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(977, 1, '2011-12-03 16:47:07', '2011-12-03 21:47:07', '[two_third]\nThis is the full translation of an article I <a href=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/12/03/interesting-headlines-series-2/\">Interesting Headlines: Series 2</a>, . <!--more-->\n\nThe Chinese title of this article is: 马来西亚推出50辆女性专用出租车 大受欢迎\n\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n派 - [pinyin]pai4[/pinyin] - To dispatch, to send\n支援 - [pinyin]zhi1 yuan2[/pinyin] - To provide assistance\n挡不住 - [pinyin]dan3 bu4 zhu4[/pinyin] - Cannot prevent, cannot detain\n变性者 - [pinyin]bian4 xing4 zhe3[/pinyin] - Transvestite\n白马王子 - [pinyin]bai2 ma3 wang2 zi3[/pinyin] - Prince Charming\n外交部 - [pinyin]wai4 jiao1 bu4[/pinyin] - Ministry of Foreign Affairs\n他信 - [pinyin]ta1 xin4[/pinyin] - Thaksin Shinawatra, former Thai prime minister, currently in exile\n英拉 - [pinyin]ying1 la1[/pinyin] - Yingluck Shinawatra, current Thai prime minister, and Thaksin\'s sister\n亮相 - [pinyin]liang4 xiang4[/pinyin] - To be revealed, to see the light of day\n专用 - [pinyin]zhuan1 yong4[/pinyin] - Specially for..., set aside for special use\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n1) 担心伦敦奥运会安保人手不够 美国欲<strong>派</strong>千人<strong>支援</strong>\nInternational: <a href=\"http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hqgj/2011-11/15/content_14093601.htm\">Read it on China Daily</a>\n\n2) 年龄<strong>挡不住</strong>一颗要当女人的心！英最老<strong>变性者</strong>期待“<strong>白马王子</strong>”\nHuman Interest: <a href=\"http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hqgj/2011-11/15/content_14093661.htm\">Read it on China Daily</a>\n\n3) 泰国<strong>外交部</strong>拟给<strong>他信</strong>发放护照 总理<strong>英拉</strong>强调没有干预\nPolitics: <a href=\"http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hqgj/2011-12/03/content_14206203.htm\">Read it on China Daily</a>\n\n4) 世界最大3D绘画<strong>亮相</strong>伦敦街头\nArt: <a href=\"http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hqgj/2011-11/21/content_14129786.htm\">Read it on China Daily</a>\n\n5) 马来西亚推出50辆女性<strong>专用</strong>出租车 大受欢迎\nInternational: <a href=\"http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hqgj/2011-12/02/content_14198283.htm\">Read it on China Daily</a>\n\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\n1) London Olympics \nWorried About Lack of Security, America to send 1000 People to Help \n\n2) Age can\'t get in the way of the heart that wants to become a woman! England\'s oldest transvestite is awaiting her \"Prince Charming\" \n\n3) Thailand\'s Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to issue Thaksin a passport, Prime Minister Yingluck stated she did not intervene \n\n4) The world\'s largest 3D picture is revealed on the streets of London \n\n5) Malaysia releases 50 special women\'s taxis to popular welcome \n\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'News: Malaysia Unveils Special Taxis for Women Only to Warm Welcome', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '976-revision-v1', '', '', '2011-12-03 16:47:07', '2011-12-03 21:47:07', '', 976, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/12/03/976-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(978, 1, '2011-12-03 17:07:53', '2011-12-03 22:07:53', '[two_third]\nThis is the full translation of an article that was in the headlines of the post <a href=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/12/03/interesting-headlines-series-2/\">Interesting Headlines: Series 2</a>. <!--more-->\n\nThe Chinese title of this article is: 马来西亚推出50辆女性专用出租车 大受欢迎\n\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n派 - [pinyin]pai4[/pinyin] - To dispatch, to send\n支援 - [pinyin]zhi1 yuan2[/pinyin] - To provide assistance\n挡不住 - [pinyin]dan3 bu4 zhu4[/pinyin] - Cannot prevent, cannot detain\n变性者 - [pinyin]bian4 xing4 zhe3[/pinyin] - Transvestite\n白马王子 - [pinyin]bai2 ma3 wang2 zi3[/pinyin] - Prince Charming\n外交部 - [pinyin]wai4 jiao1 bu4[/pinyin] - Ministry of Foreign Affairs\n他信 - [pinyin]ta1 xin4[/pinyin] - Thaksin Shinawatra, former Thai prime minister, currently in exile\n英拉 - [pinyin]ying1 la1[/pinyin] - Yingluck Shinawatra, current Thai prime minister, and Thaksin\'s sister\n亮相 - [pinyin]liang4 xiang4[/pinyin] - To be revealed, to see the light of day\n专用 - [pinyin]zhuan1 yong4[/pinyin] - Specially for..., set aside for special use\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n在马来西亚，女性常常成为抢劫、性骚扰和其他暴力行为的受害者。据法国媒体11月30日报道，为了更好地保护女性免受暴力侵害，马来西亚首都吉隆坡上周末推出了50辆只搭载女性的“女性出租车”。\n\n这些车的挡风玻璃顶端标有“女性出租车”字样，司机也是女性。与吉隆坡几家出租公司合作发起该项目的马来西亚妇女、家庭和社会发展部称，希望将“女性出租车”数量增加到400辆左右。\n\n此举受到了当地女性的热烈欢迎。“这项举措当然很好，我们乘车时会感到更加安全。”26岁的办公室文员纳西尔说。不过，有的女司机担心男性乘客会因此流失；也有人担忧“女性出租车”的标志可能会使驾驶这种出租车的女司机成为袭击目标。\n\n马来西亚此前还曾推出粉红色女性专用火车车厢、只载女乘客的女性专用公交车，以免女性受到性骚扰等伤害。除了马来西亚，墨西哥、埃及、伊朗等国都曾推出女性专用出租车。\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nIn Malaysia, women often become the victims of robberies, sexual harassment and other violent acts. According to a November 30 French media report, in order to better protect women from violence, last weekend the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur released 50 \"women\'s taxis\" which will only transport women.  \n\nThe top of the windshields of these taxis show a sign reading \"women\'s taxi\", and the drivers are also women. the project is a cooperation between several of Kuala Lumpur\'s taxi companies and the project initiator, Malaysia\'s Department of Women, Family and Community Development, who said that they   与吉隆坡几家出租公司合作发起该项目的马来西亚妇女、家庭和社会发展部称，希望将“女性出租车”数量增加到400辆左右。\n\n此举受到了当地女性的热烈欢迎。“这项举措当然很好，我们乘车时会感到更加安全。”26岁的办公室文员纳西尔说。不过，有的女司机担心男性乘客会因此流失；也有人担忧“女性出租车”的标志可能会使驾驶这种出租车的女司机成为袭击目标。\n\n马来西亚此前还曾推出粉红色女性专用火车车厢、只载女乘客的女性专用公交车，以免女性受到性骚扰等伤害。除了马来西亚，墨西哥、埃及、伊朗等国都曾推出女性专用出租车。\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'News: Malaysia Unveils Special Taxis for Women Only to Warm Welcome', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '976-revision-v1', '', '', '2011-12-03 17:07:53', '2011-12-03 22:07:53', '', 976, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/12/03/976-revision-2/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(981, 1, '2011-12-05 15:38:29', '2011-12-05 20:38:29', '[two_third]\r\nThis is the full translation of an article that was in the headlines of the post <a href=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/12/03/interesting-headlines-series-2/\">Interesting Headlines: Series 2</a>. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe Chinese title of this article is: 马来西亚推出50辆女性专用出租车 大受欢迎\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派 - [pinyin]pai4[/pinyin] - To dispatch, to send\r\n支援 - [pinyin]zhi1 yuan2[/pinyin] - To provide assistance\r\n挡不住 - [pinyin]dan3 bu4 zhu4[/pinyin] - Cannot prevent, cannot detain\r\n变性者 - [pinyin]bian4 xing4 zhe3[/pinyin] - Transvestite\r\n白马王子 - [pinyin]bai2 ma3 wang2 zi3[/pinyin] - Prince Charming\r\n外交部 - [pinyin]wai4 jiao1 bu4[/pinyin] - Ministry of Foreign Affairs\r\n他信 - [pinyin]ta1 xin4[/pinyin] - Thaksin Shinawatra, former Thai prime minister, currently in exile\r\n英拉 - [pinyin]ying1 la1[/pinyin] - Yingluck Shinawatra, current Thai prime minister, and Thaksin\'s sister\r\n亮相 - [pinyin]liang4 xiang4[/pinyin] - To be revealed, to see the light of day\r\n专用 - [pinyin]zhuan1 yong4[/pinyin] - Specially for..., set aside for special use\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在马来西亚，女性常常成为抢劫、性骚扰和其他暴力行为的受害者。据法国媒体11月30日报道，为了更好地保护女性免受暴力侵害，马来西亚首都吉隆坡上周末推出了50辆只搭载女性的“女性出租车”。\r\n\r\n这些车的挡风玻璃顶端标有“女性出租车”字样，司机也是女性。与吉隆坡几家出租公司合作发起该项目的马来西亚妇女、家庭和社会发展部称，希望将“女性出租车”数量增加到400辆左右。\r\n\r\n此举受到了当地女性的热烈欢迎。“这项举措当然很好，我们乘车时会感到更加安全。”26岁的办公室文员纳西尔说。不过，有的女司机担心男性乘客会因此流失；也有人担忧“女性出租车”的标志可能会使驾驶这种出租车的女司机成为袭击目标。\r\n\r\n马来西亚此前还曾推出粉红色女性专用火车车厢、只载女乘客的女性专用公交车，以免女性受到性骚扰等伤害。除了马来西亚，墨西哥、埃及、伊朗等国都曾推出女性专用出租车。\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nIn Malaysia, women often become the victims of robberies, sexual harassment and other violent acts. According to a November 30 French media report, in order to better protect women from violence, last weekend the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur released 50 \"women\'s taxis\" which will only transport women.  \r\n\r\nThe top of the windshields of these taxis show a sign reading \"women\'s taxi\", and the drivers are also women. the project is a cooperation between several of Kuala Lumpur\'s taxi companies and the project initiator, Malaysia\'s Department of Women, Family and Community Development, who said that they hope to increase the number of \"women\'s taxi\'s\" to 400.   \r\n\r\nThis has received a warm welcome from the local women. \"This act is of course very good, we can feel safer getting into a taxi,\" said 26-year-old office worker Na Xi Er (proper name). However, some female taxi drivers worry about the loss of male customers, and some people are concerned that because of what the \"women\'s only taxis\" symbolize, the female drivers will become the target of attacks.\r\n\r\nBefore this, Malaysia has already released pink women-only train carriages, as well as buses that only carry women, in order to [help women] avoid suffering harm from sexual harassment. Besides Malaysia, Mexico, Egypt, Iran and other countries have already unveiled women-only taxis. \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'News: Malaysia Unveils Special Taxis for Women Only to Warm Welcome', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '976-revision-v1', '', '', '2011-12-05 15:38:29', '2011-12-05 20:38:29', '', 976, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/12/05/976-revision-4/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(980, 1, '2011-12-05 15:37:55', '2011-12-05 20:37:55', '[two_third]\nThis is the full translation of an article that was in the headlines of the post <a href=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/12/03/interesting-headlines-series-2/\">Interesting Headlines: Series 2</a>. <!--more-->\n\nThe Chinese title of this article is: 马来西亚推出50辆女性专用出租车 大受欢迎\n\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n派 - [pinyin]pai4[/pinyin] - To dispatch, to send\n支援 - [pinyin]zhi1 yuan2[/pinyin] - To provide assistance\n挡不住 - [pinyin]dan3 bu4 zhu4[/pinyin] - Cannot prevent, cannot detain\n变性者 - [pinyin]bian4 xing4 zhe3[/pinyin] - Transvestite\n白马王子 - [pinyin]bai2 ma3 wang2 zi3[/pinyin] - Prince Charming\n外交部 - [pinyin]wai4 jiao1 bu4[/pinyin] - Ministry of Foreign Affairs\n他信 - [pinyin]ta1 xin4[/pinyin] - Thaksin Shinawatra, former Thai prime minister, currently in exile\n英拉 - [pinyin]ying1 la1[/pinyin] - Yingluck Shinawatra, current Thai prime minister, and Thaksin\'s sister\n亮相 - [pinyin]liang4 xiang4[/pinyin] - To be revealed, to see the light of day\n专用 - [pinyin]zhuan1 yong4[/pinyin] - Specially for..., set aside for special use\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n在马来西亚，女性常常成为抢劫、性骚扰和其他暴力行为的受害者。据法国媒体11月30日报道，为了更好地保护女性免受暴力侵害，马来西亚首都吉隆坡上周末推出了50辆只搭载女性的“女性出租车”。\n\n这些车的挡风玻璃顶端标有“女性出租车”字样，司机也是女性。与吉隆坡几家出租公司合作发起该项目的马来西亚妇女、家庭和社会发展部称，希望将“女性出租车”数量增加到400辆左右。\n\n此举受到了当地女性的热烈欢迎。“这项举措当然很好，我们乘车时会感到更加安全。”26岁的办公室文员纳西尔说。不过，有的女司机担心男性乘客会因此流失；也有人担忧“女性出租车”的标志可能会使驾驶这种出租车的女司机成为袭击目标。\n\n马来西亚此前还曾推出粉红色女性专用火车车厢、只载女乘客的女性专用公交车，以免女性受到性骚扰等伤害。除了马来西亚，墨西哥、埃及、伊朗等国都曾推出女性专用出租车。\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nIn Malaysia, women often become the victims of robberies, sexual harassment and other violent acts. According to a November 30 French media report, in order to better protect women from violence, last weekend the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur released 50 \"women\'s taxis\" which will only transport women.  \n\nThe top of the windshields of these taxis show a sign reading \"women\'s taxi\", and the drivers are also women. the project is a cooperation between several of Kuala Lumpur\'s taxi companies and the project initiator, Malaysia\'s Department of Women, Family and Community Development, who said that they hope to increase the number of \"women\'s taxi\'s\" to 400.   \n\nThis has received a warm welcome from the local women. \"This act is of course very good, we can feel safer getting into a taxi,\" said 26-year-old office worker Na Xi Er (proper name). However, some female taxi drivers worry about the loss of male customers, and some people are concerned that because of what the \"women\'s only taxis\" symbolize, the female drivers will become the target of attacks.\n\nBefore this, Malaysia has already released pink women-only train carriages, as well as buses that only carry women, in order to [help women] avoid suffering harm from sexual harassment. Besides Malaysia, Mexico, Egypt, Iran and other countries 马来西亚此前还曾推出粉红色女性专用火车车厢、只载女乘客的女性专用公交车，以免女性受到性骚扰等伤害。除了马来西亚，墨西哥、埃及、伊朗等国都曾推出女性专用出租车。\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'News: Malaysia Unveils Special Taxis for Women Only to Warm Welcome', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '976-revision-v1', '', '', '2011-12-05 15:37:55', '2011-12-05 20:37:55', '', 976, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/12/05/976-revision-3/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(982, 1, '2011-12-05 15:44:53', '2011-12-05 20:44:53', '[two_third]\r\nThis is the full translation of an article that was in the headlines of the post <a href=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/12/03/interesting-headlines-series-2/\">Interesting Headlines: Series 2</a>. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe Chinese title of this article is: 马来西亚推出50辆女性专用出租车 大受欢迎\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马来西亚 - [pinyin]ma3 lai2 xi1 ya4[/pinyin] - Malaysia\r\n性骚扰 - [pinyin]xing4 sao1 rao3[/pinyin] - Sexual Harassment\r\n据 - [pinyin]ju4[/pinyin] - According to (reports, etc.)\r\n挡风玻璃 - [pinyin]dang3 feng1 bo1 li5[/pinyin] - Windshield\r\n吉隆坡 - [pinyin]ji2 long2 po1[/pinyin] - Kuala Lumpur\r\n妇女、家庭和社会发展部 - [pinyin]fu4 nv3 jiao1 [/pinyin] - Prince Charming\r\n项 - [pinyin]wai4 jiao1 bu4[/pinyin] - Ministry of Foreign Affairs\r\n举措 - [pinyin]ta1 xin4[/pinyin] - Thaksin Shinawatra, former Thai prime minister, currently in exile\r\n担忧 - [pinyin]ying1 la1[/pinyin] - Yingluck Shinawatra, current Thai prime minister, and Thaksin\'s sister\r\n袭击 - [pinyin]liang4 xiang4[/pinyin] - To be revealed, to see the light of day\r\n埃及 - [pinyin]zhuan1 yong4[/pinyin] - Specially for..., set aside for special use\r\n伊朗\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在<strong>马来西亚</strong>，女性常常成为抢劫、<strong>性骚扰</strong>和其他暴力行为的受害者。<strong>据</strong>法国媒体11月30日报道，为了更好地保护女性免受暴力侵害，马来西亚首都吉隆坡上周末推出了50辆只搭载女性的“女性出租车”。\r\n\r\n这些车的<strong>挡风玻璃</strong>顶端标有“女性出租车”字样，司机也是女性。与<strong>吉隆坡</strong>几家出租公司合作发起该项目的马来西亚<strong>妇女、家庭和社会发展部</strong>称，希望将“女性出租车”数量增加到400辆左右。\r\n\r\n此举受到了当地女性的热烈欢迎。“这<strong>项</strong><strong>举措</strong>当然很好，我们乘车时会感到更加安全。”26岁的办公室文员纳西尔说。不过，有的女司机担心男性乘客会因此流失；也有人<strong>担忧</strong>“女性出租车”的标志可能会使驾驶这种出租车的女司机成为<strong>袭击</strong>目标。\r\n\r\n马来西亚此前还曾推出粉红色女性专用火车车厢、只载女乘客的女性专用公交车，以免女性受到性骚扰等伤害。除了马来西亚，墨西哥、<strong>埃及</strong>、<strong>伊朗</strong>等国都曾推出女性专用出租车。\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nIn Malaysia, women often become the victims of robberies, sexual harassment and other violent acts. According to a November 30 French media report, in order to better protect women from violence, last weekend the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur released 50 \"women\'s taxis\" which will only transport women.  \r\n\r\nThe top of the windshields of these taxis show a sign reading \"women\'s taxi\", and the drivers are also women. the project is a cooperation between several of Kuala Lumpur\'s taxi companies and the project initiator, Malaysia\'s Department of Women, Family and Community Development, who said that they hope to increase the number of \"women\'s taxi\'s\" to 400.   \r\n\r\nThis has received a warm welcome from the local women. \"This act is of course very good, we can feel safer getting into a taxi,\" said 26-year-old office worker Na Xi Er (proper name). However, some female taxi drivers worry about the loss of male customers, and some people are concerned that because of what the \"women\'s only taxis\" symbolize, the female drivers will become the target of attacks.\r\n\r\nBefore this, Malaysia has already released pink women-only train carriages, as well as buses that only carry women, in order to [help women] avoid suffering harm from sexual harassment. Besides Malaysia, Mexico, Egypt, Iran and other countries have already unveiled women-only taxis. \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'News: Malaysia Unveils Special Taxis for Women Only to Warm Welcome', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '976-revision-v1', '', '', '2011-12-05 15:44:53', '2011-12-05 20:44:53', '', 976, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/12/05/976-revision-5/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(983, 1, '2011-12-05 15:50:13', '2011-12-05 20:50:13', '', 'Advanced Chinese News Reading Practice - Advanced Chinese Newspaper Vocabulary', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '20120107', '', '', '2011-12-05 15:50:13', '2011-12-05 20:50:13', '', 976, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/20120107.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(984, 1, '2011-12-05 15:51:42', '2011-12-05 20:51:42', '', 'Advanced Chinese News Reading Practice - Advanced Chinese Newspaper Vocabulary', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '20120107-inline', '', '', '2011-12-05 15:51:42', '2011-12-05 20:51:42', '', 976, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/20120107-INLINE.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(985, 1, '2011-12-05 15:48:07', '2011-12-05 20:48:07', '[two_third]\r\nThis is the full translation of an article that was in the headlines of the post <a href=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/12/03/interesting-headlines-series-2/\">Interesting Headlines: Series 2</a>. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe Chinese title of this article is: 马来西亚推出50辆女性专用出租车 大受欢迎\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马来西亚 - [pinyin]ma3 lai2 xi1 ya4[/pinyin] - Malaysia\r\n性骚扰 - [pinyin]xing4 sao1 rao3[/pinyin] - Sexual Harassment\r\n据 - [pinyin]ju4[/pinyin] - According to (reports, etc.)\r\n挡风玻璃 - [pinyin]dang3 feng1 bo1 li5[/pinyin] - Windshield\r\n吉隆坡 - [pinyin]ji2 long2 po1[/pinyin] - Kuala Lumpur\r\n妇女、家庭和社会发展部 - [pinyin]fu4 nv3 jia1 ting2 he2 she4 hui4 fa1 zhan3 bu4 [/pinyin] - Department of Women, Family and Community Development\r\n项 - [pinyin]xiang4[/pinyin] - Classifier for projects, actions, decisions and tasks\r\n举措 - [pinyin]ju3 cuo4[/pinyin] - Action, decision\r\n担忧 - [pinyin]dan1 you1[/pinyin] - To be concerned \r\n袭击 - [pinyin]xi2 ji1[/pinyin] - An attack, esp. by surprise\r\n埃及 - [pinyin]ai1 ji2[/pinyin] - Egypt\r\n伊朗 - [pinyin]yi1 lang3[/pinyin] - Iran\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在<strong>马来西亚</strong>，女性常常成为抢劫、<strong>性骚扰</strong>和其他暴力行为的受害者。<strong>据</strong>法国媒体11月30日报道，为了更好地保护女性免受暴力侵害，马来西亚首都吉隆坡上周末推出了50辆只搭载女性的“女性出租车”。\r\n\r\n这些车的<strong>挡风玻璃</strong>顶端标有“女性出租车”字样，司机也是女性。与<strong>吉隆坡</strong>几家出租公司合作发起该项目的马来西亚<strong>妇女、家庭和社会发展部</strong>称，希望将“女性出租车”数量增加到400辆左右。\r\n\r\n此举受到了当地女性的热烈欢迎。“这<strong>项</strong><strong>举措</strong>当然很好，我们乘车时会感到更加安全。”26岁的办公室文员纳西尔说。不过，有的女司机担心男性乘客会因此流失；也有人<strong>担忧</strong>“女性出租车”的标志可能会使驾驶这种出租车的女司机成为<strong>袭击</strong>目标。\r\n\r\n马来西亚此前还曾推出粉红色女性专用火车车厢、只载女乘客的女性专用公交车，以免女性受到性骚扰等伤害。除了马来西亚，墨西哥、<strong>埃及</strong>、<strong>伊朗</strong>等国都曾推出女性专用出租车。\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nIn Malaysia, women often become the victims of robberies, sexual harassment and other violent acts. According to a November 30 French media report, in order to better protect women from violence, last weekend the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur released 50 \"women\'s taxis\" which will only transport women.  \r\n\r\nThe top of the windshields of these taxis show a sign reading \"women\'s taxi\", and the drivers are also women. the project is a cooperation between several of Kuala Lumpur\'s taxi companies and the project initiator, Malaysia\'s Department of Women, Family and Community Development, who said that they hope to increase the number of \"women\'s taxi\'s\" to 400.   \r\n\r\nThis has received a warm welcome from the local women. \"This act is of course very good, we can feel safer getting into a taxi,\" said 26-year-old office worker Na Xi Er (proper name). However, some female taxi drivers worry about the loss of male customers, and some people are concerned that because of what the \"women\'s only taxis\" symbolize, the female drivers will become the target of attacks.\r\n\r\nBefore this, Malaysia has already released pink women-only train carriages, as well as buses that only carry women, in order to [help women] avoid suffering harm from sexual harassment. Besides Malaysia, Mexico, Egypt, Iran and other countries have already unveiled women-only taxis. \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'News: Malaysia Unveils Special Taxis for Women Only to Warm Welcome', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '976-revision-v1', '', '', '2011-12-05 15:48:07', '2011-12-05 20:48:07', '', 976, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/12/05/976-revision-6/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2134, 1, '2016-11-04 23:43:30', '2016-11-05 03:43:30', 'This news story covers a new government initiative to help protect women from sexual harassment (性骚扰 - [pinyin]xing4 sao1 rao3[/pinyin]) by providing special women-only taxis in the capital city Kuala Lumpur (吉隆坡 - [pinyin]ji2 long2 po1[/pinyin]). \n\n<h3>According to who?</h3>\nHere, as usual, we see the two news words that you see in just about every article, 据 [pinyin]ju4[/pinyin], meaning \"according to\", as in \"According to reports...\", and also 称 [pinyin]cheng1[/pinyin], meaning \"to state\", as in \"Our sources state...\" or \"The Prime Minister stated today that...\". I know I keep harping on 称 every time the word comes up in a news post, but I can\'t stress strongly enough how often you\'ll see this word in the newspaper - it\'s in just about every article, and once you know what it means, news reading becomes that much clearer. This is news-specific language, so you\'ll also hear radio and TV news anchors say it a lot, but you won\'t often see or hear it elsewhere. \n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\n1) 马来西亚推出50辆女性专用出租车 大受欢迎\n\n2) 在马来西亚，女性常常成为抢劫、<strong>性骚扰</strong>和其他暴力行为的受害者。<strong>据</strong>法国媒体11月30日报道，为了更好地保护女性免受暴力侵害，马来西亚首都吉隆坡上周末推出了50辆只搭载女性的“女性出租车”。\n\n3) 这些车的挡风玻璃顶端标有“女性出租车”字样，司机也是女性。与吉隆坡几家出租公司合作发起该项目的马来西亚妇女、家庭和社会发展部<strong>称</strong>，希望将“女性出租车”数量增加到400辆左右。\n\n4) 此举受到了当地女性的热烈欢迎。“这项举措当然很好，我们乘车时会感到更加安全。”26岁的办公室文员纳西尔说。不过，有的女司机担心男性乘客会因此流失；也有人担忧“女性出租车”的标志可能会使驾驶这种出租车的女司机成为袭击目标。\n\n5) 马来西亚此前还曾推出粉红色女性专用火车车厢、只载女乘客的女性专用公交车，以免女性受到性骚扰等伤害。除了马来西亚，墨西哥、埃及、伊朗等国都曾推出女性专用出租车。\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\n1) Malaysia Unveils Special Taxis for Women Only to Warm Welcome\n\n2) In Malaysia, women often become the victims of robberies, sexual harassment and other violent acts. According to a November 30 French media report, in order to better protect women from violence, last weekend the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur released 50 \"women\'s taxis\" which will only transport women.  \n\n3) The top of the windshields of these taxis show a sign reading \"women\'s taxi\", and the drivers are also women. the project is a cooperation between several of Kuala Lumpur\'s taxi companies and the project initiator, Malaysia\'s Department of Women, Family and Community Development, who said that they hope to increase the number of \"women\'s taxi\'s\" to 400.   \n\n4) This has received a warm welcome from the local women. \"This act is of course very good, we can feel safer getting into a taxi,\" said 26-year-old office worker Na Xi Er (proper name). However, some female taxi drivers worry about the loss of male customers, and some people are concerned that because of what the \"women\'s only taxis\" symbolize, the female drivers will become the target of attacks.\n\n5) Before this, Malaysia has already released pink women-only train carriages, as well as buses that only carry women, in order to [help women] avoid suffering harm from sexual harassment. Besides Malaysia, Mexico, Egypt, Iran and other countries have already unveiled women-only taxis. \n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[News in Chinese] Malaysia Unveils Special Taxis for Women Only to Warm Welcome', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '976-autosave-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 23:43:30', '2016-11-05 03:43:30', '', 976, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/976-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2135, 1, '2016-11-04 23:42:56', '2016-11-05 03:42:56', 'Sweet! I found a bunch of Chinese riddles. Read the Chinese and try to guess the word!  This is VERY short, lower-intermediate reading. Some of the riddles I found are impossible, because not only is the riddle hard, the answer is a kind of fruit or plant or thing I\'ve never heard of, so I\'m skipping past all those and over the next few days I\'ll post a few riddles that are answerable for those of us who didn\'t grow up in the southern Yao jungles or whatever.\r\n\r\nI think the most interesting word in this text is 青. I see this word everywhere, and I\'ve never been able to come up with an English equivalent. It\'s not green, and it\'s not blue... well, it\'s not actually a color. It means \"the color that nature is\". It can be used to describe a clear pond. It can be used to talk about trees or grass. So it\'s not actually a specific hue, but the word is used as if it is. Someone feel free to dive in if you can think of a good translation for this. \r\n\r\nThis particular riddle kinda rhymes in Chinese, so when you\'ve sorted out the words, read it out loud.\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\r\n青枝绿叶不是菜， 有的烤来有的晒，腾云驾雾烧着吃，不能锅里煮熟卖。\r\n\r\nHint: this is a type of plant.\r\n</div>\r\n\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH AND ANSWER\"]\r\nTranslation: Green branches green leaves but it\'s not a vegetable, some roast it and some dry it, soaring on clouds and sailing the mist it\'s consumed, it\'s not sold boiled in a pot.\r\n\r\n<strong>Answer: 烟叶 (Tobacco) </strong>\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Riddles] Guess the Word 1', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1043-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 23:42:56', '2016-11-05 03:42:56', '', 1043, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1043-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(987, 1, '2011-12-05 15:51:54', '2011-12-05 20:51:54', '[two_third]\r\nThis is the full translation of an article that was in the headlines of the post <a href=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/12/03/interesting-headlines-series-2/\">Interesting Headlines: Series 2</a>. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/20120107-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Advanced Chinese News Reading Practice - Advanced Chinese Newspaper Vocabulary\" title=\"Advanced Chinese News Reading Practice - Advanced Chinese Newspaper Vocabulary\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />\r\n\r\nThe Chinese title of this article is: 马来西亚推出50辆女性专用出租车 大受欢迎\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马来西亚 - [pinyin]ma3 lai2 xi1 ya4[/pinyin] - Malaysia\r\n性骚扰 - [pinyin]xing4 sao1 rao3[/pinyin] - Sexual Harassment\r\n据 - [pinyin]ju4[/pinyin] - According to (reports, etc.)\r\n挡风玻璃 - [pinyin]dang3 feng1 bo1 li5[/pinyin] - Windshield\r\n吉隆坡 - [pinyin]ji2 long2 po1[/pinyin] - Kuala Lumpur\r\n妇女、家庭和社会发展部 - [pinyin]fu4 nv3 jia1 ting2 he2 she4 hui4 fa1 zhan3 bu4 [/pinyin] - Department of Women, Family and Community Development\r\n项 - [pinyin]xiang4[/pinyin] - Classifier for projects, actions, decisions and tasks\r\n举措 - [pinyin]ju3 cuo4[/pinyin] - Action, decision\r\n担忧 - [pinyin]dan1 you1[/pinyin] - To be concerned \r\n袭击 - [pinyin]xi2 ji1[/pinyin] - An attack, esp. by surprise\r\n埃及 - [pinyin]ai1 ji2[/pinyin] - Egypt\r\n伊朗 - [pinyin]yi1 lang3[/pinyin] - Iran\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在<strong>马来西亚</strong>，女性常常成为抢劫、<strong>性骚扰</strong>和其他暴力行为的受害者。<strong>据</strong>法国媒体11月30日报道，为了更好地保护女性免受暴力侵害，马来西亚首都吉隆坡上周末推出了50辆只搭载女性的“女性出租车”。\r\n\r\n这些车的<strong>挡风玻璃</strong>顶端标有“女性出租车”字样，司机也是女性。与<strong>吉隆坡</strong>几家出租公司合作发起该项目的马来西亚<strong>妇女、家庭和社会发展部</strong>称，希望将“女性出租车”数量增加到400辆左右。\r\n\r\n此举受到了当地女性的热烈欢迎。“这<strong>项</strong><strong>举措</strong>当然很好，我们乘车时会感到更加安全。”26岁的办公室文员纳西尔说。不过，有的女司机担心男性乘客会因此流失；也有人<strong>担忧</strong>“女性出租车”的标志可能会使驾驶这种出租车的女司机成为<strong>袭击</strong>目标。\r\n\r\n马来西亚此前还曾推出粉红色女性专用火车车厢、只载女乘客的女性专用公交车，以免女性受到性骚扰等伤害。除了马来西亚，墨西哥、<strong>埃及</strong>、<strong>伊朗</strong>等国都曾推出女性专用出租车。\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nIn Malaysia, women often become the victims of robberies, sexual harassment and other violent acts. According to a November 30 French media report, in order to better protect women from violence, last weekend the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur released 50 \"women\'s taxis\" which will only transport women.  \r\n\r\nThe top of the windshields of these taxis show a sign reading \"women\'s taxi\", and the drivers are also women. the project is a cooperation between several of Kuala Lumpur\'s taxi companies and the project initiator, Malaysia\'s Department of Women, Family and Community Development, who said that they hope to increase the number of \"women\'s taxi\'s\" to 400.   \r\n\r\nThis has received a warm welcome from the local women. \"This act is of course very good, we can feel safer getting into a taxi,\" said 26-year-old office worker Na Xi Er (proper name). However, some female taxi drivers worry about the loss of male customers, and some people are concerned that because of what the \"women\'s only taxis\" symbolize, the female drivers will become the target of attacks.\r\n\r\nBefore this, Malaysia has already released pink women-only train carriages, as well as buses that only carry women, in order to [help women] avoid suffering harm from sexual harassment. Besides Malaysia, Mexico, Egypt, Iran and other countries have already unveiled women-only taxis. \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'News: Malaysia Unveils Special Taxis for Women Only to Warm Welcome', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '976-revision-v1', '', '', '2011-12-05 15:51:54', '2011-12-05 20:51:54', '', 976, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/12/05/976-revision-7/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(989, 1, '2012-04-18 23:52:24', '2012-04-19 03:52:24', 'In this essay you\'ll learn to read Chinese martial arts words - well, a few, anyway - but it\'s not really the vocabulary that places this in the \"advanced\" category. It\'s more that most of the text is full of wax-on, wax-off Karate Kid statements, as the martial arts master talks about how putting oneself in a position of inferiority allows you to attain superiority. This kind of \"making logic out of illogical-sounding contradictions\" is very typical of martial arts and Eastern mysticism, and most of this type of stuff comes strait out of Taoist philosophy. \r\n\r\nThere are two phrases I found grammatically difficult to get past, the first being 处于劣势, or as the text has it, 处于一种劣势. \"处于\" [pinyin]chu3 yu2[/pinyin] means to \"be in a state of...\", or \"to be in a position of...\". 劣势 [pinyin]lie4 shi4[/pinyin] means \"inferior\". Put together, this translates into English as \"to be at a disadvantage\", or in the case of 处于一种劣势, \"to be at some kind of disadvantage\".\r\n\r\nThe second and more difficult phrase is found in the third paragraph: 以剑招之长补兵器之短. The thing that makes this sentence difficult is all the accursed nebulous words that have many meanings - we\'ve got 以, 之, and 补 all smooshed together, and these words are the keys to unlocking the meaning of this sentence. So let\'s break this down word by word and see if all the definitions together don\'t give us a clue: \r\n\r\n以 - [pinyin]yi3[/pinyin] - The definition of 以 that\'s being used here is \"by means of\" or \"by way of\"\r\n剑招 - [pinyin]jian4 zhao1[/pinyin] - Swordsmanship maneuvers\r\n之 - [pinyin]zhi1[/pinyin] - of\r\n长 - [pinyin]chang2[/pinyin] - length\r\n补 - [pinyin]bu3[/pinyin] -   \"to make up for\"\r\n兵器 - [pinyin]bing1 qi4[/pinyin] -  Weapon\r\n之 - [pinyin]zhi1[/pinyin] - of\r\n短 - [pinyin]duan3[/pinyin] - shortness\r\n\r\nAh hah! Though this is still a little convoluted, once we know the meaning of 以 and 补 in this instance, this now becomes much simpler to read. It says: \"By means of the \'length\' of [my] swordsmanship maneuvers, [I] make up for the shortness of [my] weapon.\" We can see here that \"length\" doesn\'t really mean how \"long\" something is - \"length\" here means a high level of skill. The word \"length\" is just being used to juxtapose against the word \"short\". \r\n\r\nYou\'ll enjoy this if you\'re an upper-intermediate or advanced reader, and are interested in some specialized vocabulary. \r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://gushi365.com/info/6017.html\">See the original</a>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese Text</h3>\r\n1) 一名剑客去拜访一位武林泰斗，请教他是如何练就非凡武艺的。武林泰斗拿出一把只有一尺长的剑，说:“多亏了它，才让我有了今天的成就。”\r\n\r\n2) 剑客大为不解，问:“别人的剑都是三尺三寸长的，而你的剑为什么只有一尺长呢?兵器谱上说:剑短一分，险增三分。拿着这么短的剑无疑是处于一种劣势，你怎么还说这剑好呢?”\r\n\r\n3) 武林泰斗说:“就因为在兵器上我处于劣势，所以我才会时时刻刻想到，如果与别人对阵，我会是多么的危险，所以我只有勤练剑招，以剑招之长补兵器之短，这样一来，我的剑招不断进步，劣势就转化为优势了。”\r\n\r\n4) 的确，优势和劣势有时候并不是绝对的。把自己放在劣势，就是给自己压力，为自己注入进取的动力，敢于把自己放在劣势的人，最终就有可能把劣势转化成为优势，从而取得胜利。\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nA swordsman went to pay a visit to a martial arts master [literally: a leading figure in martial arts circles] to ask for guidance on how to train [so as to attain] exceptional martial skill. The martial arts master took out a sword that was only 1 foot long, and said: \"Thanks to this, I\'ve accomplished what I have today.\" \r\n\r\nBewildered, the swordsman asked, \"Other people\'s swords are all 3 feet 3 inches long, so why is yours only one foot long? The weapons chart says that: if your sword is one-fold shorter, the danger to you is threefold greater. Using this short of a sword undoubtedly places you at a disadvantage, how can you say this is a good sword?\" \r\n\r\nThe martial arts master said: \"That\'s precisely it - my weapon puts me at a disadvantage, so I must always be thinking that if I\'m up against another person in a fight, the danger to me is greater, and all I have is my diligently practiced sword maneuvers, so the \"length\" of my maneuvers must make up for the shortness of my sword; thus, I\'m always improving, and a disadvantage is transformed into an advantage.    \r\n\r\nIndeed, \"advantage\" and \"disadvantage\" really isn\'t always set in stone. If you put yourself at a disadvantage, you put pressure on yourself, pouring into yourself the power to forge ahead; those who dare to place themselves in an inferior position, can perhaps in the end turn their disadvantage into an advantage, and thereby achieve victory. \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Essays] Martial Arts Mastery: Put Yourself at a Disadvantage', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'martial-arts-mastery-put-yourself-at-a-disadvantage', '', '', '2016-11-05 03:32:15', '2016-11-05 07:32:15', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=989', 0, 'post', '', 1),
(2105, 1, '2016-11-04 09:31:34', '2016-11-04 13:31:34', 'In this essay you\'ll learn to read Chinese martial arts words - well, a few, anyway - but it\'s not really the vocabulary that places this in the \"advanced\" category. It\'s more that most of the text is full of wax-on, wax-off Karate Kid statements, as the martial arts master talks about how putting oneself in a position of inferiority allows you to attain superiority. This kind of \"making logic out of illogical-sounding contradictions\" is very typical of martial arts and Eastern mysticism, and most of this type of stuff comes strait out of Taoist philosophy. \r\n\r\nThere are two phrases I found grammatically difficult to get past, the first being 处于劣势, or as the text has it, 处于一种劣势. \"处于\" [pinyin]chu3 yu2[/pinyin] means to \"be in a state of...\", or \"to be in a position of...\". 劣势 [pinyin]lie4 shi4[/pinyin] means \"inferior\". Put together, this translates into English as \"to be at a disadvantage\", or in the case of 处于一种劣势, \"to be at some kind of disadvantage\".\r\n\r\nThe second and more difficult phrase is found in the third paragraph: 以剑招之长补兵器之短. The thing that makes this sentence difficult is all the accursed nebulous words that have many meanings - we\'ve got 以, 之, and 补 all smooshed together, and these words are the keys to unlocking the meaning of this sentence. So let\'s break this down word by word and see if all the definitions together don\'t give us a clue: \r\n\r\n以 - [pinyin]yi3[/pinyin] - The definition of 以 that\'s being used here is \"by means of\" or \"by way of\"\r\n剑招 - [pinyin]jian4 zhao1[/pinyin] - Swordsmanship maneuvers\r\n之 - [pinyin]zhi1[/pinyin] - of\r\n长 - [pinyin]chang2[/pinyin] - length\r\n补 - [pinyin]bu3[/pinyin] -   \"to make up for\"\r\n兵器 - [pinyin]bing1 qi4[/pinyin] -  Weapon\r\n之 - [pinyin]zhi1[/pinyin] - of\r\n短 - [pinyin]duan3[/pinyin] - shortness\r\n\r\nAh hah! Though this is still a little convoluted, once we know the meaning of 以 and 补 in this instance, this now becomes much simpler to read. It says: \"By means of the \'length\' of [my] swordsmanship maneuvers, [I] make up for the shortness of [my] weapon.\" We can see here that \"length\" doesn\'t really mean how \"long\" something is - \"length\" here means a high level of skill. The word \"length\" is just being used to juxtapose against the word \"short\". \r\n\r\nYou\'ll enjoy this if you\'re an upper-intermediate or advanced reader, and are interested in some specialized vocabulary. \r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://gushi365.com/info/6017.html\">See the original</a>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese Text</h3>\r\n1) 一名剑客去拜访一位武林泰斗，请教他是如何练就非凡武艺的。武林泰斗拿出一把只有一尺长的剑，说:“多亏了它，才让我有了今天的成就。”\r\n\r\n2) 剑客大为不解，问:“别人的剑都是三尺三寸长的，而你的剑为什么只有一尺长呢?兵器谱上说:剑短一分，险增三分。拿着这么短的剑无疑是处于一种劣势，你怎么还说这剑好呢?”\r\n\r\n3) 武林泰斗说:“就因为在兵器上我处于劣势，所以我才会时时刻刻想到，如果与别人对阵，我会是多么的危险，所以我只有勤练剑招，以剑招之长补兵器之短，这样一来，我的剑招不断进步，劣势就转化为优势了。”\r\n\r\n4) 的确，优势和劣势有时候并不是绝对的。把自己放在劣势，就是给自己压力，为自己注入进取的动力，敢于把自己放在劣势的人，最终就有可能把劣势转化成为优势，从而取得胜利。\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nA swordsman went to pay a visit to a martial arts master [literally: a leading figure in martial arts circles] to ask for guidance on how to train [so as to attain] exceptional martial skill. The martial arts master took out a sword that was only 1 foot long, and said: \"Thanks to this, I\'ve accomplished what I have today.\" \r\n\r\nBewildered, the swordsman asked, \"Other people\'s swords are all 3 feet 3 inches long, so why is yours only one foot long? The weapons chart says that: if your sword is one-fold shorter, the danger to you is threefold greater. Using this short of a sword undoubtedly places you at a disadvantage, how can you say this is a good sword?\" \r\n\r\nThe martial arts master said: \"That\'s precisely it - my weapon puts me at a disadvantage, so I must always be thinking that if I\'m up against another person in a fight, the danger to me is greater, and all I have is my diligently practiced sword maneuvers, so the \"length\" of my maneuvers must make up for the shortness of my sword; thus, I\'m always improving, and a disadvantage is transformed into an advantage.    \r\n\r\nIndeed, \"advantage\" and \"disadvantage\" really isn\'t always set in stone. If you put yourself at a disadvantage, you put pressure on yourself, pouring into yourself the power to forge ahead; those who dare to place themselves in an inferior position, can perhaps in the end turn their disadvantage into an advantage, and thereby achieve victory. \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Essays] Martial Arts Mastery: Put Yourself at a Disadvantage', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '989-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 09:31:34', '2016-11-04 13:31:34', '', 989, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/989-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
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(1281, 1, '2012-10-02 00:41:20', '2012-10-02 04:41:20', '', 'Learn to Read Chinese: Beginner School Essays by Chinese Students', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '20121002', '', '', '2012-10-02 00:41:20', '2012-10-02 04:41:20', '', 1277, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/20121002.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1278, 1, '2012-10-01 07:43:43', '2012-10-01 11:43:43', '[two_third]\n<strong>Chinese Title: 我们家的跳绳比赛</strong>\n\nA single-paragraph essay about the results of . \n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n烈日 - [pinyin]lie4 ri4[/pinyin] - Scorching sun\n炎炎 - [pinyin]yan2 yan2[/pinyin] - Scorching\n抱上 - [pinyin]bao4 shang4[/pinyin] - Pick up (the way one picks up a child, encircling them with both arms)\n糖果 - [pinyin]tang2 guo3[/pinyin] - Candy \n种 - [pinyin]zhong4[/pinyin] - To plant (eg. vegetable seeds)\n种子 - [pinyin]zhong3 zi5[/pinyin] - A seed\n心想 - [pinyin]xin1 xiang3[/pinyin] - Think to oneself\n刨 - [pinyin]pao2[/pinyin] - To dig\n坑 - [pinyin]keng1[/pinyin] - Hole\n埋 - [pinyin]mai2[/pinyin] - To bury\n默默 - [pinyin]mo4 mo4[/pinyin] - Without speaking\n宝贝 - [pinyin]bao3 bei4[/pinyin] - \"Baby\", \"Darling\" - term of endearment\n如今 - [pinyin]ru2 jin1[/pinyin] - Nowadays\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n今天早上我和爸爸比赛跳绳，爸爸先跳，妈妈记时数数，爸爸一分钟跳了128个，该我上场了，爸爸数数，妈妈记时，我这次没有失误，一分钟跳了145个，我的心砰砰乱跳，都快蹦出来了，妈妈弃权了，我成了全家中的第一名，，我好开心。 \n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nThis morning father and competed in jump rope, father went first, mother kept score and count, father jumped 128 times in a minute, and when I entered the playing field, father counted and mother took notes. In this round [literally: \'this time\', but sounds weird in English because there are no previous times] I made no mistakes, and in one minute I jumped 145 times, my heart pounded in my chest, as if it would bounce right out. So I became 今天早上我和爸爸比赛跳绳，爸爸先跳，妈妈记时数数，爸爸一分钟跳了128个，该我上场了，爸爸数数，妈妈记时，我这次没有失误，一分钟跳了145个，我的心砰砰乱跳，都快蹦出来了，妈妈弃权了，我成了全家中的第一名，，我好开心。 \n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Our Family\'s Jump Rope Contest', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1277-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-10-01 07:43:43', '2012-10-01 11:43:43', '', 1277, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/10/01/1277-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(991, 1, '2011-12-05 16:34:41', '2011-12-05 21:34:41', '[two_third]\r\nhttp://gushi365.com/info/6017.html\r\nIn this story you\'ll find a few specialized martial-arts words, but it\'s not really the vocabulary that places this in the \"advanced\" category. It\'s more that most of the text is full of wax-on, wax-off Karate Kid statements made by the master to the student, as the master talks about how putting oneself in a position of inferiority allows you to attain superiority. \r\n\r\nThis kind of \"making logic out of illogical-sounding contradictions\" is very typical of martial arts, and most of this type of stuff comes strain out of Taoist philosophy. \r\n\r\nYou\'ll enjoy this if you\'re an upper-intermediate or advanced reader, and are interested in some specialized vocabulary. \r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://gushi365.com/info/6017.html\">See the original</a>\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马来西亚 - [pinyin]ma3 lai2 xi1 ya4[/pinyin] - Malaysia\r\n性骚扰 - [pinyin]xing4 sao1 rao3[/pinyin] - Sexual Harassment\r\n据 - [pinyin]ju4[/pinyin] - According to (reports, etc.)\r\n挡风玻璃 - [pinyin]dang3 feng1 bo1 li5[/pinyin] - Windshield\r\n吉隆坡 - [pinyin]ji2 long2 po1[/pinyin] - Kuala Lumpur\r\n妇女、家庭和社会发展部 - [pinyin]fu4 nv3 jia1 ting2 he2 she4 hui4 fa1 zhan3 bu4 [/pinyin] - Department of Women, Family and Community Development\r\n项 - [pinyin]xiang4[/pinyin] - Classifier for projects, actions, decisions and tasks\r\n举措 - [pinyin]ju3 cuo4[/pinyin] - Action, decision\r\n担忧 - [pinyin]dan1 you1[/pinyin] - To be concerned \r\n袭击 - [pinyin]xi2 ji1[/pinyin] - An attack, esp. by surprise\r\n埃及 - [pinyin]ai1 ji2[/pinyin] - Egypt\r\n伊朗 - [pinyin]yi1 lang3[/pinyin] - Iran\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一名剑客去拜访一位武林泰斗，请教他是如何练就非凡武艺的。武林泰斗拿出一把只有一尺长的剑，说:“多亏了它，才让我有了今天的成就。”\r\n\r\n    剑客大为不解，问:“别人的剑都是三尺三寸长的，而你的剑为什么只有一尺长呢?兵器谱上说:剑短一分，险增三分。拿着这么短的剑无疑是处于一种劣势，你怎么还说这剑好呢?”\r\n\r\n    武林泰斗说:“就因为在兵器上我处于劣势，所以我才会时时刻刻想到，如果与别人对阵，我会是多么的危险，所以我只有勤练剑招，以剑招之长补兵器之短，这样一来，我的剑招不断进步，劣势就转化为优势了。”\r\n\r\n    的确，优势和劣势有时候并不是绝对的。把自己放在劣势，就是给自己压力，为自己注入进取的动力，敢于把自己放在劣势的人，最终就有可能把劣势转化成为优势，从而取得胜利。\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nTRANSLATION HERE\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Martial Arts Mastery: Put Yourself in an Inferior Position', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '989-revision-v1', '', '', '2011-12-05 16:34:41', '2011-12-05 21:34:41', '', 989, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/12/05/989-revision-2/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(990, 1, '2011-12-05 16:33:55', '2011-12-05 21:33:55', '[two_third]\nhttp://gushi365.com/info/6017.html\nIn this story you\'ll find a few specialized martial-arts words, but it\'s not really the vocabulary that places this in the \"advanced\" category. It\'s more that most of the text is full of wax-on, wax-off Karate Kid statements made by the master to the student, as the master talks about how putting oneself in a position of inferiority allows you to attain superiority. \n\nThis kind of \"making logic out of illogical-sounding contradictions\" is very typical of martial arts, and most of this type of stuff comes strain out of Taoist philosophy. \n\nYou\'ll enjoy this if you\'re an upper-intermediate or advanced reader, and are interested in some specialized vocabulary. \n\n<a href=\"http://gushi365.com/info/6017.html\">See the original</a>\n\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n马来西亚 - [pinyin]ma3 lai2 xi1 ya4[/pinyin] - Malaysia\n性骚扰 - [pinyin]xing4 sao1 rao3[/pinyin] - Sexual Harassment\n据 - [pinyin]ju4[/pinyin] - According to (reports, etc.)\n挡风玻璃 - [pinyin]dang3 feng1 bo1 li5[/pinyin] - Windshield\n吉隆坡 - [pinyin]ji2 long2 po1[/pinyin] - Kuala Lumpur\n妇女、家庭和社会发展部 - [pinyin]fu4 nv3 jia1 ting2 he2 she4 hui4 fa1 zhan3 bu4 [/pinyin] - Department of Women, Family and Community Development\n项 - [pinyin]xiang4[/pinyin] - Classifier for projects, actions, decisions and tasks\n举措 - [pinyin]ju3 cuo4[/pinyin] - Action, decision\n担忧 - [pinyin]dan1 you1[/pinyin] - To be concerned \n袭击 - [pinyin]xi2 ji1[/pinyin] - An attack, esp. by surprise\n埃及 - [pinyin]ai1 ji2[/pinyin] - Egypt\n伊朗 - [pinyin]yi1 lang3[/pinyin] - Iran\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n在<strong>马来西亚</strong>，女性常常成为抢劫、<strong>性骚扰</strong>和其他暴力行为的受害者。<strong>据</strong>法国媒体11月30日报道，为了更好地保护女性免受暴力侵害，马来西亚首都吉隆坡上周末推出了50辆只搭载女性的“女性出租车”。\n\n这些车的<strong>挡风玻璃</strong>顶端标有“女性出租车”字样，司机也是女性。与<strong>吉隆坡</strong>几家出租公司合作发起该项目的马来西亚<strong>妇女、家庭和社会发展部</strong>称，希望将“女性出租车”数量增加到400辆左右。\n\n此举受到了当地女性的热烈欢迎。“这<strong>项</strong><strong>举措</strong>当然很好，我们乘车时会感到更加安全。”26岁的办公室文员纳西尔说。不过，有的女司机担心男性乘客会因此流失；也有人<strong>担忧</strong>“女性出租车”的标志可能会使驾驶这种出租车的女司机成为<strong>袭击</strong>目标。\n\n马来西亚此前还曾推出粉红色女性专用火车车厢、只载女乘客的女性专用公交车，以免女性受到性骚扰等伤害。除了马来西亚，墨西哥、<strong>埃及</strong>、<strong>伊朗</strong>等国都曾推出女性专用出租车。\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nIn Malaysia, women often become the victims of robberies, sexual harassment and other violent acts. According to a November 30 French media report, in order to better protect women from violence, last weekend the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur released 50 \"women\'s taxis\" which will only transport women.  \n\nThe top of the windshields of these taxis show a sign reading \"women\'s taxi\", and the drivers are also women. the project is a cooperation between several of Kuala Lumpur\'s taxi companies and the project initiator, Malaysia\'s Department of Women, Family and Community Development, who said that they hope to increase the number of \"women\'s taxi\'s\" to 400.   \n\nThis has received a warm welcome from the local women. \"This act is of course very good, we can feel safer getting into a taxi,\" said 26-year-old office worker Na Xi Er (proper name). However, some female taxi drivers worry about the loss of male customers, and some people are concerned that because of what the \"women\'s only taxis\" symbolize, the female drivers will become the target of attacks.\n\nBefore this, Malaysia has already released pink women-only train carriages, as well as buses that only carry women, in order to [help women] avoid suffering harm from sexual harassment. Besides Malaysia, Mexico, Egypt, Iran and other countries have already unveiled women-only taxis. \n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Martial Arts Mastery: Put Yourself in an Inferior Position', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '989-revision-v1', '', '', '2011-12-05 16:33:55', '2011-12-05 21:33:55', '', 989, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/12/05/989-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1283, 1, '2016-11-04 07:35:21', '2016-11-04 11:35:21', 'A single-paragraph essay about the results of a family jump rope competition. \n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\n今天早上我和爸爸比赛跳绳，爸爸先跳，妈妈记时数数，爸爸一分钟跳了128个，该我上场了，爸爸数数，妈妈记时，我这次没有失误，一分钟跳了145个，我的心砰砰乱跳，都快蹦出来了，妈妈弃权了，我成了全家中的第一名，我好开心。 \n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nThis morning father and I competed in jump rope, father went first, mother kept time and count, father jumped 128 times in a minute, and when I entered the playing field, father counted and mother took notes. In this round [literally: \'this time\', but sounds weird in English because there are no previous times] I made no mistakes, and in one minute I jumped 145 times, my heart pounded in my chest, as if it would bounce right out. Mother abstained from participating, so I became Number 1 in our family, I was very happy. \n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Essays] 我们家的跳绳比赛 - Our Family\'s Jump Rope Contest', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1277-autosave-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 07:35:21', '2016-11-04 11:35:21', '', 1277, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/10/02/1277-autosave/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2079, 1, '2016-11-04 07:37:11', '2016-11-04 11:37:11', '', 'Learn to Read Chinese: Beginner School Essays by Chinese Students', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'jump-rope-contest-chinese-language', '', '', '2016-11-04 07:37:33', '2016-11-04 11:37:33', '', 1277, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/jump-rope-contest-chinese-language.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1003, 1, '2011-11-27 19:38:20', '2011-11-28 00:38:20', '[two_third] This is possibly the girliest essay ever written, with crystals, dolls, little elfs and pretty colors described with great rapture. The writer is describing a gift given to her by a friend, which she loved as a child. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/20111127-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Advanced / Intermediate Chinese Essays and Reading Exercise\" title=\"Advanced / Intermediate Chinese Essays and Reading Exercise\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />The sentence structure never gets too complex to follow in this, so if you\'re an intermediate reader feeling up for a lot of new words, go for it. But this essay is a little bit new-word heavy, so unless you are fairly good with descriptive vocabulary, so don\'t expect an uninterrupted read. I love this essay for its use of unusual color words, like \"glistening yellow\", \"vibrant red\", and \"transparent\".\r\n\r\nIn terms of the item the author describes, it\'s a bit hard to tell from the Chinese text that the writer is describing multiple crystal dolls inside of crystal balls in a crystal bottle until you get partway into the description, and while the girl paints a very vivid picture of this pretty bauble, I don\'t know that I\'ve ever seen anything like it in real life. It sounds like the crystal figurine version of Inception. Anyway, without further ado:\r\n\r\nThe Chinese title is: 　水晶球\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水晶- [pinyin]shui3 jing1[/pinyin] - Crystal\r\n一闪一闪 - [pinyin]yi1 shan3 yi1 shan3[/pinyin] - Twinkle\r\n各异 - [pinyin]ge4 yi4[/pinyin] - Each is different / each has its own \r\n盈 - [pinyin]ying2[/pinyin] - Filled \r\n黄澄澄 - [pinyin]huang2 deng4 deng4[/pinyin] - Glistening yellow\r\n红通通- [pinyin]hong2 tong1 tong1[/pinyin] - Vibrant Red\r\n透明 - [pinyin]tou4 ming2[/pinyin] - Transparent\r\n笛子 - [pinyin]di2 zi5[/pinyin] - Bamboo flute\r\n五彩缤纷 - [pinyin]wu3 cai3 bin1 fen1[/pinyin] - A wild profusion of color\r\n映衬 - [pinyin]ying4 chen4[/pinyin] - To set off by contrast\r\n夺目- [pinyin]duo2 mu4[/pinyin] - Dazzle the eyes\r\n小巧 - [pinyin]xiao3 qiao3[/pinyin] - Small and exquisite\r\n玲珑 - [pinyin]ling2 long2[/pinyin] - The sound of clinking jewels\r\n脚尖 - [pinyin]jiao3 jian1[/pinyin] - On tiptoe\r\n轻盈 - [pinyin]qing1 ying2[/pinyin] - Graceful, lithe\r\n飞舞 - [pinyin]fei1 wu3[/pinyin] - Flitter, dance in the breeze\r\n小精灵 - [pinyin]xiao3 jing1 ling2[/pinyin] - Elf\r\n舞姿 - [pinyin]wu3 zi1[/pinyin] - Dancer\'s posture and movement\r\n九霄云外 - [pinyin]jiu3 xiao1 yun2 wai4[/pinyin] - Beyond the topmost clouds [lit: dropped into the clouds and the nine heavens]\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在我生日的时候，朋友送给了我一个小小的“<strong>水晶</strong>瓶”，我非常喜欢它，爱不释手。\r\n\r\n这个“水晶瓶”<strong>一闪一闪</strong>，漂亮极了！在“水晶瓶”里有一只只亮晶晶“水晶球”。那“水晶球”形状<strong>各异</strong>，颜色不一。紫<strong>盈</strong>盈的是星星形的，<strong>黄澄澄</strong>的是足球形的，<strong>红通通</strong>的是皮包形的，<strong>透明</strong>发亮的是<strong>笛子</strong>形的。这些美丽的“水晶球”在<strong>五彩缤纷</strong>的灯光的<strong>映衬</strong>下，显得更<strong>夺目</strong>耀眼。\r\n\r\n在“水晶球”里，有一个小小的“舞台”，在这个<strong>小巧</strong><strong>玲珑</strong>的“舞台”上，有一个“舞蹈家”——水晶娃娃。水晶娃娃的手一晃一晃的，伴随着美妙的音乐，立着<strong>脚尖</strong>旋转起来，多像一个<strong>轻盈飞舞的小精灵</strong>。我看着，看着，沉醉在这优美的<strong>舞姿</strong>当中，我不由自主地也跟它跳起舞来。在这个时候，所有的烦恼全都抛到<strong>九霄云外</strong>去了。\r\n\r\n可是有一次我不知怎么了，突然间不喜欢这个水晶球了，还把他随便放在衣橱里一直到这位好朋友转学了以后才知道它的重要性.\r\n\r\n我喜欢这个“水晶瓶”，因为它陪我渡过了美好的童年，它将一直陪着我走下去……\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nOn my birthday, my friend gave me a little \"crystal bottle\", I really liked it, loved it so much I never wanted to part with it. \r\n\r\nThis \"crystal bottle\" twinkled very beautifully! Inside the crystal bottle, there were shining \"crystal balls\". Those crystal balls were all shaped differently, and were all different colors. The one filled with a purple color was shaped like a star, the glistening yellow one was shaped like a football, the bright red one was shaped like a handbag, the shining clear one was shaped like a flute. These beautiful \"crystal balls\" contrasted with each other in a radiant profusion of light, dazzling to behold.\r\n\r\nInside each of the crystal balls, there was a very small \"dancing stage\" and on each exquisitely small, clinking stage there was a \"dancer\" -- a crystal doll. The crystal dolls\' hands flashed, accompanying wonderful music, and [the dolls] rotated while standing on tiptoe, like graceful little elves dancing in the breeze. I watched and watched, intoxicated by the dancer\'s elegant movements, and I couldn\'t help but begin dancing with them. Whenever I watched them, all of my worries dropped away, vanishing beyond the topmost clouds. \r\n\r\nBut one day, and I don\'t know why, I suddenly no longer liked to look at the crystal balls, and I put them somewhere in my closet, and it was only when that friend moved to a different school that I realized their importance. \r\n\r\nI like this crystal bottle because it was with me as I passed through a beautiful childhood, and it will always be with me as I go through life.\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Crystal Balls - Learning Advanced Colors and Descriptives', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '894-revision-v1', '', '', '2011-11-27 19:38:20', '2011-11-28 00:38:20', '', 894, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/11/27/894-revision-9/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1004, 1, '2016-11-05 00:11:09', '2016-11-05 04:11:09', 'While we\'re busy prepping for our holiday season, I figured I\'d post something about a Chinese holiday. This is a culturally-rich and comfortably intermediate essay describing how one family celebrates the Dragon Boat Festival (端午节 [pinyin]duan1 wu3 jie2[/pinyin]. If you\'re curious what the typical Chinese household does on this late-spring holiday (held on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar), you\'ll love this read. The customs described are quite unlike any holidays in the West.\n\nThe <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duanwu_Festival\">dragon boat festival</a> is held in remembrance of poet Qu Yuan\'s death. Qu Yuan was a faithful servant of his emperor, but was falsely accused of being a traitor. He drowned himself in a river after several decades in exile, but the local people loved him and remember him fondly. Sounds morbid, but actually the festival is a joyous one, where dragon boats are raced on the river (to commemorate the search for Qu Yuan\'s body) and 粽子 [pinyin]zong4 zi5[/pinyin] (boiled triangular rice balls wrapped in leaves) are eaten (when he died, it\'s said that 粽子 were thrown into the river to feed him in the afterlife - other stories have it that people threw 粽子 into the river to keep the fish from eating his body before they could find it).\n\nA couple of words in this essay are not in the dictionary, and need explaining: namely 艾香. I this case, 艾香 [pinyin]ai4 xiang1[/pinyin] means \"the smell of wormwood\", and it refers to the smell produced by bouquets of wormwood (艾草) that people hang on their door during the Dragon Boat Festival to drive away bad luck.Another word here is 雄黄酒, something that I\'ve seen but never tried, and while there is an English word for this, I\'ve never heard this spoken in English. 雄黄酒 is \"realgar wine\", whatever the heck realgar is. If you\'re curious, <a href=\"http://english.sina.com/life/p/2009/0527/244239.html\">this article</a> has more information on realgar wine and it\'s association with the Dragon Boat Festival. \n\nAnd finally, there\'s 趟露水, literally \"to wade in the dew\", and it refers to (what I think is a) regional custom of going out on an early morning walk and anointing one\'s face with dew drops. And without further adew (har!), the Chinese title of this essay is 我家的端午节.\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n今天是<strong>端午节</strong>，我们一家人五点就起床，按照习俗上山去趟露水。一路上我用双手捧起晶莹的露珠往眼睛上抹，一时间我觉得眼睛好像亮了好多。直到坐在教室读书时还觉得眼睛特别亮，什么字都能看清楚。\n\n放学后，我撒开腿就往家里跑。刚到门口就闻到粽子香，一进门就看见爸爸做了一桌子好菜专门等我回家吃。我洗过手来到饭桌前，先给爸爸妈妈一人解了一个粽子，撒上白糖，然后给我自己解了一个漂亮的三角粽子，撒上白糖就津津有味地吃起来。饭桌上，我们一家边吃边聊，屋子里充满了端午节的快乐气氛，弥漫着>香喷喷的粽子味和浓浓的<strong>艾香</strong>。\n\n吃完饭，妈妈给我耳朵上抹了雄黄酒，给我嘴上摸了唇膏，给我手腕上戴了红线绳，把我打扮得和粽子一样香，就让我到学校去学习。\n\n我爱吃粽子，爱过端午节，爱享受节日的欢乐气氛。\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nToday is the Dragon Boat Festival, my family got out of bed at 5:00, and in accordance with local customs, when up the mountain to wade in the dew. On the road, I used both hands to cup sparkling dewdrops and smear them on my eyes, for a moment I felt as if they [my eyes] were considerably brightened. I felt they remained extremely bright as I sat in the classroom and read books; I could see every word clearly. \n\nWhen school let out, I let my legs loose and ran towards home. As soon as I reached the door I could smell the scent of zongzi, and as I entered I saw my father had made a whole table of delicious food that was just waiting for me to come home and eat it. I washed my hands and went to the dining table, first I broke open one zongzi each for father and mother and sprinkled them with white sugar, then I broke open a beautiful triangular zongzi for myself, sprinkled it with white sugar and heartily began eating.  At the dining table, our family ate and chatted, the woom was full of Dragon Boat Festival good cheer, suffused with the savory smell of zongzi and thick with the smell of wormwood.\n\nAfter we\'d had eaten, mother spread realgar wine on my ears, put lipstick on my lips, placed [bracelets of] red rope around my wrists, and made sure I smelled as sweetly as a zongzi, then sent me off back to school to study. \n\nI love eating zongzi, I loved the Dragon Boat Festival, and I love enjoying the holiday cheer. \n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Essays] My Family\'s Dragon Boat Festival', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '940-autosave-v1', '', '', '2016-11-05 00:11:09', '2016-11-05 04:11:09', '', 940, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/12/12/940-autosave/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2148, 1, '2016-11-05 00:12:05', '2016-11-05 04:12:05', '', 'Practice Reading Chinese - Easy Intermediate Chinese Reader', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'dragon-boat-festival-chinese-essays', '', '', '2016-11-05 00:12:49', '2016-11-05 04:12:49', '', 940, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/dragon-boat-festival-chinese-essays.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1005, 1, '2011-11-29 20:38:09', '2011-11-30 01:38:09', '[two_third]\r\nWhile we\'re busy prepping for our holiday season, I figured I\'d post something about a Chinese holiday. This is a culturally-rich and comfortably intermediate essay describing how one family celebrates the Dragon Boat Festival (端午节 [pinyin]duan1 wu3 jie2[/pinyin]. If you\'re curious what the typical Chinese household does on this late-spring holiday (held on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese lunar calendar), you\'ll love this read. The customs described are quite unlike any holidays in the West. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/20111220-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Practice Reading Chinese - Easy Intermediate Chinese Reader\" title=\"Practice Reading Chinese - Easy Intermediate Chinese Reader\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignnone\" />The <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duanwu_Festival\">dragon boat festival</a> is held in remembrance of poet Qu Yuan\'s death. Qu Yuan was a faithful servant of his emperor, but was falsely accused of being a traitor. He drowned himself in a river after several decades in exile, but the local people loved him and remember him fondly. Sounds morbid, but actually the festival is a joyous one, where dragon boats are raced on the river (to commemorate the search for Qu Yuan\'s body) and 粽子 [pinyin]zong4 zi5[/pinyin] (boiled triangular rice balls wrapped in leaves) are eaten (when he died, it\'s said that 粽子 were thrown into the river to feed him in the afterlife - other stories have it that people threw 粽子 into the river to keep the fish from eating his body before they could find it).\r\n\r\nA couple of words in this essay are not in the dictionary, and need explaining: namely 艾香. I this case, 艾香 [pinyin]ai4 xiang1[/pinyin] means \"the smell of wormwood\", and it refers to the smell produced by bouquets of wormwood (艾草) that people hang on their door during the Dragon Boat Festival to drive away bad luck.\r\n\r\nAnother word here is 雄黄酒, something that I\'ve seen but never tried, and while there is an English word for this, I\'ve never heard this spoken in English. 雄黄酒 is \"realgar wine\", whatever the heck realgar is. If you\'re curious, <a href=\"http://english.sina.com/life/p/2009/0527/244239.html\">this article</a> has more information on realgar wine and it\'s association with the Dragon Boat Festival. \r\n\r\nAnd finally, there\'s 趟露水, literally \"to wade in the dew\", and it refers to (what I think is a) regional custom of going out on an early morning walk and anointing one\'s face with dew drops. And without further adew (har!), the Chinese title of this essay is 我家的端午节.\r\n\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习俗 - [pinyin]xi2 su2[/pinyin] - Custom, local tradition\r\n捧 - [pinyin]peng3[/pinyin] - To cup in the hands\r\n晶莹 - [pinyin]jing1 ying2[/pinyin] - Sparkling and translucent\r\n露珠 - [pinyin]lu4 zhu1[/pinyin] - Dewdrop\r\n撒 - [pinyin]sa1[/pinyin] - (definition 1): To let loose, to let fly\r\n解 - [pinyin]jie3[/pinyin] - To break up, divide\r\n撒 - [pinyin]sa3[/pinyin] - (definition 2): To sprinkle\r\n津津有味 - [pinyin]jin1 jin1 you3 wei4[/pinyin] - With relish, with gusto\r\n弥漫 - [pinyin]mi2 man4[/pinyin] - to pervade, be diffused with\r\n香喷喷 - [pinyin]xiang1 pen1 pen1[/pinyin] - Savory\r\n唇膏 - [pinyin]chun2 gao1[/pinyin] - Lipstick\r\n绳 - [pinyin]sheng2[/pinyin] - Rope\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今天是端午节，我们一家人五点就起床，按照<strong>习俗</strong>上山去趟露水。一路上我用双手<strong>捧</strong>起<strong>晶莹</strong>的<strong>露珠</strong>往眼睛上抹，一时间我觉得眼睛好像亮了好多。直到坐在教室读书时还觉得眼睛特别亮，什么字都能看清楚。\r\n\r\n放学后，我<strong>撒</strong>开腿就往家里跑。刚到门口就闻到粽子香，一进门就看见爸爸做了一桌子好菜专门等我回家吃。我洗过手来到饭桌前，先给爸爸妈妈一人<strong>解</strong>了一个粽子，<strong>撒</strong>上白糖，然后给我自己解了一个漂亮的三角粽子，撒上白糖就<strong>津津有味</strong>地吃起来。饭桌上，我们一家边吃边聊，屋子里充满了端午节的快乐气氛，<strong>弥漫</strong>着<strong>香喷喷</strong>的粽子味和浓浓的艾香。\r\n\r\n吃完饭，妈妈给我耳朵上抹了雄黄酒，给我嘴上摸了<strong>唇膏</strong>，给我手腕上戴了红线<strong>绳</strong>，把我打扮得和粽子一样香，就让我到学校去学习。\r\n\r\n我爱吃粽子，爱过端午节，爱享受节日的欢乐气氛。\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nToday is the Dragon Boat Festival, my family got out of bed at 5:00, and in accordance with local customs, when up the mountain to wade in the dew. On the road, I used both hands to cup sparkling dewdrops and smear them on my eyes, for a moment I felt as if they [my eyes] were considerably brightened. I felt they remained extremely bright as I sat in the classroom and read books; I could see every word clearly. \r\n\r\nWhen school let out, I let my legs loose and ran towards home. As soon as I reached the door I could smell the scent of zongzi, and as I entered I saw my father had made a whole table of delicious food that was just waiting for me to come home and eat it. I washed my hands and went to the dining table, first I broke open one zongzi each for father and mother and sprinkled them with white sugar, then I broke open a beautiful triangular zongzi for myself, sprinkled it with white sugar and heartily began eating.  At the dining table, our family ate and chatted, the woom was full of Dragon Boat Festival good cheer, suffused with the savory smell of zongzi and thick with the smell of wormwood.\r\n\r\nAfter we\'d had eaten, mother spread realgar wine on my ears, put lipstick on my lips, placed [bracelets of] red rope around my wrists, and made sure I smelled as sweetly as a zongzi, then sent me off back to school to study. \r\n\r\nI love eating zongzi, I loved the Dragon Boat Festival, and I love enjoying the holiday cheer. \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'My Family\'s Dragon Boat Festival', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '940-revision-v1', '', '', '2011-11-29 20:38:09', '2011-11-30 01:38:09', '', 940, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/11/29/940-revision-4/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1006, 1, '2011-01-22 11:05:38', '2011-01-22 16:05:38', '[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　个哦姐姐发了一封信。　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', 'open', 'open', '', '139-revision-v1', '', '', '2011-01-22 11:05:38', '2011-01-22 16:05:38', '', 139, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/01/22/139-revision-11/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1008, 1, '2012-02-11 00:24:24', '2012-02-11 05:24:24', '[two_third]\nA rather insipid story for very, very young children about a bird, a <!--more-->\n\nI apologize for not posting a while, I\'ve been in the process of - ta da - moving back to China, so life\'s been exciting but busy. On the upside, looks like I\'ll have some interesting new posts from here. \n\nAnyway, 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 as a good word. 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\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n穿 - [pinyin]chuan1[/pinyin] - To put on, wear\n舔 - [pinyin]tian3[/pinyin] - To lick\n仰 - [pinyin]yang3[/pinyin] - To look up, face upwards\n顺口 - [pinyin]shun4 kou3[/pinyin] - To say smoothly, without thinking about it\n于是 - [pinyin]yun2 shi4[/pinyin] - And so..., thus\n低下头 - [pinyin]di1 xia4 tou2[/pinyin] - To lower one\'s head\n耳朵 - [pinyin]er3 duo5[/pinyin] - Ear\n突然 - [pinyin]tu1 ran2[/pinyin] - Suddenly\n脱 - [pinyin]tuo1[/pinyin] - To take off (clothes, shoes, etc.)\n套 - [pinyin]tao4[/pinyin] - To cover something, encase\n差 - [pinyin]cha1[/pinyin] - Be deficient, be missing, a discrepancy\n红脸 - [pinyin]hong2 lian3[/pinyin] - To blush, to turn red\n光 - [pinyin]guang1[/pinyin] - Bare, empty, none\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n一只白鹭在浅浅的池水中站着。\n\n　　一只小刺猬走过，他说: “天哪，这只白鹭怎么没有脑袋！”\n\n　　“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　　“假如我没有了脑袋就不能活了！”小刺猬说。\n\n　　“是啊，可这只鸟还能站着不动，真了不起!”小鼹鼠说。\n\n　　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端端的脑袋。\n\n　　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　　小刺猬和小鼹鼠都笑了，他们说:\n\n　　“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\"]\nAn egret stood in the middle of a flowing pond. \n\nA hedgehog walked up and said, \"Goodness gracious! 一只小刺猬走过，他说: “天哪，这只白鹭怎么没有脑袋！”\n\n　　“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　　“假如我没有了脑袋就不能活了！”小刺猬说。\n\n　　“是啊，可这只鸟还能站着不动，真了不起!”小鼹鼠说。\n\n　　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端端的脑袋。\n\n　　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　　小刺猬和小鼹鼠都笑了，他们说:\n\n　　“是我们没有用脑袋好好想一想，对不起，白鹭姐姐！”\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'The Little Bird with no Head', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1007-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-02-11 00:24:24', '2012-02-11 05:24:24', '', 1007, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/02/11/1007-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1009, 1, '2012-02-11 00:29:01', '2012-02-11 05:29:01', '[two_third]\nI apologize for not posting a month or so, I\'ve been in the process of - ta da - moving back to China, so life\'s been exciting but busy. On the upside, looks like I\'ll have some interesting new posts from here. But today, in place of something interesting, we\'ve got a rather insipid story for young children about a bird who appears to have no head. <!--more-->\n\nNot 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\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n穿 - [pinyin]chuan1[/pinyin] - To put on, wear\n舔 - [pinyin]tian3[/pinyin] - To lick\n仰 - [pinyin]yang3[/pinyin] - To look up, face upwards\n顺口 - [pinyin]shun4 kou3[/pinyin] - To say smoothly, without thinking about it\n于是 - [pinyin]yun2 shi4[/pinyin] - And so..., thus\n低下头 - [pinyin]di1 xia4 tou2[/pinyin] - To lower one\'s head\n耳朵 - [pinyin]er3 duo5[/pinyin] - Ear\n突然 - [pinyin]tu1 ran2[/pinyin] - Suddenly\n脱 - [pinyin]tuo1[/pinyin] - To take off (clothes, shoes, etc.)\n套 - [pinyin]tao4[/pinyin] - To cover something, encase\n差 - [pinyin]cha1[/pinyin] - Be deficient, be missing, a discrepancy\n红脸 - [pinyin]hong2 lian3[/pinyin] - To blush, to turn red\n光 - [pinyin]guang1[/pinyin] - Bare, empty, none\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n一只白鹭在浅浅的池水中站着。\n\n　　一只小刺猬走过，他说: “天哪，这只白鹭怎么没有脑袋！”\n\n　　“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　　“假如我没有了脑袋就不能活了！”小刺猬说。\n\n　　“是啊，可这只鸟还能站着不动，真了不起!”小鼹鼠说。\n\n　　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端端的脑袋。\n\n　　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　　小刺猬和小鼹鼠都笑了，他们说:\n\n　　“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\"]\nAn egret stood in the middle of a flowing pond. \n\nA hedgehog walked up and said, \"Goodness gracious! 一只小刺猬走过，他说: “天哪，这只白鹭怎么没有脑袋！”\n\n　　“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　　“假如我没有了脑袋就不能活了！”小刺猬说。\n\n　　“是啊，可这只鸟还能站着不动，真了不起!”小鼹鼠说。\n\n　　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端端的脑袋。\n\n　　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　　小刺猬和小鼹鼠都笑了，他们说:\n\n　　“是我们没有用脑袋好好想一想，对不起，白鹭姐姐！”\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'The Little Bird with no Head', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1007-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-02-11 00:29:01', '2012-02-11 05:29:01', '', 1007, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/02/11/1007-revision-2/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1010, 1, '2012-02-12 01:33:06', '2012-02-12 06:33:06', '[two_third]\nI apologize for not posting a month or so, I\'ve been in the process of - ta da - moving back to China, so life\'s been exciting but busy. On the upside, looks like I\'ll have some interesting new posts from here. But today, in place of something interesting, we\'ve got a slightly insipid story for young children about a bird who appears to have no head. <!--more-->\n\nNot 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\n\n\n\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n白鹭 - [pinyin]chuan1[/pinyin] - To put on, wear\n浅浅 - [pinyin]tian3[/pinyin] - To lick\n池 - [pinyin]yang3[/pinyin] - To look up, face upwards\n刺猬 - [pinyin]shun4 kou3[/pinyin] - To say smoothly, without thinking about it\n脑袋 - [pinyin]yun2 shi4[/pinyin] - And so..., thus\n鼹鼠 - [pinyin]di1 xia4 tou2[/pinyin] - To lower one\'s head\n假如 - [pinyin]er3 duo5[/pinyin] - Ear\n突然 - [pinyin]tu1 ran2[/pinyin] - Suddenly\n脱 - [pinyin]tuo1[/pinyin] - To take off (clothes, shoes, etc.)\n套 - [pinyin]tao4[/pinyin] - To cover something, encase\n差 - [pinyin]cha1[/pinyin] - Be deficient, be missing, a discrepancy\n红脸 - [pinyin]hong2 lian3[/pinyin] - To blush, to turn red\n光 - [pinyin]guang1[/pinyin] - Bare, empty, none\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n一只<strong>白鹭</strong>在<strong>浅浅</strong>的<strong>池</strong>水中站着。\n\n一只小<strong>刺猬</strong>走过，他说: “天哪，这只白鹭怎么没有<strong>脑袋</strong>！”\n\n“真的！”一只小<strong>鼹鼠</strong>也叫了起来，“没有脑袋的鸟，我第一次看到!”\n\n“<strong>假如</strong>我没有了脑袋就不能活了！”小刺猬说。\n\n“是啊，可这只鸟还能站着不动，真了不起!”小鼹鼠说。\n\n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端端的脑袋。\n\n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小刺猬和小鼹鼠都笑了，他们说:\n\n“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\"]\nAn egret stood in the middle of a flowing pond. \n\nA hedgehog walked up and said, \"Goodness gracious! Somehow, that egret has no head!\" \n\n\"Really!\" a little mole also cried out, \"This is the first time I\'ve seen a bird without a head!\"　　\n\n\"If I didn\'t have a head, I wouldn\'t be able to live!\" the little hedgehog said.　　\n\n\"Yes, but this bird can still stand there not moving, how very impressive!\"　　\n\nAt 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\nSmiling, 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\nThe little hedgehog and the little mole smiled, and they said:　　\n\n\"It was us that weren\'t using our heads to think, sorry Sister Egret!\"　　\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'The Little Bird with no Head', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1007-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-02-12 01:33:06', '2012-02-12 06:33:06', '', 1007, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/02/12/1007-revision-3/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1013, 1, '2012-02-12 01:41:36', '2012-02-12 06:41:36', '', 'Easy Beginner Chinese Reading Passage: The Little Bird with No Head', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '20120212', '', '', '2012-02-12 01:41:36', '2012-02-12 06:41:36', '', 1007, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/20120212.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1011, 1, '2012-02-12 01:33:37', '2012-02-12 06:33:37', '[two_third]\r\nI apologize for not posting a month or so, I\'ve been in the process of - ta da - moving back to China, so life\'s been exciting but busy. On the upside, looks like I\'ll have some interesting new posts from here. But today, in place of something interesting, we\'ve got a slightly insipid story for young children about a bird who appears to have no head. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nNot 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\".\r\n\r\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:\r\n\r\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.\r\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.\r\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.\r\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.\r\n\r\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>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\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白鹭 - [pinyin]chuan1[/pinyin] - To put on, wear\r\n浅浅 - [pinyin]tian3[/pinyin] - To lick\r\n池 - [pinyin]yang3[/pinyin] - To look up, face upwards\r\n刺猬 - [pinyin]shun4 kou3[/pinyin] - To say smoothly, without thinking about it\r\n脑袋 - [pinyin]yun2 shi4[/pinyin] - And so..., thus\r\n鼹鼠 - [pinyin]di1 xia4 tou2[/pinyin] - To lower one\'s head\r\n假如 - [pinyin]er3 duo5[/pinyin] - Ear\r\n突然 - [pinyin]tu1 ran2[/pinyin] - Suddenly\r\n脱 - [pinyin]tuo1[/pinyin] - To take off (clothes, shoes, etc.)\r\n套 - [pinyin]tao4[/pinyin] - To cover something, encase\r\n差 - [pinyin]cha1[/pinyin] - Be deficient, be missing, a discrepancy\r\n红脸 - [pinyin]hong2 lian3[/pinyin] - To blush, to turn red\r\n光 - [pinyin]guang1[/pinyin] - Bare, empty, none\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一只<strong>白鹭</strong>在<strong>浅浅</strong>的<strong>池</strong>水中站着。\r\n\r\n一只小<strong>刺猬</strong>走过，他说: “天哪，这只白鹭怎么没有<strong>脑袋</strong>！”\r\n\r\n“真的！”一只小<strong>鼹鼠</strong>也叫了起来，“没有脑袋的鸟，我第一次看到!”\r\n\r\n“<strong>假如</strong>我没有了脑袋就不能活了！”小刺猬说。\r\n\r\n“是啊，可这只鸟还能站着不动，真了不起!”小鼹鼠说。\r\n\r\n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端端的脑袋。\r\n\r\n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?”\r\n\r\n小刺猬和小鼹鼠都笑了，他们说:\r\n\r\n“是我们没有用脑袋好好想一想，对不起，白鹭姐姐！”\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nAn egret stood in the middle of a flowing pond. \r\n\r\nA hedgehog walked up and said, \"Goodness gracious! Somehow, that egret has no head!\" \r\n\r\n\"Really!\" a little mole also cried out, \"This is the first time I\'ve seen a bird without a head!\"　　\r\n\r\n\"If I didn\'t have a head, I wouldn\'t be able to live!\" the little hedgehog said.　　\r\n\r\n\"Yes, but this bird can still stand there not moving, how very impressive!\"　　\r\n\r\nAt 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.　　\r\n\r\nSmiling, 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?\"　　\r\n\r\nThe little hedgehog and the little mole smiled, and they said:　　\r\n\r\n\"It was us that weren\'t using our heads to think, sorry Sister Egret!\"　　\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'The Little Bird with no Head', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1007-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-02-12 01:33:37', '2012-02-12 06:33:37', '', 1007, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/02/12/1007-revision-4/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1012, 1, '2012-02-12 01:33:46', '2012-02-12 06:33:46', '[two_third]\r\nI apologize for not posting a month or so, I\'ve been in the process of - ta da - moving back to China, so life\'s been exciting but busy. On the upside, looks like I\'ll have some interesting new posts from here. But today, in place of something interesting, we\'ve got a slightly insipid story for young children about a bird who appears to have no head. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nNot 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\".\r\n\r\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:\r\n\r\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.\r\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.\r\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.\r\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.\r\n\r\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>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\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白鹭 - [pinyin]chuan1[/pinyin] - To put on, wear\r\n浅浅 - [pinyin]tian3[/pinyin] - To lick\r\n池 - [pinyin]yang3[/pinyin] - To look up, face upwards\r\n刺猬 - [pinyin]shun4 kou3[/pinyin] - To say smoothly, without thinking about it\r\n脑袋 - [pinyin]yun2 shi4[/pinyin] - And so..., thus\r\n鼹鼠 - [pinyin]di1 xia4 tou2[/pinyin] - To lower one\'s head\r\n假如 - [pinyin]er3 duo5[/pinyin] - Ear\r\n突然 - [pinyin]tu1 ran2[/pinyin] - Suddenly\r\n脱 - [pinyin]tuo1[/pinyin] - To take off (clothes, shoes, etc.)\r\n套 - [pinyin]tao4[/pinyin] - To cover something, encase\r\n差 - [pinyin]cha1[/pinyin] - Be deficient, be missing, a discrepancy\r\n红脸 - [pinyin]hong2 lian3[/pinyin] - To blush, to turn red\r\n光 - [pinyin]guang1[/pinyin] - Bare, empty, none\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一只<strong>白鹭</strong>在<strong>浅浅</strong>的<strong>池</strong>水中站着。\r\n\r\n一只小<strong>刺猬</strong>走过，他说: “天哪，这只白鹭怎么没有<strong>脑袋</strong>！”\r\n\r\n“真的！”一只小<strong>鼹鼠</strong>也叫了起来，“没有脑袋的鸟，我第一次看到!”\r\n\r\n“<strong>假如</strong>我没有了脑袋就不能活了！”小刺猬说。\r\n\r\n“是啊，可这只鸟还能站着不动，真了不起!”小鼹鼠说。\r\n\r\n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端端的脑袋。\r\n\r\n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?”\r\n\r\n小刺猬和小鼹鼠都笑了，他们说:\r\n\r\n“是我们没有用脑袋好好想一想，对不起，白鹭姐姐！”\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nAn egret stood in the middle of a flowing pond. \r\n\r\nA hedgehog walked up and said, \"Goodness gracious! Somehow, that egret has no head!\" \r\n\r\n\"Really!\" a little mole also cried out, \"This is the first time I\'ve seen a bird without a head!\"　　\r\n\r\n\"If I didn\'t have a head, I wouldn\'t be able to live!\" the little hedgehog said.　　\r\n\r\n\"Yes, but this bird can still stand there not moving, how very impressive!\"　　\r\n\r\nAt 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.　　\r\n\r\nSmiling, 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?\"　　\r\n\r\nThe little hedgehog and the little mole smiled, and they said:　　\r\n\r\n\"It was us that weren\'t using our heads to think, sorry Sister Egret!\"　　\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'The Little Bird with no Head', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1007-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-02-12 01:33:46', '2012-02-12 06:33:46', '', 1007, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/02/12/1007-revision-5/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1014, 1, '2012-02-12 01:42:43', '2012-02-12 06:42:43', '', 'Easy Beginner Chinese Reading Passage: The Little Bird with No Head', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '20120212-inline', '', '', '2012-02-12 01:42:43', '2012-02-12 06:42:43', '', 1007, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/20120212-INLINE.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0);
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(1015, 1, '2012-02-12 01:37:16', '2012-02-12 06:37:16', '[two_third]\r\nI apologize for not posting a month or so, I\'ve been in the process of - ta da - moving back to China, so life\'s been exciting but busy. On the upside, looks like I\'ll have some interesting new posts from here. But today, in place of something interesting, we\'ve got a slightly insipid story for young children about a bird who appears to have no head. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nNot 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\".\r\n\r\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:\r\n\r\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.\r\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.\r\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.\r\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.\r\n\r\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>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\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白鹭 - [pinyin]bai2 lu4[/pinyin] - Egret\r\n浅浅 - [pinyin]jian1 jian1[/pinyin] - Sound of running water\r\n池 - [pinyin]chi2[/pinyin] - Pond\r\n刺猬 - [pinyin]ci4 wei4[/pinyin] - Hedgehog\r\n脑袋 - [pinyin]nao3 dai4[/pinyin] - Head, skull, brains\r\n鼹鼠 - [pinyin]yan3 shu3[/pinyin] - Mole (animal)\r\n假如 - [pinyin]jia3 ru2[/pinyin] - If\r\n翅膀 - [pinyin]chi4 bang3[/pinyin] - Wing\r\n伸出 - [pinyin]shen1 chu1[/pinyin] - To stretch out\r\n梳理 - [pinyin]shu1 li3[/pinyin] - To comb out, untangle\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一只<strong>白鹭</strong>在<strong>浅浅</strong>的<strong>池</strong>水中站着。\r\n\r\n一只小<strong>刺猬</strong>走过，他说: “天哪，这只白鹭怎么没有<strong>脑袋</strong>！”\r\n\r\n“真的！”一只小<strong>鼹鼠</strong>也叫了起来，“没有脑袋的鸟，我第一次看到!”\r\n\r\n“<strong>假如</strong>我没有了脑袋就不能活了！”小刺猬说。\r\n\r\n“是啊，可这只鸟还能站着不动，真了不起!”小鼹鼠说。\r\n\r\n这时，白鹭从她那<strong>翅膀</strong>底下，<strong>伸出</strong>了长脖子，长脖子上长着一颗好端端的脑袋。\r\n\r\n白鹭笑着说: “我是把脑袋钻进翅膀底下，<strong>梳理</strong>梳理羽毛，我怎么是没有脑袋的鸟呢?”\r\n\r\n小刺猬和小鼹鼠都笑了，他们说:\r\n\r\n“是我们没有用脑袋好好想一想，对不起，白鹭姐姐！”\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nAn egret stood in the middle of a flowing pond. \r\n\r\nA hedgehog walked up and said, \"Goodness gracious! Somehow, that egret has no head!\" \r\n\r\n\"Really!\" a little mole also cried out, \"This is the first time I\'ve seen a bird without a head!\"　　\r\n\r\n\"If I didn\'t have a head, I wouldn\'t be able to live!\" the little hedgehog said.　　\r\n\r\n\"Yes, but this bird can still stand there not moving, how very impressive!\"　　\r\n\r\nAt 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.　　\r\n\r\nSmiling, 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?\"　　\r\n\r\nThe little hedgehog and the little mole smiled, and they said:　　\r\n\r\n\"It was us that weren\'t using our heads to think, sorry Sister Egret!\"　　\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'The Little Bird with no Head', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1007-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-02-12 01:37:16', '2012-02-12 06:37:16', '', 1007, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/02/12/1007-revision-6/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1025, 1, '2012-03-17 00:25:10', '2012-03-17 04:25:10', 'This paragraph introduces \"Punk Times Magazine\", and talks a little about its importance in influencing Chinese alternative youth culture. \"Punk Times\" is 朋克时代 [pinyin]peng2 ke4 shi2 dai4[/pinyin]. Though this is definitely a magazine, it looks like it also came with a CD, as there\'s a track listing that goes with it. It\'s my understanding that along with two other Chinese music magazines 《盛事摇滚》 [pinyin]sheng4 shi4 yao2 gun3[/pinyin] and 《自由音乐》[pinyin]zi4 you2 yin1 yue4[/pinyin], 朋克时代 is among the cannon of alternative music publications in China (or as one netizen put it, \"这三本小册子已成经典\" - \"these three booklets have already become classics\"). \r\n\r\n<h3>The Language of Rebellion</h3>\r\nHoo-ey, look at the angry teen vocabulary in this post: \r\n\r\n摇滚 - [pinyin]yao2 gun3[/pinyin] - Rock (rock\'n\'roll)\r\n铭记 - [pinyin]ming2 ji4[/pinyin] - Engrave in one\'s mind\r\n掀起 - [pinyin]xian1 qi3[/pinyin] - To set off (to set off a reaction or commotion, for example)\r\n风暴 - [pinyin]feng1 bao4[/pinyin] - Violent commotion\r\n颠覆性 - [pinyin]dian1 fu4 xing4[/pinyin] - Subversive\r\n反抗 - [pinyin]fan3 kang4[/pinyin] - To rebel\r\n义无返顾 - [pinyin]yi4 wu2 fan3 gu4[/pinyin] - No looking back\r\n燃烧 - [pinyin]ran2 shao1[/pinyin] - Ignite, combust\r\n\r\nThe original is here: <a href=\"http://music.douban.com/subject/3437383/\">http://music.douban.com/subject/3437383/</a>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\r\n1998年绝对是中国<strong>摇滚</strong>乐历史上最值得<strong>铭记</strong>的一年，这一年出现了一本之前没有过、之后也没谁能超越过的摇滚文化杂志: 《朋克时代》。它所<strong>掀起</strong>的平民音乐<strong>风暴</strong>对整个上个世纪末的国内摇滚艺术界是具有<strong>颠覆性</strong>作用的，它第一次将音乐杂志的内容引入了<strong>反抗</strong>现实意识的领域。在当时不知有多少青年被这本杂志带进了真正的摇滚世界中，并<strong>义无返顾</strong>的抄起吉它，用音乐<strong>燃烧</strong>着青春。\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n1998 was absolutely the year in Chinese rock history to be engraved in your mind, as this is the year that music culture magazine \"Punk Times\" was first published, [a magazine] whose like hadn\'t been seen before, and it has never since been surpassed. It set off a civilian firestorm which had a subversive impact on China\'s art world towards the end of the last century, as it was the first time a music magazine\'s content introduced the spirit of rebellion into the sphere of popular consciousness. At that time, the magazine brought untold numbers of youths into the world of real rock, and [untold numbers] picked up the guitar without looking back, using music to ignite the young.  \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Magazines] 《朋克时代》Punk Times', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'punk-times-magazine', '', '', '2016-11-08 05:36:21', '2016-11-08 10:36:21', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1025', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(2119, 1, '2016-11-04 23:18:14', '2016-11-05 03:18:14', '[two_third]\r\nThis paragraph introduces \"Punk Times Magazine\", and talks a little about its importance in influencing Chinese alternative youth culture. \"Punk Times\" is 朋克时代 [pinyin]peng2 ke4 shi2 dai4[/pinyin]. Though this is definitely a magazine, it looks like it also came with a CD, as there\'s a track listing that goes with it. It\'s my understanding that along with two other Chinese music magazines 《盛事摇滚》 [pinyin]sheng4 shi4 yao2 gun3[/pinyin] and 《自由音乐》[pinyin]zi4 you2 yin1 yue4[/pinyin], 朋克时代 is among the cannon of alternative music publications in China (or as one netizen put it, \"这三本小册子已成经典\" - \"these three booklets have already become classics\"). \r\n\r\n<h3>The Language of Rebellion</h3>\r\nHoo-ey, look at the angry teen vocabulary in this post: \r\n\r\n摇滚 - [pinyin]yao2 gun3[/pinyin] - Rock (rock\'n\'roll)\r\n铭记 - [pinyin]ming2 ji4[/pinyin] - Engrave in one\'s mind\r\n掀起 - [pinyin]xian1 qi3[/pinyin] - To set off (to set off a reaction or commotion, for example)\r\n风暴 - [pinyin]feng1 bao4[/pinyin] - Violent commotion\r\n颠覆性 - [pinyin]dian1 fu4 xing4[/pinyin] - Subversive\r\n反抗 - [pinyin]fan3 kang4[/pinyin] - To rebel\r\n义无返顾 - [pinyin]yi4 wu2 fan3 gu4[/pinyin] - No looking back\r\n燃烧 - [pinyin]ran2 shao1[/pinyin] - Ignite, combust\r\n\r\nThe original is here: <a href=\"http://music.douban.com/subject/3437383/\">http://music.douban.com/subject/3437383/</a>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\r\n1998年绝对是中国<strong>摇滚</strong>乐历史上最值得<strong>铭记</strong>的一年，这一年出现了一本之前没有过、之后也没谁能超越过的摇滚文化杂志: 《朋克时代》。它所<strong>掀起</strong>的平民音乐<strong>风暴</strong>对整个上个世纪末的国内摇滚艺术界是具有<strong>颠覆性</strong>作用的，它第一次将音乐杂志的内容引入了<strong>反抗</strong>现实意识的领域。在当时不知有多少青年被这本杂志带进了真正的摇滚世界中，并<strong>义无返顾</strong>的抄起吉它，用音乐<strong>燃烧</strong>着青春。\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n1998 was absolutely the year in Chinese rock history to be engraved in your mind, as this is the year that music culture magazine \"Punk Times\" was first published, [a magazine] whose like hadn\'t been seen before, and it has never since been surpassed. It set off a civilian firestorm which had a subversive impact on China\'s art world towards the end of the last century, as it was the first time a music magazine\'s content introduced the spirit of rebellion into the sphere of popular consciousness. At that time, the magazine brought untold numbers of youths into the world of real rock, and [untold numbers] picked up the guitar without looking back, using music to ignite the young.  \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Magazines] 《朋克时代》Punk Times', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1025-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 23:18:14', '2016-11-05 03:18:14', '', 1025, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1025-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1017, 1, '2012-02-18 07:00:46', '2012-02-18 12:00:46', 'This short paragraph is taken from a China Daily article about weightless rollercoaster (\"rollercoaster\" being translated as 过山车 [pinyin]guo4 shan1 che1[/pinyin] - or \"crossing-the-mountain car\") that may or may not be built. This is a four-paragraph article, I\'m only translating the first paragraph here, if you want to read the rest, <a href=\"http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hqzx/2012-02/11/content_14581576.htm\">the complete article</a> can be found on the China Daily site.\r\n\r\nOne of the fun words in this paragraph is 模拟舱 [pinyin]mo2 ni3 cang1[/pinyin], which means \"simulator\", like a flight simulator. In English, \"simulator\" can refer to anything that simulates, so this could be a combat simulator that\'s really just a video game on a flat panel, but the Chinese word here is more specific. 模拟 means \"simulate\", but 舱 [pinyin]cang1[/pinyin] means a kind of cabin, like an airplane cabin, that you can step into and ride in. \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n1)美国一公司计划打造新型过山车 乘客可体验8秒完全失重\r\n\r\n2) 目前若想体验完全失重的感觉，除非成为一名航天员，或是搭乘失重<strong>模拟舱</strong>，否则这将是一个遥不可及的梦想。近日美国一家设计公司提出了一个新想法，他们计划研发一款能让乘客体验8秒钟完全失重感觉的过山车。如果资金充足，这款新型过山车会在2013年底前与世人见面。\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n1) American Company Plans to Create a New Kind of Rollercoaster Riders can Experience 8 Seconds of Weightlessness\r\n\r\n2) At present, if you want to experience what it feels like to be weightless, you can only become an astronaut or ride in an zero-gravity simulator, otherwise this dream is out of reach. But today, an American design company proposed to research and develop a rollercoaster that would allow passengers to experience weightlessness for 8 seconds.  If there is sufficient capital, this new type of roller coaster would be introduced to the people of the world in late 2013. \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[News in Chinese] Building a Weightless Rollercoaster', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'a-new-kind-of-rollercoaster', '', '', '2016-11-04 23:25:19', '2016-11-05 03:25:19', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1017', 0, 'post', '', 3),
(2123, 1, '2016-11-04 23:25:19', '2016-11-05 03:25:19', 'This short paragraph is taken from a China Daily article about weightless rollercoaster (\"rollercoaster\" being translated as 过山车 [pinyin]guo4 shan1 che1[/pinyin] - or \"crossing-the-mountain car\") that may or may not be built. This is a four-paragraph article, I\'m only translating the first paragraph here, if you want to read the rest, <a href=\"http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hqzx/2012-02/11/content_14581576.htm\">the complete article</a> can be found on the China Daily site.\r\n\r\nOne of the fun words in this paragraph is 模拟舱 [pinyin]mo2 ni3 cang1[/pinyin], which means \"simulator\", like a flight simulator. In English, \"simulator\" can refer to anything that simulates, so this could be a combat simulator that\'s really just a video game on a flat panel, but the Chinese word here is more specific. 模拟 means \"simulate\", but 舱 [pinyin]cang1[/pinyin] means a kind of cabin, like an airplane cabin, that you can step into and ride in. \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n1)美国一公司计划打造新型过山车 乘客可体验8秒完全失重\r\n\r\n2) 目前若想体验完全失重的感觉，除非成为一名航天员，或是搭乘失重<strong>模拟舱</strong>，否则这将是一个遥不可及的梦想。近日美国一家设计公司提出了一个新想法，他们计划研发一款能让乘客体验8秒钟完全失重感觉的过山车。如果资金充足，这款新型过山车会在2013年底前与世人见面。\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n1) American Company Plans to Create a New Kind of Rollercoaster Riders can Experience 8 Seconds of Weightlessness\r\n\r\n2) At present, if you want to experience what it feels like to be weightless, you can only become an astronaut or ride in an zero-gravity simulator, otherwise this dream is out of reach. But today, an American design company proposed to research and develop a rollercoaster that would allow passengers to experience weightlessness for 8 seconds.  If there is sufficient capital, this new type of roller coaster would be introduced to the people of the world in late 2013. \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[News in Chinese] Building a Weightless Rollercoaster', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1017-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 23:25:19', '2016-11-05 03:25:19', '', 1017, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1017-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1018, 1, '2012-02-12 19:58:24', '2012-02-13 00:58:24', '[two_third]\nThis short paragraph is taken from a China Daily article about a new kind of rollercoaster that may or may not be built. \n\nI\'m only translating the first paragraph here, if you want to read the rest, <a href=\"http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hqzx/2012-02/11/content_14581576.htm\">the complete article</a> can be found on the China Daily site.\n\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n白鹭 - [pinyin]bai2 lu4[/pinyin] - Egret\n浅浅 - [pinyin]jian1 jian1[/pinyin] - Sound of running water\n池 - [pinyin]chi2[/pinyin] - Pond\n刺猬 - [pinyin]ci4 wei4[/pinyin] - Hedgehog\n脑袋 - [pinyin]nao3 dai4[/pinyin] - Head, skull, brains\n鼹鼠 - [pinyin]yan3 shu3[/pinyin] - Mole (animal)\n假如 - [pinyin]jia3 ru2[/pinyin] - If\n翅膀 - [pinyin]chi4 bang3[/pinyin] - Wing\n伸出 - [pinyin]shen1 chu1[/pinyin] - To stretch out\n梳理 - [pinyin]shu1 li3[/pinyin] - To comb out, untangle\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n目前若想体验完全失重的感觉，除非成为一名航天员，或是搭乘失重模拟舱，否则这将是一个遥不可及的梦想。近日美国一家设计公司提出了一个新想法，他们计划研发一款能让乘客体验8秒钟完全失重感觉的过山车。如果资金充足，这款新型过山车会在2013年底前与世人见面。\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nAt present, if you want to experience what it feels like to be weightless, you can only become an astronaut or ride in a zero-gravity cabin, otherwise this dream is out of reach. But today, an American design company proposed a new idea, they have a plan to research and develop a rollercoaster that would allow passengers to experience weightlessness for 8 seconds.  If there is sufficient capital, this new type of roller coaster would be introduced to the people of the world in l 目前若想体验完全失重的感觉，除非成为一名航天员，或是搭乘失重模拟舱，否则这将是一个遥不可及的梦想。近日美国一家设计公司提出了一个新想法，他们计划研发一款能让乘客体验8秒钟完全失重感觉的过山车。如果资金充足，这款新型过山车会在2013年底前与世人见面。\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'A new kind of rollercoaster', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1017-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-02-12 19:58:24', '2012-02-13 00:58:24', '', 1017, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/02/12/1017-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1019, 1, '2012-02-12 20:09:59', '2012-02-13 01:09:59', '', '20120218', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '20120218', '', '', '2012-02-12 20:09:59', '2012-02-13 01:09:59', '', 1017, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/20120218.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1020, 1, '2012-02-12 20:10:53', '2012-02-13 01:10:53', '', 'Advanced Chinese News Stories and Reading Exercises', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '20120218-inline', '', '', '2012-02-12 20:10:53', '2012-02-13 01:10:53', '', 1017, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/20120218-INLINE.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1021, 1, '2012-02-12 20:07:51', '2012-02-13 01:07:51', '[two_third]\nThis short paragraph is taken from a China Daily article about a new kind of rollercoaster that may or may not be built. <!--more-->\n\nI\'m only translating the first paragraph here, if you want to read the rest, <a href=\"http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hqzx/2012-02/11/content_14581576.htm\">the complete article</a> can be found on the China Daily site.\n\nOne of the fun words in this paragraph is 模拟舱 [pinyin]mo2 ni3 cang1[/pinyin], which means \"simulator\", like a flight simulator. In English, \"simulator\" can refer to anything that simulates, so this could be a combat simulator that\'s really just a video game on a flat panel, but the Chinese word here is more specific. 模拟 means \"simulate\", but 舱 [pinyin]cang1[/pinyin] means a kind of cabin, like an airplane cabin, that you can step into and ride in. \n\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n失重 - [pinyin]shi1 zhong4[/pinyin] - Weightlessness\n模拟舱 - [pinyin]mo2 ni3 cang1[/pinyin] - Simulator / simulation cabin\n遥不可及 - [pinyin]yao2 bu4 ke3 ji2[/pinyin] - Unattainable\n研发 - [pinyin]yan2 fa1[/pinyin] - Research and development\n过山车 - [pinyin]guo4 shan1 che1[/pinyin] - Rollercoaster\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n目前若想体验完全<strong>失重</strong>的感觉，除非成为一名航天员，或是搭乘失重<strong>模拟舱</strong>，否则这将是一个<strong>遥不可及</strong>的梦想。近日美国一家设计公司提出了一个新想法，他们计划<strong>研发</strong>一款能让乘客体验8秒钟完全失重感觉的<strong>过山车</strong>。如果资金充足，这款新型过山车会在2013年底前与世人见面。\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nAt present, if you want to experience what it feels like to be weightless, you can only become an astronaut or ride in an zero-gravity simulator, otherwise this dream is out of reach. But today, an American design company proposed a new idea, they have a plan to research and develop a rollercoaster that would allow passengers to experience weightlessness for 8 seconds.  If there is sufficient capital, this new type of roller coaster would be introduced to the people of the world in late 2013. \n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'A new kind of rollercoaster', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1017-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-02-12 20:07:51', '2012-02-13 01:07:51', '', 1017, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/02/12/1017-revision-2/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1022, 1, '2012-02-12 01:42:59', '2012-02-12 06:42:59', '[two_third]\r\nI apologize for not posting a month or so, I\'ve been in the process of - ta da - moving back to China, so life\'s been exciting but busy. On the upside, looks like I\'ll have some interesting new posts from here. But today, in place of something interesting, we\'ve got a slightly insipid story for young children about a bird who appears to have no head. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/20120212-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Childrens Beginner Chinese Reading Passage: The Little Bird with No Head\" title=\"Easy Beginner Chinese Reading Passage: The Little Bird with No Head\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder\" />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\".\r\n\r\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:\r\n\r\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.\r\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.\r\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.\r\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.\r\n\r\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>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\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白鹭 - [pinyin]bai2 lu4[/pinyin] - Egret\r\n浅浅 - [pinyin]jian1 jian1[/pinyin] - Sound of running water\r\n池 - [pinyin]chi2[/pinyin] - Pond\r\n刺猬 - [pinyin]ci4 wei4[/pinyin] - Hedgehog\r\n脑袋 - [pinyin]nao3 dai4[/pinyin] - Head, skull, brains\r\n鼹鼠 - [pinyin]yan3 shu3[/pinyin] - Mole (animal)\r\n假如 - [pinyin]jia3 ru2[/pinyin] - If\r\n翅膀 - [pinyin]chi4 bang3[/pinyin] - Wing\r\n伸出 - [pinyin]shen1 chu1[/pinyin] - To stretch out\r\n梳理 - [pinyin]shu1 li3[/pinyin] - To comb out, untangle\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一只<strong>白鹭</strong>在<strong>浅浅</strong>的<strong>池</strong>水中站着。\r\n\r\n一只小<strong>刺猬</strong>走过，他说: “天哪，这只白鹭怎么没有<strong>脑袋</strong>！”\r\n\r\n“真的！”一只小<strong>鼹鼠</strong>也叫了起来，“没有脑袋的鸟，我第一次看到!”\r\n\r\n“<strong>假如</strong>我没有了脑袋就不能活了！”小刺猬说。\r\n\r\n“是啊，可这只鸟还能站着不动，真了不起!”小鼹鼠说。\r\n\r\n这时，白鹭从她那<strong>翅膀</strong>底下，<strong>伸出</strong>了长脖子，长脖子上长着一颗好端端的脑袋。\r\n\r\n白鹭笑着说: “我是把脑袋钻进翅膀底下，<strong>梳理</strong>梳理羽毛，我怎么是没有脑袋的鸟呢?”\r\n\r\n小刺猬和小鼹鼠都笑了，他们说:\r\n\r\n“是我们没有用脑袋好好想一想，对不起，白鹭姐姐！”\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nAn egret stood in the middle of a flowing pond. \r\n\r\nA hedgehog walked up and said, \"Goodness gracious! Somehow, that egret has no head!\" \r\n\r\n\"Really!\" a little mole also cried out, \"This is the first time I\'ve seen a bird without a head!\"　　\r\n\r\n\"If I didn\'t have a head, I wouldn\'t be able to live!\" the little hedgehog said.　　\r\n\r\n\"Yes, but this bird can still stand there not moving, how very impressive!\"　　\r\n\r\nAt 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.　　\r\n\r\nSmiling, 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?\"　　\r\n\r\nThe little hedgehog and the little mole smiled, and they said:　　\r\n\r\n\"It was us that weren\'t using our heads to think, sorry Sister Egret!\"　　\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'The Little Bird with no Head', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1007-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-02-12 01:42:59', '2012-02-12 06:42:59', '', 1007, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/02/12/1007-revision-7/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1023, 1, '2012-02-12 20:11:50', '2012-02-13 01:11:50', '[two_third]\r\nI apologize for not posting a month or so, I\'ve been in the process of - ta da - moving back to China, so life\'s been exciting but busy. On the upside, looks like I\'ll have some interesting new posts from here. But today, in place of something interesting, we\'ve got a slightly insipid story for young children about a bird who appears to have no head. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/20120212-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Childrens Beginner Chinese Reading Passage: The Little Bird with No Head\" title=\"Easy Beginner Chinese Reading Passage: The Little Bird with No Head\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />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\".\r\n\r\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:\r\n\r\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.\r\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.\r\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.\r\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.\r\n\r\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>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\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白鹭 - [pinyin]bai2 lu4[/pinyin] - Egret\r\n浅浅 - [pinyin]jian1 jian1[/pinyin] - Sound of running water\r\n池 - [pinyin]chi2[/pinyin] - Pond\r\n刺猬 - [pinyin]ci4 wei4[/pinyin] - Hedgehog\r\n脑袋 - [pinyin]nao3 dai4[/pinyin] - Head, skull, brains\r\n鼹鼠 - [pinyin]yan3 shu3[/pinyin] - Mole (animal)\r\n假如 - [pinyin]jia3 ru2[/pinyin] - If\r\n翅膀 - [pinyin]chi4 bang3[/pinyin] - Wing\r\n伸出 - [pinyin]shen1 chu1[/pinyin] - To stretch out\r\n梳理 - [pinyin]shu1 li3[/pinyin] - To comb out, untangle\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一只<strong>白鹭</strong>在<strong>浅浅</strong>的<strong>池</strong>水中站着。\r\n\r\n一只小<strong>刺猬</strong>走过，他说: “天哪，这只白鹭怎么没有<strong>脑袋</strong>！”\r\n\r\n“真的！”一只小<strong>鼹鼠</strong>也叫了起来，“没有脑袋的鸟，我第一次看到!”\r\n\r\n“<strong>假如</strong>我没有了脑袋就不能活了！”小刺猬说。\r\n\r\n“是啊，可这只鸟还能站着不动，真了不起!”小鼹鼠说。\r\n\r\n这时，白鹭从她那<strong>翅膀</strong>底下，<strong>伸出</strong>了长脖子，长脖子上长着一颗好端端的脑袋。\r\n\r\n白鹭笑着说: “我是把脑袋钻进翅膀底下，<strong>梳理</strong>梳理羽毛，我怎么是没有脑袋的鸟呢?”\r\n\r\n小刺猬和小鼹鼠都笑了，他们说:\r\n\r\n“是我们没有用脑袋好好想一想，对不起，白鹭姐姐！”\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nAn egret stood in the middle of a flowing pond. \r\n\r\nA hedgehog walked up and said, \"Goodness gracious! Somehow, that egret has no head!\" \r\n\r\n\"Really!\" a little mole also cried out, \"This is the first time I\'ve seen a bird without a head!\"　　\r\n\r\n\"If I didn\'t have a head, I wouldn\'t be able to live!\" the little hedgehog said.　　\r\n\r\n\"Yes, but this bird can still stand there not moving, how very impressive!\"　　\r\n\r\nAt 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.　　\r\n\r\nSmiling, 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?\"　　\r\n\r\nThe little hedgehog and the little mole smiled, and they said:　　\r\n\r\n\"It was us that weren\'t using our heads to think, sorry Sister Egret!\"　　\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'The Little Bird with no Head', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1007-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-02-12 20:11:50', '2012-02-13 01:11:50', '', 1007, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/02/12/1007-revision-8/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1024, 1, '2012-02-12 20:11:20', '2012-02-13 01:11:20', '[two_third]\r\nThis short paragraph is taken from a China Daily article about a new kind of rollercoaster that may or may not be built. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/20120218-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Advanced Chinese News Stories and Reading Practice Passages\" title=\"Advanced Chinese News Stories and Reading Exercises\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />I\'m only translating the first paragraph here, if you want to read the rest, <a href=\"http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hqzx/2012-02/11/content_14581576.htm\">the complete article</a> can be found on the China Daily site.\r\n\r\nOne of the fun words in this paragraph is 模拟舱 [pinyin]mo2 ni3 cang1[/pinyin], which means \"simulator\", like a flight simulator. In English, \"simulator\" can refer to anything that simulates, so this could be a combat simulator that\'s really just a video game on a flat panel, but the Chinese word here is more specific. 模拟 means \"simulate\", but 舱 [pinyin]cang1[/pinyin] means a kind of cabin, like an airplane cabin, that you can step into and ride in. \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失重 - [pinyin]shi1 zhong4[/pinyin] - Weightlessness\r\n模拟舱 - [pinyin]mo2 ni3 cang1[/pinyin] - Simulator / simulation cabin\r\n遥不可及 - [pinyin]yao2 bu4 ke3 ji2[/pinyin] - Unattainable\r\n研发 - [pinyin]yan2 fa1[/pinyin] - Research and development\r\n过山车 - [pinyin]guo4 shan1 che1[/pinyin] - Rollercoaster\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目前若想体验完全<strong>失重</strong>的感觉，除非成为一名航天员，或是搭乘失重<strong>模拟舱</strong>，否则这将是一个<strong>遥不可及</strong>的梦想。近日美国一家设计公司提出了一个新想法，他们计划<strong>研发</strong>一款能让乘客体验8秒钟完全失重感觉的<strong>过山车</strong>。如果资金充足，这款新型过山车会在2013年底前与世人见面。\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nAt present, if you want to experience what it feels like to be weightless, you can only become an astronaut or ride in an zero-gravity simulator, otherwise this dream is out of reach. But today, an American design company proposed a new idea, they have a plan to research and develop a rollercoaster that would allow passengers to experience weightlessness for 8 seconds.  If there is sufficient capital, this new type of roller coaster would be introduced to the people of the world in late 2013. \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'A new kind of rollercoaster', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1017-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-02-12 20:11:20', '2012-02-13 01:11:20', '', 1017, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/02/12/1017-revision-3/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1026, 1, '2012-03-17 00:04:19', '2012-03-17 04:04:19', '[two_third]\nThis paragraph introduces \"Punk Times Magazine\", and talks a little about its importance in influencing Chinese alternative youth culture. <!--more-->\n\n\"Punk Times\" is 朋克时代 [pinyin]peng2 ke4 shi2 dai4[/pinyin]. Though this is definitely a magazine, it looks like it also came with a CD, as there\'s a track listing that goes with it. It\'s my understanding that along with two other Chinese music magazines 《盛事摇滚》 [pinyin]sheng4 shi4 yao2 gun3[/pinyin] and 《自由音乐》[pinyin]zi4 you2 yin1 yue4[/pinyin], 朋克时代 is among the cannon of alternative music publications in China (or as one netizen put it, \"这三本小册子已成经典\" - \"these three booklets have already become classics\"). \n\nThe original is here: <a href=\"http://music.douban.com/subject/3437383/\">http://music.douban.com/subject/3437383/</a>\n\nIf you feel like doing your own research and you\'re interested in Chinese rock, here are the titles of other Chinese music magazines I dug up over the course of this post:\n《极端音乐》 \n《R&非音乐》 \n\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n失重 - [pinyin]shi1 zhong4[/pinyin] - Weightlessness\n模拟舱 - [pinyin]mo2 ni3 cang1[/pinyin] - Simulator / simulation cabin\n遥不可及 - [pinyin]yao2 bu4 ke3 ji2[/pinyin] - Unattainable\n研发 - [pinyin]yan2 fa1[/pinyin] - Research and development\n过山车 - [pinyin]guo4 shan1 che1[/pinyin] - Rollercoaster\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n1998年绝对是中国摇滚乐历史上最值得铭记的一年，这一年出现了一本之前没有过、之后也没谁能超越过的摇滚文化杂志：《朋克时代》。它所掀起的平民音乐风暴对整个上个世纪末的国内摇滚艺术界是具有颠覆性作用的，它第一次将音乐杂志的内容引入了反抗现实意识的领域。在当时不知有多少青年被这本杂志带进了真正的摇滚世界中，并义无返顾的抄起吉它，用音乐燃烧着青春。\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\n1998 was absolutely the year in Chinese rock history to be engraved in your mind, as this is the year that music culture magazine \"Punk Times\" was first published, [a magazine] whose like hadn\'t been seen before, and it has never since been surpassed. It set off a civilian firestorm which had a subversive impact on China\'s art world towards the end of the last century, as it was the first time a music magazine\'s content introduced the spirit of resistance into the popular consciousness. At that time, the magazine brought untold numbers of youths into the world of real rock, and [untold numbers] picked up the guitar without looking back, using music to ignite the young.  \n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Punk Times Magazine', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1025-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-03-17 00:04:19', '2012-03-17 04:04:19', '', 1025, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/03/17/1025-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1027, 1, '2012-03-17 00:17:22', '2012-03-17 04:17:22', '', 'Practice Reading Chinese: Simplified Chinese Punk Magazine Intro ', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '20120317-inline', '', '', '2012-03-17 00:17:22', '2012-03-17 04:17:22', '', 1025, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/20120317-INLINE.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1028, 1, '2012-03-17 00:24:01', '2012-03-17 04:24:01', '', 'Complex Chinese Reading Passages: Punk Rock in China Translation in English', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '20120317', '', '', '2012-03-17 00:24:01', '2012-03-17 04:24:01', '', 1025, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/20120317.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1029, 1, '2012-03-17 00:18:43', '2012-03-17 04:18:43', '[two_third]\nThis paragraph introduces \"Punk Times Magazine\", and talks a little about its importance in influencing Chinese alternative youth culture. <!--more-->\n\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/20120317-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Practice Reading Chinese: Chinese Alternative Music Magazine Reading Exercises\" title=\"Practice Reading Chinese: Simplified Chinese Punk Magazine Intro \" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />\"Punk Times\" is 朋克时代 [pinyin]peng2 ke4 shi2 dai4[/pinyin]. Though this is definitely a magazine, it looks like it also came with a CD, as there\'s a track listing that goes with it. It\'s my understanding that along with two other Chinese music magazines 《盛事摇滚》 [pinyin]sheng4 shi4 yao2 gun3[/pinyin] and 《自由音乐》[pinyin]zi4 you2 yin1 yue4[/pinyin], 朋克时代 is among the cannon of alternative music publications in China (or as one netizen put it, \"这三本小册子已成经典\" - \"these three booklets have already become classics\"). \n\nThe original is here: <a href=\"http://music.douban.com/subject/3437383/\">http://music.douban.com/subject/3437383/</a>\n\nIf you feel like doing your own research and you\'re interested in Chinese rock, here are the titles of other Chinese music magazines I dug up over the course of this post:\n《极端音乐》 \n《R&非音乐》 \n《重型音乐》 \n\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n摇滚 - [pinyin]yao2 gun3[/pinyin] - Rock (rock\'n\'roll)\n铭记 - [pinyin]ming2 ji4[/pinyin] - Engrave in one\'s mind\n掀起 - [pinyin]xian1 qi3[/pinyin] - To set off (to set off a reaction or commotion, for example)\n风暴 - [pinyin]feng1 bao4[/pinyin] - Violent commotion\n颠覆性 - [pinyin]dian1 fu4 xing4[/pinyin] - Subversive\n反抗 - [pinyin]fan3 kang4[/pinyin] - To rebel\n义无返顾 - [pinyin]yi4 wu2 fan3 gu4[/pinyin] - No looking back\n燃烧 - [pinyin]ran2 shao1[/pinyin] - Ignite, combust\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n1998年绝对是中国<strong>摇滚</strong>乐历史上最值得<strong>铭记</strong>的一年，这一年出现了一本之前没有过、之后也没谁能超越过的摇滚文化杂志: 《朋克时代》。它所<strong>掀起</strong>的平民音乐<strong>风暴</strong>对整个上个世纪末的国内摇滚艺术界是具有<strong>颠覆性</strong>作用的，它第一次将音乐杂志的内容引入了<strong>反抗</strong>现实意识的领域。在当时不知有多少青年被这本杂志带进了真正的摇滚世界中，并<strong>义无返顾</strong>的抄起吉它，用音乐<strong>燃烧</strong>着青春。\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\n1998 was absolutely the year in Chinese rock history to be engraved in your mind, as this is the year that music culture magazine \"Punk Times\" was first published, [a magazine] whose like hadn\'t been seen before, and it has never since been surpassed. It set off a civilian firestorm which had a subversive impact on China\'s art world towards the end of the last century, as it was the first time a music magazine\'s content introduced the spirit of rebellion into the sphere of popular consciousness. At that time, the magazine brought untold numbers of youths into the world of real rock, and [untold numbers] picked up the guitar without looking back, using music to ignite the young.  \n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Punk Times Magazine', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1025-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-03-17 00:18:43', '2012-03-17 04:18:43', '', 1025, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/03/17/1025-revision-2/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
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(1036, 1, '2012-03-23 07:00:22', '2012-03-23 11:00:22', 'This is the backstory behind the Chinese idiom 鹬蚌相争 [pinyin]yu4 bang4 xiang1 zheng1[/pinyin], which translates to \"The Sandpiper and the Clam Fight Each Other\", and means \"Two parties fight and a third party benefits.\" Cool piece - in case it hasn\'t been obvious throughout these posts, I love classical stories about wily government counselors and should probably post about something else on occasion, but so many classical tales involve this trope that it\'s hard to avoid. \r\n\r\nThis piece is cool because - excepting the first sentence - the sentence structure is simple but there are quite a few classical words, so you\'ll learn some historical terms. In case you think this kind of thing isn\'t really useful, think again. Historical figures in the Chinese dynasties are mentioned frequently in the oddest places, and their stories bleed out into every medium. If you\'re at a museum, if you\'re reading Chinese magazines, if you\'re reading Chinese historical essays, if you\'re watching a TV show or book or listening to the radio, you\'ll see mentions of historical dynasties all the time. But most importantly, if you want to watch Chinese war movies or period pieces (and there are some great ones), this vocab is crucial. You might as well know at least when to recognize that the conversation has gone that way.\r\n\r\nThis short story takes place during the Warring States period (475 BC to 221 BC), and mentions three of the seven warring kingdoms of that time, so you\'ll learn some dynasty names: 赵国 [pinyin]zhao4 guo2[/pinyin] (The Zhao State), 燕国 [pinyin]yan1 guo2[/pinyin] (The Yan State), and 秦国 [pinyin]qin2 guo2[/pinyin] (the Qin State). Speaking of dynasties, when you\'re reading this, look out for the word 王[pinyin]wang2[/pinyin] - as you probably know at this point in your studies, 王means \"king\", and when you see that, you can sometimes guess that the two or three characters before this word are the name of the king. Unlike in English, where we say \"King Charles\" or \"King John\", in this case the Chinese put \"king\" after the name. For example, in this story, we have 赵惠文王 - King Huiwen of Zhao (in other words, king of the Zhao state).\r\n\r\nWhat\'s amusing about this story is that in reality, the Qin Dynasty came out on top of the Warring States period and ruled China (well, for a decade or so, anyway) after the Warring States were over - so bear that in mind as you read the last sentence. \r\n\r\nYou\'ll also meet our protagonist 苏代 [pinyin]su1 dai4[/pinyin] - who he is is explained in the first sentence, but suffice to say that 苏代 is a person\'s name. He\'s mentioned in conjunction with 纵横家 [pinyin]zong4 heng2 jia1[/pinyin], the School of Diplomacy, which was a sort of league of scholar-statesmen from the Warring States period. If you\'re interested, you can <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_of_Diplomacy\">read more about it on Wikipedia</a>. \r\n\r\nAnyway, I\'m making this story sound really complicated, but other than the historical terminology, the storyline is not at all convoluted. \r\n\r\nOriginal story is here: <a href=\"http://www.diyifanwen.com/chengyu/sizichengyugushi/20100516141051614035955767805.html\">http://www.diyifanwen.com/chengyu/sizichengyugushi/20100516141051614035955767805.html</a>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n1) 赵国将要讨伐燕国，苏代(战国时策士，纵横家苏秦的弟弟)替燕国游说赵惠文王，讲了如下的寓言故事: \r\n\r\n2) “我来的时候经过易水，恰好看到蚌出来晒太阳。鹬趁机啄蚌的肉，蚌把两扇介壳一闭就夹住了鹬的喙。鹬说:‘今天不下雨，明天不下雨，就有死蚌。’蚌也针锋相对地说: ‘今天不出，明天不出(夹住不放)，就有死鹬。’两者谁也不肯罢休，这时过来一个渔父把两者一起拎走了。”燕赵相对抗，都搞得很疲劳，我恐怕强大的秦国正在扮演渔父的角色，所以希望大王深思熟虑。\r\n\r\n3) 惠文王赞同苏代的意见，停止对燕国用兵。\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 Zhao State was taking up arms against the Yan State, and Su Dai (a military strategist during the Warring States period, and little brother to Su Qin of the School of Diplomacy) traveled to speak with King HuiWen of Zhao on behalf of the Yan State, and he told the following tale: \r\n\r\n2) \"When I was coming here I passed over some gentle water, and by chance I happened to see a clam sunning itself. A sandpiper seized the opportunity to peck at the clam\'s meat, but the clam slammed the two wings of its hard shell shut on the sandpiper\'s beak. The sandpiper said, \'Today it won\'t rain, tomorrow it won\'t rain, and there will be one dead clam!\' The clam gave as good as he got, saying: \'I won\'t come out today, I won\'t come out tomorrow (so your beak won\'t be free), and there will be one dead sandpiper!\' Neither party was willing to give up, and at this time, a fisherman scooped them both up and carried them off. If Yan and Zhao oppose each other, we\'ll both fight ourselves weary. I\'m afraid the strong Qin State is playing the role of the fisherman, so I hope that your majesty will carefully deliberate on this matter.\" \r\n\r\n3) King HuiWen approved of SuDai\'s message, and stopped using armed forces against the Yan State.\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Idioms] 鹬蚌相争 - When you fight amongst yourselves, a third party profits', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'story-behind-the-idiom-yu-bang-xiang-zheng', '', '', '2016-11-04 09:40:54', '2016-11-04 13:40:54', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1036', 0, 'post', '', 4),
(2107, 1, '2016-11-04 09:40:54', '2016-11-04 13:40:54', 'This is the backstory behind the Chinese idiom 鹬蚌相争 [pinyin]yu4 bang4 xiang1 zheng1[/pinyin], which translates to \"The Sandpiper and the Clam Fight Each Other\", and means \"Two parties fight and a third party benefits.\" Cool piece - in case it hasn\'t been obvious throughout these posts, I love classical stories about wily government counselors and should probably post about something else on occasion, but so many classical tales involve this trope that it\'s hard to avoid. \r\n\r\nThis piece is cool because - excepting the first sentence - the sentence structure is simple but there are quite a few classical words, so you\'ll learn some historical terms. In case you think this kind of thing isn\'t really useful, think again. Historical figures in the Chinese dynasties are mentioned frequently in the oddest places, and their stories bleed out into every medium. If you\'re at a museum, if you\'re reading Chinese magazines, if you\'re reading Chinese historical essays, if you\'re watching a TV show or book or listening to the radio, you\'ll see mentions of historical dynasties all the time. But most importantly, if you want to watch Chinese war movies or period pieces (and there are some great ones), this vocab is crucial. You might as well know at least when to recognize that the conversation has gone that way.\r\n\r\nThis short story takes place during the Warring States period (475 BC to 221 BC), and mentions three of the seven warring kingdoms of that time, so you\'ll learn some dynasty names: 赵国 [pinyin]zhao4 guo2[/pinyin] (The Zhao State), 燕国 [pinyin]yan1 guo2[/pinyin] (The Yan State), and 秦国 [pinyin]qin2 guo2[/pinyin] (the Qin State). Speaking of dynasties, when you\'re reading this, look out for the word 王[pinyin]wang2[/pinyin] - as you probably know at this point in your studies, 王means \"king\", and when you see that, you can sometimes guess that the two or three characters before this word are the name of the king. Unlike in English, where we say \"King Charles\" or \"King John\", in this case the Chinese put \"king\" after the name. For example, in this story, we have 赵惠文王 - King Huiwen of Zhao (in other words, king of the Zhao state).\r\n\r\nWhat\'s amusing about this story is that in reality, the Qin Dynasty came out on top of the Warring States period and ruled China (well, for a decade or so, anyway) after the Warring States were over - so bear that in mind as you read the last sentence. \r\n\r\nYou\'ll also meet our protagonist 苏代 [pinyin]su1 dai4[/pinyin] - who he is is explained in the first sentence, but suffice to say that 苏代 is a person\'s name. He\'s mentioned in conjunction with 纵横家 [pinyin]zong4 heng2 jia1[/pinyin], the School of Diplomacy, which was a sort of league of scholar-statesmen from the Warring States period. If you\'re interested, you can <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_of_Diplomacy\">read more about it on Wikipedia</a>. \r\n\r\nAnyway, I\'m making this story sound really complicated, but other than the historical terminology, the storyline is not at all convoluted. \r\n\r\nOriginal story is here: <a href=\"http://www.diyifanwen.com/chengyu/sizichengyugushi/20100516141051614035955767805.html\">http://www.diyifanwen.com/chengyu/sizichengyugushi/20100516141051614035955767805.html</a>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n1) 赵国将要讨伐燕国，苏代(战国时策士，纵横家苏秦的弟弟)替燕国游说赵惠文王，讲了如下的寓言故事: \r\n\r\n2) “我来的时候经过易水，恰好看到蚌出来晒太阳。鹬趁机啄蚌的肉，蚌把两扇介壳一闭就夹住了鹬的喙。鹬说:‘今天不下雨，明天不下雨，就有死蚌。’蚌也针锋相对地说: ‘今天不出，明天不出(夹住不放)，就有死鹬。’两者谁也不肯罢休，这时过来一个渔父把两者一起拎走了。”燕赵相对抗，都搞得很疲劳，我恐怕强大的秦国正在扮演渔父的角色，所以希望大王深思熟虑。\r\n\r\n3) 惠文王赞同苏代的意见，停止对燕国用兵。\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 Zhao State was taking up arms against the Yan State, and Su Dai (a military strategist during the Warring States period, and little brother to Su Qin of the School of Diplomacy) traveled to speak with King HuiWen of Zhao on behalf of the Yan State, and he told the following tale: \r\n\r\n2) \"When I was coming here I passed over some gentle water, and by chance I happened to see a clam sunning itself. A sandpiper seized the opportunity to peck at the clam\'s meat, but the clam slammed the two wings of its hard shell shut on the sandpiper\'s beak. The sandpiper said, \'Today it won\'t rain, tomorrow it won\'t rain, and there will be one dead clam!\' The clam gave as good as he got, saying: \'I won\'t come out today, I won\'t come out tomorrow (so your beak won\'t be free), and there will be one dead sandpiper!\' Neither party was willing to give up, and at this time, a fisherman scooped them both up and carried them off. If Yan and Zhao oppose each other, we\'ll both fight ourselves weary. I\'m afraid the strong Qin State is playing the role of the fisherman, so I hope that your majesty will carefully deliberate on this matter.\" \r\n\r\n3) King HuiWen approved of SuDai\'s message, and stopped using armed forces against the Yan State.\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Idioms] 鹬蚌相争 - When you fight amongst yourselves, a third party profits', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1036-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 09:40:54', '2016-11-04 13:40:54', '', 1036, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1036-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1037, 1, '2012-03-17 02:57:33', '2012-03-17 06:57:33', '[two_third]\nThis is the backstory behind the Chinese idiom 鹬蚌相争 [pinyin]yu4 bang4 xiang1 zheng1[/pinyin], which translates to \"The Sandpiper and the Clam Fight Each Other\", and means \"Two parties fight and a third party benefits.\" <!--more-->\n\nCool upper-intermediate piece - in case it hasn\'t been obvious throughout these posts, I love classical stories about wily government counselors and should probably post about something else on occasion, but so many classical tales involve this trope that it\'s hard to avoid. \n\nThis piece is cool because - excepting the first sentence - the sentence structure is simple but there are quite a few classical words, so you\'ll learn some historical terms. In case you think this kind of thing isn\'t really useful, think again. Historical figures in the Chinese dynasties are mentioned frequently in the oddest places, and their stories bleed out into every medium. If you\'re at a museum, if you\'re reading Chinese magazines, if you\'re reading Chinese historical essays, if you\'re watching a TV show or book or listening to the radio, you\'ll see mentions of historical dynasties all the time. But most importantly, if you want to watch Chinese war movies or period pieces (and there are some great ones), this vocab is crucial. You might as well know at least when to recognize that the conversation has gone that way.\n\nThis short story takes place during the Warring States period (475 BC to 221 BC), and mentions three of the seven warring kingdoms of that time, so you\'ll learn some dynasty names: 赵国 [pinyin]zhao4 guo2[/pinyin] (The Zhao State), 燕国 [pinyin]yan1 guo2[/pinyin] (The Yan State), and 秦国 [pinyin]qin2 guo2[/pinyin] (the Qin State). Speaking of dynasties, when you\'re reading this, look out for the word 王[pinyin]wang2[/pinyin] - as you probably know at this point in your studies, 王means \"king\", and when you see that, you can sometimes guess that the two or three characters before this word are the name of the king. Unlike in English, where we say \"King Charles\" or \"King John\", in this case the Chinese put \"king\" after the name. For example, in this story, we have 赵惠文王 - King Huiwen of Zhao (in other words, king of the Zhao state).\n\nWhat\'s amusing about this story is that in reality, the Qin Dynasty came out on top of the Warring States period and ruled China (well, for a decade or so, anyway) after the Warring States were over - so bear that in mind as you read the last sentence. \n\nYou\'ll also meet our protagonist 苏代 [pinyin]su1 dai4[/pinyin] - who he is is explained in the first sentence, but suffice to say that 苏代 is a person\'s name. He\'s mentioned in conjunction with 纵横家 [pinyin]zong4 heng2 jia1[/pinyin], the School of Diplomacy, which was a sort of league of scholar-statesmen from the Warring States period. If you\'re interested, you can <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_of_Diplomacy\">read more about it on Wikipedia</a>. \n\nAnyway, I\'m making this story sound really complicated, but other than the historical terminology, the storyline is not at all convoluted. \n\nOriginal story is here: <a href=\"http://www.diyifanwen.com/chengyu/sizichengyugushi/20100516141051614035955767805.html\">http://www.diyifanwen.com/chengyu/sizichengyugushi/20100516141051614035955767805.html</a>\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n策士 - [pinyin]ce5 shi1[/pinyin] - Military strategist\n如下 - [pinyin]ru xia[/pinyin] - The following, as follows\n寓言 - [pinyin]yu4 yan2[/pinyin] - Fable\n易水 - [pinyin]yi4 shui3[/pinyin] - Gentle waters\n恰好 - [pinyin]qia4 hao3[/pinyin] - As it happens\n蚌 - [pinyin]bang4[/pinyin] - Clam\n鹬 - [pinyin]yu4[/pinyin] - Sandpiper\n介壳 - [pinyin]jie4 qiao4[/pinyin] - Hard outer shell\n针锋相对 - [pinyin]zhen1 feng1 xiang1 dui4[/pinyin] - Measure for measure, give as good as one gets, fight back just as hard\n两者 - [pinyin]liang3 zhe3[/pinyin] - Both sides\n渔父 - [pinyin]yu4 fu4[/pinyin] - Fisherman\n疲劳 - [pinyin]pi2 lao2[/pinyin] - Weary\n扮演 - [pinyin]ban4 yan3[/pinyin] - To play the role of, as an actor, or person pretending\n深思熟虑 - [pinyin]pi2 lao2[/pinyin] - Weary\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n赵国将要讨伐燕国，苏代(战国时<strong>策士</strong>，纵横家苏秦的弟弟)替燕国游说赵惠文王，讲了<strong>如下</strong>的<strong>寓言</strong>故事: \n\n“我来的时候经过<strong>易水</strong>，<strong>恰好</strong>看到<strong>蚌</strong>出来晒太阳。<strong>鹬</strong>趁机啄蚌的肉，蚌把两扇<strong>介壳</strong>一闭就夹住了鹬的喙。鹬说:‘今天不下雨，明天不下雨，就有死蚌。’蚌也<strong>针锋相对</strong>地说: ‘今天不出，明天不出(夹住不放)，就有死鹬。’<strong>两者</strong>谁也不肯罢休，这时过来一个<strong>渔父</strong>把两者一起拎走了。”燕赵相对抗，都搞得很<strong>疲劳</strong>，我恐怕强大的秦国正在<strong>扮演</strong>渔父的角色，所以希望大王<strong>深思熟虑</strong>。\n\n惠文王赞同苏代的意见，停止对燕国用兵。\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nThe Zhao State was taking up arms against the Yan State, and Su Dai (a military strategist during the Warring States period, and little brother to Su Qin of the School of Diplomacy) traveled to speak with King HuiWen of Zhao on behalf of the Yan State, and he told the following fable: \n\n\"When I was coming here I passed over some gentle water, and by chance I happened to see a clam sunning itself. A sandpiper seized the opportunity to peck at the clam\'s meat, but the clam slammed the two wings of its hard shell shut on the sandpiper\'s beak. The sandpiper said, \'Today it won\'t rain, tomorrow it won\'t rain, and there will be one dead clam!\' The clam gave as good as he got, saying: \'I won\'t come out today, I won\'t come out tomorrow (so your beak won\'t be free), and there will be one dead sandpiper!\' Neither party was willing to give up, and at this time, a fisherman scooped them both up and carried them off. If Yan and Zhao oppose each other, we\'ll both fight ourselves weary. I\'m afraid the strong Qin State is playing the role of the fisherman, so I hope that your majesty will carefully deliberate on this matter.\" \n\nKing HuiWen approved of SuDai\'s message, and stopped using armed forces against the Yan State.\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Story Behind the Idiom: Yu Bang Xiang Zheng', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1036-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-03-17 02:57:33', '2012-03-17 06:57:33', '', 1036, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/03/17/1036-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1038, 1, '2012-03-17 03:00:09', '2012-03-17 07:00:09', '', 'Reading Chinese Short Stories with Translation: Intermediate Reading', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '20110323-inline', '', '', '2012-03-17 03:00:09', '2012-03-17 07:00:09', '', 1036, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/20110323-INLINE.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1039, 1, '2012-03-17 03:01:28', '2012-03-17 07:01:28', '', 'Reading Simplified Mandarin Chinese: Intermediate Chinese Historical Idioms Explained', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '20110323', '', '', '2012-03-17 03:01:28', '2012-03-17 07:01:28', '', 1036, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/20110323.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1040, 1, '2012-03-17 02:58:20', '2012-03-17 06:58:20', '[two_third]\r\nThis is the backstory behind the Chinese idiom 鹬蚌相争 [pinyin]yu4 bang4 xiang1 zheng1[/pinyin], which translates to \"The Sandpiper and the Clam Fight Each Other\", and means \"Two parties fight and a third party benefits.\" <!--more-->\r\n\r\nCool upper-intermediate piece - in case it hasn\'t been obvious throughout these posts, I love classical stories about wily government counselors and should probably post about something else on occasion, but so many classical tales involve this trope that it\'s hard to avoid. \r\n\r\nThis piece is cool because - excepting the first sentence - the sentence structure is simple but there are quite a few classical words, so you\'ll learn some historical terms. In case you think this kind of thing isn\'t really useful, think again. Historical figures in the Chinese dynasties are mentioned frequently in the oddest places, and their stories bleed out into every medium. If you\'re at a museum, if you\'re reading Chinese magazines, if you\'re reading Chinese historical essays, if you\'re watching a TV show or book or listening to the radio, you\'ll see mentions of historical dynasties all the time. But most importantly, if you want to watch Chinese war movies or period pieces (and there are some great ones), this vocab is crucial. You might as well know at least when to recognize that the conversation has gone that way.\r\n\r\nThis short story takes place during the Warring States period (475 BC to 221 BC), and mentions three of the seven warring kingdoms of that time, so you\'ll learn some dynasty names: 赵国 [pinyin]zhao4 guo2[/pinyin] (The Zhao State), 燕国 [pinyin]yan1 guo2[/pinyin] (The Yan State), and 秦国 [pinyin]qin2 guo2[/pinyin] (the Qin State). Speaking of dynasties, when you\'re reading this, look out for the word 王[pinyin]wang2[/pinyin] - as you probably know at this point in your studies, 王means \"king\", and when you see that, you can sometimes guess that the two or three characters before this word are the name of the king. Unlike in English, where we say \"King Charles\" or \"King John\", in this case the Chinese put \"king\" after the name. For example, in this story, we have 赵惠文王 - King Huiwen of Zhao (in other words, king of the Zhao state).\r\n\r\nWhat\'s amusing about this story is that in reality, the Qin Dynasty came out on top of the Warring States period and ruled China (well, for a decade or so, anyway) after the Warring States were over - so bear that in mind as you read the last sentence. \r\n\r\nYou\'ll also meet our protagonist 苏代 [pinyin]su1 dai4[/pinyin] - who he is is explained in the first sentence, but suffice to say that 苏代 is a person\'s name. He\'s mentioned in conjunction with 纵横家 [pinyin]zong4 heng2 jia1[/pinyin], the School of Diplomacy, which was a sort of league of scholar-statesmen from the Warring States period. If you\'re interested, you can <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_of_Diplomacy\">read more about it on Wikipedia</a>. \r\n\r\nAnyway, I\'m making this story sound really complicated, but other than the historical terminology, the storyline is not at all convoluted. \r\n\r\nOriginal story is here: <a href=\"http://www.diyifanwen.com/chengyu/sizichengyugushi/20100516141051614035955767805.html\">http://www.diyifanwen.com/chengyu/sizichengyugushi/20100516141051614035955767805.html</a>\r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\r\n策士 - [pinyin]ce5 shi1[/pinyin] - Military strategist\r\n如下 - [pinyin]ru xia[/pinyin] - The following, as follows\r\n寓言 - [pinyin]yu4 yan2[/pinyin] - Fable\r\n易水 - [pinyin]yi4 shui3[/pinyin] - Gentle waters\r\n恰好 - [pinyin]qia4 hao3[/pinyin] - As it happens\r\n蚌 - [pinyin]bang4[/pinyin] - Clam\r\n鹬 - [pinyin]yu4[/pinyin] - Sandpiper\r\n介壳 - [pinyin]jie4 qiao4[/pinyin] - Hard outer shell\r\n针锋相对 - [pinyin]zhen1 feng1 xiang1 dui4[/pinyin] - Measure for measure, give as good as one gets, fight back just as hard\r\n两者 - [pinyin]liang3 zhe3[/pinyin] - Both sides\r\n渔父 - [pinyin]yu4 fu4[/pinyin] - Fisherman\r\n疲劳 - [pinyin]pi2 lao2[/pinyin] - Weary\r\n扮演 - [pinyin]ban4 yan3[/pinyin] - To play the role of, as an actor, or person pretending\r\n深思熟虑 - [pinyin]shen1 si1 shu2 lv4[/pinyin] - Consider carefully\r\n[/one_third]\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n赵国将要讨伐燕国，苏代(战国时<strong>策士</strong>，纵横家苏秦的弟弟)替燕国游说赵惠文王，讲了<strong>如下</strong>的<strong>寓言</strong>故事: \r\n\r\n“我来的时候经过<strong>易水</strong>，<strong>恰好</strong>看到<strong>蚌</strong>出来晒太阳。<strong>鹬</strong>趁机啄蚌的肉，蚌把两扇<strong>介壳</strong>一闭就夹住了鹬的喙。鹬说:‘今天不下雨，明天不下雨，就有死蚌。’蚌也<strong>针锋相对</strong>地说: ‘今天不出，明天不出(夹住不放)，就有死鹬。’<strong>两者</strong>谁也不肯罢休，这时过来一个<strong>渔父</strong>把两者一起拎走了。”燕赵相对抗，都搞得很<strong>疲劳</strong>，我恐怕强大的秦国正在<strong>扮演</strong>渔父的角色，所以希望大王<strong>深思熟虑</strong>。\r\n\r\n惠文王赞同苏代的意见，停止对燕国用兵。\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nThe Zhao State was taking up arms against the Yan State, and Su Dai (a military strategist during the Warring States period, and little brother to Su Qin of the School of Diplomacy) traveled to speak with King HuiWen of Zhao on behalf of the Yan State, and he told the following fable: \r\n\r\n\"When I was coming here I passed over some gentle water, and by chance I happened to see a clam sunning itself. A sandpiper seized the opportunity to peck at the clam\'s meat, but the clam slammed the two wings of its hard shell shut on the sandpiper\'s beak. The sandpiper said, \'Today it won\'t rain, tomorrow it won\'t rain, and there will be one dead clam!\' The clam gave as good as he got, saying: \'I won\'t come out today, I won\'t come out tomorrow (so your beak won\'t be free), and there will be one dead sandpiper!\' Neither party was willing to give up, and at this time, a fisherman scooped them both up and carried them off. If Yan and Zhao oppose each other, we\'ll both fight ourselves weary. I\'m afraid the strong Qin State is playing the role of the fisherman, so I hope that your majesty will carefully deliberate on this matter.\" \r\n\r\nKing HuiWen approved of SuDai\'s message, and stopped using armed forces against the Yan State.\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Story Behind the Idiom: Yu Bang Xiang Zheng', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1036-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-03-17 02:58:20', '2012-03-17 06:58:20', '', 1036, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/03/17/1036-revision-2/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2117, 1, '2016-11-04 23:15:29', '2016-11-05 03:15:29', '[two_third]\nThis paragraph introduces \"Punk Times Magazine\", and talks a little about its importance in influencing Chinese alternative youth culture. \"Punk Times\" is 朋克时代 [pinyin]peng2 ke4 shi2 dai4[/pinyin]. Though this is definitely a magazine, it looks like it also came with a CD, as there\'s a track listing that goes with it. It\'s my understanding that along with two other Chinese music magazines 《盛事摇滚》 [pinyin]sheng4 shi4 yao2 gun3[/pinyin] and 《自由音乐》[pinyin]zi4 you2 yin1 yue4[/pinyin], 朋克时代 is among the cannon of alternative music publications in China (or as one netizen put it, \"这三本小册子已成经典\" - \"these three booklets have already become classics\"). \n\n<h3>The Language of Rebellion</h3>\nHoo-ey, look at the angry teen vocabulary in this post: \n\n摇滚 - [pinyin]yao2 gun3[/pinyin] - Rock (rock\'n\'roll)\n铭记 - [pinyin]ming2 ji4[/pinyin] - Engrave in one\'s mind\n掀起 - [pinyin]xian1 qi3[/pinyin] - To set off (to set off a reaction or commotion, for example)\n风暴 - [pinyin]feng1 bao4[/pinyin] - Violent commotion\n颠覆性 - [pinyin]dian1 fu4 xing4[/pinyin] - Subversive\n反抗 - [pinyin]fan3 kang4[/pinyin] - To rebel\n义无返顾 - [pinyin]yi4 wu2 fan3 gu4[/pinyin] - No looking back\n燃烧 - [pinyin]ran2 shao1[/pinyin] - Ignite, combust\n\nThe original is here: <a href=\"http://music.douban.com/subject/3437383/\">http://music.douban.com/subject/3437383/</a>\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\n1998年绝对是中国<strong>摇滚</strong>乐历史上最值得<strong>铭记</strong>的一年，这一年出现了一本之前没有过、之后也没谁能超越过的摇滚文化杂志: 《朋克时代》。它所<strong>掀起</strong>的平民音乐<strong>风暴</strong>对整个上个世纪末的国内摇滚艺术界是具有<strong>颠覆性</strong>作用的，它第一次将音乐杂志的内容引入了<strong>反抗</strong>现实意识的领域。在当时不知有多少青年被这本杂志带进了真正的摇滚世界中，并<strong>义无返顾</strong>的抄起吉它，用音乐<strong>燃烧</strong>着青春。\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\n1998 was absolutely the year in Chinese rock history to be engraved in your mind, as this is the year that music culture magazine \"Punk Times\" was first published, [a magazine] whose like hadn\'t been seen before, and it has never since been surpassed. It set off a civilian firestorm which had a subversive impact on China\'s art world towards the end of the last century, as it was the first time a music magazine\'s content introduced the spirit of rebellion into the sphere of popular consciousness. At that time, the magazine brought untold numbers of youths into the world of real rock, and [untold numbers] picked up the guitar without looking back, using music to ignite the young.  \n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Punk Times Magazine', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1025-autosave-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 23:15:29', '2016-11-05 03:15:29', '', 1025, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1025-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2118, 1, '2016-11-04 23:17:10', '2016-11-05 03:17:10', '', 'Complex Chinese Reading Passages: Punk Rock in China Translation in English', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'chinese-music-writeups-learn-chinese-reading', '', '', '2016-11-04 23:17:21', '2016-11-05 03:17:21', '', 1025, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/chinese-music-writeups-learn-chinese-reading.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1042, 1, '2012-03-17 03:02:24', '2012-03-17 07:02:24', '[two_third]\r\nThis is the backstory behind the Chinese idiom 鹬蚌相争 [pinyin]yu4 bang4 xiang1 zheng1[/pinyin], which translates to \"The Sandpiper and the Clam Fight Each Other\", and means \"Two parties fight and a third party benefits.\" <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/20110323-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Chinese Political Short Stories with English Translation: Intermediate Fables and Chinese Idioms Explained\" title=\"Reading Chinese Short Stories with Translation: Intermediate Reading\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />Cool upper-intermediate piece - in case it hasn\'t been obvious throughout these posts, I love classical stories about wily government counselors and should probably post about something else on occasion, but so many classical tales involve this trope that it\'s hard to avoid. \r\n\r\nThis piece is cool because - excepting the first sentence - the sentence structure is simple but there are quite a few classical words, so you\'ll learn some historical terms. In case you think this kind of thing isn\'t really useful, think again. Historical figures in the Chinese dynasties are mentioned frequently in the oddest places, and their stories bleed out into every medium. If you\'re at a museum, if you\'re reading Chinese magazines, if you\'re reading Chinese historical essays, if you\'re watching a TV show or book or listening to the radio, you\'ll see mentions of historical dynasties all the time. But most importantly, if you want to watch Chinese war movies or period pieces (and there are some great ones), this vocab is crucial. You might as well know at least when to recognize that the conversation has gone that way.\r\n\r\nThis short story takes place during the Warring States period (475 BC to 221 BC), and mentions three of the seven warring kingdoms of that time, so you\'ll learn some dynasty names: 赵国 [pinyin]zhao4 guo2[/pinyin] (The Zhao State), 燕国 [pinyin]yan1 guo2[/pinyin] (The Yan State), and 秦国 [pinyin]qin2 guo2[/pinyin] (the Qin State). Speaking of dynasties, when you\'re reading this, look out for the word 王[pinyin]wang2[/pinyin] - as you probably know at this point in your studies, 王means \"king\", and when you see that, you can sometimes guess that the two or three characters before this word are the name of the king. Unlike in English, where we say \"King Charles\" or \"King John\", in this case the Chinese put \"king\" after the name. For example, in this story, we have 赵惠文王 - King Huiwen of Zhao (in other words, king of the Zhao state).\r\n\r\nWhat\'s amusing about this story is that in reality, the Qin Dynasty came out on top of the Warring States period and ruled China (well, for a decade or so, anyway) after the Warring States were over - so bear that in mind as you read the last sentence. \r\n\r\nYou\'ll also meet our protagonist 苏代 [pinyin]su1 dai4[/pinyin] - who he is is explained in the first sentence, but suffice to say that 苏代 is a person\'s name. He\'s mentioned in conjunction with 纵横家 [pinyin]zong4 heng2 jia1[/pinyin], the School of Diplomacy, which was a sort of league of scholar-statesmen from the Warring States period. If you\'re interested, you can <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_of_Diplomacy\">read more about it on Wikipedia</a>. \r\n\r\nAnyway, I\'m making this story sound really complicated, but other than the historical terminology, the storyline is not at all convoluted. \r\n\r\nOriginal story is here: <a href=\"http://www.diyifanwen.com/chengyu/sizichengyugushi/20100516141051614035955767805.html\">http://www.diyifanwen.com/chengyu/sizichengyugushi/20100516141051614035955767805.html</a>\r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\r\n策士 - [pinyin]ce5 shi1[/pinyin] - Military strategist\r\n如下 - [pinyin]ru xia[/pinyin] - The following, as follows\r\n寓言 - [pinyin]yu4 yan2[/pinyin] - Fable\r\n易水 - [pinyin]yi4 shui3[/pinyin] - Gentle waters\r\n恰好 - [pinyin]qia4 hao3[/pinyin] - As it happens\r\n蚌 - [pinyin]bang4[/pinyin] - Clam\r\n鹬 - [pinyin]yu4[/pinyin] - Sandpiper\r\n介壳 - [pinyin]jie4 qiao4[/pinyin] - Hard outer shell\r\n针锋相对 - [pinyin]zhen1 feng1 xiang1 dui4[/pinyin] - Measure for measure, give as good as one gets, fight back just as hard\r\n两者 - [pinyin]liang3 zhe3[/pinyin] - Both sides\r\n渔父 - [pinyin]yu4 fu4[/pinyin] - Fisherman\r\n疲劳 - [pinyin]pi2 lao2[/pinyin] - Weary\r\n扮演 - [pinyin]ban4 yan3[/pinyin] - To play the role of, as an actor, or person pretending\r\n深思熟虑 - [pinyin]shen1 si1 shu2 lv4[/pinyin] - Consider carefully\r\n[/one_third]\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n赵国将要讨伐燕国，苏代(战国时<strong>策士</strong>，纵横家苏秦的弟弟)替燕国游说赵惠文王，讲了<strong>如下</strong>的<strong>寓言</strong>故事: \r\n\r\n“我来的时候经过<strong>易水</strong>，<strong>恰好</strong>看到<strong>蚌</strong>出来晒太阳。<strong>鹬</strong>趁机啄蚌的肉，蚌把两扇<strong>介壳</strong>一闭就夹住了鹬的喙。鹬说:‘今天不下雨，明天不下雨，就有死蚌。’蚌也<strong>针锋相对</strong>地说: ‘今天不出，明天不出(夹住不放)，就有死鹬。’<strong>两者</strong>谁也不肯罢休，这时过来一个<strong>渔父</strong>把两者一起拎走了。”燕赵相对抗，都搞得很<strong>疲劳</strong>，我恐怕强大的秦国正在<strong>扮演</strong>渔父的角色，所以希望大王<strong>深思熟虑</strong>。\r\n\r\n惠文王赞同苏代的意见，停止对燕国用兵。\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nThe Zhao State was taking up arms against the Yan State, and Su Dai (a military strategist during the Warring States period, and little brother to Su Qin of the School of Diplomacy) traveled to speak with King HuiWen of Zhao on behalf of the Yan State, and he told the following fable: \r\n\r\n\"When I was coming here I passed over some gentle water, and by chance I happened to see a clam sunning itself. A sandpiper seized the opportunity to peck at the clam\'s meat, but the clam slammed the two wings of its hard shell shut on the sandpiper\'s beak. The sandpiper said, \'Today it won\'t rain, tomorrow it won\'t rain, and there will be one dead clam!\' The clam gave as good as he got, saying: \'I won\'t come out today, I won\'t come out tomorrow (so your beak won\'t be free), and there will be one dead sandpiper!\' Neither party was willing to give up, and at this time, a fisherman scooped them both up and carried them off. If Yan and Zhao oppose each other, we\'ll both fight ourselves weary. I\'m afraid the strong Qin State is playing the role of the fisherman, so I hope that your majesty will carefully deliberate on this matter.\" \r\n\r\nKing HuiWen approved of SuDai\'s message, and stopped using armed forces against the Yan State.\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Story Behind the Idiom: Yu Bang Xiang Zheng', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1036-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-03-17 03:02:24', '2012-03-17 07:02:24', '', 1036, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/03/17/1036-revision-3/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1043, 1, '2012-03-27 03:10:07', '2012-03-27 07:10:07', 'Sweet! I found a bunch of Chinese riddles. Read the Chinese and try to guess the word!  This is VERY short, lower-intermediate reading. Some of the riddles I found are impossible, because not only is the riddle hard, the answer is a kind of fruit or plant or thing I\'ve never heard of, so I\'m skipping past all those and over the next few days I\'ll post a few riddles that are answerable for those of us who didn\'t grow up in the southern Yao jungles or whatever.\r\n\r\nI think the most interesting word in this text is 青. I see this word everywhere, and I\'ve never been able to come up with an English equivalent. It\'s not green, and it\'s not blue... well, it\'s not actually a color. It means \"the color that nature is\". It can be used to describe a clear pond. It can be used to talk about trees or grass. So it\'s not actually a specific hue, but the word is used as if it is. Someone feel free to dive in if you can think of a good translation for this. \r\n\r\nThis particular riddle kinda rhymes in Chinese, so when you\'ve sorted out the words, read it out loud.\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\r\n青枝绿叶不是菜， 有的烤来有的晒，腾云驾雾烧着吃，不能锅里煮熟卖。\r\n\r\nHint: this is a type of plant.\r\n</div>\r\n\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH AND ANSWER\"]\r\nTranslation: Green branches green leaves but it\'s not a vegetable, some roast it and some dry it, soaring on clouds and sailing the mist it\'s consumed, it\'s not sold boiled in a pot.\r\n\r\n<strong>Answer: 烟叶 (Tobacco) </strong>\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Riddles] Guess the Word 1', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'riddle-guess-the-word-1', '', '', '2016-11-04 23:42:56', '2016-11-05 03:42:56', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1043', 0, 'post', '', 6),
(2116, 1, '2016-11-04 23:11:00', '2016-11-05 03:11:00', 'Sweet! I found a bunch of Chinese riddles. Read the Chinese and try to guess the word!  This is VERY short, lower-intermediate reading. Some of the riddles I found are impossible, because not only is the riddle hard, the answer is a kind of fruit or plant or thing I\'ve never heard of, so I\'m skipping past all those and over the next few days I\'ll post a few riddles that are answerable for those of us who didn\'t grow up in the southern Yao jungles or whatever.\r\n\r\nI think the most interesting word in this text is 青. I see this word everywhere, and I\'ve never been able to come up with an English equivalent. It\'s not green, and it\'s not blue... well, it\'s not actually a color. It means \"the color that nature is\". It can be used to describe a clear pond. It can be used to talk about trees or grass. So it\'s not actually a specific hue, but the word is used as if it is. Someone feel free to dive in if you can think of a good translation for this. \r\n\r\nThis particular riddle kinda rhymes in Chinese, so when you\'ve sorted out the words, read it out loud.\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n青枝绿叶不是菜， 有的烤来有的晒，腾云驾雾烧着吃，不能锅里煮熟卖。\r\n\r\nHint: this is a type of plant.\r\n</div>\r\n\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH AND ANSWER\"]\r\nTranslation: Green branches green leaves but it\'s not a vegetable, some roast it and some dry it, soaring on clouds and sailing the mist it\'s consumed, it\'s not sold boiled in a pot.\r\n\r\n<strong>Answer: 烟叶 (Tobacco) </strong>\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Riddle: Guess the Word 1', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1043-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 23:11:00', '2016-11-05 03:11:00', '', 1043, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1043-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1050, 1, '2012-03-17 03:53:55', '2012-03-17 07:53:55', '', 'Learn to Read Chinese Online: Intermediate Chinese Character Simplified Riddles and Jokes', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '20120327', '', '', '2012-03-17 03:53:55', '2012-03-17 07:53:55', '', 1043, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/20120327.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1051, 1, '2012-03-17 03:54:57', '2012-03-17 07:54:57', '', 'Learn to Read Chinese Online: Intermediate Chinese Character Simplified Riddles and Jokes', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '20120327-inline', '', '', '2012-03-17 03:54:57', '2012-03-17 07:54:57', '', 1043, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/20120327-INLINE.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1052, 1, '2012-03-17 03:55:21', '2012-03-17 07:55:21', '[two_third]\nSweet! I found a bunch of Chinese riddles. Read the Chinese and try to guess the word!  This is VERY short, lower-intermediate reading. <!--more-->\n\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/20120327-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Learn to Read Chinese Online: Intermediate Chinese Character Simplified Riddles and Jokes\" title=\"Learn to Read Chinese Online: Intermediate Chinese Character Simplified Riddles and Jokes\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"alignleft imgborder\" />Some of the riddles I found are impossible, because not only is the riddle hard, the answer is a kind of fruit or plant or thing I\'ve never heard of, so I\'m skipping past all those and over the next few days I\'ll post a few riddles that are answerable for those of us who didn\'t group up in the southern Yao jungles or whatever.\n\nI think the most interesting word in this text is 青. I see this word everywhere, and I\'ve never been able to come up with an English equivalent. It\'s not green, and it\'s not blue... well, it\'s not actually a color. It means \"the color that nature is\". It can be used to describe a clear green pond. It can be used to talk about trees or grass. So it\'s not actually a specific hue, but the word is used as if it is. Someone feel free to dive in if you can think of a good translation for this. \n\nThis particular riddle kinda rhymes in Chinese, so when you\'ve sorted out the words, read it out loud.\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n青 - [pinyin]qing1[/pinyin] - Nature\'s color - green or blue\n烤 - [pinyin]kao3[/pinyin] - Roast\n晒 - [pinyin]shai4[/pinyin] - Dry in the sun\n腾 - [pinyin]teng[/pinyin] - To soar\n驾 - [pinyin]jia4[/pinyin] - To pilot a vehicle (to drive a car, sail a boat, ride a wave, etc.)\n雾 - [pinyin]wu4[/pinyin] - Fog, mist\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n<strong>青</strong>枝绿叶不是菜， 有的<strong>烤</strong>来有的<strong>晒</strong>，<strong>腾</strong>云<strong>驾</strong><strong>雾</strong>烧着吃，不能锅里煮熟卖。\n\nHint: this is a type of plant.\n</div>\n\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH AND ANSWER\"]\nTranslation: Green branches green leaves but it\'s not a vegetable, some roast it and some dry it, soaring on clouds and sailing the mist it\'s consumed, it\'s not sold boiled in a pot.\n\n<strong>Answer: 烟叶 (Tobacco) </strong>\n\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Riddle: Guess the Word 1', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1043-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-03-17 03:55:21', '2012-03-17 07:55:21', '', 1043, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/03/17/1043-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1053, 1, '2016-11-04 23:10:44', '2016-11-05 03:10:44', 'Sweet! I found a bunch of Chinese riddles. Read the Chinese and try to guess the word!  This is VERY short, lower-intermediate reading. Some of the riddles I found are impossible, because not only is the riddle hard, the answer is a kind of fruit or plant or thing I\'ve never heard of, so I\'m skipping past all those and over the next few days I\'ll post a few riddles that are answerable for those of us who didn\'t grow up in the southern Yao jungles or whatever.\n\nI think the most interesting word in this text is 青. I see this word everywhere, and I\'ve never been able to come up with an English equivalent. It\'s not green, and it\'s not blue... well, it\'s not actually a color. It means \"the color that nature is\". It can be used to describe a clear pond. It can be used to talk about trees or grass. So it\'s not actually a specific hue, but the word is used as if it is. Someone feel free to dive in if you can think of a good translation for this. \n\nThis particular riddle kinda rhymes in Chinese, so when you\'ve sorted out the words, read it out loud.\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\n青枝绿叶不是菜， 有的烤来有的晒，腾云驾雾烧着吃，不能锅里煮熟卖。\n\nHint: this is a type of plant.\n</div>\n\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH AND ANSWER\"]\nTranslation: Green branches green leaves but it\'s not a vegetable, some roast it and some dry it, soaring on clouds and sailing the mist it\'s consumed, it\'s not sold boiled in a pot.\n\n<strong>Answer: 烟叶 (Tobacco) </strong>\n\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Riddle: Guess the Word 1', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1043-autosave-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 23:10:44', '2016-11-05 03:10:44', '', 1043, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/03/17/1043-autosave/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2115, 1, '2016-11-04 23:10:33', '2016-11-05 03:10:33', '', 'Learn to Read Chinese Online: Intermediate Chinese Character Simplified Riddles and Jokes', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'chinese-riddles-guess-the-word-1', '', '', '2016-11-04 23:10:41', '2016-11-05 03:10:41', '', 1043, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/chinese-riddles-guess-the-word-1.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1054, 1, '2012-03-29 07:00:39', '2012-03-29 11:00:39', 'Continuing our riddle fest here is another short \"guess the word\" post. I think this one might be simple enough to classify as \"beginner\", but the 3 unusual words push this into intermediate territory. Unlike the last one, this riddle doesn\'t really rhyme, but I think it\'s easier to guess. \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\r\n头戴红帽子，身披五彩衣，从来不唱戏，喜欢吊嗓子\r\n\r\nHint: this is a type of animal.\r\n</div>\r\n\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH AND ANSWER\"]\r\nIt wears a red hat, its body is draped in a five-color coat, and though it\'s never sang an opera, it likes doing voice exercises. \r\n\r\n<strong>Answer: 公鸡 (Rooster) </strong>\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Riddles] Guess the Word 2', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'riddle-guess-the-word-2', '', '', '2016-11-04 23:07:42', '2016-11-05 03:07:42', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1054', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(2113, 1, '2016-11-04 23:07:25', '2016-11-05 03:07:25', 'Continuing our riddle fest here is another short \"guess the word\" post. I think this one might be simple enough to classify as \"beginner\", but the 3 unusual words push this into intermediate territory. Unlike the last one, this riddle doesn\'t really rhyme, but I think it\'s easier to guess. \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n头戴红帽子，身披五彩衣，从来不唱戏，喜欢吊嗓子\r\n\r\nHint: this is a type of animal.\r\n</div>\r\n\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH AND ANSWER\"]\r\nIt wears a red hat, its body is draped in a five-color coat, and though it\'s never sang an opera, it likes doing voice exercises. \r\n\r\n<strong>Answer: 公鸡 (Rooster) </strong>\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Riddles] Guess the Word 2', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1054-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 23:07:25', '2016-11-05 03:07:25', '', 1054, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1054-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1055, 1, '2012-03-17 04:11:37', '2012-03-17 08:11:37', '', 'Study Chinese Simplified Characters: Intermediate and Beginner', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '20120329-inline', '', '', '2012-03-17 04:11:37', '2012-03-17 08:11:37', '', 1054, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/20120329-INLINE.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1056, 1, '2012-03-17 04:13:20', '2012-03-17 08:13:20', '', 'Modern Chinese Vocabulary Building: Chinese Childrens Riddles, Jokes and Stories', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '20120329', '', '', '2012-03-17 04:13:20', '2012-03-17 08:13:20', '', 1054, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/20120329.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1057, 1, '2012-03-17 04:08:51', '2012-03-17 08:08:51', '[two_third]\nContinuing our riddle fest here is another short \"guess the word\" post. I think this one might be simple enough to classify as \"beginner\", but the 3 unusual words push this into intermediate territory. <!--more-->\n\nUnlike the last one, this riddle doesn\'t really rhyme, but I think it\'s easier to guess. \n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n戴 - [pinyin]dai4[/pinyin] - To wear \n披 - [pinyin]pi1[/pinyin] - Drape over one\'s shoulders\n五彩 - [pinyin]wu3 cai3[/pinyin] - Multicolored\n从来不 - [pinyin]cong2 lai2 bu4[/pinyin] - Has never (done something)\n唱戏 - [pinyin]chang4 xi4[/pinyin] - Perform in an opera\n吊嗓子 - [pinyin]diao4 sang3 zi3[/pinyin] - Voice training for opera singers\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n头<strong>戴</strong>红帽子，身<strong>披</strong><strong>五彩</strong>衣，<strong>从来不</strong><strong>唱戏</strong>，喜欢<strong>吊嗓子</strong>\n\nHint: this is a type of animal.\n</div>\n\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH AND ANSWER\"]\nIt wears a red hat, its body is draped in a five-color coat, and though it\'s never sang an opera, it likes doing voice exercises. \n\n<strong>Answer: 公鸡 (Rooster) </strong>\n\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Riddle: Guess the Word 2', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1054-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-03-17 04:08:51', '2012-03-17 08:08:51', '', 1054, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/03/17/1054-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(1058, 1, '2016-11-04 23:07:08', '2016-11-05 03:07:08', 'Continuing our riddle fest here is another short \"guess the word\" post. I think this one might be simple enough to classify as \"beginner\", but the 3 unusual words push this into intermediate territory. Unlike the last one, this riddle doesn\'t really rhyme, but I think it\'s easier to guess. \n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\n头戴红帽子，身披五彩衣，从来不唱戏，喜欢吊嗓子\n\nHint: this is a type of animal.\n</div>\n\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH AND ANSWER\"]\nIt wears a red hat, its body is draped in a five-color coat, and though it\'s never sang an opera, it likes doing voice exercises. \n\n<strong>Answer: 公鸡 (Rooster) </strong>\n\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Riddles] Guess the Word 2', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1054-autosave-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 23:07:08', '2016-11-05 03:07:08', '', 1054, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/03/17/1054-autosave/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2112, 1, '2016-11-04 23:07:07', '2016-11-05 03:07:07', '', 'Modern Chinese Vocabulary Building: Chinese Childrens Riddles, Jokes and Stories', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'chinese-riddles-guess-the-word-2', '', '', '2016-11-04 23:07:18', '2016-11-05 03:07:18', '', 1054, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/chinese-riddles-guess-the-word-2.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(2114, 1, '2016-11-04 23:07:42', '2016-11-05 03:07:42', 'Continuing our riddle fest here is another short \"guess the word\" post. I think this one might be simple enough to classify as \"beginner\", but the 3 unusual words push this into intermediate territory. Unlike the last one, this riddle doesn\'t really rhyme, but I think it\'s easier to guess. \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\r\n头戴红帽子，身披五彩衣，从来不唱戏，喜欢吊嗓子\r\n\r\nHint: this is a type of animal.\r\n</div>\r\n\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH AND ANSWER\"]\r\nIt wears a red hat, its body is draped in a five-color coat, and though it\'s never sang an opera, it likes doing voice exercises. \r\n\r\n<strong>Answer: 公鸡 (Rooster) </strong>\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Riddles] Guess the Word 2', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1054-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 23:07:42', '2016-11-05 03:07:42', '', 1054, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1054-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1059, 1, '2012-03-31 07:00:33', '2012-03-31 11:00:33', 'And now, the final installment in our \"guess the word\" riddle series, and we\'ve finally hit upon a true beginner-level riddle. Even readers just starting out should be able to tackle this one. Pay particular attention to the double-meaning of the word 面 in this riddle. This riddle rhymes kinda pleasantly, so do read it out loud once you\'ve sorted out all the words. The rhyme also might be useful for teaching kids. \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\r\n有<strong>面</strong>没有口，有<strong>脚</strong>没有手，<strong>虽</strong>有四<strong>只</strong>脚，自己不会走。\r\n\r\nHint: this is a type of household object.\r\n</div>\r\n\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH AND ANSWER\"]\r\nIt has a face but no mouth, it has feet but no hands, though it has four feet, it can\'t walk by itself. \r\n<strong>Answer: 桌子　(A table) </strong>\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Riddles] Guess the Word 3', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'riddle-guess-the-word-3', '', '', '2016-11-04 23:03:55', '2016-11-05 03:03:55', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1059', 0, 'post', '', 13),
(1739, 1, '2016-10-31 03:24:43', '2016-10-31 07:24:43', 'And now, the final installment in our \"guess the word\" riddle series, and we\'ve finally hit upon a true beginner-level riddle. Even readers just starting out should be able to tackle this one. Pay particular attention to the double-meaning of the word 面 in this riddle. This riddle rhymes kinda pleasantly, so do read it out loud once you\'ve sorted out all the words. The rhyme also might be useful for teaching kids. \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\r\n有<strong>面</strong>没有口，有<strong>脚</strong>没有手，<strong>虽</strong>有四<strong>只</strong>脚，自己不会走。\r\n\r\nHint: this is a type of household object.\r\n</div>\r\n\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH AND ANSWER\"]\r\nIt has a face but no mouth, it has feet but no hands, though it has four feet, it can\'t walk by itself. \r\n<strong>Answer: 桌子　(A table) </strong>\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Riddle: Guess the Word 3', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1059-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 03:24:43', '2016-10-31 07:24:43', '', 1059, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1059-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1060, 1, '2012-03-17 04:37:56', '2012-03-17 08:37:56', '', 'Chinese Childrens Riddles: Study Chinese Characters and Learn to Read Chinese', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '20120331-inline', '', '', '2012-03-17 04:37:56', '2012-03-17 08:37:56', '', 1059, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/20120331-INLINE.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1061, 1, '2012-03-17 04:47:30', '2012-03-17 08:47:30', '', 'Learn to Read Chinese Characters: Chinese Characters for Beginners - Easy Riddles and Jokes', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '20120331', '', '', '2012-03-17 04:47:30', '2012-03-17 08:47:30', '', 1059, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/20120331.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1062, 1, '2012-03-17 04:38:39', '2012-03-17 08:38:39', '[two_third]\nAnd now, the final installment in our \"guess the word\" riddle series, and we\'ve finally hit upon a true beginner-level riddle. Even readers just starting out should be able to tackle this one.<!--more-->\n\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/20120331-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Chinese Childrens Riddles: Study Chinese Characters and Learn to Read Chinese\" title=\"Chinese Childrens Riddles: Study Chinese Characters and Learn to Read Chinese\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />Pay particular attention to the double-meaning of the word 面 in this riddle. This riddle rhymes kinda pleasantly, so do read it out loud once you\'ve sorted out all the words. The rhyme also might be useful for teaching kids. \n\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n面 - [pinyin]mian4[/pinyin] - Face, surface\n脚 - [pinyin]jiao3[/pinyin] - Foot\n虽 - [pinyin]sui1[/pinyin] - Although\n只 - [pinyin]zhi3[/pinyin] - Measure word for \"feet\"\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n有<strong>面</strong>没有口，有<strong>脚</strong>没有手，<strong>虽</strong>有四<strong>只</strong>脚，自己不会走。\n\nHint: this is a type of household object.\n</div>\n\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH AND ANSWER\"]\nIt has a face but no mouth, it has feet but no hands, though it has four feet, it can\'t walk by itself. \n<strong>Answer: 桌子　(A table) </strong>\n\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Riddle: Guess the Word 3', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1059-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-03-17 04:38:39', '2012-03-17 08:38:39', '', 1059, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/03/17/1059-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1063, 1, '2016-11-04 23:02:47', '2016-11-05 03:02:47', 'And now, the final installment in our \"guess the word\" riddle series, and we\'ve finally hit upon a true beginner-level riddle. Even readers just starting out should be able to tackle this one. Pay particular attention to the double-meaning of the word 面 in this riddle. This riddle rhymes kinda pleasantly, so do read it out loud once you\'ve sorted out all the words. The rhyme also might be useful for teaching kids. \n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\n有<strong>面</strong>没有口，有<strong>脚</strong>没有手，<strong>虽</strong>有四<strong>只</strong>脚，自己不会走。\n\nHint: this is a type of household object.\n</div>\n\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH AND ANSWER\"]\nIt has a face but no mouth, it has feet but no hands, though it has four feet, it can\'t walk by itself. \n<strong>Answer: 桌子　(A table) </strong>\n\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Riddles] Guess the Word 3', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1059-autosave-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 23:02:47', '2016-11-05 03:02:47', '', 1059, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/03/17/1059-autosave/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2110, 1, '2016-11-04 23:03:31', '2016-11-05 03:03:31', '', 'Learn to Read Chinese Characters: Chinese Characters for Beginners - Easy Riddles and Jokes', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'learn-chinese-guess-the-world-riddle', '', '', '2016-11-04 23:03:43', '2016-11-05 03:03:43', '', 1059, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/learn-chinese-guess-the-world-riddle.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(2111, 1, '2016-11-04 23:03:55', '2016-11-05 03:03:55', 'And now, the final installment in our \"guess the word\" riddle series, and we\'ve finally hit upon a true beginner-level riddle. Even readers just starting out should be able to tackle this one. Pay particular attention to the double-meaning of the word 面 in this riddle. This riddle rhymes kinda pleasantly, so do read it out loud once you\'ve sorted out all the words. The rhyme also might be useful for teaching kids. \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\r\n有<strong>面</strong>没有口，有<strong>脚</strong>没有手，<strong>虽</strong>有四<strong>只</strong>脚，自己不会走。\r\n\r\nHint: this is a type of household object.\r\n</div>\r\n\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH AND ANSWER\"]\r\nIt has a face but no mouth, it has feet but no hands, though it has four feet, it can\'t walk by itself. \r\n<strong>Answer: 桌子　(A table) </strong>\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Riddles] Guess the Word 3', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1059-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 23:03:55', '2016-11-05 03:03:55', '', 1059, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1059-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1064, 1, '2012-03-17 04:51:36', '2012-03-17 08:51:36', '[two_third]\r\nAnd now, the final installment in our \"guess the word\" riddle series, and we\'ve finally hit upon a true beginner-level riddle. Even readers just starting out should be able to tackle this one.<!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/20120331-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Chinese Childrens Riddles: Study Chinese Characters and Learn to Read Chinese\" title=\"Chinese Childrens Riddles: Study Chinese Characters and Learn to Read Chinese\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />Pay particular attention to the double-meaning of the word 面 in this riddle. This riddle rhymes kinda pleasantly, so do read it out loud once you\'ve sorted out all the words. The rhyme also might be useful for teaching kids. \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面 - [pinyin]mian4[/pinyin] - Face, surface\r\n脚 - [pinyin]jiao3[/pinyin] - Foot\r\n虽 - [pinyin]sui1[/pinyin] - Although\r\n只 - [pinyin]zhi3[/pinyin] - Measure word for \"feet\"\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有<strong>面</strong>没有口，有<strong>脚</strong>没有手，<strong>虽</strong>有四<strong>只</strong>脚，自己不会走。\r\n\r\nHint: this is a type of household object.\r\n</div>\r\n\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH AND ANSWER\"]\r\nIt has a face but no mouth, it has feet but no hands, though it has four feet, it can\'t walk by itself. \r\n<strong>Answer: 桌子　(A table) </strong>\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Riddle: Guess the Word 3', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1059-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-03-17 04:51:36', '2012-03-17 08:51:36', '', 1059, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/03/17/1059-revision-2/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1065, 1, '2012-04-05 07:00:07', '2012-04-05 11:00:07', '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', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-harmonious-environment-song', '', '', '2016-11-04 05:17:55', '2016-11-04 09:17:55', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1065', 0, 'post', '', 11),
(1737, 1, '2016-10-31 03:22:50', '2016-10-31 07:22:50', '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]', 'The Harmonious Environment Song', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1065-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 03:22:50', '2016-10-31 07:22:50', '', 1065, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1065-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1066, 1, '2012-03-17 23:47:13', '2012-03-18 03:47:13', '[two_third]\nHoo boy, this song is an AWESOME find. Not only is it politically charged in the most amazing way, it\'s ultra-beginner reading. <!--more-->\n\nBut first, a little back story so we all know what we\'re reading here. The big campaign in Beijing 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 \"harmony\" 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 \"harmonized\".  The idea of a harmonious society goes right back to Confucius, whose big idea was that everyone has 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 the hell 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. Early adoption! Let\'s hear it...\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n面 - [pinyin]mian4[/pinyin] - Face, surface\n脚 - [pinyin]jiao3[/pinyin] - Foot\n虽 - [pinyin]sui1[/pinyin] - Although\n只 - [pinyin]zhi3[/pinyin] - Measure word for \"feet\"\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\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 AND ANSWER\"]\nIt has a face but no mouth, it has feet but no hands, though it has four feet, it can\'t walk by itself. \n<strong>Answer: 桌子　(A table) </strong>\n\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'The Harmonious Environment Song', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1065-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-03-17 23:47:13', '2012-03-18 03:47:13', '', 1065, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/03/17/1065-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1067, 1, '2012-03-17 23:48:00', '2012-03-18 03:48:00', '[two_third]\r\nHoo boy, this song is an AWESOME find. Not only is it politically charged in the most amazing way, it\'s ultra-beginner reading. I know many of my readers are beginners, and I\'m trying to cater a little more in that directions. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nBut first, a little back story so we all know what we\'re reading here. The big campaign in Beijing 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 \"harmony\" 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 \"harmonized\".  The idea of a harmonious society 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 the hell 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. Early adoption! Let\'s hear it...\r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\r\n面 - [pinyin]mian4[/pinyin] - Face, surface\r\n脚 - [pinyin]jiao3[/pinyin] - Foot\r\n虽 - [pinyin]sui1[/pinyin] - Although\r\n只 - [pinyin]zhi3[/pinyin] - Measure word for \"feet\"\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 AND ANSWER\"]\r\nIt has a face but no mouth, it has feet but no hands, though it has four feet, it can\'t walk by itself. \r\n<strong>Answer: 桌子　(A table) </strong>\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'The Harmonious Environment Song', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1065-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-03-17 23:48:00', '2012-03-18 03:48:00', '', 1065, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/03/17/1065-revision-2/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1068, 1, '2012-03-18 01:00:30', '2012-03-18 05:00:30', '', 'Study Easy Chinese Childrens Reading: Chinese Children\'s Songs, Poems and Stories', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '20120405', '', '', '2012-03-18 01:00:30', '2012-03-18 05:00:30', '', 1065, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/20120405.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1069, 1, '2012-03-18 01:02:50', '2012-03-18 05:02:50', '', 'Study Easy Chinese Childrens Reading: Chinese Children\'s Songs, Poems and Stories', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '20120405-inline', '', '', '2012-03-18 01:02:50', '2012-03-18 05:02:50', '', 1065, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/20120405-INLINE.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1070, 1, '2012-03-18 00:52:44', '2012-03-18 04:52:44', '[two_third]\r\nHoo boy, this song is an AWESOME find. Not only is it politically charged in the most amazing way, it\'s ultra-beginner reading. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nBut first, a little back story so we all know what we\'re reading here (and I do hope after this my blog stays available on the mainland - gonna use some weird spacing and spelling to avoid bots). The big campaign here right now is an expansion of the \"Ha rmoni ous S *ocie\\ ty\" 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 \"h-a r m onisd\".  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[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\r\n清 - [pinyin]qing1[/pinyin] - Clear\r\n密 - [pinyin]mi4[/pinyin] - Dense, thick\r\n空 - [pinyin]kong4[/pinyin] - Open, empty, unoccupied\r\n忙 - [pinyin]mang2[/pinyin] - To rush around\r\n啊 - [pinyin]a1[/pinyin] - Ah!, Oh!\r\n和谐 - [pinyin]he2 xie2[/pinyin] - Harmony, harmonious\r\n环境 - [pinyin]huan2 jing4[/pinyin] - Environment\r\n创造 - [pinyin]chuang4 zao4[/pinyin] - to create, to bring about\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 AND ANSWER\"]\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 we all must create. \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'The Harmonious Environment Song', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1065-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-03-18 00:52:44', '2012-03-18 04:52:44', '', 1065, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/03/18/1065-revision-3/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1071, 1, '2012-03-18 01:03:08', '2012-03-18 05:03:08', '[two_third]\r\nHoo boy, this song is an AWESOME find. Not only is it politically charged in the most amazing way, it\'s ultra-beginner reading. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/20120405-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Study Easy Chinese Childrens Reading: Chinese Children&#039;s Songs, Poems and Stories\" title=\"Study Easy Chinese Childrens Reading: Chinese Children&#039;s Songs, Poems and Stories\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />But first, a little back story so we all know what we\'re reading here (and I do hope after this my blog stays available on the mainland - gonna use some weird spacing and spelling to avoid bots). The big campaign here right now is an expansion of the \"Ha rmoni ous S *ocie\\ ty\" 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 \"h-a r m onisd\".  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[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\r\n清 - [pinyin]qing1[/pinyin] - Clear\r\n密 - [pinyin]mi4[/pinyin] - Dense, thick\r\n空 - [pinyin]kong4[/pinyin] - Open, empty, unoccupied\r\n忙 - [pinyin]mang2[/pinyin] - To rush around\r\n啊 - [pinyin]a1[/pinyin] - Ah!, Oh!\r\n和谐 - [pinyin]he2 xie2[/pinyin] - Harmony, harmonious\r\n环境 - [pinyin]huan2 jing4[/pinyin] - Environment\r\n创造 - [pinyin]chuang4 zao4[/pinyin] - to create, to bring about\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 AND ANSWER\"]\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 we all must create. \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'The Harmonious Environment Song', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1065-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-03-18 01:03:08', '2012-03-18 05:03:08', '', 1065, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/03/18/1065-revision-4/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1072, 1, '2012-03-17 03:55:23', '2012-03-17 07:55:23', '[two_third]\r\nSweet! I found a bunch of Chinese riddles. Read the Chinese and try to guess the word!  This is VERY short, lower-intermediate reading. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/20120327-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Learn to Read Chinese Online: Intermediate Chinese Character Simplified Riddles and Jokes\" title=\"Learn to Read Chinese Online: Intermediate Chinese Character Simplified Riddles and Jokes\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"alignleft imgborder\" />Some of the riddles I found are impossible, because not only is the riddle hard, the answer is a kind of fruit or plant or thing I\'ve never heard of, so I\'m skipping past all those and over the next few days I\'ll post a few riddles that are answerable for those of us who didn\'t group up in the southern Yao jungles or whatever.\r\n\r\nI think the most interesting word in this text is 青. I see this word everywhere, and I\'ve never been able to come up with an English equivalent. It\'s not green, and it\'s not blue... well, it\'s not actually a color. It means \"the color that nature is\". It can be used to describe a clear green pond. It can be used to talk about trees or grass. So it\'s not actually a specific hue, but the word is used as if it is. Someone feel free to dive in if you can think of a good translation for this. \r\n\r\nThis particular riddle kinda rhymes in Chinese, so when you\'ve sorted out the words, read it out loud.\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 - [pinyin]qing1[/pinyin] - Nature\'s color - green or blue\r\n烤 - [pinyin]kao3[/pinyin] - Roast\r\n晒 - [pinyin]shai4[/pinyin] - Dry in the sun\r\n腾 - [pinyin]teng[/pinyin] - To soar\r\n驾 - [pinyin]jia4[/pinyin] - To pilot a vehicle (to drive a car, sail a boat, ride a wave, etc.)\r\n雾 - [pinyin]wu4[/pinyin] - Fog, mist\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</strong>枝绿叶不是菜， 有的<strong>烤</strong>来有的<strong>晒</strong>，<strong>腾</strong>云<strong>驾</strong><strong>雾</strong>烧着吃，不能锅里煮熟卖。\r\n\r\nHint: this is a type of plant.\r\n</div>\r\n\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH AND ANSWER\"]\r\nTranslation: Green branches green leaves but it\'s not a vegetable, some roast it and some dry it, soaring on clouds and sailing the mist it\'s consumed, it\'s not sold boiled in a pot.\r\n\r\n<strong>Answer: 烟叶 (Tobacco) </strong>\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Riddle: Guess the Word 1', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1043-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-03-17 03:55:23', '2012-03-17 07:55:23', '', 1043, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/03/17/1043-revision-2/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1073, 1, '2012-03-17 04:14:10', '2012-03-17 08:14:10', '[two_third]\r\nContinuing our riddle fest here is another short \"guess the word\" post. I think this one might be simple enough to classify as \"beginner\", but the 3 unusual words push this into intermediate territory. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/20120329-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Modern Chinese Vocabulary Building: Chinese Childrens Riddles, Jokes and Stories\" title=\"Study Chinese Simplified Characters: Intermediate and Beginner\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />Unlike the last one, this riddle doesn\'t really rhyme, but I think it\'s easier to guess. \r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\r\n戴 - [pinyin]dai4[/pinyin] - To wear \r\n披 - [pinyin]pi1[/pinyin] - Drape over one\'s shoulders\r\n五彩 - [pinyin]wu3 cai3[/pinyin] - Multicolored\r\n从来不 - [pinyin]cong2 lai2 bu4[/pinyin] - Has never (done something)\r\n唱戏 - [pinyin]chang4 xi4[/pinyin] - Perform in an opera\r\n吊嗓子 - [pinyin]diao4 sang3 zi3[/pinyin] - Voice training for opera singers\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头<strong>戴</strong>红帽子，身<strong>披</strong><strong>五彩</strong>衣，<strong>从来不</strong><strong>唱戏</strong>，喜欢<strong>吊嗓子</strong>\r\n\r\nHint: this is a type of animal.\r\n</div>\r\n\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH AND ANSWER\"]\r\nIt wears a red hat, its body is draped in a five-color coat, and though it\'s never sang an opera, it likes doing voice exercises. \r\n\r\n<strong>Answer: 公鸡 (Rooster) </strong>\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Riddle: Guess the Word 2', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1054-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-03-17 04:14:10', '2012-03-17 08:14:10', '', 1054, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/03/17/1054-revision-2/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1086, 1, '2012-04-25 04:45:58', '2012-04-25 08:45:58', 'This is a much longer read than I typically put up here, so I hope you\'re up for a slog. I kind of can\'t tell whether I should be offended by this or not - the protagonists are two \"lazy Uighurs\" (A Uighur 维吾尔族 [pinyin]wei2 wu2 er3 zu2[/pinyin] is a member of the ethnic minority hailing from the Uighur Autonomous Region of China, a politically touchy topic on the mainland). I\'ve never seen a folk story about heroic Uighurs or smart Uighurs, or really ever seen a story about Uighurs at all. So to run across this one first makes me wonder if the \"lazy Uighur\" thing is a mean stereotype or if I just haven\'t read widely enough. I\'ll have to go in search of some Uighur folk tales in Mandarin and see what I can dig up. \r\n\r\nI really know almost nothing about Uighur cultural history, but this story taught me something interesting: it looks like Uighurs have six-character names (as opposed to two and three character names for Chinese and 4 character names for Japanese). Our two protagonists here are rather lengthily called 哈山代吾来克 [pinyin]Ha1 shan1 dai4 wu2 lai2 ke4[/pinyin] and 沙吾提卡巴克 [pinyin]sha1 wu2 ti2 ka3 ba1 ke4[/pinyin]. \r\n\r\nAnother interesting thing: this story mentions a 大鹏鸟 [pinyin]da peng3 niao3[/pinyin] - called a \"Roc\" in English (though I\'d never heard that word before). Apparently, it\'s a legendary fictional bird of prey, like a giant eagle.\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese Text</h3>\r\n1) 从前，维吾尔族有这么两个懒汉，一个叫哈山代吾来克，一个叫沙吾提卡巴克。他们都懒得要命，吃穿全靠父母，一点活儿也不干，一天到晚靠着墙根晒太阳。 这样，久而久之，弄得他们父母也讨厌他们了，不得不把他们从家里赶了出来。他们俩过着流浪的生活，饿了几天肚子，一块馕也没有吃到。\r\n\r\n2) 这天，他俩蹲在馕坑上商量着今后该怎么办。哈山代吾来克说: “最好到一个有吃有穿，又不需要劳动的地方去，不知道有没有这么个地方？”\r\n\r\n3) 沙吾提卡巴克说: “世界上是没有这么个地方的，只天上有吧！听说天上的神仙最快活。”\r\n\r\n4) 哈山代吾来克说: “那末，我们就上天去吧，干嘛要呆在这个必须劳动的地方受人鄙视呢？”\r\n\r\n5) 沙吾提卡巴克说: “好倒好，不过怎么上去呢？能找到这么个长梯子吗？”\r\n\r\n6) 哈山代吾来克肯定地说: “这么长的梯子是找不到的。但是，没有梯子也可以上去。”\r\n\r\n7) 沙吾提卡巴克惊奇地问道: “怎么上去？”\r\n\r\n8) 哈山代吾来克说: “山谷里有一只大鹏鸟，小时候我跟父亲上去看见过。我们只要把这只大鹏抓住，它就会带我们上天去的。”\r\n\r\n9) 沙吾提卡巴克说: “好办法，我们就这样办好了。”\r\n\r\n10) 两个朋友就这么决定了。第二天一早，他们就起身往山上走去，走到一个山谷里，找到了大鹏的窝，他们在附近躲藏起来，等到太阳落山的时候，大鹏飞回来刚落在窝里，就被哈山代吾来克紧紧地抓住了。他连忙招呼沙吾提卡巴克抓住自己的脚，大鹏受了惊，直往天空飞去。\r\n\r\n11) 就这样，沙吾提卡巴克抓住哈山代吾来克的脚，哈山代吾来克抓住大鹏的爪子，飘飘荡荡地一直飞向七层云端里去了。\r\n\r\n12) 沙吾提卡巴克问道: “嘿！到了吗？我的手吃不消啦！”\r\n\r\n13) 哈山代吾来克望着云层的空隙说: “快啦！连窟窿都已经看见了。”\r\n\r\n14) 沙吾提卡巴克问道: “窟窿有多大？我们能不能钻进去呀？”\r\n\r\n15) 哈山代吾来克回答: “有这么大。”哈山代吾来克一面答应着，一面用手来比划窟窿的大小。\r\n\r\n16) 不料哈山代吾来克两手一松，这两个懒汉朋友都离开了大鹏鸟，摇摇晃晃地掉下来，摔成肉酱了。\r\n</div>\r\n\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH\"]\r\n1) Long ago, among the Uighur people there were two lazybones, one called Hashandaiwulaike, the other called Shawutikabake. They were both extremely lazy, depending on their parents for food and clothing, unwilling to do even a little work, from morning to night they sat at the base of a wall and sunned themselves. As time passed this way, their parents [began to] loathe them, and had no choice but to kick them out. The two of them lived a drifter\'s life, and went hungry for days at a time, with not even a piece of bread to eat.   \r\n\r\n2) One day, they were squatting next to a bread pit discussing what to do. Hashandaiwulaike said: \"The best thing would be to go to a place where there\'s food and clothes, but you don\'t have to work - I don\'t know if there is such a place?\"\r\n\r\n3) Shawutikabake said: \"There\'s no such place on this earth, only in heaven! I heard that the immortals in heaven are the happiest.\" \r\n\r\n4) Hashandaiwulaike said: \"In that case, we should go to heaven. Why on earth would we stay in this place where we have to work and suffer other people\'s disdain?\" \r\n\r\n5) Shawutikabake said:  \"That\'s all very well and good, but how will we get up there? Can we find a ladder that long?\" \r\n\r\n6) Hashandaiwulaike said: \"We could never find a ladder that long, but you can still get up there without a ladder.\" \r\n\r\n7) Shawutikabake said: \"How?\"\r\n\r\n8) Hashandaiwulaike said: \"In the valley there\'s a Roc bird, when I was little I saw it when I went up there with my father. All we have to do is grab onto the Roc, and he will take us up to heaven.\"\r\n\r\n9) Shawutikabake said:  \"That\'s a great idea, we\'ll do it that way.\" \r\n\r\n10) So the two friends decided thus. On the morning of the next day, they got us and walked to the mountain. When they got to the mountain valley, they found the Roc\'s nest, and they hid themselves next to it. They waited until the sun fell behind the mountain and the Roc flew back and had just landed in its nest, when Hashandaiwulaike grabbed it and held it tightly. He promptly called to Shawutikabake to grab his feet, and the Roc was frightened and flew into the sky.\r\n\r\n11) So Shawutikabake  was holding on to Hashandaiwulaike\'s feet, and Hashandaiwulaike  was holding on to the Roc\'s claws, and they floated towards the seventh level of clouds [heaven]. \r\n\r\n12) Shawutikabake asked,\" Hey! Are we there yet? I can\'t hold on much longer!\" \r\n\r\n13) Hashandaiwulaike looked into a gap between the clouds and said, \"Almost! I can already see the opening!\" \r\n\r\n14) Shawutikabake asked, \"How big is the opening? Can we fit into it?\" \r\n\r\n15) Hashandaiwulaike answered, \"It\'s this big.\"   As Hashandaiwulaike answered, he used his hands to demonstrate how big the opening [to heaven] was. \r\n\r\n16) But to his surprise, as soon as Hashandaiwulaike let go, the two lazy friends parted ways with the Roc, tumbled down, and were smashed into mincemeat. \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Fables] 两个懒汉 - The Two Lazybones', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'the-two-lazybones', '', '', '2016-11-04 09:31:06', '2016-11-04 13:31:06', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1086', 0, 'post', '', 6);
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(2103, 1, '2016-11-04 09:28:10', '2016-11-04 13:28:10', 'This is a much longer read than I typically put up here, so I hope you\'re up for a slog. I kind of can\'t tell whether I should be offended by this or not - the protagonists are two \"lazy Uighurs\" (A Uighur 维吾尔族 [pinyin]wei2 wu2 er3 zu2[/pinyin] is a member of the ethnic minority hailing from the Uighur Autonomous Region of China, a politically touchy topic on the mainland). I\'ve never seen a folk story about heroic Uighurs or smart Uighurs, or really ever seen a story about Uighurs at all. So to run across this one first makes me wonder if the \"lazy Uighur\" thing is a mean stereotype or if I just haven\'t read widely enough. I\'ll have to go in search of some Uighur folk tales in Mandarin and see what I can dig up. \r\n\r\nI really know almost nothing about Uighur cultural history, but this story taught me something interesting: it looks like Uighurs have six-character names (as opposed to two and three character names for Chinese and 4 character names for Japanese). Our two protagonists here are rather lengthily called 哈山代吾来克 [pinyin]Ha1 shan1 dai4 wu2 lai2 ke4[/pinyin] and 沙吾提卡巴克 [pinyin]sha1 wu2 ti2 ka3 ba1 ke4[/pinyin]. \r\n\r\nAnother interesting thing: this story mentions a 大鹏鸟 [pinyin]da peng3 niao3[/pinyin] - called a \"Roc\" in English (though I\'d never heard that word before). Apparently, it\'s a legendary fictional bird of prey, like a giant eagle.\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese Text</h3>\r\n1) 从前，维吾尔族有这么两个懒汉，一个叫哈山代吾来克，一个叫沙吾提卡巴克。他们都懒得要命，吃穿全靠父母，一点活儿也不干，一天到晚靠着墙根晒太阳。 这样，久而久之，弄得他们父母也讨厌他们了，不得不把他们从家里赶了出来。他们俩过着流浪的生活，饿了几天肚子，一块馕也没有吃到。\r\n\r\n2) 这天，他俩蹲在馕坑上商量着今后该怎么办。哈山代吾来克说: “最好到一个有吃有穿，又不需要劳动的地方去，不知道有没有这么个地方？”\r\n\r\n3) 沙吾提卡巴克说: “世界上是没有这么个地方的，只天上有吧！听说天上的神仙最快活。”\r\n\r\n4) 哈山代吾来克说: “那末，我们就上天去吧，干嘛要呆在这个必须劳动的地方受人鄙视呢？”\r\n\r\n5) 沙吾提卡巴克说: “好倒好，不过怎么上去呢？能找到这么个长梯子吗？”\r\n\r\n6) 哈山代吾来克肯定地说: “这么长的梯子是找不到的。但是，没有梯子也可以上去。”\r\n\r\n7) 沙吾提卡巴克惊奇地问道: “怎么上去？”\r\n\r\n8) 哈山代吾来克说: “山谷里有一只大鹏鸟，小时候我跟父亲上去看见过。我们只要把这只大鹏抓住，它就会带我们上天去的。”\r\n\r\n9) 沙吾提卡巴克说: “好办法，我们就这样办好了。”\r\n\r\n10) 两个朋友就这么决定了。第二天一早，他们就起身往山上走去，走到一个山谷里，找到了大鹏的窝，他们在附近躲藏起来，等到太阳落山的时候，大鹏飞回来刚落在窝里，就被哈山代吾来克紧紧地抓住了。他连忙招呼沙吾提卡巴克抓住自己的脚，大鹏受了惊，直往天空飞去。\r\n\r\n11) 就这样，沙吾提卡巴克抓住哈山代吾来克的脚，哈山代吾来克抓住大鹏的爪子，飘飘荡荡地一直飞向七层云端里去了。\r\n\r\n12) 沙吾提卡巴克问道: “嘿！到了吗？我的手吃不消啦！”\r\n\r\n13) 哈山代吾来克望着云层的空隙说: “快啦！连窟窿都已经看见了。”\r\n\r\n14) 沙吾提卡巴克问道: “窟窿有多大？我们能不能钻进去呀？”\r\n\r\n15) 哈山代吾来克回答: “有这么大。”哈山代吾来克一面答应着，一面用手来比划窟窿的大小。\r\n\r\n16) 不料哈山代吾来克两手一松，这两个懒汉朋友都离开了大鹏鸟，摇摇晃晃地掉下来，摔成肉酱了。\r\n</div>\r\n\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH\"]\r\n1) Long ago, among the Uighur people there were two lazybones, one called Hashandaiwulaike, the other called Shawutikabake. They were both extremely lazy, depending on their parents for food and clothing, unwilling to do even a little work, from morning to night they sat at the base of a wall and sunned themselves. As time passed this way, their parents [began to] loathe them, and had no choice but to kick them out. The two of them lived a drifter\'s life, and went hungry for days at a time, with not even a piece of bread to eat.   \r\n\r\n2) One day, they were squatting next to a bread pit discussing what to do. Hashandaiwulaike said: \"The best thing would be to go to a place where there\'s food and clothes, but you don\'t have to work - I don\'t know if there is such a place?\"\r\n\r\n3) Shawutikabake said: \"There\'s no such place on this earth, only in heaven! I heard that the immortals in heaven are the happiest.\" \r\n\r\n4) Hashandaiwulaike said: \"In that case, we should go to heaven. Why on earth would we stay in this place where we have to work and suffer other people\'s disdain?\" \r\n\r\n5) Shawutikabake said:  \"That\'s all very well and good, but how will we get up there? Can we find a ladder that long?\" \r\n\r\n6) Hashandaiwulaike said: \"We could never find a ladder that long, but you can still get up there without a ladder.\" \r\n\r\n7) Shawutikabake said: \"How?\"\r\n\r\n8) Hashandaiwulaike said: \"In the valley there\'s a Roc bird, when I was little I saw it when I went up there with my father. All we have to do is grab onto the Roc, and he will take us up to heaven.\"\r\n\r\n9) Shawutikabake said:  \"That\'s a great idea, we\'ll do it that way.\" \r\n\r\n10) So the two friends decided thus. On the morning of the next day, they got us and walked to the mountain. When they got to the mountain valley, they found the Roc\'s nest, and they hid themselves next to it. They waited until the sun fell behind the mountain and the Roc flew back and had just landed in its nest, when Hashandaiwulaike grabbed it and held it tightly. He promptly called to Shawutikabake to grab his feet, and the Roc was frightened and flew into the sky.\r\n\r\n11) So Shawutikabake  was holding on to Hashandaiwulaike\'s feet, and Hashandaiwulaike  was holding on to the Roc\'s claws, and they floated towards the seventh level of clouds [heaven]. \r\n\r\n12) Shawutikabake asked,\" Hey! Are we there yet? I can\'t hold on much longer!\" \r\n\r\n13) Hashandaiwulaike looked into a gap between the clouds and said, \"Almost! I can already see the opening!\" \r\n\r\n14) Shawutikabake asked, \"How big is the opening? Can we fit into it?\" \r\n\r\n15) Hashandaiwulaike answered, \"It\'s this big.\"   As Hashandaiwulaike answered, he used his hands to demonstrate how big the opening [to heaven] was. \r\n\r\n16) But to his surprise, as soon as Hashandaiwulaike let go, the two lazy friends parted ways with the Roc, tumbled down, and were smashed into mincemeat. \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Fables] 两个懒汉 - The Two Lazybones', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1086-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 09:28:10', '2016-11-04 13:28:10', '', 1086, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1086-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1078, 1, '2012-04-10 05:01:45', '2012-04-10 09:01:45', '', 'Practice Reading Mandarin Chinese: Simlified Chinese TV and Movie Vocabulary, Advanced', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '20120410', '', '', '2012-04-10 05:01:45', '2012-04-10 09:01:45', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/20120410.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1079, 1, '2012-04-10 05:11:19', '2012-04-10 09:11:19', '', 'Learn to Read Chinese: Simplified Mandarin Chinese Advanced Exercises', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '20120410-inline', '', '', '2012-04-10 05:11:19', '2012-04-10 09:11:19', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/20120410-INLINE.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1081, 1, '2012-04-18 22:39:21', '2012-04-19 02:39:21', '[two_third]\nIn this essay you\'ll find a few specialized martial-arts words, but it\'s not really the vocabulary that places this in the \"advanced\" category. It\'s more that most of the text is full of wax-on, wax-off Karate Kid statements, as the martial arts master talks about how putting oneself in a position of inferiority allows you to attain superiority. \n\nThis kind of \"making logic out of illogical-sounding contradictions\" is very typical of martial arts and Eastern mysticism, and most of this type of stuff comes strait out of Taoist philosophy. \n\nYou\'ll enjoy this if you\'re an upper-intermediate or advanced reader, and are interested in some specialized vocabulary. \n\n<a href=\"http://gushi365.com/info/6017.html\">See the original</a>\n\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n马来西亚 - [pinyin]ma3 lai2 xi1 ya4[/pinyin] - Malaysia\n性骚扰 - [pinyin]xing4 sao1 rao3[/pinyin] - Sexual Harassment\n据 - [pinyin]ju4[/pinyin] - According to (reports, etc.)\n挡风玻璃 - [pinyin]dang3 feng1 bo1 li5[/pinyin] - Windshield\n吉隆坡 - [pinyin]ji2 long2 po1[/pinyin] - Kuala Lumpur\n妇女、家庭和社会发展部 - [pinyin]fu4 nv3 jia1 ting2 he2 she4 hui4 fa1 zhan3 bu4 [/pinyin] - Department of Women, Family and Community Development\n项 - [pinyin]xiang4[/pinyin] - Classifier for projects, actions, decisions and tasks\n举措 - [pinyin]ju3 cuo4[/pinyin] - Action, decision\n担忧 - [pinyin]dan1 you1[/pinyin] - To be concerned \n袭击 - [pinyin]xi2 ji1[/pinyin] - An attack, esp. by surprise\n埃及 - [pinyin]ai1 ji2[/pinyin] - Egypt\n伊朗 - [pinyin]yi1 lang3[/pinyin] - Iran\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n一名<strong>剑客</strong>去拜访一位<strong>武林泰斗</strong>，<strong>请教</strong>他是如何练就非凡武艺的。武林泰斗拿出一把只有一尺长的剑，说:“<strong>多亏</strong>了它，才让我有了今天的成就。”\n\n    剑客<strong>大为不解</strong>，问:“别人的剑都是三尺三寸长的，而你的剑为什么只有一尺长呢?<strong>兵器</strong><strong>谱</strong>上说:剑短一分，险增三分。拿着这么短的剑无疑是处于一种<strong>劣势</strong>，你怎么还说这剑好呢?”\n\n    武林泰斗说:“就因为在兵器上我处于劣势，所以我才会时时刻刻想到，如果与别人对阵，我会是多么的危险，所以我只有勤练剑招，以剑招之长补兵器之短，这样一来，我的剑招不断进步，劣势就转化为优势了。”\n\n    的确，优势和劣势有时候并不是绝对的。把自己放在劣势，就是给自己压力，为自己注入进取的动力，敢于把自己放在劣势的人，最终就有可能把劣势转化成为优势，从而取得胜利。\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nA swordsman went to pay a visit to a martial arts master [literally: a leading figure in martial arts circles] to ask for guidance on how to train [so as to attain] exceptional martial skill. The martial arts master took out a sword that was only 1 foot long, and said: \"Thanks to this, I\'ve accomplished what I have today.\" \n\nBewildered, the swordsman asked, \"Other people\'s swords are all 3 feet 3 inches long, so why is yours only one foot long? The weapons chart says that: if your sword is one-fold shorter, the danger to you is threefold greater.  兵器谱上说:剑短一分，险增三分。拿着这么短的剑无疑是处于一种劣势，你怎么还说这剑好呢?”\n\n    武林泰斗说:“就因为在兵器上我处于劣势，所以我才会时时刻刻想到，如果与别人对阵，我会是多么的危险，所以我只有勤练剑招，以剑招之长补兵器之短，这样一来，我的剑招不断进步，劣势就转化为优势了。”\n\n    的确，优势和劣势有时候并不是绝对的。把自己放在劣势，就是给自己压力，为自己注入进取的动力，敢于把自己放在劣势的人，最终就有可能把劣势转化成为优势，从而取得胜利。\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Martial Arts Mastery: Put Yourself at a Disadvantage', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '989-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-04-18 22:39:21', '2012-04-19 02:39:21', '', 989, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/04/18/989-revision-3/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1082, 1, '2012-04-18 23:27:22', '2012-04-19 03:27:22', '[two_third]\nIn this essay you\'ll find a few specialized martial-arts words, but it\'s not really the vocabulary that places this in the \"advanced\" category. It\'s more that most of the text is full of wax-on, wax-off Karate Kid statements, as the martial arts master talks about how putting oneself in a position of inferiority allows you to attain superiority. <!--more-->\n\nThis kind of \"making logic out of illogical-sounding contradictions\" is very typical of martial arts and Eastern mysticism, and most of this type of stuff comes strait out of Taoist philosophy. \n\nThere are two phrases I found grammatically difficult to get past, the first being 处于劣势, or as the text has it, 处于一种劣势. \"处于\" [pinyin]chu3 yu2[/pinyin] means to \"be in a state of...\", or \"to be in a position of...\". 劣势 [pinyin]lie4 shi4[/pinyin] means \"inferior\". Put together, this translates into English as \"to be at a disadvantage\", or in the case of 处于一种劣势, \"to be at some kind of disadvantage\".\n\nThe second and more difficult phrase is found in the third paragraph: 以剑招之长补兵器之短. The thing that makes this sentence difficult is all the accursed nebulous words that have many meanings - we\'ve got 以, 之, and 补 all smooshed together, and these words are the keys to unlocking the meaning of this sentence. So let\'s break this down word by word and see if all the definitions together don\'t give us a clue: \n\n以 - [pinyin]yi3[/pinyin] - The definition of 以 that\'s being used here is \"by means of\" or \"by way of\"\n剑招 - [pinyin]jian4 zhao1[/pinyin] - Swordsmanship maneuvers\n之 - [pinyin]zhi1[/pinyin] - of\n长 - [pinyin]chang2[/pinyin] - length\n补 - [pinyin]bu3[/pinyin] -   \"to make up for\"\n兵器 - [pinyin]bing1 qi4[/pinyin] -  Weapon\n之 - [pinyin]zhi1[/pinyin] - of\n短 - [pinyin]duan3[/pinyin] - shortness\n\nAh hah! Though this is still a little convoluted, once we know the meaning of 以 and 补 in this instance, this now becomes much simpler to read. It says: \"By means of the \'length\' of [my] swordsmanship maneuvers, [I] make up for the shortness of [my] weapon.\" We can see here that \"length\" doesn\'t really mean how \"long\" something is - \"length\" here means a high level of skill. The word \"length\" is just being used to juxtapose against the word \"short\". \n\nYou\'ll enjoy this if you\'re an upper-intermediate or advanced reader, and are interested in some specialized vocabulary. \n\n<a href=\"http://gushi365.com/info/6017.html\">See the original</a>\n\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n剑客 - [pinyin]jian4 ke4[/pinyin] - Swordsman, fencer\n武林泰斗 - [pinyin]wu3 lin2 tai4 dou3[/pinyin] - Martial arts master - lit: leading scholar in martial arts circles\n请教 - [pinyin]qing3 jiao4[/pinyin] - Ask for guidance\n多亏 - [pinyin]duo1 kui1[/pinyin] - Thanks to\n大为不解 - [pinyin]da4 wei4 bu4 jie3[/pinyin] - Bewildered\n兵器 - [pinyin]bing1 qi4[/pinyin] - Department of Women, Family and Community Development\n谱 - [pinyin]pu3[/pinyin] - Chart, table, register\n处于 - [pinyin]chu3 yu2[/pinyin] - To be in a state of...\n劣势 - [pinyin]lie4 shi4[/pinyin] - Inferior, disadvantaged\n对阵 - [pinyin]dui4 zhen4[/pinyin] - Poised for battle\n招 - [pinyin]zhao1[/pinyin] - Square up for a fight\n补 - [pinyin]bu3[/pinyin] - To make up for\n优势 - [pinyin]you1 shi4[/pinyin] - Advantage, superior\n注入 - [pinyin]zhu4 ru4[/pinyin] - To pour into\n敢于 - [pinyin]gan3 yu2[/pinyin] - To dare to\n胜利 - [pinyin]sheng4 li4[/pinyin] - Victory\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n一名<strong>剑客</strong>去拜访一位<strong>武林泰斗</strong>，<strong>请教</strong>他是如何练就非凡武艺的。武林泰斗拿出一把只有一尺长的剑，说:“<strong>多亏</strong>了它，才让我有了今天的成就。”\n\n 剑客<strong>大为不解</strong>，问:“别人的剑都是三尺三寸长的，而你的剑为什么只有一尺长呢?<strong>兵器</strong><strong>谱</strong>上说:剑短一分，险增三分。拿着这么短的剑无疑是<strong>处于</strong>一种<strong>劣势</strong>，你怎么还说这剑好呢?”\n\n武林泰斗说:“就因为在兵器上我处于劣势，所以我才会时时刻刻想到，如果与别人<strong>对阵</strong>，我会是多么的危险，所以我只有勤练剑<strong>招</strong>，以剑招之长<strong>补</strong>兵器之短，这样一来，我的剑招不断进步，劣势就转化为<strong>优势</strong>了。”\n\n    的确，优势和劣势有时候并不是绝对的。把自己放在劣势，就是给自己压力，为自己<strong>注入</strong>进取的动力，<strong>敢于</strong>把自己放在劣势的人，最终就有可能把劣势转化成为优势，从而取得<strong>胜利</strong>。\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nA swordsman went to pay a visit to a martial arts master [literally: a leading figure in martial arts circles] to ask for guidance on how to train [so as to attain] exceptional martial skill. The martial arts master took out a sword that was only 1 foot long, and said: \"Thanks to this, I\'ve accomplished what I have today.\" \n\nBewildered, the swordsman asked, \"Other people\'s swords are all 3 feet 3 inches long, so why is yours only one foot long? The weapons chart says that: if your sword is one-fold shorter, the danger to you is threefold greater. Using this short of a sword undoubtedly places you at a disadvantage, how can you say this is a good sword?\" \n\nThe martial arts master said: \"That\'s precisely it - my weapon puts me at a disadvantage, so I must always be thinking that if I\'m up against another person in a fight, the danger to me is greater, and all I have is my diligently practiced sword maneuvers, so the \"length\" of my maneuvers must make up for the shortness of my sword; thus, I\'m always improving, and a disadvantage is transformed into an advantage.    \n\nIndeed, \"advantage\" and \"disadvantage\" really isn\'t always set in stone. If you put yourself at a disadvantage, you put pressure on yourself, pouring into yourself the power to forge ahead; those who dare to place themselves in an inferior position, can perhaps in the end turn their disadvantage into an advantage, and thereby achieve victory. \n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Martial Arts Mastery: Put Yourself at a Disadvantage', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '989-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-04-18 23:27:22', '2012-04-19 03:27:22', '', 989, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/04/18/989-revision-4/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1083, 1, '2012-04-18 23:50:14', '2012-04-19 03:50:14', '', 'Reading Chinese: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced Chinese Practice Essays', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '20120419', '', '', '2012-04-18 23:50:14', '2012-04-19 03:50:14', '', 989, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/20120419.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1084, 1, '2012-04-18 23:50:15', '2012-04-19 03:50:15', '', 'Reading Chinese: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced Chinese Practice Essays', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '20120419-inline', '', '', '2012-04-18 23:50:15', '2012-04-19 03:50:15', '', 989, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/20120419-inline.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1085, 1, '2012-04-18 23:32:06', '2012-04-19 03:32:06', '[two_third]\nIn this essay you\'ll learn to read Chinese martial arts words - well, a few, anyway - but it\'s not really the vocabulary that places this in the \"advanced\" category. It\'s more that most of the text is full of wax-on, wax-off Karate Kid statements, as the martial arts master talks about how putting oneself in a position of inferiority allows you to attain superiority. <!--more-->\n\nThis kind of \"making logic out of illogical-sounding contradictions\" is very typical of martial arts and Eastern mysticism, and most of this type of stuff comes strait out of Taoist philosophy. \n\nThere are two phrases I found grammatically difficult to get past, the first being 处于劣势, or as the text has it, 处于一种劣势. \"处于\" [pinyin]chu3 yu2[/pinyin] means to \"be in a state of...\", or \"to be in a position of...\". 劣势 [pinyin]lie4 shi4[/pinyin] means \"inferior\". Put together, this translates into English as \"to be at a disadvantage\", or in the case of 处于一种劣势, \"to be at some kind of disadvantage\".\n\nThe second and more difficult phrase is found in the third paragraph: 以剑招之长补兵器之短. The thing that makes this sentence difficult is all the accursed nebulous words that have many meanings - we\'ve got 以, 之, and 补 all smooshed together, and these words are the keys to unlocking the meaning of this sentence. So let\'s break this down word by word and see if all the definitions together don\'t give us a clue: \n\n以 - [pinyin]yi3[/pinyin] - The definition of 以 that\'s being used here is \"by means of\" or \"by way of\"\n剑招 - [pinyin]jian4 zhao1[/pinyin] - Swordsmanship maneuvers\n之 - [pinyin]zhi1[/pinyin] - of\n长 - [pinyin]chang2[/pinyin] - length\n补 - [pinyin]bu3[/pinyin] -   \"to make up for\"\n兵器 - [pinyin]bing1 qi4[/pinyin] -  Weapon\n之 - [pinyin]zhi1[/pinyin] - of\n短 - [pinyin]duan3[/pinyin] - shortness\n\nAh hah! Though this is still a little convoluted, once we know the meaning of 以 and 补 in this instance, this now becomes much simpler to read. It says: \"By means of the \'length\' of [my] swordsmanship maneuvers, [I] make up for the shortness of [my] weapon.\" We can see here that \"length\" doesn\'t really mean how \"long\" something is - \"length\" here means a high level of skill. The word \"length\" is just being used to juxtapose against the word \"short\". \n\nYou\'ll enjoy this if you\'re an upper-intermediate or advanced reader, and are interested in some specialized vocabulary. \n\n<a href=\"http://gushi365.com/info/6017.html\">See the original</a>\n\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n剑客 - [pinyin]jian4 ke4[/pinyin] - Swordsman, fencer\n武林泰斗 - [pinyin]wu3 lin2 tai4 dou3[/pinyin] - Martial arts master - lit: leading scholar in martial arts circles\n请教 - [pinyin]qing3 jiao4[/pinyin] - Ask for guidance\n多亏 - [pinyin]duo1 kui1[/pinyin] - Thanks to\n大为不解 - [pinyin]da4 wei4 bu4 jie3[/pinyin] - Bewildered\n兵器 - [pinyin]bing1 qi4[/pinyin] - Department of Women, Family and Community Development\n谱 - [pinyin]pu3[/pinyin] - Chart, table, register\n处于 - [pinyin]chu3 yu2[/pinyin] - To be in a state of...\n劣势 - [pinyin]lie4 shi4[/pinyin] - Inferior, disadvantaged\n对阵 - [pinyin]dui4 zhen4[/pinyin] - Poised for battle\n招 - [pinyin]zhao1[/pinyin] - Square up for a fight\n补 - [pinyin]bu3[/pinyin] - To make up for\n优势 - [pinyin]you1 shi4[/pinyin] - Advantage, superior\n注入 - [pinyin]zhu4 ru4[/pinyin] - To pour into\n敢于 - [pinyin]gan3 yu2[/pinyin] - To dare to\n胜利 - [pinyin]sheng4 li4[/pinyin] - Victory\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n一名<strong>剑客</strong>去拜访一位<strong>武林泰斗</strong>，<strong>请教</strong>他是如何练就非凡武艺的。武林泰斗拿出一把只有一尺长的剑，说:“<strong>多亏</strong>了它，才让我有了今天的成就。”\n\n 剑客<strong>大为不解</strong>，问:“别人的剑都是三尺三寸长的，而你的剑为什么只有一尺长呢?<strong>兵器</strong><strong>谱</strong>上说:剑短一分，险增三分。拿着这么短的剑无疑是<strong>处于</strong>一种<strong>劣势</strong>，你怎么还说这剑好呢?”\n\n武林泰斗说:“就因为在兵器上我处于劣势，所以我才会时时刻刻想到，如果与别人<strong>对阵</strong>，我会是多么的危险，所以我只有勤练剑<strong>招</strong>，以剑招之长<strong>补</strong>兵器之短，这样一来，我的剑招不断进步，劣势就转化为<strong>优势</strong>了。”\n\n    的确，优势和劣势有时候并不是绝对的。把自己放在劣势，就是给自己压力，为自己<strong>注入</strong>进取的动力，<strong>敢于</strong>把自己放在劣势的人，最终就有可能把劣势转化成为优势，从而取得<strong>胜利</strong>。\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nA swordsman went to pay a visit to a martial arts master [literally: a leading figure in martial arts circles] to ask for guidance on how to train [so as to attain] exceptional martial skill. The martial arts master took out a sword that was only 1 foot long, and said: \"Thanks to this, I\'ve accomplished what I have today.\" \n\nBewildered, the swordsman asked, \"Other people\'s swords are all 3 feet 3 inches long, so why is yours only one foot long? The weapons chart says that: if your sword is one-fold shorter, the danger to you is threefold greater. Using this short of a sword undoubtedly places you at a disadvantage, how can you say this is a good sword?\" \n\nThe martial arts master said: \"That\'s precisely it - my weapon puts me at a disadvantage, so I must always be thinking that if I\'m up against another person in a fight, the danger to me is greater, and all I have is my diligently practiced sword maneuvers, so the \"length\" of my maneuvers must make up for the shortness of my sword; thus, I\'m always improving, and a disadvantage is transformed into an advantage.    \n\nIndeed, \"advantage\" and \"disadvantage\" really isn\'t always set in stone. If you put yourself at a disadvantage, you put pressure on yourself, pouring into yourself the power to forge ahead; those who dare to place themselves in an inferior position, can perhaps in the end turn their disadvantage into an advantage, and thereby achieve victory. \n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Martial Arts Mastery: Put Yourself at a Disadvantage', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '989-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-04-18 23:32:06', '2012-04-19 03:32:06', '', 989, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/04/18/989-revision-5/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1087, 1, '2012-04-21 00:30:59', '2012-04-21 04:30:59', '[two_third]\nThis is probably the longest text I\'ve ever posted, but happily it\'s very beginner reading. The first few sentences are much more intermediate as we learn new vocabulary words and set up the story, but after that the reading is very smooth and very simple, so press through the first paragraph or two if you can. <!--more-->\n\nI kind of can\'t tell weather I should be offended by this or not - the protagonists are two \"lazy Uighurs\" (A Uighur 维吾尔族 [pinyin]wei2 wu2 er3 zu2[/pinyin] is a member of the ethnic minority hailing from the Uighur Autonomous Region of China, a politically touchy topic on the mainland). I guess I\'m a little iffy on that because I\'ve never seen a folk story about heroic Uighurs or smart Uighurs, or really ever seen a story about Uighurs at all. So to run across this one first makes me wonder if the \"lazy Uighur\" thing is a mean stereotype or if I just haven\'t read widely enough. I\'ll have to go in search of some Uighur folk tales in Mandarin and see what I can dig up. \n\nI really know almost nothing about Uighur cultural history, but this story taught me something interesting: it looks like Uighurs have six-character names. Our two protagonists here are rather lengthily called 哈山代吾来克 [pinyin]Ha1 shan1 dai4 wu2 lai2 ke4[/pinyin] and 沙吾提卡巴克 [pinyin]sha1 wu2 ti2 ka3 ba1 ke4[/pinyin]. \n\nAnother interesting thing: this story mentions a 大鹏鸟 [pinyin]da peng3 niao3[/pinyin] - called a \"Roc\" in English (though I\'d never heard that word before). Apparently, it\'s a legendary fictional bird of prey, like a giant Eagle.\n\nThe Chinese title of this post is 两个懒汉 - the two lazybones. \n\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n众星捧月- [pinyin]zhong4 xing1 peng3 yue4[/pinyin] - Core figure in a group, group around a revered leader\n冷酷 - [pinyin]leng3 ku4[/pinyin] - Callous, unfeeling\n帅哥 - [pinyin]shuai4 ge1[/pinyin] - Hot guy, handsome man\n出色 - [pinyin]chu1 se4[/pinyin] - Remarkable, outstanding\n社交白痴 - [pinyin]she4 jiao1 bai2 chi1[/pinyin] - Social idiot, not know how to interact with others socially\n死党 - [pinyin]si3 dang3[/pinyin] - Inseparable sidekick\n一塌糊涂 - [pinyin]yi1 ta1 hu2 tu5[/pinyin] - Muddled and collapsing, in complete shambles\n出头 - [pinyin]chu1 tou2[/pinyin] - Get out of trouble\n亲密无间 - [pinyin]qin1 mi4 wu2 jian1[/pinyin] - Close relation\n独白 - [pinyin]du2 bai2[/pinyin] - A monologue\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n从前，维吾尔族有这么两个懒汉，一个叫哈山代吾来克，一个叫沙吾提卡巴克。他们都懒得要命，吃穿全靠父母，一点活儿也不干，一天到晚靠着墙根晒太阳。 这样，久而久之，弄得他们父母也讨厌他们了，不得不把他们从家里赶了出来。他们俩过着流浪的生活，饿了几天肚子，一块馕也没有吃到。\n\n这天，他俩蹲在馕坑上商量着今后该怎么办。哈山代吾来克说: “最好到一个有吃有穿，又不需要劳动的地方去，不知道有没有这么个地方？”\n\n沙吾提卡巴克说: “世界上是没有这么个地方的，只伯天上有吧！听说天上的神仙最快活。”\n\n哈山代吾来克说: “那末，我们就上天去吧，干嘛要呆在这个必须劳动的地方受人鄙视呢？”\n\n沙吾提卡巴克说: “好倒好，不过怎么上去呢？能找到这么个长梯子吗？”\n\n哈山代吾来克肯定地说: “这么长的梯子是找不到的。但是，没有梯子也可以上去。”\n\n沙吾提卡巴克惊奇地问道: “怎么上去？”\n\n哈山代吾来克说: “山谷里有一只大鹏鸟，小时候我跟父亲上去看见过。我们只要把这只大鹏抓住，它就会带我们上天去的。”\n\n沙吾提卡巴克说: “好办法，我们就这样办好了。”\n\n两个朋友就这么决定了。第二天一早，他们就起身往山上走去，走到一个山谷里，找到了大鹏的窝，他们在附近躲藏起来，等到太阳落山的时候，大鹏飞回来刚落在窝里，就被哈山代吾来克紧紧地抓住了。他连忙招呼沙吾提卡巴克抓住自己的脚，大鹏受了惊，直往天空飞去。\n\n就这样，沙吾提卡巴克抓住哈山代吾来克的脚，哈山代吾来克抓住大鹏的爪子，飘飘荡荡地一直飞向七层云端里去了。\n\n沙吾提卡巴克问道: “嘿！到了吗？我的手吃不消啦！”\n\n哈山代吾来克望着云层的空隙说: “快啦！连窟窿都已经看见了。”\n\n沙吾提卡巴克问道: “窟窿有多大？我们能不能钻进去呀？”\n\n哈山代吾来克回答: “有这么大。”哈山代吾来克一面答应着，一面用手来比划窟窿的大小。\n\n不料哈山代吾来克两手一松，这两个懒汉朋友都离开了大鹏鸟，摇摇晃晃地掉下来，摔成肉酱了。\n</div>\n\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH\"]\nLong ago, among the Uighur people there were two lazybones, one called Hashandaiwulaike, the other called Shawutikabake. They were both extremely lazy, depending on their parents for food and clothing, unwilling to do even a little work, from morning to night they sat at the base of a wall and sunned themselves. As time passed this way, their parents [began to] loathe them, and had no choice but to kick them out. The two of them lived a drifter\'s life, and went hungry for days at a time, with not even a piece of bread to eat.   \n\nOne day, they were squatting next to a bread pit discussing what to do. Hashandaiwulaike said: The ebst thing would be to go to a place where there\'s food and clothes, but you don\'t have to work - I don\'t know if there is such a place?\"\n\nShawutikabake said: \"There\'s no such place on this earth, only in heaven! I heard that the immortals in heaven are the happiest.\" \n\nHashandaiwulaike said: \"In that case, we should go to heaven. Why on earth would we stay in this place where we have to work and suffer other people\'s disdain?\" \n\nShawutikabake said:  \"That\'s all very well and good, but how will we get up there? Can we find a ladder that long?\" \n\nHashandaiwulaike said: \"We could never find a ladder that long, but you can still get up there without a ladder.\" \n\nShawutikabake said: \"How?\"\n\nHashandaiwulaike said: \"In the valley there\'s a Roc bird, when I was little I saw it when I went up there with my father. All we have to do is grab onto the Roc, and he will take us up to heaven.\"\n\nShawutikabake said:  \"That\'s a great idea, we\'ll do it that way.\" \n\nSo the two friends decided thus. On the morning of the next day, they got us and walked to the mountain. When they got to the mountain valley, they found the Roc\'s nest, and they hid themselves next to it. They waited until the sun fell behind the mountain and the Roc flew back and had just landed in its nest, when Hashandaiwulaike grabbed it and held it tightly. He promptly urged Shawutikabake to grab his feet, and the Roc was frightened and flew into the sky.\n\nSo Shawutikabake  was holding on to Hashandaiwulaike\'s feet, and Hashandaiwulaike  was holding on to the Roc\'s claws, and they floated towards the seventh level of clouds [heaven]. \n\nShawutikabake asked,\" Hey! Are we there yet? I can\'t hold on much longer!\" \n\nHashandaiwulaike looked into a gap between the clouds and said, \"Almost! I can already see the entrance [literally: the hole, the crack]!\"   \n\nShawutikabake asked, \"How big is the entrance? Can we fit into it?\" \n\nHashandaiwulaike answered, \"It\'s this big.\"   As Hashandaiwulaike answered, he used his hands to demonstrate how big the [entrance] hole was. \n\nBut to his surprise, as soon as Hashandaiwulaike let go, the two lazy friends parted ways with the Roc, tumbled down, and became mincemeat. 不料哈山代吾来克两手一松，这两个懒汉朋友都离开了大鹏鸟，摇摇晃晃地掉下来，摔成肉酱了。\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'The Two Lazybones', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1086-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-04-21 00:30:59', '2012-04-21 04:30:59', '', 1086, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/04/21/1086-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1088, 1, '2012-04-21 00:55:32', '2012-04-21 04:55:32', '[two_third]\nThis is probably the longest text I\'ve ever posted, but this is upper beginner to mid-intermediate reading. I could probably toss this in the beginner category, but the length is possibly prohibitive. The first few sentences are much more intermediate as we learn new vocabulary words and set up the story, but after that the reading is mostly a dialogue which is very smooth and fairly simple, so press through the first paragraph or two if you can. <!--more-->\n\nI kind of can\'t tell weather I should be offended by this or not - the protagonists are two \"lazy Uighurs\" (A Uighur 维吾尔族 [pinyin]wei2 wu2 er3 zu2[/pinyin] is a member of the ethnic minority hailing from the Uighur Autonomous Region of China, a politically touchy topic on the mainland). I\'ve never seen a folk story about heroic Uighurs or smart Uighurs, or really ever seen a story about Uighurs at all. So to run across this one first makes me wonder if the \"lazy Uighur\" thing is a mean stereotype or if I just haven\'t read widely enough. I\'ll have to go in search of some Uighur folk tales in Mandarin and see what I can dig up. \n\nI really know almost nothing about Uighur cultural history, but this story taught me something interesting: it looks like Uighurs have six-character names. Our two protagonists here are rather lengthily called 哈山代吾来克 [pinyin]Ha1 shan1 dai4 wu2 lai2 ke4[/pinyin] and 沙吾提卡巴克 [pinyin]sha1 wu2 ti2 ka3 ba1 ke4[/pinyin]. \n\nAnother interesting thing: this story mentions a 大鹏鸟 [pinyin]da peng3 niao3[/pinyin] - called a \"Roc\" in English (though I\'d never heard that word before). Apparently, it\'s a legendary fictional bird of prey, like a giant Eagle.\n\nThe Chinese title of this post is 两个懒汉 - the two lazybones. \n\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n懒汉- [pinyin]lan3 han4[/pinyin] - Lazybones\n要命 - [pinyin]yao4 ming4[/pinyin] - Extremely\n墙根 - [pinyin]qiang2 gen1[/pinyin] - Base of a wall\n久而久之 - [pinyin]jiu3 er2 jiu3 zhi1[/pinyin] - As time passed\n不得不 - [pinyin]bu4 de2 bu4[/pinyin] - have no choice but to... \n赶 - [pinyin]gan3[/pinyin] - To kick or drive [someone / something] out \n流浪 - [pinyin]liu2 lang4[/pinyin] - Drift aimlessly, wander\n馕 - [pinyin]nang2[/pinyin] - Flatbread\n蹲 - [pinyin]dun1[/pinyin] - To crouch, squat\n神仙 - [pinyin]shen2 xian1[/pinyin] - Immortals, dieties\n干嘛 - [pinyin]gan4 ma2[/pinyin] - Why on earth would...? Why should [I / you]...? Whatever for...?\n鄙视 - [pinyin]bi3 shi4[/pinyin] - Contempt, disdain \n好倒好 - [pinyin]hao3 dao3 hao3[/pinyin] - That\'s all very well and good, but...\n梯子 - [pinyin]ti1 zi[/pinyin] - A ladder\n山谷 - [pinyin]shan1 gu3[/pinyin] - A valley\n抓住 - [pinyin]zhua1 zhu4[/pinyin] - To grab onto, catch\n窝 - [pinyin]wo1[/pinyin] - A nest\n躲藏 - [pinyin]duo3 cang2[/pinyin] - To hide \n飘飘荡荡 - [pinyin]piao1 piao1 dang4 dang4[/pinyin] - To drift, float on waves or wind\n窟窿 - [pinyin]ku1 long5[/pinyin] - Hole, pocket, cavity, opening\n松 - [pinyin]song1[/pinyin] - To loosen or relax a hold\n摇摇晃晃 - [pinyin]yao2 yao2 huang4 huan4[/pinyin] - back and forth\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n从前，维吾尔族有这么两个<strong>懒汉</strong>，一个叫哈山代吾来克，一个叫沙吾提卡巴克。他们都懒得<strong>要命</strong>，吃穿全靠父母，一点活儿也不干，一天到晚靠着<strong>墙根</strong>晒太阳。 这样，<strong>久而久之</strong>，弄得他们父母也<strong>讨厌</strong>他们了，<strong>不得不</strong>把他们从家里<strong>赶</strong>了出来。他们俩过着<strong>流浪</strong>的生活，饿了几天肚子，一块<strong>馕</strong>也没有吃到。\n\n这天，他俩<strong>蹲</strong>在馕坑上商量着今后该怎么办。哈山代吾来克说: “最好到一个有吃有穿，又不需要劳动的地方去，不知道有没有这么个地方？”\n\n沙吾提卡巴克说: “世界上是没有这么个地方的，只天上有吧！听说天上的<strong>神仙</strong>最快活。”\n\n哈山代吾来克说: “那末，我们就上天去吧，<strong>干嘛</strong>要呆在这个必须劳动的地方受人<strong>鄙视</strong>呢？”\n\n沙吾提卡巴克说: “<strong>好倒好</strong>，不过怎么上去呢？能找到这么个长<strong>梯子</strong>吗？”\n\n哈山代吾来克肯定地说: “这么长的梯子是找不到的。但是，没有梯子也可以上去。”\n\n沙吾提卡巴克惊奇地问道: “怎么上去？”\n\n哈山代吾来克说: “<strong>山谷</strong>里有一只大鹏鸟，小时候我跟父亲上去看见过。我们只要把这只大鹏<strong>抓住</strong>，它就会带我们上天去的。”\n\n沙吾提卡巴克说: “好办法，我们就这样办好了。”\n\n两个朋友就这么决定了。第二天一早，他们就起身往山上走去，走到一个山谷里，找到了大鹏的<strong>窝</strong>，他们在附近<strong>躲藏</strong>起来，等到太阳落山的时候，大鹏飞回来刚落在窝里，就被哈山代吾来克紧紧地抓住了。他连忙招呼沙吾提卡巴克抓住自己的脚，大鹏受了惊，直往天空飞去。\n\n就这样，沙吾提卡巴克抓住哈山代吾来克的脚，哈山代吾来克抓住大鹏的爪子，<strong>飘飘荡荡</strong>地一直飞向七层云端里去了。\n\n沙吾提卡巴克问道: “嘿！到了吗？我的手吃不消啦！”\n\n哈山代吾来克望着云层的空隙说: “快啦！连<strong>窟窿</strong>都已经看见了。”\n\n沙吾提卡巴克问道: “窟窿有多大？我们能不能钻进去呀？”\n\n哈山代吾来克回答: “有这么大。”哈山代吾来克一面答应着，一面用手来比划窟窿的大小。\n\n不料哈山代吾来克两手一<strong>松</strong>，这两个懒汉朋友都离开了大鹏鸟，<strong>摇摇晃晃</strong>地掉下来，摔成肉酱了。\n</div>\n\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH\"]\nLong ago, among the Uighur people there were two lazybones, one called Hashandaiwulaike, the other called Shawutikabake. They were both extremely lazy, depending on their parents for food and clothing, unwilling to do even a little work, from morning to night they sat at the base of a wall and sunned themselves. As time passed this way, their parents [began to] loathe them, and had no choice but to kick them out. The two of them lived a drifter\'s life, and went hungry for days at a time, with not even a piece of bread to eat.   \n\nOne day, they were squatting next to a bread pit discussing what to do. Hashandaiwulaike said: The ebst thing would be to go to a place where there\'s food and clothes, but you don\'t have to work - I don\'t know if there is such a place?\"\n\nShawutikabake said: \"There\'s no such place on this earth, only in heaven! I heard that the immortals in heaven are the happiest.\" \n\nHashandaiwulaike said: \"In that case, we should go to heaven. Why on earth would we stay in this place where we have to work and suffer other people\'s disdain?\" \n\nShawutikabake said:  \"That\'s all very well and good, but how will we get up there? Can we find a ladder that long?\" \n\nHashandaiwulaike said: \"We could never find a ladder that long, but you can still get up there without a ladder.\" \n\nShawutikabake said: \"How?\"\n\nHashandaiwulaike said: \"In the valley there\'s a Roc bird, when I was little I saw it when I went up there with my father. All we have to do is grab onto the Roc, and he will take us up to heaven.\"\n\nShawutikabake said:  \"That\'s a great idea, we\'ll do it that way.\" \n\nSo the two friends decided thus. On the morning of the next day, they got us and walked to the mountain. When they got to the mountain valley, they found the Roc\'s nest, and they hid themselves next to it. They waited until the sun fell behind the mountain and the Roc flew back and had just landed in its nest, when Hashandaiwulaike grabbed it and held it tightly. He promptly called to Shawutikabake to grab his feet, and the Roc was frightened and flew into the sky.\n\nSo Shawutikabake  was holding on to Hashandaiwulaike\'s feet, and Hashandaiwulaike  was holding on to the Roc\'s claws, and they floated towards the seventh level of clouds [heaven]. \n\nShawutikabake asked,\" Hey! Are we there yet? I can\'t hold on much longer!\" \n\nHashandaiwulaike looked into a gap between the clouds and said, \"Almost! I can already see the opening!\" \n\nShawutikabake asked, \"How big is the opening? Can we fit into it?\" \n\nHashandaiwulaike answered, \"It\'s this big.\"   As Hashandaiwulaike answered, he used his hands to demonstrate how big the opening [to heaven] was. \n\nBut to his surprise, as soon as Hashandaiwulaike let go, the two lazy friends parted ways with the Roc, tumbled down, and were smashed into mincemeat. \n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'The Two Lazybones', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1086-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-04-21 00:55:32', '2012-04-21 04:55:32', '', 1086, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/04/21/1086-revision-2/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1123, 1, '2012-06-15 06:32:05', '2012-06-15 10:32:05', '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', '', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'little-grass-silver-hair', '', '', '2016-11-04 09:17:04', '2016-11-04 13:17:04', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1123', 0, 'post', '', 29),
(1732, 1, '2016-10-31 03:17:48', '2016-10-31 07:17:48', '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]', 'Little Grass\' Silver Hair', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1123-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 03:17:48', '2016-10-31 07:17:48', '', 1123, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1123-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1090, 1, '2012-03-18 01:04:15', '2012-03-18 05:04:15', '[two_third]\r\nHoo boy, this song is an AWESOME find. Not only is it politically charged in the most amazing way, it\'s ultra-beginner reading. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/20120405-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Study Easy Chinese Childrens Reading: Chinese Children&#039;s Songs, Poems and Stories\" title=\"Study Easy Chinese Childrens Reading: Chinese Children&#039;s Songs, Poems and Stories\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />But first, a little back story so we all know what we\'re reading here (and I do hope after this my blog stays available on the mainland - gonna use some weird spacing and spelling to avoid bots). The big campaign here right now is an expansion of the \"Ha rmoni ous S *ocie\\ ty\" 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 \"h-a r m onisd\".  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[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\r\n清 - [pinyin]qing1[/pinyin] - Clear\r\n密 - [pinyin]mi4[/pinyin] - Dense, thick\r\n空 - [pinyin]kong4[/pinyin] - Open, empty, unoccupied\r\n忙 - [pinyin]mang2[/pinyin] - To rush around\r\n啊 - [pinyin]a1[/pinyin] - Ah!, Oh!\r\n和谐 - [pinyin]he2 xie2[/pinyin] - Harmony, harmonious\r\n环境 - [pinyin]huan2 jing4[/pinyin] - Environment\r\n创造 - [pinyin]chuang4 zao4[/pinyin] - to create, to bring about\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]', 'The Harmonious Environment Song', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1065-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-03-18 01:04:15', '2012-03-18 05:04:15', '', 1065, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/03/18/1065-revision-5/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1091, 1, '2012-04-25 04:43:53', '2012-04-25 08:43:53', '', 'Mandarin Chinese Characters: Learn to Read Simplified Chinese', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '20120425', '', '', '2012-04-25 04:43:53', '2012-04-25 08:43:53', '', 1086, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/20120425.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1092, 1, '2012-04-25 04:43:55', '2012-04-25 08:43:55', '', 'Mandarin Chinese Characters: Learn to Read Simplified Chinese', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '20120425-inline', '', '', '2012-04-25 04:43:55', '2012-04-25 08:43:55', '', 1086, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/20120425-INLINE.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0);
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(1093, 1, '2012-04-25 04:41:08', '2012-04-25 08:41:08', '[two_third]\nThis is probably the longest text I\'ve ever posted, but this is upper-beginner to mid-intermediate reading. I could probably toss this in the beginner category, but the length is prohibitive. The first few sentences are much more intermediate as we learn new vocabulary words and set up the story, but after that the reading is mostly a dialogue which is very smooth and fairly simple, so press through the first paragraph or two if you can. <!--more-->\n\nI kind of can\'t tell weather I should be offended by this or not - the protagonists are two \"lazy Uighurs\" (A Uighur 维吾尔族 [pinyin]wei2 wu2 er3 zu2[/pinyin] is a member of the ethnic minority hailing from the Uighur Autonomous Region of China, a politically touchy topic on the mainland). I\'ve never seen a folk story about heroic Uighurs or smart Uighurs, or really ever seen a story about Uighurs at all. So to run across this one first makes me wonder if the \"lazy Uighur\" thing is a mean stereotype or if I just haven\'t read widely enough. I\'ll have to go in search of some Uighur folk tales in Mandarin and see what I can dig up. \n\nI really know almost nothing about Uighur cultural history, but this story taught me something interesting: it looks like Uighurs have six-character names (as opposed to two and three character names for Chinese and 4 character names for Japanese). Our two protagonists here are rather lengthily called 哈山代吾来克 [pinyin]Ha1 shan1 dai4 wu2 lai2 ke4[/pinyin] and 沙吾提卡巴克 [pinyin]sha1 wu2 ti2 ka3 ba1 ke4[/pinyin]. \n\nAnother interesting thing: this story mentions a 大鹏鸟 [pinyin]da peng3 niao3[/pinyin] - called a \"Roc\" in English (though I\'d never heard that word before). Apparently, it\'s a legendary fictional bird of prey, like a giant eagle.\n\nThe Chinese title of this post is 两个懒汉 - the two lazybones. \n\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n懒汉- [pinyin]lan3 han4[/pinyin] - Lazybones\n要命 - [pinyin]yao4 ming4[/pinyin] - Extremely\n墙根 - [pinyin]qiang2 gen1[/pinyin] - Base of a wall\n久而久之 - [pinyin]jiu3 er2 jiu3 zhi1[/pinyin] - As time passed\n不得不 - [pinyin]bu4 de2 bu4[/pinyin] - have no choice but to... \n赶 - [pinyin]gan3[/pinyin] - To kick or drive [someone / something] out \n流浪 - [pinyin]liu2 lang4[/pinyin] - Drift aimlessly, wander\n馕 - [pinyin]nang2[/pinyin] - Flatbread\n蹲 - [pinyin]dun1[/pinyin] - To crouch, squat\n神仙 - [pinyin]shen2 xian1[/pinyin] - Immortals, dieties\n干嘛 - [pinyin]gan4 ma2[/pinyin] - Why on earth would...? Why should [I / you]...? Whatever for...?\n鄙视 - [pinyin]bi3 shi4[/pinyin] - Contempt, disdain \n好倒好 - [pinyin]hao3 dao3 hao3[/pinyin] - That\'s all very well and good, but...\n梯子 - [pinyin]ti1 zi[/pinyin] - A ladder\n山谷 - [pinyin]shan1 gu3[/pinyin] - A valley\n抓住 - [pinyin]zhua1 zhu4[/pinyin] - To grab onto, catch\n窝 - [pinyin]wo1[/pinyin] - A nest\n躲藏 - [pinyin]duo3 cang2[/pinyin] - To hide \n飘飘荡荡 - [pinyin]piao1 piao1 dang4 dang4[/pinyin] - To drift, float on waves or wind\n窟窿 - [pinyin]ku1 long5[/pinyin] - Hole, pocket, cavity, opening\n松 - [pinyin]song1[/pinyin] - To loosen or relax a hold\n摇摇晃晃 - [pinyin]yao2 yao2 huang4 huan4[/pinyin] - back and forth\n肉酱 - [pinyin]rou4 jiang4[/pinyin] - Mincemeat\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n从前，维吾尔族有这么两个<strong>懒汉</strong>，一个叫哈山代吾来克，一个叫沙吾提卡巴克。他们都懒得<strong>要命</strong>，吃穿全靠父母，一点活儿也不干，一天到晚靠着<strong>墙根</strong>晒太阳。 这样，<strong>久而久之</strong>，弄得他们父母也<strong>讨厌</strong>他们了，<strong>不得不</strong>把他们从家里<strong>赶</strong>了出来。他们俩过着<strong>流浪</strong>的生活，饿了几天肚子，一块<strong>馕</strong>也没有吃到。\n\n这天，他俩<strong>蹲</strong>在馕坑上商量着今后该怎么办。哈山代吾来克说: “最好到一个有吃有穿，又不需要劳动的地方去，不知道有没有这么个地方？”\n\n沙吾提卡巴克说: “世界上是没有这么个地方的，只天上有吧！听说天上的<strong>神仙</strong>最快活。”\n\n哈山代吾来克说: “那末，我们就上天去吧，<strong>干嘛</strong>要呆在这个必须劳动的地方受人<strong>鄙视</strong>呢？”\n\n沙吾提卡巴克说: “<strong>好倒好</strong>，不过怎么上去呢？能找到这么个长<strong>梯子</strong>吗？”\n\n哈山代吾来克肯定地说: “这么长的梯子是找不到的。但是，没有梯子也可以上去。”\n\n沙吾提卡巴克惊奇地问道: “怎么上去？”\n\n哈山代吾来克说: “<strong>山谷</strong>里有一只大鹏鸟，小时候我跟父亲上去看见过。我们只要把这只大鹏<strong>抓住</strong>，它就会带我们上天去的。”\n\n沙吾提卡巴克说: “好办法，我们就这样办好了。”\n\n两个朋友就这么决定了。第二天一早，他们就起身往山上走去，走到一个山谷里，找到了大鹏的<strong>窝</strong>，他们在附近<strong>躲藏</strong>起来，等到太阳落山的时候，大鹏飞回来刚落在窝里，就被哈山代吾来克紧紧地抓住了。他连忙招呼沙吾提卡巴克抓住自己的脚，大鹏受了惊，直往天空飞去。\n\n就这样，沙吾提卡巴克抓住哈山代吾来克的脚，哈山代吾来克抓住大鹏的爪子，<strong>飘飘荡荡</strong>地一直飞向七层云端里去了。\n\n沙吾提卡巴克问道: “嘿！到了吗？我的手吃不消啦！”\n\n哈山代吾来克望着云层的空隙说: “快啦！连<strong>窟窿</strong>都已经看见了。”\n\n沙吾提卡巴克问道: “窟窿有多大？我们能不能钻进去呀？”\n\n哈山代吾来克回答: “有这么大。”哈山代吾来克一面答应着，一面用手来比划窟窿的大小。\n\n不料哈山代吾来克两手一<strong>松</strong>，这两个懒汉朋友都离开了大鹏鸟，<strong>摇摇晃晃</strong>地掉下来，摔成<strong>肉酱</strong>了。\n</div>\n\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH\"]\nLong ago, among the Uighur people there were two lazybones, one called Hashandaiwulaike, the other called Shawutikabake. They were both extremely lazy, depending on their parents for food and clothing, unwilling to do even a little work, from morning to night they sat at the base of a wall and sunned themselves. As time passed this way, their parents [began to] loathe them, and had no choice but to kick them out. The two of them lived a drifter\'s life, and went hungry for days at a time, with not even a piece of bread to eat.   \n\nOne day, they were squatting next to a bread pit discussing what to do. Hashandaiwulaike said: The ebst thing would be to go to a place where there\'s food and clothes, but you don\'t have to work - I don\'t know if there is such a place?\"\n\nShawutikabake said: \"There\'s no such place on this earth, only in heaven! I heard that the immortals in heaven are the happiest.\" \n\nHashandaiwulaike said: \"In that case, we should go to heaven. Why on earth would we stay in this place where we have to work and suffer other people\'s disdain?\" \n\nShawutikabake said:  \"That\'s all very well and good, but how will we get up there? Can we find a ladder that long?\" \n\nHashandaiwulaike said: \"We could never find a ladder that long, but you can still get up there without a ladder.\" \n\nShawutikabake said: \"How?\"\n\nHashandaiwulaike said: \"In the valley there\'s a Roc bird, when I was little I saw it when I went up there with my father. All we have to do is grab onto the Roc, and he will take us up to heaven.\"\n\nShawutikabake said:  \"That\'s a great idea, we\'ll do it that way.\" \n\nSo the two friends decided thus. On the morning of the next day, they got us and walked to the mountain. When they got to the mountain valley, they found the Roc\'s nest, and they hid themselves next to it. They waited until the sun fell behind the mountain and the Roc flew back and had just landed in its nest, when Hashandaiwulaike grabbed it and held it tightly. He promptly called to Shawutikabake to grab his feet, and the Roc was frightened and flew into the sky.\n\nSo Shawutikabake  was holding on to Hashandaiwulaike\'s feet, and Hashandaiwulaike  was holding on to the Roc\'s claws, and they floated towards the seventh level of clouds [heaven]. \n\nShawutikabake asked,\" Hey! Are we there yet? I can\'t hold on much longer!\" \n\nHashandaiwulaike looked into a gap between the clouds and said, \"Almost! I can already see the opening!\" \n\nShawutikabake asked, \"How big is the opening? Can we fit into it?\" \n\nHashandaiwulaike answered, \"It\'s this big.\"   As Hashandaiwulaike answered, he used his hands to demonstrate how big the opening [to heaven] was. \n\nBut to his surprise, as soon as Hashandaiwulaike let go, the two lazy friends parted ways with the Roc, tumbled down, and were smashed into mincemeat. \n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'The Two Lazybones', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1086-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-04-25 04:41:08', '2012-04-25 08:41:08', '', 1086, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/04/25/1086-revision-3/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1094, 1, '2012-04-25 04:45:58', '2012-04-25 08:45:58', '[two_third]\r\nThis is probably the longest text I\'ve ever posted, but this is upper-beginner to mid-intermediate reading. I could probably toss this in the beginner category, but the length is prohibitive. The first few sentences are much more intermediate as we learn new vocabulary words and set up the story, but after that the reading is mostly a dialogue which is very smooth and fairly simple, so press through the first paragraph or two if you can. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/20120425-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Learn to Read Mandarin Chinese: Learn to Read Mandarin Chinese for Free\" title=\"Mandarin Chinese Characters: Learn to Read Simplified Chinese\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />I kind of can\'t tell weather I should be offended by this or not - the protagonists are two \"lazy Uighurs\" (A Uighur 维吾尔族 [pinyin]wei2 wu2 er3 zu2[/pinyin] is a member of the ethnic minority hailing from the Uighur Autonomous Region of China, a politically touchy topic on the mainland). I\'ve never seen a folk story about heroic Uighurs or smart Uighurs, or really ever seen a story about Uighurs at all. So to run across this one first makes me wonder if the \"lazy Uighur\" thing is a mean stereotype or if I just haven\'t read widely enough. I\'ll have to go in search of some Uighur folk tales in Mandarin and see what I can dig up. \r\n\r\nI really know almost nothing about Uighur cultural history, but this story taught me something interesting: it looks like Uighurs have six-character names (as opposed to two and three character names for Chinese and 4 character names for Japanese). Our two protagonists here are rather lengthily called 哈山代吾来克 [pinyin]Ha1 shan1 dai4 wu2 lai2 ke4[/pinyin] and 沙吾提卡巴克 [pinyin]sha1 wu2 ti2 ka3 ba1 ke4[/pinyin]. \r\n\r\nAnother interesting thing: this story mentions a 大鹏鸟 [pinyin]da peng3 niao3[/pinyin] - called a \"Roc\" in English (though I\'d never heard that word before). Apparently, it\'s a legendary fictional bird of prey, like a giant eagle.\r\n\r\nThe Chinese title of this post is 两个懒汉 - the two lazybones. \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懒汉- [pinyin]lan3 han4[/pinyin] - Lazybones\r\n要命 - [pinyin]yao4 ming4[/pinyin] - Extremely\r\n墙根 - [pinyin]qiang2 gen1[/pinyin] - Base of a wall\r\n久而久之 - [pinyin]jiu3 er2 jiu3 zhi1[/pinyin] - As time passed\r\n不得不 - [pinyin]bu4 de2 bu4[/pinyin] - have no choice but to... \r\n赶 - [pinyin]gan3[/pinyin] - To kick or drive [someone / something] out \r\n流浪 - [pinyin]liu2 lang4[/pinyin] - Drift aimlessly, wander\r\n馕 - [pinyin]nang2[/pinyin] - Flatbread\r\n蹲 - [pinyin]dun1[/pinyin] - To crouch, squat\r\n神仙 - [pinyin]shen2 xian1[/pinyin] - Immortals, dieties\r\n干嘛 - [pinyin]gan4 ma2[/pinyin] - Why on earth would...? Why should [I / you]...? Whatever for...?\r\n鄙视 - [pinyin]bi3 shi4[/pinyin] - Contempt, disdain \r\n好倒好 - [pinyin]hao3 dao3 hao3[/pinyin] - That\'s all very well and good, but...\r\n梯子 - [pinyin]ti1 zi[/pinyin] - A ladder\r\n山谷 - [pinyin]shan1 gu3[/pinyin] - A valley\r\n抓住 - [pinyin]zhua1 zhu4[/pinyin] - To grab onto, catch\r\n窝 - [pinyin]wo1[/pinyin] - A nest\r\n躲藏 - [pinyin]duo3 cang2[/pinyin] - To hide \r\n飘飘荡荡 - [pinyin]piao1 piao1 dang4 dang4[/pinyin] - To drift, float on waves or wind\r\n窟窿 - [pinyin]ku1 long5[/pinyin] - Hole, pocket, cavity, opening\r\n松 - [pinyin]song1[/pinyin] - To loosen or relax a hold\r\n摇摇晃晃 - [pinyin]yao2 yao2 huang4 huan4[/pinyin] - back and forth\r\n肉酱 - [pinyin]rou4 jiang4[/pinyin] - Mincemeat\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从前，维吾尔族有这么两个<strong>懒汉</strong>，一个叫哈山代吾来克，一个叫沙吾提卡巴克。他们都懒得<strong>要命</strong>，吃穿全靠父母，一点活儿也不干，一天到晚靠着<strong>墙根</strong>晒太阳。 这样，<strong>久而久之</strong>，弄得他们父母也<strong>讨厌</strong>他们了，<strong>不得不</strong>把他们从家里<strong>赶</strong>了出来。他们俩过着<strong>流浪</strong>的生活，饿了几天肚子，一块<strong>馕</strong>也没有吃到。\r\n\r\n这天，他俩<strong>蹲</strong>在馕坑上商量着今后该怎么办。哈山代吾来克说: “最好到一个有吃有穿，又不需要劳动的地方去，不知道有没有这么个地方？”\r\n\r\n沙吾提卡巴克说: “世界上是没有这么个地方的，只天上有吧！听说天上的<strong>神仙</strong>最快活。”\r\n\r\n哈山代吾来克说: “那末，我们就上天去吧，<strong>干嘛</strong>要呆在这个必须劳动的地方受人<strong>鄙视</strong>呢？”\r\n\r\n沙吾提卡巴克说: “<strong>好倒好</strong>，不过怎么上去呢？能找到这么个长<strong>梯子</strong>吗？”\r\n\r\n哈山代吾来克肯定地说: “这么长的梯子是找不到的。但是，没有梯子也可以上去。”\r\n\r\n沙吾提卡巴克惊奇地问道: “怎么上去？”\r\n\r\n哈山代吾来克说: “<strong>山谷</strong>里有一只大鹏鸟，小时候我跟父亲上去看见过。我们只要把这只大鹏<strong>抓住</strong>，它就会带我们上天去的。”\r\n\r\n沙吾提卡巴克说: “好办法，我们就这样办好了。”\r\n\r\n两个朋友就这么决定了。第二天一早，他们就起身往山上走去，走到一个山谷里，找到了大鹏的<strong>窝</strong>，他们在附近<strong>躲藏</strong>起来，等到太阳落山的时候，大鹏飞回来刚落在窝里，就被哈山代吾来克紧紧地抓住了。他连忙招呼沙吾提卡巴克抓住自己的脚，大鹏受了惊，直往天空飞去。\r\n\r\n就这样，沙吾提卡巴克抓住哈山代吾来克的脚，哈山代吾来克抓住大鹏的爪子，<strong>飘飘荡荡</strong>地一直飞向七层云端里去了。\r\n\r\n沙吾提卡巴克问道: “嘿！到了吗？我的手吃不消啦！”\r\n\r\n哈山代吾来克望着云层的空隙说: “快啦！连<strong>窟窿</strong>都已经看见了。”\r\n\r\n沙吾提卡巴克问道: “窟窿有多大？我们能不能钻进去呀？”\r\n\r\n哈山代吾来克回答: “有这么大。”哈山代吾来克一面答应着，一面用手来比划窟窿的大小。\r\n\r\n不料哈山代吾来克两手一<strong>松</strong>，这两个懒汉朋友都离开了大鹏鸟，<strong>摇摇晃晃</strong>地掉下来，摔成<strong>肉酱</strong>了。\r\n</div>\r\n\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH\"]\r\nLong ago, among the Uighur people there were two lazybones, one called Hashandaiwulaike, the other called Shawutikabake. They were both extremely lazy, depending on their parents for food and clothing, unwilling to do even a little work, from morning to night they sat at the base of a wall and sunned themselves. As time passed this way, their parents [began to] loathe them, and had no choice but to kick them out. The two of them lived a drifter\'s life, and went hungry for days at a time, with not even a piece of bread to eat.   \r\n\r\nOne day, they were squatting next to a bread pit discussing what to do. Hashandaiwulaike said: The ebst thing would be to go to a place where there\'s food and clothes, but you don\'t have to work - I don\'t know if there is such a place?\"\r\n\r\nShawutikabake said: \"There\'s no such place on this earth, only in heaven! I heard that the immortals in heaven are the happiest.\" \r\n\r\nHashandaiwulaike said: \"In that case, we should go to heaven. Why on earth would we stay in this place where we have to work and suffer other people\'s disdain?\" \r\n\r\nShawutikabake said:  \"That\'s all very well and good, but how will we get up there? Can we find a ladder that long?\" \r\n\r\nHashandaiwulaike said: \"We could never find a ladder that long, but you can still get up there without a ladder.\" \r\n\r\nShawutikabake said: \"How?\"\r\n\r\nHashandaiwulaike said: \"In the valley there\'s a Roc bird, when I was little I saw it when I went up there with my father. All we have to do is grab onto the Roc, and he will take us up to heaven.\"\r\n\r\nShawutikabake said:  \"That\'s a great idea, we\'ll do it that way.\" \r\n\r\nSo the two friends decided thus. On the morning of the next day, they got us and walked to the mountain. When they got to the mountain valley, they found the Roc\'s nest, and they hid themselves next to it. They waited until the sun fell behind the mountain and the Roc flew back and had just landed in its nest, when Hashandaiwulaike grabbed it and held it tightly. He promptly called to Shawutikabake to grab his feet, and the Roc was frightened and flew into the sky.\r\n\r\nSo Shawutikabake  was holding on to Hashandaiwulaike\'s feet, and Hashandaiwulaike  was holding on to the Roc\'s claws, and they floated towards the seventh level of clouds [heaven]. \r\n\r\nShawutikabake asked,\" Hey! Are we there yet? I can\'t hold on much longer!\" \r\n\r\nHashandaiwulaike looked into a gap between the clouds and said, \"Almost! I can already see the opening!\" \r\n\r\nShawutikabake asked, \"How big is the opening? Can we fit into it?\" \r\n\r\nHashandaiwulaike answered, \"It\'s this big.\"   As Hashandaiwulaike answered, he used his hands to demonstrate how big the opening [to heaven] was. \r\n\r\nBut to his surprise, as soon as Hashandaiwulaike let go, the two lazy friends parted ways with the Roc, tumbled down, and were smashed into mincemeat. \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'The Two Lazybones', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1086-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-04-25 04:45:58', '2012-04-25 08:45:58', '', 1086, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/04/25/1086-revision-4/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1095, 1, '2012-04-26 01:52:18', '2012-04-26 05:52:18', '<p>Your Name<br />\r\n    [text* your-name] </p>\r\n\r\n<p>Your Email<br />\r\n    [email* your-email] </p>\r\n\r\n<p>Sup?<br />\r\n    [textarea* content] </p>\r\n\r\n<p>[submit \"Send\"]</p>\nSubject: CRP\n[your-name] <[your-email]>\nFrom: [your-name] <[your-email]>\r\n\r\nSup? \r\n [content]\r\n\r\n--\r\nThis mail is sent via contact form on Chinese Reading Practice http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com\nkendrawiseman@gmail.com\n\n\n\n\n\n[your-subject]\n[your-name] <[your-email]>\nMessage body:\r\n[your-message]\r\n\r\n--\r\nThis mail is sent via contact form on Chinese Reading Practice http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com\n[your-email]\n\n\n\n\nYour message was sent successfully. Thanks.\nFailed to send your message. Please try later or contact the administrator by another method.\nValidation errors occurred. Please confirm the fields and submit it again.\nPlease accept the terms to proceed.\nEmail address seems invalid.\nPlease fill the required field.\nYour answer is not correct.\nFailed to send your message. Please try later or contact the administrator by another method.\nFailed to upload file.\nThis file type is not allowed.\nThis file is too large.\nFailed to upload file. Error occurred.\nYour entered code is incorrect.\nThere was an error trying to send your message. Please try again later.\nThe field is too long.\nThe field is too short.\nThe date format is incorrect.\nThe date is before the earliest one allowed.\nThe date is after the latest one allowed.\nThe number format is invalid.\nThe number is smaller than the minimum allowed.\nThe number is larger than the maximum allowed.\nThe URL is invalid.\nThe telephone number is invalid.', 'Contact form 1', '', 'publish', 'closed', 'open', '', 'contact-form-1', '', '', '2016-11-19 01:17:21', '2016-11-19 06:17:21', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wpcf7_contact_form/contact-form-1/', 0, 'wpcf7_contact_form', '', 0),
(2694, 1, '2017-01-22 05:31:30', '2017-01-22 10:31:30', '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', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1826-revision-v1', '', '', '2017-01-22 05:31:30', '2017-01-22 10:31:30', '', 1826, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2017/01/1826-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1120, 1, '2012-04-28 03:54:42', '2012-04-28 07:54:42', '[two_third]\nAnd now a break', 'Dear Diary: Mama Please Believe Me', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1113-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-04-28 03:54:42', '2012-04-28 07:54:42', '', 1113, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/04/28/1113-revision-3/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1108, 1, '2012-04-27 22:36:27', '2012-04-28 02:36:27', '', 'Learn to Read Chinese: Read Advanced Chinese Essays', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '20120428-inline', '', '', '2012-04-27 22:36:27', '2012-04-28 02:36:27', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/20120428-INLINE.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1109, 1, '2012-04-27 22:36:29', '2012-04-28 02:36:29', '', 'Learn to Read Chinese: Read Advanced Chinese Essays', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '20120428', '', '', '2012-04-27 22:36:29', '2012-04-28 02:36:29', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/20120428.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1113, 1, '2012-05-03 07:00:25', '2012-05-03 11:00:25', 'And now a break from all the intermediate and advanced exercises I\'ve been posting lately. This one is a straightforward beginner Chinese diary-style essay about a student whose mother is displeased with his (or her, it\'s never clarified) homework. \r\n\r\nThere\'s only one thing that particularly stands out to me as confusing here, which is when the mother says: 可能是<strong>有了</strong>小妹妹，我这段时间对你关心少了。 Literally, this translates as \"Maybe it\'s have small sister, I during this time towards you care little.\" The last clause we can translate into less literal and more readable English as \"I haven\'t looked after you much during this time,\" but the first bit, \"<strong><em>have </em></strong>small sister\" (有了), is confusing. Why \"have\" 有了? \r\n\r\nIn this case, that could be translated as, \"Maybe it\'s because we have your little sister,\" or \"It\'s because I had your little sister [to look after]\", though \"because\" is never actually used in the sentence, it becomes that much harder to read. \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\r\n9月24日星期六\r\n\r\n1) 今天，开完家长会，妈妈闷闷不乐，我小心地问：“妈妈，您怎么了？”妈妈看着我，叹了口气说：“你暑假作业完成的不好，字也写的不好。我想，可能是有了小妹妹，我这段时间对你关心少了。”我听了，不好意思地低下了头。\r\n\r\n2) 看着妈妈自责的样子，我心里特别难过，我对妈妈说：“妈妈，您不要自责了，这根本就不是你的错，而是我自己不努力，请您不要生气了，从现在开始，我一定认真完成老师交给的每项作业，争取取得好成绩。请您相信我！”妈妈盯着我的眼睛，攥着我的手说：“好孩子，妈妈相信你，让我们共同努力！”\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nSeptember 24, Saturday\r\n\r\n1) Today, after my parent-teacher conference, mama looked moody, and I carefully asked her, \"Mama, what\'s wrong?\" Looking at me, mother sighed and said: \"Your summer vacation homework is not close to being done, and your writing is poor. I think, because [I\'ve been spending so much time with] your little sister, I haven\'t been paying as much attention to you during this time.\" As I listened, I hung my head in embarrassment. \r\n\r\n2) When I saw the self-blame on mama\'s face, I was very sad, and I said to mama: \"Mama, don\'t blame yourself, it isn\'t your fault at all, it\'s that I haven\'t worked hard enough, so please don\'t be angry, starting now, I\'ll earnestly finish all the homework teacher gave me, and I\'ll fight to get good grades. Please believe me!\" Mama stared into my eyes, grasped my hand and said, \"Good child, mother believes you, let us work hard together.\" \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Essays] 妈妈相信我 - Mama Please Believe Me', '', 'publish', 'open', 'closed', '', 'dear-diary-mama-please-believe-me', '', '', '2016-11-12 03:40:18', '2016-11-12 08:40:18', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1113', 0, 'post', '', 15),
(2101, 1, '2016-11-04 09:24:12', '2016-11-04 13:24:12', 'And now a break from all the intermediate and advanced exercises I\'ve been posting lately. This one is a straightforward beginner Chinese diary-style essay about a student whose mother is displeased with his (or her, it\'s never clarified) homework. \r\n\r\nThere\'s only one thing that particularly stands out to me as confusing here, which is when the mother says: 可能是<strong>有了</strong>小妹妹，我这段时间对你关心少了。 Literally, this translates as \"Maybe it\'s have small sister, I during this time towards you care little.\" The last clause we can translate into less literal and more readable English as \"I haven\'t looked after you much during this time,\" but the first bit, \"<strong><em>have </em></strong>small sister\" (有了), is confusing. Why \"have\" 有了? \r\n\r\nIn this case, that could be translated as, \"Maybe it\'s because we have your little sister,\" or \"It\'s because I had your little sister [to look after]\", though \"because\" is never actually used in the sentence, it becomes that much harder to read. \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\r\n9月24日星期六\r\n\r\n1) 今天，开完家长会，妈妈闷闷不乐，我小心地问：“妈妈，您怎么了？”妈妈看着我，叹了口气说：“你暑假作业完成的不好，字也写的不好。我想，可能是有了小妹妹，我这段时间对你关心少了。”我听了，不好意思地低下了头。\r\n\r\n2) 看着妈妈自责的样子，我心里特别难过，我对妈妈说：“妈妈，您不要自责了，这根本就不是你的错，而是我自己不努力，请您不要生气了，从现在开始，我一定认真完成老师交给的每项作业，争取取得好成绩。请您相信我！”妈妈盯着我的眼睛，攥着我的手说：“好孩子，妈妈相信你，让我们共同努力！”\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nSeptember 24, Saturday\r\n\r\n1) Today, after my parent-teacher conference, mama looked moody, and I carefully asked her, \"Mama, what\'s wrong?\" Looking at me, mother sighed and said: \"Your summer vacation homework is not close to being done, and your writing is poor. I think, because [I\'ve been spending so much time with] your little sister, I haven\'t been paying as much attention to you during this time.\" As I listened, I hung my head in embarrassment. \r\n\r\n2) When I saw the self-blame on mama\'s face, I was very sad, and I said to mama: \"Mama, don\'t blame yourself, it isn\'t your fault at all, it\'s that I haven\'t worked hard enough, so please don\'t be angry, starting now, I\'ll earnestly finish all the homework teacher gave me, and I\'ll fight to get good grades. Please believe me!\" Mama stared into my eyes, grasped my hand and said, \"Good child, mother believes you, let us work hard together.\" \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Essays] 妈妈相信我 - Mama Please Believe Me', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1113-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 09:24:12', '2016-11-04 13:24:12', '', 1113, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/11/1113-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1735, 1, '2016-10-31 03:21:00', '2016-10-31 07:21:00', 'And now a break from all the intermediate and advanced exercises I\'ve been posting lately. This one is a straightforward beginner Chinese diary-style essay about a student whose mother is displeased with his (or her, it\'s never clarified) homework. \r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/20120503-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Beginner Chinese Reading Materials: Learn Chinese Reading for Beginners\" title=\"Easy Chinese Passages: Easy Chinese Essays\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" /> There\'s only one thing that particularly stands out to me as confusing here, which is when the mother says: 可能是<strong>有了</strong>小妹妹，我这段时间对你关心少了。 Literally, this translates as \"Maybe it\'s have small sister, I during this time towards you care little.\" The last clause we can translate into less literal and more readable English as \"I haven\'t looked after you much during this time,\" but the first bit, \"<strong><em>have </em></strong>small sister\" (有了), is confusing. Why \"have\" 有了? \r\n\r\nIn this case, that could be translated as, \"Maybe it\'s because we have your little sister,\" or \"It\'s because I had your little sister [to look after]\", though \"because\" is never actually used in the sentence, it becomes that much harder to read. \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\r\n9月24日星期六\r\n\r\n今天，开完家长会，妈妈<strong>闷闷不乐</strong>，我小心地问：“妈妈，您<strong>怎么了</strong>？”妈妈看着我，<strong>叹</strong>了口气说：“你<strong>暑假</strong>作业完成的不好，字也写的不好。我想，可能是有了小妹妹，我这段时间对你关心少了。”我听了，不好意思地低下了头。\r\n\r\n看着妈妈<strong>自责</strong>的样子，我心里特别难过，我对妈妈说：“妈妈，您不要自责了，这<strong>根本</strong>就不是你的错，而是我自己不<strong>努力</strong>，请您不要生气了，从现在开始，我一定认真完成老师交给的每项作业，争取取得好成绩。请您相信我！”妈妈<strong>盯</strong>着我的眼睛，<strong>攥</strong>着我的手说：“好孩子，妈妈相信你，让我们<strong>共同</strong>努力！”\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nSeptember 24, Saturday\r\n\r\nToday, after my parent-teacher conference, mama looked moody, and I carefully asked her, \"Mama, what\'s wrong?\" Looking at me, mother sighed and said: \"Your summer vacation homework is not close to being done, and your writing is poor. I think, because [I\'ve been spending so much time with] your little sister, I haven\'t been paying as much attention to you during this time.\" As I listened, I hung my head in embarrassment. \r\n\r\nWhen I saw the self-blame on mama\'s face, I was very sad, and I said to mama: \"Mama, don\'t blame yourself, it isn\'t your fault at all, it\'s that I haven\'t worked hard enough, so please don\'t be angry, starting now, I\'ll earnestly finish all the homework teacher gave me, and I\'ll fight to get good grades. Please believe me!\" Mama stared into my eyes, grasped my hand and said, \"Good child, mother believes you, let us work hard together.\" \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Essay] 妈妈相信我 - Mama Please Believe Me', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1113-revision-v1', '', '', '2016-10-31 03:21:00', '2016-10-31 07:21:00', '', 1113, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2016/10/1113-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1117, 1, '2012-04-28 03:21:29', '2012-04-28 07:21:29', '[two_third]\n\n\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n闷闷不乐 - [pinyin]men4 men4 bu4 le4[/pinyin] - Sulky, moody, unhappy\n怎么了 - [pinyin]zen3 me5 le4[/pinyin] - What\'s wrong?\n叹 - [pinyin]tan4[/pinyin] - Sigh\n暑假 - [pinyin]shu3 jia4[/pinyin] - Summer vacation\n自责 - [pinyin]zi4 ze2[/pinyin] - To blame oneself\n根本 - [pinyin]gen1 ben3[/pinyin] - absolutely (not)\n努力 - [pinyin]nu3 li4[/pinyin] -  To strive, work hard\n盯 - [pinyin]ding1[/pinyin] - Stare at\n攥 - [pinyin]zuan4[/pinyin] - To grasp\n共同 - [pinyin]gong4 tong2[/pinyin] - Together\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n9月24日星期六\n\n今天，开完家长会，妈妈<strong>闷闷不乐</strong>，我小心地问：“妈妈，您<strong>怎么了</strong>？”妈妈看着我，<strong>叹</strong>了口气说：“你<strong>暑假</strong>作业完成的不好，字也写的不好。我想，可能是有了小妹妹，我这段时间对你关心少了。”我听了，不好意思地低下了头。\n\n看着妈妈<strong>自责</strong>的样子，我心里特别难过，我对妈妈说：“妈妈，您不要自责了，这<strong>根本</strong>就不是你的错，而是我自己不<strong>努力</strong>，请您不要生气了，从现在开始，我一定认真完成老师交给的每项作业，争取取得好成绩。请您相信我！”妈妈<strong>盯</strong>着我的眼睛，<strong>攥</strong>着我的手说：“好孩子，妈妈相信你，让我们<strong>共同</strong>努力！”\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nSeptember 24, Saturday\n\nToday, as we were finishing our family meeting, mama looked moody, and I carefully asked her, \"Mama, what\'s wrong?\" Looking at me, mother sighed and said: \"Your summer vacation homework is not close to being done, and your writing is poor. I think, because [I\'ve been spending so much time with] your little sister, I haven\'t been paying as much attention to you during this time.\" As I listened, I hung my head in embarrassment. \n\nWhen I saw the self-blame on mama\'s face, I was very sad, and I said to mama: \"Mama, don\'t blame yourself, is isn\'t your fault at all, it\'s that I haven\'t worked hard enough, so please don\'t be angry, starting now, I\'ll earnestly finish all the homework teacher gave me, and I\'ll fight to get good grades. Please believe me!\" Mama stared into my eyes, grasped my hand and said, \"Good child, mother believes you, let us work hard together.\" \n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Dear Diary: Mama Please Believe Me', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1113-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-04-28 03:21:29', '2012-04-28 07:21:29', '', 1113, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/04/28/1113-revision-2/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1115, 1, '2012-04-28 03:17:42', '2012-04-28 07:17:42', '', 'Easy Chinese Passages: Easy Chinese Essays', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '20120503', '', '', '2012-04-28 03:17:42', '2012-04-28 07:17:42', '', 1113, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/20120503.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1116, 1, '2012-04-28 03:17:47', '2012-04-28 07:17:47', '', 'Easy Chinese Passages: Easy Chinese Essays', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '20120503-inline', '', '', '2012-04-28 03:17:47', '2012-04-28 07:17:47', '', 1113, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/20120503-INLINE.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1114, 1, '2012-04-28 02:57:43', '2012-04-28 06:57:43', '[two_third]\nI got the most ah-mayzing canned message from Sina Weibo\'s glorious legality enforcers a couple of days ago, informing me that some people who had been saying too much online had been, erm, prevented from continuing to do so, and warning me not to follow the same path.  <!--more-->\n\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/20120428-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Chinese Reading Material: Free Advanced Chinese Lessons\" title=\"Learn to Read Chinese: Read Advanced Chinese Essays\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />In this note, which I presume everyone on Sina Weibo got, I was warned not to listen to all the \"political rumors\" that are being spread - rumors which I hadn\'t heard about until I got the warning and will now trot off to Google. We often hear about how this kind of thing happens in China - now\'s your chance to read it straight from the horse\'s mouth. \n\nFor those of you just tuning in, Sina Weibo (新浪微博 - you\'ll see those words a couple of times in the post) is China\'s most popular Twitter-esque microblog platform. 微博 [pinyin]wei1 bo2[/pinyin] means \"microblog\", 新浪 is the particular microblog platform (China has several competing microblogs, as opposed to just the one Twitter).\n\nAs you read through this, bear in mind that the words in \"quotes\" are usernames, hence the strange collection of characters.\n\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n闷闷不乐 - [pinyin]men4 men4 bu4 le4[/pinyin] - Sulky, moody, unhappy\n怎么了 - [pinyin]zen3 me5 le4[/pinyin] - What\'s wrong?\n叹 - [pinyin]tan4[/pinyin] - Sigh\n暑假 - [pinyin]shu3 jia4[/pinyin] - Summer vacation\n自责 - [pinyin]zi4 ze2[/pinyin] - To blame oneself\n根本 - [pinyin]gen1 ben3[/pinyin] - absolutely (not)\n努力 - [pinyin]nu3 li4[/pinyin] -  To strive, work hard\n盯 - [pinyin]ding1[/pinyin] - Stare at\n攥 - [pinyin]zuan4[/pinyin] - To grasp\n共同 - [pinyin]gong4 tong2[/pinyin] - Together\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n9月24日星期六\n\n今天，开完家长会，妈妈<strong>闷闷不乐</strong>，我小心地问：“妈妈，您<strong>怎么了</strong>？”妈妈看着我，<strong>叹</strong>了口气说：“你<strong>暑假</strong>作业完成的不好，字也写的不好。我想，可能是有了小妹妹，我这段时间对你关心少了。”我听了，不好意思地低下了头。\n\n看着妈妈<strong>自责</strong>的样子，我心里特别难过，我对妈妈说：“妈妈，您不要自责了，这<strong>根本</strong>就不是你的错，而是我自己不<strong>努力</strong>，请您不要生气了，从现在开始，我一定认真完成老师交给的每项作业，争取取得好成绩。请您相信我！”妈妈<strong>盯</strong>着我的眼睛，<strong>攥</strong>着我的手说：“好孩子，妈妈相信你，让我们<strong>共同</strong>努力！”\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nSeptember 24, Saturday\n\nToday, as we were finishing our family meeting, mama looked moody, and I carefully asked her, \"Mama, what\'s wrong?\" Looking at me, mother sighed and said: \"Your summer vacation homework is not close to being done, and your writing is poor. I think, because [I\'ve been spending so much time with] your little sister, I haven\'t been paying as much attention to you during this time.\" As I listened, I hung my head in embarrassment. \n\nWhen I saw the self-blame on mama\'s face, I was very sad, and I said to mama: \"Mama, don\'t blame yourself, is isn\'t your fault at all, it\'s that I haven\'t worked hard enough, so please don\'t be angry, starting now, I\'ll earnestly finish all the homework teacher gave me, and I\'ll fight to get good grades. Please believe me!\" Mama stared into my eyes, grasped my hand and said, \"Good child, mother believes you, let us work hard together.\" \n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Dear Diary: Mama Please Believe Me', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1113-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-04-28 02:57:43', '2012-04-28 06:57:43', '', 1113, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/04/28/1113-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1121, 1, '2012-04-28 03:55:05', '2012-04-28 07:55:05', '[two_third]\r\nAnd now a break from all the intermediate and advanced exercises I\'ve been posting lately. This one is a straightforward beginner Chinese diary-style essay about a student whose mother is displeased with his (or her, it\'s never clarified) homework. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/20120503-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Beginner Chinese Reading Materials: Learn Chinese Reading for Beginners\" title=\"Easy Chinese Passages: Easy Chinese Essays\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" /> There\'s only one thing that particularly stands out to me as confusing here, which is when the mother says: 可能是<strong>有了</strong>小妹妹，我这段时间对你关心少了。 Literally, this translates as \"Maybe it\'s have small sister, I during this time towards you care little.\" The last clause we can translate into less literal and more readable English as \"I haven\'t looked after you much during this time,\" but the first bit, \"<strong><em>have </em></strong>small sister\" (有了), is confusing. Why \"have\" 有了? \r\n\r\nIn this case, that could be translated as, \"Maybe it\'s because we have your little sister,\" or \"It\'s because I had your little sister [to look after]\", though \"because\" is never actually used in the sentence, it becomes that much harder to read. \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闷闷不乐 - [pinyin]men4 men4 bu4 le4[/pinyin] - Sulky, moody, unhappy\r\n怎么了 - [pinyin]zen3 me5 le4[/pinyin] - What\'s wrong?\r\n叹 - [pinyin]tan4[/pinyin] - Sigh\r\n暑假 - [pinyin]shu3 jia4[/pinyin] - Summer vacation\r\n自责 - [pinyin]zi4 ze2[/pinyin] - To blame oneself\r\n根本 - [pinyin]gen1 ben3[/pinyin] - absolutely (not)\r\n努力 - [pinyin]nu3 li4[/pinyin] -  To strive, work hard\r\n盯 - [pinyin]ding1[/pinyin] - Stare at\r\n攥 - [pinyin]zuan4[/pinyin] - To grasp\r\n共同 - [pinyin]gong4 tong2[/pinyin] - Together\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_third]\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n9月24日星期六\r\n\r\n今天，开完家长会，妈妈<strong>闷闷不乐</strong>，', 'Dear Diary: Mama Please Believe Me', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1113-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-04-28 03:55:05', '2012-04-28 07:55:05', '', 1113, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/04/28/1113-revision-4/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1122, 1, '2012-04-28 04:01:10', '2012-04-28 08:01:10', '[two_third]\r\nAnd now a break from all the intermediate and advanced exercises I\'ve been posting lately. This one is a straightforward beginner Chinese diary-style essay about a student whose mother is displeased with his (or her, it\'s never clarified) homework. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/20120503-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Beginner Chinese Reading Materials: Learn Chinese Reading for Beginners\" title=\"Easy Chinese Passages: Easy Chinese Essays\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" /> There\'s only one thing that particularly stands out to me as confusing here, which is when the mother says: 可能是<strong>有了</strong>小妹妹，我这段时间对你关心少了。 Literally, this translates as \"Maybe it\'s have small sister, I during this time towards you care little.\" The last clause we can translate into less literal and more readable English as \"I haven\'t looked after you much during this time,\" but the first bit, \"<strong><em>have </em></strong>small sister\" (有了), is confusing. Why \"have\" 有了? \r\n\r\nIn this case, that could be translated as, \"Maybe it\'s because we have your little sister,\" or \"It\'s because I had your little sister [to look after]\", though \"because\" is never actually used in the sentence, it becomes that much harder to read. \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闷闷不乐 - [pinyin]men4 men4 bu4 le4[/pinyin] - Sulky, moody, unhappy\r\n怎么了 - [pinyin]zen3 me5 le4[/pinyin] - What\'s wrong?\r\n叹 - [pinyin]tan4[/pinyin] - Sigh\r\n暑假 - [pinyin]shu3 jia4[/pinyin] - Summer vacation\r\n自责 - [pinyin]zi4 ze2[/pinyin] - To blame oneself\r\n根本 - [pinyin]gen1 ben3[/pinyin] - absolutely (not)\r\n努力 - [pinyin]nu3 li4[/pinyin] -  To strive, work hard\r\n盯 - [pinyin]ding1[/pinyin] - Stare at\r\n攥 - [pinyin]zuan4[/pinyin] - To grasp\r\n共同 - [pinyin]gong4 tong2[/pinyin] - Together\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_third]\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n9月24日星期六\r\n\r\n今天，开完家长会，妈妈<strong>闷闷不乐</strong>，我小心地问：“妈妈，您<strong>怎么了</strong>？”妈妈看着我，<strong>叹</strong>了口气说：“你<strong>暑假</strong>作业完成的不好，字也写的不好。我想，可能是有了小妹妹，我这段时间对你关心少了。”我听了，不好意思地低下了头。\r\n\r\n看着妈妈<strong>自责</strong>的样子，我心里特别难过，我对妈妈说：“妈妈，您不要自责了，这<strong>根本</strong>就不是你的错，而是我自己不<strong>努力</strong>，请您不要生气了，从现在开始，我一定认真完成老师交给的每项作业，争取取得好成绩。请您相信我！”妈妈<strong>盯</strong>着我的眼睛，<strong>攥</strong>着我的手说：“好孩子，妈妈相信你，让我们<strong>共同</strong>努力！”\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nSeptember 24, Saturday\r\n\r\nToday, as we were finishing our family meeting, mama looked moody, and I carefully asked her, \"Mama, what\'s wrong?\" Looking at me, mother sighed and said: ', 'Dear Diary: Mama Please Believe Me', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1113-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-04-28 04:01:10', '2012-04-28 08:01:10', '', 1113, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/04/28/1113-revision-5/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1125, 1, '2012-05-07 09:36:15', '2012-05-07 13:36:15', '[two_third]\nIn this \nAs is pretty typical in Chinese texts, it\'s never really specified if it\'s one blade of grass or a field of grass that is the protagonist here, but . My point is that this is a great example of - in English stories, it\'s hard to personify something you can\'t define. \n\n\n\nNot 100% sure I\'m happy with the conclusion that\'s drawn here, considering I dye my hair all the time, but what the hell. \n\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n闷闷不乐 - [pinyin]men4 men4 bu4 le4[/pinyin] - Sulky, moody, unhappy\n怎么了 - [pinyin]zen3 me5 le4[/pinyin] - What\'s wrong?\n叹 - [pinyin]tan4[/pinyin] - Sigh\n暑假 - [pinyin]shu3 jia4[/pinyin] - Summer vacation\n自责 - [pinyin]zi4 ze2[/pinyin] - To blame oneself\n根本 - [pinyin]gen1 ben3[/pinyin] - absolutely (not)\n努力 - [pinyin]nu3 li4[/pinyin] -  To strive, work hard\n盯 - [pinyin]ding1[/pinyin] - Stare at\n攥 - [pinyin]zuan4[/pinyin] - To grasp\n共同 - [pinyin]gong4 tong2[/pinyin] - Together\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n小草银银喜欢银色。\n　　春天，小草银银让春姑娘把她的头发染成银色。春姑娘说：“对不起，银银，我只能把你的头发染成青色”。银银非常伤心。\n　　夏天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深绿色”。银银非常伤心。\n　　秋天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。\n　　冬天小草银银让冬姑娘把她的头发染成银色。冬姑娘说：“好啊，不过你可不要后悔呦”？银银说：“不会的，有了那么漂亮的头发我高兴还来不及呢”！\n　　就这样银银的头发变成了银色。忽然，银银的头发掉下来了，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。\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nThe little grass YinYin liked the color silver. \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. \n\nIn summer time, little grass YinYin asked the Lady of Summer to 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. \n\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.\n\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. \n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Little Grass\' Silver Hair', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1123-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-05-07 09:36:15', '2012-05-07 13:36:15', '', 1123, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/05/07/1123-revision-2/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(1124, 1, '2012-05-07 09:32:47', '2012-05-07 13:32:47', '[two_third]\nIn this \nAs is pretty typical in Chinese texts, it\'s never really specified if it\'s one blade of grass or a field of grass that is the protagonist here, but . My point is that this is a great example of - in English stories, it\'s hard to personify something you can\'t define. \n\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n闷闷不乐 - [pinyin]men4 men4 bu4 le4[/pinyin] - Sulky, moody, unhappy\n怎么了 - [pinyin]zen3 me5 le4[/pinyin] - What\'s wrong?\n叹 - [pinyin]tan4[/pinyin] - Sigh\n暑假 - [pinyin]shu3 jia4[/pinyin] - Summer vacation\n自责 - [pinyin]zi4 ze2[/pinyin] - To blame oneself\n根本 - [pinyin]gen1 ben3[/pinyin] - absolutely (not)\n努力 - [pinyin]nu3 li4[/pinyin] -  To strive, work hard\n盯 - [pinyin]ding1[/pinyin] - Stare at\n攥 - [pinyin]zuan4[/pinyin] - To grasp\n共同 - [pinyin]gong4 tong2[/pinyin] - Together\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n小草银银喜欢银色。\n　　春天，小草银银让春姑娘把她的头发染成银色。春姑娘说：“对不起，银银，我只能把你的头发染成青色”。银银非常伤心。\n　　夏天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深绿色”。银银非常伤心。\n　　秋天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。\n　　冬天小草银银让冬姑娘把她的头发染成银色。冬姑娘说：“好啊，不过你可不要后悔呦”？银银说：“不会的，有了那么漂亮的头发我高兴还来不及呢”！\n　　就这样银银的头发变成了银色。忽然，银银的头发掉下来了，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。\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nThe little grass YinYin liked the color silver. \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. \n\nIn summer time, little grass YinYin asked the Lady of Summer to 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. \n\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.\n\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 your body. And after this YinYin was inde\n　　冬天小草银银让冬姑娘把她的头发染成银色。冬姑娘说：“好啊，不过你可不要后悔呦”？银银说：“不会的，有了那么漂亮的头发我高兴还来不及呢”！\n　　就这样银银的头发变成了银色。忽然，银银的头发掉下来了，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。\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Little Grass\' Silver Hair', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1123-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-05-07 09:32:47', '2012-05-07 13:32:47', '', 1123, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/05/07/1123-revision/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2580, 1, '2017-01-08 02:33:36', '2017-01-08 07:33:36', '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. \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 \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<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\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', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1797-revision-v1', '', '', '2017-01-08 02:33:36', '2017-01-08 07:33:36', '', 1797, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2017/01/1797-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2581, 1, '2017-01-08 03:01:03', '2017-01-08 08:01:03', '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\nGo straight to the <a href=\"http://www.ntdtv.com/xtr/gb/2015/09/20/a1162360.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\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', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1797-revision-v1', '', '', '2017-01-08 03:01:03', '2017-01-08 08:01:03', '', 1797, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2017/01/1797-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2582, 1, '2017-01-08 03:03:29', '2017-01-08 08:03:29', '', 'Learn to Read Chinese: Intermediate Chinese Essays Practice', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'learn-to-read-chinese-20170107-flood-featured', '', '', '2017-01-08 03:04:11', '2017-01-08 08:04:11', '', 1797, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/learn-to-read-chinese-20170107-flood-featured.png', 0, 'attachment', 'image/png', 0),
(1127, 1, '2012-04-28 04:25:20', '2012-04-28 08:25:20', '[two_third]\r\nAnd now a break from all the intermediate and advanced exercises I\'ve been posting lately. This one is a straightforward beginner Chinese diary-style essay about a student whose mother is displeased with his (or her, it\'s never clarified) homework. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/20120503-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Beginner Chinese Reading Materials: Learn Chinese Reading for Beginners\" title=\"Easy Chinese Passages: Easy Chinese Essays\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" /> There\'s only one thing that particularly stands out to me as confusing here, which is when the mother says: 可能是<strong>有了</strong>小妹妹，我这段时间对你关心少了。 Literally, this translates as \"Maybe it\'s have small sister, I during this time towards you care little.\" The last clause we can translate into less literal and more readable English as \"I haven\'t looked after you much during this time,\" but the first bit, \"<strong><em>have </em></strong>small sister\" (有了), is confusing. Why \"have\" 有了? \r\n\r\nIn this case, that could be translated as, \"Maybe it\'s because we have your little sister,\" or \"It\'s because I had your little sister [to look after]\", though \"because\" is never actually used in the sentence, it becomes that much harder to read. \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闷闷不乐 - [pinyin]men4 men4 bu4 le4[/pinyin] - Sulky, moody, unhappy\r\n怎么了 - [pinyin]zen3 me5 le4[/pinyin] - What\'s wrong?\r\n叹 - [pinyin]tan4[/pinyin] - Sigh\r\n暑假 - [pinyin]shu3 jia4[/pinyin] - Summer vacation\r\n自责 - [pinyin]zi4 ze2[/pinyin] - To blame oneself\r\n根本 - [pinyin]gen1 ben3[/pinyin] - absolutely (not)\r\n努力 - [pinyin]nu3 li4[/pinyin] -  To strive, work hard\r\n盯 - [pinyin]ding1[/pinyin] - Stare at\r\n攥 - [pinyin]zuan4[/pinyin] - To grasp\r\n共同 - [pinyin]gong4 tong2[/pinyin] - Together\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_third]\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n9月24日星期六\r\n\r\n今天，开完家长会，妈妈<strong>闷闷不乐</strong>，我小心地问：“妈妈，您<strong>怎么了</strong>？”妈妈看着我，<strong>叹</strong>了口气说：“你<strong>暑假</strong>作业完成的不好，字也写的不好。我想，可能是有了小妹妹，我这段时间对你关心少了。”我听了，不好意思地低下了头。\r\n\r\n看着妈妈<strong>自责</strong>的样子，我心里特别难过，我对妈妈说：“妈妈，您不要自责了，这<strong>根本</strong>就不是你的错，而是我自己不<strong>努力</strong>，请您不要生气了，从现在开始，我一定认真完成老师交给的每项作业，争取取得好成绩。请您相信我！”妈妈<strong>盯</strong>着我的眼睛，<strong>攥</strong>着我的手说：“好孩子，妈妈相信你，让我们<strong>共同</strong>努力！”\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nSeptember 24, Saturday\r\n\r\nToday, as we were finishing our family meeting, mama looked moody, and I carefully asked her, \"Mama, what\'s wrong?\" Looking at me, mother sighed and said: \"Your summer vacation homework is not close to being done, and your writing is poor. I think, because [I\'ve been spending so much time with] your little sister, I haven\'t been paying as much attention to you during this time.\" As I listened, I hung my head in embarrassment. \r\n\r\nWhen I saw the self-blame on mama\'s face, I was very sad, and I said to mama: \"Mama, don\'t blame yourself, is isn\'t your fault at all, it\'s that I haven\'t worked hard enough, so please don\'t be angry, starting now, I\'ll earnestly finish all the homework teacher gave me, and I\'ll fight to get good grades. Please believe me!\" Mama stared into my eyes, grasped my hand and said, \"Good child, mother believes you, let us work hard together.\" \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Dear Diary: Mama Please Believe Me', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1113-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-04-28 04:25:20', '2012-04-28 08:25:20', '', 1113, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/04/28/1113-revision-6/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1147, 1, '2012-06-30 05:04:05', '2012-06-30 09:04:05', '', 'ingredients-oil-veggies', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'ingredients-oil-veggies', '', '', '2012-06-30 05:04:05', '2012-06-30 09:04:05', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/ingredients-oil-veggies.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1129, 1, '2016-11-05 01:07:36', '2016-11-05 05:07:36', 'A slightly off-color \"they don\'t teach you how to say that in the textbook\" joke about two parents dealing with an unexpected pregnancy in the family. This is really upper-intermediate, not really super advanced, but there will be quite a few new words here for lower-intermediate readers.\n\nIt\'s a little hard to get rolling on this one, as the first sentence is a little hard to get past unless you know what they\'re talking about, so I\'ll explain a bit. The joke starts out: \"一个16岁的女孩跟她母亲说她已经2个月没来了\", which literally translates into \"A 16-year-old girl tells her mother that already two months hadn\'t come.\" Once you see it in English, and you know the joke\'s about pregnancy, it\'s pretty easy to decipher the meaning - the girl hasn\'t had her period for 2 months and suspects she\'s pregnant. Thing is, the medical word for \"menstrual cycle\" never actually shows up here - we\'re seeing instead the colloquial term \"月\", or \"moon / month\".\n\nIt\'s also worth noting that in this reading, 令媛 is an old-fashioned term of respect to say \'your daughter\'.\n\nAnd one last interesting grammar point here is the phrase \"负该负的责任\". To \"负责任\", means to shoulder your responsibilities and fulfill your obligations. So this phrase means \"fulfill the responsibilities that should be fulfilled\", or \"to bear the responsibilities that one should bear\".\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\n一个16岁的女孩跟她母亲说她已经2个月没来了.... 母亲一听不得了赶紧去药房买了验孕剂来确认一下... 结果女孩真的怀孕了！ 母亲又哭又骂的问到:\"到底是那个浑蛋干的好事，你给我从实招来!!\" 女孩只好打了通电话... 半小时后，一部全新的法拉利跑车疾驶到了女孩家门，而跨出车门的是位全身名牌衣着又风度翩翩的中年绅士. 绅士进入屋内与女孩及她的父母双亲在客厅坐了下来. \"午安!\"绅士礼貌的向她们问候并说道:\"<strong>令媛</strong>刚刚告知了我这个大问题，但是因为我的个人家庭问题，很抱歉我无法娶令媛为妻，不过我会负该负的责任\" \"这样好了，如果生的是女孩，我会留3家店面，2间房子，1栋海边别墅及一个200万美金的帐户给她\" \"如果生的是男孩，我会让他继承2家公司再加上一个200万美金的帐户\" \"如果生的是双胞胎，那就每人继承1家公司还有各100万美金的帐户\" \"但如果不幸流产了............\" 此时在一旁沉默已久的父亲，突然站起来，并把手紧紧的搭在绅士的肩上后说:\"没关系，到时你可以再来一次!!\"\n\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nA 16-year-old girl said to her mother that she had missed 2 menstrual cycles... as soon as her mother heard this, she rushed in extreme haste to the pharmacy to buy a pregnancy test and confirm the issue... sure enough the daughter was pregnant! Crying and yelling, the mother asked, \"Whichever scoundrel did the happy deed, you make him come face me!!\" The daughter was forced to pick up the phone... half an hour later, a brand new Ferrari sports car quickly pulled up to the girl\'s front door, and who stepped out of the car but an elegant middle-aged gentleman wearing a completely new set of brand-name clothes. The gentleman entered the room and sat down in the living room with the daughter and her parents. \"Good afternoon!\" the gentleman politely paid his respects, and said, \"Your honorable daughter just told me about this serious problem, but because of my own family situation, I\'m very sorry to say I can\'t take her to wife, but I will bear the responsibility I should bear. This should do: if a girl child is born, I will give her 3 storefronts, 2 houses, 1 seaside villa and a bank account with 2 million American dollars in it. If a boy is born, he will inherit 2 companies plus a bank account worth 2 million American dollars. If it\'s twins, each will inherit one company and a 1 million American dollar bank account. But if it\'s a miscarriage...\" At that moment, the girl\'s father, who had been sitting silently off to one side, suddenly stood up, put both hands firmly on the gentleman\'s shoulders and said, \"Don\'t worry, if that happens you can come back again!\"\n\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Jokes] 你可以再来一次 - You can come back again', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '756-autosave-v1', '', '', '2016-11-05 01:07:36', '2016-11-05 05:07:36', '', 756, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/06/15/756-autosave/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2172, 1, '2016-11-05 01:07:51', '2016-11-05 05:07:51', '', 'Advanced Chinese Jokes and Written Vocaublary Practice', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'chinese-jokes-you-can-come-back-again', '', '', '2016-11-05 01:07:57', '2016-11-05 05:07:57', '', 756, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/chinese-jokes-you-can-come-back-again.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1130, 1, '2011-08-31 21:05:28', '2011-09-01 01:05:28', '[two_third]\r\nAnother slightly off-color \"they don\'t teach you how to say that in the textbook\" joke, this one about two parents dealing with an unexpected pregnancy in the family. This is really upper-intermediate, not really super advanced, but there will be quite a few new words here for lower-intermediate readers.\r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/20110830-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Advanced Chinese Jokes and Written Vocaublary Practice\" title=\"Advanced Chinese Jokes and Written Vocaublary Practice\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />You\'ll have to forgive me these couple of recent not-really-for-kids jokes - I\'m no primary school teacher, and I find that an endless stream of kids\' jokes gets a bit tiresome, and is not as reflective of real spoken language. This is the kind of joke you\'d tell with your friends after a couple of glasses of 啤酒, and you have to admit, as scripted jokes go, this one\'s pretty funny.\r\n\r\nIt\'s a little hard to get rolling on this one, as the first sentence is a little hard to get past unless you know what they\'re talking about, so I\'ll explain a bit. The joke starts out: \"一个16岁的女孩跟她母亲说她已经2个月没来了\", which literally translates into \"A 16-year-old girl tells her mother that already two months hadn\'t come.\" Once you see it in English, and you know the joke\'s about pregnancy, it\'s pretty easy to decipher the meaning - the girl hasn\'t had her period for 2 months and suspects she\'s pregnant. Thing is, the medical word for \"menstrual cycle\" never actually shows up here - we\'re seeing instead the colloquial term \"月\", or \"moon / month\".\r\n\r\nIt\'s also worth noting that in this reading, 令媛 is the name of the pregnant daughter - that is not really explained.\r\n\r\nAnd one last interesting grammar point here is the phrase \"负该负的责任\". To \"负责任\", means to shoulder your responsibilities and fulfill your obligations. So this phrase means \"fulfill the responsibilities that should be fulfilled\", or \"to bear the responsibilities that one should bear\". \r\n\r\nThe Chinese title of this joke is \"你可以再来一次\".\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验孕剂 - [pinyin]yan4 yun4 ji4[/pinyin] - Pregnancy test\r\n浑蛋 - [pinyin]hun2 dan4[/pinyin] - Variant of 混蛋, meaning scoundrel, cur, bastard\r\n法拉利 - [pinyin]fa3 la1 li4[/pinyin] - Ferrari (sports car brand)\r\n跑车 - [pinyin]pao3 che1[/pinyin] - Sports car\r\n名牌 - [pinyin]ming2 pai2[/pinyin] - Name brand\r\n风度 - [pinyin]feng1 du4[/pinyin] - Elegant (applies only to men)\r\n绅士 - [pinyin]shen1 shi4[/pinyin] - Gentleman\r\n别墅 - [pinyin]bie2 shu4[/pinyin] - Villa\r\n继承 -  [pinyin]ji4 cheng2[/pinyin] - To inherit\r\n双胞胎 - [pinyin]shuang1 bao1 tai[/pinyin] - Twins\r\n不幸流产 - [pinyin]bu4 xing4 liu2 chan3[/pinyin] - Accidental miscarriage\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一个16岁的女孩跟她母亲说她已经2个月没来了.... 母亲一听不得了赶紧去药房买了<strong>验孕剂</strong>来确认一下... 结果女孩真的怀孕了！ 母亲又哭又骂的问到:\"到底是那个<strong>浑蛋</strong>干的好事，你给我从实招来!!\" 女孩只好打了通电话... 半小时后，一部全新的<strong>法拉利</strong><strong>跑车</strong>疾驶到了女孩家门，而跨出车门的是位全身<strong>名牌</strong>衣着又<strong>风度</strong>翩翩的中年<strong>绅士</strong>. 绅士进入屋内与女孩及她的父母双亲在客厅坐了下来. \"午安!\"绅士礼貌的向她们问候并说道:\"<strong>令媛</strong>刚刚告知了我这个大问题，但是因为我的个人家庭问题，很抱歉我无法娶令媛为妻，不过我会<strong>负该负的责任</strong>\" \"这样好了，如果生的是女孩，我会留3家店面，2间房子，1栋海边<strong>别墅</strong>及一个200万美金的帐户给她\" \"如果生的是男孩，我会让他<strong>继承</strong>2家公司再加上一个200万美金的帐户\" \"如果生的是<strong>双胞胎</strong>，那就每人继承1家公司还有各100万美金的帐户\" \"但如果<strong>不幸流产</strong>了............\" 此时在一旁沉默已久的父亲，突然站起来，并把手紧紧的搭在绅士的肩上后说:\"没关系，到时你可以再来一次!!\" \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\nA 16-year-old girl said to her mother that she had missed 2 menstrual cycles... as soon as her mother heard this, she rushed in extreme haste to the pharmacy to buy a pregnancy test and confirm the issue... sure enough the daughter was pregnant!  Crying and yelling, the mother asked, \"Whichever scoundrel did the happy deed, you make him come face me!!\" The daughter was forced to pick up the phone... half an hour later, a brand new Ferrari sports car quickly pulled up to the girl\'s front door, and who stepped out of the car but an elegant middle-aged gentleman wearing a completely new set of brand-name clothes. The gentleman entered the room and sat down in the living room with the daughter and her parents. \"Good afternoon!\" the gentleman politely paid his respects, and said, \"Ling Yuan [presumably daughter\'s name] just told me about this serious problem, but because of my own family situation, I\'m very sorry to say I can\'t take Ling Yuan to wife, but I will bear the responsibility I should bear. This should do: if a girl child is born, I will give her 3 storefronts, 2 houses, 1 seaside villa and a bank account with 2 million American dollars in it. If a boy is born, he will inherit 2 companies plus a bank account worth 2 million American dollars. If it\'s twins, each will inherit one company and a 1 million American dollar bank account. But if it\'s a miscarriage...\"  At that moment, the girl\'s father, who had been sitting silently off to one side, suddenly stood up, put both hands firmly on the gentleman\'s shoulders and said, \"Don\'t worry, if that happens [lit: when the time comes] you can come back again!\" \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]\r\n\r\n', 'You can come back again', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '756-revision-v1', '', '', '2011-08-31 21:05:28', '2011-09-01 01:05:28', '', 756, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/08/31/756-revision-9/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1131, 1, '2012-06-15 05:55:06', '2012-06-15 09:55:06', '[two_third]\r\nAnother slightly off-color \"they don\'t teach you how to say that in the textbook\" joke, this one about two parents dealing with an unexpected pregnancy in the family. This is really upper-intermediate, not really super advanced, but there will be quite a few new words here for lower-intermediate readers.\r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/20110830-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Advanced Chinese Jokes and Written Vocaublary Practice\" title=\"Advanced Chinese Jokes and Written Vocaublary Practice\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />You\'ll have to forgive me these couple of recent not-really-for-kids jokes - I\'m no primary school teacher, and I find that an endless stream of kids\' jokes gets a bit tiresome, and is not as reflective of real spoken language. This is the kind of joke you\'d tell with your friends after a couple of glasses of 啤酒, and you have to admit, as scripted jokes go, this one\'s pretty funny.\r\n\r\nIt\'s a little hard to get rolling on this one, as the first sentence is a little hard to get past unless you know what they\'re talking about, so I\'ll explain a bit. The joke starts out: \"一个16岁的女孩跟她母亲说她已经2个月没来了\", which literally translates into \"A 16-year-old girl tells her mother that already two months hadn\'t come.\" Once you see it in English, and you know the joke\'s about pregnancy, it\'s pretty easy to decipher the meaning - the girl hasn\'t had her period for 2 months and suspects she\'s pregnant. Thing is, the medical word for \"menstrual cycle\" never actually shows up here - we\'re seeing instead the colloquial term \"月\", or \"moon / month\".\r\n\r\n<del datetime=\"2012-06-15T09:52:47+00:00\">It\'s also worth noting that in this reading, 令媛 is the name of the pregnant daughter - that is not really explained.</del>\r\n\r\n[CORRECTION: Alert reader Katy informs me that I was very wrong - 令媛 is not the name of the daughter but, \"an old-fashioned term of respect to say \'your daughter\' which is in keeping with the status of the man as a 绅士 (gentleman)\". Apparently, when you assume, you make an ass out of 令 and 媛. Thanks Katy.]\r\n\r\nAnd one last interesting grammar point here is the phrase \"负该负的责任\". To \"负责任\", means to shoulder your responsibilities and fulfill your obligations. So this phrase means \"fulfill the responsibilities that should be fulfilled\", or \"to bear the responsibilities that one should bear\". \r\n\r\nThe Chinese title of this joke is \"你可以再来一次\".\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验孕剂 - [pinyin]yan4 yun4 ji4[/pinyin] - Pregnancy test\r\n浑蛋 - [pinyin]hun2 dan4[/pinyin] - Variant of 混蛋, meaning scoundrel, cur, bastard\r\n法拉利 - [pinyin]fa3 la1 li4[/pinyin] - Ferrari (sports car brand)\r\n跑车 - [pinyin]pao3 che1[/pinyin] - Sports car\r\n名牌 - [pinyin]ming2 pai2[/pinyin] - Name brand\r\n风度 - [pinyin]feng1 du4[/pinyin] - Elegant (applies only to men)\r\n绅士 - [pinyin]shen1 shi4[/pinyin] - Gentleman\r\n别墅 - [pinyin]bie2 shu4[/pinyin] - Villa\r\n继承 -  [pinyin]ji4 cheng2[/pinyin] - To inherit\r\n双胞胎 - [pinyin]shuang1 bao1 tai[/pinyin] - Twins\r\n不幸流产 - [pinyin]bu4 xing4 liu2 chan3[/pinyin] - Accidental miscarriage\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一个16岁的女孩跟她母亲说她已经2个月没来了.... 母亲一听不得了赶紧去药房买了<strong>验孕剂</strong>来确认一下... 结果女孩真的怀孕了！ 母亲又哭又骂的问到:\"到底是那个<strong>浑蛋</strong>干的好事，你给我从实招来!!\" 女孩只好打了通电话... 半小时后，一部全新的<strong>法拉利</strong><strong>跑车</strong>疾驶到了女孩家门，而跨出车门的是位全身<strong>名牌</strong>衣着又<strong>风度</strong>翩翩的中年<strong>绅士</strong>. 绅士进入屋内与女孩及她的父母双亲在客厅坐了下来. \"午安!\"绅士礼貌的向她们问候并说道:\"<strong>令媛</strong>刚刚告知了我这个大问题，但是因为我的个人家庭问题，很抱歉我无法娶令媛为妻，不过我会<strong>负该负的责任</strong>\" \"这样好了，如果生的是女孩，我会留3家店面，2间房子，1栋海边<strong>别墅</strong>及一个200万美金的帐户给她\" \"如果生的是男孩，我会让他<strong>继承</strong>2家公司再加上一个200万美金的帐户\" \"如果生的是<strong>双胞胎</strong>，那就每人继承1家公司还有各100万美金的帐户\" \"但如果<strong>不幸流产</strong>了............\" 此时在一旁沉默已久的父亲，突然站起来，并把手紧紧的搭在绅士的肩上后说:\"没关系，到时你可以再来一次!!\" \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\nA 16-year-old girl said to her mother that she had missed 2 menstrual cycles... as soon as her mother heard this, she rushed in extreme haste to the pharmacy to buy a pregnancy test and confirm the issue... sure enough the daughter was pregnant!  Crying and yelling, the mother asked, \"Whichever scoundrel did the happy deed, you make him come face me!!\" The daughter was forced to pick up the phone... half an hour later, a brand new Ferrari sports car quickly pulled up to the girl\'s front door, and who stepped out of the car but an elegant middle-aged gentleman wearing a completely new set of brand-name clothes. The gentleman entered the room and sat down in the living room with the daughter and her parents. \"Good afternoon!\" the gentleman politely paid his respects, and said, \"Ling Yuan [presumably daughter\'s name] just told me about this serious problem, but because of my own family situation, I\'m very sorry to say I can\'t take Ling Yuan to wife, but I will bear the responsibility I should bear. This should do: if a girl child is born, I will give her 3 storefronts, 2 houses, 1 seaside villa and a bank account with 2 million American dollars in it. If a boy is born, he will inherit 2 companies plus a bank account worth 2 million American dollars. If it\'s twins, each will inherit one company and a 1 million American dollar bank account. But if it\'s a miscarriage...\"  At that moment, the girl\'s father, who had been sitting silently off to one side, suddenly stood up, put both hands firmly on the gentleman\'s shoulders and said, \"Don\'t worry, if that happens [lit: when the time comes] you can come back again!\" \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]\r\n\r\n', 'You can come back again', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '756-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-06-15 05:55:06', '2012-06-15 09:55:06', '', 756, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/06/15/756-revision-10/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1132, 1, '2012-06-15 05:56:54', '2012-06-15 09:56:54', '[two_third]\r\nAnother slightly off-color \"they don\'t teach you how to say that in the textbook\" joke, this one about two parents dealing with an unexpected pregnancy in the family. This is really upper-intermediate, not really super advanced, but there will be quite a few new words here for lower-intermediate readers.\r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/20110830-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Advanced Chinese Jokes and Written Vocaublary Practice\" title=\"Advanced Chinese Jokes and Written Vocaublary Practice\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />You\'ll have to forgive me these couple of recent not-really-for-kids jokes - I\'m no primary school teacher, and I find that an endless stream of kids\' jokes gets a bit tiresome, and is not as reflective of real spoken language. This is the kind of joke you\'d tell with your friends after a couple of glasses of 啤酒, and you have to admit, as scripted jokes go, this one\'s pretty funny.\r\n\r\nIt\'s a little hard to get rolling on this one, as the first sentence is a little hard to get past unless you know what they\'re talking about, so I\'ll explain a bit. The joke starts out: \"一个16岁的女孩跟她母亲说她已经2个月没来了\", which literally translates into \"A 16-year-old girl tells her mother that already two months hadn\'t come.\" Once you see it in English, and you know the joke\'s about pregnancy, it\'s pretty easy to decipher the meaning - the girl hasn\'t had her period for 2 months and suspects she\'s pregnant. Thing is, the medical word for \"menstrual cycle\" never actually shows up here - we\'re seeing instead the colloquial term \"月\", or \"moon / month\".\r\n\r\n<del datetime=\"2012-06-15T09:52:47+00:00\">It\'s also worth noting that in this reading, 令媛 is the name of the pregnant daughter - that is not really explained.</del>\r\n\r\n[CORRECTION: Alert reader Katy informs me that I was very wrong - 令媛 is not the name of the daughter but, \"an old-fashioned term of respect to say \'your daughter\' which is in keeping with the status of the man as a 绅士 (gentleman)\". Apparently, when you assume, you make an ass out of 令 and 媛. Thanks Katy.]\r\n\r\nAnd one last interesting grammar point here is the phrase \"负该负的责任\". To \"负责任\", means to shoulder your responsibilities and fulfill your obligations. So this phrase means \"fulfill the responsibilities that should be fulfilled\", or \"to bear the responsibilities that one should bear\". \r\n\r\nThe Chinese title of this joke is \"你可以再来一次\".\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验孕剂 - [pinyin]yan4 yun4 ji4[/pinyin] - Pregnancy test\r\n浑蛋 - [pinyin]hun2 dan4[/pinyin] - Variant of 混蛋, meaning scoundrel, cur, bastard\r\n法拉利 - [pinyin]fa3 la1 li4[/pinyin] - Ferrari (sports car brand)\r\n跑车 - [pinyin]pao3 che1[/pinyin] - Sports car\r\n名牌 - [pinyin]ming2 pai2[/pinyin] - Name brand\r\n风度 - [pinyin]feng1 du4[/pinyin] - Elegant (applies only to men)\r\n绅士 - [pinyin]shen1 shi4[/pinyin] - Gentleman\r\n别墅 - [pinyin]bie2 shu4[/pinyin] - Villa\r\n继承 -  [pinyin]ji4 cheng2[/pinyin] - To inherit\r\n双胞胎 - [pinyin]shuang1 bao1 tai[/pinyin] - Twins\r\n不幸流产 - [pinyin]bu4 xing4 liu2 chan3[/pinyin] - Accidental miscarriage\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一个16岁的女孩跟她母亲说她已经2个月没来了.... 母亲一听不得了赶紧去药房买了<strong>验孕剂</strong>来确认一下... 结果女孩真的怀孕了！ 母亲又哭又骂的问到:\"到底是那个<strong>浑蛋</strong>干的好事，你给我从实招来!!\" 女孩只好打了通电话... 半小时后，一部全新的<strong>法拉利</strong><strong>跑车</strong>疾驶到了女孩家门，而跨出车门的是位全身<strong>名牌</strong>衣着又<strong>风度</strong>翩翩的中年<strong>绅士</strong>. 绅士进入屋内与女孩及她的父母双亲在客厅坐了下来. \"午安!\"绅士礼貌的向她们问候并说道:\"<strong>令媛</strong>刚刚告知了我这个大问题，但是因为我的个人家庭问题，很抱歉我无法娶令媛为妻，不过我会<strong>负该负的责任</strong>\" \"这样好了，如果生的是女孩，我会留3家店面，2间房子，1栋海边<strong>别墅</strong>及一个200万美金的帐户给她\" \"如果生的是男孩，我会让他<strong>继承</strong>2家公司再加上一个200万美金的帐户\" \"如果生的是<strong>双胞胎</strong>，那就每人继承1家公司还有各100万美金的帐户\" \"但如果<strong>不幸流产</strong>了............\" 此时在一旁沉默已久的父亲，突然站起来，并把手紧紧的搭在绅士的肩上后说:\"没关系，到时你可以再来一次!!\" \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\nA 16-year-old girl said to her mother that she had missed 2 menstrual cycles... as soon as her mother heard this, she rushed in extreme haste to the pharmacy to buy a pregnancy test and confirm the issue... sure enough the daughter was pregnant!  Crying and yelling, the mother asked, \"Whichever scoundrel did the happy deed, you make him come face me!!\" The daughter was forced to pick up the phone... half an hour later, a brand new Ferrari sports car quickly pulled up to the girl\'s front door, and who stepped out of the car but an elegant middle-aged gentleman wearing a completely new set of brand-name clothes. The gentleman entered the room and sat down in the living room with the daughter and her parents. \"Good afternoon!\" the gentleman politely paid his respects, and said, \"Your daughter just told me about this serious problem, but because of my own family situation, I\'m very sorry to say I can\'t take Ling Yuan to wife, but I will bear the responsibility I should bear. This should do: if a girl child is born, I will give her 3 storefronts, 2 houses, 1 seaside villa and a bank account with 2 million American dollars in it. If a boy is born, he will inherit 2 companies plus a bank account worth 2 million American dollars. If it\'s twins, each will inherit one company and a 1 million American dollar bank account. But if it\'s a miscarriage...\"  At that moment, the girl\'s father, who had been sitting silently off to one side, suddenly stood up, put both hands firmly on the gentleman\'s shoulders and said, \"Don\'t worry, if that happens [lit: when the time comes] you can come back again!\" \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]\r\n\r\n', 'You can come back again', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '756-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-06-15 05:56:54', '2012-06-15 09:56:54', '', 756, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/06/15/756-revision-11/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1133, 1, '2012-06-15 05:57:33', '2012-06-15 09:57:33', '[two_third]\r\nAnother slightly off-color \"they don\'t teach you how to say that in the textbook\" joke, this one about two parents dealing with an unexpected pregnancy in the family. This is really upper-intermediate, not really super advanced, but there will be quite a few new words here for lower-intermediate readers.\r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/20110830-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Advanced Chinese Jokes and Written Vocaublary Practice\" title=\"Advanced Chinese Jokes and Written Vocaublary Practice\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />You\'ll have to forgive me these couple of recent not-really-for-kids jokes - I\'m no primary school teacher, and I find that an endless stream of kids\' jokes gets a bit tiresome, and is not as reflective of real spoken language. This is the kind of joke you\'d tell with your friends after a couple of glasses of 啤酒, and you have to admit, as scripted jokes go, this one\'s pretty funny.\r\n\r\nIt\'s a little hard to get rolling on this one, as the first sentence is a little hard to get past unless you know what they\'re talking about, so I\'ll explain a bit. The joke starts out: \"一个16岁的女孩跟她母亲说她已经2个月没来了\", which literally translates into \"A 16-year-old girl tells her mother that already two months hadn\'t come.\" Once you see it in English, and you know the joke\'s about pregnancy, it\'s pretty easy to decipher the meaning - the girl hasn\'t had her period for 2 months and suspects she\'s pregnant. Thing is, the medical word for \"menstrual cycle\" never actually shows up here - we\'re seeing instead the colloquial term \"月\", or \"moon / month\".\r\n\r\n<del datetime=\"2012-06-15T09:52:47+00:00\">It\'s also worth noting that in this reading, 令媛 is the name of the pregnant daughter - that is not really explained.</del>\r\n\r\n[CORRECTION: Alert reader Katy informs me that I was very wrong - 令媛 is not the name of the daughter but, \"an old-fashioned term of respect to say \'your daughter\' which is in keeping with the status of the man as a 绅士 (gentleman)\". Apparently, when you assume, you make an ass out of 令 and 媛. Thanks Katy.]\r\n\r\nAnd one last interesting grammar point here is the phrase \"负该负的责任\". To \"负责任\", means to shoulder your responsibilities and fulfill your obligations. So this phrase means \"fulfill the responsibilities that should be fulfilled\", or \"to bear the responsibilities that one should bear\". \r\n\r\nThe Chinese title of this joke is \"你可以再来一次\".\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验孕剂 - [pinyin]yan4 yun4 ji4[/pinyin] - Pregnancy test\r\n浑蛋 - [pinyin]hun2 dan4[/pinyin] - Variant of 混蛋, meaning scoundrel, cur, bastard\r\n法拉利 - [pinyin]fa3 la1 li4[/pinyin] - Ferrari (sports car brand)\r\n跑车 - [pinyin]pao3 che1[/pinyin] - Sports car\r\n名牌 - [pinyin]ming2 pai2[/pinyin] - Name brand\r\n风度 - [pinyin]feng1 du4[/pinyin] - Elegant (applies only to men)\r\n绅士 - [pinyin]shen1 shi4[/pinyin] - Gentleman\r\n别墅 - [pinyin]bie2 shu4[/pinyin] - Villa\r\n继承 -  [pinyin]ji4 cheng2[/pinyin] - To inherit\r\n双胞胎 - [pinyin]shuang1 bao1 tai[/pinyin] - Twins\r\n不幸流产 - [pinyin]bu4 xing4 liu2 chan3[/pinyin] - Accidental miscarriage\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一个16岁的女孩跟她母亲说她已经2个月没来了.... 母亲一听不得了赶紧去药房买了<strong>验孕剂</strong>来确认一下... 结果女孩真的怀孕了！ 母亲又哭又骂的问到:\"到底是那个<strong>浑蛋</strong>干的好事，你给我从实招来!!\" 女孩只好打了通电话... 半小时后，一部全新的<strong>法拉利</strong><strong>跑车</strong>疾驶到了女孩家门，而跨出车门的是位全身<strong>名牌</strong>衣着又<strong>风度</strong>翩翩的中年<strong>绅士</strong>. 绅士进入屋内与女孩及她的父母双亲在客厅坐了下来. \"午安!\"绅士礼貌的向她们问候并说道:\"<strong>令媛</strong>刚刚告知了我这个大问题，但是因为我的个人家庭问题，很抱歉我无法娶令媛为妻，不过我会<strong>负该负的责任</strong>\" \"这样好了，如果生的是女孩，我会留3家店面，2间房子，1栋海边<strong>别墅</strong>及一个200万美金的帐户给她\" \"如果生的是男孩，我会让他<strong>继承</strong>2家公司再加上一个200万美金的帐户\" \"如果生的是<strong>双胞胎</strong>，那就每人继承1家公司还有各100万美金的帐户\" \"但如果<strong>不幸流产</strong>了............\" 此时在一旁沉默已久的父亲，突然站起来，并把手紧紧的搭在绅士的肩上后说:\"没关系，到时你可以再来一次!!\" \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\nA 16-year-old girl said to her mother that she had missed 2 menstrual cycles... as soon as her mother heard this, she rushed in extreme haste to the pharmacy to buy a pregnancy test and confirm the issue... sure enough the daughter was pregnant!  Crying and yelling, the mother asked, \"Whichever scoundrel did the happy deed, you make him come face me!!\" The daughter was forced to pick up the phone... half an hour later, a brand new Ferrari sports car quickly pulled up to the girl\'s front door, and who stepped out of the car but an elegant middle-aged gentleman wearing a completely new set of brand-name clothes. The gentleman entered the room and sat down in the living room with the daughter and her parents. \"Good afternoon!\" the gentleman politely paid his respects, and said, \"Your honorable daughter just told me about this serious problem, but because of my own family situation, I\'m very sorry to say I can\'t take Ling Yuan to wife, but I will bear the responsibility I should bear. This should do: if a girl child is born, I will give her 3 storefronts, 2 houses, 1 seaside villa and a bank account with 2 million American dollars in it. If a boy is born, he will inherit 2 companies plus a bank account worth 2 million American dollars. If it\'s twins, each will inherit one company and a 1 million American dollar bank account. But if it\'s a miscarriage...\"  At that moment, the girl\'s father, who had been sitting silently off to one side, suddenly stood up, put both hands firmly on the gentleman\'s shoulders and said, \"Don\'t worry, if that happens [lit: when the time comes] you can come back again!\" \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]\r\n\r\n', 'You can come back again', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '756-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-06-15 05:57:33', '2012-06-15 09:57:33', '', 756, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/06/15/756-revision-12/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1134, 1, '2012-06-15 06:28:41', '2012-06-15 10:28:41', '', 'Simplified Chinese Literacy: Easy Passages in Chinese for Beginners', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '20120615', '', '', '2012-06-15 06:28:41', '2012-06-15 10:28:41', '', 1123, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/20120615.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1135, 1, '2012-06-15 06:28:42', '2012-06-15 10:28:42', '', 'Simplified Chinese Literacy: Easy Passages in Chinese for Beginners', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '20120615-inline', '', '', '2012-06-15 06:28:42', '2012-06-15 10:28:42', '', 1123, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/20120615-INLINE.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(1137, 1, '2012-06-15 06:31:56', '2012-06-15 10:31:56', '[two_third]\nThis 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. \n\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\" />The seasons are personified as ladies - for example, \"The Lady of Spring\" (春姑娘) and \"the Lady of Summer\" (夏姑娘), etc. Notice the  \n\nAs is pretty typical in Chinese texts, it\'s never really specified if it\'s one blade of grass or a field of grass that is the protagonist here, but . My point is that this is a great example of - in English stories, it\'s hard to personify something you can\'t define. \n\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. \n\nAnd on a personal note, not 100% sure I\'m happy with the conclusion that\'s drawn here, considering I dye my hair all the time, but what the hell. \n\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n春天  - [pinyin]chun1 tian1[/pinyin] - springtime\n染 - [pinyin]ran3[/pinyin] - dye\n青色 - [pinyin]qing1 se4[/pinyin] - A blue, green or blue-green the Chinese consider the \"color of nature\"\n伤心 - [pinyin]shang1 xin1[/pinyin] - Broken-hearted\n夏天 - [pinyin]xia4 tian1[/pinyin] - Summer\n深绿 - [pinyin]shu3 jia4[/pinyin] - Dark green\n秋天 - [pinyin]zi4 ze2[/pinyin] - Autumn\n金黄 - [pinyin]gen1 ben3[/pinyin] - Golden yellow\n冬天 - [pinyin]nu3 li4[/pinyin] -  Winter\n后悔 - [pinyin]ding1[/pinyin] - Regret\n可不要 - [pinyin]zuan4[/pinyin] - Won\'t [you] be...(ex. sad?)\n忽然 - [pinyin]gong4 tong2[/pinyin] - Suddenly\n掉下来 - [pinyin]gong4 tong2[/pinyin] - fall, drop down\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n小草银银喜欢银色。\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>。\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。\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。\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”！\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。\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nThe little grass YinYin liked the color silver. \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. \n\nIn summer time, little grass YinYin asked the Lady of Summer to 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. \n\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.\n\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. \n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Little Grass\' Silver Hair', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1123-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-06-15 06:31:56', '2012-06-15 10:31:56', '', 1123, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/06/15/1123-revision-3/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(1138, 1, '2012-06-15 06:32:05', '2012-06-15 10:32:05', '[two_third]\r\nThis 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. Notice the  \r\n\r\nAs is pretty typical in Chinese texts, it\'s never really specified if it\'s one blade of grass or a field of grass that is the protagonist here, but . My point is that this is a great example of - in English stories, it\'s hard to personify something you can\'t define. \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\nAnd on a personal note, not 100% sure I\'m happy with the conclusion that\'s drawn here, considering I dye my hair all the time, but what the hell. \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春天  - [pinyin]chun1 tian1[/pinyin] - springtime\r\n染 - [pinyin]ran3[/pinyin] - dye\r\n青色 - [pinyin]qing1 se4[/pinyin] - A blue, green or blue-green the Chinese consider the \"color of nature\"\r\n伤心 - [pinyin]shang1 xin1[/pinyin] - Broken-hearted\r\n夏天 - [pinyin]xia4 tian1[/pinyin] - Summer\r\n深绿 - [pinyin]shu3 jia4[/pinyin] - Dark green\r\n秋天 - [pinyin]zi4 ze2[/pinyin] - Autumn\r\n金黄 - [pinyin]gen1 ben3[/pinyin] - Golden yellow\r\n冬天 - [pinyin]nu3 li4[/pinyin] -  Winter\r\n后悔 - [pinyin]ding1[/pinyin] - Regret\r\n可不要 - [pinyin]zuan4[/pinyin] - Won\'t [you] be...(ex. sad?)\r\n忽然 - [pinyin]gong4 tong2[/pinyin] - Suddenly\r\n掉下来 - [pinyin]gong4 tong2[/pinyin] - fall, drop down\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　　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 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]', 'Little Grass\' Silver Hair', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1123-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-06-15 06:32:05', '2012-06-15 10:32:05', '', 1123, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/06/15/1123-revision-4/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1139, 1, '2012-06-15 06:32:53', '2012-06-15 10:32:53', '[two_third]\r\nThis 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\nAs is pretty typical in Chinese texts, it\'s never really specified if it\'s one blade of grass or a field of grass that is the protagonist here, but . My point is that this is a great example of - in English stories, it\'s hard to personify something you can\'t define. \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\nAnd on a personal note, not 100% sure I\'m happy with the conclusion that\'s drawn here, considering I dye my hair all the time, but what the hell. \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春天  - [pinyin]chun1 tian1[/pinyin] - springtime\r\n染 - [pinyin]ran3[/pinyin] - dye\r\n青色 - [pinyin]qing1 se4[/pinyin] - A blue, green or blue-green the Chinese consider the \"color of nature\"\r\n伤心 - [pinyin]shang1 xin1[/pinyin] - Broken-hearted\r\n夏天 - [pinyin]xia4 tian1[/pinyin] - Summer\r\n深绿 - [pinyin]shu3 jia4[/pinyin] - Dark green\r\n秋天 - [pinyin]zi4 ze2[/pinyin] - Autumn\r\n金黄 - [pinyin]gen1 ben3[/pinyin] - Golden yellow\r\n冬天 - [pinyin]nu3 li4[/pinyin] -  Winter\r\n后悔 - [pinyin]ding1[/pinyin] - Regret\r\n可不要 - [pinyin]zuan4[/pinyin] - Won\'t [you] be...(ex. sad?)\r\n忽然 - [pinyin]gong4 tong2[/pinyin] - Suddenly\r\n掉下来 - [pinyin]gong4 tong2[/pinyin] - fall, drop down\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　　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 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]', 'Little Grass\' Silver Hair', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1123-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-06-15 06:32:53', '2012-06-15 10:32:53', '', 1123, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/06/15/1123-revision-5/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1141, 1, '2016-11-04 09:20:03', '2016-11-04 13:20:03', '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. \n\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. \n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\n<h3>Chinese text</h3>\n1) 小草银银喜欢银色。\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>。\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。\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。\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。\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\n1) The little grass YinYin liked the color silver. \n\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. \n\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. \n\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.\n\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. \n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Fables] 小草银银 - Little Grass\' Silver Hair', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1123-autosave-v1', '', '', '2016-11-04 09:20:03', '2016-11-04 13:20:03', '', 1123, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/06/27/1123-autosave/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1142, 1, '2012-06-15 06:33:07', '2012-06-15 10:33:07', '[two_third]\r\nThis 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\nAnd on a personal note, not 100% sure I\'m happy with the conclusion that\'s drawn here, considering I dye my hair all the time, but what the hell. \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春天  - [pinyin]chun1 tian1[/pinyin] - springtime\r\n染 - [pinyin]ran3[/pinyin] - dye\r\n青色 - [pinyin]qing1 se4[/pinyin] - A blue, green or blue-green the Chinese consider the \"color of nature\"\r\n伤心 - [pinyin]shang1 xin1[/pinyin] - Broken-hearted\r\n夏天 - [pinyin]xia4 tian1[/pinyin] - Summer\r\n深绿 - [pinyin]shu3 jia4[/pinyin] - Dark green\r\n秋天 - [pinyin]zi4 ze2[/pinyin] - Autumn\r\n金黄 - [pinyin]gen1 ben3[/pinyin] - Golden yellow\r\n冬天 - [pinyin]nu3 li4[/pinyin] -  Winter\r\n后悔 - [pinyin]ding1[/pinyin] - Regret\r\n可不要 - [pinyin]zuan4[/pinyin] - Won\'t [you] be...(ex. sad?)\r\n忽然 - [pinyin]gong4 tong2[/pinyin] - Suddenly\r\n掉下来 - [pinyin]gong4 tong2[/pinyin] - fall, drop down\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　　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 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]', 'Little Grass\' Silver Hair', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', '1123-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-06-15 06:33:07', '2012-06-15 10:33:07', '', 1123, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/06/15/1123-revision-6/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2635, 1, '2017-01-15 03:07:51', '2017-01-15 08:07:51', '', 'how-to-read-chinese-201701-i-like-rain', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', 'how-to-read-chinese-201701-i-like-rain', '', '', '2017-01-15 03:08:37', '2017-01-15 08:08:37', '', 2423, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/how-to-read-chinese-201701-i-like-rain.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(2636, 1, '2017-01-15 03:08:44', '2017-01-15 08:08:44', 'People who like the rain seem to think they\'re some kind of elite class of whimsical puddle-jumping Amelies. No, dude. Everyone likes the rain. Only miserable, soul-sick, sad sacks don\'t like any kind of rain, ever. We\'ll forgive the kid that wrote this his affectation, though, since it sounds like he\'s in middle school or thereabouts. \r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\n<h3>Verb + Result - 冲坏</h3>\r\nIn Chinese, very often an action, and then the result of that action, are placed right next to each other. We see a pretty sweet example of this in paragraph two: \r\n\r\n<blockquote>(雨)把道路冲坏了。</blockquote>\r\n\r\nFirst, we see the verb, in this case 冲 ([pinyin]chong[/pinyin] - to flood, gush or pour), and then the result of that verb, in this case 坏 ([pinyin]huai4[/pinyin] - broken, messed up). In other words, the rain flooded the streets until they were a big ol\' mess. More examples:\r\n\r\n<strong>倒满</strong>了水\r\nto <strong>pour full</strong> of water\r\n\r\n把玩具<strong>弄坏</strong>\r\nTake the toy and <strong>use</strong> it until it\'s <strong>broken</strong> (break it)\r\n\r\n<strong>用光</strong>了钱\r\n<strong>Use up</strong> the money\r\n\r\nAnd now, our feature presentation. \r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n1) 我喜欢雨。春天的雨使种子发芽，大地一片桃红柳绿。夏天的雨给大地洗个澡，人们觉得很凉快。秋天的雨给大地换上了金色的外衣，大地丰收了。\r\n\r\n2) 可是，昨天的雨太可怕了，就像天上有人把一盆一盆的水往下倒，把道路<strong>冲坏</strong>了，把庄稼冲坏了。\r\n\r\n3) 雨给人们带来了许多好处，有时也会给人们带来灾难。\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) I like rain. Spring rain causes the seeds to sprout, and all the earth is red peaches and green willows. Summer rains shower the earth, and everyone feels refreshed. Autumn rains let the earth change into a coat of gold, and the harvest is bountiful. \r\n\r\n2) And yet, yesterday\'s rain was frightening, as if there was someone in heaven overturning basin after basin of water, flooding the streets, flooding the crops.\r\n\r\n3) Rain brings us benefits, but sometimes also brings us disaster. \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]\r\n\r\n\r\n', '[Chinese Essays] 我喜欢雨 - I like the Rain', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2423-revision-v1', '', '', '2017-01-15 03:08:44', '2017-01-15 08:08:44', '', 2423, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2017/01/2423-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
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(1148, 1, '2012-06-30 05:07:20', '2012-06-30 09:07:20', '', 'ingredients-beer-noodles-peanuts', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'ingredients-beer-noodles-peanuts', '', '', '2012-06-30 05:07:20', '2012-06-30 09:07:20', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/ingredients-beer-noodles-peanuts.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(2640, 1, '2017-01-15 04:05:12', '2017-01-15 09:05:12', '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', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1779-revision-v1', '', '', '2017-01-15 04:05:12', '2017-01-15 09:05:12', '', 1779, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2017/01/1779-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2631, 1, '2017-01-13 06:39:42', '2017-01-13 11:39:42', '', '201701-read-chinese-mandarin-reading', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', '201701-read-chinese-mandarin-reading', '', '', '2017-01-13 06:40:05', '2017-01-13 11:40:05', '', 2430, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/201701-read-chinese-mandarin-reading.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(2632, 1, '2017-01-13 06:40:10', '2017-01-13 11:40:10', 'Or rather, \"Little Tortoise figures out that life is mostly just about figuring out what defense mechanisms you developed and learning to deal with them.\" \r\n\r\n<h3>However - 却</h3>\r\nThis passage is a good showcase for 却 [pinyin]que4[/pinyin]. 却 usually appears in the second part of a sentence, and indicates a reversal of whatever was said in the first bit, similar to \"however\", \"but\", or \"on the other hand\". \r\n\r\nHowever (heh), 却 is used a little differently than we might use these words in English. You can\'t stick it in the beginning of a sentence. \"However, she only waited two hours before she decided to go home.\" MAY NOT BE translated as \"却, 她只等了两个小时就决定回家了。\" \r\n\r\nRather, you stick it behind the noun in the second part of the sentence to show contrast with the first part: 我想去，他却不想去。(\"I want to go, he, however, does not.\")\r\n\r\nYou\'ll see this several times in the passage below. \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n1) 小乌龟问妈妈：“为什么我们生下来，就要背着这又硬又重的外壳呢？” \r\n\r\n2) 妈妈：“因为我们的身体很软，很脆弱，可以爬，却爬不快；可以游，又游不远。外面的世界充满了危险，这个壳就是保护我们的家啊！” \r\n\r\n3) 小乌龟疑惑地问：“可是海鸥小妹妹的身体好像也很软，为什么她却不用背像我们这样又硬又重的壳呢？”  \r\n\r\n4) 妈妈耐心地解释：“因为海鸥妹妹长大了会飞翔，天空会保护她啊。” \r\n\r\n5) 小乌龟还是不明白：“青蛙弟弟也很软，爬不快游不远，而且也不会飞翔，他为什么不背像我们这样又硬又重的壳呢？”  \r\n\r\n6) 妈妈说：“因为青蛙弟弟的家在麦田，大地会保护他啊。” \r\n\r\n7) 小乌龟哭了起来：“我们好可怜，天空不保护我们，大地也不保护我们。” \r\n\r\n8) 乌龟妈妈安慰他：“可是我们有壳啊！我们不靠天，不靠地，我们只靠我们自己。”\r\n\r\n\r\nSee the <a href=\"http://wenku.baidu.com/link?url=1Ik36il1QlMtTweU2bfr4IGN2uCf0CHHmCOV9OkmS62Y5_sHUYn_G3N2ddJ4W3GI-nW1YutoUNmJPLI8EVFwRQKFPsZaJVl-bjqupItlpPm###\" 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) The little tortoise asked his mother: \"Why is it that when we\'re born, we must carry around these hard and heavy shells?\" \r\n\r\n2) Mother: \"Because our bodies are weak and frail, we can crawl but we can\'t crawl fast; we can swim, but we can\'t swim far. The outside world is full of danger, these shells are the homes that protect us!\" \r\n\r\n3) Little Tortoise doubtfully asked: \"But Sister Seagull\'s body also seems weak, why doesn\'t she have to carry a hard and heavy shell like ours?\" \r\n\r\n4) Mama patiently explained: \"Because when Sister Seagull grows up she can fly, and the sky will protect her.\" \r\n\r\n5) Little Tortoise still didn\'t understand: \"Little brother frog is also weak, he can\'t crawl fast and he can\'t swim far, neither can he fly, so why doesn\'t he have to carry a hard and heavy shell like ours?\"\r\n\r\n6) Mother said: \"Because Little Brother Frog lives in the wheat fields, the earth will protect him.\" \r\n\r\n7) Little tortoise started to cry: \"How pitiful we are, the sky doesn\'t protect us, and the earth doesn\'t protect us either.\"  \r\n\r\n8) Mama Tortoise comforted him: \"But we have shells! We don\'t depend on the sky, we don\'t depend on the earth, we need only depend on ourselves.\" \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]\r\n\r\n\r\n', '[Chinese Short Stories] 《小乌龟的困惑》Little Tortoise Find Out Life is Hard', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2430-revision-v1', '', '', '2017-01-13 06:40:10', '2017-01-13 11:40:10', '', 2430, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2017/01/2430-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
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(2628, 1, '2017-01-13 04:16:29', '2017-01-13 09:16:29', '', '201701-turtledove-featured', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', '201701-turtledove-featured', '', '', '2017-01-13 04:17:31', '2017-01-13 09:17:31', '', 2349, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/201701-turtledove-featured.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(2629, 1, '2017-01-13 04:17:39', '2017-01-13 09:17:39', 'There\'s only one thing worse than a bratty turtledove, and that is a bratty turtledove who feels entitled to everyone\'s good opinion. Amiright? This little bird needs a serious lesson in reciprocity. \r\n\r\n<h3>Being Nice</h3>\r\nThere\'s one phrase in here that might read as confusing, if only because the meaning of 好 in this context is a little vague. The turtledove is complaining that he can\'t make friends with the magpie, because he already stole the magpie\'s nest, and therefore the magpie: \r\n\r\n不会和我好的。\r\n\r\nIf you translate this directly, it actually kind of works in American slang English: \"He won\'t be good with me.\" That\'s exactly right, turtledove. If you stole my nest, I wouldn\'t be good with you either. But more formally, we might translate this as \"He won\'t be nice to me.\" \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n1) 小斑鸠很孤单，几乎没有朋友。有一天，他问白头翁：“白头翁爷爷，谁能和我交朋友呢？”      \r\n\r\n2) 白头翁说：“你可以去和喜鹊交朋友，他热情、善良！”      \r\n\r\n3) 小斑鸠惭愧地说：“我强占过他的巢，他不会和我好的。”      \r\n\r\n4) 白头翁说：“你可以去和啄木鸟交朋友，他勤劳、正直！”      \r\n\r\n5) 小斑鸠不好意思地说：“上次，我骂他是笨蛋，他不会原谅我的。”      \r\n\r\n6) 白头翁想了想，又说：“那么，你去找小麻雀试试，他天真、活泼！”      \r\n\r\n7) 小斑鸠为难地说：“不行啊，前几天我和他打了一架，把他啄得头破血流。”      \r\n\r\n8) 白头翁叹了一口气说：“哎，你总是欺负别人，谁还愿意成为你的朋友呢？” \r\n\r\n\r\nSee the <a href=\"http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_4cb7f70901017yot.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\n\r\n1) The little turtledove was very lonely, he had almost no friends. One day, he asked the wizened old man: \"Wizened Grandfather, who will make friends with me?\"\r\n\r\n2) The old man said: \"You could go make friends with the magpie, he\'s enthusiastic and kindly!\"       \r\n\r\n3) The little turtledove ashamedly said: \"I once forced him out of his nest, he won\'t be nice to me.\"       \r\n\r\n4) The old man said: \"You could go make friends with the woodpecker, he\'s hardworking and upright!\"      \r\n\r\n5) The little turtledove said with embarrassment: \"Last time [I saw him], I called him an fool, he won\'t forgive me.\"       \r\n\r\n6) The old man thought a moment, then said: \"Then, you could go try the sparrow, he\'s unaffected and lively!\"    \r\n\r\n7) The little turtledove awkwardly said: \"That won\'t do, a few days ago he and I came to blows, I pecked him in the head until he was bleeding.\"      \r\n\r\n8) The old man sighed and said: \"<em>Ai</em>, you\'re always off bullying others, who\'d still want to be your friend?\"  \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Short Stories] 《孤单的斑鸠》The Lonely Little Turtledove', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2349-revision-v1', '', '', '2017-01-13 04:17:39', '2017-01-13 09:17:39', '', 2349, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2017/01/2349-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1163, 1, '2012-06-30 05:38:26', '2012-06-30 09:38:26', '', 'chop-up-peanuts-mushrooms', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'open', '', 'chop-up-peanuts-mushrooms', '', '', '2012-06-30 05:38:26', '2012-06-30 09:38:26', '', 0, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/chop-up-peanuts-mushrooms.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(2624, 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', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1781-revision-v1', '', '', '2017-01-13 03:20:52', '2017-01-13 08:20:52', '', 1781, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2017/01/1781-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2627, 1, '2017-01-13 04:02:11', '2017-01-13 09:02:11', 'There\'s only one thing worse than a turtledove, and that\'s is a turtledove who feels entitled to your good opinion. \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div class=\"chinesetext\">\r\n1) 小斑鸠很孤单，几乎没有朋友。有一天，他问白头翁：“白头翁爷爷，谁能和我交朋友呢？”      \r\n\r\n2) 白头翁说：“你可以去和喜鹊交朋友，他热情、善良！”      \r\n\r\n3) 小斑鸠惭愧地说：“我强占过他的巢，他不会和我好的。”      \r\n\r\n4) 白头翁说：“你可以去和啄木鸟交朋友，他勤劳、正直！”      \r\n\r\n5) 小斑鸠不好意思地说：“上次，我骂他是笨蛋，他不会原谅我的。”      \r\n\r\n6) 白头翁想了想，又说：“那么，你去找小麻雀试试，他天真、活泼！”      \r\n\r\n7) 小斑鸠为难地说：“不行啊，前几天我和他打了一架，把他啄得头破血流。”      \r\n\r\n8) 白头翁叹了一口气说：“哎，你总是欺负别人，谁还愿意成为你的朋友呢？” \r\n\r\n\r\nSee the <a href=\"http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_4cb7f70901017yot.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\n\r\n1) The little turtledove was very lonely, he had almost no friends. One day, he asked the wizened old man: \"Wizened Grandfather, who will make friends with me?\"\r\n\r\n2) The old man said: \"You could go make friends with the magpie, he\'s enthusiastic and kindly!\"       \r\n\r\n3) The little turtledove ashamedly said: \"I once forced him out of his nest, he won\'t be nice to me.\"       \r\n\r\n4) The old man said: \"You could go make friends with the woodpecker, he\'s hardworking and upright!\"      \r\n\r\n5) The little turtledove said with embarrassment: \"Last time [I saw him], I called him an fool, he won\'t forgive me.\"       \r\n\r\n6) The old man thought a moment, then said: \"Then, you could go try the sparrow, he\'s unaffected and lively!\"    \r\n\r\n7) The little turtledove , \"That won\'t do, a few days ago he and I came to blows, I pecked him in the head and he bled.\"      \r\n\r\n8) The old man sighed and said: \"Ai, you\'re always off bullying others, who\'d still want to be your friend?\"  \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '[Chinese Short Stories] 《孤单的斑鸠》The Lonely Little Turtledove', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2349-revision-v1', '', '', '2017-01-13 04:02:11', '2017-01-13 09:02:11', '', 2349, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2017/01/2349-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2625, 1, '2017-01-13 03:50:29', '2017-01-13 08:50:29', '', '201701-learn-simplified-chinese-idioms', '', 'inherit', 'open', 'closed', '', '201701-learn-simplified-chinese-idioms', '', '', '2017-01-13 03:50:29', '2017-01-13 08:50:29', '', 1785, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/201701-learn-simplified-chinese-idioms.jpg', 0, 'attachment', 'image/jpeg', 0),
(2626, 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', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1785-revision-v1', '', '', '2017-01-13 03:50:58', '2017-01-13 08:50:58', '', 1785, 'http://devenv.chinesereadingpractice.com/2017/01/1785-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
