him, saying, \"Sir, you forgot a jewel inside this box, I came with the particular purpose of returning it.\" And so the man from Zheng gave the pearl back to the man from Chu, then strolled away, head down, admiring the wooden box. \r\n\r\n5) The man from Chu took the returned pearl, and stood there looking rather embarrassed. He\'d thought other would admire his pearl, but he never thought the fine packaging might exceed the value of what was inside, to the extent that \"the voice of the guest was louder than the voice of the host\", and he wasn\'t sure whether to laugh or cry.  \r\n\r\n6) The man from Zheng looked at the outer appearance and didn\'t see the true value, causing him to make a choice that placed importance on inessential details rather than on the central issue, and the man from Chu\'s excessive packaging was also a bit ridiculous. \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Idioms] 买椟还珠 - To show poor judgement', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'chinese-idioms-%e4%b9%b0%e6%a4%9f%e8%bf%98%e7%8f%a0-to-show-poor-judgement', '', '', '2017-01-13 03:50:58', '2017-01-13 08:50:58', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1785', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1786, 1, '2016-10-31 04:54:49', '2016-10-31 08:54:49', '【典故】\r\n　　一个楚国人，他有一颗漂亮的珍珠，他打算把这颗珍珠卖出去。为了卖个好价钱，他便动脑筋要将珍珠好好包装一下，他觉得有了高贵的包装，那么珍珠的“身份”就自然会高起来。\r\n　　这个楚国人找来名贵的木兰，又请来手艺高超的匠人，为珍珠做了一个盒子（即椟），用桂椒香料把盒子熏得香气扑鼻。然后，在盒子的外面精雕细刻了许多好看的花纹，还镶上漂亮的金属花边，看上去，闪闪发亮，实在是一件精致美观的工艺品。 \r\n这样，楚人将珍珠小心翼翼地放进盒子里，拿到市场上去卖。\r\n　　到市场上不久，很多人都围上来欣赏楚人的盒子。一个郑国人将盒子拿在手里看了半天，爱不释手，终于出高价将楚人的盒子买了下来。郑人交过钱后，便拿着盒子往回走。可是没走几步他又回来了。楚人以为郑人后悔了要退货，没等楚人想完，郑人已走到楚人跟前。只见郑人将打开的盒子里的珍珠取出来交给楚人说：“先生，您将一颗珍珠忘放在盒子里了，我特意回来还珠子的。”于是郑人将珍珠交给了楚人，然后低着头一边欣赏着木盒子，一边往回走去。\r\n　　楚人拿着被退回的珍珠，十分尴尬地站在那里。他原本以为别人会欣赏他的珍珠，可是没想到精美的外包装超过了包装盒内的价值，以致于“喧宾夺主”，令楚人哭笑不得。\r\n　　【释读】\r\n　　郑人只重外表而不顾实质，使他做出了舍本求末的不当取舍；而楚人的“过分包装”也有些可笑。\r\n\r\nhttp://cy.5156edu.com/showzip.php?id=18359', '[Chinese Idiom] 买椟还珠 - To show poor judgement', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1785-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 04:54:49', '2016-10-31 08:54:49', '', 1785, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1785-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(1787, 1, '2017-01-09 00:22:49', '2017-01-09 05:22:49', 'Ever forget the words to your national anthem, so you stand there moving your mouth around so no one can tell you\'re not really singing? That\'s 滥竽充数 right there, my friend.<!--more-->\r\n \r\nLet\'s take a look at the character breakdown we\'ve got here: \r\n\r\n[pinyin]lan4[/pinyin] - Indiscriminately (without qualification)\r\n[pinyin]yu2[/pinyin] - An ancient wind instrument\r\n[pinyin]chong1[/pinyin] - To fill in for, to fill out\r\n[pinyin]shu4[/pinyin] - Numbers\r\n\r\nTaken together, the idiom means \"to be a faker hiding amongst people with actual talent.\" Why these four characters? Doesn\'t really make a lot of sense until you read the story, but you\'ll get it afterwards. I don\'t wanna spoil the read, just like, have a look. \r\n\r\n<h3>Usage Examples</h3>\r\nYou\'ll often hear this idiom used as a way to politely make less of one\'s own talents, or to humbly respond to flattery. In English, 滥竽充数 might crop up in a conversation like these:\r\n\r\nA: You\'re really great at your job. \r\nB: Not at all, I\'m just <strong>a talentless hack concealed amongst masters</strong>. \r\n\r\nOr \r\n\r\nA: That guy sure can play ball. \r\nB: Please, he\'s just there to <strong>fill out the team</strong>.  \r\n\r\nHere are some example usages in Chinese:\r\n\r\n老师让我们背诵课文，总有些同学滥竽充数。\r\n<em>\"The teacher asked us to recite the text, but there\'s always some students pretending to mouth along with the rest of us.\"</em>\r\n\r\n我从来不滥竽充数，总是认认真真做事。\r\n<em>I\'ve never just dialed it in, I always diligently handle my affairs. </em>\r\n\r\n<h3>竽 － Reed organs for [pinyin]yu2[/pinyin] and me</h3>\r\nSooo, they had a lot of weird musical instruments in ancient China. This one, the [pinyin]yu2[/pinyin], was kind of like a set of panpipes. \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text:</h3>\r\n1) 据《韩非子》记载，齐宣王爱听吹竽，又好<strong>讲排场</strong>。为他吹竽的就有三百人。他常常叫这三百人一起吹竽给他听。有个南郭先生，根本就不会吹竽，看到这个机会，就到齐宣王那里去，请求参加这个吹竽队。齐宣王就把他编在吹竽队里，并且给他很高的薪水。这位根本不会吹竽的南郭先生，每逢吹竽，就混在队里，拿着竽装腔作势。这样一天天混过去，不曾被人发现。\r\n\r\n2) 等到齐宣王死了，齐泯王接替王位。他和齐宣王不同，不喜欢听大家一起吹竽，而是喜欢叫吹竽的人一个一个地来吹给他听。南郭先生听到这个消息，只好逃之夭夭，不敢再冒充吹竽人了。\r\n\r\n3)【释读】\r\n\r\n4) 西方谚语说，你可以在某时欺骗某一些人，却不能一直欺骗所有的人。南郭先生不会吹竽硬装做会吹竽，终有露出马脚之时。\r\n　　\r\n<a href=\"http://www.hzqsn.com/html/main/cygsview/20070710116407.html\" target=\"_blank\">See the source</a>\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n1) As recorded in the \"Han Feizi\", King Xuan of Qi loved to listen to the <em>yu</em>, and enjoyed a good show of ostentation. 300 people played the <em>yu</em> for him. He often called for these 300 people to play together for his listening enjoyment. [Amongst them] was a Mr. Nanguo, who couldn\'t play the yu at all, but he saw an opportunity, and went to the king asking to be allowed to play yu with the group. The king placed him in with the <em>yu</em> players, and gave him a high salary. So this Mr. Nanguo who couldn\'t play the <em>yu</em> at all, whenever he was made to perform, simply mixed in with the group and pretended to play along. This way the days passed, and no one found him out. \r\n\r\n2) One day King Xuan of Qi died, and King Min of Qi succeeded him on the throne. Unlike King Xuan, King Qi didn\'t like to listen to everyone playing the yu at the same time, but rather preferred to hear players perform one by one. Mr. Nanguo heard this news, and had no choice but to make a getaway, not daring to keep posing at a <em>yu</em> player.  \r\n\r\n3)【Explanation of the Reading】\r\n\r\n4) A western proverb states, \"you can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can\'t fool all the people all of the time\". Mr. Nanguo couldn\'t play the <em>yu</em> but pretended to do so, and was unmasked in the end. \r\n　　\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]\r\n', '[Chinese Idioms] 滥竽充数 - A Talentless Hack Hiding Amongst Masters', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'chinese-idioms-%e6%bb%a5%e7%ab%bd%e5%85%85%e6%95%b0-a-talentless-hack-hiding-amongst-masters', '', '', '2017-01-10 02:28:03', '2017-01-10 07:28:03', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1787', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1788, 1, '2016-10-31 04:56:35', '2016-10-31 08:56:35', '　【典故】\r\n　　据《韩非子》记载，齐宣王爱听吹竽，又好讲排场。为他吹竽的就有三百人。他常常叫这三百人一齐吹竽给他听。有个南郭先生，根本就不会吹竽，看到这个机会，就到齐宣王那里去，请求参加这个吹竽队。齐宣王就把他编在吹竽队里，并且给他很高的薪水。这位根本不会吹竽的南郭先生，每逢吹竽，就混在队里，拿着竽装腔作势。这样一天天混过去，不曾被人发现。\r\n　　等到齐宣王死了，齐泯王接替王位。他和齐宣王不同，不喜欢听大家一起吹竽，而是喜欢叫吹竽的人一个一个地来吹给他听。南郭先生听到这个消息，只好逃之夭夭，不敢再冒充吹竽人了。\r\n　　【释读】\r\n　　西方谚语说，你可以在某时欺骗某一些人，却不能一直欺骗所有的人。南郭先生不会吹竽硬装做会吹竽，终有露出马脚之时。\r\n　　这个故事也说明南郭先生不善于运用良好的学习条件。在齐宣王300人的吹竽队里，与其他299名乐师相处，学习资源还算丰富。但他没有意识到这一点，满足于滥竽充数，自欺欺人，只能落个逃之夭夭的下场。\r\n', '[Chinese Idiom] 滥竽充数 - Being a poser', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1787-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 04:56:35', '2016-10-31 08:56:35', '', 1787, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1787-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1790, 1, '2017-01-08 03:45:02', '2017-01-08 08:45:02', 'Absolute silliness: this har-har kid\'s joke features talking animals and a zoo manager that should probably be fired. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<h3>Grammar: 将... 由... 到...</h3>\r\nIn the first paragraph there, we get a slightly complex grammatical structure in this sentence: \r\n\r\n所以他们决定将笼子的高度由原来的10米加高到20米。\r\n\r\nNow, I don\'t know if real grammarians would explain it this way, but for me, three key characters link this sentence together, and once we decipher those, the whole thing makes sense. I\'m highlighting those words in Chinese first, then highlighting the corresponding words in the English translation: \r\n\r\nChinese: 所以他们决定<strong>将</strong>笼子的高度<strong>由</strong>原来的10米加高<strong>到</strong>20米。\r\n\r\nEnglish: So they decided to <strong>take</strong> the cage <strong>from</strong> its original height of 10 meters and increase it <strong>to</strong> 20 meters.\r\n\r\nSee? These three characters link the sentence together - we \"take\" (将) something \"from\" (由) one state \"to\" (到) another. Now, this \"take\" isn\'t the same as 拿 [pinyin]na2[/pinyin], where we actually pick something up with our fingers (though 将 can be used that way). This is more of a figurative \"take\". \r\n\r\nIn this sentence, 由 serves the same purpose as the slightly more familiar 从 [pinyin]cong2[/pinyin]. \r\n\r\nGo straight to the <a href=\"hhttp://www.xuexila.com/success/story/6873.html\" target=\"_blank\">source</a>.\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text:</h3>\r\n1) 一天动物园管理员发现袋鼠从笼子里跑出来了，于是开会讨论，一致认为是笼子的高度过低。所以他们决定将笼子的高度由原来的10米加高到20米。结果第二天他们发现袋鼠还是跑到外面来，所以他们又决定再将高度加高到30米。\r\n\r\n2) 没想到隔天居然又看到袋鼠全跑到外面，于是管理员们大为紧张，决定一不做二不休，将笼子的高度加高到100米。\r\n\r\n3) 一天长颈鹿和几只袋鼠们在闲聊。\r\n\r\n4) \"你们看，这些人会不会再继续加高你们的笼子？长颈鹿问。\r\n\r\n5) 袋鼠说∶“很难说。如果他们再继续忘记关门的话!\"\r\n \r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n1) One day, the manager of the zoo discovered that the kangaroo had run out of his cage, so he called a meeting to discuss it, and everyone unanimously agreed that the height of the cage was too low. So they decided to take the cage from its original height of 10 meters and increase it to 20 meters. But on the second day they found that the kangaroo had gotten out again, so they decided to once again increase the height to 30 meters. \r\n\r\n2) Would know know it, but on the next day, to everyone\'s surprise, they once again saw that the kangaroos had all gotten out, so the zoo manager became quite anxious, and decided to go all out, raising the height of the cage to 100 meters.   \r\n\r\n3) One day the giraffes and several kangaroos were having a leisurely chat. \r\n\r\n4) \"Look here fellas, you think these folks are going to raise the height of the cage again?\" asked a giraffe. \r\n\r\n5) A kangaroo answered, \"Hard to say. Probably will if they keep leaving the cage door open!\" \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]\r\n\r\n\r\n 　   \r\n\r\n', '[Chinese Jokes] 袋鼠与笼子 - The Kangaroo and the Cage', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'chinese-jokes-%e8%a2%8b%e9%bc%a0%e4%b8%8e%e7%ac%bc%e5%ad%90-the-kangaroo-and-the-cage', '', '', '2017-01-08 03:45:02', '2017-01-08 08:45:02', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1790', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1791, 1, '2016-10-31 05:53:45', '2016-10-31 09:53:45', '\r\n\r\n   一天动物园管理员发现袋鼠从笼子里跑出来了，于是开会讨论，一致认为是笼子的高度过低。所以他们决定将笼子的高度由原来的10米加高到20米。结果第二天他们发现袋鼠还是跑到外面来，所以他们又决定再将高度加高到30米。\r\n\r\n   没想到隔天居然又看到袋鼠全跑到外面，于是管理员们大为紧张，决定一不做二不休，将笼子的高度加高到100米。\r\n\r\n   一天长颈鹿和几只袋鼠们在闲聊，“你们看，这些人会不会再继续加高你们的笼子？长颈鹿问。“很难说。袋鼠说∶“如果他们再继续忘记关门的话！', '[Short Story] 袋鼠与笼子 - The Kangaroo and the Cage', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1790-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 05:53:45', '2016-10-31 09:53:45', '', 1790, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1790-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1792, 1, '2017-01-09 08:35:58', '2017-01-09 13:35:58', 'Tackling green recruits that are standing in the line of fire is listed as an absolute must on Time Out China\'s \"Top 10 Things to do in the Heat of Battle\". <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<h3>Martial vocab</h3>\r\nWe pick up some battle-stations vocab in this paragraph, namely: \r\n<ul>\r\n<li>战斗 [pinyin]zhan4 dou4[/pinyin] - fight, combat</li>\r\n<li>上尉 [pinyin]shang4 wei4[/pinyin] - captain</li>\r\n<li>敌机 [pinyin]di4 ji1[/pinyin] - enemy plane</li>\r\n<li>战士 [pinyin]zhan4 shi4[/pinyin] - soldier</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n\r\nWe\'ve also got a bit of a rough sentence in there at the end. I\'ve highlighted what I believe are the hard bits: \r\n\r\n他<strong>顾不上</strong>多想，<strong>一个鱼跃飞身</strong>将小战士紧紧地压在了身下。\r\n\r\nThe first part, 顾不上, means to not have the resources to attend to something. In this sentence, the resource that we don\'t have is \"time\", though the word \"time\" never explicitly appears. The second part, 一个鱼跃飞身, is a lively description of how the captain jumps towards the soldier. How does he jump? He flies like a fish leaping out of the water, his body, we can presume, horizontal in the air, parallel to the ground. So this sentence might read as:\r\n\r\n<em>He didn\'t have time to think, but leapt into the air like a fish flying straight at the young soldier and pressed him tightly beneath his body.</em>\r\n\r\nReady? Cool, let\'s read.\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text:</h3>\r\n1) 在一场激烈的<strong>战斗</strong>中，<strong>上尉</strong>忽然发现一架<strong>敌机</strong>向阵地俯冲下来。照常理，发现敌机俯冲时要毫不犹豫地卧倒。可上尉并没有立刻卧倒，他发现离他四五米远处有一个小<strong>战士</strong>还站在那儿。他顾不上多想，一个鱼跃飞身将小战士紧紧地压在了身下。此时一声巨响，飞溅起来的泥土纷纷落在他们的身上。上尉拍拍身上的尘土，回头一看，顿时惊呆了：刚才自己所处的那个位置被炸成了一个大坑。\r\n\r\n2)【小故事大道理】：在帮助别人的同时也帮助了自己！ \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://zhidao.baidu.com/question/430979909812804364.html\" target=\"_blank\">See source</a>\r\n\r\n \r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n1) In the middle of an intense battle, a captain noticed an enemy plane swooping down upon his position. According to common sense, when you see an enemy plan swooping down on you, you should throw yourself flat without hesitation. But the captain didn\'t immediately lie down, as he saw that 4 or 5 meters away from him a young soldier was still just standing there. He didn\'t have time to think, but leapt into the air like a fish flying straight at the young soldier and pressed him tightly beneath his body. Just then there was a tremendously loud sound, and flying droplets of mud fell all over them. When the captain brushed the dust off himself, he looked back, and was immediately dumbstruck: the spot where he\'d just been [standing] had exploded and had become [nothing more than] a big hole [in the ground].  \r\n\r\n2)【The big moral of this little story】：When you help others, you simultaneously help yourself! \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]\r\n', '[Chinese Short Story] 救人 - When you help others, you also help yourself', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'chinese-short-story-%e6%95%91%e4%ba%ba-when-you-help-others-you-also-help-yourself', '', '', '2017-01-15 04:06:25', '2017-01-15 09:06:25', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1792', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1793, 1, '2016-10-31 06:03:20', '2016-10-31 10:03:20', '救人\r\n\r\n     在一场激烈的战斗中，上尉忽然发现一架敌机向阵地俯冲下来。照常理，发现敌机俯冲时要毫不犹豫地卧倒。可上尉并没有立刻卧倒，他发现离他四五米远处有一个小战士还站在哪儿。他顾不上多想，一个鱼跃飞身将小战士紧紧地压在了身下。此时一声巨响，飞溅起来的泥土纷纷落在他们的身上。上尉拍拍身上的尘土，回头一看，顿时惊呆了：刚才自己所处的那个位置被炸成了一个大坑。\r\n\r\n    【100字小故事大道理】：在帮助别人的同时也帮助了自己！ ', '[Short Story] 救人 - Help others, help yourself', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1792-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 06:03:20', '2016-10-31 10:03:20', '', 1792, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1792-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1794, 1, '2017-03-06 00:22:53', '2017-03-06 05:22:53', 'Teaching is all about walking that fine line between guiding students around pitfalls while letting them make enough of their own mistakes that the lesson sticks. Try telling that to this fisherman, though. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<h3>被...称为... - [pinyin]bei4 ... cheng4 wei2...[/pinyin]</h3>\r\nIn the first sentence, we see the emergence of this pretty common word group. 被, as we know, means \"by\", as in \"I was slapped in the face <strong>被</strong> a ginormous fish.\" 称, in this context, means \"to be called\" or \"to be named\", and 为 means \"as\". \r\n\r\nTaken together, this word group means \"To be called ... by ...\", except that in Chinese, the \"by...\" bit comes first. For example: \r\n\r\n我的想法<strong>被</strong>大家<strong>称为</strong>异想天开。\r\n<em>\"Everyone called my idea a wild fantasy.\" / \"My idea was called a wild fantasy by everyone.\"</em>\r\n\r\n她<strong>被</strong>老师<strong>称为</strong>得力助手的小女孩。\r\n<em>\"The teacher called her a capable assistant.\" / \"She was called a capable assistant by the teacher.\"</em>\r\n\r\nMake sense? Cool. On with the story.\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text:</h3>\r\n1) 有个渔人有着一流的捕鱼技术，被人们尊称为‘渔王’。然而‘渔王’年老的时候非常苦恼，因为他的三个儿子的渔技都很平庸。\r\n\r\n2) 于是经常向人诉说心中的苦恼：“我真不明白，我捕鱼的技术这么好，我的儿子们为什么这么差？我从他们懂事起就传授捕鱼技术给他们，从最基本的东西教起，告诉他们怎样织网最容易捕捉到鱼，怎样划船最不会惊动鱼，怎样下网最容易请鱼入瓮。他们长大了，我又教他们怎样识潮汐，等等。。。凡是我长年辛辛苦苦总结出来的经验，我都毫无保留地传授给了他们，可他们的捕鱼技术竟然赶不上技术比我差的渔民的儿子！”\r\n\r\n3) 一位路人听了他的诉说后，问：“你一直手把手地教他们吗？”\r\n\r\n4) “是的，为了让他们得到一流的捕鱼技术，我教得很仔细很耐心。”\r\n\r\n5) “他们一直跟随着你吗？”\r\n\r\n6) “是的，为了让他们少走弯路，我一直让他们跟着我学。”\r\n\r\n7) 路人说：“这样说来，你的错误就很明显了。你只传授给了他们技术，却没传授给他们教训。\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://zhidao.baidu.com/question/177933022648653564.html\" target=\"_blank\">See the source</a></div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n1) There once was a fisherman who possessed consummate skill in catching fish, and everyone respectfully called him \"Fisher King\". However, as the \"Fisher King\" got on in years he was quite vexed, because his three sons were very mediocre at fishing.\r\n\r\n2) So he often told others of the troubles in his heart: \"I just don\'t understand, my fishing skills are this good, why are my sons\' skills so poor? As soon as they were old enough to understand I began imparting these skills to them, starting from the most basic things, I told them how to weave next to catch fish with the most ease, how to row your boat so that the fish are not startled, how to lower the net so as to best entice fish in. As they grew older, I also taught them how to read the tides, and more... all this is the experience I attained through long years of hard work, I imparted this to them in full, but surprisingly their skills are no match for the sons of fisherman who are less skilled than I!\" \r\n\r\n3) One traveller heard him speak and asked: \"You\'ve always handheld them through your teachings?\"  \r\n\r\n4) \"That\'s right, so that they might achieve consummate skill, I taught them thoroughly and patiently.\" \r\n\r\n5) \"And they\'ve always followed you?\"\r\n\r\n6) \"That\'s right, so that they would take fewer wrong turns, they\'ve always studied at my side.\"\r\n\r\n7) The traveller said: \"From what you say, your mistake is very evident. You only imparted skills to them, but you didn\'t teach them any real lessons.\" \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]\r\n\r\n', '[Chinese Fable] 鱼王的儿子 - The Fisherman\'s Sons', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'chinese-fable-%e9%b1%bc%e7%8e%8b%e7%9a%84%e5%84%bf%e5%ad%90-the-fishermans-sons', '', '', '2017-01-10 00:52:25', '2017-01-10 05:52:25', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1794', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1795, 1, '2016-10-31 06:09:20', '2016-10-31 10:09:20', '\r\n\r\n   有个渔人有着一流的捕鱼技术，被人们尊称为‘渔王’。然而‘渔王’年老的时候非常苦恼，因为他的三个儿子的渔技都很平庸。\r\n   于是个经常向人诉说心中的苦恼：“我真不明白，我捕鱼的技术这么好，我的儿子们为什么这么差？我从他们懂事起就传授捕鱼技术给他们，从最基本的东西教起，告诉他们怎样织网最容易捕捉到鱼，怎样划船最不会惊动鱼，怎样下网最容易请鱼入瓮。他们长大了，我又教他们怎样识潮汐，辨鱼汛。。。凡是我长年辛辛苦苦总结出来的经验，我都毫无保留地传授给了他们，可他们的捕鱼技术竟然赶不上技术比我差的渔民的儿子！”\r\n\r\n   一位路人听了他的诉说后，问：“你一直手把手地教他们吗？”\r\n   “是的，为了让他们得到一流的捕鱼技术，我教得很仔细很耐心。”\r\n   “他们一直跟随着你吗？”\r\n   “是的，为了让他们少走弯路，我一直让他们跟着我学。”\r\n   路人说：“这样说来，你的错误就很明显了。你只传授给了他们技术，却没传授给他们教训。\r\n\r\n 【经典故事心得】：对于才能来说，没有教训与没有经验一样，都不能使人成大器！', '[Fable] 鱼王的儿子 - The Fisherman\'s Sons', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1794-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 06:09:20', '2016-10-31 10:09:20', '', 1794, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1794-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1796, 1, '2016-10-31 06:10:23', '2016-10-31 10:10:23', '\r\n   一天动物园管理员发现袋鼠从笼子里跑出来了，于是开会讨论，一致认为是笼子的高度过低。所以他们决定将笼子的高度由原来的10米加高到20米。结果第二天他们发现袋鼠还是跑到外面来，所以他们又决定再将高度加高到30米。\r\n\r\n   没想到隔天居然又看到袋鼠全跑到外面，于是管理员们大为紧张，决定一不做二不休，将笼子的高度加高到100米。\r\n\r\n   一天长颈鹿和几只袋鼠们在闲聊，“你们看，这些人会不会再继续加高你们的笼子？长颈鹿问。“很难说。袋鼠说∶“如果他们再继续忘记关门的话！\"\r\n\r\nhttp://www.xuexila.com/success/story/6873.html', '[Short Story] 袋鼠与笼子 - The Kangaroo and the Cage', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1790-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 06:10:23', '2016-10-31 10:10:23', '', 1790, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1790-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1797, 1, '2017-02-27 08:00:09', '2017-02-27 13:00:09', 'Choices, choices. Choices don\'t always present themselves in the clearest terms, and they aren\'t necessarily fair. This tortured little piece represents one dude\'s introspection on the sad reality of choice. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<h3>纷纷 - [pinyin]fen1 fen1[/pinyin]</h3>\r\nThis word probably the most useful take-away here. It means \"one after the other\", or \"in quick succession\", but it\'s got a little bit of a messy overtone to it, like batches of things are happening around the same time. \r\n\r\nFor example, you could say, 落叶纷纷 [pinyin]luo4 ye4 fen1 fen1[/pinyin], meaning \"the leaves fell in profusion\". Leaves wouldn\'t fall off a tree in measured order, right? But they wouldn\'t all fall off in a synchronized bunch, either. They\'d kind of, you know, fall off generally around the same time, around the same season, some today, some tomorrow. Or you might also say, 同学们纷纷发言 - \"the students spoke up one after another\". \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text:</h3>\r\n1) 一个农民从洪水中救起了他的妻子，他的孩子却被淹死了。\r\n\r\n2) 事后，人们议论<strong>纷纷</strong>。有的说他做得对，因为孩子可以再生一个，妻子却不能死而复活。有的说他做错了，因为妻子可以另娶一个，孩子却不能死而复活。\r\n\r\n3) 我听了人们的议论，也感到疑惑难决：如果只能救活一人，究竟应该救妻子呢，还是救孩子?\r\n\r\n4) 于是我去拜访那个农民，问他当时是怎么想的。\r\n\r\n5) 他答道：“我什么也没想。洪水袭来，妻子在我身过，我抓住她就往附近的山坡游。当我返回时，孩子已经被洪水冲走了。”\r\n\r\n6) 归途上，我琢磨着农民的话，对自己说：如果当时这个农民稍有迟疑，可能一个都救不了；所谓人生的抉择不少便是如此。\r\n\r\n7)【经典小故事心得】：很多事情根本没有错与对，也容不得你去细想错与对，如果过于犹豫或过于在乎别人的想法，你可能什么事也做不成。\r\n\r\nGo straight to the <a href=\"http://www.ntdtv.com/xtr/gb/2015/09/20/a1162360.html\" target=\"_blank\">source</a>.\r\n \r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n1) A farmer saved his wife from a flood, but his child drowned. \r\n\r\n2) Afterwards, everyone offered up one opinion after another. Some said he did the right thing, since he could always have another child, but his wife couldn\'t be revived from the dead. Some said he did the wrong thing, because he could always marry again, but his child could never return. \r\n\r\n3) I listened to everyone\'s opinion, and felt myself at a loss: if only one person could be saved, should the wife be saved, or should the child be saved? \r\n\r\n4) So I went to visit the farmer, and asked him what he\'d been thinking at the time. \r\n\r\n5) He answered: \"I wasn\'t thinking anything. The flood rushed in unexpectedly, and my wife was by my side, so I grabbed her and swam for a nearby hill. When I went back, my child had already been swept away by the flood waters.\" \r\n\r\n6) On the road back, I was tormented by the farmer\'s words, and said to myself: if that farmer had hesitated, he might have been unable to save even one of them; so many of the so-called choices in our lives happen this way.\r\n\r\n7) Moral of the story: In many matters there is no right and wrong, and those matters don\'t lend themselves well to deeper consideration of right and wrong. If you hesitate too long or worry too much about the opinions of others, you may be unable to do anything at all. \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]\r\n\r\n\r\n 　', '[Short Story] 选择 - Choices', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'short-story-%e9%80%89%e6%8b%a9-choices', '', '', '2017-01-10 00:57:36', '2017-01-10 05:57:36', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1797', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1798, 1, '2016-10-31 09:33:17', '2016-10-31 13:33:17', ' 　　一个农民从洪水中救起了他的妻子，他的孩子却被淹死了。\r\n\r\n　　事后，人们议论纷纷。有的说他做得对，因为孩子可以再生一个，妻子却不能死而复活。有的说他做错了，因为妻子可以另娶一个，孩子却不能死而复活。\r\n\r\n　　我听了人们的议论，也感到疑惑难决：如果只能救活一人，究竟应该救妻子呢，还是救孩子?\r\n\r\n　　于是我去拜访那个农民，问他当时是怎么想的。\r\n\r\n　　他答道：“我什么也没想。洪水袭来，妻子在我身过，我抓住她就往附近的山坡游。当我返回时，孩子已经被洪水冲走了。”\r\n\r\n　　归途上，我琢磨着农民的话，对自己说：如果当时这个农民稍有迟疑，可能一个都救不了；所谓人生的抉择不少便是如此。\r\n\r\n　　【经典小故事心得】：很多事情根本没有错与对，也容不得你去细想错与对，如果过于犹豫或过于在乎别人的想法，你可能什么事也做不成。', '[Short Story] 选择 - Choices', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1797-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 09:33:17', '2016-10-31 13:33:17', '', 1797, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1797-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1799, 1, '2016-10-31 09:55:39', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '   两个旅行中的天使到一个富有的家庭借宿。这家人对他们并不友好，并且拒绝让他们在舒适的客人卧室过夜，而是在冰冷的地下室给他们找了一个角落。当他们铺床时，较老的天使发现墙上有一个洞，就顺手把它修补好了。年轻的天使问为什么，老天使答到：“有些事并不象它看上去那样。”\r\n\r\n    第二晚，两人又到了一个非常贫穷的农家借宿。主人夫妇俩对他们非常热情，把仅有的一点点食物拿出来款待客人，然后又让出自己的床铺给两个天使。第二天一早，两个天使发现农夫和他的妻子在哭泣，他们唯一的生活来源——一头奶牛死了。年轻的天使非常愤怒，他质问老天使为什么会这样，第一个家庭什么都有，老天使还帮助他们修补墙洞，第二个家庭尽管如此贫穷还是热情款待客人，而老天使却没有阻止奶牛的死亡。\r\n\r\n　“有些事并不象它看上去那样。老天使答道，“当我们在地下室过夜时，我从墙洞看到墙里面堆满了金块。因为主人被贪欲所迷惑，不愿意分享他的财富，所以我把墙洞填上了。昨天晚上，死亡之神来召唤农夫的妻子，我让奶牛代替了她。所以有些事并不象它看上去那样。', '[Short Story] 并不是你想象中那样 - Things aren\'t always what they seem', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-10-31 09:55:39', '2016-10-31 13:55:39', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1799', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1800, 1, '2016-10-31 09:54:47', '2016-10-31 13:54:47', '   两个旅行中的天使到一个富有的家庭借宿。这家人对他们并不友好，并且拒绝让他们在舒适的客人卧室过夜，而是在冰冷的地下室给他们找了一个角落。当他们铺床时，较老的天使发现墙上有一个洞，就顺手把它修补好了。年轻的天使问为什么，老天使答到：“有些事并不象它看上去那样。”\r\n\r\n    第二晚，两人又到了一个非常贫穷的农家借宿。主人夫妇俩对他们非常热情，把仅有的一点点食物拿出来款待客人，然后又让出自己的床铺给两个天使。第二天一早，两个天使发现农夫和他的妻子在哭泣，他们唯一的生活来源——一头奶牛死了。年轻的天使非常愤怒，他质问老天使为什么会这样，第一个家庭什么都有，老天使还帮助他们修补墙洞，第二个家庭尽管如此贫穷还是热情款待客人，而老天使却没有阻止奶牛的死亡。\r\n\r\n　“有些事并不象它看上去那样。老天使答道，“当我们在地下室过夜时，我从墙洞看到墙里面堆满了金块。因为主人被贪欲所迷惑，不愿意分享他的财富，所以我把墙洞填上了。昨天晚上，死亡之神来召唤农夫的妻子，我让奶牛代替了她。所以有些事并不象它看上去那样。', '[Short Story] 并不是你想象中那样 - Things aren\'t always what they seem', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1799-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 09:54:47', '2016-10-31 13:54:47', '', 1799, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1799-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1801, 1, '2016-10-31 10:21:40', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '     有个老太太坐在马路边望着不远处的一堵高墙，总觉得它马上就会倒塌，见有人向媾走过去，她就善意地提醒道：“那堵墙要倒了，远着点走吧。被提醒的人不解地看着她大模大样地顺着墙根走过去了——那堵墙没有倒。老太太很生气：“怎么不听我的话呢？！又有人走来，老太太又予以劝告。三天过去了，许多人在墙边走过去，并没有遇上危险。第四天，老太太感到有些奇怪，又有些失望，不由自主便走到墙根下仔细观看，然而就在此时，墙缍倒了，老太太被掩埋在灰尘砖石中，气绝身亡。\r\n    【学习啦】心得：提醒别人时往往很容易，很清醒，但能做到时刻清醒地提醒自己却很难。所以说，许多危险来源于自身，老太太的悲哀便 因此而生。', '[Short Story] 自我提醒 - Take your own advice', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-10-31 10:21:40', '2016-10-31 14:21:40', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1801', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1802, 1, '2016-10-31 10:21:40', '2016-10-31 14:21:40', '     有个老太太坐在马路边望着不远处的一堵高墙，总觉得它马上就会倒塌，见有人向媾走过去，她就善意地提醒道：“那堵墙要倒了，远着点走吧。被提醒的人不解地看着她大模大样地顺着墙根走过去了——那堵墙没有倒。老太太很生气：“怎么不听我的话呢？！又有人走来，老太太又予以劝告。三天过去了，许多人在墙边走过去，并没有遇上危险。第四天，老太太感到有些奇怪，又有些失望，不由自主便走到墙根下仔细观看，然而就在此时，墙缍倒了，老太太被掩埋在灰尘砖石中，气绝身亡。\r\n    【学习啦】心得：提醒别人时往往很容易，很清醒，但能做到时刻清醒地提醒自己却很难。所以说，许多危险来源于自身，老太太的悲哀便 因此而生。', '[Short Story] 自我提醒 - Take your own advice', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1801-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 10:21:40', '2016-10-31 14:21:40', '', 1801, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1801-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1803, 1, '2016-10-31 10:31:03', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '     马，本来自由自在的在山间撒野，渴了喝点山泉，累了就睡在地上晒太阳，无忧无虑。可是自从有了伯乐，马的命运就改变了，给它的头戴上笼辔，在它的背上置放鞍具，栓着它，马的死亡率已经是十之二三了，然后再逼着它运输东西，强迫它日行千里，在它的脚上钉上铁掌，马的死亡率就过半了。马本来就是毫无规矩毫无用处的动物，让它吸取日月之精化，天地之灵气，无用无为，还得以享尽天年，教化它，让它懂得礼法，反而害了它的生命。\r\n   【人生感悟】人何尝不是如此呢？在规矩的约束下我们是否也丧失了本我，成天遵循别人制定的礼义，逼迫自己去做不愿意做的事情，有限的生命还剩下多少呢？', '[Essay] 马 - Horses', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-10-31 10:31:03', '2016-10-31 14:31:03', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1803', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1804, 1, '2016-10-31 10:31:03', '2016-10-31 14:31:03', '     马，本来自由自在的在山间撒野，渴了喝点山泉，累了就睡在地上晒太阳，无忧无虑。可是自从有了伯乐，马的命运就改变了，给它的头戴上笼辔，在它的背上置放鞍具，栓着它，马的死亡率已经是十之二三了，然后再逼着它运输东西，强迫它日行千里，在它的脚上钉上铁掌，马的死亡率就过半了。马本来就是毫无规矩毫无用处的动物，让它吸取日月之精化，天地之灵气，无用无为，还得以享尽天年，教化它，让它懂得礼法，反而害了它的生命。\r\n   【人生感悟】人何尝不是如此呢？在规矩的约束下我们是否也丧失了本我，成天遵循别人制定的礼义，逼迫自己去做不愿意做的事情，有限的生命还剩下多少呢？', '[Essay] 马 - Horses', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1803-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 10:31:03', '2016-10-31 14:31:03', '', 1803, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1803-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1805, 1, '2016-10-31 10:35:27', '2016-10-31 14:35:27', '', 'Synopsis', '', 'publish', 'closed', 'closed', '', 'synopsis', '', '', '2016-10-31 10:46:59', '2016-10-31 14:46:59', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1805', 10, 'nav_menu_item', '', 0),
(2589, 1, '2017-01-08 04:55:47', '2017-01-08 09:55:47', '', 'Member\'s Library', '', 'publish', 'closed', 'closed', '', 'members-library', '', '', '2017-01-08 04:57:48', '2017-01-08 09:57:48', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=2589', 1, 'nav_menu_item', '', 0),
(1807, 1, '2016-10-31 10:47:05', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '(HUNGER GAMES) \r\n第七十四届饥饿游戏即将开始。\r\n\r\n在荒蛮的野外环境中，每个人都想置你于死地，你能靠自己的力量生存下来吗？24人参加竞赛。只有一人能够存活。抽签日那天，凯特尼斯的人生彻底改变了。\r\n\r\n在未来的北美洲，帕纳姆国建立在一片废墟之上，它的中心凯匹特位于十二个区的中央。每年，十二个区都被迫向凯匹特送去年龄在12岁至18岁的少男少女“贡品”各一名，去参加饥饿游戏，这是一项残酷而可怕的生与死的竞赛，所有的贡品必须战斗到死，最后的幸存者就是胜者。\r\n\r\n竞技场是经过人工布置的森林、荒原。竞赛中，猎杀、追踪、饥饿、伪装、智斗等生死存亡的时刻，都被电视现场直播到全国，每个人都必须观看，而且要当成节日一样庆祝。对于凯匹特，这是年度盛会，是一场游戏。对于其他十二区，是羞辱和折磨。\r\n\r\n生存是16岁的凯特尼斯的本能，她依靠在十二区围栏外偷猎、采集野果勉强养活妈妈、妹妹和自己。当凯特尼斯代替被抽中的妹妹参加饥饿游戏时，她明白这对她可能意味着死亡。如果她想生存，她必须在人性与生存、生活与爱情之间做出选择。\r\n\r\n在竞技场上，凯特尼斯机缘巧合被塑造成燃烧的女孩，又与本区的另一个贡品皮塔组成明星恋人备受瞩目。她很困惑，自己与皮塔的关系？她企图拯救其他竞赛者的生命，机智地应对游戏中出现的谜题，使她成了电视观众关注的中心。生死关头，她才发现爱情竟然也可以成为赢的策略。\r\n\r\n凯特尼斯只有继续做她自己。那个倔强的女孩，她拒绝向游戏规则屈服，拒绝向死亡屈服，也拒绝向爱情屈服。她的拒绝会带来什么，未来又会怎样呢？\r\n\r\nhttp://www.verycd.com/entries/527231/', '[Guess the Movie] Hunger Games', '', 'draft', 'closed', 'closed', '', '', '', '', '2016-10-31 10:47:05', '2016-10-31 14:47:05', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1807', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1808, 1, '2016-10-31 10:44:14', '2016-10-31 14:44:14', '(HUNGER GAMES) \r\n第七十四届饥饿游戏即将开始。\r\n\r\n在荒蛮的野外环境中，每个人都想置你于死地，你能靠自己的力量生存下来吗？24人参加竞赛。只有一人能够存活。抽签日那天，凯特尼斯的人生彻底改变了。\r\n\r\n在未来的北美洲，帕纳姆国建立在一片废墟之上，它的中心凯匹特位于十二个区的中央。每年，十二个区都被迫向凯匹特送去年龄在12岁至18岁的少男少女“贡品”各一名，去参加饥饿游戏，这是一项残酷而可怕的生与死的竞赛，所有的贡品必须战斗到死，最后的幸存者就是胜者。\r\n\r\n竞技场是经过人工布置的森林、荒原。竞赛中，猎杀、追踪、饥饿、伪装、智斗等生死存亡的时刻，都被电视现场直播到全国，每个人都必须观看，而且要当成节日一样庆祝。对于凯匹特，这是年度盛会，是一场游戏。对于其他十二区，是羞辱和折磨。\r\n\r\n生存是16岁的凯特尼斯的本能，她依靠在十二区围栏外偷猎、采集野果勉强养活妈妈、妹妹和自己。当凯特尼斯代替被抽中的妹妹参加饥饿游戏时，她明白这对她可能意味着死亡。如果她想生存，她必须在人性与生存、生活与爱情之间做出选择。\r\n\r\n在竞技场上，凯特尼斯机缘巧合被塑造成燃烧的女孩，又与本区的另一个贡品皮塔组成明星恋人备受瞩目。她很困惑，自己与皮塔的关系？她企图拯救其他竞赛者的生命，机智地应对游戏中出现的谜题，使她成了电视观众关注的中心。生死关头，她才发现爱情竟然也可以成为赢的策略。\r\n\r\n凯特尼斯只有继续做她自己。那个倔强的女孩，她拒绝向游戏规则屈服，拒绝向死亡屈服，也拒绝向爱情屈服。她的拒绝会带来什么，未来又会怎样呢？', '[Guess the Movie] Hunger Games', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1807-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 10:44:14', '2016-10-31 14:44:14', '', 1807, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1807-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1809, 1, '2016-10-31 10:44:52', '2016-10-31 14:44:52', '(HUNGER GAMES) \r\n第七十四届饥饿游戏即将开始。\r\n\r\n在荒蛮的野外环境中，每个人都想置你于死地，你能靠自己的力量生存下来吗？24人参加竞赛。只有一人能够存活。抽签日那天，凯特尼斯的人生彻底改变了。\r\n\r\n在未来的北美洲，帕纳姆国建立在一片废墟之上，它的中心凯匹特位于十二个区的中央。每年，十二个区都被迫向凯匹特送去年龄在12岁至18岁的少男少女“贡品”各一名，去参加饥饿游戏，这是一项残酷而可怕的生与死的竞赛，所有的贡品必须战斗到死，最后的幸存者就是胜者。\r\n\r\n竞技场是经过人工布置的森林、荒原。竞赛中，猎杀、追踪、饥饿、伪装、智斗等生死存亡的时刻，都被电视现场直播到全国，每个人都必须观看，而且要当成节日一样庆祝。对于凯匹特，这是年度盛会，是一场游戏。对于其他十二区，是羞辱和折磨。\r\n\r\n生存是16岁的凯特尼斯的本能，她依靠在十二区围栏外偷猎、采集野果勉强养活妈妈、妹妹和自己。当凯特尼斯代替被抽中的妹妹参加饥饿游戏时，她明白这对她可能意味着死亡。如果她想生存，她必须在人性与生存、生活与爱情之间做出选择。\r\nhttp://www.verycd.com/entries/527231/\r\n\r\n在竞技场上，凯特尼斯机缘巧合被塑造成燃烧的女孩，又与本区的另一个贡品皮塔组成明星恋人备受瞩目。她很困惑，自己与皮塔的关系？她企图拯救其他竞赛者的生命，机智地应对游戏中出现的谜题，使她成了电视观众关注的中心。生死关头，她才发现爱情竟然也可以成为赢的策略。\r\n\r\n凯特尼斯只有继续做她自己。那个倔强的女孩，她拒绝向游戏规则屈服，拒绝向死亡屈服，也拒绝向爱情屈服。她的拒绝会带来什么，未来又会怎样呢？', '[Guess the Movie] Hunger Games', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1807-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 10:44:52', '2016-10-31 14:44:52', '', 1807, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1807-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1810, 1, '2016-10-31 10:47:05', '2016-10-31 14:47:05', '(HUNGER GAMES) \r\n第七十四届饥饿游戏即将开始。\r\n\r\n在荒蛮的野外环境中，每个人都想置你于死地，你能靠自己的力量生存下来吗？24人参加竞赛。只有一人能够存活。抽签日那天，凯特尼斯的人生彻底改变了。\r\n\r\n在未来的北美洲，帕纳姆国建立在一片废墟之上，它的中心凯匹特位于十二个区的中央。每年，十二个区都被迫向凯匹特送去年龄在12岁至18岁的少男少女“贡品”各一名，去参加饥饿游戏，这是一项残酷而可怕的生与死的竞赛，所有的贡品必须战斗到死，最后的幸存者就是胜者。\r\n\r\n竞技场是经过人工布置的森林、荒原。竞赛中，猎杀、追踪、饥饿、伪装、智斗等生死存亡的时刻，都被电视现场直播到全国，每个人都必须观看，而且要当成节日一样庆祝。对于凯匹特，这是年度盛会，是一场游戏。对于其他十二区，是羞辱和折磨。\r\n\r\n生存是16岁的凯特尼斯的本能，她依靠在十二区围栏外偷猎、采集野果勉强养活妈妈、妹妹和自己。当凯特尼斯代替被抽中的妹妹参加饥饿游戏时，她明白这对她可能意味着死亡。如果她想生存，她必须在人性与生存、生活与爱情之间做出选择。\r\n\r\n在竞技场上，凯特尼斯机缘巧合被塑造成燃烧的女孩，又与本区的另一个贡品皮塔组成明星恋人备受瞩目。她很困惑，自己与皮塔的关系？她企图拯救其他竞赛者的生命，机智地应对游戏中出现的谜题，使她成了电视观众关注的中心。生死关头，她才发现爱情竟然也可以成为赢的策略。\r\n\r\n凯特尼斯只有继续做她自己。那个倔强的女孩，她拒绝向游戏规则屈服，拒绝向死亡屈服，也拒绝向爱情屈服。她的拒绝会带来什么，未来又会怎样呢？\r\n\r\nhttp://www.verycd.com/entries/527231/', '[Guess the Movie] Hunger Games', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1807-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 10:47:05', '2016-10-31 14:47:05', '', 1807, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1807-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1811, 1, '2016-10-31 10:57:04', '2016-10-31 14:57:04', '', 'Guess the Title', '', 'publish', 'closed', 'closed', '', 'guess-the-title', '', '', '2016-10-31 10:57:04', '2016-10-31 14:57:04', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1811', 6, 'nav_menu_item', '', 0),
(1812, 1, '2016-10-31 11:00:06', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '乔尔（金凯瑞饰）的性格没有问题，但他的生活却出了大问题——相恋多年的女友克莱门蒂娜（凯特温斯莱特饰）突然变成了一个对自己没有丝毫感觉的陌生人。没有第三者的介入，只因为克莱门蒂娜在一次接受精神病专家霍华德博士（汤姆维尔金森饰）的实验中失忆了，而所失去的又偏偏是对两人来说分外珍贵的感情经历。这一切对乔尔来说无异于晴天霹雳。\r\n\r\n饱受情感折磨的乔尔想尽种种办法试图唤醒克莱门蒂娜那沉睡的记忆，可惜历经周折也没有任何结果，两人的距离在不断拉大。心灰意懒的乔尔最终拜访了霍华德博士，请求他也清除自己大脑中有关克莱门蒂娜的记忆，以消除那无法抑制的痛楚。\r\n\r\n乔尔的爱情记忆逐步消逝的同时，那早已淹没在平凡生活中的初恋激情却暗自勃发，重新焕发了光彩。而霍华德博士以及他那三个荒诞搞笑的助手（分别由克尔斯腾邓斯特、伊利亚伍德与马克鲁法罗饰演）虽费尽心机，但依旧没能成功熄灭乔尔心灵深处对克莱门蒂娜那份炽热的爱情之火。美丽心灵中那最后一抹阳光被永恒地保存了下来。\r\n\r\nhttp://www.verycd.com/entries/257834/', '[Guess the Movie] ESOTSM', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-10-31 11:00:06', '2016-10-31 15:00:06', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1812', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1813, 1, '2016-10-31 10:59:35', '2016-10-31 14:59:35', '乔尔（金凯瑞饰）的性格没有问题，但他的生活却出了大问题——相恋多年的女友克莱门蒂娜（凯特温斯莱特饰）突然变成了一个对自己没有丝毫感觉的陌生人。没有第三者的介入，只因为克莱门蒂娜在一次接受精神病专家霍华德博士（汤姆维尔金森饰）的实验中失忆了，而所失去的又偏偏是对两人来说分外珍贵的感情经历。这一切对乔尔来说无异于晴天霹雳。\r\n\r\n饱受情感折磨的乔尔想尽种种办法试图唤醒克莱门蒂娜那沉睡的记忆，可惜历经周折也没有任何结果，两人的距离在不断拉大。心灰意懒的乔尔最终拜访了霍华德博士，请求他也清除自己大脑中有关克莱门蒂娜的记忆，以消除那无法抑制的痛楚。\r\n\r\n乔尔的爱情记忆逐步消逝的同时，那早已淹没在平凡生活中的初恋激情却暗自勃发，重新焕发了光彩。而霍华德博士以及他那三个荒诞搞笑的助手（分别由克尔斯腾邓斯特、伊利亚伍德与马克鲁法罗饰演）虽费尽心机，但依旧没能成功熄灭乔尔心灵深处对克莱门蒂娜那份炽热的爱情之火。美丽心灵中那最后一抹阳光被永恒地保存了下来。', '[Guess the Movie] ESOTSM', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1812-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 10:59:35', '2016-10-31 14:59:35', '', 1812, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1812-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1814, 1, '2016-10-31 11:00:06', '2016-10-31 15:00:06', '乔尔（金凯瑞饰）的性格没有问题，但他的生活却出了大问题——相恋多年的女友克莱门蒂娜（凯特温斯莱特饰）突然变成了一个对自己没有丝毫感觉的陌生人。没有第三者的介入，只因为克莱门蒂娜在一次接受精神病专家霍华德博士（汤姆维尔金森饰）的实验中失忆了，而所失去的又偏偏是对两人来说分外珍贵的感情经历。这一切对乔尔来说无异于晴天霹雳。\r\n\r\n饱受情感折磨的乔尔想尽种种办法试图唤醒克莱门蒂娜那沉睡的记忆，可惜历经周折也没有任何结果，两人的距离在不断拉大。心灰意懒的乔尔最终拜访了霍华德博士，请求他也清除自己大脑中有关克莱门蒂娜的记忆，以消除那无法抑制的痛楚。\r\n\r\n乔尔的爱情记忆逐步消逝的同时，那早已淹没在平凡生活中的初恋激情却暗自勃发，重新焕发了光彩。而霍华德博士以及他那三个荒诞搞笑的助手（分别由克尔斯腾邓斯特、伊利亚伍德与马克鲁法罗饰演）虽费尽心机，但依旧没能成功熄灭乔尔心灵深处对克莱门蒂娜那份炽热的爱情之火。美丽心灵中那最后一抹阳光被永恒地保存了下来。\r\n\r\nhttp://www.verycd.com/entries/257834/', '[Guess the Movie] ESOTSM', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1812-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 11:00:06', '2016-10-31 15:00:06', '', 1812, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1812-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1815, 1, '2016-10-31 11:02:10', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', 'Almost famous\r\n70年代，当性、毒品，和摇滚乐一同解放之际，一名来自保守家庭的15岁少年威廉，不顾保守母亲的反对，担任摇滚乐圣经《滚石杂志》的记者，随著一个新崛起的当红摇滚乐团“Stillwater”在美国巡回演出。在巡回的过程中，威廉一方面要和乐团的成员发展友谊，一方面又得维持报导的中立性。通过和资深摇滚乐迷潘妮连恩以及乐团灵魂吉他手罗素之间的相处，他目睹了摇滚乐手对音乐的执著，对成名的渴求，对自我的陷溺，对性和毒品的疯狂，也目睹了整个年轻世代的挣扎和迷失，希望从音乐中得到救赎。这个旅程成了他的心灵之旅，他看清了世界，也找到了自己。\r\n\r\n《成名之路》是一部相当富有怀旧色彩的影片，优美的画面配合动人的音乐，让人仿佛置身于那个充满鲜花与希望的年代。通过透视70年代的摇滚文化带出对人生、家庭的思考，在轻松、幽默之间传递人间真情，这使得影片与近期好莱坞流行的哗众取宠的电影形成鲜明对比。而在这部没有大牌明星挡纲的作品中，影坛新人们的表现也是可圈可点，他们朴实自然的表演出色地演绎了这部欢快感人的音乐人之路。\r\n\r\nhttp://www.verycd.com/entries/153810/', '[Guess the Movie] AF', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-10-31 11:02:10', '2016-10-31 15:02:10', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1815', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1816, 1, '2016-10-31 11:02:10', '2016-10-31 15:02:10', 'Almost famous\r\n70年代，当性、毒品，和摇滚乐一同解放之际，一名来自保守家庭的15岁少年威廉，不顾保守母亲的反对，担任摇滚乐圣经《滚石杂志》的记者，随著一个新崛起的当红摇滚乐团“Stillwater”在美国巡回演出。在巡回的过程中，威廉一方面要和乐团的成员发展友谊，一方面又得维持报导的中立性。通过和资深摇滚乐迷潘妮连恩以及乐团灵魂吉他手罗素之间的相处，他目睹了摇滚乐手对音乐的执著，对成名的渴求，对自我的陷溺，对性和毒品的疯狂，也目睹了整个年轻世代的挣扎和迷失，希望从音乐中得到救赎。这个旅程成了他的心灵之旅，他看清了世界，也找到了自己。\r\n\r\n《成名之路》是一部相当富有怀旧色彩的影片，优美的画面配合动人的音乐，让人仿佛置身于那个充满鲜花与希望的年代。通过透视70年代的摇滚文化带出对人生、家庭的思考，在轻松、幽默之间传递人间真情，这使得影片与近期好莱坞流行的哗众取宠的电影形成鲜明对比。而在这部没有大牌明星挡纲的作品中，影坛新人们的表现也是可圈可点，他们朴实自然的表演出色地演绎了这部欢快感人的音乐人之路。\r\n\r\nhttp://www.verycd.com/entries/153810/', '[Guess the Movie] AF', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1815-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 11:02:10', '2016-10-31 15:02:10', '', 1815, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1815-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1821, 1, '2016-10-31 11:12:50', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '班内特太太最大的愿望就是把她的五位千金嫁出去。在上流贵族宾利举行的舞会上，宾利与大女儿简一见倾心。宾利的好友达西渐渐迷恋上二小姐伊丽莎白，但因性情傲慢以及原家中管家的儿子威克姆的污蔑而招致伊丽莎白的误解和偏见。班家财产的法定继承人表哥柯林斯向伊丽莎求婚遭到拒绝，转而与她的朋友夏绿蒂结合。达西在自己的庄园与伊丽莎白再度相逢，他诚恳的态度、周全的礼仪令伊丽莎白大为惊讶，两人终于从傲慢与偏见的迷失中走了出来，缔结幸福良缘。\r\n\r\nhttp://www.verycd.com/entries/510229/', '[Guess the Movie] P&P', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-10-31 11:12:50', '2016-10-31 15:12:50', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1821', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1822, 1, '2016-10-31 11:12:50', '2016-10-31 15:12:50', '班内特太太最大的愿望就是把她的五位千金嫁出去。在上流贵族宾利举行的舞会上，宾利与大女儿简一见倾心。宾利的好友达西渐渐迷恋上二小姐伊丽莎白，但因性情傲慢以及原家中管家的儿子威克姆的污蔑而招致伊丽莎白的误解和偏见。班家财产的法定继承人表哥柯林斯向伊丽莎求婚遭到拒绝，转而与她的朋友夏绿蒂结合。达西在自己的庄园与伊丽莎白再度相逢，他诚恳的态度、周全的礼仪令伊丽莎白大为惊讶，两人终于从傲慢与偏见的迷失中走了出来，缔结幸福良缘。\r\n\r\nhttp://www.verycd.com/entries/510229/', '[Guess the Movie] P&P', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1821-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 11:12:50', '2016-10-31 15:12:50', '', 1821, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1821-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1824, 1, '2016-10-31 11:19:08', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '英曼是美国南北战争末期一名受伤士兵，怀着对家园强烈的渴望努力归家。他的情人艾达则在乡间学会了如何与粗砺尖锐的生活抗挣。\r\n\r\n英曼是美国南北战争末期一名受伤士兵，在灵魂仿佛燃尽之后，对家园强烈的渴望支撑他站立起来，踏上了艰辛漫长的归家旅程。他的情人艾达则在山影交错的乡间忍受孤独，度过了失怙独立的蜕变期，学会了如何与粗砺尖锐的生活抗挣。战争摧毁了一切，而依然兀立的冷山是他们之间唯一的联系，也是他们回忆与想望的地方――一个即使你所信仰的天堂已然破灭，却仍能为你疗伤止痛的美好国度。\r\n\r\nhttp://www.verycd.com/entries/139401/', '[Guess the Movie] CM', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-10-31 11:19:08', '2016-10-31 15:19:08', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1824', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1825, 1, '2016-10-31 11:19:08', '2016-10-31 15:19:08', '英曼是美国南北战争末期一名受伤士兵，怀着对家园强烈的渴望努力归家。他的情人艾达则在乡间学会了如何与粗砺尖锐的生活抗挣。\r\n\r\n英曼是美国南北战争末期一名受伤士兵，在灵魂仿佛燃尽之后，对家园强烈的渴望支撑他站立起来，踏上了艰辛漫长的归家旅程。他的情人艾达则在山影交错的乡间忍受孤独，度过了失怙独立的蜕变期，学会了如何与粗砺尖锐的生活抗挣。战争摧毁了一切，而依然兀立的冷山是他们之间唯一的联系，也是他们回忆与想望的地方――一个即使你所信仰的天堂已然破灭，却仍能为你疗伤止痛的美好国度。\r\n\r\nhttp://www.verycd.com/entries/139401/', '[Guess the Movie] CM', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1824-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 11:19:08', '2016-10-31 15:19:08', '', 1824, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1824-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1826, 1, '2016-10-31 21:40:09', '2016-11-01 01:40:09', 'I\'m not sure if this qualifies as a \"joke\" so much as a commentary on the uselessness of the ruling class. Or maybe the moral here is \'battered and experienced trumps fresh-faced and skilled\'?  Your call. \r\n\r\nLooks to me like the hard bits of this passage are collected right in the beginning, on the sign placed in front of the first parrot. The sign reads:\r\n\r\n<blockquote>此鹦鹉会两门语言</blockquote>\r\n\r\nLet\'s have a look:\r\n\r\n<h3>This: 此 [pinyin]ci3[/pinyin]</h3>\r\n\r\nChances are good you\'re familiar with the word \"这个\" [pinyin]zhe4 ge[/pinyin] (\"this\"). It\'s one of the first words we learn in Chinese, and it quickly becomes a placeholder for vocabulary we haven\'t learned yet (\"No, no, THIS. THIS.\") Thing is, 这个 is too laid-back for official documents, scholarly works or other situations that call for a bit of formality. Enter 此 [pinyin]ci3[/pinyin], which replaces \"这个\" [pinyin]zhe4 ge[/pinyin] whenever a touch of class is required. On signage, for example. \r\n\r\n<h3>会两门语言</h3>\r\n\r\nThere are two sticking points here: One, a word has been dropped for brevity\'s sake. The meaning of 会两门语言 would perhaps be clearer if we added \"说\" here: 会<strong>说</strong>两门语言。 \r\n\r\nTwo, what is 门 [pinyin]men2[/pinyin] doing there? \"Can speak double door language?\" Nope. A different definition of 门 is being used here. You probably know 门 as a \"door\" - that\'s its most basic definition. In this case, it\'s not a \"door\", it\'s a measure word for \"languages\". \r\n\r\nSo, if we take the original sentence and convert it into colloquial Chinese, we get: \r\n\r\n<blockquote>这个鹦鹉会说两个语言。, or \"This parrot can speak two languages.\"</blockquote>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n1) 一个人去买鹦鹉，看到一只鹦鹉前标：此鹦鹉会两门语言，售价二百元。\r\n\r\n2) 另一只鹦鹉前则标道：此鹦鹉会四门语言，售价四百元。\r\n\r\n3) 该买哪只呢？两只都毛色光鲜，非常灵活可爱。这人转啊转，拿不定主意。\r\n\r\n4) 结果突然发现一只老掉了牙的鹦鹉，毛色暗淡散乱，标价八百元。\r\n\r\n5) 这人赶紧将老板叫来：这只鹦鹉是不是会说八门语言？\r\n\r\n6) 店主说：不。\r\n\r\n7) 这人奇怪了：那为什么又老又丑，又没有能力，会值这个数呢？\r\n\r\n8) 店主回答：因为另外两只鹦鹉叫这只鹦鹉老板。\r\n\r\nSee the <a href=\"https://zhidao.baidu.com/question/263388710327855805.html\" target=\"_blank\">source</a>.\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n\r\n1) A man went shopping for a parrot, and saw a sign in front of one parrot reading: \"This parrot can speak two languages, selling price 200 <em>yuan</em>.\" \r\n\r\n2) In front of another parrot was a sign reading: This parrot can speak four languages, selling price 400 <em>yuan</em>. \r\n\r\n3) Which one should he buy? Both had a shiny coat of feathers, [both] were lively and adorable. The man turned to this one then that one, but couldn\'t settle on one.\r\n\r\n4) Then he suddenly saw an ancient parrot, coat dull and in disarray, with a posted price of 800 <em>yuan</em>.\r\n\r\n5) The man quickly called the shopkeeper over: \"I suppose this parrot can speak 8 languages?\" \r\n\r\n6) The shopkeeper said: \"Nope.\" \r\n\r\n7) The man was confused: \"Then why is an old, ugly, unskilled parrot worth such a price?\"\r\n\r\n8) The shopkeeper replied: \"Because the two other parrots call this parrot \'The Boss\'.\" \r\n   \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]\r\n\r\n', '[Jokes in Chinese] 鹦鹉 - Parrots & the Price of Power', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'jokes-in-chinese-%e9%b9%a6%e9%b9%89-parrots-the-price-of-power', '', '', '2017-01-22 05:41:24', '2017-01-22 10:41:24', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1826', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1828, 1, '2016-10-31 21:40:09', '2016-11-01 01:40:09', '一个人去买鹦鹉，看到一只鹦鹉前标：此鹦鹉会两门语言，售价二百元。\r\n　　另一只鹦鹉前则标道：此鹦鹉会四门语言，售价四百元。\r\n　　该买哪只呢？两只都毛色光鲜，非常灵活可爱。这人转啊转，拿不定主意。\r\n　　结果突然发现一只老掉了牙的鹦鹉，毛色暗淡散乱，标价八百元。\r\n　　这人赶紧将老板叫来：这只鹦鹉是不是会说八门语言？\r\n　　店主说：不。\r\n　　这人奇怪了：那为什么又老又丑，又没有能力，会值这个数呢？\r\n　　店主回答：因为另外两只鹦鹉叫这只鹦鹉老板。\r\n　　【哲理故事感悟】这故事告诉我们，真正的领导人，不一定自己能力有多强，只要懂信任，懂放权，懂珍惜，就能团结比自己更强的力量，从而提升自己的身价。', '[Short Story] 鹦鹉 - Parrots & the Price of Power', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1826-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 21:40:09', '2016-11-01 01:40:09', '', 1826, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1826-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2545, 1, '2016-11-19 01:15:47', '2016-11-19 06:15:47', 'Hey! Got something to say? You can get in touch directly at <a href=\"mailto:me@kendraschaefer.com\">me@kendraschaefer.com</a>, or you can plop your message here:\r\n\r\n[contact-form-7 id=\"1095\" title=\"Contact form 1\"]', 'Contact Kendra', '', 'publish', 'closed', 'closed', '', 'contact-kendra', '', '', '2016-11-19 01:15:47', '2016-11-19 06:15:47', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?page_id=2545', 0, 'page', '', 0),
(2686, 1, '2017-01-21 02:23:35', '2017-01-21 07:23:35', 'Chances are pretty good you\'ve heard this one before, so I won\'t spoil the fun for you, but bas. Surely someone thinks this is funny. \r\n\r\n<h3>Versatile 只 [pinyin]zhi3[/pinyin]</h3>\r\nThe character 只 might throw you for a bit of a loop in this passage. You\'ll see it used twice, but the definitions are different each time. \r\n\r\nIn the first sentence, we see 只 used as a measure word which is used, among other things, for certain four-legged animals, most notably cats, dogs and birds. So \"一只大老虎\" simply means \"a large tiger\". \r\n\r\nIn the last sentence, we see 只 again, but this time it means \"only / merely\". In this case, it\'s pared with 要 [pinyin]yao4[/pinyin], which also has several meanings. 要 can mean \"to want\", as in \"我要出去\" (\"I want to go out\"), and that\'s usually the first definition of 要 that we learn as beginners. But here, it means \"must / have to / need to\". So 只要 means \"...only have to...\" or \"... merely need to ...\" . \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n1) 两个人在森林里，遇到了一只大老虎。\r\n2) A就赶紧从背后取下一双更轻便的运动鞋换上。\r\n3) B急死了，骂道：“你干嘛呢?再换鞋也跑不过老虎啊！”\r\n4) A说：“我只要跑得比你快就好了。”  \r\n\r\nSee the <a href=\"http://www.360doc.com/content/12/0624/17/1764012_220163890.shtml\" target=\"_blank\">source</a>.\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n1) Two people in the forest happened upon a large tiger.\r\n2) \"A\" quickly pulled a pair of better running shoes from his backpack and put them on. \r\n3) \"B\" was frantic, and yelled: \"What are you doing? Change shoes all you want but you can\'t outrun a tiger!\" \r\n4) \"A\" said: \"I only have to outrun you.\"\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]\r\n\r\n      ', '[Chinese Jokes] 当老虎来临时  - The Tiger Approaches', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1867-revision-v1', '', '', '2017-01-21 02:23:35', '2017-01-21 07:23:35', '', 1867, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2017/01/1867-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2555, 1, '2016-11-19 01:35:26', '2016-11-19 06:35:26', '<a href=\"?add-to-cart=1966\">\r\n<div class=\"subscribe-box subscribe-monthly-box\">\r\n<h5>Join Monthly: $3.50 / mo</h5>\r\n<h6>(Beta rate!)</h6>\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/monthly-subscribe.jpg\" alt=\"monthly-subscribe\" width=\"500\" height=\"379\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-2504\" />\r\n</div>\r\n</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"?add-to-cart=1967\">\r\n<div class=\"subscribe-box subscribe-yearly-box\">\r\n<h5>Join Yearly: $35 / yr</h5>\r\n<h6>(Beta rate!)</h6>\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/yearly-subscribe.jpg\" alt=\"yearly-subscribe\" width=\"500\" height=\"379\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2503\" />\r\n</div>\r\n</a>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"clear: both;\">&nbsp;</div>\r\n\r\n<h3>Get new posts daily, save your favorites</h3>\r\nWhy, 您好 there. You\'ve stumbled upon the inter-webz\'s most popular blog of Simplified Chinese reading exercises. I\'m Kendra (more about the CRP origin story <a href=\"http://<a href=\"/about/\">here</a>), and this is my tiny little kingdom. I publish one freebie post a week, but members get a new post every day, Monday-Friday, and the ability to save favorite posts. \r\n\r\n<h4>Introductory Rates for Beta</h4>\r\nSeeing as how I only recently launched the pay-to-play membership section, and the CRP membership-only post library isn\'t yet very big, I\'m offering a special introductory subscription rate of $3.50 per month, or $35 per year, while the Member\'s Only library accumulates content. Introductory rates will be available until March 15, 2017, after which, my lovelies, subscriptions will go up to $5 bucks a month. Anyone who jumps on the early train will have their lower price locked in for life. Get while the gettin\'s good.  \r\n\r\n<h4>Post schedules</h4>\r\nNew posts are published daily between 8am and 11am, Eastern Standard Time. These include two \"super easy\" or \"beginner\" posts, two intermediate posts, and one advanced post or \"Deep Dive\" (exploration of a themed topic). That\'s five new posts a week (plus one freebie, so six total).\r\n\r\n<h4>Member\'s Only Li-bibbly</h4>\r\nYou\'ll also get access to all previous Member\'s Only posts, but as I said, as of December 2016, it\'s a meager collection. It is, however, growing daily. \r\n\r\n<h4>Billing</h4>\r\nAll subscriptions are set to auto-renew,  but you\'re welcome to cancel at any time via your My Account area. \r\n\r\n<h4>Questions?</h4>\r\nYou can get in touch with me <a href=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/contact-kendra/\">here</a>. ', 'Subscribe', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1617-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-19 01:35:26', '2016-11-19 06:35:26', '', 1617, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1617-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
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(2525, 1, '2016-11-18 23:25:44', '2016-11-19 04:25:44', '[woocommerce_cart]', 'Cart', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1627-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-18 23:25:44', '2016-11-19 04:25:44', '', 1627, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1627-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1853, 1, '2016-10-31 22:02:57', '2016-11-01 02:02:57', 'asdfasdfasdf', 'Test Blog Post', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'test-blog-post', '', '', '2016-10-31 22:02:57', '2016-11-01 02:02:57', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?post_type=blogentries&#038;p=1853', 0, 'blog', '', 0),
(1868, 1, '2016-11-01 01:02:40', '2016-11-01 05:02:40', '      两个人在森林里，遇到了一只大老虎。A就赶紧从背后取下一双更轻便的运动鞋换上。B急死了，骂道：“你干嘛呢，再换鞋也跑不过老虎啊！”\r\nA说：“我只要跑得比你快就好了。”  ', '[Chinese Jokes] 当老虎来临时  - The Tiger Approaches', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1867-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-01 01:02:40', '2016-11-01 05:02:40', '', 1867, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1867-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(2554, 1, '2016-11-19 01:35:11', '2016-11-19 06:35:11', '<a href=\"?add-to-cart=1966\">\r\n<div class=\"subscribe-box subscribe-monthly-box\">\r\n<h5>Join Monthly: $3.50 / mo</h5>\r\n<h6>(Beta rate!)</h6>\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/monthly-subscribe.jpg\" alt=\"monthly-subscribe\" width=\"500\" height=\"379\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-2504\" />\r\n</div>\r\n</a>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"?add-to-cart=1967\">\r\n<div class=\"subscribe-box subscribe-yearly-box\">\r\n<h5>Join Yearly: $35 / yr</h5>\r\n<h6>(Beta rate!)</h6>\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/yearly-subscribe.jpg\" alt=\"yearly-subscribe\" width=\"500\" height=\"379\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2503\" />\r\n</div>\r\n</a>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"clear: both;\">&nbsp;</div>\r\n\r\n<h3>Get new posts daily, save your favorites</h3>\r\nWhy, 您好 there. You\'ve stumbled upon the inter-webz\'s most popular blog of Simplified Chinese reading exercises. I\'m Kendra (more about the CRP origin story <a href=\"http://<a href=\"/about/\">here</a>), and this is my tiny little kingdom. I publish one freebie post a week, but members get a new post every day, Monday-Friday, and the ability to save favorite posts. \r\n\r\n<h4>Introductory Rates for Beta</h4>\r\nSeeing as how I only recently launched the pay-to-play membership section, and the CRP membership-only post library isn\'t yet very big, I\'m offering a special introductory subscription rate of $3.50 per month, or $35 per year, while the Member\'s Only library accumulates content. Introductory rates will be available until March 15, 2017, after which, my lovelies, subscriptions will go up to $5 bucks a month. Anyone who jumps on the early train will have their lower price locked in for life. Get while the gettin\'s good.  \r\n\r\n<h4>Post schedules</h4>\r\nNew posts are published daily between 8am and 11am, Eastern Standard Time. These include two \"super easy\" or \"beginner\" posts, two intermediate posts, and one advanced post or \"Deep Dive\" (exploration of a themed topic). That\'s five new posts a week (plus one freebie, so six total).\r\n\r\n<h4>Member\'s Only Li-bibbly</h4>\r\nYou\'ll also get access to all previous Member\'s Only posts, but as I said, as of December 2016, it\'s a meager collection. It is, however, growing daily. \r\n\r\n<h4>Billing</h4>\r\nAll subscriptions are set to auto-renew,  but you\'re welcome to cancel at any time via your My Account area. \r\n\r\n<h4>Questions?</h4>\r\nYou can get in touch with me <a href=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/contact-kendra/\">here</a>. asdfasdfasdf', 'Subscribe', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1617-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-19 01:35:11', '2016-11-19 06:35:11', '', 1617, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1617-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
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(1854, 1, '2016-10-31 22:02:57', '2016-11-01 02:02:57', 'asdfasdfasdf', 'Test Blog Post', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1853-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 22:02:57', '2016-11-01 02:02:57', '', 1853, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1853-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1862, 1, '2016-11-11 02:37:19', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', 'http://www.nipic.com/show/795493.html', '[Communist Kitch] Understanding Chinese Cultural Revolution Propaganda Posters', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-11 02:37:19', '2016-11-11 07:37:19', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1862', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1856, 1, '2016-10-31 22:45:35', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '　　曾经有个小国到中国来，进贡了三个一模一样的金人，金碧辉煌，把皇帝高兴坏了。可是这小国不厚道，同时出一道题目：这三个金人哪个最有价值?\r\n　　皇帝想了许多的办法，请来珠宝匠检查，称重量，看做工，都是一模一样的。怎么办?使者还等着回去汇报呢。泱泱大国，不会连这个小事都不懂吧?\r\n　　最后，有一位退位的老大臣说他有办法。\r\n　　皇帝将使者请到大殿，老臣胸有成足地拿着三根稻草，插入第一个金人的耳朵里，这稻草从另一边耳朵出来了。第二个金人的稻草从嘴巴里直接掉出来，而第三个金人，稻草进去后掉进了肚子，什么响动也没有。老臣说：第三个金人最有价值!使者默默无语，答案正确。 ', '[Fable] 三个金人 - The Three Golden Statues', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-10-31 22:45:35', '2016-11-01 02:45:35', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1856', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1857, 1, '2016-10-31 22:45:35', '2016-11-01 02:45:35', '　　曾经有个小国到中国来，进贡了三个一模一样的金人，金碧辉煌，把皇帝高兴坏了。可是这小国不厚道，同时出一道题目：这三个金人哪个最有价值?\r\n　　皇帝想了许多的办法，请来珠宝匠检查，称重量，看做工，都是一模一样的。怎么办?使者还等着回去汇报呢。泱泱大国，不会连这个小事都不懂吧?\r\n　　最后，有一位退位的老大臣说他有办法。\r\n　　皇帝将使者请到大殿，老臣胸有成足地拿着三根稻草，插入第一个金人的耳朵里，这稻草从另一边耳朵出来了。第二个金人的稻草从嘴巴里直接掉出来，而第三个金人，稻草进去后掉进了肚子，什么响动也没有。老臣说：第三个金人最有价值!使者默默无语，答案正确。 ', '[Fable] 三个金人 - The Three Golden Statues', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1856-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 22:45:35', '2016-11-01 02:45:35', '', 1856, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1856-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
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(1859, 1, '2016-11-01 00:40:18', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', 'http://www.nipic.com/show/795493.html', '[The CRP Blog] Imperialist Running Dogs & Capitalist Roaders: Understanding Chinese Cultural Revolution Posters', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-01 00:40:18', '2016-11-01 04:40:18', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?post_type=blog&#038;p=1859', 0, 'blog', '', 0),
(1860, 1, '2016-11-01 00:40:18', '2016-11-01 04:40:18', 'http://www.nipic.com/show/795493.html', '[The CRP Blog] Imperialist Running Dogs & Capitalist Roaders: Understanding Chinese Cultural Revolution Posters', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1859-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-01 00:40:18', '2016-11-01 04:40:18', '', 1859, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1859-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1861, 1, '2016-11-01 00:42:00', '2016-11-01 04:42:00', ' ', '', '', 'publish', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1861', '', '', '2016-11-18 23:43:05', '2016-11-19 04:43:05', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1861', 5, 'nav_menu_item', '', 0),
(1863, 1, '2016-11-01 00:44:26', '2016-11-01 04:44:26', 'http://www.nipic.com/show/795493.html', '[Communist Kitch] Understanding Chinese Cultural Revolution Propaganda Posters', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1862-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-01 00:44:26', '2016-11-01 04:44:26', '', 1862, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1862-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1864, 1, '2016-11-01 00:48:16', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '', '[Ancient Chinese] An Officer and a 君子: the Art of Being a Chinese Gentleman', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-01 00:48:16', '2016-11-01 04:48:16', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1864', 0, 'post', '', 0),
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(1867, 1, '2017-01-21 07:33:29', '2017-01-21 12:33:29', 'Chances are pretty good you\'ve heard this conversation between \"A\" and \"B\" before in your native language, and you may recognize the joke right away. Not really a thigh-slapper, this. More of a sad commentary on the state of human empathy. \r\n\r\n<h3>Versatile 只 [pinyin]zhi3[/pinyin]</h3>\r\nThe character 只 might throw you for a bit of a loop in this passage. You\'ll see it used twice, but the definitions are different each time. \r\n\r\nIn the first sentence, we see 只 used as a measure word which is used, among other things, for certain four-legged animals, most notably cats, dogs and birds. So \"一只大老虎\" simply means \"a large tiger\". (Don\'t known what a measure word is? <a href=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2017/01/chinese-grammar-deep-dive-whats-a-measure-word/\" target=\"_blank\">Read this.</a>)\r\n\r\nIn the last sentence, we see 只 again, but this time it means \"only / merely\". In this case, it\'s pared with 要 [pinyin]yao4[/pinyin], which also has several meanings. 要 can mean \"to want\", as in \"我要出去\" (\"I want to go out\"), and that\'s usually the first definition of 要 that we learn as beginners. But here, it means \"must / have to / need to\". So 只要 means \"...only have to...\" or \"... merely need to ...\" . \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n1) 两个人在森林里，遇到了一只大老虎。\r\n2) A就赶紧从背后取下一双更轻便的运动鞋换上。\r\n3) B急死了，骂道：“你干嘛呢?再换鞋也跑不过老虎啊！”\r\n4) A说：“我只要跑得比你快就好了。”  \r\n\r\nSee the <a href=\"http://tieba.baidu.com/p/1831342688\" target=\"_blank\">source</a>.\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n1) Two people in the forest happened upon a large tiger.\r\n2) \"A\" quickly pulled a pair of better running shoes from his backpack and put them on. \r\n3) \"B\" was frantic, and yelled: \"What are you doing? Change shoes all you want but you can\'t outrun a tiger!\" \r\n4) \"A\" said: \"I only have to outrun you.\"\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]\r\n\r\n      ', '[Chinese Jokes] 当老虎来临时  - The Tiger Approaches', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'chinese-jokes-%e5%bd%93%e8%80%81%e8%99%8e%e6%9d%a5%e4%b8%b4%e6%97%b6-the-tiger-approaches', '', '', '2017-01-21 07:36:04', '2017-01-21 12:36:04', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1867', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1869, 1, '2016-11-01 01:35:42', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '', '[The CRP Blog] Top 25 Novels in Contemporary Chinese Literature', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-01 01:35:42', '2016-11-01 05:35:42', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1869', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1870, 1, '2016-11-01 01:35:30', '2016-11-01 05:35:30', '', '[The CRP Blog] Top 25 Books in Contemporary Chinese Literature', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1869-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-01 01:35:30', '2016-11-01 05:35:30', '', 1869, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1869-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1871, 1, '2016-11-01 01:35:42', '2016-11-01 05:35:42', '', '[The CRP Blog] Top 25 Novels in Contemporary Chinese Literature', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1869-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-01 01:35:42', '2016-11-01 05:35:42', '', 1869, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1869-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1872, 1, '2016-11-01 01:41:07', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', 'https://www.zhihu.com/question/23931133\r\nBiantai, Dadan', '[The CRP Blog] Modern Literature author roundup', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-01 01:41:07', '2016-11-01 05:41:07', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1872', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1873, 1, '2016-11-01 01:40:55', '2016-11-01 05:40:55', 'https://www.zhihu.com/question/23931133', '[The CRP Blog] Modern Literature author roundup', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1872-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-01 01:40:55', '2016-11-01 05:40:55', '', 1872, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1872-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1874, 1, '2016-11-01 01:41:07', '2016-11-01 05:41:07', 'https://www.zhihu.com/question/23931133\r\nBiantai, Dadan', '[The CRP Blog] Modern Literature author roundup', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1872-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-01 01:41:07', '2016-11-01 05:41:07', '', 1872, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1872-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1875, 1, '2016-11-01 01:43:48', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '', '[The CRP Blog] Chinese Scifi Novels: What to Read, Where to Start', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-01 01:43:48', '2016-11-01 05:43:48', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1875', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1876, 1, '2016-11-01 01:43:48', '2016-11-01 05:43:48', '', '[The CRP Blog] Chinese Scifi Novels: What to Read, Where to Start', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1875-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-01 01:43:48', '2016-11-01 05:43:48', '', 1875, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1875-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1877, 1, '2016-11-01 01:58:20', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '　　有位秀才第三次进京赶考，住在一个经常住的店里。考试前两天他做了三个梦，第一个梦是梦到自己在墙上种白菜，第二个梦是下雨天，他戴了斗笠还打伞，第三个梦是梦到跟心爱的表妹脱光了衣服躺在一起，但是背靠着背。\r\n　　这三个梦似乎有些深意，秀才第二天就赶紧去找算命的解梦。算命的一听，连拍大腿说：“你还是回家吧。你想想，高墙上种菜不是白费劲吗？戴斗笠打雨伞不是多此一举吗？跟表妹都脱光了躺在一张床上了，却背靠背，不是没戏吗？”\r\n　　秀才一听，心灰意冷，回店收拾包袱准备回家。店老板非常奇怪，问：“不是明天才考试吗，今天你怎么就回乡了？”\r\n　　秀才如此这般说了一番，店老板乐了：“哟，我也会解梦的。我倒觉得，你这次一定要留下来。你想想，墙上种菜不是高种吗？戴斗笠打伞不是说明你这次有备无患吗？跟你表妹脱光了背靠靠躺在床上，不是说明你翻身的时候就要到了吗？”\r\n　　秀才一听，更有道理，于是精神振奋地参加考试，居然中了个探花。\r\n 【学习啦】心得：积极的人，象太阳，照到哪里哪里亮，消极的人，象月亮，初一十五不一样。想法决定我们的生活，有什么样的想法，就有什么样的未来。', '[Fable] 秀才赶考 - Taking the Imperial Exam', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-01 01:58:20', '2016-11-01 05:58:20', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1877', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1878, 1, '2016-11-01 01:58:20', '2016-11-01 05:58:20', '　　有位秀才第三次进京赶考，住在一个经常住的店里。考试前两天他做了三个梦，第一个梦是梦到自己在墙上种白菜，第二个梦是下雨天，他戴了斗笠还打伞，第三个梦是梦到跟心爱的表妹脱光了衣服躺在一起，但是背靠着背。\r\n　　这三个梦似乎有些深意，秀才第二天就赶紧去找算命的解梦。算命的一听，连拍大腿说：“你还是回家吧。你想想，高墙上种菜不是白费劲吗？戴斗笠打雨伞不是多此一举吗？跟表妹都脱光了躺在一张床上了，却背靠背，不是没戏吗？”\r\n　　秀才一听，心灰意冷，回店收拾包袱准备回家。店老板非常奇怪，问：“不是明天才考试吗，今天你怎么就回乡了？”\r\n　　秀才如此这般说了一番，店老板乐了：“哟，我也会解梦的。我倒觉得，你这次一定要留下来。你想想，墙上种菜不是高种吗？戴斗笠打伞不是说明你这次有备无患吗？跟你表妹脱光了背靠靠躺在床上，不是说明你翻身的时候就要到了吗？”\r\n　　秀才一听，更有道理，于是精神振奋地参加考试，居然中了个探花。\r\n 【学习啦】心得：积极的人，象太阳，照到哪里哪里亮，消极的人，象月亮，初一十五不一样。想法决定我们的生活，有什么样的想法，就有什么样的未来。', '[Fable] 秀才赶考 - Taking the Imperial Exam', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1877-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-01 01:58:20', '2016-11-01 05:58:20', '', 1877, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1877-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1879, 1, '2016-11-01 02:22:49', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '    卡内基，小时候是一个非常调皮的小男孩。他九岁的时候，父亲将继母娶进门。他父亲向新婚妻子介绍卡内基时，如是说：“希望你注意这个全郡最坏的男孩，他实在令我头痛，说不定明天早晨他还会拿石头砸你，或做出什么坏事呢！”出乎卡内基预料的是，继母微笑地走到他面前，托着他的头，注视着他。接着告诉丈夫：“你错了，他不是最坏的男孩，而是还没找到发泄热忱地方的最聪明的男孩。”     此话一出，卡内基的眼泪不听使唤地滚滚而下。就因为这一句话，建立了卡内基和继母之间深厚的感情；也因为这一句话，成就了他立志向上的动力；更因为这一句话，让他日后帮助千千万万的人一同步上了成功之路。 \r\n\r\nhttp://wenku.baidu.com/link?url=wBlkZKsUk0i_bzo1dmGLc7wMzZnefYAP9nVAtY3a-ckvwioYEM89ji86VW2ajI-jvcvFJT58FhYLmJ24Nuo5HqxIcWsP34-1iDyx2yKXFDS', '[Short Story] 给他合适发泄的机会 - Give him a place to vent', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-01 02:22:49', '2016-11-01 06:22:49', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1879', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1880, 1, '2016-11-01 02:22:49', '2016-11-01 06:22:49', '    卡内基，小时候是一个非常调皮的小男孩。他九岁的时候，父亲将继母娶进门。他父亲向新婚妻子介绍卡内基时，如是说：“希望你注意这个全郡最坏的男孩，他实在令我头痛，说不定明天早晨他还会拿石头砸你，或做出什么坏事呢！”出乎卡内基预料的是，继母微笑地走到他面前，托着他的头，注视着他。接着告诉丈夫：“你错了，他不是最坏的男孩，而是还没找到发泄热忱地方的最聪明的男孩。”     此话一出，卡内基的眼泪不听使唤地滚滚而下。就因为这一句话，建立了卡内基和继母之间深厚的感情；也因为这一句话，成就了他立志向上的动力；更因为这一句话，让他日后帮助千千万万的人一同步上了成功之路。 \r\n\r\nhttp://wenku.baidu.com/link?url=wBlkZKsUk0i_bzo1dmGLc7wMzZnefYAP9nVAtY3a-ckvwioYEM89ji86VW2ajI-jvcvFJT58FhYLmJ24Nuo5HqxIcWsP34-1iDyx2yKXFDS', '[Short Story] 给他合适发泄的机会 - Give him a place to vent', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1879-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-01 02:22:49', '2016-11-01 06:22:49', '', 1879, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1879-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1881, 1, '2017-01-19 22:42:17', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', 'The year is 1120. Emperor Song Huizong, a famously ineffectual monarch, holds power in the [NORTH]. He wasn\'t too bad a guy, really, just a rather soppy leader of men. Spent a lot of time devising poetry competitions and putting on fashion shows in his bedroom or whatever. He was a painter, and was in fact so into art that he established the Hanlin College, TEST SKILL. an alternate route to officialdom. \n\n宣和二年，睦州青溪(今浙江淳安)人方腊利用摩尼教在帮源峒聚众万人起事。方腊称圣公，建元永乐，分设官署。随后攻克睦、歙、杭、处、衢、婺等州县，众至数十万。宣和三年初，宋廷任命童贯为江、淮、荆、浙等路宣抚使，领十五万大军南下镇压。方腊控制的州县相继失陷。四月，方腊率部退守帮源峒，与官军决战，所率七万人皆战死，方腊被俘，押送汴京处决。余部继续在浙东转战近一年，后被消灭。\n方腊起义失败后，宋徽宗立即恢复了苏杭“应奉局”，并在开封重新设置了“应奉司”，加紧搜刮“四方珍异之物”，宫殿、园林等巨大土木工程也照旧进行。\n\nText source: http://baike.baidu.com/link?url=vl-psaDGRWFlQVDXFy4dAxeCh7B3BB0f4AOVASmOBTxIjSZsfRxLRfm-BGYfWb-o\nHistory: http://www.qulishi.com/news/201404/12334.html', '[This Day In Chinese History] November 1, 1120: 方腊起义 - The Fangla Uprising', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2017-01-19 22:42:17', '2017-01-20 03:42:17', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1881', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1882, 1, '2016-11-01 02:54:44', '2016-11-01 06:54:44', 'The year is 1120. Emperor Song Huizong, a famously ineffectual monarch, holds power in the [NORTH]. He wasn\'t too bad a guy, really, just a rather soppy leader of men. Spent a lot of time devising poetry competitions and putting the finishing touches on , that kind of thing. He was so into art that he established , STIMULATING CHINESE ART WORLD.   He\'s so into art that ONE OF THE GREAT PATRONS OF THE AGE. But kingship is more \r\n\r\n宣和二年，睦州青溪(今浙江淳安)人方腊利用摩尼教在帮源峒聚众万人起事。方腊称圣公，建元永乐，分设官署。随后攻克睦、歙、杭、处、衢、婺等州县，众至数十万。宣和三年初，宋廷任命童贯为江、淮、荆、浙等路宣抚使，领十五万大军南下镇压。方腊控制的州县相继失陷。四月，方腊率部退守帮源峒，与官军决战，所率七万人皆战死，方腊被俘，押送汴京处决。余部继续在浙东转战近一年，后被消灭。\r\n方腊起义失败后，宋徽宗立即恢复了苏杭“应奉局”，并在开封重新设置了“应奉司”，加紧搜刮“四方珍异之物”，宫殿、园林等巨大土木工程也照旧进行。', '[This Day In Chinese History] November 1, 1120: 方腊起义 - The Fangla Uprising', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1881-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-01 02:54:44', '2016-11-01 06:54:44', '', 1881, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1881-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1883, 1, '2016-11-01 03:01:34', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '', '[The CRP Blog] How to Write Chinese Poetry: The Rules of 唐诗 and 宋词', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-01 03:01:34', '2016-11-01 07:01:34', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1883', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1884, 1, '2016-11-01 03:01:34', '2016-11-01 07:01:34', '', '[The CRP Blog] How to Write Chinese Poetry: The Rules of 唐诗 and 宋词', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1883-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-01 03:01:34', '2016-11-01 07:01:34', '', 1883, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1883-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1885, 1, '2016-11-01 03:03:28', '2016-11-01 07:03:28', 'The year is 1120. Emperor Song Huizong, a famously ineffectual monarch, holds power in the [NORTH]. He wasn\'t too bad a guy, really, just a rather soppy leader of men. Spent a lot of time devising poetry competitions and putting on fashion shows in his bedroom or whatever. He was a painter, and was in fact so into art that he established the Hanlin College, TEST SKILL. an alternate route to officialdom. \r\n\r\n宣和二年，睦州青溪(今浙江淳安)人方腊利用摩尼教在帮源峒聚众万人起事。方腊称圣公，建元永乐，分设官署。随后攻克睦、歙、杭、处、衢、婺等州县，众至数十万。宣和三年初，宋廷任命童贯为江、淮、荆、浙等路宣抚使，领十五万大军南下镇压。方腊控制的州县相继失陷。四月，方腊率部退守帮源峒，与官军决战，所率七万人皆战死，方腊被俘，押送汴京处决。余部继续在浙东转战近一年，后被消灭。\r\n方腊起义失败后，宋徽宗立即恢复了苏杭“应奉局”，并在开封重新设置了“应奉司”，加紧搜刮“四方珍异之物”，宫殿、园林等巨大土木工程也照旧进行。\r\n\r\nText source: http://baike.baidu.com/link?url=vl-psaDGRWFlQVDXFy4dAxeCh7B3BB0f4AOVASmOBTxIjSZsfRxLRfm-BGYfWb-o\r\nHistory: http://www.qulishi.com/news/201404/12334.html', '[This Day In Chinese History] November 1, 1120: 方腊起义 - The Fangla Uprising', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1881-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-01 03:03:28', '2016-11-01 07:03:28', '', 1881, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1881-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1887, 1, '2016-11-01 03:05:46', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '父子二人经过五星级饭店门口，看到一辆十分豪华的进口轿车。\r\n儿子不屑地对他的父亲说：\"坐这种车的人，肚子里一定没有学问!\"\r\n父亲则轻描淡写地回答：\"说这种话的人，口袋里一定没有钱。\"', '[Chinese Jokes] 看法 - Point of View', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-01 03:05:46', '2016-11-01 07:05:46', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1887', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1888, 1, '2016-11-01 03:05:46', '2016-11-01 07:05:46', '父子二人经过五星级饭店门口，看到一辆十分豪华的进口轿车。\r\n儿子不屑地对他的父亲说：\"坐这种车的人，肚子里一定没有学问!\"\r\n父亲则轻描淡写地回答：\"说这种话的人，口袋里一定没有钱。\"', '[Chinese Jokes] 看法 - Point of View', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1887-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-01 03:05:46', '2016-11-01 07:05:46', '', 1887, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1887-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1889, 1, '2016-11-01 03:07:48', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '', '[The CRP Blog] Chinese New Year: Understanding 对联', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-01 03:07:48', '2016-11-01 07:07:48', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1889', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1890, 1, '2016-11-01 03:07:48', '2016-11-01 07:07:48', '', '[The CRP Blog] Chinese New Year: Understanding 对联', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1889-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-01 03:07:48', '2016-11-01 07:07:48', '', 1889, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1889-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1891, 1, '2016-11-01 03:10:50', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '晚饭后，母亲和女儿一块儿洗碗盘，父亲和儿子在客厅看电视。\r\n突然，厨房里传来打破盘子的响声，然后一片沉寂。\r\n儿子望着他父亲，说道：「一定是妈妈打破的。」\r\n「你怎么知道？」\r\n「她没有骂人」\r\nhttp://www.xuexila.com/success/story/6873_4.html', '[Chinese Jokes] 洗盘子 -  Washing the Dishes', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-01 03:10:50', '2016-11-01 07:10:50', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1891', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1892, 1, '2016-11-01 03:09:44', '2016-11-01 07:09:44', '晚饭后，母亲和女儿一块儿洗碗盘，父亲和儿子在客厅看电视。\r\n突然，厨房里传来打破盘子的响声，然后一片沉寂。\r\n儿子望着他父亲，说道：「一定是妈妈打破的。」\r\n「你怎么知道？」\r\n「她没有骂人」\r\nhttp://www.xuexila.com/success/story/6873_4.html', '[Chinese Jokes]', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1891-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-01 03:09:44', '2016-11-01 07:09:44', '', 1891, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1891-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1893, 1, '2016-11-01 03:10:50', '2016-11-01 07:10:50', '晚饭后，母亲和女儿一块儿洗碗盘，父亲和儿子在客厅看电视。\r\n突然，厨房里传来打破盘子的响声，然后一片沉寂。\r\n儿子望着他父亲，说道：「一定是妈妈打破的。」\r\n「你怎么知道？」\r\n「她没有骂人」\r\nhttp://www.xuexila.com/success/story/6873_4.html', '[Chinese Jokes] 洗盘子 -  Washing the Dishes', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1891-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-01 03:10:50', '2016-11-01 07:10:50', '', 1891, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1891-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1894, 1, '2016-11-01 03:21:04', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '有一个欧巴桑在首饰店里看到二只一模一样的手环。\r\n一个标价五百五十元，另一个却只标价二百五十元。\r\n她大为心喜，立刻买下二百五十元的手环，得意洋洋的走出店门。\r\n临出去前，听到里面的店员悄悄对另一个店员说：「看吧，这一招屡试不爽。', '[Chinese Jokes] 手环 - The Bracelets', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-01 03:21:04', '2016-11-01 07:21:04', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1894', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1895, 1, '2016-11-01 03:21:04', '2016-11-01 07:21:04', '有一个欧巴桑在首饰店里看到二只一模一样的手环。\r\n一个标价五百五十元，另一个却只标价二百五十元。\r\n她大为心喜，立刻买下二百五十元的手环，得意洋洋的走出店门。\r\n临出去前，听到里面的店员悄悄对另一个店员说：「看吧，这一招屡试不爽。', '[Chinese Jokes] 手环 - The Bracelets', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1894-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-01 03:21:04', '2016-11-01 07:21:04', '', 1894, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1894-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1896, 1, '2016-11-01 03:24:52', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '妻子正在厨房炒菜。丈夫在她旁边一直唠叨不停：慢些。小心！火太大了。\r\n赶快把鱼翻过来。快铲起来，油放太多了！把豆腐整平一下。哎唷，锅子歪了！」\r\n「请你住口！」妻子脱口而出，「我懂得怎样炒菜。」\r\n你当然懂，太太，」丈夫平静地答道：\r\n「我只是要让你知道，我在开车时，你在旁边喋喋不休，我的感觉如何。」', '[Chinese Jokes] 体谅 - Empathizing', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-01 03:24:52', '2016-11-01 07:24:52', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1896', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1897, 1, '2016-11-01 03:24:52', '2016-11-01 07:24:52', '妻子正在厨房炒菜。丈夫在她旁边一直唠叨不停：慢些。小心！火太大了。\r\n赶快把鱼翻过来。快铲起来，油放太多了！把豆腐整平一下。哎唷，锅子歪了！」\r\n「请你住口！」妻子脱口而出，「我懂得怎样炒菜。」\r\n你当然懂，太太，」丈夫平静地答道：\r\n「我只是要让你知道，我在开车时，你在旁边喋喋不休，我的感觉如何。」', '[Chinese Jokes] 体谅 - Empathizing', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1896-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-01 03:24:52', '2016-11-01 07:24:52', '', 1896, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1896-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1899, 1, '2016-11-02 03:13:22', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', ' 小明洗澡时不小心吞下一小块肥皂，他的妈妈慌慌张张地打电话向家庭医生求助。\r\n\r\n医生说：\"我现在还有几个病人在，可能要半小时后才能赶过去。\"\r\n\r\n小明妈妈说：\"在你来前，我该做甚么？\"　\r\n\r\n医生说：\"给小明喝一杯白开水，然后用力跳一跳，你就可以让小明用嘴巴吹泡泡消磨时间了。\"', '[Chinese Jokes] 不必紧张 - No need to worry', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-02 03:13:22', '2016-11-02 07:13:22', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1899', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1900, 1, '2016-11-01 10:07:24', '2016-11-01 14:07:24', ' 小明洗澡时不小心吞下一小块肥皂，他的妈妈慌慌张张地打电话向家庭医生求助。\r\n\r\n医生说：\"我现在还有几个病人在，可能要半小时后才能赶过去。\"\r\n\r\n小明妈妈说：\"在你来前，我该做甚么？\"　\r\n\r\n医生说：\"给小明喝一杯白开水，然后用力跳一跳，你就可以让小明用嘴巴吹泡泡消磨时间了。\"', '[Chinese Jokes] 不必紧张 - No need to worry', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1899-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-01 10:07:24', '2016-11-01 14:07:24', '', 1899, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1899-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1901, 1, '2016-11-01 10:23:23', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '上帝啊！一个驼背的妇女将是个悲剧，求你把驼背赐给我，再将美貌留给我的新娘。\r\n\r\n　　墨西·孟德尔颂是德国知名作曲家的祖父。他的外貌极其平凡，除了身材五短之外，还是个古怪可笑的驼子。\r\n\r\n　　一天，他到汉堡去拜访一个商人，这个商人有个心爱的女儿名叫弗西，墨西无可救药地爱上了她，但弗西却因他的畸形外貌而拒绝他。\r\n\r\n　　到了必须离开的时候，墨西鼓起了所有的勇气，上楼到弗西的房间，把握最后和她说话的机会。她有着天使般的脸孔，但让他十分沮丧的是，弗西始终拒绝正眼看他。经过多次尝试性的沟通，他害羞地问：“你相信姻缘天注定吗？”\r\n\r\n　　她眼睛盯着地板答了一句：“相信，然后反问他：“你相信吗？”\r\n\r\n　　他回答：“我听说，每个男孩出生之前，上帝便会告诉他，将来要娶的是哪一个女孩。我出生的时候，未来的新娘便已许配给我了，上帝还告诉我，我的新娘是个驼子。\r\n\r\n　　“我当时向上帝恳求：‘上帝啊！一个驼背的妇女将是个悲剧，求你把驼背赐给我，再将美貌留给我的新娘。’”\r\n\r\n　　当时弗西看着墨西的眼睛，并被内心深处的某些记忆所搅乱了。她把手伸向他，之后成了他最挚爱的妻子。', '[Short Story] 驼子之爱 - The Hunchback\'s Love', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-01 10:23:23', '2016-11-01 14:23:23', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1901', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1902, 1, '2016-11-01 10:23:23', '2016-11-01 14:23:23', '上帝啊！一个驼背的妇女将是个悲剧，求你把驼背赐给我，再将美貌留给我的新娘。\r\n\r\n　　墨西·孟德尔颂是德国知名作曲家的祖父。他的外貌极其平凡，除了身材五短之外，还是个古怪可笑的驼子。\r\n\r\n　　一天，他到汉堡去拜访一个商人，这个商人有个心爱的女儿名叫弗西，墨西无可救药地爱上了她，但弗西却因他的畸形外貌而拒绝他。\r\n\r\n　　到了必须离开的时候，墨西鼓起了所有的勇气，上楼到弗西的房间，把握最后和她说话的机会。她有着天使般的脸孔，但让他十分沮丧的是，弗西始终拒绝正眼看他。经过多次尝试性的沟通，他害羞地问：“你相信姻缘天注定吗？”\r\n\r\n　　她眼睛盯着地板答了一句：“相信，然后反问他：“你相信吗？”\r\n\r\n　　他回答：“我听说，每个男孩出生之前，上帝便会告诉他，将来要娶的是哪一个女孩。我出生的时候，未来的新娘便已许配给我了，上帝还告诉我，我的新娘是个驼子。\r\n\r\n　　“我当时向上帝恳求：‘上帝啊！一个驼背的妇女将是个悲剧，求你把驼背赐给我，再将美貌留给我的新娘。’”\r\n\r\n　　当时弗西看着墨西的眼睛，并被内心深处的某些记忆所搅乱了。她把手伸向他，之后成了他最挚爱的妻子。', '[Short Story] 驼子之爱 - The Hunchback\'s Love', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1901-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-01 10:23:23', '2016-11-01 14:23:23', '', 1901, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1901-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1905, 1, '2016-11-01 10:40:17', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '这个感人的故事，发生在一辆公车上，公车沿着南方偏僻公路蹒跚而行。\r\n\r\n　　车子里的乘客，有位瘦弱的老人，手里握着一束鲜花，车过教堂时，上来一个少女，目不转睛地看着老人的鲜花。\r\n\r\n　　到了老人快要下车时，他忽然冲动地将自己手中的鲜花推向少女的怀中。他赶忙解释说：“我看得出来你很喜欢这束花，我想我太太也会很高兴你拥有这束花的。我会告诉她我把花送给你了。”\r\n\r\n　　那女孩接受那束花后，目送老人下车，看着他慢慢走到一座小公墓的门口。', '[Short Story] 礼物 - The Gift', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-01 10:40:17', '2016-11-01 14:40:17', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1905', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1906, 1, '2016-11-01 10:40:17', '2016-11-01 14:40:17', '这个感人的故事，发生在一辆公车上，公车沿着南方偏僻公路蹒跚而行。\r\n\r\n　　车子里的乘客，有位瘦弱的老人，手里握着一束鲜花，车过教堂时，上来一个少女，目不转睛地看着老人的鲜花。\r\n\r\n　　到了老人快要下车时，他忽然冲动地将自己手中的鲜花推向少女的怀中。他赶忙解释说：“我看得出来你很喜欢这束花，我想我太太也会很高兴你拥有这束花的。我会告诉她我把花送给你了。”\r\n\r\n　　那女孩接受那束花后，目送老人下车，看着他慢慢走到一座小公墓的门口。', '[Short Story] 礼物 - The Gift', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1905-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-01 10:40:17', '2016-11-01 14:40:17', '', 1905, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1905-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1907, 1, '2016-11-01 12:05:30', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', 'http://www.qulishi.com/news/201611/136995.html\r\n\r\n　驻守在井陉口的是赵国大将陈余，他手下的谋士李左车分析了时局，主张一面堵住井陉口，一面派兵抄小路切断汉军的后勤供给线，韩信没了粮草支援，只有败走。但陈余自以为有兵力上的优势，坚持和汉军正面作战。\r\n\r\n　　韩信得知这个情况，立刻率军在井陉口三十余里的地方安营扎寨，他派一万精兵背靠河水，排成一字迎接赵军，再派一支轻骑，带上汉军大旗，连夜绕到井陉口山背后，待第二天两军大战，敌军大营空虚之时，让这支精锐部队进行偷袭。\r\n\r\n　　赵王方面得知汉军背水扎营，后退无路，很吃惊，嘲笑韩信犯了兵家大忌，将军队置于险境。天亮后，两军厮杀在一起，这边战斗正酣，那边两千轻骑已经进入赵军空虚的后营，拔掉了赵军大旗，全部换上汉军大旗。\r\n\r\n　　战场上，韩信率领军队节节败退，退到河边，赵军追杀到河边，此时的汉军一见退无可退，反而以一当十，奋勇拼杀，大败赵军，赵军余部掉头回营，发现营地飘扬着汉军大旗，以为汉军占了自己的大本营，顷刻间，军心大乱，溃不成军。\r\n\r\n　　韩信在这里运用了心理战术，正所谓“置之死地而后生”。心理学上同样有个著名的试验“温水煮青蛙”，把青蛙放置在凉水里慢慢加热，青蛙游得怡然自得，直到水温慢慢上升，等到青蛙发现水温受不了，已无力跳出水了;相反，如果把青蛙放在滚烫的水里，它会立刻蹦出去，能逃多远逃多远。这个试验也同样印证了一个道理，“生于忧患，死于安乐”。', '[Chinese History] Hanxin vs. the Zhao Army - 置之死地而后生', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-01 12:05:30', '2016-11-01 16:05:30', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1907', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1908, 1, '2016-11-01 12:05:30', '2016-11-01 16:05:30', 'http://www.qulishi.com/news/201611/136995.html\r\n\r\n　驻守在井陉口的是赵国大将陈余，他手下的谋士李左车分析了时局，主张一面堵住井陉口，一面派兵抄小路切断汉军的后勤供给线，韩信没了粮草支援，只有败走。但陈余自以为有兵力上的优势，坚持和汉军正面作战。\r\n\r\n　　韩信得知这个情况，立刻率军在井陉口三十余里的地方安营扎寨，他派一万精兵背靠河水，排成一字迎接赵军，再派一支轻骑，带上汉军大旗，连夜绕到井陉口山背后，待第二天两军大战，敌军大营空虚之时，让这支精锐部队进行偷袭。\r\n\r\n　　赵王方面得知汉军背水扎营，后退无路，很吃惊，嘲笑韩信犯了兵家大忌，将军队置于险境。天亮后，两军厮杀在一起，这边战斗正酣，那边两千轻骑已经进入赵军空虚的后营，拔掉了赵军大旗，全部换上汉军大旗。\r\n\r\n　　战场上，韩信率领军队节节败退，退到河边，赵军追杀到河边，此时的汉军一见退无可退，反而以一当十，奋勇拼杀，大败赵军，赵军余部掉头回营，发现营地飘扬着汉军大旗，以为汉军占了自己的大本营，顷刻间，军心大乱，溃不成军。\r\n\r\n　　韩信在这里运用了心理战术，正所谓“置之死地而后生”。心理学上同样有个著名的试验“温水煮青蛙”，把青蛙放置在凉水里慢慢加热，青蛙游得怡然自得，直到水温慢慢上升，等到青蛙发现水温受不了，已无力跳出水了;相反，如果把青蛙放在滚烫的水里，它会立刻蹦出去，能逃多远逃多远。这个试验也同样印证了一个道理，“生于忧患，死于安乐”。', '[Chinese History] Hanxin vs. the Zhao Army - 置之死地而后生', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1907-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-01 12:05:30', '2016-11-01 16:05:30', '', 1907, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1907-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2290, 1, '2016-11-10 21:06:32', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', 'Where do you think you\'re going?\r\nI\'m going with you.\r\nOh, you\'re going with me, are you? And what are you going to do?\r\nI\'m going to help.\r\nAnd a good help you\'d be, too. But I need you to stay here and look after the place for me while I\'m away. \r\nI can fight. \r\nI know. I know you can fight. But it\'s our wits that make us men. See you tomorrow. \r\n\r\n你想去哪儿？\r\n跟着你。\r\n你想和我一起，是吗？你想干什么？\r\n我要去帮你。\r\n哦，你会成为好帮手的。但是我要你留在这儿，在我不在的时候，照看好这地方。\r\n我能打仗。\r\n我知道。我知道你能打仗。不过真正的男子汉还要会用脑子。明天见。\r\n', '[Movie Scripts in Chinese] 勇敢的心 - Braveheart: Dad Leaves for Battle', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-10 21:06:32', '2016-11-11 02:06:32', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=2290', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1911, 1, '2016-11-02 02:21:17', '2016-11-02 06:21:17', '我是一条天狗呀！\r\n我把月来吞了，\r\n我把日来吞了，\r\n我把一切的星球来吞了，\r\n我把全宇宙来吞了。\r\n我便是我了！\r\n我是月的光，\r\n我是日的光，\r\n我是一切星球的光，\r\n我是 X 光线的光，\r\n我是全宇宙的 Energy （能量）的总量！\r\n我飞奔，\r\n我狂叫，\r\n我燃烧。\r\n我如烈火一样地燃烧！\r\n我如大海一样地狂叫！\r\n我如电气一样地飞跑！\r\n我飞跑，\r\n我飞跑，\r\n我飞跑，\r\n我剥我的皮，\r\n我食我的肉，\r\n我吸我的血，\r\n我啮我的心肝，\r\n我在我神经上飞跑，\r\n我在我脊髓上飞跑，\r\n我在我脑筋上飞跑。\r\n我便是我呀！\r\n我的我要爆了！\r\n', '[Modern Chinese Poetry] 《天狗》by Guo Moruo', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1910-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-02 02:21:17', '2016-11-02 06:21:17', '', 1910, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1910-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1912, 1, '2016-11-02 02:22:41', '2016-11-02 06:22:41', '我是一条天狗呀！\r\n我把月来吞了，\r\n我把日来吞了，\r\n我把一切的星球来吞了，\r\n我把全宇宙来吞了。\r\n我便是我了！\r\n我是月的光，\r\n我是日的光，\r\n我是一切星球的光，\r\n我是 X 光线的光，\r\n我是全宇宙的 Energy （能量）的总量！\r\n我飞奔，\r\n我狂叫，\r\n我燃烧。\r\n我如烈火一样地燃烧！\r\n我如大海一样地狂叫！\r\n我如电气一样地飞跑！\r\n我飞跑，\r\n我飞跑，\r\n我飞跑，\r\n我剥我的皮，\r\n我食我的肉，\r\n我吸我的血，\r\n我啮我的心肝，\r\n我在我神经上飞跑，\r\n我在我脊髓上飞跑，\r\n我在我脑筋上飞跑。\r\n我便是我呀！\r\n我的我要爆了！\r\n\r\nhttp://baike.baidu.com/subview/5737/6582464.htm?fromtitle=%E3%80%8A%E5%A4%A9%E7%8B%97%E3%80%8B&type=syn\r\n', '[Modern Chinese Poetry] 《天狗》by Guo Moruo', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1910-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-02 02:22:41', '2016-11-02 06:22:41', '', 1910, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1910-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1913, 1, '2016-11-02 03:12:12', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '再别康桥\r\n轻轻的我走了，\r\n正如我轻轻的来；\r\n我轻轻的招手，\r\n作别西天的云彩。\r\n----\r\n那河畔的金柳，\r\n是夕阳中的新娘；\r\n波光里的艳影，\r\n在我的心头荡漾。\r\n----\r\n软泥上的青荇⑴，\r\n油油的在水底招摇⑵；\r\n在康河的柔波里，\r\n我甘心做一条水草！\r\n----\r\n那榆荫下的一潭，\r\n不是清泉，是天上虹；\r\n揉碎在浮藻间，\r\n沉淀着彩虹似的梦。\r\n----\r\n寻梦？撑一支长篙⑶，\r\n向青草更青处漫溯⑷；\r\n满载一船星辉，\r\n在星辉斑斓里放歌。\r\n----\r\n但我不能放歌，\r\n悄悄是别离的笙箫；\r\n夏虫也为我沉默，\r\n沉默是今晚的康桥！\r\n----\r\n悄悄的我走了，\r\n正如我悄悄的来；\r\n我挥一挥衣袖，\r\n不带走一片云彩。\r\n\r\nSoftly I am leaving,\r\nJust as softly as I came;\r\nI softly wave goodbye\r\nTo the clouds in the western sky.\r\n\r\nThe golden willows by the riverside\r\nAre young brides in the setting sun;\r\nTheir glittering reflections on the shimmering river\r\nKeep undulating in my heart.\r\n\r\nThe green tape grass rooted in the soft mud\r\nSways leisurely in the water;\r\nI am willing to be such a waterweed\r\nIn the gentle flow of the River Cam.\r\n\r\nThat pool in the shade of elm trees\r\nHolds not clear spring water, but a rainbow\r\nCrumpled in the midst of duckweeds,\r\nWhere rainbow-like dreams settle.\r\n\r\nTo seek a dream? Go punting with a long pole,\r\nUpstream to where green grass is greener,\r\nWith the punt laden with starlight,\r\nAnd sing out loud in its radiance.\r\n\r\nYet now I cannot sing out loud,\r\nPeace is my farewell music;\r\nEven crickets are now silent for me,\r\nFor Cambridge this evening is silent.\r\n\r\nQuietly I am leaving,\r\nJust as quietly as I came;\r\nGently waving my sleeve,\r\nI am not taking away a single cloud.\r\n\r\nhttp://www.creatingmycambridge.com/history-stories/xu-zhimo-poem-on-leaving-cambridge/\r\n', '[Modern Chinese Poetry] 《再别康桥》- \"On Leaving Cambridge\" by Xu Zhimo', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-02 03:12:12', '2016-11-02 07:12:12', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1913', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1914, 1, '2016-11-02 02:28:49', '2016-11-02 06:28:49', '再别康桥\r\n轻轻的我走了，\r\n正如我轻轻的来；\r\n我轻轻的招手，\r\n作别西天的云彩。\r\n----\r\n那河畔的金柳，\r\n是夕阳中的新娘；\r\n波光里的艳影，\r\n在我的心头荡漾。\r\n----\r\n软泥上的青荇⑴，\r\n油油的在水底招摇⑵；\r\n在康河的柔波里，\r\n我甘心做一条水草！\r\n----\r\n那榆荫下的一潭，\r\n不是清泉，是天上虹；\r\n揉碎在浮藻间，\r\n沉淀着彩虹似的梦。\r\n----\r\n寻梦？撑一支长篙⑶，\r\n向青草更青处漫溯⑷；\r\n满载一船星辉，\r\n在星辉斑斓里放歌。\r\n----\r\n但我不能放歌，\r\n悄悄是别离的笙箫；\r\n夏虫也为我沉默，\r\n沉默是今晚的康桥！\r\n----\r\n悄悄的我走了，\r\n正如我悄悄的来；\r\n我挥一挥衣袖，\r\n不带走一片云彩。\r\n\r\nSoftly I am leaving,\r\nJust as softly as I came;\r\nI softly wave goodbye\r\nTo the clouds in the western sky.\r\n\r\nThe golden willows by the riverside\r\nAre young brides in the setting sun;\r\nTheir glittering reflections on the shimmering river\r\nKeep undulating in my heart.\r\n\r\nThe green tape grass rooted in the soft mud\r\nSways leisurely in the water;\r\nI am willing to be such a waterweed\r\nIn the gentle flow of the River Cam.\r\n\r\nThat pool in the shade of elm trees\r\nHolds not clear spring water, but a rainbow\r\nCrumpled in the midst of duckweeds,\r\nWhere rainbow-like dreams settle.\r\n\r\nTo seek a dream? Go punting with a long pole,\r\nUpstream to where green grass is greener,\r\nWith the punt laden with starlight,\r\nAnd sing out loud in its radiance.\r\n\r\nYet now I cannot sing out loud,\r\nPeace is my farewell music;\r\nEven crickets are now silent for me,\r\nFor Cambridge this evening is silent.\r\n\r\nQuietly I am leaving,\r\nJust as quietly as I came;\r\nGently waving my sleeve,\r\nI am not taking away a single cloud.\r\n\r\nhttp://www.creatingmycambridge.com/history-stories/xu-zhimo-poem-on-leaving-cambridge/\r\n', '[Modern Chinese Poetry] 《再别康桥》- On Leaving Cambridge by Xu Zhimo', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1913-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-02 02:28:49', '2016-11-02 06:28:49', '', 1913, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1913-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1915, 1, '2016-11-12 03:43:19', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '你站在桥上看风景，\r\n看风景人在楼上看你。\r\n明月装饰了你的窗子，\r\n你装饰了别人的梦。\r\n\r\n卞之琳http://history.cultural-china.com/en/242History14410.html', '[Modern Chinese Poetry] 《断章》- \"Fragment\" by Bian Zhilin', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-12 03:43:19', '2016-11-12 08:43:19', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1915', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1916, 1, '2016-11-02 02:35:09', '2016-11-02 06:35:09', '你站在桥上看风景，\r\n看风景人在楼上看你。\r\n明月装饰了你的窗子，\r\n你装饰了别人的梦。\r\n\r\n卞之琳', '[Modern Chinese Poetry] 《断章》- \"Fragment\" by Bian Zhilin', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1915-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-02 02:35:09', '2016-11-02 06:35:09', '', 1915, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1915-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1923, 1, '2016-11-02 02:44:16', '2016-11-02 06:44:16', '你站在桥上看风景，\r\n看风景人在楼上看你。\r\n明月装饰了你的窗子，\r\n你装饰了别人的梦。\r\n\r\n卞之琳http://history.cultural-china.com/en/242History14410.html', '[Modern Chinese Poetry] 《断章》- \"Fragment\" by Bian Zhilin', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1915-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-02 02:44:16', '2016-11-02 06:44:16', '', 1915, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1915-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1924, 1, '2016-11-02 02:49:42', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '啊，我年青的女郎！\r\n我不辜负你的殷勤，\r\n你也不要辜负了我的思量。\r\n我为我心爱的人儿\r\n燃到了这般模样！\r\n啊，我年青的女郎！\r\n你该知道了我的前身？\r\n你该不嫌我黑奴鲁莽？\r\n要我这黑奴的胸中，\r\n才有火一样的心肠。\r\n啊，我年青的女郎！\r\n我想我的前身\r\n原本是有用的栋梁，\r\n我活埋在地底多年，\r\n到今朝才得重见天光。\r\n啊，我年青的女郎！\r\n我自从重见天光，\r\n我常常思念我的故乡，\r\n我为我心爱的人儿\r\n燃到了这般模样！', '[Modern Chinese Poetry] 《炉中煤》 by Guo Moruo', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-02 02:49:42', '2016-11-02 06:49:42', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1924', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1925, 1, '2016-11-02 02:49:42', '2016-11-02 06:49:42', '啊，我年青的女郎！\r\n我不辜负你的殷勤，\r\n你也不要辜负了我的思量。\r\n我为我心爱的人儿\r\n燃到了这般模样！\r\n啊，我年青的女郎！\r\n你该知道了我的前身？\r\n你该不嫌我黑奴鲁莽？\r\n要我这黑奴的胸中，\r\n才有火一样的心肠。\r\n啊，我年青的女郎！\r\n我想我的前身\r\n原本是有用的栋梁，\r\n我活埋在地底多年，\r\n到今朝才得重见天光。\r\n啊，我年青的女郎！\r\n我自从重见天光，\r\n我常常思念我的故乡，\r\n我为我心爱的人儿\r\n燃到了这般模样！', '[Modern Chinese Poetry] 《炉中煤》 by Guo Moruo', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1924-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-02 02:49:42', '2016-11-02 06:49:42', '', 1924, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1924-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1926, 1, '2016-11-02 02:56:07', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '慈母手中线，游子身上衣。\r\n临行密密缝，意恐迟迟归。\r\n谁言寸草心，报得三春晖！', '[Ancient Chinese Poetry] 《游子吟》by Meng Jiao', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-02 02:56:07', '2016-11-02 06:56:07', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1926', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1927, 1, '2016-11-02 02:56:07', '2016-11-02 06:56:07', '慈母手中线，游子身上衣。\r\n临行密密缝，意恐迟迟归。\r\n谁言寸草心，报得三春晖！', '[Ancient Chinese Poetry] 《游子吟》by Meng Jiao', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1926-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-02 02:56:07', '2016-11-02 06:56:07', '', 1926, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1926-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1928, 1, '2016-11-02 02:58:34', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '床前明月光，疑是地上霜。\r\n举头望明月，低头思故乡。', '[Ancient Chinese Poetry] 《静夜思》 by Li Bai', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-02 02:58:34', '2016-11-02 06:58:34', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1928', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1929, 1, '2016-11-02 02:58:34', '2016-11-02 06:58:34', '床前明月光，疑是地上霜。\r\n举头望明月，低头思故乡。', '[Ancient Chinese Poetry] 《静夜思》 by Li Bai', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1928-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-02 02:58:34', '2016-11-02 06:58:34', '', 1928, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1928-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1930, 1, '2016-11-02 03:07:04', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '明月几时有？把酒问青天。\r\n　　不知天上宫阙，今夕是何年？\r\n　　我欲乘风归去，又恐琼楼玉宇，高处不胜寒。\r\n　　起舞弄清影，何似在人间？\r\n　　转朱阁，低绮户，照无眠。\r\n　　不应有恨，何事长向别时圆？\r\n　　人有悲欢离合，月有阴晴圆缺，此事古难全。\r\n　　但愿人长久，千里共婵娟。', '[Ancient Chinese Poetry]  《水调歌头》by Su Dongpo', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-02 03:07:04', '2016-11-02 07:07:04', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1930', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1931, 1, '2016-11-02 03:07:04', '2016-11-02 07:07:04', '明月几时有？把酒问青天。\r\n　　不知天上宫阙，今夕是何年？\r\n　　我欲乘风归去，又恐琼楼玉宇，高处不胜寒。\r\n　　起舞弄清影，何似在人间？\r\n　　转朱阁，低绮户，照无眠。\r\n　　不应有恨，何事长向别时圆？\r\n　　人有悲欢离合，月有阴晴圆缺，此事古难全。\r\n　　但愿人长久，千里共婵娟。', '[Ancient Chinese Poetry]  《水调歌头》by Su Dongpo', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1930-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-02 03:07:04', '2016-11-02 07:07:04', '', 1930, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1930-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1932, 1, '2016-11-02 03:12:12', '2016-11-02 07:12:12', '再别康桥\r\n轻轻的我走了，\r\n正如我轻轻的来；\r\n我轻轻的招手，\r\n作别西天的云彩。\r\n----\r\n那河畔的金柳，\r\n是夕阳中的新娘；\r\n波光里的艳影，\r\n在我的心头荡漾。\r\n----\r\n软泥上的青荇⑴，\r\n油油的在水底招摇⑵；\r\n在康河的柔波里，\r\n我甘心做一条水草！\r\n----\r\n那榆荫下的一潭，\r\n不是清泉，是天上虹；\r\n揉碎在浮藻间，\r\n沉淀着彩虹似的梦。\r\n----\r\n寻梦？撑一支长篙⑶，\r\n向青草更青处漫溯⑷；\r\n满载一船星辉，\r\n在星辉斑斓里放歌。\r\n----\r\n但我不能放歌，\r\n悄悄是别离的笙箫；\r\n夏虫也为我沉默，\r\n沉默是今晚的康桥！\r\n----\r\n悄悄的我走了，\r\n正如我悄悄的来；\r\n我挥一挥衣袖，\r\n不带走一片云彩。\r\n\r\nSoftly I am leaving,\r\nJust as softly as I came;\r\nI softly wave goodbye\r\nTo the clouds in the western sky.\r\n\r\nThe golden willows by the riverside\r\nAre young brides in the setting sun;\r\nTheir glittering reflections on the shimmering river\r\nKeep undulating in my heart.\r\n\r\nThe green tape grass rooted in the soft mud\r\nSways leisurely in the water;\r\nI am willing to be such a waterweed\r\nIn the gentle flow of the River Cam.\r\n\r\nThat pool in the shade of elm trees\r\nHolds not clear spring water, but a rainbow\r\nCrumpled in the midst of duckweeds,\r\nWhere rainbow-like dreams settle.\r\n\r\nTo seek a dream? Go punting with a long pole,\r\nUpstream to where green grass is greener,\r\nWith the punt laden with starlight,\r\nAnd sing out loud in its radiance.\r\n\r\nYet now I cannot sing out loud,\r\nPeace is my farewell music;\r\nEven crickets are now silent for me,\r\nFor Cambridge this evening is silent.\r\n\r\nQuietly I am leaving,\r\nJust as quietly as I came;\r\nGently waving my sleeve,\r\nI am not taking away a single cloud.\r\n\r\nhttp://www.creatingmycambridge.com/history-stories/xu-zhimo-poem-on-leaving-cambridge/\r\n', '[Modern Chinese Poetry] 《再别康桥》- \"On Leaving Cambridge\" by Xu Zhimo', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1913-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-02 03:12:12', '2016-11-02 07:12:12', '', 1913, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1913-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1935, 1, '2016-11-03 07:15:51', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '　　《边城》是沈从文的代表作，入选20世纪中文小说100强，排名第二位，仅次于鲁迅的《呐喊》。它以20世纪30年代川湘交界的边城小镇茶峒为背景，以兼具抒情诗和小品文的优美笔触，描绘了湘西地区特有的风土人情;借船家少女翠翠的纯爱故事，展现出了人性的善良美好。由于《边城》的美学艺术，《边城》这部小说在中国近代文学史上具有独特的地位。\r\n　　1、内容简介\r\n　　在川湘交界的茶峒附近，小溪白塔旁边，住着主人公翠翠和她爷爷老船夫。茶峒城里有个船总叫顺顺，他有两个儿子，老大叫天保，老二叫傩送。\r\n　　端午节翠翠去看龙舟赛，偶然相遇相貌英俊的青年水手傩(nuó)送，傩送在翠翠的心里留下了深刻的印象。同时，傩送的兄长天保也喜欢上了翠翠，并提前托媒人提了亲。天保告诉傩送一年前他就爱上了翠翠，而傩送告诉天保他两年前就爱上了翠翠，天保听了后也吃了一惊。然而此时，当地的团总以新磨坊为陪嫁，想把女儿许配给傩送。而傩送宁肯继承一条破船也要与翠翠成婚。\r\n　　兄弟俩没有按照当地风俗以决斗论胜负，而是采用公平而浪漫的唱山歌的方式表达感情，让翠翠自己从中选择。傩送是唱歌好手，天保自知唱不过弟弟，心灰意冷，断然驾船远行做生意。\r\n　　碧溪边只听过一夜傩送的歌声，后来，歌却再没有响起来。老船夫忍不住去问，本以为是老大唱的，却得知：唱歌人是傩送，老大讲出实情后便去做生意。几天后老船夫听说老大坐水船出了事，淹死了……\r\n　　码头的船总顺顺因为儿子天保的死对老船夫变得冷淡。船总顺顺不愿意翠翠再做傩送的媳妇。老船夫只好郁闷地回到家，翠翠问他，他也没说起什么。夜里下了大雨，夹杂着吓人的雷声。第二天翠翠起来发现船已被冲走，屋后的白塔也冲塌了，翠翠去找爷爷却发现老人已在雷声将息时死去了…… 老军人杨马兵热心地前来陪伴翠翠，也以渡船为生，等待着傩送的归来。', '[Modern Chinese Literature] 《边城》Intro to \"Biancheng\" by Shen Congwen', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-03 07:15:51', '2016-11-03 11:15:51', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1935', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1936, 1, '2016-11-02 21:44:56', '2016-11-03 01:44:56', '　　《边城》是沈从文的代表作，入选20世纪中文小说100强，排名第二位，仅次于鲁迅的《呐喊》。它以20世纪30年代川湘交界的边城小镇茶峒为背景，以兼具抒情诗和小品文的优美笔触，描绘了湘西地区特有的风土人情;借船家少女翠翠的纯爱故事，展现出了人性的善良美好。由于《边城》的美学艺术，《边城》这部小说在中国近代文学史上具有独特的地位。\r\n　　1、内容简介\r\n　　在川湘交界的茶峒附近，小溪白塔旁边，住着主人公翠翠和她爷爷老船夫。茶峒城里有个船总叫顺顺，他有两个儿子，老大叫天保，老二叫傩送。\r\n　　端午节翠翠去看龙舟赛，偶然相遇相貌英俊的青年水手傩(nuó)送，傩送在翠翠的心里留下了深刻的印象。同时，傩送的兄长天保也喜欢上了翠翠，并提前托媒人提了亲。天保告诉傩送一年前他就爱上了翠翠，而傩送告诉天保他两年前就爱上了翠翠，天保听了后也吃了一惊。然而此时，当地的团总以新磨坊为陪嫁，想把女儿许配给傩送。而傩送宁肯继承一条破船也要与翠翠成婚。\r\n　　兄弟俩没有按照当地风俗以决斗论胜负，而是采用公平而浪漫的唱山歌的方式表达感情，让翠翠自己从中选择。傩送是唱歌好手，天保自知唱不过弟弟，心灰意冷，断然驾船远行做生意。\r\n　　碧溪边只听过一夜傩送的歌声，后来，歌却再没有响起来。老船夫忍不住去问，本以为是老大唱的，却得知：唱歌人是傩送，老大讲出实情后便去做生意。几天后老船夫听说老大坐水船出了事，淹死了……\r\n　　码头的船总顺顺因为儿子天保的死对老船夫变得冷淡。船总顺顺不愿意翠翠再做傩送的媳妇。老船夫只好郁闷地回到家，翠翠问他，他也没说起什么。夜里下了大雨，夹杂着吓人的雷声。第二天翠翠起来发现船已被冲走，屋后的白塔也冲塌了，翠翠去找爷爷却发现老人已在雷声将息时死去了…… 老军人杨马兵热心地前来陪伴翠翠，也以渡船为生，等待着傩送的归来。', '[Modern Chinese Literature] Intro to《边城》Biancheng - a Novel by Shen Congwen', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1935-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-02 21:44:56', '2016-11-03 01:44:56', '', 1935, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1935-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1937, 1, '2016-11-03 07:15:51', '2016-11-03 11:15:51', '　　《边城》是沈从文的代表作，入选20世纪中文小说100强，排名第二位，仅次于鲁迅的《呐喊》。它以20世纪30年代川湘交界的边城小镇茶峒为背景，以兼具抒情诗和小品文的优美笔触，描绘了湘西地区特有的风土人情;借船家少女翠翠的纯爱故事，展现出了人性的善良美好。由于《边城》的美学艺术，《边城》这部小说在中国近代文学史上具有独特的地位。\r\n　　1、内容简介\r\n　　在川湘交界的茶峒附近，小溪白塔旁边，住着主人公翠翠和她爷爷老船夫。茶峒城里有个船总叫顺顺，他有两个儿子，老大叫天保，老二叫傩送。\r\n　　端午节翠翠去看龙舟赛，偶然相遇相貌英俊的青年水手傩(nuó)送，傩送在翠翠的心里留下了深刻的印象。同时，傩送的兄长天保也喜欢上了翠翠，并提前托媒人提了亲。天保告诉傩送一年前他就爱上了翠翠，而傩送告诉天保他两年前就爱上了翠翠，天保听了后也吃了一惊。然而此时，当地的团总以新磨坊为陪嫁，想把女儿许配给傩送。而傩送宁肯继承一条破船也要与翠翠成婚。\r\n　　兄弟俩没有按照当地风俗以决斗论胜负，而是采用公平而浪漫的唱山歌的方式表达感情，让翠翠自己从中选择。傩送是唱歌好手，天保自知唱不过弟弟，心灰意冷，断然驾船远行做生意。\r\n　　碧溪边只听过一夜傩送的歌声，后来，歌却再没有响起来。老船夫忍不住去问，本以为是老大唱的，却得知：唱歌人是傩送，老大讲出实情后便去做生意。几天后老船夫听说老大坐水船出了事，淹死了……\r\n　　码头的船总顺顺因为儿子天保的死对老船夫变得冷淡。船总顺顺不愿意翠翠再做傩送的媳妇。老船夫只好郁闷地回到家，翠翠问他，他也没说起什么。夜里下了大雨，夹杂着吓人的雷声。第二天翠翠起来发现船已被冲走，屋后的白塔也冲塌了，翠翠去找爷爷却发现老人已在雷声将息时死去了…… 老军人杨马兵热心地前来陪伴翠翠，也以渡船为生，等待着傩送的归来。', '[Modern Chinese Literature] 《边城》Intro to \"Biancheng\" by Shen Congwen', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1935-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-03 07:15:51', '2016-11-03 11:15:51', '', 1935, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1935-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1939, 1, '2016-11-03 07:57:47', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '　　在一座山坡上，有一群猴子。\r\n\r\n　　有一天晚上，一只小猴来到井边玩耍，它往井里一看，看见一只又大又圆的月亮，它撒腿就跑，一边跑，一边喊，“月亮掉进井里啦！月亮掉进井里啦”！其它大猴子纷纷赶来，一只年长的猴子说：“别慌，我们一起想办法，把月亮捞上来。”\r\n\r\n　　猴子捞月大家想啊想，想了一个办法，一只猴子抓上了树梢，另一只猴子抓往另一只猴子的尾巴，它们一个接一个，最后一只猴子把手伸进井里捞月亮。\r\n\r\n　　小猴子刚碰到月亮，月亮就变成一块一块的，小猴子着急的说：“月亮不见了。”年长的猴子生气地说：“你怎么能这样呢？”它一气之下松开了手，猴子都纷纷掉下了井。\r\n\r\n　　这时，一只小猴子抬头看了看，说：“月亮还在天上。”大家抬头一看，月亮真的还在天上。\r\n\r\n　　小猴子你们知道月亮为什么会在天上吗？让我告诉你吧！月亮不会掉进井里的，在井里的倒影，所以小朋友你们不要盲目的相信别人。\r\n\r\nhttp://www.xiaogushi.com/diy/shenhua/2013082919998.html', '[Children\'s Story] 猴子捞月 - Monkey Fishes for the Moon', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-03 07:57:47', '2016-11-03 11:57:47', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1939', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1940, 1, '2016-11-03 07:57:27', '2016-11-03 11:57:27', '　　在一座山坡上，有一群猴子。\r\n\r\n　　有一天晚上，一只小猴来到井边玩耍，它往井里一看，看见一只又大又圆的月亮，它撒腿就跑，一边跑，一边喊，“月亮掉进井里啦！月亮掉进井里啦”！其它大猴子纷纷赶来，一只年长的猴子说：“别慌，我们一起想办法，把月亮捞上来。”\r\n\r\n　　猴子捞月大家想啊想，想了一个办法，一只猴子抓上了树梢，另一只猴子抓往另一只猴子的尾巴，它们一个接一个，最后一只猴子把手伸进井里捞月亮。\r\n\r\n　　小猴子刚碰到月亮，月亮就变成一块一块的，小猴子着急的说：“月亮不见了。”年长的猴子生气地说：“你怎么能这样呢？”它一气之下松开了手，猴子都纷纷掉下了井。\r\n\r\n　　这时，一只小猴子抬头看了看，说：“月亮还在天上。”大家抬头一看，月亮真的还在天上。\r\n\r\n　　小猴子你们知道月亮为什么会在天上吗？让我告诉你吧！月亮不会掉进井里的，在井里的倒影，所以小朋友你们不要盲目的相信别人。', '[Children\'s Story] 猴子捞月 - Monkey Fishes for the Moon', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1939-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-03 07:57:27', '2016-11-03 11:57:27', '', 1939, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1939-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1941, 1, '2016-11-03 07:57:47', '2016-11-03 11:57:47', '　　在一座山坡上，有一群猴子。\r\n\r\n　　有一天晚上，一只小猴来到井边玩耍，它往井里一看，看见一只又大又圆的月亮，它撒腿就跑，一边跑，一边喊，“月亮掉进井里啦！月亮掉进井里啦”！其它大猴子纷纷赶来，一只年长的猴子说：“别慌，我们一起想办法，把月亮捞上来。”\r\n\r\n　　猴子捞月大家想啊想，想了一个办法，一只猴子抓上了树梢，另一只猴子抓往另一只猴子的尾巴，它们一个接一个，最后一只猴子把手伸进井里捞月亮。\r\n\r\n　　小猴子刚碰到月亮，月亮就变成一块一块的，小猴子着急的说：“月亮不见了。”年长的猴子生气地说：“你怎么能这样呢？”它一气之下松开了手，猴子都纷纷掉下了井。\r\n\r\n　　这时，一只小猴子抬头看了看，说：“月亮还在天上。”大家抬头一看，月亮真的还在天上。\r\n\r\n　　小猴子你们知道月亮为什么会在天上吗？让我告诉你吧！月亮不会掉进井里的，在井里的倒影，所以小朋友你们不要盲目的相信别人。\r\n\r\nhttp://www.xiaogushi.com/diy/shenhua/2013082919998.html', '[Children\'s Story] 猴子捞月 - Monkey Fishes for the Moon', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1939-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-03 07:57:47', '2016-11-03 11:57:47', '', 1939, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1939-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(1942, 1, '2016-11-03 08:04:58', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '传说嫦娥本是后羿之妻，后羿射下9个太阳后西王母赐其不老仙药，但后羿不舍得吃下，就交于嫦娥保管。后羿门徒蓬蒙觊觎仙药，逼迫嫦娥交出仙药，嫦娥无奈情急之下吞下仙药，便向天上飞去。当日正是八月十五，月亮又大又亮，因不舍后羿，嫦娥就停在了离地球最近的月亮，从此长居广寒宫。后羿回家后心痛不止，于是每年八月十五便摆下宴席对着月亮与嫦娥团聚。', '[Chinese Holidays] 中秋节 - The Legend of Mid-Autumn Festival', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-03 08:04:58', '2016-11-03 12:04:58', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1942', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1943, 1, '2016-11-03 08:04:58', '2016-11-03 12:04:58', '传说嫦娥本是后羿之妻，后羿射下9个太阳后西王母赐其不老仙药，但后羿不舍得吃下，就交于嫦娥保管。后羿门徒蓬蒙觊觎仙药，逼迫嫦娥交出仙药，嫦娥无奈情急之下吞下仙药，便向天上飞去。当日正是八月十五，月亮又大又亮，因不舍后羿，嫦娥就停在了离地球最近的月亮，从此长居广寒宫。后羿回家后心痛不止，于是每年八月十五便摆下宴席对着月亮与嫦娥团聚。', '[Chinese Holidays] 中秋节 - The Legend of Mid-Autumn Festival', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1942-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-03 08:04:58', '2016-11-03 12:04:58', '', 1942, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1942-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1944, 1, '2016-11-03 08:07:44', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '传说吴刚的妻子与炎帝之孙伯陵私通，吴刚一怒之下杀了伯陵，因而惹怒太阳神炎帝，被发配到月亮砍伐不死之树。但月桂树随砍即合，吴刚每砍一斧，斧子砍下的枝叶就会长回树上，经过了这么久，吴刚仍然没能砍倒月桂树。吴刚的妻子心存愧疚，命她的三个儿子分别变成蟾蜍、兔和蛇飞上月亮陪伴吴刚。为了帮助父亲早日砍倒桂树，玉兔便不停的把砍下的枝叶捣碎。', '[Chinese Holidays] 中秋节 - Why There\'s a Jade Rabbit in the Moon', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-03 08:07:44', '2016-11-03 12:07:44', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1944', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1945, 1, '2016-11-03 08:07:44', '2016-11-03 12:07:44', '传说吴刚的妻子与炎帝之孙伯陵私通，吴刚一怒之下杀了伯陵，因而惹怒太阳神炎帝，被发配到月亮砍伐不死之树。但月桂树随砍即合，吴刚每砍一斧，斧子砍下的枝叶就会长回树上，经过了这么久，吴刚仍然没能砍倒月桂树。吴刚的妻子心存愧疚，命她的三个儿子分别变成蟾蜍、兔和蛇飞上月亮陪伴吴刚。为了帮助父亲早日砍倒桂树，玉兔便不停的把砍下的枝叶捣碎。', '[Chinese Holidays] 中秋节 - Why There\'s a Jade Rabbit in the Moon', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1944-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-03 08:07:44', '2016-11-03 12:07:44', '', 1944, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1944-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1946, 1, '2016-11-03 08:17:16', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '　　相传很久以前，有一个瘟神，只要他一出现，村里的人就会病倒，老百姓受尽了折磨。有一位少年叫景恒，瘟神夺走了他所有亲人的生命。他发誓要学习法术，战胜瘟神。他四处寻访名师，不畏路途的遥远和艰险，在仙鹤的指引下，终于找到了终南山上有着神奇法力的仙长。他一学就是十年，终于练出了一身非凡的武艺。\r\n\r\n　　这一天，仙长把恒景叫到跟前说：“明天是九月初九，瘟神又要出来作恶，你的本领已经学成，应该回去为民除害了。”仙长送给恒景一包茱萸叶、一盅菊花酒和一把斩妖剑，让恒景骑着仙鹤赶回家去。\r\n\r\n　　重阳节恒景在九月初九的早晨，按仙长的叮嘱把乡亲们领到了附近的一座山上，让大家把茱萸叶插在身上，每人喝一盅菊花酒，自己则持酒仗剑，准备治魔。快看，瘟神杀气腾腾地往村子这边来，可是村子里一个人也没有，瘟神正纳闷呢，忽然一阵茱萸香和菊花酒气扑鼻而来，熏得他头晕脑涨。抬头一看，村民们都躲在山上呢，气得瘟神哇哇叫着冲上山来。这时，恒景手持降妖宝剑追下山来，几个回合就把瘟神刺死剑下。滚滚黑气退却了，老百姓欢呼雀跃，在山顶上庆祝胜利。从此，九月初九登高的活动年复一年地流传下来。', '[Chinese Holidays] 重阳节 - The Legend of the Double Ninth Festival', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-03 08:17:16', '2016-11-03 12:17:16', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1946', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1947, 1, '2016-11-03 08:18:40', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '曰发鸠之山，其上多柘木，有鸟焉，其状如乌，文首，白喙，赤足，名曰：“精卫”，其鸣自詨。是炎帝之少女，名曰女娃。女娃游于东海，溺而不返，故为精卫，常衔西山之木石，以堙于东海。\r\n\r\n有座山叫发鸠山，山上长了很多柘树。树林里有一种鸟，它的形状像乌鸦，头上羽毛有花纹，白色的嘴，红色的脚，名叫精卫，它的叫声像在呼唤自己的名字。这其实是炎帝的小女儿，名叫女娃。有一次，女娃去东海游玩，溺水身亡，再也没有回来，所以化为精卫鸟。经常叼着西山上的树枝和石块，用来填塞东海。浊漳河就发源于发鸠山，向东流去，注入黄河。', '[Chinese Mythology] 精卫填海 - The Jingwei Fills Up the Sea', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-03 08:18:40', '2016-11-03 12:18:40', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1947', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1948, 1, '2016-11-03 08:16:51', '2016-11-03 12:16:51', '　　相传很久以前，有一个瘟神，只要他一出现，村里的人就会病倒，老百姓受尽了折磨。有一位少年叫景恒，瘟神夺走了他所有亲人的生命。他发誓要学习法术，战胜瘟神。他四处寻访名师，不畏路途的遥远和艰险，在仙鹤的指引下，终于找到了终南山上有着神奇法力的仙长。他一学就是十年，终于练出了一身非凡的武艺。\r\n\r\n　　这一天，仙长把恒景叫到跟前说：“明天是九月初九，瘟神又要出来作恶，你的本领已经学成，应该回去为民除害了。”仙长送给恒景一包茱萸叶、一盅菊花酒和一把斩妖剑，让恒景骑着仙鹤赶回家去。\r\n\r\n　　重阳节恒景在九月初九的早晨，按仙长的叮嘱把乡亲们领到了附近的一座山上，让大家把茱萸叶插在身上，每人喝一盅菊花酒，自己则持酒仗剑，准备治魔。快看，瘟神杀气腾腾地往村子这边来，可是村子里一个人也没有，瘟神正纳闷呢，忽然一阵茱萸香和菊花酒气扑鼻而来，熏得他头晕脑涨。抬头一看，村民们都躲在山上呢，气得瘟神哇哇叫着冲上山来。这时，恒景手持降妖宝剑追下山来，几个回合就把瘟神刺死剑下。滚滚黑气退却了，老百姓欢呼雀跃，在山顶上庆祝胜利。从此，九月初九登高的活动年复一年地流传下来。', '[Chinese Holidays] 重阳节 - The Legend of the Double Ninth Festival', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1946-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-03 08:16:51', '2016-11-03 12:16:51', '', 1946, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1946-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1949, 1, '2016-11-03 08:18:40', '2016-11-03 12:18:40', '曰发鸠之山，其上多柘木，有鸟焉，其状如乌，文首，白喙，赤足，名曰：“精卫”，其鸣自詨。是炎帝之少女，名曰女娃。女娃游于东海，溺而不返，故为精卫，常衔西山之木石，以堙于东海。\r\n\r\n有座山叫发鸠山，山上长了很多柘树。树林里有一种鸟，它的形状像乌鸦，头上羽毛有花纹，白色的嘴，红色的脚，名叫精卫，它的叫声像在呼唤自己的名字。这其实是炎帝的小女儿，名叫女娃。有一次，女娃去东海游玩，溺水身亡，再也没有回来，所以化为精卫鸟。经常叼着西山上的树枝和石块，用来填塞东海。浊漳河就发源于发鸠山，向东流去，注入黄河。', '[Chinese Mythology] 精卫填海 - The Jingwei Fills Up the Sea', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1947-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-03 08:18:40', '2016-11-03 12:18:40', '', 1947, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1947-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1950, 1, '2016-11-03 08:39:44', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '　　每天上午11点，都会有一辆耀眼的汽车穿过纽约市的中心公园。车里除了司机，还有一位主人–无人不晓的百万富翁。\n\n　　这位百万富翁发现：每天上午都有一位衣着褴褛的人坐在公园的凳子上死死盯着他住的酒店。有一天，百万富翁对这个人产生了极大的兴趣，他让司机停下车并走到那人的面前说：“请原谅，我不明白你为什么每天上午都盯着我住的酒店看。”\n\n　　“先生，”穷人说，“我没钱、没家、没住宅，只得睡在这条长凳上，不过，每天晚上我都梦到住进了那座酒店。”\n\n　　百万富翁觉得很有趣，于是对那人说：“今天晚上我就让你如愿以偿。我为你在酒店订一间最好的房间，并支付一个月房费。”\n\n　　几天后，百万富翁路过穷人住的酒店套房，想顺便问一问他是否觉得很满意。然而，他发现那人已搬出了酒店，重新回到公园的凳子上了。\n\n　　百万富翁来到公园，询问穷人为什么要这样做时，穷人回答道：“一旦我睡在凳子上，我就梦见我睡在那座豪华的酒店，真是妙不可言；一旦我睡在酒店里，我就梦见我又回到了冷冰冰的凳子上，这梦真是可怕极了，以致完全影响了我的睡眠！”\n\nhttp://www.lz13.cn/lizhigushi/8013.html', '[Chinese Short Story] 做梦的穷人 - Poor Man Dreaming', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-03 08:39:44', '2016-11-03 12:39:44', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1950', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1951, 1, '2016-11-03 08:39:28', '2016-11-03 12:39:28', '　　每天上午11点，都会有一辆耀眼的汽车穿过纽约市的中心公园。车里除了司机，还有一位主人–无人不晓的百万富翁。\r\n\r\n　　这位百万富翁发现：每天上午都有一位衣着褴褛的人坐在公园的凳子上死死盯着他住的酒店。有一天，百万富翁对这个人产生了极大的兴趣，他让司机停下车并走到那人的面前说：“请原谅，我不明白你为什么每天上午都盯着我住的酒店看。”\r\n\r\n　　“先生，”穷人说，“我没钱、没家、没住宅，只得睡在这条长凳上，不过，每天晚上我都梦到住进了那座酒店。”\r\n\r\n　　百万富翁觉得很有趣，于是对那人说：“今天晚上我就让你如愿以偿。我为你在酒店订一间最好的房间，并支付一个月房费。”\r\n\r\n　　几天后，百万富翁路过穷人住的酒店套房，想顺便问一问他是否觉得很满意。然而，他发现那人已搬出了酒店，重新回到公园的凳子上了。\r\n\r\n　　百万富翁来到公园，询问穷人为什么要这样做时，穷人回答道：“一旦我睡在凳子上，我就梦见我睡在那座豪华的酒店，真是妙不可言；一旦我睡在酒店里，我就梦见我又回到了冷冰冰的凳子上，这梦真是可怕极了，以致完全影响了我的睡眠！”\r\n\r\nhttp://www.lz13.cn/lizhigushi/8013.html', '[Short Story] 做梦的穷人 - Poor Man Dreaming', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1950-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-03 08:39:28', '2016-11-03 12:39:28', '', 1950, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1950-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1953, 1, '2016-11-03 08:43:38', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '　　一只小壁虎被蛇咬住了尾巴，它拼命地挣扎，尾巴断了，小壁虎得以逃命。\r\n\r\n　　一位农夫见了，对小壁虎说：“你这可怜的小东西，刚断了尾巴，是不是很痛啊！”\r\n\r\n　　小壁虎含泪点了点头。\r\n\r\n　　“来，我给你包扎上，这草药是止痛的。”农夫拿出一包草药说。\r\n\r\n　　“不，我很感谢这疼痛，因为是痛让我知道自己还活着，而且，你包扎了我的伤口，它怎么能长出新的尾巴来呢？”说完，小壁虎带着钻心的疼痛爬走了。\r\n\r\n　　大道理：痛苦带给人们的不一定是负面效应，有时痛苦也孕育着希望，能感觉到痛苦，就说明还有知觉，还有活下去的希望，这个时候，能够痛苦岂不是一件很令人开心的事情？\r\n\r\nhttp://www.lz13.cn/lizhigushi/8013.html', '[Chinese Short Story] 小壁虎断尾巴 - The Gecko Breaks His Tail', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-03 08:43:38', '2016-11-03 12:43:38', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1953', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1952, 1, '2016-11-03 08:39:42', '2016-11-03 12:39:42', '　　每天上午11点，都会有一辆耀眼的汽车穿过纽约市的中心公园。车里除了司机，还有一位主人–无人不晓的百万富翁。\r\n\r\n　　这位百万富翁发现：每天上午都有一位衣着褴褛的人坐在公园的凳子上死死盯着他住的酒店。有一天，百万富翁对这个人产生了极大的兴趣，他让司机停下车并走到那人的面前说：“请原谅，我不明白你为什么每天上午都盯着我住的酒店看。”\r\n\r\n　　“先生，”穷人说，“我没钱、没家、没住宅，只得睡在这条长凳上，不过，每天晚上我都梦到住进了那座酒店。”\r\n\r\n　　百万富翁觉得很有趣，于是对那人说：“今天晚上我就让你如愿以偿。我为你在酒店订一间最好的房间，并支付一个月房费。”\r\n\r\n　　几天后，百万富翁路过穷人住的酒店套房，想顺便问一问他是否觉得很满意。然而，他发现那人已搬出了酒店，重新回到公园的凳子上了。\r\n\r\n　　百万富翁来到公园，询问穷人为什么要这样做时，穷人回答道：“一旦我睡在凳子上，我就梦见我睡在那座豪华的酒店，真是妙不可言；一旦我睡在酒店里，我就梦见我又回到了冷冰冰的凳子上，这梦真是可怕极了，以致完全影响了我的睡眠！”\r\n\r\nhttp://www.lz13.cn/lizhigushi/8013.html', '[Chinese Short Story] 做梦的穷人 - Poor Man Dreaming', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1950-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-03 08:39:42', '2016-11-03 12:39:42', '', 1950, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1950-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1954, 1, '2016-11-03 08:43:38', '2016-11-03 12:43:38', '　　一只小壁虎被蛇咬住了尾巴，它拼命地挣扎，尾巴断了，小壁虎得以逃命。\r\n\r\n　　一位农夫见了，对小壁虎说：“你这可怜的小东西，刚断了尾巴，是不是很痛啊！”\r\n\r\n　　小壁虎含泪点了点头。\r\n\r\n　　“来，我给你包扎上，这草药是止痛的。”农夫拿出一包草药说。\r\n\r\n　　“不，我很感谢这疼痛，因为是痛让我知道自己还活着，而且，你包扎了我的伤口，它怎么能长出新的尾巴来呢？”说完，小壁虎带着钻心的疼痛爬走了。\r\n\r\n　　大道理：痛苦带给人们的不一定是负面效应，有时痛苦也孕育着希望，能感觉到痛苦，就说明还有知觉，还有活下去的希望，这个时候，能够痛苦岂不是一件很令人开心的事情？\r\n\r\nhttp://www.lz13.cn/lizhigushi/8013.html', '[Chinese Short Story] 小壁虎断尾巴 - The Gecko Breaks His Tail', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1953-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-03 08:43:38', '2016-11-03 12:43:38', '', 1953, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1953-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1955, 1, '2016-11-03 09:03:39', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '　　S市新开了一家雕像馆，里面陈列着很多惟妙惟肖的雕像。雕像馆每天很早就开张迎客，游客们纷纷赞叹雕像之精美。游客越来越多，但雕像馆的主人从来不卖门票，只是免费让游客参观。\r\n\r\n　　可是这天，有人说雕像馆内丢失了一尊雕像。警察赶到雕像馆的时候，发现雕像馆并没有像往常一样向游客开放。一个人站在大厅中央等待他们，脸上布满了焦虑。\r\n\r\n　　“您就是雕像馆的主人吧？”警察问那个人。\r\n\r\n　　那人没有回答，只是漫不经心地点点头。很明显，他的注意力全都集中在雕像上。\r\n\r\n　　“请问之前有什么异常吗？”\r\n\r\n　　“我什么都不知道……什么都不知道……”那人显得有些局促不安。\r\n\r\n　　雕像警察摇了摇头，叹了口气准备离开。\r\n\r\n　　“好吧，先生，如果您发现了什么，请随时联系我们。还有，您身体不舒服吗？您的脸有点儿奇怪……”\r\n\r\n　　那人机械地点点头，显得有些失魂落魄。目送警察离开后，他突然摸着自己的脸喃喃自语：“还不够好吗？”\r\n\r\n　　那人径自走到镜子前，拿起一把凿子和一把锤子，在自己的脸上凿起来，一边凿还一边说：“嗯，这样也许就好多了……”', '[Chinese Ghost Stories] 雕像 - The Sculpture', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-03 09:03:39', '2016-11-03 13:03:39', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1955', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1956, 1, '2016-11-03 09:03:39', '2016-11-03 13:03:39', '　　S市新开了一家雕像馆，里面陈列着很多惟妙惟肖的雕像。雕像馆每天很早就开张迎客，游客们纷纷赞叹雕像之精美。游客越来越多，但雕像馆的主人从来不卖门票，只是免费让游客参观。\r\n\r\n　　可是这天，有人说雕像馆内丢失了一尊雕像。警察赶到雕像馆的时候，发现雕像馆并没有像往常一样向游客开放。一个人站在大厅中央等待他们，脸上布满了焦虑。\r\n\r\n　　“您就是雕像馆的主人吧？”警察问那个人。\r\n\r\n　　那人没有回答，只是漫不经心地点点头。很明显，他的注意力全都集中在雕像上。\r\n\r\n　　“请问之前有什么异常吗？”\r\n\r\n　　“我什么都不知道……什么都不知道……”那人显得有些局促不安。\r\n\r\n　　雕像警察摇了摇头，叹了口气准备离开。\r\n\r\n　　“好吧，先生，如果您发现了什么，请随时联系我们。还有，您身体不舒服吗？您的脸有点儿奇怪……”\r\n\r\n　　那人机械地点点头，显得有些失魂落魄。目送警察离开后，他突然摸着自己的脸喃喃自语：“还不够好吗？”\r\n\r\n　　那人径自走到镜子前，拿起一把凿子和一把锤子，在自己的脸上凿起来，一边凿还一边说：“嗯，这样也许就好多了……”', '[Chinese Ghost Stories] 雕像 - The Sculpture', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1955-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-03 09:03:39', '2016-11-03 13:03:39', '', 1955, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1955-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1963, 1, '2016-11-03 21:21:09', '2016-11-04 01:21:09', '[wcm_content_restricted]', 'Content restricted', '', 'publish', 'closed', 'closed', '', 'content-restricted', '', '', '2016-11-03 21:21:09', '2016-11-04 01:21:09', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/content-restricted/', 0, 'page', '', 0),
(2308, 1, '2016-11-10 23:04:18', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '小王子是一个超凡脱俗的仙童，他住在一颗只比他大一丁点儿的小行星上。陪伴他的是一朵他非常喜爱的小玫瑰花。但玫瑰花的虚荣心伤害了小王子对她的感情。小王子告别小行星，开始了遨游太空的旅行。他先后访问了六个行星，各种见闻使他陷入忧伤，他感到大人们荒唐可笑、太不正常。只有在其中一个点灯人的星球上，小王子才找到一个可以作为朋友的人。但点灯人的天地又十分狭小，除了点灯人他自己，不能容下第二个人。在地理学家的指点下，孤单的小王子来到人类居住的地球。\r\n小王子发现人类缺乏想象力，只知像鹦鹉那样重复别人讲过的话。小王子这时越来越思念自己星球上的那枝小玫瑰。后来，小王子遇到一只小狐狸，小王子用耐心征服了小狐狸，与它结成了亲密的朋友。小狐狸把自己心中的秘密——肉眼看不见事务的本质，只有用心灵才能洞察一切——作为礼物，送给小王子。用这个秘密，小王子在撒哈拉大沙漠与遇险的飞行员一...\r\n\r\nhttps://book.douban.com/subject/1084336/', '[Guess the Book] TLP', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2016-11-10 23:04:18', '2016-11-11 04:04:18', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=2308', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(1966, 1, '2016-11-03 21:35:23', '2016-11-04 01:35:23', '', 'Monthly Membership', '', 'publish', 'open', 'closed', '', 'monthly-membership', '', '', '2016-11-05 04:39:04', '2016-11-05 08:39:04', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?post_type=product&#038;p=1966', 0, 'product', '', 0),
(1967, 1, '2016-11-03 21:38:05', '2016-11-04 01:38:05', '', 'Yearly Membership', '', 'publish', 'open', 'closed', '', 'yearly-membership', '', '', '2016-11-05 04:39:17', '2016-11-05 08:39:17', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?post_type=product&#038;p=1967', 0, 'product', '', 0),
(1968, 1, '2016-11-03 21:40:54', '2016-11-04 01:40:54', '', 'Membership', '', 'publish', 'closed', 'closed', '', 'membership', '', '', '2016-11-03 21:40:54', '2016-11-04 01:40:54', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?post_type=wc_membership_plan&#038;p=1968', 0, 'wc_membership_plan', '', 0),
(1971, 1, '2016-11-19 03:48:37', '2016-11-19 08:48:37', '<a href=\"?add-to-cart=1966\">\n<div class=\"subscribe-box subscribe-monthly-box\">\n<h5>Join Monthly: $3.50 / mo</h5>\n<h6>(Beta rate!)</h6>\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/monthly-subscribe.jpg\" alt=\"monthly-subscribe\" width=\"500\" height=\"379\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-2504\" />\n</div>\n</a>\n\n<a href=\"?add-to-cart=1967\">\n<div class=\"subscribe-box subscribe-yearly-box\">\n<h5>Join Yearly: $35 / yr</h5>\n<h6>(Beta rate!)</h6>\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/yearly-subscribe.jpg\" alt=\"yearly-subscribe\" width=\"500\" height=\"379\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2503\" />\n</div>\n</a>\n\n<div style=\"clear: both;\">&nbsp;</div>\n\n<h3>Get new posts daily, save your favorites</h3>\nWhy, 您好 there. You\'ve stumbled upon the inter-webz\'s most popular blog of Simplified Chinese reading exercises. I\'m Kendra (more about the CRP origin story <a href=\"/about/\">here</a>), and this is my tiny little kingdom. I publish one freebie post a week, but members get a new post every day, Monday-Friday, and the ability to save favorite posts. \n\n<h4>Introductory Rates for Beta</h4>\nSeeing as how I only recently launched the pay-to-play membership section, and the CRP membership-only post library isn\'t yet very big, I\'m offering a special introductory subscription rate of $3.50 per month, or $35 per year, while the Member\'s Only library accumulates content. Introductory rates will be available until March 15, 2017, after which, my lovelies, subscriptions will go up to $5 bucks a month. Anyone who jumps on the early train will have their lower price locked in for life. Get while the gettin\'s good.  \n\n<h4>Post schedules</h4>\nNew posts are published daily between 8am and 11am, Eastern Standard Time. These include two \"super easy\" or \"beginner\" posts, two intermediate posts, and one advanced post or \"Deep Dive\" (exploration of a themed topic). That\'s five new posts a week (plus one freebie, so six total).\n\n<h4>Member\'s Only Li-bibbly</h4>\nYou\'ll also get access to the Member\'s Only post library, but as I said, as of December 2016, it\'s a meager collection. It is, however, growing daily. \n\n<h4>Billing</h4>\nAll subscriptions are set to auto-renew,  but you\'re welcome to cancel at any time via your My Account area. \n\n<h4>Questions?</h4>\nYou can get in touch with me <a href=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/contact-kendra/\">here</a>. ', 'Subscribe', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1617-autosave-v1', '', '', '2016-11-19 03:48:37', '2016-11-19 08:48:37', '', 1617, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1617-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1975, 1, '2016-11-04 01:00:47', '2016-11-04 05:00:47', 'A very short children\'s story about a bear\'s search for a new home. \r\n\r\nSource: <a href=\"http://www.gushi365.com/info/5568.html\">GuShi365.com</a>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese Text</h3>\r\n小熊一家住在山洞里。熊爷爷对小熊说,“你去造间木头房子住吧!\"\r\n\r\n春天，小熊走进树林。树上长满了绿叶，他舍不得砍。\r\n\r\n夏天，小熊又走进了树林。树上开满了鲜花，小熊舍不得砍。\r\n\r\n秋天，小熊走进树林，树上挂满了果实。小熊舍不得砍。\r\n\r\n冬天，小熊走进了树林。树上站着许多小鸟，小熊舍不得砍。\r\n\r\n一年又一年，小熊没有砍树造房子，还是高高兴兴地住在山洞里……\r\n\r\n树林里的小动物非常感谢小熊，他们送给小熊一束束美丽的鲜花.\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n\r\nLittle bear lived in a mountain cave. Grandfather bear said to Little Bear: \"Go and build a wooden house to live in!\"\r\n\r\nIn spring, little bear went into the forest. The trees were full of green leaves, and he couldn\'t bear to cut them down.\r\n\r\nIn summer, little bear again went into the forest. The trees were full of fresh flowers, and he couldn\'t bear to cut them down.\r\n\r\nIn autumn, little bear went into the forest. The trees were full of hanging fruit, and he couldn\'t bear to cut them down.\r\n\r\nIn winter, little bear went into the forest. Many little birds were living in the trees, and he couldn\'t bear to cut them down.\r\n\r\nYears passed, and little bear still hadn\'t made a home out of the trees. He was still living happily in his mountain cave.\r\n\r\nThe little forest animals thanked Little Bear very much, and they gave him a bunch of beautiful fresh flowers.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/one_half]', '[Children\'s Stories] 小熊住山洞 - Little Bear Lived in a Mountain Cave', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '7-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 01:00:47', '2016-11-04 05:00:47', '', 7, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/7-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1974, 1, '2016-11-04 01:00:14', '2016-11-04 05:00:14', 'A very short children\'s story about a bear\'s search for a new home. \r\n\r\nSource: <a href=\"http://www.gushi365.com/info/5568.html\">GuShi365.com</a>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese Text</h3>\r\n小熊一家住在山<strong>洞</strong>里。熊爷爷对小熊说,“你去<strong>造</strong>间木头房子住吧!\"\r\n\r\n春天，小熊走进树林。树上长满了绿叶，他舍不得砍。\r\n\r\n夏天，小熊又走进了树林。树上开满了鲜花，小熊<strong>舍不得砍</strong>。\r\n\r\n秋天，小熊走进树林，树上<strong>挂</strong>满了果实。小熊舍不得砍。\r\n\r\n冬天，小熊走进了树林。树上站着许多小鸟，小熊舍不得砍。\r\n\r\n一年又一年，小熊没有砍树造房子，还是高高兴兴地住在山洞里……\r\n\r\n树林里的小动物非常感谢小熊，他们送给小熊一束束美丽的鲜花.\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n\r\nLittle bear lived in a mountain cave. Grandfather bear said to Little Bear: \"Go and build a wooden house to live in!\"\r\n\r\nIn spring, little bear went into the forest. The trees were full of green leaves, and he couldn\'t bear to cut them down.\r\n\r\nIn summer, little bear again went into the forest. The trees were full of fresh flowers, and he couldn\'t bear to cut them down.\r\n\r\nIn autumn, little bear went into the forest. The trees were full of hanging fruit, and he couldn\'t bear to cut them down.\r\n\r\nIn winter, little bear went into the forest. Many little birds were living in the trees, and he couldn\'t bear to cut them down.\r\n\r\nYears passed, and little bear still hadn\'t made a home out of the trees. He was still living happily in his mountain cave.\r\n\r\nThe little forest animals thanked Little Bear very much, and they gave him a bunch of beautiful fresh flowers.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/one_half]', '[Children\'s Stories] 小熊住山洞 - Little Bear Lived in a Mountain Cave', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '7-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 01:00:14', '2016-11-04 05:00:14', '', 7, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/7-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1976, 1, '2016-11-04 01:01:11', '2016-11-04 05:01:11', 'A very short children\'s story about a bear\'s search for a new home. \r\n\r\nSource: <a href=\"http://www.gushi365.com/info/5568.html\">GuShi365.com</a>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese Text</h3>\r\n小熊一家住在山洞里。熊爷爷对小熊说,“你去造间木头房子住吧!\"\r\n\r\n春天，小熊走进树林。树上长满了绿叶，他舍不得砍。\r\n\r\n夏天，小熊又走进了树林。树上开满了鲜花，小熊舍不得砍。\r\n\r\n秋天，小熊走进树林，树上挂满了果实。小熊舍不得砍。\r\n\r\n冬天，小熊走进了树林。树上站着许多小鸟，小熊舍不得砍。\r\n\r\n一年又一年，小熊没有砍树造房子，还是高高兴兴地住在山洞里……\r\n\r\n树林里的小动物非常感谢小熊，他们送给小熊一束束美丽的鲜花.\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n\r\nLittle bear lived in a mountain cave. Grandfather bear said to Little Bear: \"Go and build a wooden house to live in!\"\r\n\r\nIn spring, little bear went into the forest. The trees were full of green leaves, and he couldn\'t bear to cut them down.\r\n\r\nIn summer, little bear again went into the forest. The trees were full of fresh flowers, and he couldn\'t bear to cut them down.\r\n\r\nIn autumn, little bear went into the forest. The trees were full of hanging fruit, and he couldn\'t bear to cut them down.\r\n\r\nIn winter, little bear went into the forest. Many little birds were living in the trees, and he couldn\'t bear to cut them down.\r\n\r\nYears passed, and little bear still hadn\'t made a home out of the trees. He was still living happily in his mountain cave.\r\n\r\nThe little forest animals thanked Little Bear very much, and they gave him a bunch of beautiful fresh flowers.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/one_half]', '[Chinese Short Story] 小熊住山洞 - Little Bear Lived in a Mountain Cave', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '7-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 01:01:11', '2016-11-04 05:01:11', '', 7, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/7-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1981, 1, '2012-02-11 00:05:24', '2012-02-11 05:05:24', '[two_third]\r\n\r\nA passage from a BLCU textbook in which a university student laments about catching a cold. <!--more--> This essay focuses on mostly illness-centric beginner language, such as 感冒 [pinyin]gan3 mao4[/pinyin], meaning \"to have a cold\"， and 打针 [pinyin]da3 zhen1[/pinyin], meaning \"to get an IV drip or shot\".\r\n\r\nLest it seems a little dramatic to you that the writer would go to the hospital over a 24-hour cold, the Chinese typically don\'t use private clinics (except in the case of accupuncture and massage), and commonly go to the hospital for almost every health-related issue, including colds and small fevers.\r\n\r\nOf special interest is the phrase \"还开了一些药\", or \"and also prescribed me some medicine\". Literally, it says, \"Also opened a bit of medicine\". But the word 开 [pinyin]kai1[/pinyin], which usually means \"open\", is also the verb used to describe a doctor writing a perscription. This tells us that the doctor didn\'t give (给[pinyin]gei3[/pinyin]) the student any medicine himself, but perscribed it instead.\r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Interesting Vocabulary</h4>\r\n发烧 - [pinyin]fa1 shao1[/pinyin] - Have a fever\r\n咳嗽 - [pinyin]ke2 sou5[/pinyin] - Cough\r\n同学 - [pinyin]tong2 xue2[/pinyin] - Classmates\r\n寂寞 - [pinyin]ji4 mo4[/pinyin] - Lonely\r\n不舒服 - [pinyin]bu4 shu1 fu5[/pinyin] - Feel unwell, uncomfortable\r\n检查 - [pinyin]jian3 cha2[/pinyin] - Check, examine\r\n果然 - [pinyin]guo3 ran2[/pinyin] - Sure enough\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_third]\r\n\r\n<hr />[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n\r\n我病了。　头疼，<strong>发烧</strong>，嗓子也疼，不想吃东西，晚上<strong>咳嗽</strong>的很厉害。　上午<strong>同学</strong>们都去上课了，我一个人在宿舍里，感到很寂寞。　寂寞了就容易想家。　我家里人很多，有哥哥，姐姐，还有一个弟弟。　在家的时候，我们常一起玩儿。　现在，我在北京学习汉语，寂寞的时候就常常想他们。\r\n\r\n因为不<strong>舒服</strong>，所以我今天起得很晚。　起了床就去医院了。　大夫给我<strong>检查</strong>了一下儿，说我感冒了。　给我打了一针，<strong>还开了一些药</strong>。　他说，吃了药病就好了。\r\n\r\n老师和同学们知道我病了，都来看我。　林老师听说我不想吃东西，还做了一碗面条给我吃。　吃了面条，身上出了很多汗，老师说，出了汗可能不发烧了。\r\n\r\n下午，<strong>果然</strong>不发烧了，喜庆也好了。　我用　Ｅｍａｉｌ　个我姐姐发了一封信。　我说，我在这儿生活得很好，我有很好的老师，还有很多好同学，好朋友，和他们在一起，我感到很愉快。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n\r\nI\'m sick. My head hurts, I have a fever, my throat also hurts, I don\'t want to eat anything, and at night I have a serious cough. In the morning my classmates all went to class, and I was the only one left in the dormitory. I feel very lonely. When you\'re lonely, it\'s easy to miss home. I have a lot of family members - an older brother, older sister, and also a younger brother. When I\'m at home, we often play together. Right now, I\'m in Beijing studying Chinese, and when I\'m lonely I miss them.\r\n\r\nBecause I don\'t feel well, I got up late today. When I got up, I went to the hospital. The doctor gave me a quick checkup and said I have a cold. He gave me one shot [also: IV drip], and also prescribed some medicine. He said, take the medicine and you\'ll get better.\r\n\r\nMy teacher and classmates know I\'m sick, so they all came to see me. Teacher Lin heard that I didn\'t want to eat anything, so she made me a bowl of noodles. After I ate the noodles, I began to pour sweat. Teacher said, if you sweat, maybe your fever will go away.\r\n\r\nIn the afternoon, sure enough my fever was gone, and I was in a good mood. I emailed my older sister. I said, I have a very good life here, I have a good teacher and good classmates and good friends, and all together they make me very happy.\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Feeling Sick', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '139-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-02-11 00:05:24', '2012-02-11 05:05:24', '', 139, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/02/139-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1986, 1, '2016-11-04 03:09:38', '2016-11-04 07:09:38', 'This short essay, taken from the Beijing Language and Culture University beginner comprehension textbook, is written from the perspective of a friend visiting Jiang Ping （江苹） before she leaves the country. The language is mostly school-centric as the writer discusses his classmates, Jiang Ping\'s scholarship, and her test results.\r\n\r\nThe crux of the last paragraph hinges on the fact that the Chinese word for \"Goodbye\" (再见) literally translates as \"See you again\", as the writer wonders when or if he\'ll ever really see Jiang Ping again.\r\n\r\n<hr />[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese Text</h3>\r\n今天我去江苹家了。 我和江苹是中学<strong>同学</strong>， 她是我的好朋友， 也是我们全班同学的朋友。 她学习非常<strong>努力</strong>， 是我们班学习最好的学生。 她会学习， 她会玩儿， 还常常帮助别人， 老师和同学都很喜欢她。 她这次<strong>参加</strong>了美国一个大学<strong>考试</strong>。 这个考试非常难，但是她考得很好，<strong>得</strong>了<strong>满分</strong>。 听说全世界只有三个学生得满分。 这个大学给江苹最高的<strong>奖学金</strong>。 我们都为她感到高兴。\r\n\r\n她下星期要去美国<strong>留学</strong>， 我们班的同学都去看她， 给他送行。\r\n\r\n江苹的家在城东边， 离我家比较远。 我下午四点多就从家里出发了， 五点半才到。 我到的时候， 同学们都已经到了。\r\n\r\n江苹很热情地欢迎我们。 同学们好久不见了， 见面以后高兴得又说又笑， 谈得很愉快。 我们<strong>预祝</strong>江苹<strong>成功</strong>。 祝她一路平安。 我说， 一定要常来信啊。 江苹说，一定。 跟她说 “再见”  的时候， 她哭了， 我也哭了。\r\n\r\n回家的路上， 我想， 我们常常说 “再见”， 但是， 有时候 “再见” 是很难的。 我和江苹什么时候能 “再见” 呢？\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n\r\nToday I\'m going to Jiang Ping\'s house. Jiang Ping and I are highschool classmates. She\'s my good friend, and she\'s also good friends with everyone in our class. She studies very hard, she\'s the best student in our class. She studies, she plays, and she also often helps others. The teacher and the other students like her. She recently participated in an examination for an American college. That test is very hard, but she did very well - she earned full marks. I heard that only three people in the whole world got full marks. This college gave Jiang Ping their highest scholarship. We\'re all very happy for her.\r\n\r\nNext week she\'s going to study abroad in America, and all our classmates are going to see her off.\r\n\r\nJiang Ping\'s house is on the east side of the city very far away from mine. I left my house a little after four o\'clock in the afternoon, and didn\'t get there until 5:30. When I arrived, the rest of our classmates were already there.\r\n\r\nJiang Ping warmly welcomed us. She hadn\'t seen her classmates in a while, and after she greeted us, we talked and smiled, chatting happily. We wished Jiang Ping success. Wished her a pleasant trip. I said, Be sure to write often. Jiang Ping said, Of course. When she said \"Goodbye\", she cried, and I also cried.\r\n\r\nOn my way home, I thought, We often say \"Goodbye\" [lit: see you again], but sometimes \"Goodbye\" is sad. When will Jiang Ping and I be able to see each other again?\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Essay] 江苹去留学 - Jiang Ping Goes to Study Abroad', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '67-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 03:09:38', '2016-11-04 07:09:38', '', 67, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/67-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1985, 1, '2016-11-04 03:08:07', '2016-11-04 07:08:07', 'This short essay, taken from the Beijing Language and Culture University beginner comprehension textbook, is written from the perspective of a friend visiting Jiang Ping （江苹） before she leaves the country. The language is mostly school-centric as the writer discusses his classmates, Jiang Ping\'s scholarship, and her test results.\r\n\r\nThe crux of the last paragraph hinges on the fact that the Chinese word for \"Goodbye\" (再见) literally translates as \"See you again\", as the writer wonders when or if he\'ll ever really see Jiang Ping again.\r\n\r\n<hr />[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese Text</h3>\r\n今天我去江苹家了。 我和江苹是中学<strong>同学</strong>， 她是我的好朋友， 也是我们全班同学的朋友。 她学习非常<strong>努力</strong>， 是我们班学习最好的学生。 她会学习， 她会玩儿， 还常常帮助别人， 老师和同学都很喜欢她。 她这次<strong>参加</strong>了美国一个大学<strong>考试</strong>。 这个考试非常难，但是她考得很好，<strong>得</strong>了<strong>满分</strong>。 听说全世界只有三个学生得满分。 这个大学给江苹最高的<strong>奖学金</strong>。 我们都为她感到高兴。\r\n\r\n她下星期要去美国<strong>留学</strong>， 我们班的同学都去看她， 给他送行。\r\n\r\n江苹的家在城东边， 离我家比较远。 我下午四点多就从家里出发了， 五点半才到。 我到的时候， 同学们都已经到了。\r\n\r\n江苹很热情地欢迎我们。 同学们好久不见了， 见面以后高兴得又说又笑， 谈得很愉快。 我们<strong>预祝</strong>江苹<strong>成功</strong>。 祝她一路平安。 我说， 一定要常来信啊。 江苹说，一定。 跟她说 “再见”  的时候， 她哭了， 我也哭了。\r\n\r\n回家的路上， 我想， 我们常常说 “再见”， 但是， 有时候 “再见” 是很难的。 我和江苹什么时候能 “再见” 呢？\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n\r\nToday I\'m going to Jiang Ping\'s house. Jiang Ping and I are highschool classmates. She\'s my good friend, and she\'s also good friends with everyone in our class. She studies very hard, she\'s the best student in our class. She studies, she plays, and she also often helps others. The teacher and the other students like her. She recently participated in an examination for an American college. That test is very hard, but she did very well - she earned full marks. I heard that only three people in the whole world got full marks. This college gave Jiang Ping their highest scholarship. We\'re all very happy for her.\r\n\r\nNext week she\'s going to study abroad in America, and all our classmates are going to see her off.\r\n\r\nJiang Ping\'s house is on the east side of the city very far away from mine. I left my house a little after four o\'clock in the afternoon, and didn\'t get there until 5:30. When I arrived, the rest of our classmates were already there.\r\n\r\nJiang Ping warmly welcomed us. She hadn\'t seen her classmates in a while, and after she greeted us, we talked and smiled, chatting happily. We wished Jiang Ping success. Wished her a pleasant trip. I said, Be sure to write often. Jiang Ping said, Of course. When she said \"Goodbye\", she cried, and I also cried.\r\n\r\nOn my way home, I thought, We often say \"Goodbye\" [lit: see you again], but sometimes \"Goodbye\" is sad. When will Jiang Ping and I be able to see each other again?\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Essays] 江苹去留学 - Jiang Ping Goes to Study Abroad', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '67-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 03:08:07', '2016-11-04 07:08:07', '', 67, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/67-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1989, 1, '2016-11-04 03:16:01', '2016-11-04 07:16:01', 'This short essay, taken from the Beijing Language and Culture University beginner comprehension textbook, is written from the perspective of a friend visiting Jiang Ping （江苹） before she leaves the country. The language is mostly school-centric as the writer discusses his classmates, Jiang Ping\'s scholarship, and her test results.\r\n\r\nThe crux of the last paragraph hinges on the fact that the Chinese word for \"Goodbye\" (再见) literally translates as \"See you again\", as the writer wonders when or if he\'ll ever really see Jiang Ping again.\r\n\r\n<hr />[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese Text</h3>\r\n今天我去江苹家了。 我和江苹是中学<strong>同学</strong>， 她是我的好朋友， 也是我们全班同学的朋友。 她学习非常<strong>努力</strong>， 是我们班学习最好的学生。 她会学习， 她会玩儿， 还常常帮助别人， 老师和同学都很喜欢她。 她这次<strong>参加</strong>了美国一个大学<strong>考试</strong>。 这个考试非常难，但是她考得很好，<strong>得</strong>了<strong>满分</strong>。 听说全世界只有三个学生得满分。 这个大学给江苹最高的<strong>奖学金</strong>。 我们都为她感到高兴。\r\n\r\n她下星期要去美国<strong>留学</strong>， 我们班的同学都去看她， 给他送行。\r\n\r\n江苹的家在城东边， 离我家比较远。 我下午四点多就从家里出发了， 五点半才到。 我到的时候， 同学们都已经到了。\r\n\r\n江苹很热情地欢迎我们。 同学们好久不见了， 见面以后高兴得又说又笑， 谈得很愉快。 我们<strong>预祝</strong>江苹<strong>成功</strong>。 祝她一路平安。 我说， 一定要常来信啊。 江苹说，一定。 跟她说 “再见”  的时候， 她哭了， 我也哭了。\r\n\r\n回家的路上， 我想， 我们常常说 “再见”， 但是， 有时候 “再见” 是很难的。 我和江苹什么时候能 “再见” 呢？\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n\r\nToday I\'m going to Jiang Ping\'s house. Jiang Ping and I are highschool classmates. She\'s my good friend, and she\'s also good friends with everyone in our class. She studies very hard, she\'s the best student in our class. She studies, she plays, and she also often helps others. The teacher and the other students like her. She recently participated in an examination for an American college. That test is very hard, but she did very well - she earned full marks. I heard that only three people in the whole world got full marks. This college gave Jiang Ping their highest scholarship. We\'re all very happy for her.\r\n\r\nNext week she\'s going to study abroad in America, and all our classmates are going to see her off.\r\n\r\nJiang Ping\'s house is on the east side of the city very far away from mine. I left my house a little after four o\'clock in the afternoon, and didn\'t get there until 5:30. When I arrived, the rest of our classmates were already there.\r\n\r\nJiang Ping warmly welcomed us. She hadn\'t seen her classmates in a while, and after she greeted us, we talked and smiled, chatting happily. We wished Jiang Ping success. Wished her a pleasant trip. I said, Be sure to write often. Jiang Ping said, Of course. When she said \"Goodbye\", she cried, and I also cried.\r\n\r\nOn my way home, I thought, We often say \"Goodbye\" [lit: see you again], but sometimes \"Goodbye\" is sad. When will Jiang Ping and I be able to see each other again?\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Essay] 江苹去留学 - Jiang Ping Goes to Study Abroad', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '67-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 03:16:01', '2016-11-04 07:16:01', '', 67, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/67-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1990, 1, '2016-11-04 03:16:04', '2016-11-04 07:16:04', 'A very short children\'s story about a bear\'s search for a new home. \r\n\r\nSource: <a href=\"http://www.gushi365.com/info/5568.html\">GuShi365.com</a>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese Text</h3>\r\n小熊一家住在山洞里。熊爷爷对小熊说,“你去造间木头房子住吧!\"\r\n\r\n春天，小熊走进树林。树上长满了绿叶，他舍不得砍。\r\n\r\n夏天，小熊又走进了树林。树上开满了鲜花，小熊舍不得砍。\r\n\r\n秋天，小熊走进树林，树上挂满了果实。小熊舍不得砍。\r\n\r\n冬天，小熊走进了树林。树上站着许多小鸟，小熊舍不得砍。\r\n\r\n一年又一年，小熊没有砍树造房子，还是高高兴兴地住在山洞里……\r\n\r\n树林里的小动物非常感谢小熊，他们送给小熊一束束美丽的鲜花.\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n\r\nLittle bear lived in a mountain cave. Grandfather bear said to Little Bear: \"Go and build a wooden house to live in!\"\r\n\r\nIn spring, little bear went into the forest. The trees were full of green leaves, and he couldn\'t bear to cut them down.\r\n\r\nIn summer, little bear again went into the forest. The trees were full of fresh flowers, and he couldn\'t bear to cut them down.\r\n\r\nIn autumn, little bear went into the forest. The trees were full of hanging fruit, and he couldn\'t bear to cut them down.\r\n\r\nIn winter, little bear went into the forest. Many little birds were living in the trees, and he couldn\'t bear to cut them down.\r\n\r\nYears passed, and little bear still hadn\'t made a home out of the trees. He was still living happily in his mountain cave.\r\n\r\nThe little forest animals thanked Little Bear very much, and they gave him a bunch of beautiful fresh flowers.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/one_half]', '[Chinese Short Story] 小熊住山洞 - Little Bear Lived in a Mountain Cave', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '7-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 03:16:04', '2016-11-04 07:16:04', '', 7, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/7-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1992, 1, '2016-11-04 03:19:45', '2016-11-04 07:19:45', 'This short essay, taken from the Beijing Language and Culture University beginner comprehension textbook, is written from the perspective of a friend visiting Jiang Ping （江苹） before she leaves the country. The language is mostly school-centric as the writer discusses his classmates, Jiang Ping\'s scholarship, and her test results.\r\n\r\nThe crux of the last paragraph hinges on the fact that the Chinese word for \"Goodbye\" (再见) literally translates as \"See you again\", as the writer wonders when or if he\'ll ever really see Jiang Ping again.\r\n\r\n<hr />[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese Text</h3>\r\n今天我去江苹家了。 我和江苹是中学<strong>同学</strong>， 她是我的好朋友， 也是我们全班同学的朋友。 她学习非常<strong>努力</strong>， 是我们班学习最好的学生。 她会学习， 她会玩儿， 还常常帮助别人， 老师和同学都很喜欢她。 她这次<strong>参加</strong>了美国一个大学<strong>考试</strong>。 这个考试非常难，但是她考得很好，<strong>得</strong>了<strong>满分</strong>。 听说全世界只有三个学生得满分。 这个大学给江苹最高的<strong>奖学金</strong>。 我们都为她感到高兴。\r\n\r\n她下星期要去美国<strong>留学</strong>， 我们班的同学都去看她， 给他送行。\r\n\r\n江苹的家在城东边， 离我家比较远。 我下午四点多就从家里出发了， 五点半才到。 我到的时候， 同学们都已经到了。\r\n\r\n江苹很热情地欢迎我们。 同学们好久不见了， 见面以后高兴得又说又笑， 谈得很愉快。 我们<strong>预祝</strong>江苹<strong>成功</strong>。 祝她一路平安。 我说， 一定要常来信啊。 江苹说，一定。 跟她说 “再见”  的时候， 她哭了， 我也哭了。\r\n\r\n回家的路上， 我想， 我们常常说 “再见”， 但是， 有时候 “再见” 是很难的。 我和江苹什么时候能 “再见” 呢？\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n\r\nToday I\'m going to Jiang Ping\'s house. Jiang Ping and I are highschool classmates. She\'s my good friend, and she\'s also good friends with everyone in our class. She studies very hard, she\'s the best student in our class. She studies, she plays, and she also often helps others. The teacher and the other students like her. She recently participated in an examination for an American college. That test is very hard, but she did very well - she earned full marks. I heard that only three people in the whole world got full marks. This college gave Jiang Ping their highest scholarship. We\'re all very happy for her.\r\n\r\nNext week she\'s going to study abroad in America, and all our classmates are going to see her off.\r\n\r\nJiang Ping\'s house is on the east side of the city very far away from mine. I left my house a little after four o\'clock in the afternoon, and didn\'t get there until 5:30. When I arrived, the rest of our classmates were already there.\r\n\r\nJiang Ping warmly welcomed us. She hadn\'t seen her classmates in a while, and after she greeted us, we talked and smiled, chatting happily. We wished Jiang Ping success. Wished her a pleasant trip. I said, Be sure to write often. Jiang Ping said, Of course. When she said \"Goodbye\", she cried, and I also cried.\r\n\r\nOn my way home, I thought, We often say \"Goodbye\" [lit: see you again], but sometimes \"Goodbye\" is sad. When will Jiang Ping and I be able to see each other again?\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Essays] 江苹去留学 - Jiang Ping Goes to Study Abroad', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '67-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 03:19:45', '2016-11-04 07:19:45', '', 67, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/67-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1993, 1, '2016-11-04 03:20:37', '2016-11-04 07:20:37', '', 'Learn to Read Chinese: Intermediate Chinese Books with English Translation', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'learn-to-read-mandarin-chinese-white-hair-black-beard', '', '', '2016-11-04 03:30:21', '2016-11-04 07:30:21', '', 287, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/learn-to-read-mandarin-chinese-white-hair-black-beard.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1994, 1, '2016-11-04 03:32:01', '2016-11-04 07:32:01', 'This short essay, taken from the Beijing Language and Culture University beginner comprehension textbook, is written from the perspective of a friend visiting Jiang Ping （江苹） before she leaves the country. The language is mostly school-centric as the writer discusses his classmates, Jiang Ping\'s scholarship, and her test results.\r\n\r\nThe crux of the last paragraph hinges on the fact that the Chinese word for \"Goodbye\" (再见) literally translates as \"See you again\", as the writer wonders when or if he\'ll ever really see Jiang Ping again.\r\n\r\n<hr />[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese Text</h3>\r\n1) 今天我去江苹家了。 我和江苹是中学<strong>同学</strong>， 她是我的好朋友， 也是我们全班同学的朋友。 她学习非常<strong>努力</strong>， 是我们班学习最好的学生。 她会学习， 她会玩儿， 还常常帮助别人， 老师和同学都很喜欢她。 她这次<strong>参加</strong>了美国一个大学<strong>考试</strong>。 这个考试非常难，但是她考得很好，<strong>得</strong>了<strong>满分</strong>。 听说全世界只有三个学生得满分。 这个大学给江苹最高的<strong>奖学金</strong>。 我们都为她感到高兴。\r\n\r\n2) 她下星期要去美国<strong>留学</strong>， 我们班的同学都去看她， 给他送行。\r\n\r\n3) 江苹的家在城东边， 离我家比较远。 我下午四点多就从家里出发了， 五点半才到。 我到的时候， 同学们都已经到了。\r\n\r\n4) 江苹很热情地欢迎我们。 同学们好久不见了， 见面以后高兴得又说又笑， 谈得很愉快。 我们<strong>预祝</strong>江苹<strong>成功</strong>。 祝她一路平安。 我说， 一定要常来信啊。 江苹说，一定。 跟她说 “再见”  的时候， 她哭了， 我也哭了。\r\n\r\n5) 回家的路上， 我想， 我们常常说 “再见”， 但是， 有时候 “再见” 是很难的。 我和江苹什么时候能 “再见” 呢？\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n\r\n1) Today I\'m going to Jiang Ping\'s house. Jiang Ping and I are highschool classmates. She\'s my good friend, and she\'s also good friends with everyone in our class. She studies very hard, she\'s the best student in our class. She studies, she plays, and she also often helps others. The teacher and the other students like her. She recently participated in an examination for an American college. That test is very hard, but she did very well - she earned full marks. I heard that only three people in the whole world got full marks. This college gave Jiang Ping their highest scholarship. We\'re all very happy for her.\r\n\r\n2) Next week she\'s going to study abroad in America, and all our classmates are going to see her off.\r\n\r\n3) Jiang Ping\'s house is on the east side of the city very far away from mine. I left my house a little after four o\'clock in the afternoon, and didn\'t get there until 5:30. When I arrived, the rest of our classmates were already there.\r\n\r\n4) Jiang Ping warmly welcomed us. She hadn\'t seen her classmates in a while, and after she greeted us, we talked and smiled, chatting happily. We wished Jiang Ping success. Wished her a pleasant trip. I said, Be sure to write often. Jiang Ping said, Of course. When she said \"Goodbye\", she cried, and I also cried.\r\n\r\n5) On my way home, I thought, We often say \"Goodbye\" [lit: see you again], but sometimes \"Goodbye\" is sad. When will Jiang Ping and I be able to see each other again?\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Essay] 江苹去留学 - Jiang Ping Goes to Study Abroad', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '67-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 03:32:01', '2016-11-04 07:32:01', '', 67, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/67-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1995, 1, '2016-11-04 03:32:49', '2016-11-04 07:32:49', 'A very short children\'s story about a bear\'s search for a new home. \r\n\r\nSource: <a href=\"http://www.gushi365.com/info/5568.html\">GuShi365.com</a>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese Text</h3>\r\n1) 小熊一家住在山洞里。熊爷爷对小熊说,“你去造间木头房子住吧!\"\r\n\r\n2) 春天，小熊走进树林。树上长满了绿叶，他舍不得砍。\r\n\r\n3) 夏天，小熊又走进了树林。树上开满了鲜花，小熊舍不得砍。\r\n\r\n4) 秋天，小熊走进树林，树上挂满了果实。小熊舍不得砍。\r\n\r\n5) 冬天，小熊走进了树林。树上站着许多小鸟，小熊舍不得砍。\r\n\r\n6) 一年又一年，小熊没有砍树造房子，还是高高兴兴地住在山洞里……\r\n\r\n7) 树林里的小动物非常感谢小熊，他们送给小熊一束束美丽的鲜花.\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n\r\n1) Little bear lived in a mountain cave. Grandfather bear said to Little Bear: \"Go and build a wooden house to live in!\"\r\n\r\n2) In spring, little bear went into the forest. The trees were full of green leaves, and he couldn\'t bear to cut them down.\r\n\r\n3) In summer, little bear again went into the forest. The trees were full of fresh flowers, and he couldn\'t bear to cut them down.\r\n\r\n4) In autumn, little bear went into the forest. The trees were full of hanging fruit, and he couldn\'t bear to cut them down.\r\n\r\n5) In winter, little bear went into the forest. Many little birds were living in the trees, and he couldn\'t bear to cut them down.\r\n\r\n6) Years passed, and little bear still hadn\'t made a home out of the trees. He was still living happily in his mountain cave.\r\n\r\n7) The little forest animals thanked Little Bear very much, and they gave him a bunch of beautiful fresh flowers.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/one_half]', '[Chinese Short Story] 小熊住山洞 - Little Bear Lived in a Mountain Cave', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '7-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 03:32:49', '2016-11-04 07:32:49', '', 7, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/7-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1998, 1, '2016-11-04 03:44:09', '2016-11-04 07:44:09', 'This short essay, taken from the Beijing Language and Culture University beginner comprehension textbook, is written from the perspective of a friend visiting Jiang Ping （江苹） before she leaves the country. The language is mostly school-centric as the writer discusses his classmates, Jiang Ping\'s scholarship, and her test results.\r\n\r\nThe crux of the last paragraph hinges on the fact that the Chinese word for \"Goodbye\" (再见) literally translates as \"See you again\", as the writer wonders when or if he\'ll ever really see Jiang Ping again.\r\n\r\n<hr />[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese Text</h3>\r\n1) 今天我去江苹家了。 我和江苹是中学<strong>同学</strong>， 她是我的好朋友， 也是我们全班同学的朋友。 她学习非常<strong>努力</strong>， 是我们班学习最好的学生。 她会学习， 她会玩儿， 还常常帮助别人， 老师和同学都很喜欢她。 她这次<strong>参加</strong>了美国一个大学<strong>考试</strong>。 这个考试非常难，但是她考得很好，<strong>得</strong>了<strong>满分</strong>。 听说全世界只有三个学生得满分。 这个大学给江苹最高的<strong>奖学金</strong>。 我们都为她感到高兴。\r\n\r\n2) 她下星期要去美国<strong>留学</strong>， 我们班的同学都去看她， 给他送行。\r\n\r\n3) 江苹的家在城东边， 离我家比较远。 我下午四点多就从家里出发了， 五点半才到。 我到的时候， 同学们都已经到了。\r\n\r\n4) 江苹很热情地欢迎我们。 同学们好久不见了， 见面以后高兴得又说又笑， 谈得很愉快。 我们<strong>预祝</strong>江苹<strong>成功</strong>。 祝她一路平安。 我说， 一定要常来信啊。 江苹说，一定。 跟她说 “再见”  的时候， 她哭了， 我也哭了。\r\n\r\n5) 回家的路上， 我想， 我们常常说 “再见”， 但是， 有时候 “再见” 是很难的。 我和江苹什么时候能 “再见” 呢？\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n\r\n1) Today I\'m going to Jiang Ping\'s house. Jiang Ping and I are highschool classmates. She\'s my good friend, and she\'s also good friends with everyone in our class. She studies very hard, she\'s the best student in our class. She studies, she plays, and she also often helps others. The teacher and the other students like her. She recently participated in an examination for an American college. That test is very hard, but she did very well - she earned full marks. I heard that only three people in the whole world got full marks. This college gave Jiang Ping their highest scholarship. We\'re all very happy for her.\r\n\r\n2) Next week she\'s going to study abroad in America, and all our classmates are going to see her off.\r\n\r\n3) Jiang Ping\'s house is on the east side of the city very far away from mine. I left my house a little after four o\'clock in the afternoon, and didn\'t get there until 5:30. When I arrived, the rest of our classmates were already there.\r\n\r\n4) Jiang Ping warmly welcomed us. She hadn\'t seen her classmates in a while, and after she greeted us, we talked and smiled, chatting happily. We wished Jiang Ping success. Wished her a pleasant trip. I said, Be sure to write often. Jiang Ping said, Of course. When she said \"Goodbye\", she cried, and I also cried.\r\n\r\n5) On my way home, I thought, We often say \"Goodbye\" [lit: see you again], but sometimes \"Goodbye\" is sad. When will Jiang Ping and I be able to see each other again?\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Essays] 江苹去留学 - Jiang Ping Goes to Study Abroad', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '67-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 03:44:09', '2016-11-04 07:44:09', '', 67, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/67-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(1999, 1, '2016-11-04 03:44:14', '2016-11-04 07:44:14', 'A very short children\'s story about a bear\'s search for a new home. \r\n\r\nSource: <a href=\"http://www.gushi365.com/info/5568.html\">GuShi365.com</a>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese Text</h3>\r\n1) 小熊一家住在山洞里。熊爷爷对小熊说,“你去造间木头房子住吧!\"\r\n\r\n2) 春天，小熊走进树林。树上长满了绿叶，他舍不得砍。\r\n\r\n3) 夏天，小熊又走进了树林。树上开满了鲜花，小熊舍不得砍。\r\n\r\n4) 秋天，小熊走进树林，树上挂满了果实。小熊舍不得砍。\r\n\r\n5) 冬天，小熊走进了树林。树上站着许多小鸟，小熊舍不得砍。\r\n\r\n6) 一年又一年，小熊没有砍树造房子，还是高高兴兴地住在山洞里……\r\n\r\n7) 树林里的小动物非常感谢小熊，他们送给小熊一束束美丽的鲜花.\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n\r\n1) Little bear lived in a mountain cave. Grandfather bear said to Little Bear: \"Go and build a wooden house to live in!\"\r\n\r\n2) In spring, little bear went into the forest. The trees were full of green leaves, and he couldn\'t bear to cut them down.\r\n\r\n3) In summer, little bear again went into the forest. The trees were full of fresh flowers, and he couldn\'t bear to cut them down.\r\n\r\n4) In autumn, little bear went into the forest. The trees were full of hanging fruit, and he couldn\'t bear to cut them down.\r\n\r\n5) In winter, little bear went into the forest. Many little birds were living in the trees, and he couldn\'t bear to cut them down.\r\n\r\n6) Years passed, and little bear still hadn\'t made a home out of the trees. He was still living happily in his mountain cave.\r\n\r\n7) The little forest animals thanked Little Bear very much, and they gave him a bunch of beautiful fresh flowers.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/one_half]', '[Chinese Short Stories] 小熊住山洞 - Little Bear Lived in a Mountain Cave', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '7-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 03:44:14', '2016-11-04 07:44:14', '', 7, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/7-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2001, 1, '2016-11-04 04:10:07', '2016-11-04 08:10:07', '', 'learn-mandarin-simplified-reading', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'learn-mandarin-simplified-reading', '', '', '2016-11-04 04:10:49', '2016-11-04 08:10:49', '', 590, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/learn-mandarin-simplified-reading.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(2002, 1, '2016-11-04 04:11:10', '2016-11-04 08:11:10', 'You know how in English we abbreviate university names? Like UCLA is short for \"University of California Los Angeles\"? And NYU is short for \"New York University\"? We do this, clearly, by grabbing the first letter of each word in the long-form name and using them to create a new, shorter word. So in a language with no letters, like Chinese, how do abbreviations work? \r\n\r\nWell, you take a long title and you select a couple of key characters, and use those as the abbreviation. Most of the popular universities in China have commonly understood abbreviations, two of which appear in this passage:\r\n\r\n1) 北大 - This is the shortened version of <strong>北</strong>京<strong>大</strong>学, \"Beijing University\". \r\n2) 师大 - This is the abbreviation for 北京<strong>师</strong>范<strong>大</strong>学, \"Beijing Normal University\". \r\n\r\nThere are many others:\r\n\r\n北语 - <strong>北</strong>京<strong>语</strong>言大学 - Beijing Language University\r\n人大 - 北京<strong>人</strong>民<strong>大</strong>学 - Beijing People\'s University\r\n\r\nEtc. etc. \r\n\r\n<hr />[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese Text</h3>\r\n1） 王先生是<strong>北大</strong>的老教师，一九三八年五月二十四号出生，　今年五十八岁。　今天是他的生日。　他是一位非常有经验的法语老师。这个学期他教大三的学生现代法语语法。\r\n\r\n2） 王先生的一位老朋友是老年大学的老师，　他经常在这个大学教日语。\r\n\r\n4） 他的一个学生在<strong>师大</strong>工作。　他有汉语书，法语书和日语书。　他天天教留学生现代汉语。现在他有五个男学生，八个女学生。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n\r\n1) Mr. Wang is an old teacher at Beijing University. He was born May 24, 1938, he\'s 58 this year. Today is his birthday. He is a French teacher with a lot of experience. This semester he is teaching modern French grammar to 3rd year students. \r\n\r\n2) One of Mr. Wang\'s friends is an old university teacher, he often teaches Japanese at this university. \r\n\r\n3) One of his students works at Beijing Normal University. He has Chinese books, French book and Japanese books. Every day he teaches foreign students modern Chinese. Right now he has 5 male students and 8 female students. \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]\r\n', '[Chinese Essays] 王先生在大学工作 - Mr. Wang Works at the University', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '590-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 04:11:10', '2016-11-04 08:11:10', '', 590, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/590-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2003, 1, '2016-11-04 04:12:26', '2016-11-04 08:12:26', 'A passage from a Beijing Language and Culture University textbook in which a university student laments catching a cold. This essay focuses on mostly illness-centric beginner language, such as 感冒 [pinyin]gan3 mao4[/pinyin], meaning \"to have a cold\"， and 打针 [pinyin]da3 zhen1[/pinyin], meaning \"to get an IV drip or shot\".\r\n\r\nLest it seems a little dramatic to you that the writer would go to the hospital over a 24-hour cold, the Chinese typically don\'t use private clinics (except in the case of accupuncture and massage), and commonly go to the hospital for almost every health-related issue, including colds and small fevers.\r\n\r\nOf special interest is the phrase \"还开了一些药\", or \"and also prescribed me some medicine\". Literally, it says, \"Also opened a bit of medicine\". But the word 开 [pinyin]kai1[/pinyin], which usually means \"open\", is also the verb used to describe a doctor writing a perscription. This tells us that the doctor didn\'t give (给[pinyin]gei3[/pinyin]) the student any medicine himself, but prescribed it instead.\r\n\r\n<hr />[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\r\n1) 我病了。　头疼，发烧，嗓子也疼，不想吃东西，晚上咳嗽的很厉害。　上午同学们都去上课了，我一个人在宿舍里，感到很寂寞。　寂寞了就容易想家。　我家里人很多，有哥哥，姐姐，还有一个弟弟。　在家的时候，我们常一起玩儿。　现在，我在北京学习汉语，寂寞的时候就常常想他们。\r\n\r\n2) 因为不舒服，所以我今天起得很晚。　起了床就去医院了。　大夫给我检查了一下儿，说我感冒了。　给我打了一针，还开了一些药。　他说，吃了药病就好了。\r\n\r\n3) 老师和同学们知道我病了，都来看我。　林老师听说我不想吃东西，还做了一碗面条给我吃。　吃了面条，身上出了很多汗，老师说，出了汗可能不发烧了。\r\n\r\n4) 下午，果然不发烧了，喜庆也好了。　我用　Email个我姐姐发了一封信。　我说，我在这儿生活得很好，我有很好的老师，还有很多好同学，好朋友，和他们在一起，我感到很愉快。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n\r\n<strong>1)</strong> I\'m sick. My head hurts, I have a fever, my throat also hurts, I don\'t want to eat anything, and at night I have a serious cough. In the morning my classmates all went to class, and I was the only one left in the dormitory. I feel very lonely. When you\'re lonely, it\'s easy to miss home. I have a lot of family members - an older brother, older sister, and also a younger brother. When I\'m at home, we often play together. Right now, I\'m in Beijing studying Chinese, and when I\'m lonely I miss them.\r\n\r\n<strong>2)</strong> Because I don\'t feel well, I got up late today. When I got up, I went to the hospital. The doctor gave me a quick checkup and said I have a cold. He gave me one shot [also: IV drip], and also prescribed some medicine. He said, take the medicine and you\'ll get better.\r\n\r\n<strong>3)</strong> My teacher and classmates know I\'m sick, so they all came to see me. Teacher Lin heard that I didn\'t want to eat anything, so she made me a bowl of noodles. After I ate the noodles, I began to pour sweat. Teacher said, if you sweat, maybe your fever will go away.\r\n\r\n<strong>4)</strong> In the afternoon, sure enough my fever was gone, and I was in a good mood. I emailed my older sister. I said, I have a very good life here, I have a good teacher and good classmates and good friends, and all together they make me very happy.\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Essays] 我病了 - I\'m Feeling Sick', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '139-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 04:12:26', '2016-11-04 08:12:26', '', 139, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/139-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2004, 1, '2016-11-04 04:15:38', '2016-11-04 08:15:38', 'A very simple story about three friendly butterflies (蝴蝶) who stick up for each other.\n\n<hr />[one_half]\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\n<h3>Chinese Text</h3>\n1) 花园里有三只<strong>蝴蝶</strong>，一只是红色的，一只是黄色的，一只是白色的。三个好朋友天天都在一起玩，可好了。一天，他们正玩得，天突然下起了雨。三只蝴蝶的<strong>翅膀</strong>都被雨打湿了，浑身冻得发抖。\n\n2) 三只小蝴蝶一起飞到红花那里，对红花说: “红花姐姐，让我们飞到你的叶子下面躲<strong>躲</strong>雨吧！”\n\n3) 红花说: “红蝴蝶进来吧，其他的快飞开！”\n\n4) 三个好朋友一齐摇摇头: “我们是好朋友，一块儿来，也一块儿走。”\n\n5) 他们又飞到黄花那里，对黄花说: “黄花姐姐，让我们飞到你的叶子下面躲躲雨吧！”黄花说: “黄蝴蝶进来吧，其他的快飞开！”\n\n6) 三个好朋友一齐摇摇头: “我们是好朋友，一块儿来，也一块儿走。”\n\n7) 然后，他们又飞到白花那里，对白花说: “白花姐姐，让我们飞到你的叶子下面躲躲雨吧！”\n\n8) 可是白花也说: “白蝴蝶进来吧，其他的快飞开！”\n\n9) 这三个好朋友还是一齐摇摇头，对白花说: “我们是好朋友，一块儿来，也一块儿走。”\n\n10) 这时，太阳公公看见了，赶忙把乌云赶走，叫雨停下。\n\n11) 天终于晴了，这三个好朋友又一起在花丛中跳舞玩游戏了。\n</div>\n\n\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\n\n1) In the garden there were three butterflies, one red one, one yellow one, and one white one. Every day the three good friends played together, it was great. One day just as they were playing, it suddenly began to rain. The three butterflies\' wings were drenched by the rain, their whole bodies were trembling with cold. \n\n2) The three butterflies few together to a red flower, and said to it: \"Big Sister Red Flower, let us hide from the rain under your leaves.\" \n\n3) The red flower said: \"The red butterfly can come in, but the others must leave.\"\n\n4) The three good friends shook their heads together: \"We\'re good friends, we came together, and we\'ll leave together.\"\n\n5) They flew off to a yellow flower, and to the yellow flower said, \"Big Sister Yellow Flower, let us hide from the rain under your leaves.\" The yellow flower said: \"The yellow butterfly can come in, but the others must leave.\"\n\n6) The three good friends shook their heads and said: \"We\'re good friends, we came together, and we\'ll leave together.\"\n\n7) Then, they flew away to the white flower, and to the white flower said: \"Big Sister White Flower, let us hide from the rain under your leaves!\"  \n\n8) But the white flower said to them: \"The white butterfly can come in, but the rest must leave.\" \n\n9) The three good friends still shook their heads together and said: \"We\'re good friends, we came together and we\'ll leave together.\"\n\n10) At this time, Old Man Sun saw what was happening, and he hurriedly chased the black clouds away and made the rain stop.     \n\n11) The sky was finally clear, and the three friends again went again to play and dance among the flowers. \n\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]\n\n\n\n\n', 'Three Good Friends', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '539-autosave-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 04:15:38', '2016-11-04 08:15:38', '', 539, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/539-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2005, 1, '2016-11-04 04:16:39', '2016-11-04 08:16:39', '', 'Beginner Chinese Reading Practice: Three Good Friends', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'learn-to-read-mandarin-butterflies', '', '', '2016-11-04 04:16:48', '2016-11-04 08:16:48', '', 539, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/learn-to-read-mandarin-butterflies.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(2008, 1, '2016-11-04 04:18:27', '2016-11-04 08:18:27', 'A very simple story about three friendly butterflies (蝴蝶) who stick up for each other.\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese Text</h3>\r\n1) 花园里有三只蝴蝶，一只是红色的，一只是黄色的，一只是白色的。三个好朋友天天都在一起玩，可好了。一天，他们正玩得，天突然下起了雨。三只蝴蝶的翅膀都被雨打湿了，浑身冻得发抖。\r\n\r\n2) 三只小蝴蝶一起飞到红花那里，对红花说: “红花姐姐，让我们飞到你的叶子下面躲躲雨吧！”\r\n\r\n3) 红花说: “红蝴蝶进来吧，其他的快飞开！”\r\n\r\n4) 三个好朋友一齐摇摇头: “我们是好朋友，一块儿来，也一块儿走。”\r\n\r\n5) 他们又飞到黄花那里，对黄花说: “黄花姐姐，让我们飞到你的叶子下面躲躲雨吧！”黄花说: “黄蝴蝶进来吧，其他的快飞开！”\r\n\r\n6) 三个好朋友一齐摇摇头: “我们是好朋友，一块儿来，也一块儿走。”\r\n\r\n7) 然后，他们又飞到白花那里，对白花说: “白花姐姐，让我们飞到你的叶子下面躲躲雨吧！”\r\n\r\n8) 可是白花也说: “白蝴蝶进来吧，其他的快飞开！”\r\n\r\n9) 这三个好朋友还是一齐摇摇头，对白花说: “我们是好朋友，一块儿来，也一块儿走。”\r\n\r\n10) 这时，太阳公公看见了，赶忙把乌云赶走，叫雨停下。\r\n\r\n11) 天终于晴了，这三个好朋友又一起在花丛中跳舞玩游戏了。\r\n</div>\r\n\r\n\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n\r\n1) In the garden there were three butterflies, one red one, one yellow one, and one white one. Every day the three good friends played together, it was great. One day just as they were playing, it suddenly began to rain. The three butterflies\' wings were drenched by the rain, their whole bodies were trembling with cold. \r\n\r\n2) The three butterflies few together to a red flower, and said to it: \"Big Sister Red Flower, let us hide from the rain under your leaves.\" \r\n\r\n3) The red flower said: \"The red butterfly can come in, but the others must leave.\"\r\n\r\n4) The three good friends shook their heads together: \"We\'re good friends, we came together, and we\'ll leave together.\"\r\n\r\n5) They flew off to a yellow flower, and to the yellow flower said, \"Big Sister Yellow Flower, let us hide from the rain under your leaves.\" The yellow flower said: \"The yellow butterfly can come in, but the others must leave.\"\r\n\r\n6) The three good friends shook their heads and said: \"We\'re good friends, we came together, and we\'ll leave together.\"\r\n\r\n7) Then, they flew away to the white flower, and to the white flower said: \"Big Sister White Flower, let us hide from the rain under your leaves!\"  \r\n\r\n8) But the white flower said to them: \"The white butterfly can come in, but the rest must leave.\" \r\n\r\n9) The three good friends still shook their heads together and said: \"We\'re good friends, we came together and we\'ll leave together.\"\r\n\r\n10) At this time, Old Man Sun saw what was happening, and he hurriedly chased the black clouds away and made the rain stop.     \r\n\r\n11) The sky was finally clear, and the three friends again went again to play and dance among the flowers. \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n', '[Chinese Short Stories] 三个好朋友 - Three Good Friends', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '539-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 04:18:27', '2016-11-04 08:18:27', '', 539, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/539-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2013, 1, '2016-11-04 04:55:56', '2016-11-04 08:55:56', '', 'easy-mandarin-chinese-reading-cat-goes-fishing', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'easy-mandarin-chinese-reading-cat-goes-fishing', '', '', '2016-11-04 04:56:19', '2016-11-04 08:56:19', '', 607, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/easy-mandarin-chinese-reading-cat-goes-fishing.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(2017, 1, '2016-11-04 05:13:07', '2016-11-04 09:13:07', '', 'Study Easy Chinese Childrens Reading: Chinese Children\'s Songs, Poems and Stories', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'learn-to-read-mandarin-chinese-harmonious-environment-song', '', '', '2016-11-04 05:13:16', '2016-11-04 09:13:16', '', 1065, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/learn-to-read-mandarin-chinese-harmonious-environment-song.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(2019, 1, '2016-11-04 05:17:55', '2016-11-04 09:17:55', 'Hoo boy, this song is an AWESOME find. Not only is it politically charged in the most amazing way, it\'s ultra-beginner reading. \r\n\r\nBut first, a little back story so we all know what we\'re reading here. The big campaign here right now is an expansion of the \"Harmonious Society\" campaign. It\'s on every political poster on the roadsides - there are 20 such signs on my street alone. The point, basically, is to do your job in your place and not make waves, or make life uncomfortable for those around you. Sounds nice, but you can kind of see a little ways down that road, and you can understand why \"harmo ny\" has become a euphemism for ce n z*or*sh p. For example, whenever something \"offensive\" is, erm, stricken from the internet, Chinese sarcastically say that it has been \"harmonised\".  This concept goes right back to Confucius, whose big idea was that everyone has their duty and their place, and should follow a very strict set of rules governing what people in their position should and should not be able to do. \r\n\r\nSo the concept of harmony (和谐 - [pinyin]he2 xie2[/pinyin]) has long been an integral part of Chinese culture, but it\'s also been a point of criticism. Sadly, this whole \"nail that sticks up gets hammered down\" mentality is now giving the honchos a headache, because while the Chinese now have the manpower and the money to take the world economy by storm, they can\'t get enough people to break away, be creative and innovate. \r\n\r\nAmusingly, the solution to this has apparently been to put signs up all over Beijing that say: \"Beijing Spirit: Patriotism, Innovation, Inclusiveness, Morality.\" So now, the message is \"Don\'t piss anyone off, but hurry up and do something unique\".\r\n\r\nGuess that solves that problem. NEXT!\r\n\r\nAnyway, the below is a children\'s song that has probably been made up in the last few years, teaching children why harmony is so important. There are a couple of intermediate words in the last sentence, but they\'re easy to figure out. \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\r\n蓝蓝的天上鸟儿飞，\r\n清清的水里鱼儿游，\r\n密密的森林动物跑，\r\n空空的草地孩子忙，\r\n　　……\r\n啊！这一切多么美好！\r\n和谐的环境需要我们去创造。\r\n</div>\r\n\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH\"]\r\nBirds fly in a blue blue sky, \r\nFish swim in the clear clear water, \r\nAnimals run in the thick thick forest, \r\nChildren run around in the open open meadow, \r\n　　……\r\nOh, how wonderful everything is like this, \r\nA harmonious environment requires us to create it.\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Songs] 和谐环境 - The Harmonious Environment Song', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1065-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 05:17:55', '2016-11-04 09:17:55', '', 1065, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1065-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2020, 1, '2016-11-04 05:20:22', '2016-11-04 09:20:22', '', '', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'easy-chinese-childrens-stories-polite-rabbit', '', '', '2016-11-04 05:21:11', '2016-11-04 09:21:11', '', 614, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/easy-chinese-childrens-stories-polite-rabbit.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(2024, 1, '2016-11-04 05:28:54', '2016-11-04 09:28:54', 'Kinda kills me how little information is available on the modern Chinese writers, you know? A few of the most famous works have been translated, but most have only cursory mentions. Even the Wikipedia pages don\'t have nearly the amount of content that the Chinese encyclopedias offer. <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dai_Wangshu\" target=\"_blank\">Dai Wangshu</a>, for example, is relatively unknown in the west. So who is this guy?\n\nDai Wangshu (戴望舒) was a famously-depressed modern Chinese symbolist poet, born in 1905, died from an accidental overdose of asthma medication in 1950 - asthma which he contracted when he was thrown in jail by the Japanese for advocating revolution. Seriously, this guy spent his entire life having the sadz. He threatened to kill himself a couple of times, once to force his girlfriend to marry him (she agreed, but then ran off with a refrigerator salesman, cuz I guess refrigerators were a big deal at the time), and once when his first wife fell in love with another man and asked for a divorce.<!--more-->\n\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/20160428-inline.jpg\" alt=\"Learn to Read Chinese: Advanced Chinese Poetry, Modern Chinese Poetry\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />《雨巷》, Dai Wangshu\'s representative work was written in 1927 when he was 22. He\'d just broken it off with his girlfriend and was spending much of his time in seclusion at a friend\'s house. This was also written soon after the <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_massacre_of_1927\" target=\"_blank\">April 12 Incident</a>, during which the KMT (Guomindang) slaughtered a bunch of Communists in Shanghai, where Dai Wangshu was living, so we\'re talking a period of political uncertainty and upheaval. Because of this, there\'s been speculation that the poem has political overtones, but I don\'t think so. \n\nLike most of Dai Wangshu\'s work, 《雨巷》 is wistful, lovely and sad, and also a bit misty and dreamlike. It describes a single scene in which a woman, dressed in purple and holding an oil paper umbrella, passes the author on a silent rainy road. You\'ll see the word 丁香 appear frequently - that\'s a \"lilac\". Lilacs come up a lot here. The language is difficult at first, but then gets repetitive, as he uses the same words again and again in different configurations, until in the last stanza, there\'s no new vocabulary. \n\nI don\'t love the <a href=\"http://www.zg-wh.com/2014/03/a-lane-in-rain-poem-by-dai-wangshu.html\" target=\"_blank\">translation that\'s available</a> for this, so I made own translation below - it\'s not perfect. Like most Chinese poetry, if you translate with exact faithfulness, it sounds crappy in English, so small liberties have been taken. You may like the other version better, go check it out. Regardless of the translation, I think this piece loses its beauty in the English version. If you read the poem out loud in Chinese, you\'ll notice it\'s got a lovely cadence, with some off-tempo rhymes that get lost in any other language, so try reciting it, if you can.\n\n彷徨 is interesting in that it has two meanings. One is to pace back and forth - a Chinese synonym for this might be 徘徊. But it also means \"to hesitate\". I personally used both definitions, one in the first stanza, a different one a little later on, so don\'t let that trip you up. In fact, I do something similar in a couple of places, use different definitions of the same word to make it sound a bit better in English. \n\nLittle side note, these Chinese punctuation marks 《》 indicate the name of a book, movie, poem, or other written work - we use quotes or italics for this in English. \n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\n撑着油纸伞，独自\n<strong>彷徨</strong>在悠长，悠长\n又<strong>寂寥</strong>的雨巷，\n我希望逢着\n一个丁香</strong>一样的\n结着愁怨的姑娘。\n\n她是有\n丁香一样的颜色，\n丁香一样的芬芳，\n丁香一样的忧愁，\n在雨中哀怨，\n哀怨又彷徨；\n\n她彷徨在这寂寥的雨巷，\n撑着油纸伞\n像我一样，\n像我一样地\n默默彳亍着，\n冷漠，凄清，又惆怅。\n\n她静默地走近\n走近，又投出\n太息一般的眼光，\n她飘过\n像梦一般的，\n像梦一般的凄婉迷茫。\n\n像梦中飘过\n一枝丁香的，\n我身旁飘过这女郎；\n她静默地远了，远了，\n到了颓圮的篱墙，\n走尽这雨巷。\n\n在雨的哀曲里，\n消了她的颜色，\n散了她的芬芳\n消散了，甚至她的\n太息般的眼光，\n丁香般的惆怅。\n\n撑着油纸伞，独自\n彷徨在悠长，悠长\n又寂寥的雨巷，\n我希望飘过\n一个丁香一样的\n结着愁怨的姑娘。\n \n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\n\nHolding an oil paper umbrella, I\npace through a long, long, \nand solitary rainy alley.\nI hope to come upon\nA girl like lilacs, \nDistressed and grudging.\n\nShe has\nThe color of lilacs\nThe scent of lilacs\nAnd a lilac\'s concerns,\nGrudging in the rain,\nResentful and hesitating. \n\nShe paces in the drizzling, desolate lane,\nHolding her oil paper umbrella,\nAs I do,\nJust as I do, \nSoundlessly wending,\nAloof, cheerless, and unhappy.\n\nShe walks quietly closer,\nWalks closer, casting\nA glance like a sigh,\nShe floats past,\nAs a dream does,\nAs a dream does, indistinctly bittersweet.\n\nFloats by as a dream does, \nA single lilac,\nThe girl who floats past me, \nShe is getting farther, farther,\nReaches the toppled fence,\nWalks out of this drizzling alley.\n\nIn the rain\'s plaintive song,\nHer color is washed away\nHer scent dissipates\nWashed out and dissipated, even her\nSighing eyes\nHer lilac melancholy.\n\nHolding an oil paper umbrella, I\npace through a long, long, \nand desolate rainy alley.\nI hope to float by\nA girl like lilacs, \nDistressed and grudging.\n\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Modern Chinese Poetry] Rainy Alley 《雨巷》 by Dai Wangshu', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1587-autosave-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 05:28:54', '2016-11-04 09:28:54', '', 1587, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1587-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2027, 1, '2016-11-04 05:32:36', '2016-11-04 09:32:36', 'Yayzors, horsies. \r\n\r\nI know that when you first start reading, it\'s hard to hold a narrative thread through a longer post, but give this one a try - 6 short paragraphs, all of them very straightforward. This one has mostly very beginner language, with a couple of intermediate or upper-intermediate words. The grammar, rather than the vocab, is probably the hard part of this post, which is an great survey of every basic Chinese sentence structure. If you can read this, your foundation in Chinese grammar is very solid. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<h3>Using 过</h3>\r\n\r\n他过的很快乐，时光飞快地过去了。\r\n\r\nI figure that might be confusing for new readers, since there are two different uses of the word 过 [pinyin]guo4[/pinyin] here. I tend to find that the easiest way to remember what 过 means in every context is that it almost always means either \"past\" or \"pass\", or one of many variations thereon. Let\'s look a few usages of 过.\r\n\r\n1) In the most common usage, the one we see earliest in our learning, 过, when used after an action, means that the action has \"been done before\", or \"has been done in the past\", as in \"Have you ever been to Shanghai (in the past)?\" （你去过上海吗?), or \"Have you ever eaten this type of fish (in the past)?\" (你吃过这种鱼吗?). \r\n\r\n2) Usage two, 过去, means \"to pass by\", as in “The days passed one by one\" (一关一天就过去了). \r\n\r\n3) Usage three, also 过去, means \"The Past\", a noun, as in the opposite of the future. \"To forget the past is a betrayal.\" (忘记过去，就意味着背叛)\r\n\r\n4) The fourth usage is \"to pass (time)\", or \"to pass one\'s days\" (过日子), or to \"How were you [how did you pass] the last few days?\" (这些天过得怎么样？). \r\n\r\n5) Another 过去 - to \"pass across\", \"to cross\" (as in a river or street).\r\n\r\n6) 过去 \"to pass by\" (someone or something). \r\n\r\nAnd on and on. In our sentence here, we\'re using #4 first, and then #2. \r\n\r\n他<strong>过</strong>的很快乐，时光飞快地<strong>过</strong>去了。\r\n\r\n\"He <strong>passed</strong> [his days] very happily, time flew <strong>past</strong>.\"\r\n\r\nMake sense? Hope so, because several different usages of 过去 come up in this post, so keep an eye out. \r\n\r\n<h3>Not you, stoopid: 咱们 vs. 我们</h3>\r\n\r\n咱们 [pinyin]zan2 men5[/pinyin]. This means \"us\" or \"we\". I know, I know, you learned that 我们 means \"us\" and \"we\", and it does.  咱们 only refers to \"us\" and \"we\" when the speaker is including the person they\'re talking to. So 咱们 means really \"You and I\", not \"we\". Confusing, right? Here are some examples：\r\n\r\n我们： \"Sorry, you can\'t come with us, we\'re going to see a movie alone.\" (The person being spoken to is not included in the \"we\".)\r\n咱们： \"Why don\'t we see a movie this afternoon?” （The speaker is including the person spoken to in the \"we\".)\r\n\r\n我们： \"I\'ll call you as soon as we get back.\" (The person being spoken to is not included in the \"we\".)\r\n咱们： \"What should we do when we get back?” （The speaker is including the person spoken to in the \"we\".)\r\n\r\n我们： \"We\'re not home right now, leave a message!\" (The person being spoken to is not included in the \"we\".)\r\n咱们： \"We could go home right now and check the messages.” （The speaker is including the person spoken to in the \"we\".)\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text:</h3>\r\n<strong>1)</strong> 小马和他的妈妈住在小河边。他过的很快乐，时光飞快地过去了。有一天，妈妈把小马叫到身边说：“小马，你已经长大了，可以帮妈妈做事了。今天你把这袋<strong>粮食</strong>送到河对<strong>岸</strong>的村子里去吧。”\r\n\r\n<strong>2)</strong> 小马非常高兴地答应了。他<strong>驮</strong>着粮食飞快地来到了小河边。可是河上没有桥，只能自己<strong>淌</strong>过去。可又不知道河水有多深呢？<strong>犹豫</strong>中的小马一抬头，看见了正在不远处吃草的牛伯伯。小马赶紧跑过去问到：“牛伯伯，您知道那河里的水深不深呀？”\r\n\r\n<strong>3)</strong> 牛伯伯挺起他那高大的身体笑着说：“不深，不深。才到我的小腿。”\r\n\r\n<strong>4)</strong> 小马高兴地跑回河边准备淌过河去。他刚一<strong>迈</strong>腿，忽然听见一个声音说：“小马，小马别下去，这河可深啦。”小马低头一看，原来是小松鼠。小松鼠<strong>翘</strong>着她漂亮的尾巴，睁着圆圆的眼睛，很认真地说：“前两天我的一个伙伴不小心掉进了河里，河水就把他<strong>卷</strong>走了。”\r\n\r\n<strong>5)</strong> 小马一听没主意了。牛伯伯说河水浅，小松鼠说河水深，这可怎么办呀？只好回去问妈妈。马妈妈老远地就看见小马低着头驮着粮食又回来了。心想他一定是遇到困难了，就迎过去问小马。小马哭着把牛伯伯和小松鼠的话告诉了妈妈。妈妈安慰小马说：“没关系，<strong>咱们</strong>一起去看看吧。”\r\n\r\n<strong>6)</strong> 小马和妈妈又一次来到河边，妈妈让小马自己去试探一下河水有多深。小马小心地试探着，一步一步地淌过了河。噢，他明白了，河水既没有牛伯伯说的那么浅，也没有小松鼠说的那么深。只有自己亲自试过才知道。\r\n \r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n<strong>1)</strong> Little Horse and his mother lived by the river. He passed his days happily, and time flew by. One day, Mother called little horse to her side and said: \"Little Horse, you\'re all grown up, you can help mother with a few things. Today, take that sack of grain and take it to the village on the opposite riverbank.\" \r\n\r\n<strong>2)</strong> Little Horse happily agreed. Carrying the grain on his back he flew to the river. But there was no bridge over the river, he could only wade across. But he didn\'t know how deep the river was.(?) While he was hesitating he lifted his head, and saw Uncle Ox eating grass not far away. Little horse hurriedly ran over and asked: \"Uncle Ox, do you know if the river is deep or not?\" \r\n\r\n<strong>3)</strong> Uncle Ox straightened his big, tall body and laughing, said: \"Not deep, not deep. It only comes up to my calf.\" \r\n\r\n<strong>4)</strong> Little Horse happily ran back to the riverside and prepared to wade across. He\'d just taken one step, when suddenly he heard a voice say: \"Little Horse, Little Horse, don\'t go in, this river is so deep!\" Little Horse lowered his head and looked down, and saw it was Little Squirrel. Little Squirrel raised her pretty tail, round eyes opened wide, and spoke earnestly: \"Two days ago my companion accidentally fell into the river, and the water swept him away.\" \r\n\r\n<strong>5)</strong> Little Horse didn\'t know what to think. Uncle Ox said the water was shallow, Little Squirrel said the water was deep, what was he to do? He had to go back and ask Mother. From a distance, Mother Horse saw Little Horse returning with a lowered head and carrying the sack of grain. She knew in her heart that he must have run into trouble, so she went to welcome Little Horse and ask. Little horse, crying, told Mother what Uncle Ox and Little Squirrel had said. Mother consoled Little Horse, saying: \"Don\'t worry, let\'s go together and have a look.\" \r\n\r\n<strong>6)</strong> Little Horse and Mother went back to the riverbank again, and Mother let little horse test out how deep the water was. Little Horse carefully tried it out, and step by step waded across the river. Hey, he understood, the river on the one hand wasn\'t as shallow as Uncle Ox said, and also wasn\'t as deep as Little Squirrel said. You only know if you find out for yourself. \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Short Stories] 小马过河 - Little Horse Crosses the River', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1596-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 05:32:36', '2016-11-04 09:32:36', '', 1596, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1596-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2028, 1, '2016-11-04 05:32:52', '2016-11-04 09:32:52', 'This is another one I nabbed from Sina user <a href=\"http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_6ace1efa0100kltk.html\" target=\"_blank\">Zifengling\'s personal blog</a>. I tried to convince myself that this was beginner, but I just couldn\'t. The words are mostly OK, but there are one too many wibble-wobbly sentence configurations.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThis is also a perfect example of a fairly easy story that had one phrase I spent an hour trying to sort out, and a perfect example of the reason I started this blog in the first damn place - you start reading and then one word trips you up and you can\'t get past it. 99% sure I figured it out, but don\'t hesitate to correct me in the comments if you have intelligence to the contrary. The word was 香草娃娃 [pinyin]xiang1 cao3 wa2 wa2[/pinyin]. Uh, well, [pinyin]xiang1 cao3[/pinyin] means \"vanilla\" and [pinyin]wa2 wa2[/pinyin] is \"baby\", so... vanilla baby? Really? In the story, 香草娃娃 is used as a toy\'s name, so I thought, maybe there\'s a toy called a Vanilla Baby? Anyway, it turns out an out-of-use definition for 香草 is \"old and dependable\". Ah hah - \"old, dependable baby doll\". That makes sense. \r\n\r\nThere\'s one other very useful phrase here that\'s very commonly used in everyday language: 太过分了！Directly translated, this means \"Too excessive!\", but this phrase doesn\'t usually actually refer to a large amount of things. It\'s more often used to refer to a circumstance or someone\'s behavior, like, \"That is just too much to bear!\". If someone was very mean to you, you could say, \"太过分了!\" or if an interview process was super rough and you got raked over the coals, also \"太过分了!\" \r\n\r\nEnjoy this one, and consider it good practicing in very colloquial story building.\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\r\n新年快到了，玩具王国决定举行一场盛大的舞会，准备邀请全国的玩具都来参加。舞会那天，玩具们都不停地跳着、笑着，整个舞场热闹非凡。可是在一个角落里，谁也没有注意到，有一只紫色的香草娃娃正一声不吭地望着舞池，她的眼神呆呆的，显得十分孤独。这时，一只小白熊正好从她面前经过，它看到了这一切，就走过去问香草娃娃：“娃娃，你为什么不去跳舞呢？”香草娃娃难过地低下了头，轻轻地说：“玩具们都嫌我个子小，不愿意请我跳舞。”说完流下了眼泪。小白熊听了很气愤，说：“他们怎么能这样对待你呢？难道他们不懂得要团结友爱吗！太过分了！”小白熊拉起香草娃娃的手，说，“娃娃，不要难过了。走，我请你跳舞。”香草娃娃听了这话，脸上顿时露出了灿烂的笑容，她连忙擦掉脸上的泪水，高兴地说：“太好了！太好了！”娃娃和小白熊在舞池里又跳又笑，一起度过了一个愉快的夜晚。\r\n \r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nThe new year had almost arrived, and the Toy Kingdom planned to invite everyone to a grand ball. The day of the dance, the toys were all dancing and laughing, and the whole ballroom was extraordinarily lively. But off in one corner, receiving no attention from anyone, there was an old purple doll silently gazing at the dance floor, her eyes were blank and she looked lonely. Just then, a white polar bear in front of her saw this, walked over and asked the dependable old doll, \"Doll, why don\'t you go dance?\" The dependable doll lowered her head sadly, saying in a small voice, \"The [other] toys all say I\'m too short, they\'re not willing to dance with me.\"  Saying this, she began to cry. Polar Bear was furious when he heard this, and said: \"How could they treat you this way? Don\'t they understand solidarity? That\'s just too much!\" Little Bear pulled on the baby doll\'s hand, and said: \"Doll, don\'t be sad. Come on, I\'m asking you to dance with me.\" The dependable doll heard these words, and a brilliant smile immediately lit up her face. She quickly wiped the tears off her face and said happily, \"Wonderful! Wonderful!\" On the dance floor, Doll and Bear danced and laughed, and passed a lovely evening together. \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Children\'s Stories] The Little Polar Bear and the Doll Dance Together', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1566-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 05:32:52', '2016-11-04 09:32:52', '', 1566, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1566-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2031, 1, '2016-11-04 05:47:36', '2016-11-04 09:47:36', 'Hey hey, lookie here, an excellent guest post submitted by native Chinese speaker Yang from <a href=\"http://www.learnmandarinnow.com\" target=\"_blank\">Learn Mandarin Now</a>. This story tells us a bit about the Chinese <em>chengyu</em> (idiom),塞翁失马, which can mean \"a blessing in disguise\", or can conversely mean \"bad luck disguised as good\". It\'s used to point out the hidden positives or negatives in a situation, so you might say it means \"there are two sides to every circumstance\". <!--more-->\r\n\r\nI\'m loving this post for the fable-y language: \"servant\", \"steed\", etc. Plus, I learned a new favorite word in this one: 塞外 [pinyin]sai4 wai4[/pinyin], meaning \"Beyond the Great Wall\". In other words, a remote place near the outskirts or borders of China. Also, don\'t forget, 匹 [pinyin]pi3[/pinyin] is the measure word for Horses, so you\'re gonna see that a few times. \r\n\r\nThere\'s one phrase we should probably get into in greater detail, because I don\'t think it\'s immediately clear what it means: 全国上下的年轻男子都被抓去打仗. Let\'s take a look at this, word by word:\r\n\r\n全国 - The whole country\r\n上下的 - Everywhere\r\n年轻男子 - young men\r\n都 - all\r\n被 - grammar word usually indicating that the subject of the sentence has had something unfortunate happen to them\r\n抓 - grabbed\r\n去 - go out\r\n打仗 - fight \r\n\r\nThe key word here is 抓 [pinyin]zhua1[/pinyin], which usually means to \"catch\" or \"grab\". In this case, the word means \"drafted\", so it still means to \"grab\", but in this case, it\'s the ruling power (probably the king) doing the grabbing up (of potential soldiers). The 被 in this case functions as \"were\", with a negative overtone. So this can be translated as \"All the young men everywhere in the country <strong>were drafted</strong> to go fight a war.\"\r\n\r\nLearn Mandarin Now\'s \"<a href=\"http://www.learnmandarinnow.com/how-to-read-chinese/\" target=\"_blank\">How to Read Chinese</a>\" page for a basic overview on getting started with Simplified characters, and look at <a href=\"http://www.learnmandarinnow.com/blog/\" target=\"_blank\">their new blog</a> for some learning tips. \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\r\n<strong>1)</strong> 从前，一位<strong>老翁</strong>和他的儿子住在<strong>塞外</strong>的边境上。他们都非常喜欢骑马。有一天，他们家的<strong>仆人</strong>给老先生报告：\"我们家的一匹骏马走丢了，好像跑去<strong>邻国</strong>了。\"\r\n\r\n<strong>2)</strong> 老翁的朋友<strong>闻讯</strong>都过来安慰他。但老先生说：“呵呵，这也许不是坏事，谁知道呢！＂\r\n\r\n<strong>3)</strong> 几个月之后，奇妙的事情发生了，那匹走失了的骏马意外地跑回来了，并且从邻国带来了一匹新的<strong>骏马</strong>。老翁的好友纷纷过来祝贺他。老翁说：“唉，这也许不是什么好事情呢！”\r\n\r\n<strong>4)</strong> 一天，老翁的儿子正在骑那匹新的骏马，突然不小心从马上掉了下来并摔断了腿。他从今以后都不能正常走路了。老翁的朋友都为老翁感到伤心，但老翁却说：“这个意外以后能为咱们带来好运也不一定。”\r\n\r\n<strong>5)</strong> 一年后，全国上下的年轻男子都被抓去打仗，大部分去参军的年轻人都死在了<strong>战场</strong>。老翁的儿子因为腿受伤了所以避过了这一次劫难。\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n<strong>1)</strong> Once upon a time, there was an old man who lived with his son on the borders of the country. They both very much enjoyed riding horses. One day, a servant reported to the old man, “One of our good horses has gone missing. It seems the horse ran across to the neighboring country.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>2)</strong> The old man\'s friends came and comforted him. However, the old man said: \"Well, this is not necessarily a bad thing. Who knows!\"\r\n\r\n<strong>3)</strong> A couple of months later, a strange thing happened. The missing horse came back, accompanied by a great steed from the neighboring country. When his friends congratulated him on this great news, the old man said: \"Well, this might bring us bad luck.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>4)</strong> One day, his son was having fun riding on the fine [new] steed. Suddenly, he fell from the hose and broke his leg. His son was never able to walk again. Again, the old man\'s friends came to comfort him. But the old man was not bothered and said: \"This accident might bring us good luck in the future.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>5)</strong> A year later, all young men in the country were drafted to join a war. Most young men who fought died on the battlefield. Luckily, his son avoided entering the war because of his broken leg.\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Idioms] 塞翁失马 - A Blessing in Disguise', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1551-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 05:47:36', '2016-11-04 09:47:36', '', 1551, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1551-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(2032, 1, '2016-11-04 05:48:29', '2016-11-04 09:48:29', 'Happy Year of the Sheep! Couple of days ago, I stumbled across the Book \"The Last Yin Yang Master\", aka \"The Last Onmyoji\", a supernatural ghost story available for free online. It\'s incredibly rare to find full-length books that aren\'t impossibly difficult to get through, but this one is phenomenal for learners. I\'m gonna put part of the first chapter here, so you can dive on in. The rest can be grabbed on <a href=\"http://www.zhuaji.org/read/146/\" target=\"_blank\">Zhuaji.com</a>. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nI\'ve recently sort of discovered that ghost stories and detective novels are where it\'s at for practicing reading. The cliches in a Chinese murder mystery are exactly the same as they are anywhere: hard-boiled cop, confused rookie, seductive woman, shady business, and definitely a chase scene. It\'s easier to follow a story when you have a semi-expectation of what\'s supposed to happen. They get hard when people start talking about blood spatter and ballistics, but you can kind of get the gist. Ghost stories are the same way - a scene of normalcy is set, followed by some red-flag strangeness that everyone completely ignores because they don\'t believe in the supernatural, followed by some myths and legends, or maybe a mysterious old man, or maybe a body goes missing, and then things really freaky. Again, the read gets hard when characters start talking about the mystic books of old, or funeral customs, so you should probably be reading this with the help of Pleco (which I do), but The Last Onmyoji is accessible enough that those parts shouldn\'t totally derail you. Highly recommended.\r\n\r\nThis really is worth a go for readers at almost all levels. The read is late-intermediate, but using Pleco, late-stage beginners and early-intermediates will be able to understand large chunks of it, enough to motivate you to puzzle through the parts you don\'t get, more so because this is being told in first-person. Remember, now, that the beginning of a book is usually the hardest as you try to get a sense of the story. Once the story gets rolling, it\'s easier to flow with it. Advanced readers may just appreciate learning a bit of spooky vocab. \r\n\r\nThe segment that I\"m translating here doesn\'t have any ghostly bits in it, this is the first chapter to get you going on the story. It\'s packed full of Chinese village culture, and some parts at the end that would be considered extremely un-PC in the west: a little anti-Japanese talk, and a little bit about buying women, the rarities of college education in the countryside: the realities of village life in China, even these days. \r\n\r\nThere\'s a lot I could talk about in here, but I do like the word 投 [pinyin]tou2[/pinyin] - This word had a ton of meanings. Imagine slipping a piece of paper into a suggestion box. Got it? That\'s what this word embodies, that action, or anything related to a similar action of taking a flat object and dropping it into a slot, literally or figuratively. So it can mean to \"vote\", as in an election, because you\'re submitting a ballot. It can mean to \"slide\" an envelope into a letter box. In this case, it means to \"submit\" a resume while seeking a job offer. We don\'t have a word for that concept in English, I think. \r\n\r\nEnjoy!\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese Text</h3>\r\n<strong>1)</strong> 我叫林小凡,今年23岁。大学刚毕业。一个三流的大学四流的成绩,大学是在杭州读,毕业之后最开始在一家房地产公司做销售员,底薪一千八。因为业绩太差,公司没说辞退我,我自己就不好意思待了。\r\n\r\n<strong>2)</strong> 在杭州转了两个月,<strong>投</strong>了不知道多少份儿简历,面试了多少次,都没有通过。<strong>盘缠</strong>花光之后,就回了老家。\r\n\r\n<strong>3)</strong> 我的老家是洛阳。洛阳的乡下,一个叫做十里铺儿的小村儿落。\r\n\r\n<strong>4)</strong> 之所以回来,是因为村儿里小学唯一的教师得了<strong>肺痨</strong>,病的已经非常严重,我作为村里走出来唯一的大学生,村长愿意一月掏出一千块的巨资来请我去代课。\r\n\r\n<strong>5)</strong> 所以我回来了。\r\n\r\n<strong>6)</strong> 在外面活的不如一条狗的我,在老家得到了极大的尊严。\r\n\r\n<strong>7)</strong> 在偏远的山村,大学生,还是一个极其厉害的存在,村民们在看到我父亲的时候,都会为他竖起大拇指,说:“老林家祖坟冒了青烟,竟然出了个大学生,以后你就走出了大山咯。”\r\n\r\n<strong>8)</strong> 每当这个时候,我父亲都会憨厚的笑一笑,抹去他脸上的汗水。\r\n\r\n<strong>9)</strong> 我回到村子之后,方圆几里的媒婆都争着抢着给我介绍对象,几乎踏破我家的门槛儿,这不是吹牛。你不在那个环境里,不知道大学生三个字的分量。\r\n\r\n<strong>10)</strong> 父亲也极力的给我<strong>张罗</strong>,在他们眼里,23岁,甚至已经过了结婚的年纪。跟我同龄的人,现在儿子已经可以光着<strong>屁股</strong>到处跑了。\r\n\r\n<strong>11)</strong> 为了不让他们操心,我也去一次次的应付相亲。\r\n\r\n<strong>12)</strong> 对,是应付。\r\n\r\n<strong>13)</strong> 大学,说白了就是一个区分性与理性的地方,虽然是山村出来的,可是我的相貌并不算丑,甚至可以说英俊。也谈过一个女朋友,我没钱,她也不是非常的富裕,可是就算这样,我们还在在一起了三年,我尽我所能的打零工,来做一个男朋友该做的。大三那年,我们分手。\r\n<strong>14)</strong> \r\n那一天,我在我们学校的后山喝了一瓶2块钱的二锅头。醒来之后,不再悲伤,继续<strong>浑浑噩噩</strong>的过日子。\r\n\r\n<strong>15)</strong> 关于相貌这一点,我继承了我母亲。\r\n\r\n<strong>16)</strong>  一个不知道故乡在哪里的美貌女人。\r\n\r\n<strong>17)</strong> 她有痴呆症。\r\n\r\n<strong>18)</strong> 在几十年前,我父亲进城,用了三百块钱把她买了回来。\r\n\r\n<strong>19)</strong> 我父亲说,他那一天花了两元钱给母亲买了一身衣服,回来的时候母亲的美貌,让村里的人哈喇子都流到了地上。\r\n\r\n<strong>20)</strong> 可惜,她是个傻子。\r\n\r\n<strong>21)</strong> 如果不是傻子,我父亲也买不起。\r\n\r\n<strong>22)</strong> 后来有了我,母亲的痴傻一直都是那样,可是她的傻,并不是像街头的疯子一样,她非常安静。\r\n\r\n<strong>23)</strong> 不说话,不动。只是安静的坐着。\r\n\r\n<strong>24)</strong> 我就在这样的一个环境下长大,可是我并不想文艺的说,我有孤僻的性格,因为就算是这样,我还是有完整的童年。\r\n\r\n<strong>25)</strong> 我父亲非常的勤劳,他尽一个农民的极限,利用手中的农具,养活一个家。我没有什么怪他的地方。\r\n\r\n<strong>26)</strong> 没钱,这是命。\r\n\r\n<strong>27)</strong> 我爷爷,是一个退伍的老军人,他不识字,没有农民典型的精明,反倒是实诚的可怕。有人说他是gmd,有人说他是gcd,可是他自己都不知道自己到底是哪个党,他唯一知道的,就是他拿枪打日本鬼子,鬼子打跑之后,他就回到了家。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n<strong>1)</strong> My name is Lin Xiaofan, I\'m 23 years old this year. I just graduated from college. A third-rate school with fourth-tier grades, my college was in Hangzhou, and after I graduated I first went to work as sales staff at a real estate agency with a salary of 1,800 [translator\'s note: this is a very low salary, about $300 USD / month]. My sales performance was poor, and the company never fired me, but I was so embarrassed that I left. \r\n\r\n<strong>2)</strong> I wandered around Hangzhou for two months, submitted I don\'t even know how many resumes, or went to how many interviews, but nothing came through. After I\'d spent all my travel money, I went back to my home town.\r\n\r\n<strong>3)</strong> My home town is Luoyang. In the Luoyang countryside falls a little village called Shilipu\'er. \r\n\r\n<strong>4)</strong> The reason I went home is because the village\'s only teacher got tuberculosis, and he was very seriously ill, so as the village\'s only person who\'d ever gone off to college, the village chief dug up a thousand-dollar [translator\'s note: \"1000 kuai\" is \"1000 Chinese Renminbi\"] investment and asked me to substitute teach. \r\n\r\n<strong>5)</strong> So I went home. \r\n\r\n<strong>6)</strong> My life away from home wasn\'t even as good as a dog\'s, but I get plenty of respect in my home town. \r\n\r\n<strong>7)</strong> In such a remote village, being a college graduate is still an extremely awesome thing to be, and every time the villagers see my father, they all give him a thumbs-up and say, \"Your family\'s ancestral grave is emitting green smoke, unexpectedly out popped a college student! You\'ll be walking off this mountain after a while!\" [translator\'s note: this is a compliment regarding the family\'s lineage.]\r\n\r\n<strong>8)</strong> Of course at these times, my father would smile in a simple and honest way, wiping the sweat off his brow. \r\n\r\n<strong>9)</strong> After I came back to the village, all the local matchmakers tried to set me up with someone, almost trampling down my door, no exaggeration. If you\'ve never been in that [village] environment, you don\'t know the power of those three words, \"College Degree Holder\".\r\n\r\n<strong>10)</strong> My dad also made a supreme effort to settle me, because in his eyes, at 23 years old I\'d already passed marrying age. Everyone my age already had kids running around with their bare butts hanging out. \r\n\r\n<strong>11)</strong> So as not to make him worry, I\'d already coped with my first blind date. \r\n\r\n<strong>12)</strong> Yes, it was definitely \"coping\". \r\n\r\n<strong>13)</strong> College, speaking frankly, was a place with completely different place with different rationales, but although I came from a farm village, I wasn\'t considered ugly, you might even say I\'m handsome. I had a girlfriend, but I had no money, and she wasn\'t very rich either, but that\'s just the way it was, we were together three years, and I used up all my part-time work money trying to do all the things a boyfriend is supposed to do. In the third year, we broke up. \r\n\r\n<strong>14)</strong> On that day, on the hill behind our school, I drank a bottle of 2-dollar liquor. After I woke up, I wasn\'t sad anymore, and I just continued muddle-headedly passing the days. \r\n\r\n<strong>15)</strong> About my looks, those I inherited from my mother. \r\n\r\n<strong>16)</strong> A good-looking woman from who-knows-where.  \r\n\r\n<strong>17)</strong> She had dementia.\r\n\r\n<strong>18)</strong> A few decades ago, my father went to the city, and spent three hundred dollars to buy her and bring her home.\r\n\r\n<strong>19)</strong> My dad said, that day he spent two bucks to buy mom some clothes, and when he returned, mom\'s good looks made everyone in the village drool all over the ground. \r\n\r\n<strong>20)</strong> Pity, she was an idiot.\r\n\r\n<strong>21)</strong> If she hadn\'t been an idiot, my dad could never have afforded her. \r\n\r\n<strong>22)</strong> Then I came along, and mom\'s dementia continued as before, but her brand of dementia wasn\'t like a crazy street person\'s, she was very quiet. \r\n\r\n<strong>23)</strong> She didn\'t speak, didn\'t move. Just quietly sat there.\r\n\r\n<strong>24)</strong> This is the environment I grew up in, but I don\'t want to make it sound literary, I had an antisocial nature, but even so, I still had a full childhood. \r\n\r\n<strong>25)</strong> My father is very industrious, he has a farmer\'s strength, using the farm tools in his hands, he nurtured a household. I don\'t have anything to blame him for. \r\n\r\n<strong>26)</strong> No money, that\'s just life. \r\n\r\n<strong>27)</strong> My grandfather is a retired soldier, he\'s illiterate, and he doesn\'t have any of a villager\'s typical shrewdness, on the contrary he\'s terrifyingly honest. Some people said he was GMD [translator\'s note: GMD = guo min dang, the fascist party in the Chinese civil war, who lost], some people said he was GCD [GCD = gong chang dang, the communist party that won the war and remains in power today], but he doesn\'t even know himself which \"dang\" [translator\'s note - this \"dang\" means \"political party\"] he was in, the only thing he knows is that he grabbed a gun and fought the Japanese devils [the Japanese invaded while the GMD and the GCD were fighting each other], and after the devils ran away, he went home.\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Books] 《最后一个阴阳师》The Last Yin Yang Master', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1539-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 05:48:29', '2016-11-04 09:48:29', '', 1539, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1539-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2039, 1, '2016-11-04 06:09:07', '2016-11-04 10:09:07', '', 'chinese-reading-practice-blog-learn-chinese', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'chinese-reading-practice-blog-learn-chinese', '', '', '2016-11-04 06:09:07', '2016-11-04 10:09:07', '', 1474, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/chinese-reading-practice-blog-learn-chinese.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(2040, 1, '2016-11-04 06:09:45', '2016-11-04 10:09:45', 'I was away for a couple of months towards the end of last year, so I missed a few awesome comments until just recently. \r\n\r\nGrace, a commenter on this blog, brought her Chinese reading practice website to my attention, and it\'s the jam. She has a fabulous collections of translated materials for Elementary, Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced readers, including my absolute fav genre, Chinese detective stories. Yay!\r\n\r\nDon\'t miss adding <a href=\"http://www.justlearnchinese.com\">Justlearnchinese.com</a>to your blogroll. \r\n\r\n', '[The CRP Blog] New Resource: Justlearnchinese.com', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1474-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 06:09:45', '2016-11-04 10:09:45', '', 1474, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1474-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2045, 1, '2016-11-04 06:15:54', '2016-11-04 10:15:54', 'The content of <a href=\"http://www.gushi365.com/info/9851.html\">this story</a> is for children, but the language is not beginner, and neither is the sentence structure - this is an intermediate read for sure. I say that because it feels very \"fairy-tale\" language-y, in the sense that sentences are formed in a more literary way, rather than in a chatty way, and there are some uncommonly-heard words, like \"footprint\" (脚印), etc. The tone of the story, on the other hand, is very tra-la-la, winter sparkly glitter magic.\r\n\r\nTwo quick notes on phrases here: 传来了 [pinyin]chuan4 lai2[/pinyin] is an intermediate phrase that can be a little hard to understand, but it is used in reference to things we hear that come to us from afar. This may include voices (like hearing someone\'s voice from outside your house), or noises, or smells, or a piece of news. You can use this to talk about sensations and things that come to you from no particular person or direction - from \"afar\" or \"all around\". \r\n\r\n掏出 [pinyin]tao1 chu1[/pinyin]: this means to fish something out of something else. For example, to fish your phone out of your pocket, or to fish your sweatshirt out of your backpack. \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\r\n<strong>1)</strong> 下雪啦，下雪啦！一片片雪花像<strong>蒲公英</strong>一样在空中<strong>翩翩起舞</strong>，不一会儿，大地就穿上了一件洁白的衣裳。\r\n\r\n<strong>2)</strong> 可爱的小熊不小心<strong>扭到脚了</strong>，只得孤零零地躺在小床上。忽然，从窗外<strong>传来了</strong>欢快的歌声。小熊朝窗外看去，原来是小老鼠和小白兔在雪地里<strong>载歌载舞</strong>呢！雪地上还留下了他们可爱的小脚印。小熊心里真羡慕呀！可是，他有什么办法呢？小熊深深地叹了一口气，<strong>自言自语</strong>：“还是睡一觉吧，<strong>说不定</strong>梦里会出现<strong>奇迹</strong>！”\r\n\r\n<strong>3)</strong> 小熊果然做了一个好梦。他梦见一位留着长胡子的老爷爷来到了他的小屋里。老爷爷从衣袋里<strong>掏出</strong>一个小瓶子，笑眯眯地喷了喷小熊受伤的脚。小熊马上就<strong>活蹦乱跳</strong>了，快活地在雪地上和小伙伴们玩耍……\r\n\r\n<strong>4)</strong> 小鸟们的欢声笑语把小熊<strong>吵醒</strong>了，原来这只是一场梦。可是小熊发现自己的手里竟然有一个小瓶子！小熊拿起小瓶子往脚上一喷，受伤的脚马上就好了。这真是一瓶神水啊！从此，小熊再也不怕摔伤了。 \r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n<strong>1)</strong> It\'s snowing, it\'s snowing! Flakes of snow lightly danced like dandelions in the air, and after a while, the earth wore clothes of pure white. \r\n\r\n<strong>2)</strong> Cute Little Bear incautiously sprained his ankle, and had to lie in bed all alone. Suddenly, from outside the window came the sound of lighthearted singing. Little bear looked out the window, and [saw that it was] Little Mouse and Little White Rabbit dancing and singing! The snow still held [impressions of] their cute little footprints. Little Bear was truly envious! But what could he do? Little Bear gave a deep sigh, and said aloud to himself: \"Better get some more sleep, and maybe in my dream there will be a miracle!\" \r\n\r\n<strong>3)</strong> Sure enough, Little bear had a good dream. In his dream, an old man with a long beard came into his room. The old man fished a little bottle out of his pocket, and smilingly sprayed [some liquid from the bottle] on Little Bear\'s wounded foot. Little Bear immediately leaped up and frisked about, playing cheerfully with his [two] buddies on the snowy ground.\r\n\r\n<strong>4)</strong> The happy sounds of the small birds woke Little Bear up, and [found that] actually it was all just a dream. But then he discovered that there was a small bottle in his hand! Little Bear took up the small bottle and sprayed it on his foot, and the wounded foot was immediately better! This really was a bottle of magic water! After that, Little Bear never again feared bumps and bruises. \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Short Stories] 小熊的美梦 - Little Bear\'s Beautiful Dream', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1460-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 06:15:54', '2016-11-04 10:15:54', '', 1460, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1460-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2046, 1, '2016-11-04 06:18:07', '2016-11-04 10:18:07', '', 'Learn to Read Simplified Chinese Free: Exercises', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'mr-pigs-picnic-featured', '', '', '2016-11-04 06:18:26', '2016-11-04 10:18:26', '', 1450, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/mr-pigs-picnic-featured.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(2048, 1, '2016-11-04 06:21:50', '2016-11-04 10:21:50', '', 'the-silent-dog-mandarin-chinese-practice', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'the-silent-dog-mandarin-chinese-practice', '', '', '2016-11-04 06:21:50', '2016-11-04 10:21:50', '', 1432, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/the-silent-dog-mandarin-chinese-practice.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(2050, 1, '2016-11-04 06:25:36', '2016-11-04 10:25:36', '', 'Learn Chinese Characters: Kids Stories in Simplified Mandarin', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'featured-monkey-chinese-reading-exercises', '', '', '2016-11-04 06:25:53', '2016-11-04 10:25:53', '', 1401, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/featured-monkey-chinese-reading-exercises.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(2051, 1, '2016-11-04 06:26:17', '2016-11-04 10:26:17', 'Eeps - bad medicine! In this story, the mischievous Monkey - always a trickster figure in Chinese stories - pulls the wool over Little Bear\'s eyes. If Little Bear was American, he\'d sue the hospital for negligence and rake in millions of baskets of peaches. \r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/20130617-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Read Chinese: Bedtime Stories in Mandarin Chinese Characters\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />Though the majority of this text is very basic reading, there are three phrases which jump out at me as being difficult, or words I couldn\'t find in basic dictionaries. \r\n\r\n理所应当 - [pinyin]li3 suo3 ying1 dang1[/pinyin] This phrase means to feel something is well-deserved, that something has been earned through hard work, usually when it actually hasn\'t. So I guess that roughly translates to \'taking a reward for granted\'? In this story, Monkey feels that his payment is well-earned or well-deserved. But as readers, we know Monkey doesn\'t deserve anything at all - he\'s taking that payment for granted when he didn\'t really earn it. Consider this phrase in another context:\r\n\r\n别人帮助你那是义气，你不能当作是理所应当的。 - \"When other people help you it\'s in the spirit of self-sacrifice, you shouldn\'t consider this something you deserve as a matter of course.\"  \r\n\r\n甜头 - Though this looks like two words, the first meaning \"sweet\" and the second meaning \"head\" or \"brain\", it\'s actually a colloquialism that just means \"sweet flavor\" or \"pleasant taste\".  \r\n\r\n贪念 - These two characters also seem separate, they don\'t appear together in my dictionary, but they\'re actually one word. According to <a href=\"http://baike.baidu.com/view/3187101.htm\">Baidu Bai Ke</a>, the Baidu dictionary (a Chinese-language resource for word meanings and derivations), 贪念 [pinyin]tan1 nian4[/pinyin] just means \"greedy\" (I presume the \"念\" probably adds the meaning \"idea\" or \"thoughts\" here, so 贪念 could be read as \"greedy thoughts\"). \r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.tom61.com/ertongwenxue/yuyangushi/2012-10-06/26930.html\">You can read the original here.</a> \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\r\n<strong>1)</strong> 猴子去医院<strong>玩耍</strong>,进了大夫的房间。正好大夫不在,衣服也落在了房间内。\r\n\r\n<strong>2)</strong> 猴子觉得好玩,就穿上了大夫的衣服,也就是我们常见的那种<strong>白大褂子</strong>。这时候有一只小熊来医院<strong>看病</strong>。小熊是第一次上医院,并不了解医院的情况。它所知道的,就是大夫们都穿着白大褂子。\r\n\r\n<strong>3)</strong> 小熊提着一篮桃子(这是它准备送给大夫的<strong>酬金</strong>)来到医院,正好走进猴子所在的房间。小熊不认识猴子,但是它认识那件白大褂子,于是就请猴子给它看病。\r\n\r\n<strong>4)</strong> 猴子本来只是玩耍,并不会看病,但是它看到小熊的篮子后,就起了<strong>贪念</strong>。于是猴子便<strong>装模作样</strong>地给小熊看了病,并且<strong>理所应当地</strong>收下了那篮桃子。至于小熊的病是否给猴子看好了,这一点<strong>不得而知</strong>。\r\n\r\n<strong>5)</strong> 但是猴子却尝到了甜头,以后常常<strong>潜入</strong>医院,趁大夫不在的时候,穿上大夫的衣服,给病人看病。到后来,猴子<strong>干脆</strong>给自己也做了一身那样的白大褂子。\r\n\r\n<strong>6)</strong> 唉!我们不知道有多少人是在猴子那里看的病啊!\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n<strong>1)</strong> Monkey went to the hospital on a lark, and entered the doctor\'s room. At that moment, the doctor wasn\'t in, and he\'d left his [doctor\'s] clothes in the room.\r\n\r\n<strong>2)</strong> Monkey thought this would be fun, so he put on the doctor\'s clothes, that white lab coat we see so often. Just then a little bear came to the hospital to see the doctor. This was the little bear\'s first time at the hospital, and he didn\'t know what hospitals were like [lit: didn\'t know the hospital situation]. All he knew was that doctors wear white lab coats. \r\n\r\n<strong>3)</strong> The little bear had shown up at the hospital carrying a basket of peaches (this was the payment he had prepared to give to the doctor), and he happened to walk into the room where Monkey was. Little Bear didn\'t know Monkey, but he recognized the white lab coat, so he asked Monkey to examine him.\r\n\r\n<strong>4)</strong> Monkey originally just [intended to] have a bit of fun, but when he saw Little Bear\'s basket, he coveted it fiercely. So Monkey put on a big show of examining Little Bear, and accepted his well-earned basket of peaches. As to whether or not Monkey actually cured Little Bear, we will never know. \r\n\r\n<strong>5)</strong> However, after Monkey tasted that sweetness, he often stole into the hospital, taking advantage of the doctor\'s absence, and examined patients. Later, Monkey simply made himself one of those white lab coats. \r\n\r\n<strong>6)</strong> Ai! We don\'t know how many people were examined by Monkey!\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Short Stories] 大夫和猴子 - The Doctor and the Monkey', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1401-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 06:26:17', '2016-11-04 10:26:17', '', 1401, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1401-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2053, 1, '2016-11-04 06:32:02', '2016-11-04 10:32:02', 'In this essay, a child desperately (and very angrily) pleads their father not to smoke. Though this is classified as \"Intermediate\", beginners should definitely try this read, leaning heavily on the hover word-list. The difficult parts are the mid-level turns of phrase, which are all explained below. <!--more-->\n\n<h3>Couple of grammar points</h3>\nFirst of all: 我本想让您别抽烟. Most of this sentence is quite simple, but the addition of the character 本 can be puzzling, especially since 本 has many meanings. In this case, the word 本 means \"originally\", as in \"I originally thought to let you not smoke.\" Or, in better English, \"My original intention was that this would make you stop smoking.\" \n\nAnother point: When the father learns that his cigarettes are gone, he 东翻西找. This phrase is actually a mixture of two words: 东西 (east and west / left and right / in all directions) and 翻找 (to rummage through things while searching, turn things over). We\'ve seen this kind of thing before in previous posts, as with the phrase \"仰起头来\" in the post <a href=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/01/02/little-dog-wears-shoes/\">Little Dog Wears Shoes</a>. If you let the mental picture kind of wash over you, you get an image of the father turning things over looking for his cigarettes.\n\nA word of interest: 大烟枪. Literally, this word means \"big opium pipe\" or in more contemporary times can actually mean \"big bong\". Colloquially in reference to a person, this means \"someone who smokes a lot\", a \"heavy smoker\". \n\nSee the <a href=\"http://www.tom61.com/youxiuzuowen/xiaoxueyinianjizuowen/2013-04-15/1365990844246971.html\">source</a>. \n\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\n爸爸，请您别抽烟了！我还清楚地记得，那天，我悄悄地把您的烟盒偷走，又偷偷地扔进垃圾桶里，我本想让您别抽烟。可谁知，您回来后，发现烟盒不见了，就东翻西找。当我告诉您，烟盒是我扔的，您十分生气，还狠狠的骂了一句话，你这个坏孩子！这句话，让当时的我感到莫大的痛苦。我把自己反锁在房间内，当时心里想着，你这个大烟枪！抽吧，抽吧，抽到死了我也不理你。\n\n爸爸，请您别抽烟了！我常常发现您上班时，烟盒的烟还是满满的，可下班回来时，烟盒里的香烟只剩下几根了。每当看见您身旁云雾缭绕，我的鼻子感觉酸酸的。我担心您的肺已被尼古丁熏得千疮百孔。\n\n爸爸请您别抽烟了！现在您每天都在咳嗽，每天都在吐痰。我担心您会离我们而去。那时丢下我们，那该怎么办呀。\n\n爸爸，为了您的健康，为了我们，请您别抽烟了!\n\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nPapa, please don\'t smoke! I still remember clearly, that day, I quietly stole your box of cigarettes, and secretly threw them in the trash can, because I was thinking that would stop you from smoking. But who could have known, when you returned, and you found out your cigarettes were gone, you rummaged through everything looking for them. When I told you, that it was me who threw them away, you were quite angry, and you ruthlessly scolded me, <em>You bad child</em>! That sentence made me [lit: \'the me of that time\'] feel great pain. I locked myself in my room, and at that time in my heart I thought, You big opium pipe! [Then go ahead and] smoke, smoke, smoke until you die and I won\'t care [lit: I won\'t pay any attention to you].\n\nPapa, please don\'t smoke! I always find that when you go to work, your box of cigarettes is still full of cigarettes, but when you get off work and come back, there are only a few cigarettes left in the box. Every time I see you you\'re surrounded by a curling cloud [of smoke], there\'s a sour smell in my nose. I worry that your lungs have already been riddled with gaping wounds by the nicotine. \n\nPapa, please don\'t smoke! You cough every day, and every day you expectorate. I worry that you will leave us. When you abandon us, then what will we do? \n\nPapa, for your health, and for us, please don\'t smoke! \n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Essays] 爸爸请您别抽烟了 - Papa, Please Don\'t Smoke!', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1385-autosave-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 06:32:02', '2016-11-04 10:32:02', '', 1385, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1385-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2054, 1, '2016-11-04 06:35:01', '2016-11-04 10:35:01', '', 'beginner-chinese-essays-dont-smoke', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'beginner-chinese-essays-dont-smoke', '', '', '2016-11-04 06:35:34', '2016-11-04 10:35:34', '', 1385, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/beginner-chinese-essays-dont-smoke.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(2056, 1, '2016-11-04 06:40:32', '2016-11-04 10:40:32', '', 'featured-image-japanese-maples', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'featured-image-japanese-maples', '', '', '2016-11-04 06:40:44', '2016-11-04 10:40:44', '', 1369, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/featured-image-japanese-maples.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(2059, 1, '2016-11-04 06:47:10', '2016-11-04 10:47:10', '', 'chinese-reading-practice-learn-chinese', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'chinese-reading-practice-learn-chinese', '', '', '2016-11-04 06:47:31', '2016-11-04 10:47:31', '', 1363, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/chinese-reading-practice-learn-chinese.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(2065, 1, '2016-11-04 07:08:11', '2016-11-04 11:08:11', 'You know you need a KTV song! Beijing, Beijing is a slow ballad sung by Chinese artist 汪峰 [pinyin]wang1 feng1[/pinyin] and was in the <a href=\"http://music.baidu.com/top/new\">Baidu Top 100</a> top 10 for a bit this year. Now it looks like it\'s fallen between the 30th and 40th place on various music charts, but it\'s still pretty popular, particularly in, you know, Beijing. If you can find it in yourself to embrace the painful 80\'s growly I-mean-it man voice and the \"Streets of Philadelphia\" emo-dad thing, you may find that the song is a good karaoke song if you\'re just starting out because it\'s repetitive, it\'s not abstract, it\'s sung slowly enough to sing along and it\'s so emotionally over-fraught that it\'s fun. \n\n<iframe height=498 width=510 frameborder=0 src=\"http://player.youku.com/embed/XMjA5NzgwNTky\" allowfullscreen></iframe>\n\nI recommend you read and translate the lyrics before you listen to the song, so you\'ve got an idea of what you\'re hearing. \n\nA few translation notes: it\'s not always clear exactly how to translate song lyrics. Example: 寻找着追逐着奄奄一息的碎梦 is not an easy lyric to translate. Or rather, it\'s super easy to get the gist of the meaning (searching, chasing, dying, broken dreams... you get the idea), but put an \"of\" in the wrong place and the meaning changes to something slightly different. I\'ve done my best, feel free to re-write or re-interpret those in a different way. \n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\n1) 当我走在这里的每一条街道 \n我的心似乎从来都不能平静　\n除了发动机的轰鸣和电器之音 　　\n我似乎听到了他烛骨般的心跳 　　\n我在这里欢笑 　　\n我在这里哭泣\n我在这里活着 　　\n也在这死去 　　\n我在这里祈祷　\n我在这里迷惘　\n我在这里寻找 　　\n也在这儿失去 　　\n北京 北京 　　\n\n2) 咖啡馆与广场有三个街区 　　\n就像霓虹灯到月亮的距离 　　\n人们在挣扎中相互告慰和拥抱 　　\n寻找着追逐着奄奄一息的碎梦 　　\n我们在这欢笑 　　\n我们在这哭泣 　　\n我们在这活着 　　\n也在这死去 　　\n我们在这祈祷 　　\n我们在这迷惘 　　\n我们在这寻找 　　\n也在这儿失去 　　\n北京 北京 　\n　\n3) 如果有一天我不得不离去 　　\n我希望人们把我埋在这里 　　\n在这儿我能感觉到我的存在 　　\n在这儿有太多让我眷恋的东西 　　\n我在这里欢笑 　　\n我在这里哭泣 　　\n我在这里活着 　　\n也在这儿死去 　　\n我在这里祈祷 　　\n我在这里迷惘 　　\n我在这里寻找 　　\n也在这儿失去 　　\n北京 北京\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\n1) When I walk the streets here\nIt seems like my heart can never be serene\nBeyond the rumble of engines and sounds of electronics\nI seem to hear its candlewick heartbeat\nThis is where I laugh happily\nThis is where I weep\nThis is where I live\nAnd this is where I\'ll die\nThis is where I pray\nThis is where I\'m confused\nThis is where I search\nAnd also where I lose\nBeijing, Beijing 　　\n\n2) The three blocks between the coffee shop and the plaza\nSeem like the distance between the neon lights and the moon 　　\nPeople comfort and embrace each other as they struggle together\nSearching for, chasing after, the last gasp of broken dreams\nThis is where we laugh happily\nThis is where we cry bitterly \nThis is where we live\nAnd this is where we\'ll die\nThis is where we pray\nThis is where we\'re confused\nThis is where we search\nAnd also where we lose\nBeijing, Beijing 　　　\n\n　\n3) If someday I have no choice but to leave\nI hope people bury me here\nHere I can sense my existence \nHere there are too many things I yearn for\nThis is where I laugh happily\nThis is where I cry bitterly \nThis is where I live\nAnd this is where I die\nThis is where I pray\nThis is where I\'m confused\nThis is where I search\nAnd also where I lose\nBeijing, Beijing 　　\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Songs] 《北京北京》Beijing Beijing by Wang Feng', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1295-autosave-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 07:08:11', '2016-11-04 11:08:11', '', 1295, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1295-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2066, 1, '2016-11-04 07:08:20', '2016-11-04 11:08:20', '', 'beijing-beijing-song-featured', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'beijing-beijing-song-featured', '', '', '2016-11-04 07:08:42', '2016-11-04 11:08:42', '', 1295, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/beijing-beijing-song-featured.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(2070, 1, '2016-11-04 07:20:47', '2016-11-04 11:20:47', '<strong>Chinese Title: 暴风雪已致15人死 2000航班延误取消</strong>\n\nIn the spirit of the holiday season, which is winding to a blissfully overweight close, I give you an article about something you may or may not have just struggled through if you flew home for the holidays (which I did). This is a wildly factual article about the congestion caused by the snow storms a week or so ago. Not a lot of excitement here, mostly a tallying up of what a big fat mess the American aviation system becomes during the annual Christmas hysteria. \n\nLots and lots of proper nouns in here, including lots of U.S. states, some cities and even a couple of basketball team names. Probably the most fun you\'ll have reading this is trying to decipher the list of Chinese names for U.S. states (read the characters out loud quickly and see if you can guess - example: 弗吉尼亚州 fo ji ni ya = Virginia). You can always tell you\'re reading a U.S. state name because the character 州 appears at the tail end of each state. \n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\n<h3>Chinese \n圣诞节期间美国遭遇暴风雪袭击，已至少造成15人死亡，2000次美国航班延误或取消。\n\n据报道，因暴雪严寒造成人员死亡的州包括肯塔基州、俄亥俄州、印第安纳州、阿肯色州、俄克拉何马州、得克萨斯州、路易斯安那州、宾夕法尼亚州和弗吉尼亚州。\n\n很多地区发出警告提醒人们不要外出，因为凛冽狂风、低温和充满危险的路况对行人构成威胁。气象部门说，位于美国东北部的新英格兰地区数州即将出现大雪天气，缅因州部分地区的降雪厚度达18英寸(约45厘米)。因此，很多人的圣诞节假期旅行计划受到影响。\n\n目前，已有超过20万居民家中断电，成千上万出游的人们滞留在各处。NBA推迟了原本于周三晚在印第安纳波利斯举行的印第安纳步行者对芝加哥公牛队的篮球赛。\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nThis Christmas season, America is suffering through a blizzard, which has already caused at least 15 deaths and the delay or cancellation of 2000 flights. \n\nAccording to reports, the snowstorm and bitter cold has caused deaths in states including Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Virginia. \n\nMany regions issued warnings reminding people not to go outside, because the biting cold, howling winds, low temperatures and dangerous traffic conditions compose a threat to pedestrians. The weather department said that severe snow will soon appear in America\'s northeastern New England area, with snowfall in Maine reaching 18 inches (about 45 centimeters). As a result, many people\'s Christmas travel plans will be effected.\n\nCurrently, 200,000 homes have already experienced electrical outages, and tens of thousands of travelers have been detained. [Also due to snow] in Indianapolis, the NBA postponed Wednesday night\'s Indiana Pacers vs. Chicago Bulls basketball game.  \n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[News in Chinese] Snowstorm has caused 15 deaths and 2000 flight delays or cancellations', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1304-autosave-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 07:20:47', '2016-11-04 11:20:47', '', 1304, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1304-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2071, 1, '2016-11-04 07:19:58', '2016-11-04 11:19:58', '', 'read-in-chinese-snow-storm', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'read-in-chinese-snow-storm', '', '', '2016-11-04 07:20:33', '2016-11-04 11:20:33', '', 1304, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/read-in-chinese-snow-storm.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(2073, 1, '2016-11-04 07:24:33', '2016-11-04 11:24:33', 'Know someone who has a high, but misguided, opinion of their own worth? Thought so. Stick this one in the language bank for when you need to take someone down a peg (preferably while stroking your fu manchu and calmly catching flies with your chopsticks). \n\nI learned a new word on this one: 统治 [pinyin]tong3 zhi4[/pinyin]. Which brings the total number of \"tongzhi\" words (tonal differences aside) I know up to three. \n\nWe\'ve got:\n同志 - [pinyin]tong2 zhi4[/pinyin] or \"Comrade\" (and in Chinese slang this also means \"a homosexual\", though if you keep an eye on the Chinese news you\'ll see that that one of the more reputable local dictionaries refused to include that definition though it\'s in common use) \n\n通知 [pinyin]tong1 zhi1[/pinyin] - To notify, give notice\n\nAnd now, 统治 [pinyin]tong3 zhi4[/pinyin] - To rule over (a kingdom / country)\n\nLet us hope there aren\'t any more configurations of that sound. \n\nAnyway, this post might be Advanced level, I can\'t 100% tell, so do post in the comments if you feel it\'s inaccurately placed in \"Intermediate\". I\'ll move it if enough people agree. \n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\n汉朝的时候，在西南方有个名叫夜郎的小国家，它虽然是一个独立的国家，可是国土很小，百姓也少，物产更是少得可怜。但是由于邻近地区以夜郎这个国家最大，从没离开过国家的夜郎国国王就以为自己<strong>统治</strong>的国家是全天下最大的国家。\n\n有一天，夜郎国国王与部下巡视国境的时候，他指着前方问说：“这里哪个国家最大呀？”部下们为了<strong>迎合</strong>国王的心意，于是就说：“当然是夜郎国最大啰！”走着走着，国王又抬起头来、望着前方的高山问说：“天底下还有比这座山更高的山吗？”部下们回答说：“天底下没有比这座山更高的山了。”后来，他们来到河边，国王又问：“我认为这可是世界上最长的河川了。”部下们仍然<strong>异口同声</strong>回答说：“大王说得一点都没错。”从此以后，无知的国王就更相信夜郎是天底下最大的国家。\n\n有一次，汉朝<strong>派</strong><strong>使者</strong>来到夜郎，<strong>途中</strong>先经过夜郎的邻国滇国，滇王问使者：“汉朝和我的国家比起来哪个大？”使者一听吓了一跳，他没想到这个小国家，竟然无知的自以为能与汉朝相比。却没想到后来使者到了夜郎国，骄傲又无知的国王因为不知道自己统治的国家只和汉朝的一个县差不多大，竟然不知天高地厚也问使者：“汉朝和我的国家哪个大？”\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nDuring the Han Dynasty, in the southwest there was a small country called Yelang, and although it was an independent nation, its territory was small, there weren\'t many citizens, and its products were pitifully few. Because it was the largest kingdom in the near area, the Yelang king who\'d never left his own country thought the country he ruled was the biggest on earth. \n\nOne day, the king of Yelang was on a national border inspection tour with his troops, when he pointed in front of him [to neighboring country] and said, \"Which country is bigger?\" In order to serve their own interests and make the king happy, the troops said, \"Of course Yelang is bigger!\" They walked along, and the king once again lifted up his head, gazed at the big mountain in the distance and asked: \"Is there a taller mountain than this anywhere on earth?\" And his men answered: \"No, there\'s no mountain taller than this one on earth.\" After a while, they reached the river side, and the king asked again: \"I think this is the world\'s longest river.\" And all his men said in unison \"The king speaks truly.\" After this, the ignorant king believed even more firmly that Yelang was the world\'s biggest country.\n\nThen one day, the Han Dynasty dispatched an envoy to Yelang, and en route they encountered the neighboring kingdom DianGuo, and the King of Dian asked the emissary: \"If you compared the Han Dynasty and my Kingdom, which one would be bigger?\" The emissary listened in astonishment, as he\'d never have thought this small a country thought it could compare itself to the Han Dynasty. But he really never could have suspected that when he got to Yelang, the prideful and ignorant king who didn\'t know that the kingdom he ruled was about the size of one Han county, would ask with an exaggerated opinion of his own worth, \"Which is bigger: the Han Dynasty or my country?\"  \n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Idioms] 夜郎自大 - Foolish Conceit', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1300-autosave-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 07:24:33', '2016-11-04 11:24:33', '', 1300, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1300-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2075, 1, '2016-11-04 07:27:12', '2016-11-04 11:27:12', '', 'Learn to read Chinese: Intermediate Essays, Idioms and Grammar', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'yelangzida-featured', '', '', '2016-11-04 07:27:27', '2016-11-04 11:27:27', '', 1300, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/yelangzida-featured.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(2076, 1, '2016-11-04 07:32:25', '2016-11-04 11:32:25', 'Gonna lay it on a bit thick today with something nice and serious. This is an abstract of an academic paper from the <a href=\"http://www.genderstudy.cn/\">Gender Studies Network</a> authored by Zhou Ying. \n\nBecause this is an advanced academic abstract, you can really see how, in the upper levels of written Chinese, a ton of words that we find essential in English can be dropped from a sentence while still preserving the essence of the meaning. We tend to extend sentences with explanation, but here, I feel, is a reasonable example of how efficient Chinese can be. Because so many words have been dropped, I\'ve added a whole lot of bracketed explanation and English fill-in words in the translation to better illuminate the implied meaning.\n\nI\'m not quite sure I know what a \"proper role in domestic life is\", I\'m fairly certain that not all policewomen feel intensely conflicted, but I do like the idea of implementing some social policies to better support working women. \n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\n女警察工作与生活平衡问题探讨\n\n警察职业曾是女性的“禁区”。随着社会的发展, 目前女警数量不断扩大, 警务工作范围不断扩展, 他们已成为维护社会治安、打击犯罪的特殊力量。女警发展面临着工作与生活平衡的困境。一方面, 存在着女警人数所占比例小、岗位受限、晋升和参与决策的机会有限、职业安全遭受到威胁等限制职业发展的问题。另一方面, 繁忙的警务工作使其无法扮演好家庭角色, 内心冲突激烈。促进女警工作与生活平衡需要社会方面与个体方面的双重努力, 特别是社会政策的支持。\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nA Probe into the Work-Life Balance of Chinese Policewomen\n\nPolice work was once an occupational area forbidden to women. In the wake of [current] social development, the continuous increase in the number of policewomen and the continuous expansion in the scope of police work, policewomen have become an extraordinary force in upholding law and order and cracking down on crime.  [At the same time,] this development has left policewomen faced with difficulties in [maintaining] work-life balance. On the one hand, [there are work-related issues such as] their small number in proportion [to male policemen], a limited number of posts they may accept, few opportunities for promotion or participation in decision-making, threats to their occupational safety, and so on. On the other hand, [there are personal issues such as the fact that] the frenetic pace of police work makes it almost impossible to play a proper role in domestic life, creating an intense inner conflict in [policewomen\'s] heart. In order to improve policewomen\'s work-life balance, we must strive [to address] both the social and individual aspects [of this problem], particularly in the form of support through social policies. \n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Academic Study] A Probe into the Work-Life Balance of Chinese Policewomen', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1287-autosave-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 07:32:25', '2016-11-04 11:32:25', '', 1287, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1287-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2077, 1, '2016-11-04 07:33:15', '2016-11-04 11:33:15', '', 'Learn to Read Chinese - Gender Research and Advanced Academic Papers in Chinese', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'academic-abstract-chinese-police-women', '', '', '2016-11-04 07:33:25', '2016-11-04 11:33:25', '', 1287, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/academic-abstract-chinese-police-women.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(2082, 1, '2016-11-04 23:53:15', '2016-11-05 03:53:15', 'For those of you new to Chinese culture, one thing a Chinese child most looks forward to all year is the time during Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) when they get to go ask their neighbors and other adults for red envelopes containing some money, referred to here as 压岁钱 [pinyin]ya1 sui4 qian2[/pinyin] - it\'s a bit like trick-or-treating for cash. This essay is about what happened to one kid\'s Spring Festival haul. We\'ll cover a lot of beginner grammar here.\n\n<h3>\"Play\"</h3>\nI should probably talk about a couple of points before we dive in. One is the use of the word 玩. Describing what he (or she, perhaps) does on Chinese New Year, the author says he can 玩得快活 - \"play happily\". The Chinese don\'t use \"play\" the way we do. While they do use it to mean \"to play with toys\" as a child does, they also use it to mean going out (like adults going out on Saturday night), or friends going out to a mall to go shopping - it\'s really more of a blanket term better translated as \"having fun\". So the kid is not saying they necessarily only play with toys happily on Chinese New Year, but also maybe that they go hang out at parents\' friends houses, or whatever. It\'s not specified.\n\n<h3>Comparatives</h3>\nAnother interesting point comes in here: 心里特别高兴，但是也很扫兴 - \"In my heart I was extremely happy, but also very disappointed\". Note the use of the words 特别 and 很 - meaning \"extremely\" / \"very\" respectively. Thing is, in Chinese you can\'t use a word like \"happy\" or \"disappointed\" without balancing it with a word measuring how happy or disappointed you were. There\'s no way in general casual conversation to say \"I was happy\" - just regular ol\' happy. You can\'t, for example, say just \"我高兴“. Instead, say \"I was VERY happy\" 我很高兴, or \"extremely happy\" 我非常高兴 or \"exceedingly happy\" 高兴极了 or \"fairly happy\" 比较高兴 or whatever. So when we translate Chinese, we could actually drop the \"very\"s and \"extremely\"s and all that, because they have much less meaning in Mandarin then they do to us. This used to bug me a lot when speaking. I didn\'t <em>want</em> to say I was \"very happy\" - I wasn\'t. I was just normally happy. But it was finally explained to me how little that \"very\" actually mattered. So bear that in mind. \n\n<h3>余</h3>\nAnd another point: ...收到了700<strong>余</strong>元... This means \"received over 700 yuan\". Notice that the word 余, which means \"over\" / \"more than\" is written <strong>after </strong>the amount of money and <strong>before </strong>the actual word \"yuan\". In English, this would be like saying \"received 700-plus dollars\". You could also say 收到了700<strong>多</strong>元, which means the same thing. \n\nThe original is from my new favorite Chinese <a href=\"http://www.61zuowen.com/jishi/2012082085897.html\">essay composition site</a>. \n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\n我非常喜欢过新年，因为过年不但能穿新衣服，玩得快活，而且还能收到很多的<strong>压岁钱</strong>。今年我一下子就收到了700<strong>余</strong>元压岁钱，我拿着压岁钱，心里特别高兴，但是也很扫兴，怕妈妈给收走了，以往的压岁钱都要上缴的，我就给妈妈商量：今年我刚满十岁，我已经长大了，希望这些压岁钱由我来保管，没想到妈妈很爽快的答应了，我心里乐的开了花。我拿到这些压岁钱，我应该怎样来花这些钱呢？买我喜欢的玩具、还有我最喜欢吃的肯德基？我苦思冥想了好几天，我打算用这些钱来买我喜欢的书籍、买一些学习用品或者订报纸、献爱心捐款......除了这些,我是决不乱花的。\n\n我觉得这样做，不但可以从小学会勤俭节约、不乱花钱的习惯，而且还可以使我学会管理、学会生活，这样才会使我逐渐成长起来。\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nI really love New Year, because [during] New Year I can not only wear new clothes, and play happily, but also I can get a lot of New Year\'s money. This year in a short while I got more than 700 yuan, and holding that New Years\' money, in my heart I was extremely happy, but also my spirits were dampened, I was afraid mama would take it away from me, [because] in the past [I had to] give over my New Year\'s money to the higher authorities [author means his mother here, not God], so I discussed it with mom [thus]:<em> this year I\'m fully 10 years old, I\'m already a grown up, and I hope this New Year\'s money can be left under my care,</em> but I never though she\'d agree so easily [lit: so frankly], and happiness bloomed in my heart like a flower. I held the New Year\'s money, but what should I spend this money on? Buy a toy I like, or my favorite thing to eat, Kentucky Fried Chicken? I racked my brains for several days, and decided to use the money to buy some books I liked, buy a few school supplies or to subscribe to a newspaper, and to make a charitable donation... apart from these things, I figured I\'d better not spend it recklessly [author likely means they won\'t spend the rest at all].  \n\nI though that doing it this way, I not only could learn to be diligent and thrifty starting in primary school, and develop careful spending habits, but also this could let me study money management, study life [skills], and this would finally let me gradually mature.\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Essay] 拿到压岁钱以后 - After I Got My New Years\' Money', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1241-autosave-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 23:53:15', '2016-11-05 03:53:15', '', 1241, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1241-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
