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(2086, 1, '2020-04-28 19:40:42', '2020-04-28 23:40:42', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nA sweet essay about a young child doing something nice for her mother. \r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThis story has two proper nouns in it, which I should probably explain. The words 《大宅门》, which is the title of a TV show called \"Grand Gate Mansion\". This is a real Chinese TV soap / drama. If you want to watch it, <a href=\"http://v.pptv.com/show/hs26OKAGdrQXlVk.html\"> here\'s a full video episode of Grand Gate Mansion</a>. Another interesting thing about that is the punctuation  《 and 》, marks that don\'t exist in English. In English, when we refer to the name of a book or movie, we often put the name in quotes, for example, \"Cinderella\" or \"Gone with the Wind\". These 《》 punctuation marks are the equivalent of quotes in English, but while we use quotes for lots of purposes, the Chinese only ever use these to describe the name of a play, book, movie or show.\r\n\r\nThe other proper noun is 明明, a young girl\'s name. \r\n\r\nOne of the things I really like about this is also the juxtaposition between the three words 小心, 放心 and 开心, which mean \"to be careful or cautious\", \"to stop worrying\", and \"to be happy / to have fun\", respectively. You\'ll notice these words all end in 心, \"heart\", and these words could literally be translated as \"small heart\", \"to let go of your heart\", and \"open heart\". When you\'re being careful, doesn\'t it feel like your heart is small? And when you stop worrying about something, isn\'t it just like \"putting your heart down\"? And when you\'re having fun, isn\'t it just like you have an \"open heart\"?\r\n\r\nThe Chinese title of this little narrative is 我为妈妈做点儿事.\r\n\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>我为妈妈做点儿事</h4>\r\n吃完晚饭,妈妈在厨房里洗碗，明明坐在大大的沙发上，<strong>津津有味</strong>地看着自己喜欢的<strong>动画片</strong>。\r\n\r\n过了一会儿,动画片演完了，电视<strong>屏幕</strong>上出现了大宅门的<strong>片名</strong>。明明知道妈妈最喜欢看《大宅门》了，明明想妈妈要做事，要洗碗，很<strong>辛苦</strong>，一定要让妈妈看会儿《大宅门》，她边想边向厨房跑去。明明拉着妈妈的<strong>围裙</strong>说: “妈妈，您最喜欢看的《大宅门》开始了，您快去看吧,我来洗碗。”妈妈高兴地说: “好呀，你洗碗的时候一定要<strong>小心</strong>啊。”明明说: “妈妈您放心吧!”\r\n\r\n妈妈坐在舒服的沙发上看起电视，明明在厨房里认真地洗碗，这个晚上她们俩过得可<strong>开心</strong>了!\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nAfter dinner was done, mother was in the kitchen washing dishes, and Ming Ming was on the big sofa, watching her favorite cartoons with great interest.  \r\n\r\nAfter a while, the cartoons were over, and the TV show title \"Grand Gate Mansion\" appeared on the screen. Ming Ming thought about how her mother had things to do, she had to wash the dishes, which is very tiring work, so [Ming Ming] should certainly let mother watch Grand Gate Mansion for a while, and thinking this, she ran into the kitchen. Ming Ming pulled on her mother\'s apron and said, \"Mama, your favorite show \'Grand Gate Mansion\' is starting, quick, go and watch it, I\'ll wash the dishes.\" Mother happily said, \"Great, just be careful as you\'re washing the dishes.\" Ming Ming said, \"Mama, don\'t worry!\" \r\n\r\nMother sat on the comfortable sofa and watched television, and Ming Ming was in the kitchen diligently washing dishes - that night those two had a great time! \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay: I Did Something for Mom', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '785-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 19:40:42', '2020-04-28 23:40:42', '', 785, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/785-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2087, 1, '2020-04-28 19:40:48', '2020-04-28 23:40:48', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nA short first-person essay about a kid lighting firecrackers with his parents. I went back and forth on whether to classify this as \"beginner\" or \"intermediate\". It\'s easier than most of my intermediate stuff, but it\'s got a tighter density of higher-level words than my beginner stuff. But it\'s only a few sentences long. I finally settled on \"Beginner\", if willing to walk through it word-by-word and puzzle it out, you may be able to get it.\r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThis isn\'t really an essay, per se. The Chinese have a different word for this type of \"what I did that day\" article: they call it 记事 (a record of events, like a diary) or 叙事 (a narrative). The weirdest part about this, I think, is the part where the kid says he smokes a cigarette his dad gave him. How old is this child? The rest of the piece makes it sound like he\'s about 7-10? Anywayyyy... on with the Chinese.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>放花炮</h4>\r\n\r\n今天晚上，我和爸爸妈妈一起<strong>放花炮</strong>。 爸爸用上<strong>打火机</strong>点上一根<strong>香烟</strong>，我拿着烟，<strong>吸</strong>了几口后就开始放花炮。我点了一个，花炮<strong>喷出五颜六色</strong>的的<strong>火苗</strong>，真是太美丽了！<strong>冲天炮</strong>太<strong>危险</strong>了，我不敢放，爸爸帮我放，我只在旁边看。 不一会儿，花炮放完了，我们就高高兴兴地回家了。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThis evening, my mother father and I set off fireworks together. Father used a lighter to light a cigarette, I took the cigarette and after a few puffs we began lighting the fireworks. I light one, and the firework sprayed multicolor flames, so beautiful! Rockets are too dangerous, I don\'t dare light them, so father helped me do it, and I stood beside and watched. Soon after, the fireworks were all gone, and we happily returned home. \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay: Setting Off Fireworks', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '779-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 19:40:48', '2020-04-28 23:40:48', '', 779, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/779-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2088, 1, '2020-04-28 19:40:58', '2020-04-28 23:40:58', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nA young child\'s thoughts and description of watermelon, their favorite fruit. <!--more-->\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>西瓜</h4>\r\n我吃好多水果，但是我最喜欢的是西瓜。\r\n\r\n西瓜<strong>圆圆的</strong>，有一条一条的绿色<strong>花纹</strong>，像一个<strong>皮球</strong>。\r\n\r\n破开西瓜，<strong>周围</strong>是白色的瓜皮，中间是鲜红的瓜<strong>瓤</strong>。<strong>咬</strong>一口，甜甜的，真好吃。我好想一口气把整个西瓜吃完，可是妈妈说，西瓜不能多吃，吃多了会<strong>拉肚子</strong>。\r\n\r\n吃完西瓜，瓜皮要丢进<strong>垃圾桶</strong>，可不能随便<strong>乱扔</strong>，因为有人踩到上面会摔倒的。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nI eat a lot of fruit, but my favorite is watermelon.\r\n\r\nWatermelon is round, and has a striped green design [on it], like a leather ball. \r\n\r\nWhen you break open a watermelon, it\'s surrounded by white skin, in the middle is bright red pulp. Take a bite, it\'s so sweet, it\'s delicious. I\'d love to eat it all up in one mouthful, but mama says you can\'t each too much watermelon, if you eat too much you\'ll have diarrhea. \r\n\r\nWhen you finish eating the watermelon, you have to drop the skin in the trash can, you can\'t just carelessly litter, because if a person steps on it they can slip and fall. \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay: Watermelon', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '792-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 19:40:58', '2020-04-28 23:40:58', '', 792, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/792-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2089, 1, '2020-04-28 19:41:17', '2020-04-28 23:41:17', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nA quick child\'s essay about two toy bears - a present from mom. If this article is on or just above your reading level, you may have trouble with the phrase 让人喜欢得不得了. Let\'s take it piece by piece: \r\n\r\n让人 - Makes one / makes people / Causes people to feel (as in \"That makes people mad.\")\r\n喜欢 - to like\r\n得 - Grammatical word tacked on to \"喜欢 \" that can be loosely translated into \"that is\" or \"they are\". \r\n不得了 - Extremely\r\n\r\nSo the whole phrase really means, \"They\'re extremely likeable\", but I\'ve translated it a little more directly in the actual body of the translation so it\'s easier to track with the sentence. \r\n\r\nAlso worth a quick mention is the word 胖乎乎, meaning \"chubby\", but this word sounds very endearing, not insulting - a baby, for example, would be 胖乎乎. \r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.tom61.com/youxiuzuowen/xiaoxueernianjizuowen/2011-08-12/1313140910230695.html\">You can find the original story on Tom61. </a>\r\n\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>我的玩具熊</h4>\r\n今天，妈妈下班回来，<strong>神秘兮兮</strong>地对我说: “聪聪，<strong>猜</strong>猜看，我给你买什么了？我猜了好几次，妈妈都连连摇头。她看我<strong>急不可耐</strong>的样子，从背包里拿出一样东西，我<strong>兴高采烈</strong>地接过一看，啊，原来是一对可爱的玩具熊。\r\n\r\n这两只玩具熊全身雪白雪白的，它们紧紧<strong>挨</strong>在一起，像一对亲密的小姐妹。半圆形的耳朵，小小的鼻子向前<strong>翘</strong>着，一双眼睛像两颗黑<strong>珍珠</strong>，<strong>胖乎乎</strong>的身体，圆圆的脑袋，<strong>让人喜欢得不得了</strong>。\r\n\r\n更有趣的是，如果用手拍它的<strong>胳膊</strong>，它就会发出悦耳动听的音乐来，真是好玩极了。\r\n\r\n两只玩具熊像我的好朋友，它们天天陪伴着我，给我家带来<strong>无穷</strong>的欢乐。我喜欢我的玩具熊。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nToday, mother came back from work, and very mysteriously said to me: \"Congcong, guess what I have bought for you?\" I guessed many times, but mother repeatedly shook her head. Seeing my impatience, she took something from her backpack, I happily and excitedly took it from her and looked, ah! It was a pair of cute toy bears.\r\n\r\nThese two toy bears\' bodies were white as snow, they were pressed close together like a pair of dear sisters. Half-circle ears, small noses pointed outwards, a pair of eyes like two black pearls, chubby bodies, round head, all make them very lovable. \r\n\r\nMost interesting is that if you use your hand to pat their arms, they automatically play some sweet-sounding music, it\'s really wonderful! \r\n\r\nThese two toys are like my good friends, they accompany me every day, and they bring lots of fun to my family. I like my toy bears. \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay: My Toy Bears', 'A quick child\'s essay about two toy bears - a present from mom.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '794-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 19:41:17', '2020-04-28 23:41:17', '', 794, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/794-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2090, 1, '2020-04-28 19:42:28', '2020-04-28 23:42:28', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nSeeing as how I just got back from a trip to the Wall myself, I figured I\'d stay on that theme. This traditional and very famous story, called 孟姜女哭长城 [pinyin]meng4 jiang1 nv3 ku1 chang2 cheng2[/pinyin], is set in the Qin Dynasty, and is super sad in the way that only East Asian stories can be sad (are we noticing a trend, here?). If you\'re the \"watches a lot of anime\" type, you\'ll easily find the beauty here (which lies in the power of tears - where else?), but if you like your fairy-tale endings, prepare for a big downer. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nI happen to enjoy sad stories as long as there\'s some sweetness in them, and this one is paced very nicely, so I\'m translating it for you here, though it\'s much longer than my usual fare (I seem to be trending towards longer stuff these days). \r\n\r\nThis story happens between 259 B.C. and 210 B.C., and describes two characters, our heroine 孟姜女[pinyin]meng4 jiang1 nv3[/pinyin], and her love, 范喜良 [pinyin]fan4 xi3 liang2[/pinyin], who live under the rule of emperor 秦始皇 [pinyin]qin2 shi3 huang2[/pinyin] during the building of the Great Wall. The story describes how they meet and how they finally part, and dwells on the strength of 孟姜女\'s love for her man. There are a few specialized words here pertaining to weddings. One is 喜酒 [pinyin]xi3 jiu3[/pinyin], meaning \"happiness wine\", which is alcohol drunk at weddings to wish the bride and groom well. Another is 洞房 [pinyin]dong4 fang2[/pinyin], or \"marriage chamber\" (literally \"cave room\"). And yet another is 成亲, meaning \"to get married\".\r\n\r\nAn interesting word here is 眼看 [pinyin]yan3 kan4[/pinyin], which means \"in a moment\", or \"when ____ is just about to happen\", not \"the eye sees\" or \"to look\", as may be supposed. \r\n\r\nOne difficult few words to puzzle out here is in the second paragraph, when it\'s stated that some soldiers \"不容分说\" [pinyin]bu4 rong2 fen1 shuo1[/pinyin] charge into the room. 不容 here means \"without tolerating\" or \"would not tolerate\", and 分说 means \"to explain\". So we can imagine that this means the soldiers barged in and though people tried to explain the situation to them, they weren\'t interested in listening. \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>孟姜女哭长城</h4>\r\n 秦朝时候，有个善良美丽的女子，名叫孟姜女。一天，她正在自家的院子里做家务，突然发现葡萄架下藏了一个人，吓了她一大跳，正要叫喊，只见那个人<strong>连连</strong>摆手，恳求道：“别喊别喊，救救我吧！我叫范喜良，是来<strong>逃难</strong>的。”原来这时秦始皇为了造长城，正到处<strong>抓</strong>人做劳工，已经饿死、累死了不知多少人！孟姜女把范喜良救了下来，见他<strong>知书达理</strong>，<strong>眉清目秀</strong>，对他产生了爱慕之情，而范喜良也喜欢上了孟姜女。他俩儿<strong>心心相印</strong>，征得了父母的同意后，就准备结为夫妻。\r\n\r\n <strong>成亲</strong>那天，孟家<strong>张灯结彩</strong>，宾客<strong>满堂</strong>，一派<strong>喜气洋洋</strong>的情景。<strong>眼看</strong>天快黑了，喝<strong>喜酒</strong>的人也都渐渐散了，新郎新娘正要入<strong>洞房</strong>，忽然只听见鸡飞狗叫，随后闯进来一队恶狠狠的官兵，不容分说，用铁链一锁，硬把范喜良抓到长城去做工了。好端端的喜事变成了一场空，孟姜女悲愤交加，日夜思念着丈夫。她想：我与其坐在家里<strong>干着急</strong>，还不如自己到长城去找他。对！就这么办！孟姜女立刻收拾收拾行装，上路了。\r\n\r\n一路上，也不知经历了多少风霜雨雪，<strong>跋涉</strong>过多少险山恶水，孟姜女没有喊过一声苦，没有掉过一滴泪，终于，凭着<strong>顽强</strong>的毅力，凭着对丈夫深深的爱，她到达了长城。这时的长城已经是由一个个<strong>工地</strong>组成的一道很长很长的城墙了，孟姜女一个工地一个工地地找过来，却始终不见丈夫的<strong>踪影</strong>。最后，她鼓起勇气，向一队正要上工的民工询问：“你们这儿有个范喜良吗？”民工说：“有这么个人，新来的。”孟姜女一听，甭提多开心了！她连忙再问：“他在哪儿呢？”民工说：“已经死了，<strong>尸首</strong>都已经填了城脚了！”\r\n\r\n猛地听到这个<strong>噩耗</strong>，真好似晴天霹雳一般，孟姜女只觉眼前一黑，一阵心酸，大哭起来。整整哭了三天三夜，哭得天昏地暗，连天地都感动了。天越来越阴沉，风越来越<strong>猛烈</strong>，只听“哗啦”一声，一段长城被哭倒了，露出来的正是范喜良的尸首，孟姜女的眼泪滴在了他<strong>血肉模糊</strong>的脸上。她终于见到了自己心爱的丈夫，但他却再也看不到她了，因为他已经被<strong>残暴</strong>的秦始皇害死了。 \r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nDuring the Qin dynasty, there was a kind and beautify woman, called Meng JiangNv. One day, she was in her garden doing housework, when she suddenly realized that someone was hiding in the grape arbor. She was hugely startled, and was about to call out, when she saw the person repeatedly wave his hands, and begged her, \"Don\'t call out, don\'t call out, save me! I am Fan XiLiang, and I\'m running away from trouble.\" Well, during this time, [Emperor] Qin Shi Huang, in order to build the great wall, was seizing people from everywhere to [force them to] do labor, and he\'d already worked and starved countless people to death! Meng JiangNv rescued Fan XiLiang, and when she saw that he was well educated and sensible, and good looking with delicate features as well, she began to love him, and Fan XiLiang also liked Meng JiangNv. Their two hearts beat as one, and after seeking the approval of their parents, prepared to become husband and wife. \r\n\r\nOn the wedding day, the Meng house was lit with lanterns and colored banners, and was jam-packed with guests - it was a joyous scene. When it was almost dark out, and those that had come to drink the marriage wine slowly scattered, the bride and groom prepared to enter the marriage chamber, suddenly came the sounds of birds crying and dogs barking, and soon after a company of fierce officers and soldiers charged in, and without listening to any explanation, locked up Fan XiLiang in iron chains and hauled him off to the Great Wall to work. The lovely wedding had come to nothing, and Meng JiangNv felt both grief and indignation, and she longed for her husband day and night. She thought: <em>Instead of sitting here worrying hopelessly, it\'s better if I go to the Great Wall and search for him. Yes! That\'s what I\'ll do!</em> So Meng JiangNv immediately prepared her traveling clothes and set out on the road. \r\n\r\nOn the road, though she couldn\'t count how many times she endured wind, frost, rain and snow, trudged across dangerous mountains and treacherous rapids, Meng JiangNv never spoke one word of complaint, never spilled one tear, and finally, drawing strength from her tenacious willpower, and drawing strength from her deep love for her husband, she reached the Great Wall. The Great Wall at this time was made up of many small construction sites that had been strung together to form a long city wall, and Meng JiangNv went from each construction site to the next, but she never saw a trace of her husband. Finally, she drummed up her courage, and asked a group of workers who were just about to begin work: \"Do any of you know a Fan XiLiang?\" The workers said, \"Yes, there was a man like that, he\'d just arrived.\" When Meng JiangNv heard that, she was indescribably happy! She immediately asked, \"Where is he?\" The worker said, \"He\'s dead, his corpse has already been tossed into the wall.\"  \r\n\r\nWhen Meng JiangNv heard this grievous news, it was like a clap of thunder from a clear sky, Meng\'s eyes went dark, and [she felt] a burst of sadness, and began to sob. She cried for a full three days and three nights, she cried until the sky was twilight and the earth was dark, [until] even Heaven and Earth were moved. The sky became more and more gloomy, the wind more and more fierce, and then there was a great \"crash\", and a section of the Wall had been cried down, and Fan XiLiang\'s corpse was revealed; Meng JiangNv\'s tears dripped on his badly mutilated face. She finally was able to see the husband she loved, but he wasn\'t able to see her, because he had already been killed by the cruel Qin ShiHuang. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Fables: Meng JiangNv Cries the Great Wall Down', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1176-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 19:42:28', '2020-04-28 23:42:28', '', 1176, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/1176-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2091, 1, '2020-04-28 19:43:09', '2020-04-28 23:43:09', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nSeeing as how I just got back from a trip to the Wall myself, I figured I\'d stay on that theme. This traditional and very famous story, called 孟姜女哭长城 [pinyin]meng4 jiang1 nv3 ku1 chang2 cheng2[/pinyin], is set in the Qin Dynasty, and is super sad in the way that only East Asian stories can be sad (are we noticing a trend, here?). If you\'re the \"watches a lot of anime\" type, you\'ll easily find the beauty here (which lies in the power of tears - where else?), but if you like your fairy-tale endings, prepare for a big downer. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nI happen to enjoy sad stories as long as there\'s some sweetness in them, and this one is paced very nicely, so I\'m translating it for you here, though it\'s much longer than my usual fare (I seem to be trending towards longer stuff these days). \r\n\r\nThis story happens between 259 B.C. and 210 B.C., and describes two characters, our heroine 孟姜女[pinyin]meng4 jiang1 nv3[/pinyin], and her love, 范喜良 [pinyin]fan4 xi3 liang2[/pinyin], who live under the rule of emperor 秦始皇 [pinyin]qin2 shi3 huang2[/pinyin] during the building of the Great Wall. The story describes how they meet and how they finally part, and dwells on the strength of 孟姜女\'s love for her man. There are a few specialized words here pertaining to weddings. One is 喜酒 [pinyin]xi3 jiu3[/pinyin], meaning \"happiness wine\", which is alcohol drunk at weddings to wish the bride and groom well. Another is 洞房 [pinyin]dong4 fang2[/pinyin], or \"marriage chamber\" (literally \"cave room\"). And yet another is 成亲, meaning \"to get married\".\r\n\r\nAn interesting word here is 眼看 [pinyin]yan3 kan4[/pinyin], which means \"in a moment\", or \"when ____ is just about to happen\", not \"the eye sees\" or \"to look\", as may be supposed. \r\n\r\nOne difficult few words to puzzle out here is in the second paragraph, when it\'s stated that some soldiers \"不容分说\" [pinyin]bu4 rong2 fen1 shuo1[/pinyin] charge into the room. 不容 here means \"without tolerating\" or \"would not tolerate\", and 分说 means \"to explain\". So we can imagine that this means the soldiers barged in and though people tried to explain the situation to them, they weren\'t interested in listening. \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>孟姜女哭长城</h4>\r\n 秦朝时候，有个善良美丽的女子，名叫孟姜女。一天，她正在自家的院子里做家务，突然发现葡萄架下藏了一个人，吓了她一大跳，正要叫喊，只见那个人<strong>连连</strong>摆手，恳求道：“别喊别喊，救救我吧！我叫范喜良，是来<strong>逃难</strong>的。”原来这时秦始皇为了造长城，正到处<strong>抓</strong>人做劳工，已经饿死、累死了不知多少人！孟姜女把范喜良救了下来，见他<strong>知书达理</strong>，<strong>眉清目秀</strong>，对他产生了爱慕之情，而范喜良也喜欢上了孟姜女。他俩儿<strong>心心相印</strong>，征得了父母的同意后，就准备结为夫妻。\r\n\r\n <strong>成亲</strong>那天，孟家<strong>张灯结彩</strong>，宾客<strong>满堂</strong>，一派<strong>喜气洋洋</strong>的情景。<strong>眼看</strong>天快黑了，喝<strong>喜酒</strong>的人也都渐渐散了，新郎新娘正要入<strong>洞房</strong>，忽然只听见鸡飞狗叫，随后闯进来一队恶狠狠的官兵，不容分说，用铁链一锁，硬把范喜良抓到长城去做工了。好端端的喜事变成了一场空，孟姜女悲愤交加，日夜思念着丈夫。她想：我与其坐在家里<strong>干着急</strong>，还不如自己到长城去找他。对！就这么办！孟姜女立刻收拾收拾行装，上路了。\r\n\r\n一路上，也不知经历了多少风霜雨雪，<strong>跋涉</strong>过多少险山恶水，孟姜女没有喊过一声苦，没有掉过一滴泪，终于，凭着<strong>顽强</strong>的毅力，凭着对丈夫深深的爱，她到达了长城。这时的长城已经是由一个个<strong>工地</strong>组成的一道很长很长的城墙了，孟姜女一个工地一个工地地找过来，却始终不见丈夫的<strong>踪影</strong>。最后，她鼓起勇气，向一队正要上工的民工询问：“你们这儿有个范喜良吗？”民工说：“有这么个人，新来的。”孟姜女一听，甭提多开心了！她连忙再问：“他在哪儿呢？”民工说：“已经死了，<strong>尸首</strong>都已经填了城脚了！”\r\n\r\n猛地听到这个<strong>噩耗</strong>，真好似晴天霹雳一般，孟姜女只觉眼前一黑，一阵心酸，大哭起来。整整哭了三天三夜，哭得天昏地暗，连天地都感动了。天越来越阴沉，风越来越<strong>猛烈</strong>，只听“哗啦”一声，一段长城被哭倒了，露出来的正是范喜良的尸首，孟姜女的眼泪滴在了他<strong>血肉模糊</strong>的脸上。她终于见到了自己心爱的丈夫，但他却再也看不到她了，因为他已经被<strong>残暴</strong>的秦始皇害死了。 \r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nDuring the Qin dynasty, there was a kind and beautify woman, called Meng JiangNv. One day, she was in her garden doing housework, when she suddenly realized that someone was hiding in the grape arbor. She was hugely startled, and was about to call out, when she saw the person repeatedly wave his hands, and begged her, \"Don\'t call out, don\'t call out, save me! I am Fan XiLiang, and I\'m running away from trouble.\" Well, during this time, [Emperor] Qin Shi Huang, in order to build the great wall, was seizing people from everywhere to [force them to] do labor, and he\'d already worked and starved countless people to death! Meng JiangNv rescued Fan XiLiang, and when she saw that he was well educated and sensible, and good looking with delicate features as well, she began to love him, and Fan XiLiang also liked Meng JiangNv. Their two hearts beat as one, and after seeking the approval of their parents, prepared to become husband and wife. \r\n\r\nOn the wedding day, the Meng house was lit with lanterns and colored banners, and was jam-packed with guests - it was a joyous scene. When it was almost dark out, and those that had come to drink the marriage wine slowly scattered, the bride and groom prepared to enter the marriage chamber, suddenly came the sounds of birds crying and dogs barking, and soon after a company of fierce officers and soldiers charged in, and without listening to any explanation, locked up Fan XiLiang in iron chains and hauled him off to the Great Wall to work. The lovely wedding had come to nothing, and Meng JiangNv felt both grief and indignation, and she longed for her husband day and night. She thought: <em>Instead of sitting here worrying hopelessly, it\'s better if I go to the Great Wall and search for him. Yes! That\'s what I\'ll do!</em> So Meng JiangNv immediately prepared her traveling clothes and set out on the road. \r\n\r\nOn the road, though she couldn\'t count how many times she endured wind, frost, rain and snow, trudged across dangerous mountains and treacherous rapids, Meng JiangNv never spoke one word of complaint, never spilled one tear, and finally, drawing strength from her tenacious willpower, and drawing strength from her deep love for her husband, she reached the Great Wall. The Great Wall at this time was made up of many small construction sites that had been strung together to form a long city wall, and Meng JiangNv went from each construction site to the next, but she never saw a trace of her husband. Finally, she drummed up her courage, and asked a group of workers who were just about to begin work: \"Do any of you know a Fan XiLiang?\" The workers said, \"Yes, there was a man like that, he\'d just arrived.\" When Meng JiangNv heard that, she was indescribably happy! She immediately asked, \"Where is he?\" The worker said, \"He\'s dead, his corpse has already been tossed into the wall.\"  \r\n\r\nWhen Meng JiangNv heard this grievous news, it was like a clap of thunder from a clear sky, Meng\'s eyes went dark, and [she felt] a burst of sadness, and began to sob. She cried for a full three days and three nights, she cried until the sky was twilight and the earth was dark, [until] even Heaven and Earth were moved. The sky became more and more gloomy, the wind more and more fierce, and then there was a great \"crash\", and a section of the Wall had been cried down, and Fan XiLiang\'s corpse was revealed; Meng JiangNv\'s tears dripped on his badly mutilated face. She finally was able to see the husband she loved, but he wasn\'t able to see her, because he had already been killed by the cruel Qin ShiHuang. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Fable: Meng JiangNv Cries the Great Wall Down', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1176-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 19:43:09', '2020-04-28 23:43:09', '', 1176, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/1176-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2093, 1, '2020-04-28 19:49:02', '2020-04-28 23:49:02', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThis is definitely my favorite find so far, as it falls solidly within my favorite Chinese story genre with my favorite Chinese archetype: the clever government official who catches a crook. The official in this case is Bao Gong (包公) a historical figure from who lived from 999-1062 A.D. and who, like so many historical figures in Chinese history, somehow became a fictional story character. Bao Gong was known to be fair, just and smart. <!--more--> \r\n\r\nIn this story, you can also expect to learn a few Chinese onomatopoeia, words that sound like what they are, like the English word \"boom\". There\'s a ton of them in here. We find \"呜呜\" [pinyin]wu1 wu1[/pinyin], the Chinese equivalent of \"Boo Hoo!\". There\'s also 劈里啪啦 [pinyin]pi1 li5 pa1 la5[/pinyin], the sound of someone whacking something (in this case, with a stick). There\'s 扑通 [pinyin]pu1 tong1[/pinyin], the Chinese equivalent of the English word \"plunk\" - the sound of something falling into water. And there\'s 唧唧喳喳 [pinyin]ji1 ji1 zha1 zha1[/pinyin], the sound of a crowd of people chattering. \r\n\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《包公审石头》</h4>\r\n从前有个小孩，爸爸死了，妈妈病了，日子可不好过了。小孩每天一早起来，提着一篮<strong>油条</strong>，一边跑，一边嚷:“卖油条咯，卖油条咯: 又香又脆的油条，两个<strong>铜钱</strong>买一根。” 有一天，他把油条全卖完了，坐在路边一块石头上，把篮子里的铜钱一个一个的数了一遍，正好一百个。他卖油条，把一双手弄得<strong>油乎乎</strong>的，用手数铜钱，把铜钱也弄得油乎乎的。他瞧着这些油乎乎亮闪闪的铜钱，可高兴了，心想: “今天卖了一百个钱，可以给妈妈买药了。”\r\n\r\n小孩跑了一个上午，可累坏了，他把头一歪，靠在石头上，就呼呼地睡着了，睡了好一会儿才醒来。“哎呀，我得赶快给妈妈买药去了。”小孩站起来一看，糟了，篮子里的铜钱一个也没有了。小孩又着急，又伤心，呜呜地哭了起来。这时候，正好包公带了<strong>人马</strong>打这儿走过。\r\n\r\n包公是什么人呀？包公是个<strong>官</strong>，黑脸黑胡子，人家叫他“包老黑”，又叫他“黑包公”，他办事公道，又很聪明。包公看见小孩哭得很伤心，就问他: “小孩，你为什么哭呀？”“我卖油条得的钱不见了，呜——呜。”“谁偷了你的钱？”“不知道。我靠在这块石头上睡着了，醒来一看，钱就不见了。呜——呜。” \r\n\r\n包公想了一想说: “我知道了，一定是这块石头偷了你的钱，我来<strong>审问</strong>这块石头，叫它把钱还给你。”人们听说包公要审问石头，觉得很奇怪，都跑来看热闹。包公对那块石头说: “石头，石头，小孩的铜钱，是不是你偷的？”石头会说话吗？不会。包公又问了: “石头，石头，小孩的铜钱，是不是你偷的？快说，快说！”石头还是一声不响，它不会说话呀。包公<strong>发火</strong>了: “石头，石头，你不说实话，打烂你的头。”<strong>手下</strong>的人听包公这么一说，就拿起<strong>棍子</strong>，劈里啪啦地打起石头来，一边打，一边喊: “快说，快说！” \r\n\r\n看热闹的人哄的笑起来了，唧唧喳喳地说: “石头怎么会偷钱？”“石头怎么会说话？”“人家都说包公聪明，原来是个<strong>胡涂蛋</strong>！”包公听了很生气，就说: “我在审问石头，你们怎么说我的坏话。哼! 你们每个人都得<strong>罚</strong>一个铜钱！”包公叫手下的人借来一只盆子，倒上水，让看热闹的人往盆子里丢一个铜钱。看热闹的人没办法，只好排着队每人往盆子里丢一个铜钱，“扑通，扑通，扑通……”\r\n\r\n有一个人刚把铜钱丢进盆子里去，就给包公叫手下的人<strong>抓住</strong>了。 包公指着这个人说: “你是小偷，你偷了小孩卖油条得来的铜钱！”大家都觉得很奇怪，这是怎么回事呀？包公说: “你们瞧，只有他丢下的铜钱，水面上<strong>浮</strong>起了一层油，他的铜钱一定是趁小孩睡觉的时候偷来的。” 那个小偷没办法，只好把一百个铜钱还给小孩。 大家都说，包公真聪明。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nLong ago, there was a little child whose father was dead, whose mother was sick, and who had a rough life in general. The child woke up early every day, and scooping up a basket of fried breadsticks, ran about shouting \"Buy breadsticks, buy breadsticks, they\'re fragrant and crispy, two coppers buys one!\" One day, after he\'d sold all his breadsticks, he sat on a rock by the side of the road and counted all the coppers in the basket one at a time - he had exactly 100.  Well, selling breadsticks had made his two hands greasy, and when he used hands to count the coppers, it had made the coppers greasy. Looking at these greasy, bright coppers, he was happy, and in his heart he thought, \"Today I sold 100-worth, I can buy mother some medicine.\" \r\n\r\nThe child had been running all morning, he was exhausted, so he let his head droop, leaned against a rock, and, snoring \"hu hu\" [sound of snoring], fell asleep - after he\'d slept a bit he finally woke up. \"Ai ya! I have to quickly run and buy medicine for mother!\" The child stood up but, oh no, there was not a single coin in the basket. The child was worried and broken-hearted, and began to cry \"wu wu\" [sounds like \'boo hoo\'].  It was just then that Bao Gong, with his men and horses, happened to walk past.\r\n\r\nNow, who was Bao Gong? Bao Gong was an official, black of face and black of beard, whom the people called \"Old Black Bao\" or \"Black Bao Gong\"; he handled matters fairly, and was very smart. Bao Gong saw the child crying so broken-heartedly, and he asked: \"Child, why are you crying?\" \"The money from selling bread sticks is gone, Boo Hoooo!\" \r\n\r\nBao Gong thought for a moment and said, \"I know, it was definitely this rock that stole your money, I\'ll question the rock, and tell it to give you your money back.\" The people nearby heard that Bao Gong was going to interrogate a rock, and they thought this was very strange, so they all ran over and watched excitedly. Bao Gong said to the rock: \"Rock, rock, was it you that stole the child\'s coppers?\" But can a rock speak? It cannot. Bao Gong asked again: \"Rock, rock, the child\'s coppers, wasn\'t it you who stole them? Speak up, speak up!\" The rock still said nothing, it couldn\'t speak. Bao Gong exploded, \"Rock, rock, tell the truth or I\'ll beat you over the head!\" Bao Gong\'s men heard him say this, and they found a stick for him, and he began to <em>pi li pa la</em> [sound of stick hitting rock] hit the rock, hitting and shouting \"Speak up! Speak up!\" \r\n\r\nThe people watching excitedly roared with laughter, and chattering \"ji ji zha zha\" [sound of many people chattering], said: \"How can a rock steal money?\" \"How can a rock speak?\" and \"Everyone said that Bao Gong is smart, actually he\'s a muddled idiot!\" Bao Gong heard all this and was very angry, so he said: \" I\'m interrogating this rock. How can you all say bad things about me? Huh! Each one of you will be fined one copper!” Bao Gong called his men to bring him a borrowed pot - he poured water into it, and made every spectator throw one copper in the pot. The spectators had no choice, they had to line up and each one had to put one copper in the pot. \"Pu tong, pu tong, pu tong...\" [the sound of metal coins plunking into a pot]\r\n\r\nWhen one man in particular put his copper in the pot, Bao Gong ordered his men to seize this man. Bao Gong pointed at the man and said, \"You\'re the thief, you took the coppers the child made from selling breadsticks!\" Everyone thought that was very strange, for how could it be? Bao Gong said: \"All of you look, it was only when this man dropped a copper in the pot that a film of oil floated to the surface, his copper is certainly one that he took advantage of a sleeping child to steal.\" The thief had no choice, he had to give the 100 coppers back to the child. Everyone said, Bao Gong sure is clever. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>\r\n', 'Fable: Bao Gong Interrogates A Rock', 'This is definitely my favorite find so far, as it falls solidly within my favorite Chinese story genre with my favorite Chinese archetype: the clever government official who catches a crook.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '723-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 19:49:02', '2020-04-28 23:49:02', '', 723, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/723-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2094, 1, '2020-04-28 19:50:48', '2020-04-28 23:50:48', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n\r\nA cool introduction to one of the lesser-known deities, Shen Nong 神农 [pinyin]shen2 nong2[/pinyin], the God of Agriculture (and later called the Bodhisattva of Medicine). This is upper-intermediate reading: expect a lot of new words (mostly relating to plants and Chinese medicine) but intermediate sentence structure, and sentences mostly communicate a complete point. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nShen Nong, we are to understand, had a transparent abdomen so all his innards could be seen from the outside (yes, the first sentence <em>does</em> say \'Shen Nong had a crystal belly\'), and he always carried two bags with him - read the story to find out what the bags were for.\r\n\r\nWe touch on the origins of some well-known plants (one of which is poorly described, I think), but the last paragraph talks about the herb \"heartbreak grass\" - 断肠草 [pinyin]duan4 chang2 cao3[/pinyin] - which I\'d never heard of and which is not a common plant. The English botanical name is <em>Gelsemium elegans</em> (yeah, no idea), which according to the abstract of <a href=\"http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378874103002678\">one study</a> is \"a toxic plant indigenous to southeastern Asia, well known among hill tribes as an effective means for committing suicide\". So a very potent poison, then.\r\n\r\nOriginal post was found on <a href=\"http://www.shenhuagushi.net/minjian/chuanshuo200.html\">a cool mythology and fable website</a> - you may find some other interesting stuff there. I made a tiny edit from the original to correct a mistake.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>神农尝百草</h4>\r\n神农一生下来就是个水晶肚子，<strong>五脏六腑</strong>全都能看得<strong>一清二楚</strong>。那时侯，人们经常因为乱吃东西而生病，甚至<strong>丧命</strong>。神农决心尝遍所有的东西，好吃的放在身边左边的袋子里，给人吃；不好吃的就放在身子右边的袋子里，作药用。\r\n\r\n第一次，神农尝了一片小<strong>嫩叶</strong>。这叶片一落进肚里，就上上下下地把里面各<strong>器官</strong>擦洗得<strong>清清爽爽</strong>，象<strong>巡查</strong>似的，神农把它叫做“查”，就是后人所称的“茶”。神农将它放进右边袋子里。第二次，神农尝了朵蝴蝶样的淡红小花，甜津津的，<strong>香味扑鼻</strong>，这是“<strong>甘草</strong>”。他把它放进了左边袋子里。就这样，神农辛苦地尝遍百草，每次<strong>中毒</strong>，都靠茶来解救。后来，他左边的袋子里花草根叶有四万七千种，右边有三十九万八千种。\r\n\r\n但有一天，神农尝到了“断肠草”，这种毒草太厉害了，他还<strong>来不及</strong>吃茶<strong>解毒</strong>就死了。他是为了<strong>拯救</strong>人们而<strong>牺牲</strong>的，人们称他为“药王<strong>菩萨</strong>”，人间以这个神话故事永远地纪念他。 \r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nAll his life, Shen Nong had a crystal abdomen, and one could clearly see all of his internal organs. At that time, humans were often getting sick and even dying because they ate things indiscriminately [not knowing if they were good or bad]. Shen Nong determinedly tasted everything everywhere; the good-tasting things he put in a bag on his left side, those were for people to eat; the bad-tasting things he put in a bag on his right side, and those were used for medicine.\r\n\r\nThe first time, Shen Nong tasted a small fresh leaf. As this leaf fell into his stomach, it cleaned every inch of his insides so that every organ top and bottom was fresh and cool, as if [the leaf] was somehow on patrol [making the rounds], so Shen Nong called it \"[pinyin]cha2[/pinyin]\" [to investigate / check], and later generations of men called it \"[pinyin]cha2[/pinyin]\" [tea]. Shen Nong put it in the bag on the right. The second time, Shen Nong tasted a little light red flower that looked like a butterfly, which was sweet and delicious, with an exotic smell that filled his nostrils, so he called it \"licorice\". He put it in the bag on the left. In this way, Shen Nong diligently tasted all manner of flora, and every time he was poisoned, he used tea to rescue himself. Before long, the bag on his left contained 47,000 kinds of flowers, grasses, roots and leaves, and the right side had 398,000 kinds. \r\n\r\nBut one day, Shen Nong tasted \"heartbreak grass\", and this poison was too terrible, so there wasn\'t enough time to eat the tea leaves to detoxify and he died. He sacrificed himself to save humanity, so people call him the \"Bodhisattva of Medicine\", and people forever commemorate him through this story. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Mythology: The Farmer God Shen Nong Tastes All the Plants', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1225-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 19:50:48', '2020-04-28 23:50:48', '', 1225, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/1225-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2095, 1, '2020-04-28 19:50:49', '2020-04-28 23:50:49', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIf you\'re in need of a fable that demonstrates the dangers of kissing ass, you\'re in luck. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe Turkey and the Bull makes it pretty clear that (and here I quote) \"butt licking\" is not the path to success. I started off thinking this was entirely unsuitable for the children\'s reading site I found it on, but then again, some of our most beloved fables are all about evil women baking little children in ovens, so... yeah. \r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.gushi51.com/yuyan/sj/sj_47995.html\">Read the original story</a>\r\n\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>火鸡与公牛</h4>\r\n\r\n 一只火鸡对公牛说: “我真想飞到对面那棵大树的<strong>顶端</strong>，<strong>可惜</strong>现在一点力气也没有。”公牛出主意道: “你为何不吃一点我的<strong>粪便</strong>呢，里面可是富含<strong>营养</strong>哟，呵呵。”火鸡觉得有道理，啄食了一点，立即感觉有了力气，便尽力飞到一根树枝上。第二天，火鸡又吃了几口粪便，有了力气，便飞到更高的树枝上。两周后，当火鸡吃下足够多的公牛粪便，终于飞上大树的顶部。火鸡<strong>极目远眺</strong>，正在洋洋得意，被一名农夫发现了，迅速开枪将它射落在地。\r\n\r\n这则寓言的寓意: <strong>舔</strong>别人的屁股是一条捷径，能使你迅速获取较高的位置，但却不能保持长久。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nA turkey said to a bull: \"I really want to fly to the top of that tree, it\'s a pity I don\'t have any strength.\" The bull proposed an idea: \"Why don\'t you eat a little of my feces, it\'s rich in nutrients, hehe.\" The turkey thought that this made sense, so he ate [lit: pecked at] a little, and immediately felt strong,  and trying as hard as he could, he flew onto a tree branch. The second day, the turkey ate several mouthfuls of feces, got strength, and flew to an even higher tree branch. After two weeks, when the turkey had eaten enough bull feces, he finally flew to the top of the tree. He gazed into the distance, and just when he was feeling very pleased with himself, a farmer saw him, and quickly opened fire and shot him down. \r\n\r\nThe moral of this fable is: licking other people\'s butts is a shortcut, and it can get you to a pretty high position very quickly, however [success gained this way] doesn\'t last long.\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Fable: The Turkey and the Bull', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '361-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 19:50:49', '2020-04-28 23:50:49', '', 361, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/361-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2096, 1, '2020-04-28 19:50:58', '2020-04-28 23:50:58', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n\r\nAs vaguely sordid fables go, this one\'s fairly tame, resulting only in some humiliatory retribution and a lost tail or two.<!--more--> \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>小浪钓鱼</h4>\r\n\r\n从前有一只小<strong>狼</strong>他总是<strong>欺负</strong>别人。一天小动物们聚在一起商量对付那只小狼的办法，聪明的小<strong>狐狸</strong>想到了一个办法。\r\n\r\n一天小狼出外<strong>觅食</strong>的狼，忽然闻到一<strong>阵</strong>阵烤鱼的香味，小狼跑进山<strong>洞</strong>一看，原来是狐狸在烤鱼。狐狸见狼来了，心里<strong>暗自</strong>高兴。\r\n\r\n狼问, “这些鱼是从哪弄来的？”\r\n\r\n狐狸说, “有一个地方可以钓到好多鱼，我可以给你带路。”\r\n\r\n于时狼就跟着狐狸走啊走，来到了河边，原来是河里的水结了一层冰。\r\n\r\n狐狸说, “只要在冰上<strong>凿</strong>一个洞，把<strong>尾巴</strong>放进河里，等鱼咬住尾巴的时候，就把尾巴提上来，这样就可以钓到好多好多的鱼！”\r\n\r\n狼想着这下钓的鱼吃也吃不光啦，狼等了好久，也没有鱼咬住他的尾巴。狼实在冷得不行了，就想把尾巴提上来，回头一看，尾巴都被冰住了。狼大力拉，哪知他的尾巴“啪”的一声断掉了，狼逃走了。\r\n\r\n小动物们看见狼的惨样子，都哈哈地笑了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\n\r\nLong  ago, there was a wolf who was always bullying others. One day,  the small animals gathered together to discuss a way to solve the problem. The smart fox thought of a solution.\r\n\r\nOne day Wolf went out to forage for food, when suddenly  he smelled the scent of roasting fish. When Little Wolf ran into a  mountain cave and looked, he saw that it was Little Fox that was cooking the fish. Fox saw that Wolf had come, and in his heart he was secretly happy.\r\n\r\nWolf asked \"Where did these fish come from?\"\r\n\r\nFox said, \"There is a place where you can catch many fish, I can take you there.\"\r\n\r\nSo Wolf followed Fox as he walked and walked, until they came to a riverbank. There turned out to be a layer of ice over the water.\r\n\r\nFox said, \"All you have to do is bore a hole in the ice, stick your tail into the river, wait until the fish bite your tail, then pull your tail out. This way, you\'ll catch many, many fish.\r\n\r\nWolf, thinking of how the fish would be more than a full meal, waited quite a while, but no fish bit his tail. Wolf was finally too cold to continue and tried to pull up his tail, but when he turned his head to look, he saw that his tail was stuck in the ice. He gave a  great pull, and what do you know but his tail came off with a \"pa\"  sound. Wolf fled.\r\n\r\nWhen the other little animals saw wolf\'s miserable face, they all laughed.\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Fable: Wolf Goes Fishing', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '85-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 19:50:58', '2020-04-28 23:50:58', '', 85, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/85-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2097, 1, '2020-04-28 19:52:47', '2020-04-28 23:52:47', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n\r\nNOTES\r\n<a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%B2%B3%E6%AF%8D%E5%88%BA%E5%AD%97/2635978\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>岳飞纹字</h4>\r\n岳飞十五六岁时，北方的金人南侵，宋朝当权者腐败无能，节节败退，国家处在生死存亡的关头。岳飞投军抗辽。不久因父丧，退伍还乡守孝。\r\n\r\n1126年，金兵大举入侵中原，岳飞再次投军。临行前，姚太夫人把岳飞叫到跟前，说：\"现在国难当头，你有什么打算？\"\r\n\r\n\"到前线杀敌，精忠报国！\"\r\n\r\n姚太夫人听了儿子的回答，十分满意，\"精忠报国\"正是母亲对儿子的希望。她决定把这四个字刺在儿子的背上，让他永远铭记在心。\r\n\r\n岳飞解开上衣，露出瘦瘦的脊背，请母亲下针。\r\n\r\n姚太夫人问：\"孩子，针刺是很痛的，你怕吗？\"\r\n\r\n岳飞说：\"母亲，小小钢针算不了什么，如果连针都怕，怎么去前线打仗！\"\r\n\r\n姚太夫人先在岳飞背上写了字，然后用绣花针刺了起来。但“国”字没有一点，象征国内无首。刺完之后，岳母又涂上醋墨。从此，\"精忠报国\"四个字就永不褪色地留在了岳飞的后背上。 母亲的鼓舞激励着岳飞。岳飞投军后，很快因作战勇敢升秉义郎。这时宋都开封被金军围困，岳飞随副元帅宗泽前去救援，多次打败金军，受到宗泽的赏识，称赞他“智勇才艺，古良将不能过”，后来成为著名的抗金英雄，受历代人民所敬仰。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\n\r\nxxx\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Folk tales of real people: 《岳飞纹字》Yue Fei\'s Tattoo', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2050-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 19:52:47', '2020-04-28 23:52:47', '', 2050, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/2050-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(2098, 1, '2020-04-28 19:53:57', '2020-04-28 23:53:57', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThis is definitely my favorite find so far, as it falls solidly within my favorite Chinese story genre with my favorite Chinese archetype: the clever government official who catches a crook. The official in this case is Bao Gong (包公) a historical figure from who lived from 999-1062 A.D. and who, like so many historical figures in Chinese history, somehow became a fictional story character. Bao Gong was known to be fair, just and smart. <!--more--> \r\n\r\nIn this story, you can also expect to learn a few Chinese onomatopoeia, words that sound like what they are, like the English word \"boom\". There\'s a ton of them in here. We find \"呜呜\" [pinyin]wu1 wu1[/pinyin], the Chinese equivalent of \"Boo Hoo!\". There\'s also 劈里啪啦 [pinyin]pi1 li5 pa1 la5[/pinyin], the sound of someone whacking something (in this case, with a stick). There\'s 扑通 [pinyin]pu1 tong1[/pinyin], the Chinese equivalent of the English word \"plunk\" - the sound of something falling into water. And there\'s 唧唧喳喳 [pinyin]ji1 ji1 zha1 zha1[/pinyin], the sound of a crowd of people chattering. \r\n\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《包公审石头》</h4>\r\n从前有个小孩，爸爸死了，妈妈病了，日子可不好过了。小孩每天一早起来，提着一篮<strong>油条</strong>，一边跑，一边嚷:“卖油条咯，卖油条咯: 又香又脆的油条，两个<strong>铜钱</strong>买一根。” 有一天，他把油条全卖完了，坐在路边一块石头上，把篮子里的铜钱一个一个的数了一遍，正好一百个。他卖油条，把一双手弄得<strong>油乎乎</strong>的，用手数铜钱，把铜钱也弄得油乎乎的。他瞧着这些油乎乎亮闪闪的铜钱，可高兴了，心想: “今天卖了一百个钱，可以给妈妈买药了。”\r\n\r\n小孩跑了一个上午，可累坏了，他把头一歪，靠在石头上，就呼呼地睡着了，睡了好一会儿才醒来。“哎呀，我得赶快给妈妈买药去了。”小孩站起来一看，糟了，篮子里的铜钱一个也没有了。小孩又着急，又伤心，呜呜地哭了起来。这时候，正好包公带了<strong>人马</strong>打这儿走过。\r\n\r\n包公是什么人呀？包公是个<strong>官</strong>，黑脸黑胡子，人家叫他“包老黑”，又叫他“黑包公”，他办事公道，又很聪明。包公看见小孩哭得很伤心，就问他: “小孩，你为什么哭呀？”“我卖油条得的钱不见了，呜——呜。”“谁偷了你的钱？”“不知道。我靠在这块石头上睡着了，醒来一看，钱就不见了。呜——呜。” \r\n\r\n包公想了一想说: “我知道了，一定是这块石头偷了你的钱，我来<strong>审问</strong>这块石头，叫它把钱还给你。”人们听说包公要审问石头，觉得很奇怪，都跑来看热闹。包公对那块石头说: “石头，石头，小孩的铜钱，是不是你偷的？”石头会说话吗？不会。包公又问了: “石头，石头，小孩的铜钱，是不是你偷的？快说，快说！”石头还是一声不响，它不会说话呀。包公<strong>发火</strong>了: “石头，石头，你不说实话，打烂你的头。”<strong>手下</strong>的人听包公这么一说，就拿起<strong>棍子</strong>，劈里啪啦地打起石头来，一边打，一边喊: “快说，快说！” \r\n\r\n看热闹的人哄的笑起来了，唧唧喳喳地说: “石头怎么会偷钱？”“石头怎么会说话？”“人家都说包公聪明，原来是个<strong>胡涂蛋</strong>！”包公听了很生气，就说: “我在审问石头，你们怎么说我的坏话。哼! 你们每个人都得<strong>罚</strong>一个铜钱！”包公叫手下的人借来一只盆子，倒上水，让看热闹的人往盆子里丢一个铜钱。看热闹的人没办法，只好排着队每人往盆子里丢一个铜钱，“扑通，扑通，扑通……”\r\n\r\n有一个人刚把铜钱丢进盆子里去，就给包公叫手下的人<strong>抓住</strong>了。 包公指着这个人说: “你是小偷，你偷了小孩卖油条得来的铜钱！”大家都觉得很奇怪，这是怎么回事呀？包公说: “你们瞧，只有他丢下的铜钱，水面上<strong>浮</strong>起了一层油，他的铜钱一定是趁小孩睡觉的时候偷来的。” 那个小偷没办法，只好把一百个铜钱还给小孩。 大家都说，包公真聪明。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nLong ago, there was a little child whose father was dead, whose mother was sick, and who had a rough life in general. The child woke up early every day, and scooping up a basket of fried breadsticks, ran about shouting \"Buy breadsticks, buy breadsticks, they\'re fragrant and crispy, two coppers buys one!\" One day, after he\'d sold all his breadsticks, he sat on a rock by the side of the road and counted all the coppers in the basket one at a time - he had exactly 100.  Well, selling breadsticks had made his two hands greasy, and when he used hands to count the coppers, it had made the coppers greasy. Looking at these greasy, bright coppers, he was happy, and in his heart he thought, \"Today I sold 100-worth, I can buy mother some medicine.\" \r\n\r\nThe child had been running all morning, he was exhausted, so he let his head droop, leaned against a rock, and, snoring \"hu hu\" [sound of snoring], fell asleep - after he\'d slept a bit he finally woke up. \"Ai ya! I have to quickly run and buy medicine for mother!\" The child stood up but, oh no, there was not a single coin in the basket. The child was worried and broken-hearted, and began to cry \"wu wu\" [sounds like \'boo hoo\'].  It was just then that Bao Gong, with his men and horses, happened to walk past.\r\n\r\nNow, who was Bao Gong? Bao Gong was an official, black of face and black of beard, whom the people called \"Old Black Bao\" or \"Black Bao Gong\"; he handled matters fairly, and was very smart. Bao Gong saw the child crying so broken-heartedly, and he asked: \"Child, why are you crying?\" \"The money from selling bread sticks is gone, Boo Hoooo!\" \r\n\r\nBao Gong thought for a moment and said, \"I know, it was definitely this rock that stole your money, I\'ll question the rock, and tell it to give you your money back.\" The people nearby heard that Bao Gong was going to interrogate a rock, and they thought this was very strange, so they all ran over and watched excitedly. Bao Gong said to the rock: \"Rock, rock, was it you that stole the child\'s coppers?\" But can a rock speak? It cannot. Bao Gong asked again: \"Rock, rock, the child\'s coppers, wasn\'t it you who stole them? Speak up, speak up!\" The rock still said nothing, it couldn\'t speak. Bao Gong exploded, \"Rock, rock, tell the truth or I\'ll beat you over the head!\" Bao Gong\'s men heard him say this, and they found a stick for him, and he began to <em>pi li pa la</em> [sound of stick hitting rock] hit the rock, hitting and shouting \"Speak up! Speak up!\" \r\n\r\nThe people watching excitedly roared with laughter, and chattering \"ji ji zha zha\" [sound of many people chattering], said: \"How can a rock steal money?\" \"How can a rock speak?\" and \"Everyone said that Bao Gong is smart, actually he\'s a muddled idiot!\" Bao Gong heard all this and was very angry, so he said: \" I\'m interrogating this rock. How can you all say bad things about me? Huh! Each one of you will be fined one copper!” Bao Gong called his men to bring him a borrowed pot - he poured water into it, and made every spectator throw one copper in the pot. The spectators had no choice, they had to line up and each one had to put one copper in the pot. \"Pu tong, pu tong, pu tong...\" [the sound of metal coins plunking into a pot]\r\n\r\nWhen one man in particular put his copper in the pot, Bao Gong ordered his men to seize this man. Bao Gong pointed at the man and said, \"You\'re the thief, you took the coppers the child made from selling breadsticks!\" Everyone thought that was very strange, for how could it be? Bao Gong said: \"All of you look, it was only when this man dropped a copper in the pot that a film of oil floated to the surface, his copper is certainly one that he took advantage of a sleeping child to steal.\" The thief had no choice, he had to give the 100 coppers back to the child. Everyone said, Bao Gong sure is clever. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>\r\n', 'Folk tales of real people: Bao Gong Interrogates A Rock', 'This is definitely my favorite find so far, as it falls solidly within my favorite Chinese story genre with my favorite Chinese archetype: the clever government official who catches a crook.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '723-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 19:53:57', '2020-04-28 23:53:57', '', 723, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/723-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2099, 1, '2020-04-28 19:56:26', '2020-04-28 23:56:26', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nHappy Year of the Sheep! Couple of days ago, I stumbled across the Book \"The Last Yin Yang Master\", aka \"The Last Onmyoji\" 《最后一个阴阳师》, a supernatural ghost story available for free online. Grab the whole thing <a href=\"http://www.zhuaji.org/read/146/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zhuaji.com</a>. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nI\'ve recently sort of discovered that ghost stories and detective novels are where it\'s at for practicing reading. The cliches in a Chinese murder mystery are exactly the same as they are anywhere: hard-boiled cop, confused rookie, seductive woman, shady business, and definitely a chase scene. It\'s easier to follow a story when you have a semi-expectation of what\'s supposed to happen. They get hard when people start talking about blood spatter and ballistics, but you can kind of get the gist. Ghost stories are the same way - a scene of normalcy is set, followed by some red-flag strangeness that everyone completely ignores because they don\'t believe in the supernatural, followed by some myths and legends, or maybe a mysterious old man, or maybe a body goes missing, and then things really freaky. Again, the read gets hard when characters start talking about the mystic books of old, or funeral customs, so you should probably be reading this with the help of Pleco (which I do), but The Last Onmyoji is accessible enough that those parts shouldn\'t totally derail you. Highly recommended.\r\n\r\nThis really is worth a go for readers at almost all levels. The read is late-intermediate, but using Pleco, late-stage beginners and early-intermediates will be able to understand large chunks of it, enough to motivate you to puzzle through the parts you don\'t get, more so because this is being told in first-person. Remember, now, that the beginning of a book is usually the hardest as you try to get a sense of the story. Once the story gets rolling, it\'s easier to flow with it. Advanced readers may just appreciate learning a bit of spooky vocab. \r\n\r\nThe segment that I\'m translating here doesn\'t have any ghostly bits in it, this is the first chapter to get you going on the story. It\'s packed full of Chinese village culture, and some parts at the end that would be considered extremely un-PC in the west: a little anti-Japanese talk, and a little bit about buying women, the rarities of college education in the countryside: the realities of village life in China, even these days. \r\n\r\nThere\'s a lot I could talk about in here, but I do like the word 投 [pinyin]tou2[/pinyin] - This word had a ton of meanings. Imagine slipping a piece of paper into a suggestion box. That action is what this word embodies, or anything related to a similar action of taking a flat object and dropping it into a slot, literally or figuratively. So it can mean to \"vote\", as in an election, because you\'re submitting a ballot. It can mean to \"slide\" an envelope into a letter box. In this case, it means to \"submit\" a resume while seeking a job offer.\r\n\r\nEnjoy!\r\n\r\n\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《最后一个阴阳师》</h4>\r\n我叫林小凡,今年23岁。大学刚毕业。一个三流的大学四流的成绩,大学是在杭州读,毕业之后最开始在一家房地产公司做销售员,底薪一千八。因为业绩太差,公司没说辞退我,我自己就不好意思待了。\r\n\r\n在杭州转了两个月,<strong>投</strong>了不知道多少份儿简历,面试了多少次,都没有通过。<strong>盘缠</strong>花光之后,就回了老家。\r\n\r\n我的老家是洛阳。洛阳的乡下,一个叫做十里铺儿的小村儿落。\r\n\r\n之所以回来,是因为村儿里小学唯一的教师得了<strong>肺痨</strong>,病的已经非常严重,我作为村里走出来唯一的大学生,村长愿意一月掏出一千块的巨资来请我去代课。\r\n\r\n所以我回来了。\r\n\r\n在外面活的不如一条狗的我,在老家得到了极大的尊严。\r\n\r\n在偏远的山村,大学生,还是一个极其厉害的存在,村民们在看到我父亲的时候,都会为他竖起大拇指,说:“老林家祖坟冒了青烟,竟然出了个大学生,以后你就走出了大山咯。”\r\n\r\n每当这个时候,我父亲都会憨厚的笑一笑,抹去他脸上的汗水。\r\n\r\n我回到村子之后,方圆几里的媒婆都争着抢着给我介绍对象,几乎踏破我家的门槛儿,这不是吹牛。你不在那个环境里,不知道大学生三个字的分量。\r\n\r\n父亲也极力的给我<strong>张罗</strong>,在他们眼里,23岁,甚至已经过了结婚的年纪。跟我同龄的人,现在儿子已经可以光着<strong>屁股</strong>到处跑了。\r\n\r\n为了不让他们操心,我也去一次次的应付相亲。\r\n\r\n对,是应付。\r\n\r\n大学,说白了就是一个区分性与理性的地方,虽然是山村出来的,可是我的相貌并不算丑,甚至可以说英俊。也谈过一个女朋友,我没钱,她也不是非常的富裕,可是就算这样,我们还在在一起了三年,我尽我所能的打零工,来做一个男朋友该做的。大三那年,我们分手。\r\n\r\n那一天,我在我们学校的后山喝了一瓶2块钱的二锅头。醒来之后,不再悲伤,继续<strong>浑浑噩噩</strong>的过日子。\r\n\r\n关于相貌这一点,我继承了我母亲。\r\n\r\n 一个不知道故乡在哪里的美貌女人。\r\n\r\n她有痴呆症。\r\n\r\n在几十年前,我父亲进城,用了三百块钱把她买了回来。\r\n\r\n我父亲说,他那一天花了两元钱给母亲买了一身衣服,回来的时候母亲的美貌,让村里的人哈喇子都流到了地上。\r\n\r\n可惜,她是个傻子。\r\n\r\n如果不是傻子,我父亲也买不起。\r\n\r\n后来有了我,母亲的痴傻一直都是那样,可是她的傻,并不是像街头的疯子一样,她非常安静。\r\n\r\n不说话,不动。只是安静的坐着。\r\n\r\n我就在这样的一个环境下长大,可是我并不想文艺的说,我有孤僻的性格,因为就算是这样,我还是有完整的童年。\r\n\r\n我父亲非常的勤劳,他尽一个农民的极限,利用手中的农具,养活一个家。我没有什么怪他的地方。\r\n\r\n没钱,这是命。\r\n\r\n我爷爷,是一个退伍的老军人,他不识字,没有农民典型的精明,反倒是实诚的可怕。有人说他是gmd,有人说他是gcd,可是他自己都不知道自己到底是哪个党,他唯一知道的,就是他拿枪打日本鬼子,鬼子打跑之后,他就回到了家。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nMy name is Lin Xiaofan, I\'m 23 years old this year. I just graduated from college. A third-rate school with fourth-tier grades, my college was in Hangzhou, and after I graduated I first went to work as sales staff at a real estate agency with a salary of 1,800 [translator\'s note: this is a very low salary, about $300 USD / month]. My sales performance was poor, and the company never fired me, but I was so embarrassed that I left. \r\n\r\nI wandered around Hangzhou for two months, submitted I don\'t even know how many resumes, or went to how many interviews, but nothing came through. After I\'d spent all my travel money, I went back to my home town.\r\n\r\nMy home town is Luoyang. In the Luoyang countryside falls a little village called Shilipu\'er. \r\n\r\nThe reason I went home is because the village\'s only teacher got tuberculosis, and he was very seriously ill, so as the village\'s only person who\'d ever gone off to college, the village chief dug up a thousand-dollar [translator\'s note: \"1000 kuai\" is \"1000 Chinese Renminbi\"] investment and asked me to substitute teach. \r\n\r\nSo I went home. \r\n\r\nMy life away from home wasn\'t even as good as a dog\'s, but I get plenty of respect in my home town. \r\n\r\nIn such a remote village, being a college graduate is still an extremely awesome thing to be, and every time the villagers see my father, they all give him a thumbs-up and say, \"Your family\'s ancestral grave is emitting green smoke, unexpectedly out popped a college student! You\'ll be walking off this mountain after a while!\" [translator\'s note: this is a compliment regarding the family\'s lineage.]\r\n\r\nOf course at these times, my father would smile in a simple and honest way, wiping the sweat off his brow. \r\n\r\nAfter I came back to the village, all the local matchmakers tried to set me up with someone, almost trampling down my door, no exaggeration. If you\'ve never been in that [village] environment, you don\'t know the power of those three words, \"College Degree Holder\".\r\n\r\nMy dad also made a supreme effort to settle me, because in his eyes, at 23 years old I\'d already passed marrying age. Everyone my age already had kids running around with their bare butts hanging out. \r\n\r\nSo as not to make him worry, I\'d already coped with my first blind date. \r\n\r\nYes, it was definitely \"coping\". \r\n\r\nCollege, speaking frankly, was a place with completely different place with different rationales, but although I came from a farm village, I wasn\'t considered ugly, you might even say I\'m handsome. I had a girlfriend, but I had no money, and she wasn\'t very rich either, but that\'s just the way it was, we were together three years, and I used up all my part-time work money trying to do all the things a boyfriend is supposed to do. In the third year, we broke up. \r\n\r\nOn that day, on the hill behind our school, I drank a bottle of 2-dollar liquor. After I woke up, I wasn\'t sad anymore, and I just continued muddle-headedly passing the days. \r\n\r\nAbout my looks, those I inherited from my mother. \r\n\r\nA good-looking woman from who-knows-where.  \r\n\r\nShe had dementia.\r\n\r\nA few decades ago, my father went to the city, and spent three hundred dollars to buy her and bring her home.\r\n\r\nMy dad said, that day he spent two bucks to buy mom some clothes, and when he returned, mom\'s good looks made everyone in the village drool all over the ground. \r\n\r\nPity, she was an idiot.\r\n\r\nIf she hadn\'t been an idiot, my dad could never have afforded her. \r\n\r\nThen I came along, and mom\'s dementia continued as before, but her brand of dementia wasn\'t like a crazy street person\'s, she was very quiet. \r\n\r\nShe didn\'t speak, didn\'t move. Just quietly sat there.\r\n\r\nThis is the environment I grew up in, but I don\'t want to make it sound literary, I had an antisocial nature, but even so, I still had a full childhood. \r\n\r\nMy father is very industrious, he has a farmer\'s strength, using the farm tools in his hands, he nurtured a household. I don\'t have anything to blame him for. \r\n\r\nNo money, that\'s just life. \r\n\r\nMy grandfather is a retired soldier, he\'s illiterate, and he doesn\'t have any of a villager\'s typical shrewdness, on the contrary he\'s terrifyingly honest. Some people said he was GMD [translator\'s note: GMD = guo min dang, the fascist party in the Chinese civil war, who lost], some people said he was GCD [GCD = gong chang dang, the communist party that won the war and remains in power today], but he doesn\'t even know himself which \"dang\" [translator\'s note - this \"dang\" means \"political party\"] he was in, the only thing he knows is that he grabbed a gun and fought the Japanese devils [the Japanese invaded while the GMD and the GCD were fighting each other], and after the devils ran away, he went home.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Novels: Start Reading 《最后一个阴阳师》The Last Yin Yang Master', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1539-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 19:56:26', '2020-04-28 23:56:26', '', 1539, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/1539-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2100, 1, '2020-04-28 19:56:50', '2020-04-28 23:56:50', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nFeels like it\'s been a hundred years since I threw something up here. Rest assured I carry the shame of an un-updated blog around with me constantly, so - yay, guilt. I\'m actually taking intensive classes in Chinese (yet again) to push my reading level higher, hence the lack of posts. I\'m more active on here when I\'m not studying anywhere else. Anyhoo, this is another one I nabbed from Sina user <a href=\"http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_6ace1efa0100kltk.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zifengling\'s personal blog</a>. I tried to convince myself that this was beginner, but I just couldn\'t. The words are mostly OK, but there are one too many wibble-wobbly sentence configurations.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThis is also a perfect example of a fairly easy story that had one phrase I spent an hour trying to sort out, and a perfect example of the reason I started this blog in the first damn place - you start reading and then one word trips you up and you can\'t get past it. 99% sure I figured it out, but don\'t hesitate to correct me in the comments if you have intelligence to the contrary. The word was 香草娃娃 [pinyin]xiang1 cao3 wa2 wa2[/pinyin]. Uh, well, [pinyin]xiang1 cao3[/pinyin] means \"vanilla\" and [pinyin]wa2 wa2[/pinyin] is \"baby\", so... vanilla baby? Really? In the story, 香草娃娃 is used as a toy\'s name, so I thought, maybe there\'s a toy called a Vanilla Baby? \r\n\r\nUPDATE: Thanks to our native Chinese readers, we sorted out this is probably \"straw\" or \"grass\". So, \"straw doll\" is probably the most accurate definition we can get - gonna go with that one.\r\n\r\nThere\'s one other very useful phrase here that\'s very commonly used in everyday language: 太过分了！Directly translated, this means \"Too excessive!\", but this phrase doesn\'t usually actually refer to a large amount of things. It\'s more often used to refer to a circumstance or someone\'s behavior, like, \"That is just too much to bear!\". If someone was very mean to you, you could say, \"太过分了!\" or if an interview process was super rough and you got raked over the coals, also \"太过分了!\" \r\n\r\nEnjoy this one, and consider it good practicing in very colloquial story building.\r\n\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>玩具跳舞</h4>\r\n新年快到了，玩具王国决定举行一场盛大的舞会，准备邀请全国的玩具都来参加。舞会那天，玩具们都不停地跳着、笑着，整个舞场热闹<strong>非凡</strong>。可是在一个角落里，谁也没有注意到，有一只紫色的香草娃娃正一声不吭地望着<strong>舞池</strong>，她的眼神呆呆的，显得十分孤独。这时，一只小白熊正好从她面前经过，它看到了这一切，就走过去问香草娃娃：“娃娃，你为什么不去跳舞呢？”香草娃娃难过地低下了头，轻轻地说：“玩具们都嫌我个子小，不愿意请我跳舞。”说完流下了眼泪。小白熊听了很<strong>气愤</strong>，说：“他们怎么能这样<strong>对待</strong>你呢？难道他们不懂得要团结友爱吗！太过分了！”小白熊拉起香草娃娃的手，说，“娃娃，不要难过了。走，我请你跳舞。”香草娃娃听了这话，脸上顿时露出了<strong>灿烂</strong>的笑容，她连忙擦掉脸上的泪水，高兴地说：“太好了！太好了！”娃娃和小白熊在舞池里又跳又笑，一起度过了一个愉快的夜晚。\r\n \r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThe new year had almost arrived, and the Toy Kingdom planned to invite everyone to a grand ball. The day of the dance, the toys were all dancing and laughing, and the whole ballroom was extraordinarily lively. But off in one corner, receiving no attention from anyone, there was an old purple straw doll silently gazing at the dance floor, her eyes were blank and she looked lonely. Just then, a white polar bear in front of her saw this, walked over and asked the straw doll, \"Doll, why don\'t you go dance?\" The straw doll lowered her head sadly, saying in a small voice, \"The [other] toys all say I\'m too short, they\'re not willing to dance with me.\"  Saying this, she began to cry. Polar Bear was furious when he heard this, and said: \"How could they treat you this way? Don\'t they understand solidarity? That\'s just too much!\" Little Bear pulled on the baby doll\'s hand, and said: \"Doll, don\'t be sad. Come on, I\'m asking you to dance with me.\" The straw doll heard these words, and a brilliant smile immediately lit up her face. She quickly wiped the tears off her face and said happily, \"Wonderful! Wonderful!\" On the dance floor, Doll and Bear danced and laughed, and passed a lovely evening together. \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Children\'s Stories: The Little Polar Bear and the Doll Dance Together', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1566-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 19:56:50', '2020-04-28 23:56:50', '', 1566, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/1566-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2101, 1, '2020-04-28 19:57:23', '2020-04-28 23:57:23', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nYayzors, horsies. \r\n\r\nI know that when you first start reading, it\'s hard to hold a narrative thread through a longer post, but give this one a try - 6 short paragraphs, all of them very straightforward. This one has mostly very beginner language, with a couple of intermediate or upper-intermediate words. The grammar, rather than the vocab, is probably the hard part of this post, which is an great survey of every basic Chinese sentence structure. If you can read this, your foundation in Chinese grammar is very solid. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<h3>A few notable points:</h3>\r\n\r\n他过的很快乐，时光飞快地过去了。\r\n\r\nI figure that might be confusing for new readers, since there are two different uses of the word 过 [pinyin]guo4[/pinyin] here. I tend to find that the easiest way to remember what 过 means in every context is that it almost always means either \"past\" or \"pass\", or one of many variations thereon. Let\'s look a few usages of 过.\r\n\r\n1) In the most common usage, the one we see earliest in our learning, 过, when used after an action, means that the action has \"been done before\", or \"has been done in the past\", as in \"Have you ever been to Shanghai (in the past)?\" （你去过上海吗?), or \"Have you ever eaten this type of fish (in the past)?\" (你吃过这种鱼吗?). \r\n\r\n2) Usage two, 过去, means \"to pass by\", as in “The days passed one by one\" (一关一天就过去了). \r\n\r\n3) Usage three, also 过去, means \"The Past\", a noun, as in the opposite of the future. \"To forget the past is a betrayal.\" (忘记过去，就意味着背叛)\r\n\r\n4) The fourth usage is \"to pass (time)\", or \"to pass one\'s days\" (过日子), or to \"How were you [how did you pass] the last few days?\" (这些天过得怎么样？). \r\n\r\n5) Another 过去 - to \"pass across\", \"to cross\" (as in a river or street).\r\n\r\n6) 过去 \"to pass by\" (someone or something). \r\n\r\nAnd on and on. In our sentence here, we\'re using #4 first, and then #2. \r\n\r\n他<strong>过</strong>的很快乐，时光飞快地<strong>过</strong>去了。\r\n\r\n\"He <strong>passed</strong> [his days] very happily, time flew <strong>past</strong>.\"\r\n\r\nMake sense? Hope so, because several different usages of 过去 come up in this post, so keep an eye out. \r\n\r\n<h3>One more thing:</h3>\r\n\r\n咱们 [pinyin]zan2 men5[/pinyin]. This means \"us\" or \"we\". I know, I know, you learned that 我们 means \"us\" and \"we\", and it does.  咱们 only refers to \"us\" and \"we\" when the speaker is including the person they\'re talking to. So 咱们 means really \"You and I\", not \"we\". Confusing, right? Here are some examples：\r\n\r\n我们： \"Sorry, you can\'t come with us, we\'re going to see a movie alone.\" (The person being spoken to is not included in the \"we\".)\r\n咱们： \"Why don\'t we see a movie this afternoon?” （The speaker is including the person spoken to in the \"we\".)\r\n\r\n我们： \"I\'ll call you as soon as we get back.\" (The person being spoken to is not included in the \"we\".)\r\n咱们： \"What should we do when we get back?” （The speaker is including the person spoken to in the \"we\".)\r\n\r\n我们： \"We\'re not home right now, leave a message!\" (The person being spoken to is not included in the \"we\".)\r\n咱们： \"We could go home right now and check the messages.” （The speaker is including the person spoken to in the \"we\".)\r\n\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《小马过河》</h4>\r\n小马和他的妈妈住在小河边。他过的很快乐，时光飞快地过去了。有一天，妈妈把小马叫到身边说：“小马，你已经长大了，可以帮妈妈做事了。今天你把这袋<strong>粮食</strong>送到河对<strong>岸</strong>的村子里去吧。”\r\n\r\n小马非常高兴地答应了。他<strong>驮</strong>着粮食飞快地来到了小河边。可是河上没有桥，只能自己<strong>淌</strong>过去。可又不知道河水有多深呢？<strong>犹豫</strong>中的小马一抬头，看见了正在不远处吃草的牛伯伯。小马赶紧跑过去问到：“牛伯伯，您知道那河里的水深不深呀？”\r\n\r\n牛伯伯挺起他那高大的身体笑着说：“不深，不深。才到我的小腿。”\r\n\r\n小马高兴地跑回河边准备淌过河去。他刚一<strong>迈</strong>腿，忽然听见一个声音说：“小马，小马别下去，这河可深啦。”小马低头一看，原来是小松鼠。小松鼠<strong>翘</strong>着她漂亮的尾巴，睁着圆圆的眼睛，很认真地说：“前两天我的一个伙伴不小心掉进了河里，河水就把他<strong>卷</strong>走了。”\r\n\r\n小马一听没主意了。牛伯伯说河水浅，小松鼠说河水深，这可怎么办呀？只好回去问妈妈。马妈妈老远地就看见小马低着头驮着粮食又回来了。心想他一定是遇到困难了，就迎过去问小马。小马哭着把牛伯伯和小松鼠的话告诉了妈妈。妈妈安慰小马说：“没关系，<strong>咱们</strong>一起去看看吧。”\r\n\r\n小马和妈妈又一次来到河边，妈妈让小马自己去试探一下河水有多深。小马小心地试探着，一步一步地淌过了河。噢，他明白了，河水既没有牛伯伯说的那么浅，也没有小松鼠说的那么深。只有自己亲自试过才知道。\r\n \r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nLittle Horse and his mother lived by the river. He passed his days happily, and time flew by. One day, Mother called little horse to her side and said: \"Little Horse, you\'re all grown up, you can help mother with a few things. Today, take that sack of grain and take it to the village on the opposite riverbank.\" \r\n\r\nLittle Horse happily agreed. Carrying the grain on his back he flew to the river. But there was no bridge over the river, he could only wade across. But he didn\'t know how deep the river was.(?) While he was hesitating he lifted his head, and saw Uncle Ox eating grass not far away. Little horse hurriedly ran over and asked: \"Uncle Ox, do you know if the river is deep or not?\" \r\n\r\nUncle Ox straightened his big, tall body and laughing, said: \"Not deep, not deep. It only comes up to my calf.\" \r\n\r\nLittle Horse happily ran back to the riverside and prepared to wade across. He\'d just taken one step, when suddenly he heard a voice say: \"Little Horse, Little Horse, don\'t go in, this river is so deep!\" Little Horse lowered his head and looked down, and saw it was Little Squirrel. Little Squirrel raised her pretty tail, round eyes opened wide, and spoke earnestly: \"Two days ago my companion accidentally fell into the river, and the water swept him away.\" \r\n\r\nLittle Horse had no idea. Uncle Ox said the water was shallow, Little Squirrel said the water was deep, what was he to do? He had to go back and ask Mother. From a distance, Mother Horse saw Little Horse returning with a lowered head and carrying the sack of grain. She knew in her heart that he must have run into trouble, so she went to welcome Little Horse and ask. Little horse, crying, told Mother what Uncle Ox and Little Squirrel had said. Mother consoled Little Horse, saying: \"Don\'t worry, let\'s go together and have a look.\" \r\n\r\nLittle Horse and Mother went back to the riverbank again, and Mother let little horse test out how deep the water was. Little Horse carefully tried it out, and step by step waded across the river. Hey, he understood, the river on the one hand wasn\'t as shallow as Uncle Ox said, and also wasn\'t as deep as Little Squirrel said. You only know if you find out for yourself. \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Children\'s Story: 《小马过河》Little Horse Crosses the River', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1596-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 19:57:23', '2020-04-28 23:57:23', '', 1596, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/1596-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2102, 1, '2020-04-28 19:57:35', '2020-04-28 23:57:35', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nFeels like it\'s been a hundred years since I threw something up here. Rest assured I carry the shame of an un-updated blog around with me constantly, so - yay, guilt. I\'m actually taking intensive classes in Chinese (yet again) to push my reading level higher, hence the lack of posts. I\'m more active on here when I\'m not studying anywhere else. Anyhoo, this is another one I nabbed from Sina user <a href=\"http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_6ace1efa0100kltk.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zifengling\'s personal blog</a>. I tried to convince myself that this was beginner, but I just couldn\'t. The words are mostly OK, but there are one too many wibble-wobbly sentence configurations.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThis is also a perfect example of a fairly easy story that had one phrase I spent an hour trying to sort out, and a perfect example of the reason I started this blog in the first damn place - you start reading and then one word trips you up and you can\'t get past it. 99% sure I figured it out, but don\'t hesitate to correct me in the comments if you have intelligence to the contrary. The word was 香草娃娃 [pinyin]xiang1 cao3 wa2 wa2[/pinyin]. Uh, well, [pinyin]xiang1 cao3[/pinyin] means \"vanilla\" and [pinyin]wa2 wa2[/pinyin] is \"baby\", so... vanilla baby? Really? In the story, 香草娃娃 is used as a toy\'s name, so I thought, maybe there\'s a toy called a Vanilla Baby? \r\n\r\nUPDATE: Thanks to our native Chinese readers, we sorted out this is probably \"straw\" or \"grass\". So, \"straw doll\" is probably the most accurate definition we can get - gonna go with that one.\r\n\r\nThere\'s one other very useful phrase here that\'s very commonly used in everyday language: 太过分了！Directly translated, this means \"Too excessive!\", but this phrase doesn\'t usually actually refer to a large amount of things. It\'s more often used to refer to a circumstance or someone\'s behavior, like, \"That is just too much to bear!\". If someone was very mean to you, you could say, \"太过分了!\" or if an interview process was super rough and you got raked over the coals, also \"太过分了!\" \r\n\r\nEnjoy this one, and consider it good practicing in very colloquial story building.\r\n\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>玩具跳舞</h4>\r\n新年快到了，玩具王国决定举行一场盛大的舞会，准备邀请全国的玩具都来参加。舞会那天，玩具们都不停地跳着、笑着，整个舞场热闹<strong>非凡</strong>。可是在一个角落里，谁也没有注意到，有一只紫色的香草娃娃正一声不吭地望着<strong>舞池</strong>，她的眼神呆呆的，显得十分孤独。这时，一只小白熊正好从她面前经过，它看到了这一切，就走过去问香草娃娃：“娃娃，你为什么不去跳舞呢？”香草娃娃难过地低下了头，轻轻地说：“玩具们都嫌我个子小，不愿意请我跳舞。”说完流下了眼泪。小白熊听了很<strong>气愤</strong>，说：“他们怎么能这样<strong>对待</strong>你呢？难道他们不懂得要团结友爱吗！太过分了！”小白熊拉起香草娃娃的手，说，“娃娃，不要难过了。走，我请你跳舞。”香草娃娃听了这话，脸上顿时露出了<strong>灿烂</strong>的笑容，她连忙擦掉脸上的泪水，高兴地说：“太好了！太好了！”娃娃和小白熊在舞池里又跳又笑，一起度过了一个愉快的夜晚。\r\n \r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThe new year had almost arrived, and the Toy Kingdom planned to invite everyone to a grand ball. The day of the dance, the toys were all dancing and laughing, and the whole ballroom was extraordinarily lively. But off in one corner, receiving no attention from anyone, there was an old purple straw doll silently gazing at the dance floor, her eyes were blank and she looked lonely. Just then, a white polar bear in front of her saw this, walked over and asked the straw doll, \"Doll, why don\'t you go dance?\" The straw doll lowered her head sadly, saying in a small voice, \"The [other] toys all say I\'m too short, they\'re not willing to dance with me.\"  Saying this, she began to cry. Polar Bear was furious when he heard this, and said: \"How could they treat you this way? Don\'t they understand solidarity? That\'s just too much!\" Little Bear pulled on the baby doll\'s hand, and said: \"Doll, don\'t be sad. Come on, I\'m asking you to dance with me.\" The straw doll heard these words, and a brilliant smile immediately lit up her face. She quickly wiped the tears off her face and said happily, \"Wonderful! Wonderful!\" On the dance floor, Doll and Bear danced and laughed, and passed a lovely evening together. \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Children\'s Story: The Little Polar Bear and the Doll Dance Together', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1566-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 19:57:35', '2020-04-28 23:57:35', '', 1566, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/1566-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2103, 1, '2020-04-28 19:58:01', '2020-04-28 23:58:01', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nScience! A quick paragraph about why peppers come in so many hues. Though the sentence structure here isn\'t too bad and the article is very short, I\'m classifying this as \'advanced\' since several of the words are quite chemistry-specific. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nAdvanced readers will recognize the words \"被破坏\" - to be broken by - as the phrase itself is common. In this case, though, we\'re not talking about a literal breaking, we\'re talking about the chemical process of an element \"breaking down\". \r\n\r\nHere\'s <a href=\"http://www.tom61.com/shiwangeweishime/youqudezhiwu/2012-01-30/25368.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the original</a>. \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>辣椒的颜色</h4>\r\n　辣椒的品种有很多，但不论哪一个品种，在<strong>未成熟</strong>前都是青绿色的，那是因为含有<strong>叶绿素</strong>的<strong>缘故</strong>。到了成熟期，叶绿素被破坏，辣椒中<strong>含有</strong>的黄色<strong>素</strong>和叶红素就<strong>相应</strong>增多，于是变成黄色和红色。而有的辣椒品种是在青绿色时味道更好，因而在未成熟前就上市了。所以，我们可看到各种颜色的辣椒。  \r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThere are many types of peppers, but all types of pepper are green in color before they ripen, which is because they contain chlorophyll. When it finally comes time for them to ripen, the chlorophyll breaks down, and the yellow and red pigments in the peppers increase accordingly, so they become yellow and red. In addition, some types of peppers taste better when they\'re still green, so they are brought to market before they ripen. That\'s why we see so many different colors of peppers.  \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Science: Why are some peppers different colors?', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1480-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 19:58:01', '2020-04-28 23:58:01', '', 1480, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/1480-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2104, 1, '2020-04-28 19:58:11', '2020-04-28 23:58:11', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThis kid was asked to imagine the perfect desk-chair of the future - what it would look like, and what it would do - and boy, does he ever. The chair turns into all kinds of utopian machinery. It flies, it helps you sleep, and it carries your books to school. Sentence structure is pretty easy and the language is solidly intermediate, with very little advanced vocab (one idiom, a couple of advanced words but not much). At six paragraphs, the text is a bit long, though. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nIn this text, you\'ll notice several uses of the character \"型\". 型 [pinyin]xing2[/pinyin] means \"type\", \"kind\", \"sort\". The character can be combined with other descriptive words, and in this text you\'ll see 新型 - \"New Type of...\" and 大型, meaning \"big type\" or \"large-scale\". \r\n\r\nHere\'s the <a href=\"http://www.tom61.com/youxiuzuowen/xiaoxueyinianjizuowen/2014-04-02/1396399386256109.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">original</a>. \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>未来的桌椅</h4>\r\n你想知道<strong>未来</strong>的桌椅是什么样子吗? 还是让我这个<strong>发明人</strong>来介绍一下吧!\r\n\r\n未来的桌椅是<strong>高科技</strong>材料制成的，大小、颜色、形状能随意<strong>变化</strong>。早晨去上学，就按第一个<strong>按钮</strong>，颜色可以变成绿色，象征新的一天<strong>朝气蓬勃</strong>，这个桌椅变成了新型自行车，那时候人们讲究环保，每个学生都骑这样的车去上学，不用别的<strong>能源</strong>，有太阳能和风就够了。如果遇见堵车的现象，自行车就会飞跃过去，保证准时到达学校。\r\n\r\n到了学校，请按第二个按钮，绿色自行车变成了蓝色电脑桌椅，开始上课学习，根本不用带书包呀、<strong>文具盒</strong>、教材什么的。一切学习任务都在电脑上完成。\r\n\r\n到了放学的时候，又变回自行车回到家。当然这时候的车速可以放慢，好好欣赏一下大自然的风光。回到家没有作业，这时请按第三个橘色按钮，自行车再变成大型<strong>游戏机</strong>，你就可以玩各种游戏了。当然，对眼睛没有害处。\r\n\r\n到了晚上，请按第四个按钮，游戏机变成了你喜欢颜色的折<strong>叠床</strong>，发出美妙的音乐，催你甜蜜地入眠。假如你感觉哪儿不舒服了，就从床头伸出几个按摩头给你按摩，让你<strong>安然</strong>入睡。\r\n\r\n怎么样，我发明的未来的桌椅你一定喜欢吧?欢迎你现在就来预订一套。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nDo you want to know what chairs and tables will be like in the future? Well then let this inventor [author is referring to self] introduce you!\r\n\r\nChairs and tables in the future are manufactured from high-tech materials, and the size, color and shape can change according to your wishes. In the morning when you go to school, you just push the first button, and the color will change to green, symbolizing a new day full of youthful energy, and its shape will change into a new type of bicycle, since at that time [the future] people will all pay attention to the environment, and every student will ride this kind of bike to go to school, and no other power source will be needed, just solar and wind will be enough. If you run into traffic, this bike can leap over it, ensuring you\'ll arrive at school on time. 　\r\n\r\nOnce you get to school, please push the second button, and the green bike will turn into a blue computer desk and chair, and when you start to study, you don\'t even need to have your book bag, stationery box or other study materials. Everything you need [to accomplish studying] is all in the computer. 　\r\n\r\nWhen school gets out, it will again turn into a bike so you can return home. Of course at this time, the bike is also freed to go slowly, so that you can take a moment to appreciate the natural scenery. When you get home and you have no homework, press the third orange-colored button, and the bike will change into a large video game machine, and you can play all kinds of games. Of course, it will do no damage to your eyes. \r\n\r\nAt night, press the fourth button, and the video game machine will turn into a fold-out bed in any color you want, playing splendid music, that will encourage you to drift into sweet sleep. If you feel at all uncomfortable, a few massagers will extend from the head of the bed and give you a massage, to let you rest peacefully. \r\n\r\nWhat do you think? Surely you\'ll like my future desk chair. I welcome you to place an order for one now. \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Essay: Desk-chairs of the Future', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1481-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 19:58:11', '2020-04-28 23:58:11', '', 1481, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/1481-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2105, 1, '2020-04-28 19:58:15', '2020-04-28 23:58:15', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThough this post is beginner-level, it\'s also very condensed. I\'d say you\'ll have to stop and remind yourself what something means every few words or so. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<h3>A few notes:</h3>\r\n\r\n- There\'s a proper noun in here you probably won\'t find in the dictionary: 江东 is a place, [pinyin]jiang1 dong1[/pinyin], it\'s a district of Ningbo in Zhejiang Province (south China). So 江东公园 is \"JiangDong Park\". \r\n\r\n- 小朋友 [pinyin]xiao3 peng2 you5[/pinyin], literally \"Little Friend\", actually just means \"small children\", often used when one child is referring to a other children he or she doesn\'t know. \r\n\r\nSource: <a href=\"http://www.zuowen.com/e/20120522/4fbb17e8c23c9.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">http://www.zuowen.com/e/20120522/4fbb17e8c23c9.shtml</a>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>捉青蛙</h4>\r\n　　前几天，我做了一件不<strong>光彩</strong>的事。说出来真<strong>难为情</strong>。晚上，我去江东公园玩，看到有几位小朋友在捉青蛙，我也赶忙<strong>捉青蛙</strong>，捉了青蛙就把它们带回家。在家里养了几天，青蛙<strong>渐渐</strong>瘦了下来，它们好像在对我说：“把我们放回<strong>大自然</strong>吧，我们一定会多捉<strong>害虫</strong>。”我听了感到真不好意思，晚上，就悄悄把它们放回了大自然。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nIn the last few days, I did a not-so-illustrious thing, and I\'m ashamed to say it. In the evening, I went to JiangDong Park to play, and I saw that there were a few other children catching frogs, so I also hurriedly started catching frogs, and after I caught them I brought them back to my house. At my house I took care of them for a few days, but the frogs gradually became thinner and thinner, it\'s like they were saying to me: \"Put us back in nature, and we can catch more insects.\" I listened to this and was truly embarrassed0 so that night, I secretly put them back outside. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Essay: Catching Frogs', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1483-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 19:58:15', '2020-04-28 23:58:15', '', 1483, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/1483-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2106, 1, '2020-04-28 19:58:44', '2020-04-28 23:58:44', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nAw, reciprocity. An old man does a kindness for a little bird, and he receives a kindness in return. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nIn the second-to-last paragraph, the little birds \"sing a song for the old man\", or \"<strong>唱歌给老爷爷听</strong>\" [pinyin]chang4 ge1 gei3 lao3 ye2 ye ting1[/pinyin]. You may notice that the characters for \"give\" (给 [pinyin]gei3[/pinyin]) and the character for \"listen\" (听 [pinyin]ting1[/pinyin]) are in there, but why? In Chinese, the way to say \"to sing a song for (person)\" is \"sing a song and give (person) listen\". That should clear that up. \r\n\r\n<strong>Action + result</strong> - In Chinese, actions are sometimes grouped together in the order in which they happened to express an entire concept. In paragraph two for example, we see 冻 [pinyin]dong4[/pinyin], which means \"to freeze\" and 死 [pinyin]si3[/pinyin], which means \"to die\". If you stick them next to each other, you might guess that this means \"freeze to death\", and you\'d be right. First, you freeze, then as a result, you die. \r\n\r\nIn that same paragraph, we also see 吹走 [pinyin]chui1 zou3[/pinyin], 吹 meaning \"to blow\" (like the wind), and 走 meaning \"to go away\". Put them together, and you get \"to blow away\", like \"the wind blew it away\". Similar pattern in the last paragraph in with 着凉生病. 着凉 [pinyin]zhuo2 liang4[/pinyin] means \"to catch a chill\" and 生病 [pinyin]sheng1 bing4[/pinyin] means \"to get sick\", so \"to get sick as a result of catching a chill\". \r\n\r\nAll of those examples make sense in English, and can be directly translated, but the final one, 送给 [pinyin]song4 gei3[/pinyin], is a little trickier. 送 means \"to send\" and 给 means \"to give\", but this seems repetitive, like the same action is being done twice - where\'s the result? To understand this, imagine the process of giving someone a present. First, you must deliver it to them in some way - you stretch out your hand if they\'re in front of you, or put it in the mail - this is 送. Once it is in their hands, it has been given to them, this is 给. So, 送给 is really just the equivalent of the English word \"to give\".\r\n\r\nI\'m sure I\'ve just lumped a bunch of technically unrelated grammatical structures together and all the linguists are cringing, but this unprofessional little concept helps me decipher bunches of verbs, so tough linguistic cookies.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/291450108_100010175\">Source here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>老爷爷的帽子</h4>\r\n冬天到了，北风呼呼地吹，天气很冷。有一只小鸟真可怜，它在树枝上冷得发抖。\r\n\r\n一位老爷爷走来，看见了小鸟，心想：\"这只小鸟多可怜呀，这么冷的天，它一定会<span class=\"highlightText\">冻死</span>的。\"小鸟对老爷爷说：\"风把我们的窝<span class=\"highlightText\">吹走</span>了，我们没有家了。\"老爷爷说：\"别着急，我来帮你们想办法。\"老爷爷就用自己的帽子给小鸟做鸟窝，帽子真暖和。\r\n\r\n小鸟想到树林里还有许多快要<span class=\"highlightText\">冻死</span>的小鸟，就把它们都叫来，一起飞进了老爷爷的帽子。它们非常感谢老爷爷。以后老爷爷也天天来看小鸟，小鸟们每次都<span class=\"highlightText\">唱歌给老爷爷听</span>。\r\n\r\n有一天老爷爷没有来，原来他病了。小鸟想：\"一定是爷爷把帽子给了我们，自己<span class=\"highlightText\">着凉生病</span>了，我们赶快给老爷爷做顶帽子吧。\"小鸟们就用自己的羽毛做了一顶帽子<span class=\"highlightText\">送给</span>老爷爷。老爷爷非常感谢小鸟，他的病很快就好了。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\n\r\nWinter had come, the north wind blew <em>whoo whoo</em>, and the weather was very cold. There was a small pitiful bird, sitting on a tree branch so cold it was shivering.\r\n\r\nAn old man walked by, saw the little bird, and thought to himself: \"This little bird is so pitiful, on a day as cold as this, it will surely freeze to death.\" The little bird said to the old man: \"The wind blew our nest away, we have no home.\" The old man said: \"Don\'t worry, I\'ll help you think of a solution.\" The old man then used his own hat and gave it to the little bird to make a nest, the hat was very warm. \r\n\r\nThe little bird realized that in the forest there were still quite a few little birds who would soon freeze to death, so it called them all to come, and together they flew into the old man\'s hat. They all profusely thanked the old man. Thereafter, the old man came every day to see the little birds, and each time the little birds sang a song for the old man.   \r\n\r\nOne day the old man didn\'t come, turns out he was ill. The little bird thought: \"Surely [because] the old man gave us his hat, he caught a chill and got sick, let\'s quickly make a hat for the old man.\" So the little birds used their own feathers to make a hat and gave it to the old man. The old man profusely thanked the little birds, and his illness was quickly cured. \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Children\'s Story: 《老爷爷的帽子》The Old Man\'s Hat', 'Aw, reciprocity. An old man does a kindness for a little bird, and he receives a kindness in return. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2001-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 19:58:44', '2020-04-28 23:58:44', '', 2001, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/2001-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(2107, 1, '2020-04-28 19:58:51', '2020-04-28 23:58:51', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nBorn in the early 1900s, Li Yaotang, pen name <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba_Jin\">Ba Jin</a> was a fervent anarchist and activist, translator, and one of China\'s most beloved writers. He\'s most famous as the author of <em><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Family_(Ba_Jin_novel)\">The Family</a></em>, one of modern Chinese literature\'s most cutting social critiques of traditional Confucian values.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_2038\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"350\"]<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/chinese-reading-practice-famous-authors-bajin.jpg\" alt=\"Chinese Reading Practice Essays Letters Translated Mandarin Simplified Reading: Author Bajin\" width=\"350\" height=\"457\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2038\" /> Ba Jin in 1938 - <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba_Jin#/media/File:Ba_Jin_1938.jpg\">Source</a> [/caption]\r\n\r\nBut this two-part post isn\'t about Ba Jin\'s days as a young socialist crusader and novelist. Ba Jin lived to be 100 years old - he passed away in 2005. And though he was ill with Parkinson\'s for the last decades of his life, he was still writing well into the 1980s. \r\n\r\nThe late 80s were a rough time for China ideologically. The country had just flip-flopped from hard-core Cultural Revolution-era Communism to a budding market economy in just 10 years. Social values were turned on their head, and all the things that were so important in the 1970s – the Party, the Motherland, the socialist struggle – were devalued. Suddenly, what mattered most was making enough  money to survive.\r\n\r\nIn 1987, Ba Jin received a letter from 10 elementary school students confused by the mixed messages they felt society was sending them. What\'s more important: money or ideals? Their letter, which I translate below, is striking... though I have a hard time imagining a bunch of ten-year-olds deciding to convene a committee to draft a plea for moral guidance, so I\'m kind of convinced one kid\'s dad wrote this thing and made them all sign it. \r\n\r\nAnyway, Ba Jin\'s reply, which I\'ll translate in a Part II sometime soon, is much longer. Taken together, these two letters form a beautiful cross-general dialogue, the young seeking wisdom from the old, the old pushing the young out of the nest and into the sun. The letters were published in 1987 under the title 《寻找理想的少年朋友》<em>Young Friends Seeking Ideals</em>, to much acclaim.\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n“三好” [pinyin]san1 hao3[/pinyin] and “品学兼优” [pinyin]pin3 xue2 jian1 you1[/pinyin] - These are the names of well-known awards given to students that excel in several areas. The first, the \"Three Goods\" award, is for students that are of good character, study well, and excel in sports. The second is a general award for good students of high moral virtue. \r\n\r\n三句不离钞票 [pinyin]san1 ju4 bu4 li2 chao1 piao4[/pinyin] - This is a phrase you won\'t find in the dictionary. If you dissect it, it\'s not too hard to sort out what it means, so let\'s do that:\r\n\r\n三句 - Three sentences\r\n不 - Not, no\r\n离 - To leave, to separate from\r\n钞票 - Bank notes, cash money\r\n\r\nSo, you could understand this as \"For every three sentences spoken, not one of them diverges from money\" or in better English, \"to talk about money all the time\" or \"to be overly-focused on money\". \r\n\r\n难道 [pinyin]nan2 dao4[/pinyin] - This is in the dictionary, but it\'s important vocab, so pay attention to how this is used. It indicates a rhetorical question. Like, \"Could it be that... ?\" \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AF%BB%E6%89%BE%E7%90%86%E6%83%B3%E7%9A%84%E5%B0%91%E5%B9%B4%E6%9C%8B%E5%8F%8B/15130105?fr=aladdin\">Source here</a>\r\n\r\n</ul>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《寻找理想的少年朋友》</h4>\r\n敬爱的巴金爷爷：\r\n\r\n我们是十个小学五年级的学生，平均年龄不到十一周岁，在学校里都获得了<span class=\"highlightText\">“三好”</span>或<span class=\"highlightText\">“品学兼优”</span>的奖励。但是近年来，我们被一些新的现象迷惑了。爸爸妈妈说话<span class=\"highlightText\">三句不离钞票</span>，社会上常以收入多作为自己的骄傲。\r\n\r\n有位每月工资是三十多元的老师，当我们问她工资多少时，她脸红了。我们有位同学数学考了九十四分，她呜咽起来，原来爸爸答应她，考了九十五分可得五元奖金。许多家长都用金钱、新衣、旅游来鼓励我们取得好成绩。有些同学在谈到将来时，往往把单位好、工资高、奖金多作为自己最好的向往。\r\n\r\n一句话，为金钱工作、为金钱学习，已经成为理所当然的事。这<span class=\"highlightText\">难道</span>就是我们八十年代的少年应该追求的理想吗？作为三好学生，我们可以攻克学习上的重重难关，但是在这里，在理想问题上我们成了十只迷途的羔羊。但是我们不甘沉沦，我们决心探索、寻求，我们十个朋友决定开展一个“寻求理想”的活动。\r\n\r\n巴金爷爷，我们读过您写的很多书。现在您已上了年纪，可是我们还常常在报纸上、电视里看到您在忙碌地工作。我们想您那里一定有一种神奇的力量，有打开我们心灵窗户的神秘钥匙，因此，我们想向您请教。当您伏案写作的时候，您想的是什么？您写了那么多的书，您追求的是什么？\r\n\r\n巴金爷爷，我们知道您很忙，您有很重要的工作，您还需要休息，我们实在不愿意打搅您，但是我们十分需要您的帮助。十只迷途的羔羊向您呼救，请您以最快的速度给我们指点。\r\n\r\n祝您长寿。\r\n\r\n十个寻找理想的孩子\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nRespected Grandfather Ba Jin: \r\n\r\nWe are ten elementary school students, on average not yet 11 years old, and in school we\'ve all received \"Three Goods\" or \"Excellent Student\" awards. But in recent years, we\'ve been puzzled by some new phenomena. Father and mother are always focused on money, and in greater society [people] base their pride on their income.  \r\n\r\nThere\'s a teacher who makes over 30 RMB per month, but when we ask her how much her salary is, she turns red [with embarrassment]. We have a classmate who got 94% on a math test, but she started bawling, turns out her father agreed that if she got 95% she\'d get a prize of 5 RMB. Many parents use money, new clothes, or travel to encourage us to get good grades. When some of our classmates talk about their future, often it\'s a good job, a high salary, or accolades that they most yearn for. \r\n\r\nIn a word, working for [the sole purpose of making] money, and studying for [the purpose of making] money, has already become an expected thing. Could it be that this is the ideal that the youth of the 80s should be chasing? As excellent students, we can overcome any kind of study-related difficulty, but in this, on questions of ideals, we\'ve become ten lost lambs. But we\'re unwilling to sink [down to that level], we\'ve decided to explore, to seek, we ten friends decided to launch an endeavor [centered around] \"seeking ideals\".\r\n\r\nGrandfather Ba Jin, we\'ve read many books that you\'ve written. Now you\'re already in your later years, be we often see in newspapers and on TV that you\'re still hard at work. We think you certainly must have a kind of mystical power, a mysterious key to unlock the windows of our spirits, and because of this, we want to ask your advice. When you\'re bent over your desk writing, what are you thinking of? You\'ve written so many books, what are you chasing after? \r\n\r\nGrandfather Ba Jin, we know you\'re very busy, and you have very important work, and you also need to rest, we truly don\'t wish to trouble you, but we really need your help. Ten lost lambs are calling for your aid, please give us direction as quickly as you can. \r\n\r\nWe wish you long life.\r\n\r\nSigned, Ten Youths Seeking Ideals\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Letter: Ba Jin\'s Correspondence with \"Young Friends Searching for Ideals\" - Part I', 'In the first of a two-part post, we\'ll look at a letter sent in 1987 from a group of elementary school students to the anarchist writer Ba Jin (most famous for his 1931 novel The Family) as they struggle to cope with China\'s changing social values. In Part II, I\'ll translate Ba Jin\'s reply.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2034-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 19:58:51', '2020-04-28 23:58:51', '', 2034, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/2034-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2108, 1, '2020-04-28 19:58:56', '2020-04-28 23:58:56', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nA bite-sized story with repetitive sentence structure which seems to be about a fickle monkey who can\'t focus long enough to enjoy his meal, but which is actually a gut-wrenching satire of my entire life.\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nIf you\'re brand new to Chinese reading, this is a good introduction to some common grammar. \r\n\r\n又 [pinyin]you4[/pinyin] [adj.] 又 [pinyin]you4[/pinyin] [adj.] - In English, when we use two words to describe something, we usually just separate them with \"and\", like \"big and round\", \"bright and shiny\". But in Chinese, they can sometimes use 又 in front of both adjectives, like this: \"又 big 又 round\" or \"又 bright 又 shiny\". This phrasing is used several times here.\r\n\r\n着 zhe - I\'ve covered the use of this character <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/01/02/little-dog-wears-shoes/\">in another beginner post</a>. It has several meanings, but in this paragraph, it basically just means \"-ing\", as in walk-ing, tak-ing, runn-ing. \r\n\r\n只好 [pinyin]zhi3 hao3[/pinyin] - Meaning to be forced to, to have no other choice but to\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://wenku.baidu.com/view/290230fdfab069dc50220176.html\">Source is here</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>小猴子掰玉米</h4>\r\n有一天，一只小猴子下山来。它走到一块玉米地里，看见玉米长得又大又多，非常高兴，就偷了一个，拿着往前走。小猴子拿着玉米，走到一棵桃树下。它看见树上的桃子又大又红，非常高兴，就扔了玉米去摘桃子。小猴子拿着几个桃子，走到一片瓜地里。它看见西瓜又大又圆，非常高兴，就扔了桃子去摘西瓜。小猴子拿着一个大西瓜往回走。走着走着，看见一只小兔子，真可爱。它非常高兴，就扔了西瓜去追小兔。小兔跑进树林里，不见了。小猴子只好空着手回家去。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nOne day, Little Monkey came down from the mountain. He walked to a field of corn, and saw that the corn had grown large and abundant, [this made him] very happy, so he stole one, and holding it walked on. Holding the corn, he walked to the bottom of a big peach tree. He saw the peaches in the tree were big and red, [this made him] very happy, and he threw down the corn to pick the peaches. Little Monkey took several peaches, and walked to a watermelon field. He saw the watermelons were big and round, [this made him] very happy, so he threw down the peaches to pick the watermelons. Little Monkey took a big watermelon and [started] walking back. Walking and walking, he saw a rabbit, it was very cute. [It made him] very happy, so he threw down the watermelon to chase the rabbit. The rabbit ran into the forest, and disappeared. Little Monkey had to go home empty-handed.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Children\'s Story: 《小猴子偷玉米》Monkey Steals Some Corn', 'A bite-sized story with repetitive sentence structure which seems to be about a fickle monkey who can\'t focus long enough to enjoy his meal, but which is actually a gut-wrenching satire of my entire life.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2008-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 19:58:56', '2020-04-28 23:58:56', '', 2008, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/2008-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2109, 1, '2020-04-28 20:00:45', '2020-04-29 00:00:45', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn Part II of this , we\'ll read acclaimed author Ba Jin\'s reply to the 10 elementary school students who wrote him a letter asking him for moral guidance in 1987. If you haven\'t read Part I yet, go check it out - the original work \r\n\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AF%BB%E6%89%BE%E7%90%86%E6%83%B3%E7%9A%84%E5%B0%91%E5%B9%B4%E6%9C%8B%E5%8F%8B/15130105?fr=aladdin\">Source here</a>\r\n\r\n</ul>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《寻找理想的少年朋友》</h4>\r\n亲爱的同学们：\r\n\r\n你们的信使我感到为难。我是一个有病的老人，最近虽然去北京开过会，可是回到上海就仿佛生了一场大病似的，一点力气也没有，讲话上气不接下气，写字手指不听指挥，因此要“以最快的速度”给你们一个回答，我很难办到。我只能跟在你们背后慢慢地前进，即使远远地落在后面，我还可以努力追赶。但要带着你们朝前飞奔，不是我不愿意，而是力不能及了。这就说明我不但并无“神奇的力量”，而且连你们有的那种朝气我也没有，更不用说什么“神秘钥匙”了。\r\n\r\n不过我看你们也不必这样急，“寻求理想”不是一天两天的事。理想是存在的。可是有的人追求了一生只得到幻灭；有的人找到了它一直坚持到生命的最后一息。各人有各人的目标，对理想当然也有不同的理解。我听广播、看报纸，仿佛人们随时随地都在谈论“理想”，仿佛理想在前面等待人，只要你一伸手就可以把它抓住。那么你们为什么还那样着急地向我“呼救”呢？你们不是都有了理想吗？你们在“向钱看”的社会风气中感觉到窒息，不正是说明你们的理想起了作用吗？我不能不问，你们是不是感到了孤独，因此才把自己比做“迷途的羔羊”？可是照我看，你们并没有“迷途”，“迷途”的倒是你们四周的一些人。\r\n\r\n我常常想，我们生活在其中的社会有时会是十分古怪，叫人难以理解。人们喜欢说，形势大好，我也这样说过。这种说法不是没有道理，我也有自己的经验：根据我耳闻目睹，舍身救人、一心为公的英雄事迹和一人有难、八方支援的好人好事，每天都在远近发生。从好的方面看，当然一切都好；但要是专找不好的方面看，人就觉得好像被坏的东西包围了。尽管形势大好，总是困难很多；尽管遍地理想，偏偏有人惟利是图。你们说这是“新的现象”，我看风并不是一天两天刮起来的。面对着这种现象，有人毫不在乎，他们说这是支流，支流敌不过主流，正如邪不胜正。即使出现这样的情况，譬如说钞票变成了发光的“明珠”，大家追求一个目标：发财，人人争当“能赚会花”的英雄；又譬如说从喜欢空话、爱听假话，发展到贩卖假药、推销劣货，发展到以权谋私、见利忘义……也不要紧，因为邪不胜正。还有人说：“你不要看风越刮越厉害，不久就会过去的。我们有定风珠嘛！”同他们交谈，我也感到放心，我也是相信邪不胜正的人，我始终乐观。\r\n\r\n同学们，请原谅，我不是在这里讲空话。束手等待是盼不到美好的明天的。我说邪不胜正，因为在任何社会里都存在着是与非、光明与阴暗的斗争。最后的胜利当然属于正义、属于光明。但是在某一个时期甚至在较长的一段时期，是也会败于非，光明也会被阴暗掩盖，支流也会超过主流，在这里斗争双方力量的强弱会起大的作用。在这一场理想与金钱的斗争中我们决不是旁观者，斗争的胜败关系到我们每个人的命运。我们是这个社会的成员，是这个国家的公民，要是我们大家不献出自己的汗水和才智，那么社会的发展和国家的腾飞，也不过是一句空话。我常常想为什么宣传了几十年的崇高理想和大好形势，却无法防止黄金瘟疫的传播？为什么用理想教育人们几十年，那么多的课本，那么多的学习资料，那么多的报刊，那么多的文章！到今天年轻的学生还彷徨无主、四处寻求呢？\r\n\r\n小朋友们，不瞒你们说，对着眼前五光十色的景象，就连我有时也感到迷惑不解了。我要问，理想究竟是什么？难道它是虚无缥缈的东西？难道它是没有具体内容的空话？这几十年来我们哪一天中断过关于理想的宣传？那么传播黄金疫的病毒究竟来自何处、哪方？今天到处在揭发有人贩卖霉烂的食品，推销冒牌的假货，办无聊小报，印盗版书，做各种空头生意，为了带头致富，不惜损公肥私、祸国害人。这些人，他们也谈理想，也讲豪言壮语，他们说一套，做另外一套。对他们，理想不过是招牌、是装饰、是工具。他们口里越是讲得天花乱坠，做的事情越是见不得人。“向前看”一下子就变为“向钱看”，定风珠也会变成风信鸡。在所谓“不正之风”刮得最厉害、是非难分、真假难辨的时候，我也曾几次疑惑地问自己：理想究竟在什么地方？它是不是已经被狂风巨浪吹打得无踪无影？我仿佛看见支流压倒了主流，它气势汹汹地滚滚向前。然而即使在这个时候我也没有理由灰心绝望，因为理想明明还在我前面闪光。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nRespected Grandfather Ba Jin: \r\n\r\nWe are ten elementary school students, on average not yet 11 years old, and in school we\'ve all received \"Three Goods\" or \"Excellent Student\" awards. But in recent years, we\'ve been puzzled by some new phenomena. Father and mother are always focused on money, and in greater society [people] base their pride on their income.  \r\n\r\nThere\'s a teacher who makes over 30 RMB per month, but when we ask her how much her salary is, she turns red [with embarrassment]. We have a classmate who got 94% on a math test, but she started bawling, turns out her father agreed that if she got 95% she\'d get a prize of 5 RMB. Many parents use money, new clothes, or travel to encourage us to get good grades. When some of our classmates talk about their future, often it\'s a good job, a high salary, or accolades that they most yearn for. \r\n\r\nIn a word, working for [the sole purpose of making] money, and studying for [the purpose of making] money, has already become an expected thing. Could it be that this is the ideal that the youth of the 80s should be chasing? As excellent students, we can overcome any kind of study-related difficulty, but in this, on questions of ideals, we\'ve become ten lost lambs. But we\'re unwilling to sink [down to that level], we\'ve decided to explore, to seek, we ten friends decided to launch an endeavor [centered around] \"seeking ideals\".\r\n\r\nGrandfather Ba Jin, we\'ve read many books that you\'ve written. Now you\'re already in your later years, be we often see in newspapers and on TV that you\'re still hard at work. We think you certainly must have a kind of mystical power, a mysterious key to unlock the windows of our spirits, and because of this, we want to ask your advice. When you\'re bent over your desk writing, what are you thinking of? You\'ve written so many books, what are you chasing after? \r\n\r\nGrandfather Ba Jin, we know you\'re very busy, and you have very important work, and you also need to rest, we truly don\'t wish to trouble you, but we really need your help. Ten lost lambs are calling for your aid, please give us direction as quickly as you can. \r\n\r\nWe wish you long life.\r\n\r\nSigned, Ten Youths Seeking Ideals\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Letter: Ba Jin\'s Correspondence with \"Young Friends Searching for Ideals\" - Part II', 'In the first of a two-part post, we\'ll look at a letter sent in 1987 from a group of elementary school students to the anarchist writer Ba Jin (most famous for his 1931 novel The Family) as they struggle to cope with China\'s changing social values. In Part II, I\'ll translate Ba Jin\'s reply.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2060-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 20:00:45', '2020-04-29 00:00:45', '', 2060, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/2060-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2110, 1, '2020-04-28 20:00:53', '2020-04-29 00:00:53', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lu_Xun#Late_career\">Lu Xun</a> (鲁迅) [pinyin]lu3 xun4[/pinyin]  was one of China\'s great 20th century writers and thinkers who felt that the heart and soul of the Chinese people had been sickened by the depravity and corruption that ran rampant after the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1912. He felt that China had lost its way, and his most famous work 《阿Q正传》<em>The Real Story of Ah Q</em> was an unforgiving portrait of what he saw as China\'s social debasement. But he was also a true patriot who wanted to see China restored to the dignity he saw as its birthright. \r\n\r\nHis characters, like the skulking 阿Q, were often contemptible, cowardly, and mean, and he played up these characteristics as a kind of intentional reverse psychology. He wanted his readers to be so disgusted that they would reject these base behaviors. \r\n\r\n<em>The Real Story of Ah Q</em> is an insanely hard read in Chinese, full of Qing Dynasty slang and confusing conversations so if after reading this letter you\'d like to read more of Lu Xun\'s work, you can pick up a <a href=\"https://amzn.to/3br37uu\">collection of his shorter essays in Chinese</a>, or read <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2RSIwaL\">The Real Story of Ah Q</a> in English. \r\n\r\nLu Xun\'s original life plan was to study medicine to \"heal the bodies of the Chinese people\", and he went to Japan to do just that, but as he briefly mentions in this letter, he happened to see a terrible film of Japanese soldiers decapitating some Chinese prisoners, while other Chinese citizens stood around and watched. Horrified, he would later say that this was when he decided that it was the Chinese spirit that most needed healing, and he set out to do this through his words. And to some extent, he succeeded: Lu Xun passed away in 1936, a much-celebrated national hero. \r\n\r\nThis is a letter that Lu Xun wrote in 1926 to his Japanese friend Mr. Yoshino (藤野先生). It touches on many of the points I mentioned here. \r\n\r\n<h4>The language</h4>\r\nFair warning: the first few paragraphs are fairly smooth reading, but at paragraph four it suddenly becomes quite advanced. Hope you\'re up for a challenge, but don\'t beat yourself up if you can\'t hang and have to check the translation. I hope the success of reading the first bit will give you the energy to tackle that last one, but I won\'t lie: it\'s a bit of a beast. A few notes to help you get through the letter: \r\n\r\nLu Xun addresses the person he\'s writing to both using \"you\" (您) and the recipient\'s name, Mr. Yoshino (藤野先生). Can get a little confusing, because it\'s all the same person. \r\n\r\n八字须 [pinyin]ba1 zi4 xu1[/pinyin] - This is an interesting linguistic trick where the character 八 is being used to describe the shape of someone\'s beard / mustache (须). It\'s basically like saying \"A-frame house\" - the shape of the letter is being used to describe the shape of the house. We see this same linguistic trick used in the word 十字路口， which means \"intersection\". Intersections, if you think about them, are shaped like the character 十. So, 八字须 means \"a beard or mustache shaped like the character 八\", which I guess would be pointy under the nose and going down sharply on both sides. \r\n\r\n从文 [pinyin]cong2 wen2[/pinyin] - The confusing bit here is the use of the word 从. We know that 从 means \"from\". But in this case, they\'re using another definition, meaning \"to do, undertake, or practice (as in \'to practice law\')\". So 从文 means to \"do literature\" or \"practice a literary trade\".\r\n\r\nI don\'t even know where to start helping with paragraph four - there\'s a lot going on there. Ask in the comments if you have specific questions.\r\n</ul>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>鲁迅写给藤野先生的信</h4>\r\n尊敬的藤野先生： 您好！\r\n\r\n非常抱歉在离开仙台之后一直没给您写信了，但是我一直深深地挂念着您。 我还清清楚楚的记得，清清楚楚的看见一位衣着朴素的黑手的先生、八字须、戴着一副大大的眼镜正在津津有味地讲着医学课。\r\n\r\n还记得当年我一心寻求救国的道路而来到仙台，到仙台我最根本的目的是为了学医医治中国人的性命。可当我看了一部电影后才知道：我需要医治的是中国人的精神，其次才是医治他们的性命。所以当时我并没有学生物学，而是弃医从文了。中国当时是个弱国，振奋民族精神努力在烧眉，相信藤野先生您一定会理解我这片爱国之心吧！\r\n\r\n在仙台的日子里我还要多谢藤野先生对我无微不至的关心和照顾。您没有民族偏见，无悔地授给我医术，并且精心改正我的讲义，细心严格的纠正我的解剖实习，求实地了解中国女人裹脚...... 都使我终生难忘、终生受益。 不知藤野先生还是否记得您给我改的那些厚厚的讲义，可惜在我迁居的时候恰好被烧毁了，只留下了你的相片。每当夜间疲倦，正想偷懒时，掩面在灯光中瞥见您那黑瘦的面孔似乎正要说出抑扬顿挫的话语来，便使我忽又良心发现，而且增加勇气。于是点上一支香烟，再继续写那些为“正人君子”之流所深恶痛疾的文字。\r\n\r\n我决心与我的通道们奋力呐喊，一笔为抢、为匕刀，像反动势力勇猛冲击。更希望您能支持我的做法。\r\n\r\n现在的您一切还好吗？总而言之我把千言万语化作一句话：笑一笑，十年少。\r\n\r\n祝：身体健康、万事如意。\r\n\r\n<h6>Buy on Amazon:</h6>\r\n<a href=\"https://amzn.to/3br37uu\">Lu Xun\'s Chinese essays</a> and <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2RSIwaL\">The Real Story of Ah Q</a> in English. \r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nRespected Mr. Yoshino, Hello!\r\n\r\nI\'m very sorry I haven\'t written you a letter since I left Sendai, but I\'ve always remembered you with deep fondness. I still clearly remember, when I clearly saw an unassuming man with dark hands, an arrow-shaped beard, wearing a large pair of glasses and teaching a medical class with great enthusiasm. \r\n\r\nI also remember that year, I went to Sendai looking for a way to save China, and when I arrived in Sendai my most basic purpose was to study medicine to heal the lives of the Chinese people. But when I saw a [certain] movie I finally knew: what [most] needed healing was the Chinese people\'s spirit, and from this their lives could be healed. So I didn\'t study biology, but gave up medicine for literature. China was a weak country then, but we are diligently making progress in igniting the people\'s spirit，I believe that Mr. Yoshino can certainly understand my patriotic heart! \r\n\r\nI still must thank Mr. Yoshino for showing me every possible care and consideration during those days in Sendai. You were not biased towards [my] nationality, bestowed [your knowledge in] the medical arts upon me without regret, as well as meticulously corrected my lecture materials, attentively and seriously redressed [me during] my anatomy internship, realistically understood Chinese foot-binding practices... all this I will remember my whole life, and benefit from my whole life. I don\'t know if Mr. Yoshino still remembers those very thick lecture materials of mine that you corrected, pity that when I was moving house they were burned up and destroyed, all that\'s left is your picture. Whenever it\'s late and I\'m weary, and I\'m just beginning to think of loafing off, hidden in the lamplight I glimpse your thin, dark face [looking] as if you\'re about to speak in that rising and falling cadence of yours, and it makes me suddenly discover my conscience once again, and raises my courage. And so I light a cigarette, and keep writing those words which are so abhorrent to \"proper gentlemen\" types. \r\n\r\nI\'m determined to struggle and shout with my compatriots, a pen as a gun, as a dagger, like the resistance forces attacking bravely. More that that, I hope you will support my approach. \r\n\r\nHow is everything with you now? In short I\'ll wrap up my many words in one sentence: A little smile is all it takes to make you ten years younger. \r\n\r\nWishing you: Health and smooth dealings in all matters.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Letter: Famous 20th Century author Lu Xun writes to his friend in 1926', '<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lu_Xun#Late_career\">Lu Xun</a> (鲁迅) [pinyin]lu3 xun4[/pinyin]  was one of China\'s great 20th century writers and thinkers who felt that the heart and soul of the Chinese people had been sickened by the depravity and corruption that ran rampant after the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1912.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1973-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 20:00:53', '2020-04-29 00:00:53', '', 1973, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/1973-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2111, 1, '2020-04-28 20:00:59', '2020-04-29 00:00:59', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThis very sweet story about an old tree who sacrifices himself for the animals of the forest might be the longest piece I\'ve ever found that\'s suitable for a beginner (around HSK 3-4) audience. Both language and grammar is mostly quite straightforward.\r\n\r\nI say \"mostly\", because suddenly in paragraph five, this very easy read round-house kicks you in the head with three super science-y words and some intermediate language, before going back to being simple. Because paragraph five is such an outlier in terms of difficulty, I marked it out as a [HARD PART] in the text, and I\'m going to walk you through some of the vocab and grammar in that one bit. The science terms it uses are: \r\n\r\n叶绿素 [pinyin]ye4 lv4 su4[/pinyin] - Chlorophyll (the chemical that makes leaves green)\r\n光合作用 [pinyin]guang1 he2 zuo4 yong4[/pinyin] - Photosynthesis (the process of turning sunlight into nutrients)\r\n养料  [pinyin]yang3 liao4[/pinyin] - Nutrients\r\n\r\nThis story being about a big tree, you can imagine why these words are needed, and they were probably included to help teach Chinese kids about how trees work. Four other intermediate words pop out in that paragraph:\r\n\r\n进行 [pinyin]jin4 xing2[/pinyin] - To undertake or conduct\r\n制造 [pinyin]zhi4 zao4[/pinyin] - To manufacture or create\r\n等于  [pinyin]deng3 yu2[/pinyin] - To be equal to, to be just like\r\n组成部分 [pinyin]zu3 cheng2 bu4 fen4[/pinyin] - Component part\r\n\r\nIt\'s also worth noting that similar to the story <em><a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/06/15/little-grass-silver-hair/\">Little Grass\' Silver Hair</a></em>, the natural elements here are personified as people. The wind is \"Auntie Wind\", the rain is \"Grandma Rain\". Keep an eye out for those names.\r\n\r\nThis story is also great for learning measure words. Measure words are words like \"a <em>flock</em> of birds\", \"a <em>herd</em> of deer\", \"a <em>bunch</em> of flowers\", that help count nouns, or describe the nature of nouns. In English, only some nouns have their own measure words, but in Chinese, almost all nouns have one. In this piece, we learn the measure word that goes with <em>forests</em> and <em>leaves</em> (片 - [pinyin]pian4[/pinyin] ), the one that goes with trees (棵 - [pinyin]ke1[/pinyin]), and the one that goes with ears (只 - [pinyin]zhi1[/pinyin]).\r\n\r\nAnd one last note: what on Earth is up with the \"儿\" after \"叶\" (leaf)?! So, 儿 has a bajillion usages in Chinese, and one of them is that it makes the noun preceding it a little cutesy. You can\'t use it with every noun, but for example, 鱼 is \"fish\", while 鱼儿 is \"fishie\", 鸟 is \"bird\", and 鸟儿 is \"birdie\". And in this case, 叶 is \"leaf\" and 叶儿 is ... leafie? We don\'t have a diminutive form for \"leaf\" in English, but it basically means \"cute little leaf\". \r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.61w.cn/news/tonghua/1812151254598BG4HJGKDB424KDJH8H2.htm\">Source here</a> - I modified some of the harder words to make it a little simpler.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>大树公公</h4>\r\n很久很久以前，在一片大森林里，生长着一棵大树。大森林里的小动物们都喜欢在大树下唱歌跳舞玩游戏。大家都叫他：\"大树公公\"。\r\n\r\n那时候，小动物们都没有耳朵，听不到风声雨声，听不到欢歌笑语，也听不到彼此的呼唤。\r\n\r\n看着小动物们天真无邪的笑脸，大树公公非常着急，他想了九天九夜，忽然想到了自己满身的树叶儿。要是把它们送给小动物们当耳朵，不是一件很好的事情吗？\r\n\r\n风阿姨看出了大树公公的心事，她对大树公公说：\"不能这样做，把身上的树叶儿都摘掉，你会有生命危险的。\"\r\n\r\n[HARD PART] 雨婆婆知道了大树公公的想法，她对大树公公说：\"树叶儿是你生命中重要的组成部分，你要用叶绿素进行光合作用，制造养料。失去树叶儿，就等于失去了自己的生命。\"\r\n\r\n大树公公笑着说：\"你们不要劝我，只要小动物们能拥有两只可以听到各种美妙声音的耳朵，我愿意付出自己的一切。\"\r\n\r\n就这样，大树公公摘下了他身上的一片片树叶儿，送给每一个小动物。\r\n\r\n大象得到了两片大大的树叶儿，他有了两只大大的耳朵。小老鼠得到了两片小小的树叶儿，他有了两只小小的耳朵。小白兔、小松鼠、小胖猪、所有的`小动物，都有了两只可以听到各种声音的小耳朵。\r\n\r\n就在大树公公摘下他身上的最后一片树叶儿，就要失去绿色生命的时候，小动物们都哭了。小动物们的眼泪浸湿了大树公公身上所有的枝条。枝条们纷纷落在地上，生根发芽，变成了一棵棵绿色的小树苗。\r\n\r\n大树公公微笑着，慢慢溶入了他脚下的土地。\r\n\r\n后来，那些小树苗长成了一棵棵枝繁叶茂的大树，一棵棵大树又组成一片大大的森林。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nLong, long ago, in a forest, there grew a big tree. All the little animals in the forest all liked to sing and dance and play beneath it. Everyone called it: \"Grandfather Tree\". \r\n\r\nAt that time, little animals had no ears, they couldn\'t hear the wind or the rain, they couldn\'t hear happy songs or the sound of laughter, and they couldn\'t hear each other\'s calls. \r\n\r\nSeeing the little animals\' innocent faces, Grandpa Tree was very worried, he thought for nine days and nine nights, and suddenly thought of the leaves that covered his own body. If he took them and gave them to the small animals to use as ears, wouldn\'t that be a wonderful thing?\r\n\r\nAuntie Wind saw what Grandpa Tree was thinking, and she said to Grandpa Tree: \"You can\'t do that, if you pluck off all the leaves on your body, your life will be in danger.\" \r\n\r\n[HARD PART] Grandma Rain knew about Grandpa Tree\'s idea, and she said to Grandpa Tree: \"Leaves make up an important component of your life, you must use the chlorophyll in leaves to conduct photosynthesis, and create nourishment. If you lose your leaves, it\'s equal to losing your life.\"   \r\n\r\nSmiling, Grandpa Tree said: \"[Now] you [two] don\'t push me, as long as the little animals [each] have two ears that can hear all kinds of wonderful sounds, I\'m willing to give my all.\" \r\n\r\nAnd so, Grandpa Tree plucked off each leaf on his body, and gave them to every animal. \r\n\r\nThe elephant received two big leaves, and he had two big ears. The mouse received two little leaves, and he had two little ears. The white rabbit, the squirrel, the fat pig, and all the little animals all had two ears that could hear all kinds of sounds. \r\n\r\nJust as Grandpa Tree plucked off the last leaf on his body, and was about to lose his green life, the little animals all cried. The animals\' tears moistened the branches on Grandpa Tree\'s body. As the branches fell to the ground, they sprouted, and became many green tree shoots.\r\n\r\nGrandpa Tree smiled slightly, and slowly dissolved into the earth at his feet. \r\n\r\nLater, those tree shoots grew into a verdant big trees, and those big trees became a huge forest. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Children\'s Story: 《大树公公》Grandpa Tree', 'This very sweet story about an old tree who sacrifices himself for the animals of the forest might be the longest piece I\'ve ever found that\'s suitable for a beginner (probably HSK 3-4) audience. Both language and grammar is mostly quite straightforward.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1985-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 20:00:59', '2020-04-29 00:00:59', '', 1985, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/1985-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2112, 1, '2020-04-28 20:01:09', '2020-04-29 00:01:09', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThis famous herdsman\'s folksong originates in the Northern Dynasties, nearly 2000 years ago. \r\n\r\n<h4>The language</h4>\r\nRemember, this is a poem, not prose. So, the author doesn\'t spell out every single <em>I</em>, <em>You</em>, and <em>My</em>. In fact, he leaves those words out all together. Instead, he paints a picture with carefully chosen characters. So, if this is your first attempt at reading Chinese poetry, I recommend you take it line by line, first understand the meaning of each character, and then try to imagine their meanings all together, and see if you can get a mental image of the scene.\r\n\r\nMostly, this poem is comprised of surprisingly easy characters, but there\'s an advanced word or two sprinkled in. Probably most difficult is this one: \r\n\r\n疑 [pinyin]yi2[/pinyin] - Poets sure do love to compare things to other things, and in Chinese, this is one of the words that lets them do it. It\'s a literary way to say \"as if\", or \"seem like\". So 疑是 means \"As if it is _______\" or \"Seems like it is _______\". It\'s a little difficult because in modern Chinese, this character is usually related to doubt or suspicion, but that\'s not the way it\'s being used here.\r\n\r\nI should also probably clarify that 望 [pinyin]wang4[/pinyin] has quite a few definitions, and the one used here is \"to gaze towards\". \r\n\r\nNot all of Li Bai\'s works are so simple, but if you\'d like to get a little deeper into the world of Tang poetry, you might consider picking up <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2VYn3hV\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">this narrative Biography of Li Bai</a> for Kindle, or <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2VonO4v\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">an English translation of his works</a>.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《敕勒歌》</h4>\r\n敕勒川，\r\n阴山下。\r\n\r\n天似穹庐，\r\n笼盖四野。\r\n\r\n天苍苍，野茫茫，\r\n风吹草低见牛羊。\r\n<h6>Buy on Amazon:</h6>\r\n<a href=\"https://amzn.to/2VYn3hV\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Kindle Li Bai biography</a> or <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2VonO4v\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">his poems in English</a>.\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\n敕勒川，\r\n阴山下。\r\nSomething river, \r\nbeneath the shady mountain. \r\n\r\n天似穹庐，\r\n笼盖四野。\r\nThe sky is like a YURT,\r\ncovering the four wilds. \r\n\r\n天苍苍，野茫茫，\r\n风吹草低见牛羊。\r\nThe sky is SOMETHING, the wilderness is vast.\r\nThe wind blows the grass down revealing the oxen and sheep.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Poem: 《敕勒歌》Folk verse from the wild steppes', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1967-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 20:01:09', '2020-04-29 00:01:09', '', 1967, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/1967-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2113, 1, '2020-04-28 20:01:16', '2020-04-29 00:01:16', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nA fairly simple read for newbies about a self-hating rabbit. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nIn terms of plot, this is your basic \"it\'s what\'s on the inside that counts\", moral-of-the-story story. Frankly, it\'s a bit boring, but there are a couple of good words and phrases in here. One in particular is difficult, and I couldn\'t figure it out just by looking at the definition, I had to go hunt around a bit: 钻出来 [pinyin]zuan1 chu1 lai2[/pinyin]. We know that 出来 means to \"come out of\". But 钻? The first definition that came up when I looked was \"diamond\", but that wasn\'t the correct definition in this case. Secondly, it also means to \"drill\" or \"bore\", which makes sense as a second definition of \"diamond\" - lots of diamond drill bits out there. But that still doesn\'t work in context of the whole sentence. I finally ran a Baidu image search on the phrase, and there were lots of pictures of miners squeezing out of small spaces, children coming out of playground tunnels, workers coming out of manholes, and I realized that 钻出来 means to wiggle out of a space via a small opening. Imagine a secret agent crawling through an air duct; in Chinese, there\'s a word for that, and that word is 钻. \r\n\r\nI got this from Sina user <a href=\"http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_6ace1efa0100kltk.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zifengling\'s personal blog</a>, in a post where she lists a few different easy stories, so if you wanna read some more on your own, head on over. I\'ll probably translate another couple from there before too long. \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>美丽的小兔子</h4>\r\n森林里住着一只小兔子，它叫“丑丑”。它的眼睛红红的，像一对<strong>红宝石</strong>。可是它的毛灰灰的，像是从<strong>灰炉</strong>里钻出来似的，它觉得自己太<strong>丑</strong>了，常常一个人躲在家里。\r\n\r\n虽然它长得不好看，但是它有一颗无比善良的心。小猴子乐乐的家被大水<strong>冲垮</strong>了，无家可归。丑丑就让乐乐住在自己的家，还把自己最喜欢吃的巧克力分给乐乐吃。<strong>不仅如此</strong>，谁头痛、生病了，没钱买药，它都会尽其所能进行帮助。\r\n\r\n日子一天天过去了，丑丑还是很<strong>孤单</strong>。一次，森林里最好看的小兔子美美来找它玩，可丑丑觉得自己太丑了，没脸见它。美美告诉丑丑：“人的<strong>外表</strong>并不重要，重要的是<strong>内在</strong>美。”丑丑恍然大悟，它跑了出去，和伙伴们一起尽情地玩耍。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nIn the forest there lived a little rabbit whose name was \"Chouchou\". His eyes were red, like a pair of rubies. But his fur was grey, like he\'d wiggled out of a furnace, and he felt himself to be very ugly, often hiding in his house alone. \r\n\r\nAlthough he wasn\'t nice to look at, he had an incomparably kind heart. When Little Monkey Lele\'s home was burst apart by a flood, he had no house to return to. Chouchou let Lele live with him, and he divided up his favorite chocolate to give some to Lele to eat. Not only that, whoever had a headach, or got sick, with no money to buy medicine, he did everything he was able to do to help. \r\n\r\nThe days passed one by one, and Chouchou was still alone. One time, the forest\'s most beautiful rabbit Meimei came looking for Chouchou to play, but Chouchou thought of himself as just too ugly, he couldn\'t face seeing her. Meimei told Chouchou: \"It\'s not what\'s on the outside that counts, the important thing is what\'s on the inside.\" Chouchou suddenly saw the light, he ran outside, and played with his friends to his heart\'s content.  \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Children\'s Story: The \"Beautiful\" Rabbit', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1565-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 20:01:16', '2020-04-29 00:01:16', '', 1565, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/1565-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2114, 1, '2020-04-28 20:01:28', '2020-04-29 00:01:28', '[two_third]\nWoo, I\'m on a roll this week. I can\'t vouch for the accuracy of the history here, not being a pencil history expert myself, but this read has a lot of good words for larnin\'. I\'d put this in the lower-advanced spectrum, as the sentence structure isn\'t over-the-top literary, but there are a ton of specialized words and proper nouns. <!--more-->\n\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/20140205-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Learn to Read Mandarin Chinese - Simplified Character Learning Short Stories\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />The tone is very encyclopedic, so, rather serious and not a lot of fun. \n\nA couple of proper names for you: \n<strong>巴罗代尔</strong> - Borrowdale, England\n<strong>乔治二世</strong> - George the Second (English King)\n<strong>法伯</strong> - Eberhard Faber, a German chemist\n<strong>孔德</strong> - Nicolas-Jacques Conté, French scientist\n\nSource: <a href=\"http://www.gushi365.com/info/9763.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">http://www.gushi365.com/info/9763.html</a>\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n简陋 - [pinyin]jian3 lou4[/pinyin] - Simple and crude\n名副其实 - [pinyin]ming2 fu4 qi2 shi2[/pinyin] - Not in name only, but also in reality\n诞生 - [pinyin]dan4 sheng1[/pinyin] - To be born\n矿物 - [pinyin]kuang4 wu4[/pinyin] - Mineral\n皇室- [pinyin]huang2 shi4[/pinyin] - Imperial household\n缺点 - [pinyin]que1 dian3[/pinyin] - Weak point, drawback\n硫磺 - [pinyin]liu2 huang2[/pinyin] - Sulfer\n松香 - [pinyin]song1 xiang1[/pinyin] - Pine resin\n掺入 - [pinyin]chan1 ru4[/pinyin] - To mix into\n芯 - [pinyin]xin4 / xin1[/pinyin] - Wick / core\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n铅笔的历史非常悠久，它起源于2000多年前的古罗马时期。那时的铅笔很<strong>简陋</strong>，只不过是金属套里夹着的一根铅棒，甚至是铅块，倒真是<strong>名副其实</strong>的“铅”笔。而我们今天使用的铅笔是用石墨和黏土制成的，里面并不含铅。\n\n现代铅笔<strong>诞生</strong>于16世纪的英国。1564年，有人在巴罗代尔发现了一种名叫石墨的黑色<strong>矿物</strong>。石墨能像铅一样在纸上留下痕迹，而且比铅的痕迹要黑得多，因此，人们称石墨为“黑铅”。巴罗代尔一带的牧羊人常用石墨在羊身上做记号。后来，人们又将石墨块切成小条，用于写字、绘画。不久，英王乔治二世将巴罗代尔石墨矿收归<strong>皇室</strong>所有，把它定为皇家的专用品。\n\n不过，石墨条也有它的<strong>缺点</strong>：容易弄脏手，还容易折断。1761年，德国化学家法伯用石墨粉同<strong>硫磺</strong>、<strong>松香</strong>等混合起来，制成条，这比纯石墨条的韧性大得多，也不大容易弄脏手。18世纪末时，只有英、德两国能够生产铅笔。\n\n后来，法国也在自己的国土上找到了石墨矿，但矿的质量不高，储量也少。法国科学家孔德便在石墨中<strong>掺入</strong>黏土，放进窑里烧制，制成了既好用又耐用的铅笔<strong>芯</strong>。石墨中掺入的黏土的比例不同，铅笔芯的硬度也就不同。我们常看到铅笔头上标着B、HB一类的字母，表示的就是铅笔芯的硬度和颜色深浅。B表示黑度，H表示硬度，所以，HB就是软硬和颜色深浅都适中的铅笔芯，适合写字。 \n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nThe history of the pencil is very long, dating back 2000 years to ancient Roman times. The pencils of that time were very crude, being nothing more than a gold cover cripping a lead stick, or even a lead block, and it really was a \"lead\" pen (not just in name only). Whereas the pencils we use toady are manufactured from graphite and clay, the inside doesn\'t really contain lead.  \n\nModern pencils were born in 16th Century England. In 1564, people in Borrowdale discovered a kind of black mineral called graphite. Like lead, graphite could leave marks on paper, and the marks it left were much darker than lead, thus, people called graphite \"black lead\". Shepherds in the Borrowdale region commonly used graphite to mark seals on the bodies of sheep. Later, people carved lead into little strips, using them for writing and drawing. After long, the English king George the Second brought Borrowdale graphite ore back to the imperial household for the royal family\'s particular use.   \n\nHowever, graphite strips also had their weak point: they dirty the hands, and they break easily. In 1761, German chemist Faber mixed graphite powder together with sulfer, pine resin and other things, and manufactured them as strips, which was much tougher than simple graphite, and didn\'t dirty the hands as easily. At the end of the 18th century, only England and Germany were capable of producing pencils.    \n\nLater, France discovered [deposits of] graphite ore in their earth, but the ore\'s quality wasn\'t high, and the quantities weren\'t great. French Scientist Conte mixed the ore with clay, fired it in a kiln, making a more easy to use and durable pencil wick. The amount of clay mixed with the graphite wasn\'t always the same, and so the hardness of the lead [wick] also changed accordingly. We often see \"B\" and \"HB\" letters marked out on the head of the pencil, indicating hardness and light or darkness of color. \"B\" indicates color, H indicates hardness, therefore, \"HB\" indicates that hardness and darkness  of the lead are both moderate, and are suitable for writing.   \n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'History: The History of the Pencil', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1466-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 20:01:28', '2020-04-29 00:01:28', '', 1466, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/1466-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2115, 1, '2020-04-28 20:01:34', '2020-04-29 00:01:34', '[two_third]\r\nWoo, I\'m on a roll this week. I can\'t vouch for the accuracy of the history here, not being a pencil history expert myself, but this read has a lot of good words for larnin\'. I\'d put this in the lower-advanced spectrum, as the sentence structure isn\'t over-the-top literary, but there are a ton of specialized words and proper nouns. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/20140205-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Learn to Read Mandarin Chinese - Simplified Character Learning Short Stories\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />The tone is very encyclopedic, so, rather serious and not a lot of fun. \r\n\r\nA couple of proper names for you: \r\n<strong>巴罗代尔</strong> - Borrowdale, England\r\n<strong>乔治二世</strong> - George the Second (English King)\r\n<strong>法伯</strong> - Eberhard Faber, a German chemist\r\n<strong>孔德</strong> - Nicolas-Jacques Conté, French scientist\r\n\r\nSource: <a href=\"http://www.gushi365.com/info/9763.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">http://www.gushi365.com/info/9763.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简陋 - [pinyin]jian3 lou4[/pinyin] - Simple and crude\r\n名副其实 - [pinyin]ming2 fu4 qi2 shi2[/pinyin] - Not in name only, but also in reality\r\n诞生 - [pinyin]dan4 sheng1[/pinyin] - To be born\r\n矿物 - [pinyin]kuang4 wu4[/pinyin] - Mineral\r\n皇室- [pinyin]huang2 shi4[/pinyin] - Imperial household\r\n缺点 - [pinyin]que1 dian3[/pinyin] - Weak point, drawback\r\n硫磺 - [pinyin]liu2 huang2[/pinyin] - Sulfer\r\n松香 - [pinyin]song1 xiang1[/pinyin] - Pine resin\r\n掺入 - [pinyin]chan1 ru4[/pinyin] - To mix into\r\n芯 - [pinyin]xin4 / xin1[/pinyin] - Wick / core\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铅笔的历史非常悠久，它起源于2000多年前的古罗马时期。那时的铅笔很<strong>简陋</strong>，只不过是金属套里夹着的一根铅棒，甚至是铅块，倒真是<strong>名副其实</strong>的“铅”笔。而我们今天使用的铅笔是用石墨和黏土制成的，里面并不含铅。\r\n\r\n现代铅笔<strong>诞生</strong>于16世纪的英国。1564年，有人在巴罗代尔发现了一种名叫石墨的黑色<strong>矿物</strong>。石墨能像铅一样在纸上留下痕迹，而且比铅的痕迹要黑得多，因此，人们称石墨为“黑铅”。巴罗代尔一带的牧羊人常用石墨在羊身上做记号。后来，人们又将石墨块切成小条，用于写字、绘画。不久，英王乔治二世将巴罗代尔石墨矿收归<strong>皇室</strong>所有，把它定为皇家的专用品。\r\n\r\n不过，石墨条也有它的<strong>缺点</strong>：容易弄脏手，还容易折断。1761年，德国化学家法伯用石墨粉同<strong>硫磺</strong>、<strong>松香</strong>等混合起来，制成条，这比纯石墨条的韧性大得多，也不大容易弄脏手。18世纪末时，只有英、德两国能够生产铅笔。\r\n\r\n后来，法国也在自己的国土上找到了石墨矿，但矿的质量不高，储量也少。法国科学家孔德便在石墨中<strong>掺入</strong>黏土，放进窑里烧制，制成了既好用又耐用的铅笔<strong>芯</strong>。石墨中掺入的黏土的比例不同，铅笔芯的硬度也就不同。我们常看到铅笔头上标着B、HB一类的字母，表示的就是铅笔芯的硬度和颜色深浅。B表示黑度，H表示硬度，所以，HB就是软硬和颜色深浅都适中的铅笔芯，适合写字。 \r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nThe history of the pencil is very long, dating back 2000 years to ancient Roman times. The pencils of that time were very crude, being nothing more than a gold cover cripping a lead stick, or even a lead block, and it really was a \"lead\" pen (not just in name only). Whereas the pencils we use toady are manufactured from graphite and clay, the inside doesn\'t really contain lead.  \r\n\r\nModern pencils were born in 16th Century England. In 1564, people in Borrowdale discovered a kind of black mineral called graphite. Like lead, graphite could leave marks on paper, and the marks it left were much darker than lead, thus, people called graphite \"black lead\". Shepherds in the Borrowdale region commonly used graphite to mark seals on the bodies of sheep. Later, people carved lead into little strips, using them for writing and drawing. After long, the English king George the Second brought Borrowdale graphite ore back to the imperial household for the royal family\'s particular use.   \r\n\r\nHowever, graphite strips also had their weak point: they dirty the hands, and they break easily. In 1761, German chemist Faber mixed graphite powder together with sulfer, pine resin and other things, and manufactured them as strips, which was much tougher than simple graphite, and didn\'t dirty the hands as easily. At the end of the 18th century, only England and Germany were capable of producing pencils.    \r\n\r\nLater, France discovered [deposits of] graphite ore in their earth, but the ore\'s quality wasn\'t high, and the quantities weren\'t great. French Scientist Conte mixed the ore with clay, fired it in a kiln, making a more easy to use and durable pencil wick. The amount of clay mixed with the graphite wasn\'t always the same, and so the hardness of the lead [wick] also changed accordingly. We often see \"B\" and \"HB\" letters marked out on the head of the pencil, indicating hardness and light or darkness of color. \"B\" indicates color, H indicates hardness, therefore, \"HB\" indicates that hardness and darkness  of the lead are both moderate, and are suitable for writing.   \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'History: The History of the Pencil', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1466-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 20:01:34', '2020-04-29 00:01:34', '', 1466, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/1466-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(2116, 1, '2020-04-28 20:01:53', '2020-04-29 00:01:53', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nBeen a couple of months since I tossed a post out there - the latter half of 2013 was a bit of a shake-up, so please forgive the lapse. In other news, I can\'t get my favorite Chinese story website, tom61.com, to load anymore, #sadface. Fingers crossed that\'s a temporary glitch, but if not, I\'ll mourn the loss of a fantastic learner\'s website. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/20140204-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Practice Chinese Simplified Essays Stories for Beginners\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />In the meantime, I\'ve pulled something off <a href=\"http://gushi365.com\">gushi365.com</a>. \r\n\r\nThe content of <a href=\"http://www.gushi365.com/info/9851.html\">this story</a> is for children, but the language is not beginner, and neither is the sentence structure - this is an intermediate read for sure. I say that because it feels very \"fairy-tale\" language-y, in the sense that sentences are formed in a more literary way, rather than in a chatty way, and there are some uncommonly-heard words, like \"footprint\" (脚印), etc. The tone of the story, on the other hand, is very tra-la-la, winter sparkly glitter magic.\r\n\r\nTwo quick notes on phrases here: 传来了 [pinyin]chuan4 lai2[/pinyin] is an intermediate phrase that can be a little hard to understand, but it is used in reference to things we hear that come to us from afar. This may include voices (like hearing someone\'s voice from outside your house), or noises, or smells, or a piece of news. You can use this to talk about sensations and things that come to you from no particular person or direction - from \"afar\" or \"all around\". \r\n\r\n掏出 [pinyin]tao1 chu1[/pinyin]: this means to fish something out of something else. For example, to fish your phone out of your pocket, or to fish your sweatshirt out of your backpack. \r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>小熊的美梦</h4>\r\n下雪啦，下雪啦！一片片雪花像<strong>蒲公英</strong>一样在空中<strong>翩翩起舞</strong>，不一会儿，大地就穿上了一件洁白的衣裳。\r\n\r\n可爱的小熊不小心<strong>扭到脚了</strong>，只得孤零零地躺在小床上。忽然，从窗外<strong>传来了</strong>欢快的歌声。小熊朝窗外看去，原来是小老鼠和小白兔在雪地里<strong>载歌载舞</strong>呢！雪地上还留下了他们可爱的小脚印。小熊心里真羡慕呀！可是，他有什么办法呢？小熊深深地叹了一口气，<strong>自言自语</strong>：“还是睡一觉吧，<strong>说不定</strong>梦里会出现<strong>奇迹</strong>！”\r\n\r\n小熊果然做了一个好梦。他梦见一位留着长胡子的老爷爷来到了他的小屋里。老爷爷从衣袋里<strong>掏出</strong>一个小瓶子，笑眯眯地喷了喷小熊受伤的脚。小熊马上就<strong>活蹦乱跳</strong>了，快活地在雪地上和小伙伴们玩耍……\r\n\r\n小鸟们的欢声笑语把小熊<strong>吵醒</strong>了，原来这只是一场梦。可是小熊发现自己的手里竟然有一个小瓶子！小熊拿起小瓶子往脚上一喷，受伤的脚马上就好了。这真是一瓶神水啊！从此，小熊再也不怕摔伤了。 \r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nIt\'s snowing, it\'s snowing! Flakes of snow lightly danced like dandelions in the air, and after a while, the earth wore clothes of pure white. \r\n\r\nCute little bear incautiously sprained his ankle, and had to lie in bed all alone. Suddenly, from outside the window came the sound of lighthearted singing. Little bear looked out the window, and [saw that it was] Little Mouse and Little White Rabbit dancing and singing! The snow still held [impressions of] their cute little footprints. Little Bear was truly envious! But what could he do? Little Bear gave a deep sigh, and said aloud to himself: \"Better get some more sleep, and maybe in my dream there will be a miracle!\" \r\n\r\nSure enough, Little bear had a good dream. In his dream, an old man with a long beard came into his room. The old man fished a little bottle out of his pocket, and smilingly sprayed [some liquid from the bottle] on Little Bear\'s wounded foot. Little Bear immediately leaped up and frisked about, playing cheerfully with his [two] buddies on the snowy ground.\r\n\r\nThe happy sounds of the small birds woke Little Bear up, and [found that] actually it was all just a dream. But then he discovered that there was a small bottle in his hand! Little Bear took up the small bottle and sprayed it on his foot, and the wounded foot was immediately better! This really was a bottle of magic water! After that, Little Bear never again feared bumps and bruises. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Children\'s Story: Little Bear\'s Beautiful Dream', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1460-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 20:01:53', '2020-04-29 00:01:53', '', 1460, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/1460-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2117, 1, '2020-04-28 20:02:09', '2020-04-29 00:02:09', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nI love it when I find a longer story that\'s suitable for beginning readers. This one, which is either a tale that reminds us what happens when you try to be something you\'re not, or a tale that reminds us that men should never be allowed to give each other fashion advice, definitely fits the bill. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe first sentence isn\'t super simple, so push through that one if you can, it gets much easier in the following paragraphs. Four points of grammar: \r\n\r\n能有幸请 [pinyin]neng2 you3 xing4 qing3[/pinyin] - A politely formal phrase of invitation \"May have the pleasure of inviting you ...\" or more specifically, \"May I be so lucky as to...\" (have this dance?) (take you on a date?). \r\n\r\n看上去 [pinyin]kan4 shang4 qu4[/pinyin] - To look like. \r\n\r\n你要是再不走开 [pinyin]ni3 yao4 shi4 zai4 bu4 zou3 kai1[/pinyin] - This one might be a little confusing. Let\'s break it down: \r\n\r\n你 - You\r\n要是 - If\r\n再不 - Otherwise / If not\r\n走开 - Go away\r\n\r\nThe full phrase means \"If you don\'t go away....\"\r\n\r\n他会来收拾你的 [pinyin]ta1 hui4 lai2 shou1 shi5 ni3 de5[/pinyin]. In the story, Miss Pig says this to an unwelcome guest. The \"他\" in this case is Mr. Pig. The Beginners often learn the word \"收拾\", meaning \"to tidy up\". Usually, this means exactly what it sounds like, and applies to cleaning up a room or an apartment. In this case, it\'s being used in kind of an action movie way, meaning \"He\'ll come over and <strong>deal with</strong> you!\" or \"He\'ll come <strong>straighten you out</strong>!\". So Miss Pig is threatening the unwelcome guest, telling him that Mr. Pig will come over and beat him up. \r\n\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>猪先生去野餐</h4>\r\n今天，真是个<strong>野餐</strong>的好日子。 猪先生精心打扮着自己，他<strong>期待</strong>着猪小姐能与他一起去野餐。\r\n\r\n“呵呵，真希望她会说‘我愿意’啊。 嗯，我再摘朵花送给她，一定能够打<strong>动她</strong>！”\r\n\r\n路上，猪先生<strong>遇到</strong>了他的朋友狐狸。狐狸听说了野餐的事，就说：“让我给你一个建议，把我美丽的尾巴<strong>借</strong>去吧。瞧，你<strong>看上去</strong>有多聪明啊，猪小姐肯定会喜欢的。” 猪先生很满意。\r\n\r\n<strong>接着</strong>，他又遇到了他的朋友狮子。狮子听说了野餐的事，就说：“让我给你一个建议，把我美丽的头发借去吧。 瞧，你看上去有多<strong>威猛</strong>啊，猪小姐肯定会喜欢的。” 猪先生很满意。\r\n\r\n后来，他又遇到他的朋友斑马。斑马听说了野餐的事，就说：“让我给你一个建议，把我美丽的条纹借去吧。 瞧，你看上去有多<strong>英俊</strong>啊，猪小姐肯定会喜欢的。” 猪先生很满意。他觉得自己从来没有这样英俊过。\r\n\r\n终于来到猪小姐家了，猪先生<strong>激动</strong>地敲了敲门。“能有幸请你一起去野餐吗？”他问。\r\n\r\n猪小姐吓了一大跳：“噢，不行！你是哪儿来的<strong>妖怪</strong>呀？你要是<strong>再不走开</strong>，我就去叫猪先生了，他会来收拾你的！”\r\n\r\n猪先生连忙往回跑。一路上，他把条纹还给了斑马，把头发还给了狮子，把尾巴还给了狐狸。然后，他又赶回到猪小姐的家，再一次摁响了门铃。\r\n\r\n“能有幸请你一起去野餐吗？”他又问。\r\n\r\n“啊呀，猪先生！” 猪小姐叫道，“看到你我真是太高兴啦，我很愿意跟你一起去野餐。刚才来了个<strong>丑八怪</strong>，就站在我的院子里，可把我吓坏啦。”\r\n\r\n一路上，猪小姐把那个丑八怪的故事仔细地讲给了猪先生。她英俊的朋友猪先生，则一直满怀同情地听着。这真是一个去野餐的好日子啊。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nToday, it\'s a great day for a picnic. Mr. Pig dressed himself with care, looking forward to [the possibility of] Miss Pig and himself going on a picnic together.\r\n\r\n\"Heh, I hope she says \'Yes\' [lit: I\'m willing]. Hm, I\'ll also pick some flowers to give her, that will certainly be enough to sway her!\"\r\n\r\nOn the road, Mr. Pig ran into his friend Fox. When fox heard about the picnic, he said: \"Let me give you a suggestion, let me lend you my beautiful tail. See, you look so clever, Miss Pig will certainly like it.\" Mr. Pig was very pleased. \r\n\r\nContinuing on, he ran into his friend Lion. Lion heard about the picnic and said: \"Let me give you a suggestion, borrow my beautiful hair for when you go over there. See, you look so powerful, Miss Pig will certainly like it.\" Mr. Pig was very pleased.  \r\n\r\nAfter a while, he ran into his friend Zebra. Zebra heard about the picnic and said: \"Let me give you a suggestion, I\'ll lend you my beautiful stripes. See, you look so handsome. Miss Pig will certainly like it.\" Mr. Pig was very pleased. He felt that he\'d never before looked so handsome.\r\n\r\nFinally arriving at Miss Pig\'s house, Mr. Pig excitedly knocked on the door. \"Would you do me the honor of going on a picnic with me?\" he asked. \r\n\r\nMiss Pig was terrified: \"Oh, no way! What kind of monster are you? If you don\'t go away, I\'ll go get Mr. Pig, he\'ll straighten you out!\"\r\n\r\nMr. Pig hurriedly ran away. On the road, he gave the stripes back to Zebra, the hair back to Lion, and the tail back to Fox. AFter that, he hurried back to Miss Pig\'s house, and again pressed the doorbell. \r\n\r\n\"Would you do me the honor of having a picnic with me?\" he asked again. \r\n\r\n\"Goodness, Mr. Pig!\" Miss Pig cried out. \"I\'m so happy to see you, I\'d love to go on a picnic with you. An ugly wretch just came by here, standing in my garden, and scared me so.\" \r\n\r\nOn the way, Miss Pig told Mr. Pig the story of the \'ugly wretch\' in great detail. Her handsome friend Mr. Pig, though, listened with great sympathy. It really was a great day for a picnic.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Children\'s Story: Mr. Pig\'s Picnic', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1450-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 20:02:09', '2020-04-29 00:02:09', '', 1450, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/1450-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2118, 1, '2020-04-28 20:02:36', '2020-04-29 00:02:36', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nWelp, I swore I would never do this again but I found this (and several other short stories) in Hainan Airlines\' in-flight magazine (I\'m in Prague!) and couldn\'t resist typing it up (as opposed to copy-pasting from an online source). I\'ve checked and checked for typos, but I\'m not always the best at that, so if you run across one, please comment.\r\n\r\nThis is one of those reads where the sentence structure is basic and in parts very repetitive, but quite a few advanced words are used - \"advanced\" only because they\'re not used often in casual conversation, like parts of an animal (hooves, horns, etc.) So beginners, you can give this a go if you\'re feeling very patient but you\'ll be looking up every other word in some paragraphs even though you will be able to predict generally what the next few sentences are about.<!--more-->\r\n\r\nI wanted to post a quick comment about the words 一箭一般, because this looks like a typical four-character idiom, but it\'s actually two separate words, 一箭 (an arrow) and 一般 (like, as if). Together this means \"like an arrow\", or in context of this sentence \"to take off (running) like a shot\". \r\n\r\nThere\'s also the phrase 从草丛中闪出. We\'re talking here about a dog that is \"[darting] out in a flash\" (闪出) \"from the middle of a cluster of grasses\" (从草丛中). We can imagine a dog charging out of a field of tall grass and into a clearing. \r\n\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>沉默的狗</h4>\r\n傍晚，一只羊独自在<strong>山坡</strong>上玩，突然从树木中<strong>窜</strong>出一只狼来，要吃羊，羊跳起来，拼命用角<strong>抵抗</strong>，并大声地向朋友喊救命。\r\n\r\n牛在树丛中向这个地方望了一眼，发现是狼，跑走了。\r\n\r\n马低头一看，发现是狼，一<strong>溜烟</strong>跑了。\r\n\r\n驴停下脚步，发现是狼，悄悄溜下山坡。\r\n\r\n猪经过这里，发现是狼，冲下山坡。\r\n\r\n兔子一听，更是<strong>一箭一般</strong>离去。\r\n\r\n山下的狗听见羊的呼喊，急忙<strong>奔</strong>上坡来，<strong>从草丛中闪出</strong>，一下咬住了狼的脖子，狼疼得直叫唤, 趁够<strong>换气</strong>时，<strong>怆惶</strong>挑走了。\r\n\r\n回到家，朋友都来了，\r\n牛说：你怎么不告诉我？我的角可以<strong>剜出</strong>狼的肠子。\r\n马说：你怎么不告诉我？我的<strong>蹄子</strong>能踢碎狼的脑袋。\r\n驴说：你怎么不告诉我？我一声吼叫，吓破狼的胆。\r\n猪说：你怎么不告诉我？ 我用嘴<strong>一拱</strong>，就让它摔下山去。\r\n兔子说：你怎么不告诉我？ 我跑得快，可以传信呀。\r\n\r\n在这闹嚷嚷的一群中，<strong>唯独</strong>没有狗。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nOne nightfall, a sheep was playing alone on the mountainside, when suddenly a wolf emerged from among the trees, wanting to eat the sheep, so the sheep jumped up, using his horns to defend himself with all his might, and loudly called out for his friends to save his life.\r\n\r\nThe bull looked over from among a cluster of trees, saw there was a wolf, and ran away.\r\n\r\nThe horse lowered its head and looked, discovered there was a wolf, and slipped away in a puff of smoke.\r\n\r\nThe mule stopped walking for a moment, discovered there was a wolf, and quietly slipped down the mountain.\r\n\r\nThe pig passed through there, found out there was a wolf, and rushed down the mountainside.\r\n\r\nThe rabbit listened a moment, then took off like a shot.\r\n\r\nFrom the bottom of the mountain, the dog heard the sheep\'s cry, and ran quickly up the mountainside, came out of the grass in a flash, and in a moment had grabbed the wolf\'s neck in his teeth, the wolf cried out in pain, and taking advantage of the dog\'s intake of breath, ran away full of sorrow and fear.\r\n\r\n[When the sheep] returned home, his friends all came over.\r\n\r\nThe bull said: Why didn\'t you tell me? My horns could have gouged out the wolf\'s intestines.\r\nThe horse said: Why didn\'t you tell me? My hooves could have kicked the wolf\'s skull apart.\r\nDonkey said: Why didn\'t you tell me? I could have brayed and startled the wolf so as to break his courage. \r\nPig said: Why didn\'t you tell me? I could nuzzle him with my snout, and make him fall down the mountain.\r\nRabbit said: Why didn\'t you tell me? I run fast, I could have spread the word.\r\nIn this noisy group, the only one who wasn\'t present was the dog.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Fable: The Silent Dog', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1432-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 20:02:36', '2020-04-29 00:02:36', '', 1432, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/1432-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2119, 1, '2020-04-28 20:02:42', '2020-04-29 00:02:42', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nEeps - bad medicine! In this story, the mischievous Monkey - always a trickster figure in Chinese stories - pulls the wool over Little Bear\'s eyes. If Little Bear was American, he\'d sue the hospital for negligence and rake in millions of baskets of peaches. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nThough the majority of this text is very basic reading, there are three phrases which jump out at me as being difficult, or words I couldn\'t find in basic dictionaries. \r\n\r\n理所应当 - [pinyin]li3 suo3 ying1 dang1[/pinyin] This phrase means to feel something is well-deserved, that something has been earned through hard work, usually when it actually hasn\'t. So I guess that roughly translates to \'taking a reward for granted\'? In this story, Monkey feels that his payment is well-earned or well-deserved. But as readers, we know Monkey doesn\'t deserve anything at all - he\'s taking that payment for granted when he didn\'t really earn it. Consider this phrase in another context:\r\n\r\n别人帮助你那是义气，你不能当作是理所应当的。 - \"When other people help you it\'s in the spirit of self-sacrifice, you shouldn\'t consider this something you deserve as a matter of course.\"  \r\n\r\n甜头 - Though this looks like two words, the first meaning \"sweet\" and the second meaning \"head\" or \"brain\", it\'s actually a colloquialism that just means \"sweet flavor\" or \"pleasant taste\".  \r\n\r\n贪念 - These two characters also seem separate, they don\'t appear together in my dictionary, but they\'re actually one word. According to <a href=\"http://baike.baidu.com/view/3187101.htm\">Baidu Bai Ke</a>, the Baidu dictionary (a Chinese-language resource for word meanings and derivations), 贪念 [pinyin]tan1 nian4[/pinyin] just means \"greedy\" (I presume the \"念\" probably adds the meaning \"idea\" or \"thoughts\" here, so 贪念 could be read as \"greedy thoughts\"). \r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.tom61.com/ertongwenxue/yuyangushi/2012-10-06/26930.html\">You can read the original here.</a> \r\n\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>医生与猴子</h4>\r\n猴子去医院<strong>玩耍</strong>,进了大夫的房间。正好大夫不在,衣服也落在了房间内。\r\n\r\n猴子觉得好玩,就穿上了大夫的衣服,也就是我们常见的那种<strong>白大褂子</strong>。这时候有一只小熊来医院<strong>看病</strong>。小熊是第一次上医院,并不了解医院的情况。它所知道的,就是大夫们都穿着白大褂子。\r\n\r\n小熊提着一篮桃子(这是它准备送给大夫的<strong>酬金</strong>)来到医院,正好走进猴子所在的房间。小熊不认识猴子,但是它认识那件白大褂子,于是就请猴子给它看病。\r\n\r\n猴子本来只是玩耍,并不会看病,但是它看到小熊的篮子后,就起了<strong>贪念</strong>。于是猴子便<strong>装模作样</strong>地给小熊看了病,并且<strong>理所应当地</strong>收下了那篮桃子。至于小熊的病是否给猴子看好了,这一点<strong>不得而知</strong>。\r\n\r\n但是猴子却尝到了甜头,以后常常<strong>潜入</strong>医院,趁大夫不在的时候,穿上大夫的衣服,给病人看病。到后来,猴子<strong>干脆</strong>给自己也做了一身那样的白大褂子。\r\n\r\n唉!我们不知道有多少人是在猴子那里看的病啊!\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nMonkey went to the hospital on a lark, and entered the doctor\'s room. At that moment, the doctor wasn\'t in, and he\'d left his [doctor\'s] clothes in the room.\r\n\r\nMonkey thought this would be fun, so he put on the doctor\'s clothes, that white lab coat we see so often. Just then a little bear came to the hospital to see the doctor. This was the little bear\'s first time at the hospital, and he didn\'t know what hospitals were like [lit: didn\'t know the hospital situation]. All he knew was that doctors wear white lab coats. \r\n\r\nThe little bear had shown up at the hospital carrying a basket of peaches (this was the payment he had prepared to give to the doctor), and he happened to walk into the room where Monkey was. Little Bear didn\'t know Monkey, but he recognized the white lab coat, so he asked Monkey to examine him.\r\n\r\nMonkey originally just [intended to] have a bit of fun, but when he saw Little Bear\'s basket, he coveted it fiercely. So Monkey put on a big show of examining Little Bear, and accepted his well-earned basket of peaches. As to whether or not Monkey actually cured Little Bear, we will never know. \r\n\r\nHowever, after Monkey tasted that sweetness, he often stole into the hospital, taking advantage of the doctor\'s absence, and examined patients. Later, Monkey simply made himself one of those kind of white lab coats. \r\n\r\nAi! We don\'t know how many people were examined by Monkey!\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Children\'s Story: The Doctor and the Monkey', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1401-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 20:02:42', '2020-04-29 00:02:42', '', 1401, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/1401-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2120, 1, '2020-04-28 20:02:51', '2020-04-29 00:02:51', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn this essay, a child desperately (and very angrily) pleads their father not to smoke. Though this is classified as \"Intermediate\", beginners should definitely try this read, leaning heavily on the hover word-list. The difficult parts are the mid-level turns of phrase, which are all explained below. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nCouple of grammar points. First of all: 我本想让您别抽烟. Most of this sentence is quite simple, but the addition of the character 本 can be puzzling, especially since 本 has many meanings. In this case, the word 本 means \"originally\", as in \"I originally thought to let you not smoke.\" Or, in better English, \"My original intention was that this would make you stop smoking.\" \r\n\r\nAnother point: When the father learns that his cigarettes are gone, he 东翻西找. This phrase is actually a mixture of two words: 东西 (east and west / left and right / in all directions) and 翻找 (to rummage through things while searching, turn things over). We\'ve seen this kind of thing before in previous posts, as with the phrase \"仰起头来\" in the post <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/01/02/little-dog-wears-shoes/\">Little Dog Wears Shoes</a>. If you let the mental picture kind of wash over you, you get an image of the father turning things over looking for his cigarettes.\r\n\r\nA word of interest: 大烟枪. Literally, this word means \"big opium pipe\" or in more contemporary times can actually mean \"big bong\". Colloquially in reference to a person, this means \"someone who smokes a lot\", a \"heavy smoker\". \r\n\r\nOriginal is <a href=\"http://www.tom61.com/youxiuzuowen/xiaoxueyinianjizuowen/2013-04-15/1365990844246971.html\">here</a>. \r\n\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>爸爸请您别抽烟了</h4>\r\n爸爸，请您别<strong>抽烟</strong>了！我还清楚地记得，那天，我<strong>悄悄</strong>地把您的烟盒<strong>偷走</strong>，又偷偷地扔进<strong>垃圾桶</strong>里，我本想让您别抽烟。可谁知，您回来后，发现烟盒不见了，就东翻西找。当我告诉您，烟盒是我扔的，您十分生气，还<strong>狠</strong>狠的骂了一句话，你这个坏孩子！这句话，让当时的我感到<strong>莫大</strong>的痛苦。我把自己反锁在房间内，当时心里想着，你这个大烟枪！抽吧，抽吧，抽到死了我也不<strong>理</strong>你。\r\n\r\n爸爸，请您别抽烟了！我常常发现您上班时，烟盒的烟还是满满的，可下班回来时，烟盒里的香烟只剩下几根了。每当看见您身旁云雾缭绕，我的鼻子感觉酸酸的。我担心您的<strong>肺</strong>已被<strong>尼古丁</strong>熏得<strong>千疮百孔</strong>。\r\n\r\n爸爸请您别抽烟了！现在您每天都在咳嗽，每天都在<strong>吐痰</strong>。我担心您会离我们而去。那时<strong>丢下</strong>我们，那该怎么办呀。\r\n\r\n爸爸，为了您的健康，为了我们，请您别抽烟了!\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nPapa, please don\'t smoke! I still remember clearly, that day, I quietly stole your box of cigarettes, and secretly threw them in the trash can, because I was thinking that would stop you from smoking. But who knew, when you returned, and you found out your cigarettes were gone, you rummaged through everything looking for them. When I told you, that it was me who threw them away, you were quite angry, and you ruthlessly scolded me, <em>You bad child</em>! That sentence made me [lit: \'the me of that time\'] feel great pain. I locked myself in my room, and at that time in my heart I thought, You big opium pipe! [Then go ahead and] smoke, smoke, smoke until you die and I won\'t care [lit: I won\'t pay any attention to you].\r\n\r\nPapa, please don\'t smoke! I always find that when you go to work, your box of cigarettes is still full of cigarettes, but when you get off work and come back, there are only a few cigarettes left in the box. Every time I see you you\'re surrounded by a curling cloud [of smoke], there\'s a sour smell in my nose. I worry that your lungs have already been riddled with gaping wounds by the nicotine. \r\n\r\nPapa, please don\'t smoke! You cough every day, and every day you expectorate. I worry that you will leave us. When you abandon us, then what will we do? \r\n\r\nPapa, for your health, and for us, please don\'t smoke! \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Essay: Papa, Please Don\'t Smoke!', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1385-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 20:02:51', '2020-04-29 00:02:51', '', 1385, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/1385-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2123, 1, '2020-04-29 09:25:27', '2020-04-29 13:25:27', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThis story will be a reasonably comfortable read at around HSK 4, and a do-able read at HSK 3 with a bit of effort.  \r\n\r\nhttps://www.sohu.com/a/385988976_751590\r\n\r\nAs with most of these beginner pieces, a few advanced phrases have snuck in, so let\'s take a look at a couple of those: \r\n小得不能再小的声音\r\n不知所措\r\n硬着头皮\r\n腿发软\r\n以为\r\namazon link:\r\nhttps://www.amazon.com/s?k=9787540585075&ref=nb_sb_noss\r\n</ul>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《西红柿女孩》</h4>\r\n\r\n这个小姑娘叫米乐。她非常，非常，非常害羞。只要有人叫她的名字，她就会变得满脸通红！可怜的米乐！\r\n\r\n在学校的操场上，同学们最喜欢的游戏，就是米乐的脸变颜色。米乐的脸会从淡粉色变成玫瑰红。从“米乐”变成“西红柿”。\r\n\r\n上课的时候，如果老师叫到她的名字，她会马上心跳加速，呼吸困难。虽然她明明知道答案，但是答案却总是躲在脑子里，不肯出来。没有一个人听到过米乐小得不能再小的声音。从来没有！\r\n\r\n在面包店的阿姨面前（那是常常送糖给她的阿姨哦），米乐也说不出一个字。领居家的小姑娘来米乐家玩，米乐也害羞得不知所措。\r\n\r\n可怜的米乐，她从来不敢和同学们一起玩跳房子，同学们也不愿意和米乐一起玩。\r\n\r\n这些还不算什么。最最可怕、最最悲惨、最最让人担心的，这辈子最让米乐害怕的，是明天。因为明天她要在全班同学面前背诗！\r\n\r\n米乐度过了一个可怕的晚上。她在床上翻来覆去，先是怎么也睡不着，接着又做了许多的噩梦。\r\n\r\n可是第二天，米乐不得不硬着头皮去上学......\r\n\r\n“西红柿！”\r\n\r\n“米乐，该你了！”\r\n\r\n米乐的腿发软、心乱跳，她恨不得自己能马上消失。\r\n\r\n“她的脸好红呀！”\r\n\r\n“西红柿！”\r\n\r\n老师说，“怎么这么吵！你们以为这里是动物园吗！是菜市场吗！你们这些捣蛋鬼，不觉得难为情吗？她叫米乐。不叫西红柿！” \r\n\r\n米乐这才发现同学们的脸和她的一样红！突然，米乐张开了嘴。\r\n\r\n“小鸟\r\n一只小鸟，\r\n并不美丽，\r\n所有的动物都嘲笑它。\r\n它的颜色很奇怪，\r\n羽毛也不柔软。\r\n一天早上，在清晨的阳光里，\r\n小鸟唱起了动听的歌，\r\n所有的动物都伸长了耳朵，\r\n原来在并不耀眼的羽毛下，\r\n藏着最美丽的歌喉！”\r\n\r\n完。\r\n\r\n“太棒了！”\r\n\r\n“真好！”\r\n\r\n“真了不起！”\r\n\r\n从那天起，米乐有一个新外号，“米乐小百灵”。\r\n\r\n<h6>Buy on Amazon:</h6>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThis little girl is named Mile. She is very, very, very shy. One only needs to call her name, and her whole face will turn red! Poor Mile!\r\n\r\nOn the school playground, her classmates\' favorite game, is to make Mile\'s face change color. Mile\'s face will change from light pink to rose red. From \"Mile\" she becomes \"Tomato\". \r\n\r\nDuring classtime, if the teacher calls her name, her heartbeat immediately speeds up, and it\'s difficult to breathe. Although she clearly knows the answer, the answer always hides in her brain, unwilling to come out. Not one person has ever heard Mile\'s small [so small it couldn\'t be smaller] voice. Never! \r\n\r\nIn front of the lady [lit: auntie] at the bakery (that\'s the lady that always gives her some candy), Mile still can\'t speak a word. The neighbor\'s little girl came to Mila\'s house to play, and Mile was so shy she was at her wit\'s end. \r\n\r\nPoor Mile, she had never dared to play hopscotch with her classmates, and her classmates also weren\'t willing to play with her. \r\n\r\nBut all this was nothing. Most most frightening of all, most most miserable, most most worrisome, was tomorrow. Because tomorrow she had to read aloud in front of the whole class! \r\n\r\nMile spent the whole night terrified. She tossed and turned on her bed, first she should sleep, and then she had many nightmares. \r\n\r\nBut on the second day, Mile had to brace herself and go to school... \r\n\r\n\"Tomato!\"\r\n\r\n\"Mile, it\'s your turn!\"\r\n\r\nMile\'s legs went soft, her heart beat madly, and she wished she could immediately disappear. \r\n\r\n\"Her face is so red!\" \r\n\r\n\"Tomato!\" \r\n\r\nThe teacher said, \"How are you all this noisy? Do you think this is a zoo?! That it\'s a vegetable market? You troublemakers, aren\'t you ashamed? Her name is Mile. Not Tomato!\"  \r\n\r\nAt this time, Mile discovered all her classmate\'s faces were as red as hers! Suddenly, Mile opened her mouth. \r\n\r\n“Little bird,\r\nOne little bird,\r\nNot at all pretty, \r\nAll the animals made fun of it.\r\nIt\'s color was very strange,\r\nAnd its feathers were not soft.\r\nOne morning, in the light of the dawn,\r\nThe little bird sang a pleasant song,\r\nAll the animals perked up their ears,\r\nFor it turned out that under unremarkable feathers,\r\nThere was hidden the most beautiful song!\"\r\n\r\nShe finished.\r\n\r\n\"So great!\"\r\n\r\n\"Well done!\" \r\n\r\n\"Really impressive!\" \r\n\r\nFrom that day on, Mile had a new nickname, \"Mile the Little Lark\". \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Children\'s Stories: 《西红柿女孩》Tomato Girl', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2065-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-29 09:25:27', '2020-04-29 13:25:27', '', 2065, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/29/2065-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2462, 1, '2020-05-31 00:38:25', '2020-05-31 04:38:25', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n<strong>Public service announcement:</strong> you may or may not have heard that the <a href=\"https://www.thebeijinger.com/blog/2020/05/25/hsk-to-be-overhauled-first-time-in-11-years\">HSK system is about to get a major overhaul</a> for the first time in a decade. There will now be 9 HSK levels instead of 6, so my half-assed grading system on this site is about to become inaccurate. But the details aren\'t totally clear yet, so guess I\'ll be sticking with this until we know more.\r\n\r\nAnyway, in this story, a gentleman named Buzi (卜子 - [pinyin]bu3 zi[/pinyin]) asks his wife (卜妻 - [pinyin]bu3 qi1[/pinyin]) to make him a new pair of pants (裤子 - [pinyin]ku4 zi[/pinyin]), but he doesn\'t give her very clear instructions. \r\n \r\n<a href=\"http://www.rensheng5.com/xiaogushi/id-6042.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Source here</a>.\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nFirst, a note on the use of 为 in the title 《卜妻为裤》. 为 has so many meanings in Chinese, in this case the definition used is \"to make\". \r\n\r\nA couple key words that will inform your understanding of the story:\r\n\r\n<strong>讲究</strong> [pinyin]jiang3 jiu[/pinyin] - You may have learned this one already, but if you don\'t know it, it\'s crucial to understanding the plot. 讲究 means to be meticulous or fastidious about something. The phrased used here is 不讲究穿着 - \"to not be fastidious about what one is wearing\". \r\n\r\n<strong>破烂</strong> [pinyin]po4 lan4[/pinyin] - This means ragged, ripped or torn. 破, by itself, usually means \"broken\", in this story, it is used to mean \"tattered\".\r\n\r\n<strong>照</strong> [pinyin]zhao4[/pinyin] - We usually first learn this character in the word 照片, \"photograph\", and 照 is also present in a lot of words that have to do with light, like 照亮 [pinyin]zhao4 liang4[/pinyin], to illuminate or shine upon. But that is not the definition of 照 being used here. In this case, 照 is short for 按照 [pinyin]an4 zhao4[/pinyin], to be based on, or 仿照 [pinyin]fang3 zhao4[/pinyin], to imitate or follow.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《卜妻为裤》</h4>\r\n从前，住着一个名叫<span class=\"highlightText\">卜子</span>的人。\r\n\r\n他平时很不<span class=\"highlightText\">讲究</span>穿着，经常是穿着一身<span class=\"highlightText\">破烂</span>的衣服就出去了。\r\n\r\n有一天，他还是和平时一样穿着一条又脏又破的裤子出去了，走到街上，很多人都在看他的破裤子，他自己觉得很难堪，就买一块布头，回到家叫妻子给他做一条新裤子。\r\n\r\n<span class=\"highlightText\">卜妻</span>量量尺寸，问他：“这条裤子做成什么式样啊?”\r\n\r\n卜子随口回答：“<span class=\"highlightText\">照</span>老样子做吧！”\r\n\r\n妻子以为丈夫喜欢那种又脏又破衣服的款式，就想：他是不是觉得穿这种裤子很舒服，而且这一条裤子不够穿，所以叫我再做一条？\r\n\r\n卜妻就认认真真地<span class=\"highlightText\">仿照</span>老裤子的模样，这里戳几个破洞，那里抹一摊油，弄得皱皱巴巴、破破烂烂的。花费了不少工夫，总算完成了。\r\n\r\n她把裤子放到卜子面前，得意地说：“满意吧?同老裤子一样的样式。”\r\n\r\n说话一定要说清楚，尤其是大事情。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nLong ago, there lived a man named Buzi. \r\n\r\nHe typically wasn\'t meticulous about what he wore, and often went out wearing ragged clothes.\r\n\r\nOne day, same as usual he went out wearing a pair of dirty, torn pants, but when he walked onto the street, many people were looking at his torn pants, and he felt quite embarrassed, so be bought a piece of cloth, and went back home to ask his wife to make him a new pair of pants.\r\n\r\nBuzi\'s wife took measurements, asking him: \"In what kind of style should the pants be made?\" \r\n\r\nBuzi casually answered, \"Base them on the old style!\"\r\n\r\n[His] wife thought her husband like that kind of dirty, tattered style, so she thought: Does he feel that wearing this kind of pants is comfortable, and feel that one pair isn\'t enough, so he asked me to make another? \r\n\r\nBuzi\'s wife diligently followed the old style, poking a few holes here, smearing some oil there, making them wrinkled and tattered. [After] expending no small amount of effort, they were finally done. \r\n\r\nShe put the pants in front of Buzi, and pleased with herself said: \"Satisfied? The same style as your old pants.\"\r\n\r\nWhen speaking you must speak clearly, especially in important matters. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Short story: 《卜妻为裤》Buzi\'s wife makes a pair of pants', 'A gentleman named Buzi (卜子 - [pinyin]bu zi[/pinyin]) asks his wife (卜妻 - [pinyin]bu qi[/pinyin]) to make him a new pair of pants (裤子 - [pinyin]bu zi[/pinyin]), but he doesn\'t give her very clear instructions. HSK 3-4. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2443-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-31 00:38:25', '2020-05-31 04:38:25', '', 2443, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/31/2443-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2461, 1, '2020-05-31 00:37:07', '2020-05-31 04:37:07', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n<strong>Public service announcement:</strong> you may or may not have heard that the <a href=\"https://www.thebeijinger.com/blog/2020/05/25/hsk-to-be-overhauled-first-time-in-11-years\">HSK system is about to get a major overhaul</a> for the first time in a decade. There will now be 9 HSK levels instead of 6, so my half-assed grading system on this site is about to become inaccurate. But the details aren\'t totally clear yet, so guess I\'ll be sticking with this until we know more.\r\n\r\nAnyway, in this story, a gentleman named Buzi (卜子 - [pinyin]bu3 zi[/pinyin]) asks his wife (卜妻 - [pinyin]bu3 qi1[/pinyin]) to make him a new pair of pants (裤子 - [pinyin]ku4 zi[/pinyin]), but he doesn\'t give her very clear instructions. \r\n \r\n<a href=\"http://www.rensheng5.com/xiaogushi/id-6042.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Source here</span>\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nFirst, a note on the use of 为 in the title 《卜妻为裤》. 为 has so many meanings in Chinese, in this case the definition used is \"to make\". \r\n\r\nA couple key words that will inform your understanding of the story:\r\n\r\n<strong>讲究</strong> [pinyin]jiang3 jiu[/pinyin] - You may have learned this one already, but if you don\'t know it, it\'s crucial to understanding the plot. 讲究 means to be meticulous or fastidious about something. The phrased used here is 不讲究穿着 - \"to not be fastidious about what one is wearing\". \r\n\r\n<strong>破烂</strong> [pinyin]po4 lan4[/pinyin] - This means ragged, ripped or torn. 破, by itself, usually means \"broken\", in this story, it is used to mean \"tattered\".\r\n\r\n<strong>照</strong> [pinyin]zhao4[/pinyin] - We usually first learn this character in the word 照片, \"photograph\", and 照 is also present in a lot of words that have to do with light, like 照亮 [pinyin]zhao4 liang4[/pinyin], to illuminate or shine upon. But that is not the definition of 照 being used here. In this case, 照 is short for 按照 [pinyin]an4 zhao4[/pinyin], to be based on, or 仿照 [pinyin]fang3 zhao4[/pinyin], to imitate or follow.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《卜妻为裤》</h4>\r\n从前，住着一个名叫<span class=\"highlightText\">卜子</span>的人。\r\n\r\n他平时很不<span class=\"highlightText\">讲究</span>穿着，经常是穿着一身<span class=\"highlightText\">破烂</span>的衣服就出去了。\r\n\r\n有一天，他还是和平时一样穿着一条又脏又破的裤子出去了，走到街上，很多人都在看他的破裤子，他自己觉得很难堪，就买一块布头，回到家叫妻子给他做一条新裤子。\r\n\r\n<span class=\"highlightText\">卜妻</span>量量尺寸，问他：“这条裤子做成什么式样啊?”\r\n\r\n卜子随口回答：“<span class=\"highlightText\">照</span>老样子做吧！”\r\n\r\n妻子以为丈夫喜欢那种又脏又破衣服的款式，就想：他是不是觉得穿这种裤子很舒服，而且这一条裤子不够穿，所以叫我再做一条？\r\n\r\n卜妻就认认真真地<span class=\"highlightText\">仿照</span>老裤子的模样，这里戳几个破洞，那里抹一摊油，弄得皱皱巴巴、破破烂烂的。花费了不少工夫，总算完成了。\r\n\r\n她把裤子放到卜子面前，得意地说：“满意吧?同老裤子一样的样式。”\r\n\r\n说话一定要说清楚，尤其是大事情。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nLong ago, there lived a man named Buzi. \r\n\r\nHe typically wasn\'t meticulous about what he wore, and often went out wearing ragged clothes.\r\n\r\nOne day, same as usual he went out wearing a pair of dirty, torn pants, but when he walked onto the street, many people were looking at his torn pants, and he felt quite embarrassed, so be bought a piece of cloth, and went back home to ask his wife to make him a new pair of pants.\r\n\r\nBuzi\'s wife took measurements, asking him: \"In what kind of style should the pants be made?\" \r\n\r\nBuzi casually answered, \"Base them on the old style!\"\r\n\r\n[His] wife thought her husband like that kind of dirty, tattered style, so she thought: Does he feel that wearing this kind of pants is comfortable, and feel that one pair isn\'t enough, so he asked me to make another? \r\n\r\nBuzi\'s wife diligently followed the old style, poking a few holes here, smearing some oil there, making them wrinkled and tattered. [After] expending no small amount of effort, they were finally done. \r\n\r\nShe put the pants in front of Buzi, and pleased with herself said: \"Satisfied? The same style as your old pants.\"\r\n\r\nWhen speaking you must speak clearly, especially in important matters. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Short story: 《卜妻为裤》Buzi\'s wife makes a pair of pants', 'A gentleman named Buzi (卜子 - [pinyin]bu zi[/pinyin]) asks his wife (卜妻 - [pinyin]bu qi[/pinyin]) to make him a new pair of pants (裤子 - [pinyin]bu zi[/pinyin]), but he doesn\'t give her very clear instructions. HSK 3-4. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2443-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-31 00:37:07', '2020-05-31 04:37:07', '', 2443, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/31/2443-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2132, 1, '2020-04-29 19:47:06', '2020-04-29 23:47:06', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nPoor little Mile (米乐) is so shy, she never speaks, and her face turns bright red whenever someone speaks to her. This story is upper-beginner, will be a reasonably comfortable read at around HSK 4, and a do-able read at HSK 3 with a bit of effort.  \r\n\r\nSooooo, this is an actual picture book for kids, available in print, from a French author and a Chinese illustrator. I\'m not 100% sure about the copyright on this story. I <a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/385988976_751590\">found it</a> floating all around on dozens of sites on the Chinese internet, but considering lax copyright protection in China, that doesn\'t mean it\'s not stolen. I hope not... but if you like it, I found one print copy of the Chinese version on Amazon, so <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2YkIIDw\">go buy it</a> to read aloud to young readers at home or in the classroom. It\'s better with pictures. If you are the copyright owner, <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/about/\">contact me</a>. \r\n\r\nAnyway, this is a sweet story that also includes a little bit of story-ception. At one point, Mile has to read a story to her class, so you get two beginner stories for the price of one. \r\n\r\nAs with most of these pieces, a few advanced phrases have snuck in, so let\'s take a look at those before we get going:\r\n\r\n<strong>小得不能再小</strong> [pinyin]xiao3 de bu4 neng2 zai4 xiao3 de sheng1 yin1[/pinyin]  - This structure actually just came up in my <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/29/essay-the-ugly-rock-by-jia-pingwa/\">last advanced post</a>, so it\'s pretty commonly used. Let\'s break it down: \r\n\r\n小 - Small \r\n得 - To the point that / to the degree that\r\n不能 - Cannot\r\n再 - Again\r\n小 - Small\r\n\r\nYikes. Hard to piece that together, even though we know the definition of each character. It means \"small to the point that it could not be any smaller\", or in better English, \"so small it could not be smaller\" / \"extremely small\". We can use this structure with many different adjectives. In the advanced post, the phrasing was: 丑得不能再丑, or \"so ugly it couldn\'t be uglier\". \r\n\r\n<strong>不知所措</strong> [pinyin]bu4 zhi1 suo3 cuo4[/pinyin] - To be at one\'s wit\'s end, to not know what to do. \r\n\r\n<strong>硬着头皮</strong> [pinyin]ying4 zhe tou2 pi2[/pinyin] - This one cracks me up. 头皮 is the skin on the top of your head over your skull. 硬, as we know, is usually an adjective which means \"hard\", as in \"a hard surface\". In this case,  硬 is being used as a verb, as in \"to harden\". But, \"to harden the skin over one\'s head\" still doesn\'t make any sense in English. That\'s because in Chinese, hardening one\'s head-skin is used to describe \"bracing oneself to do something scary or difficult\". For example, you\'ve got to 硬头皮 before you walk out on stage to give a performance, or before you have a hard conversation with your significant other, or before you walk into a job interview. 着 is a grammar word indicating something is continually happening. You can\'t just brace yourself for a second. You\'ve got to brace, and then hold onto that courage to go forth and complete whatever task you had to brace yourself for, so 着 shows us that this is a continual state. \r\n\r\n<strong>腿发软</strong> - [pinyin]tui fa1 ruan[/pinyin] Three easy characters that seem to make no sense together. Let\'s look at each:\r\n\r\n腿 - Legs\r\n发 - To emit, to radiate, to send out\r\n软 - Soft\r\n\r\nThe hard part here is the appearance of the character 发. In Chinese, 发 can be used to describe a kind of discomfort that radiates out from some part of the body. For example, after a workout, your muscles can 发酸 [pinyin]fa1 suan1[/pinyin], \"radiate ache\", or in better English \"be sore\". When you\'re sick, you may 发烧 [pinyin]fa1 shao1[/pinyin], \"radiate burn\", or in better English \"have a fever\". If a cut gets infected, it may 发炎 [pinyin]fa1 yan2[/pinyin], \"radiate heat\" or \"become inflamed\". If you\'re terrified, you may 发抖 [pinyin]fa1 dou3[/pinyin], \"radiate twitches\", or \"tremble\". So, all together, 腿发软 is equivalent to the English for \"to go weak in the knees\" or when ones \"legs go soft\" from fear. \r\n\r\n以为 [pinyin]yi3 wei2[/pinyin] - And last but not least, 以为 means \"to think\", but not \"to think\" in the sense of sitting around pondering something, like \"to think up a solution\" or \"to think about a friend\". It means to have the wrong idea about something, or to believe something false, as in, \"Did you really think you could beat <em>me</em>?\" or \"Do you think this is some kind of joke?\" or \"I really thought I turned that paper in already!\" \r\n\r\nAlright, ready? On with the Chinese.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《西红柿女孩》</h4>\r\n\r\n这个小姑娘叫米乐。她非常，非常，非常害羞。只要有人叫她的名字，她就会变得满脸通红！可怜的米乐！\r\n\r\n在学校的操场上，同学们最喜欢的游戏，就是米乐的脸变颜色。米乐的脸会从淡粉色变成玫瑰红。从“米乐”变成“西红柿”。\r\n\r\n上课的时候，如果老师叫到她的名字，她会马上心跳加速，呼吸困难。虽然她明明知道答案，但是答案却总是躲在脑子里，不肯出来。没有一个人听到过米乐<span class=\"highlightText\">小得不能再小</span>的声音。从来没有！\r\n\r\n在面包店的阿姨面前（那是常常送糖给她的阿姨哦），米乐也说不出一个字。领居家的小姑娘来米乐家玩，米乐也害羞得<span class=\"highlightText\">不知所措</span>。\r\n\r\n可怜的米乐，她从来不敢和同学们一起玩跳房子，同学们也不愿意和米乐一起玩。\r\n\r\n这些还不算什么。最最可怕、最最悲惨、最最让人担心的，这辈子最让米乐害怕的，是明天。因为明天她要在全班同学面前背诗！\r\n\r\n米乐度过了一个可怕的晚上。她在床上翻来覆去，先是怎么也睡不着，接着又做了许多的噩梦。\r\n\r\n可是第二天，米乐不得不硬着头皮去上学......\r\n\r\n“西红柿！”\r\n\r\n“米乐，该你了！”\r\n\r\n米乐的<span class=\"highlightText\">腿发软</span>、心乱跳，她恨不得自己能马上消失。\r\n\r\n“她的脸好红呀！”\r\n\r\n“西红柿！”\r\n\r\n老师说，“怎么这么吵！你们<span class=\"highlightText\">以为</span>这里是动物园吗? 是菜市场吗? 你们这些捣蛋鬼，不觉得难为情吗？她叫米乐。不叫西红柿！” \r\n\r\n米乐这才发现同学们的脸和她的一样红！突然，米乐张开了嘴。\r\n\r\n“小鸟\r\n一只小鸟，\r\n并不美丽，\r\n所有的动物都嘲笑它。\r\n它的颜色很奇怪，\r\n羽毛也不柔软。\r\n一天早上，在清晨的阳光里，\r\n小鸟唱起了动听的歌，\r\n所有的动物都伸长了耳朵，\r\n原来在并不耀眼的羽毛下，\r\n藏着最美丽的歌喉！”\r\n\r\n完。\r\n\r\n“太棒了！”\r\n\r\n“真好！”\r\n\r\n“真了不起！”\r\n\r\n从那天起，米乐有一个新外号，“米乐小百灵”。\r\n\r\n<h6>Buy on Amazon:</h6>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThis little girl is named Mile. She is very, very, very shy. One only needs to call her name, and her whole face will turn red! Poor Mile!\r\n\r\nOn the school playground, her classmates\' favorite game, is to make Mile\'s face change color. Mile\'s face will change from light pink to rose red. From \"Mile\" she becomes \"Tomato\". \r\n\r\nDuring classtime, if the teacher calls her name, her heartbeat immediately speeds up, and it\'s difficult to breathe. Although she clearly knows the answer, the answer always hides in her brain, unwilling to come out. Not one person has ever heard Mile\'s small [so small it couldn\'t be smaller] voice. Never! \r\n\r\nIn front of the lady [lit: auntie] at the bakery (that\'s the lady that always gives her some candy), Mile still can\'t speak a word. The neighbor\'s little girl came to Mila\'s house to play, and Mile was so shy she was at her wit\'s end. \r\n\r\nPoor Mile, she had never dared to play hopscotch with her classmates, and her classmates also weren\'t willing to play with her. \r\n\r\nBut all this was nothing. Most most frightening of all, most most miserable, most most worrisome, was tomorrow. Because tomorrow she had to read aloud in front of the whole class! \r\n\r\nMile spent the whole night terrified. She tossed and turned on her bed, first she should sleep, and then she had many nightmares. \r\n\r\nBut on the second day, Mile had to brace herself and go to school... \r\n\r\n\"Tomato!\"\r\n\r\n\"Mile, it\'s your turn!\"\r\n\r\nMile\'s legs went soft, her heart beat madly, and she wished she could immediately disappear. \r\n\r\n\"Her face is so red!\" \r\n\r\n\"Tomato!\" \r\n\r\nThe teacher said, \"How are you all this noisy? Do you think this is a zoo?! That it\'s a vegetable market? You troublemakers, aren\'t you ashamed? Her name is Mile. Not Tomato!\"  \r\n\r\nAt this time, Mile discovered all her classmate\'s faces were as red as hers! Suddenly, Mile opened her mouth. \r\n\r\n“Little bird,\r\nOne little bird,\r\nNot at all pretty, \r\nAll the animals made fun of it.\r\nIt\'s color was very strange,\r\nAnd its feathers were not soft.\r\nOne morning, in the light of the dawn,\r\nThe little bird sang a pleasant song,\r\nAll the animals perked up their ears,\r\nFor it turned out that under unremarkable feathers,\r\nThere was hidden the most beautiful song!\"\r\n\r\nShe finished.\r\n\r\n\"So great!\"\r\n\r\n\"Well done!\" \r\n\r\n\"Really impressive!\" \r\n\r\nFrom that day on, Mile had a new nickname, \"Mile the Little Lark\". \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Children\'s Stories: 《西红柿女孩》Tomato Girl', 'Poor little Mile (米乐) is so shy, she never speaks, and her face turns bright red whenever someone speaks to her. This story will be a reasonably comfortable read at around HSK 4, and a do-able read at HSK 3 with a bit of effort.  ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2065-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-29 19:47:06', '2020-04-29 23:47:06', '', 2065, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/29/2065-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(2129, 1, '2020-04-29 19:45:27', '2020-04-29 23:45:27', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nPoor little Mile (米乐) is so shy, she never speaks, and her face turns bright red whenever someone speaks to her. This story will be a reasonably comfortable read at around HSK 4, and a do-able read at HSK 3 with a bit of effort.  \r\n\r\nSooooo, this is an actual picture book for kids, available in print, from a French author and a Chinese illustrator. I\'m not 100% sure about the copyright on this story. I <a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/385988976_751590\">found it</a> floating all around on dozens of sites on the Chinese internet, but considering lax copyright protection in China, that doesn\'t mean it\'s not stolen. I hope not... but if you like it, I found one print copy of the Chinese version on Amazon (looks like there\'s one left), so <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2YkIIDw\">go buy it</a> to read aloud to young readers at home or in the classroom. It\'s better with pictures. Doesn\'t look like it\'s been published in English, maybe it has been in French? French readers, please feel free to put a link to any French versions in the comments, or if you are the copyright owner, <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/about/\">contact me</a>. \r\n\r\nAnyway, this is a sweet story that also includes a little bit of story-ception. At one point, Mile has to read a story to her class, so you get two beginner stories for the price of one. \r\n\r\nAs with most of these pieces, a few advanced phrases have snuck in, so let\'s take a look at those before we get going:\r\n\r\n<strong>小得不能再小</strong> [pinyin]xiao3 de bu4 neng2 zai4 xiao3 de sheng1 yin1[/pinyin]  - This structure actually just came up in my <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/29/essay-the-ugly-rock-by-jia-pingwa/\">last advanced post</a>, so it\'s pretty commonly used. Let\'s break it down: \r\n\r\n小 - Small \r\n得 - To the point that / to the degree that\r\n不能 - Cannot\r\n再 - Again\r\n小 - Small\r\n\r\nYikes. Hard to piece that together, even though we know the definition of each character. It means \"small to the point that it could not be any smaller\", or in better English, \"so small it could not be smaller\" / \"extremely small\". We can use this structure with many different adjectives. In the advanced post, the phrasing was: 丑得不能再丑, or \"so ugly it couldn\'t be uglier\". \r\n\r\n<strong>不知所措</strong> [pinyin]bu4 zhi1 suo3 cuo4[/pinyin] - To be at one\'s wit\'s end, to not know what to do. \r\n\r\n<strong>硬着头皮</strong> [pinyin]ying4 zhe tou2 pi2[/pinyin] - This one cracks me up. 头皮 is the skin on the top of your head over your skull. 硬, as we know, is usually an adjective which means \"hard\", as in \"a hard surface\". In this case,  硬 is being used as a verb, as in \"to harden\". But, \"to harden the skin over one\'s head\" still doesn\'t make any sense in English. That\'s because in Chinese, hardening one\'s head-skin is used to describe \"bracing oneself to do something scary or difficult\". For example, you\'ve got to 硬头皮 before you walk out on stage to give a performance, or before you have a hard conversation with your significant other, or before you walk into a job interview. 着 is a grammar word indicating something is continually happening. You can\'t just brace yourself for a second. You\'ve got to brace, and then hold onto that courage to go forth and complete whatever task you had to brace yourself for, so 着 shows us that this is a continual state. \r\n\r\n<strong>腿发软</strong> - [pinyin]tui fa1 ruan[/pinyin] Three easy characters that seem to make no sense together. Let\'s look at each:\r\n\r\n腿 - Legs\r\n发 - To emit, to radiate, to send out\r\n软 - Soft\r\n\r\nThe hard part here is the appearance of the character 发. In Chinese, 发 can be used to describe a kind of discomfort that radiates out from some part of the body. For example, after a workout, your muscles can 发酸 [pinyin]fa1 suan1[/pinyin], \"radiate ache\", or in better English \"be sore\". When you\'re sick, you may 发烧 [pinyin]fa1 shao1[/pinyin], \"radiate burn\", or in better English \"have a fever\". If a cut gets infected, it may 发炎 [pinyin]fa1 yan2[/pinyin], \"radiate heat\" or \"become inflamed\". If you\'re terrified, you may 发抖 [pinyin]fa1 dou3[/pinyin], \"radiate twitches\", or \"tremble\". So, all together, 腿发软 is equivalent to the English for \"to go weak in the knees\" or when ones \"legs go soft\" from fear. \r\n\r\n以为 [pinyin]yi3 wei2[/pinyin] - And last but not least, 以为 means \"to think\", but not \"to think\" in the sense of sitting around pondering something, like \"to think up a solution\" or \"to think about a friend\". It means to have the wrong idea about something, or to believe something false, as in, \"Did you really think you could beat <em>me</em>?\" or \"Do you think this is some kind of joke?\" or \"I really thought I turned that paper in already!\" \r\n\r\nAlright, ready? On with the Chinese.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《西红柿女孩》</h4>\r\n\r\n这个小姑娘叫米乐。她非常，非常，非常害羞。只要有人叫她的名字，她就会变得满脸通红！可怜的米乐！\r\n\r\n在学校的操场上，同学们最喜欢的游戏，就是米乐的脸变颜色。米乐的脸会从淡粉色变成玫瑰红。从“米乐”变成“西红柿”。\r\n\r\n上课的时候，如果老师叫到她的名字，她会马上心跳加速，呼吸困难。虽然她明明知道答案，但是答案却总是躲在脑子里，不肯出来。没有一个人听到过米乐<span class=\"highlightText\">小得不能再小</span>的声音。从来没有！\r\n\r\n在面包店的阿姨面前（那是常常送糖给她的阿姨哦），米乐也说不出一个字。领居家的小姑娘来米乐家玩，米乐也害羞得<span class=\"highlightText\">不知所措</span>。\r\n\r\n可怜的米乐，她从来不敢和同学们一起玩跳房子，同学们也不愿意和米乐一起玩。\r\n\r\n这些还不算什么。最最可怕、最最悲惨、最最让人担心的，这辈子最让米乐害怕的，是明天。因为明天她要在全班同学面前背诗！\r\n\r\n米乐度过了一个可怕的晚上。她在床上翻来覆去，先是怎么也睡不着，接着又做了许多的噩梦。\r\n\r\n可是第二天，米乐不得不硬着头皮去上学......\r\n\r\n“西红柿！”\r\n\r\n“米乐，该你了！”\r\n\r\n米乐的<span class=\"highlightText\">腿发软</span>、心乱跳，她恨不得自己能马上消失。\r\n\r\n“她的脸好红呀！”\r\n\r\n“西红柿！”\r\n\r\n老师说，“怎么这么吵！你们<span class=\"highlightText\">以为</span>这里是动物园吗? 是菜市场吗? 你们这些捣蛋鬼，不觉得难为情吗？她叫米乐。不叫西红柿！” \r\n\r\n米乐这才发现同学们的脸和她的一样红！突然，米乐张开了嘴。\r\n\r\n“小鸟\r\n一只小鸟，\r\n并不美丽，\r\n所有的动物都嘲笑它。\r\n它的颜色很奇怪，\r\n羽毛也不柔软。\r\n一天早上，在清晨的阳光里，\r\n小鸟唱起了动听的歌，\r\n所有的动物都伸长了耳朵，\r\n原来在并不耀眼的羽毛下，\r\n藏着最美丽的歌喉！”\r\n\r\n完。\r\n\r\n“太棒了！”\r\n\r\n“真好！”\r\n\r\n“真了不起！”\r\n\r\n从那天起，米乐有一个新外号，“米乐小百灵”。\r\n\r\n<h6>Buy on Amazon:</h6>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThis little girl is named Mile. She is very, very, very shy. One only needs to call her name, and her whole face will turn red! Poor Mile!\r\n\r\nOn the school playground, her classmates\' favorite game, is to make Mile\'s face change color. Mile\'s face will change from light pink to rose red. From \"Mile\" she becomes \"Tomato\". \r\n\r\nDuring classtime, if the teacher calls her name, her heartbeat immediately speeds up, and it\'s difficult to breathe. Although she clearly knows the answer, the answer always hides in her brain, unwilling to come out. Not one person has ever heard Mile\'s small [so small it couldn\'t be smaller] voice. Never! \r\n\r\nIn front of the lady [lit: auntie] at the bakery (that\'s the lady that always gives her some candy), Mile still can\'t speak a word. The neighbor\'s little girl came to Mila\'s house to play, and Mile was so shy she was at her wit\'s end. \r\n\r\nPoor Mile, she had never dared to play hopscotch with her classmates, and her classmates also weren\'t willing to play with her. \r\n\r\nBut all this was nothing. Most most frightening of all, most most miserable, most most worrisome, was tomorrow. Because tomorrow she had to read aloud in front of the whole class! \r\n\r\nMile spent the whole night terrified. She tossed and turned on her bed, first she should sleep, and then she had many nightmares. \r\n\r\nBut on the second day, Mile had to brace herself and go to school... \r\n\r\n\"Tomato!\"\r\n\r\n\"Mile, it\'s your turn!\"\r\n\r\nMile\'s legs went soft, her heart beat madly, and she wished she could immediately disappear. \r\n\r\n\"Her face is so red!\" \r\n\r\n\"Tomato!\" \r\n\r\nThe teacher said, \"How are you all this noisy? Do you think this is a zoo?! That it\'s a vegetable market? You troublemakers, aren\'t you ashamed? Her name is Mile. Not Tomato!\"  \r\n\r\nAt this time, Mile discovered all her classmate\'s faces were as red as hers! Suddenly, Mile opened her mouth. \r\n\r\n“Little bird,\r\nOne little bird,\r\nNot at all pretty, \r\nAll the animals made fun of it.\r\nIt\'s color was very strange,\r\nAnd its feathers were not soft.\r\nOne morning, in the light of the dawn,\r\nThe little bird sang a pleasant song,\r\nAll the animals perked up their ears,\r\nFor it turned out that under unremarkable feathers,\r\nThere was hidden the most beautiful song!\"\r\n\r\nShe finished.\r\n\r\n\"So great!\"\r\n\r\n\"Well done!\" \r\n\r\n\"Really impressive!\" \r\n\r\nFrom that day on, Mile had a new nickname, \"Mile the Little Lark\". \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Children\'s Stories: 《西红柿女孩》Tomato Girl', 'Poor little Mile (米乐) is so shy, she never speaks, and her face turns bright red whenever someone speaks to her. This story will be a reasonably comfortable read at around HSK 4, and a do-able read at HSK 3 with a bit of effort.  ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2065-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-29 19:45:27', '2020-04-29 23:45:27', '', 2065, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/29/2065-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2131, 1, '2020-04-29 19:46:36', '2020-04-29 23:46:36', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nPoor little Mile (米乐) is so shy, she never speaks, and her face turns bright red whenever someone speaks to her. This story is upper-beginner, will be a reasonably comfortable read at around HSK 4, and a do-able read at HSK 3 with a bit of effort.  \r\n\r\nSooooo, this is an actual picture book for kids, available in print, from a French author and a Chinese illustrator. I\'m not 100% sure about the copyright on this story. I <a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/385988976_751590\">found it</a> floating all around on dozens of sites on the Chinese internet, but considering lax copyright protection in China, that doesn\'t mean it\'s not stolen. I hope not... but if you like it, I found one print copy of the Chinese version on Amazon, so <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2YkIIDw\">go buy it</a> to read aloud to young readers at home or in the classroom. It\'s better with pictures. Doesn\'t look like it\'s been published in English, maybe it has been in French? French readers, please feel free to put a link to any French versions in the comments, or if you are the copyright owner, <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/about/\">contact me</a>. \r\n\r\nAnyway, this is a sweet story that also includes a little bit of story-ception. At one point, Mile has to read a story to her class, so you get two beginner stories for the price of one. \r\n\r\nAs with most of these pieces, a few advanced phrases have snuck in, so let\'s take a look at those before we get going:\r\n\r\n<strong>小得不能再小</strong> [pinyin]xiao3 de bu4 neng2 zai4 xiao3 de sheng1 yin1[/pinyin]  - This structure actually just came up in my <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/29/essay-the-ugly-rock-by-jia-pingwa/\">last advanced post</a>, so it\'s pretty commonly used. Let\'s break it down: \r\n\r\n小 - Small \r\n得 - To the point that / to the degree that\r\n不能 - Cannot\r\n再 - Again\r\n小 - Small\r\n\r\nYikes. Hard to piece that together, even though we know the definition of each character. It means \"small to the point that it could not be any smaller\", or in better English, \"so small it could not be smaller\" / \"extremely small\". We can use this structure with many different adjectives. In the advanced post, the phrasing was: 丑得不能再丑, or \"so ugly it couldn\'t be uglier\". \r\n\r\n<strong>不知所措</strong> [pinyin]bu4 zhi1 suo3 cuo4[/pinyin] - To be at one\'s wit\'s end, to not know what to do. \r\n\r\n<strong>硬着头皮</strong> [pinyin]ying4 zhe tou2 pi2[/pinyin] - This one cracks me up. 头皮 is the skin on the top of your head over your skull. 硬, as we know, is usually an adjective which means \"hard\", as in \"a hard surface\". In this case,  硬 is being used as a verb, as in \"to harden\". But, \"to harden the skin over one\'s head\" still doesn\'t make any sense in English. That\'s because in Chinese, hardening one\'s head-skin is used to describe \"bracing oneself to do something scary or difficult\". For example, you\'ve got to 硬头皮 before you walk out on stage to give a performance, or before you have a hard conversation with your significant other, or before you walk into a job interview. 着 is a grammar word indicating something is continually happening. You can\'t just brace yourself for a second. You\'ve got to brace, and then hold onto that courage to go forth and complete whatever task you had to brace yourself for, so 着 shows us that this is a continual state. \r\n\r\n<strong>腿发软</strong> - [pinyin]tui fa1 ruan[/pinyin] Three easy characters that seem to make no sense together. Let\'s look at each:\r\n\r\n腿 - Legs\r\n发 - To emit, to radiate, to send out\r\n软 - Soft\r\n\r\nThe hard part here is the appearance of the character 发. In Chinese, 发 can be used to describe a kind of discomfort that radiates out from some part of the body. For example, after a workout, your muscles can 发酸 [pinyin]fa1 suan1[/pinyin], \"radiate ache\", or in better English \"be sore\". When you\'re sick, you may 发烧 [pinyin]fa1 shao1[/pinyin], \"radiate burn\", or in better English \"have a fever\". If a cut gets infected, it may 发炎 [pinyin]fa1 yan2[/pinyin], \"radiate heat\" or \"become inflamed\". If you\'re terrified, you may 发抖 [pinyin]fa1 dou3[/pinyin], \"radiate twitches\", or \"tremble\". So, all together, 腿发软 is equivalent to the English for \"to go weak in the knees\" or when ones \"legs go soft\" from fear. \r\n\r\n以为 [pinyin]yi3 wei2[/pinyin] - And last but not least, 以为 means \"to think\", but not \"to think\" in the sense of sitting around pondering something, like \"to think up a solution\" or \"to think about a friend\". It means to have the wrong idea about something, or to believe something false, as in, \"Did you really think you could beat <em>me</em>?\" or \"Do you think this is some kind of joke?\" or \"I really thought I turned that paper in already!\" \r\n\r\nAlright, ready? On with the Chinese.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《西红柿女孩》</h4>\r\n\r\n这个小姑娘叫米乐。她非常，非常，非常害羞。只要有人叫她的名字，她就会变得满脸通红！可怜的米乐！\r\n\r\n在学校的操场上，同学们最喜欢的游戏，就是米乐的脸变颜色。米乐的脸会从淡粉色变成玫瑰红。从“米乐”变成“西红柿”。\r\n\r\n上课的时候，如果老师叫到她的名字，她会马上心跳加速，呼吸困难。虽然她明明知道答案，但是答案却总是躲在脑子里，不肯出来。没有一个人听到过米乐<span class=\"highlightText\">小得不能再小</span>的声音。从来没有！\r\n\r\n在面包店的阿姨面前（那是常常送糖给她的阿姨哦），米乐也说不出一个字。领居家的小姑娘来米乐家玩，米乐也害羞得<span class=\"highlightText\">不知所措</span>。\r\n\r\n可怜的米乐，她从来不敢和同学们一起玩跳房子，同学们也不愿意和米乐一起玩。\r\n\r\n这些还不算什么。最最可怕、最最悲惨、最最让人担心的，这辈子最让米乐害怕的，是明天。因为明天她要在全班同学面前背诗！\r\n\r\n米乐度过了一个可怕的晚上。她在床上翻来覆去，先是怎么也睡不着，接着又做了许多的噩梦。\r\n\r\n可是第二天，米乐不得不硬着头皮去上学......\r\n\r\n“西红柿！”\r\n\r\n“米乐，该你了！”\r\n\r\n米乐的<span class=\"highlightText\">腿发软</span>、心乱跳，她恨不得自己能马上消失。\r\n\r\n“她的脸好红呀！”\r\n\r\n“西红柿！”\r\n\r\n老师说，“怎么这么吵！你们<span class=\"highlightText\">以为</span>这里是动物园吗? 是菜市场吗? 你们这些捣蛋鬼，不觉得难为情吗？她叫米乐。不叫西红柿！” \r\n\r\n米乐这才发现同学们的脸和她的一样红！突然，米乐张开了嘴。\r\n\r\n“小鸟\r\n一只小鸟，\r\n并不美丽，\r\n所有的动物都嘲笑它。\r\n它的颜色很奇怪，\r\n羽毛也不柔软。\r\n一天早上，在清晨的阳光里，\r\n小鸟唱起了动听的歌，\r\n所有的动物都伸长了耳朵，\r\n原来在并不耀眼的羽毛下，\r\n藏着最美丽的歌喉！”\r\n\r\n完。\r\n\r\n“太棒了！”\r\n\r\n“真好！”\r\n\r\n“真了不起！”\r\n\r\n从那天起，米乐有一个新外号，“米乐小百灵”。\r\n\r\n<h6>Buy on Amazon:</h6>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThis little girl is named Mile. She is very, very, very shy. One only needs to call her name, and her whole face will turn red! Poor Mile!\r\n\r\nOn the school playground, her classmates\' favorite game, is to make Mile\'s face change color. Mile\'s face will change from light pink to rose red. From \"Mile\" she becomes \"Tomato\". \r\n\r\nDuring classtime, if the teacher calls her name, her heartbeat immediately speeds up, and it\'s difficult to breathe. Although she clearly knows the answer, the answer always hides in her brain, unwilling to come out. Not one person has ever heard Mile\'s small [so small it couldn\'t be smaller] voice. Never! \r\n\r\nIn front of the lady [lit: auntie] at the bakery (that\'s the lady that always gives her some candy), Mile still can\'t speak a word. The neighbor\'s little girl came to Mila\'s house to play, and Mile was so shy she was at her wit\'s end. \r\n\r\nPoor Mile, she had never dared to play hopscotch with her classmates, and her classmates also weren\'t willing to play with her. \r\n\r\nBut all this was nothing. Most most frightening of all, most most miserable, most most worrisome, was tomorrow. Because tomorrow she had to read aloud in front of the whole class! \r\n\r\nMile spent the whole night terrified. She tossed and turned on her bed, first she should sleep, and then she had many nightmares. \r\n\r\nBut on the second day, Mile had to brace herself and go to school... \r\n\r\n\"Tomato!\"\r\n\r\n\"Mile, it\'s your turn!\"\r\n\r\nMile\'s legs went soft, her heart beat madly, and she wished she could immediately disappear. \r\n\r\n\"Her face is so red!\" \r\n\r\n\"Tomato!\" \r\n\r\nThe teacher said, \"How are you all this noisy? Do you think this is a zoo?! That it\'s a vegetable market? You troublemakers, aren\'t you ashamed? Her name is Mile. Not Tomato!\"  \r\n\r\nAt this time, Mile discovered all her classmate\'s faces were as red as hers! Suddenly, Mile opened her mouth. \r\n\r\n“Little bird,\r\nOne little bird,\r\nNot at all pretty, \r\nAll the animals made fun of it.\r\nIt\'s color was very strange,\r\nAnd its feathers were not soft.\r\nOne morning, in the light of the dawn,\r\nThe little bird sang a pleasant song,\r\nAll the animals perked up their ears,\r\nFor it turned out that under unremarkable feathers,\r\nThere was hidden the most beautiful song!\"\r\n\r\nShe finished.\r\n\r\n\"So great!\"\r\n\r\n\"Well done!\" \r\n\r\n\"Really impressive!\" \r\n\r\nFrom that day on, Mile had a new nickname, \"Mile the Little Lark\". \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Children\'s Stories: 《西红柿女孩》Tomato Girl', 'Poor little Mile (米乐) is so shy, she never speaks, and her face turns bright red whenever someone speaks to her. This story will be a reasonably comfortable read at around HSK 4, and a do-able read at HSK 3 with a bit of effort.  ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2065-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-29 19:46:36', '2020-04-29 23:46:36', '', 2065, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/29/2065-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2130, 1, '2020-04-29 19:45:59', '2020-04-29 23:45:59', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nPoor little Mile (米乐) is so shy, she never speaks, and her face turns bright red whenever someone speaks to her. This story is upper-beginner, will be a reasonably comfortable read at around HSK 4, and a do-able read at HSK 3 with a bit of effort.  \r\n\r\nSooooo, this is an actual picture book for kids, available in print, from a French author and a Chinese illustrator. I\'m not 100% sure about the copyright on this story. I <a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/385988976_751590\">found it</a> floating all around on dozens of sites on the Chinese internet, but considering lax copyright protection in China, that doesn\'t mean it\'s not stolen. I hope not... but if you like it, I found one print copy of the Chinese version on Amazon (looks like there\'s one left), so <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2YkIIDw\">go buy it</a> to read aloud to young readers at home or in the classroom. It\'s better with pictures. Doesn\'t look like it\'s been published in English, maybe it has been in French? French readers, please feel free to put a link to any French versions in the comments, or if you are the copyright owner, <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/about/\">contact me</a>. \r\n\r\nAnyway, this is a sweet story that also includes a little bit of story-ception. At one point, Mile has to read a story to her class, so you get two beginner stories for the price of one. \r\n\r\nAs with most of these pieces, a few advanced phrases have snuck in, so let\'s take a look at those before we get going:\r\n\r\n<strong>小得不能再小</strong> [pinyin]xiao3 de bu4 neng2 zai4 xiao3 de sheng1 yin1[/pinyin]  - This structure actually just came up in my <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/29/essay-the-ugly-rock-by-jia-pingwa/\">last advanced post</a>, so it\'s pretty commonly used. Let\'s break it down: \r\n\r\n小 - Small \r\n得 - To the point that / to the degree that\r\n不能 - Cannot\r\n再 - Again\r\n小 - Small\r\n\r\nYikes. Hard to piece that together, even though we know the definition of each character. It means \"small to the point that it could not be any smaller\", or in better English, \"so small it could not be smaller\" / \"extremely small\". We can use this structure with many different adjectives. In the advanced post, the phrasing was: 丑得不能再丑, or \"so ugly it couldn\'t be uglier\". \r\n\r\n<strong>不知所措</strong> [pinyin]bu4 zhi1 suo3 cuo4[/pinyin] - To be at one\'s wit\'s end, to not know what to do. \r\n\r\n<strong>硬着头皮</strong> [pinyin]ying4 zhe tou2 pi2[/pinyin] - This one cracks me up. 头皮 is the skin on the top of your head over your skull. 硬, as we know, is usually an adjective which means \"hard\", as in \"a hard surface\". In this case,  硬 is being used as a verb, as in \"to harden\". But, \"to harden the skin over one\'s head\" still doesn\'t make any sense in English. That\'s because in Chinese, hardening one\'s head-skin is used to describe \"bracing oneself to do something scary or difficult\". For example, you\'ve got to 硬头皮 before you walk out on stage to give a performance, or before you have a hard conversation with your significant other, or before you walk into a job interview. 着 is a grammar word indicating something is continually happening. You can\'t just brace yourself for a second. You\'ve got to brace, and then hold onto that courage to go forth and complete whatever task you had to brace yourself for, so 着 shows us that this is a continual state. \r\n\r\n<strong>腿发软</strong> - [pinyin]tui fa1 ruan[/pinyin] Three easy characters that seem to make no sense together. Let\'s look at each:\r\n\r\n腿 - Legs\r\n发 - To emit, to radiate, to send out\r\n软 - Soft\r\n\r\nThe hard part here is the appearance of the character 发. In Chinese, 发 can be used to describe a kind of discomfort that radiates out from some part of the body. For example, after a workout, your muscles can 发酸 [pinyin]fa1 suan1[/pinyin], \"radiate ache\", or in better English \"be sore\". When you\'re sick, you may 发烧 [pinyin]fa1 shao1[/pinyin], \"radiate burn\", or in better English \"have a fever\". If a cut gets infected, it may 发炎 [pinyin]fa1 yan2[/pinyin], \"radiate heat\" or \"become inflamed\". If you\'re terrified, you may 发抖 [pinyin]fa1 dou3[/pinyin], \"radiate twitches\", or \"tremble\". So, all together, 腿发软 is equivalent to the English for \"to go weak in the knees\" or when ones \"legs go soft\" from fear. \r\n\r\n以为 [pinyin]yi3 wei2[/pinyin] - And last but not least, 以为 means \"to think\", but not \"to think\" in the sense of sitting around pondering something, like \"to think up a solution\" or \"to think about a friend\". It means to have the wrong idea about something, or to believe something false, as in, \"Did you really think you could beat <em>me</em>?\" or \"Do you think this is some kind of joke?\" or \"I really thought I turned that paper in already!\" \r\n\r\nAlright, ready? On with the Chinese.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《西红柿女孩》</h4>\r\n\r\n这个小姑娘叫米乐。她非常，非常，非常害羞。只要有人叫她的名字，她就会变得满脸通红！可怜的米乐！\r\n\r\n在学校的操场上，同学们最喜欢的游戏，就是米乐的脸变颜色。米乐的脸会从淡粉色变成玫瑰红。从“米乐”变成“西红柿”。\r\n\r\n上课的时候，如果老师叫到她的名字，她会马上心跳加速，呼吸困难。虽然她明明知道答案，但是答案却总是躲在脑子里，不肯出来。没有一个人听到过米乐<span class=\"highlightText\">小得不能再小</span>的声音。从来没有！\r\n\r\n在面包店的阿姨面前（那是常常送糖给她的阿姨哦），米乐也说不出一个字。领居家的小姑娘来米乐家玩，米乐也害羞得<span class=\"highlightText\">不知所措</span>。\r\n\r\n可怜的米乐，她从来不敢和同学们一起玩跳房子，同学们也不愿意和米乐一起玩。\r\n\r\n这些还不算什么。最最可怕、最最悲惨、最最让人担心的，这辈子最让米乐害怕的，是明天。因为明天她要在全班同学面前背诗！\r\n\r\n米乐度过了一个可怕的晚上。她在床上翻来覆去，先是怎么也睡不着，接着又做了许多的噩梦。\r\n\r\n可是第二天，米乐不得不硬着头皮去上学......\r\n\r\n“西红柿！”\r\n\r\n“米乐，该你了！”\r\n\r\n米乐的<span class=\"highlightText\">腿发软</span>、心乱跳，她恨不得自己能马上消失。\r\n\r\n“她的脸好红呀！”\r\n\r\n“西红柿！”\r\n\r\n老师说，“怎么这么吵！你们<span class=\"highlightText\">以为</span>这里是动物园吗? 是菜市场吗? 你们这些捣蛋鬼，不觉得难为情吗？她叫米乐。不叫西红柿！” \r\n\r\n米乐这才发现同学们的脸和她的一样红！突然，米乐张开了嘴。\r\n\r\n“小鸟\r\n一只小鸟，\r\n并不美丽，\r\n所有的动物都嘲笑它。\r\n它的颜色很奇怪，\r\n羽毛也不柔软。\r\n一天早上，在清晨的阳光里，\r\n小鸟唱起了动听的歌，\r\n所有的动物都伸长了耳朵，\r\n原来在并不耀眼的羽毛下，\r\n藏着最美丽的歌喉！”\r\n\r\n完。\r\n\r\n“太棒了！”\r\n\r\n“真好！”\r\n\r\n“真了不起！”\r\n\r\n从那天起，米乐有一个新外号，“米乐小百灵”。\r\n\r\n<h6>Buy on Amazon:</h6>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThis little girl is named Mile. She is very, very, very shy. One only needs to call her name, and her whole face will turn red! Poor Mile!\r\n\r\nOn the school playground, her classmates\' favorite game, is to make Mile\'s face change color. Mile\'s face will change from light pink to rose red. From \"Mile\" she becomes \"Tomato\". \r\n\r\nDuring classtime, if the teacher calls her name, her heartbeat immediately speeds up, and it\'s difficult to breathe. Although she clearly knows the answer, the answer always hides in her brain, unwilling to come out. Not one person has ever heard Mile\'s small [so small it couldn\'t be smaller] voice. Never! \r\n\r\nIn front of the lady [lit: auntie] at the bakery (that\'s the lady that always gives her some candy), Mile still can\'t speak a word. The neighbor\'s little girl came to Mila\'s house to play, and Mile was so shy she was at her wit\'s end. \r\n\r\nPoor Mile, she had never dared to play hopscotch with her classmates, and her classmates also weren\'t willing to play with her. \r\n\r\nBut all this was nothing. Most most frightening of all, most most miserable, most most worrisome, was tomorrow. Because tomorrow she had to read aloud in front of the whole class! \r\n\r\nMile spent the whole night terrified. She tossed and turned on her bed, first she should sleep, and then she had many nightmares. \r\n\r\nBut on the second day, Mile had to brace herself and go to school... \r\n\r\n\"Tomato!\"\r\n\r\n\"Mile, it\'s your turn!\"\r\n\r\nMile\'s legs went soft, her heart beat madly, and she wished she could immediately disappear. \r\n\r\n\"Her face is so red!\" \r\n\r\n\"Tomato!\" \r\n\r\nThe teacher said, \"How are you all this noisy? Do you think this is a zoo?! That it\'s a vegetable market? You troublemakers, aren\'t you ashamed? Her name is Mile. Not Tomato!\"  \r\n\r\nAt this time, Mile discovered all her classmate\'s faces were as red as hers! Suddenly, Mile opened her mouth. \r\n\r\n“Little bird,\r\nOne little bird,\r\nNot at all pretty, \r\nAll the animals made fun of it.\r\nIt\'s color was very strange,\r\nAnd its feathers were not soft.\r\nOne morning, in the light of the dawn,\r\nThe little bird sang a pleasant song,\r\nAll the animals perked up their ears,\r\nFor it turned out that under unremarkable feathers,\r\nThere was hidden the most beautiful song!\"\r\n\r\nShe finished.\r\n\r\n\"So great!\"\r\n\r\n\"Well done!\" \r\n\r\n\"Really impressive!\" \r\n\r\nFrom that day on, Mile had a new nickname, \"Mile the Little Lark\". \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Children\'s Stories: 《西红柿女孩》Tomato Girl', 'Poor little Mile (米乐) is so shy, she never speaks, and her face turns bright red whenever someone speaks to her. This story will be a reasonably comfortable read at around HSK 4, and a do-able read at HSK 3 with a bit of effort.  ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2065-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-29 19:45:59', '2020-04-29 23:45:59', '', 2065, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/29/2065-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2133, 1, '2020-04-29 19:47:36', '2020-04-29 23:47:36', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nPoor little Mile (米乐) is so shy, she never speaks, and her face turns bright red whenever someone speaks to her. This story is upper-beginner, will be a reasonably comfortable read at around HSK 4, and a do-able read at HSK 3 with a bit of effort.  \r\n\r\nSooooo, this is an actual picture book for kids, available in print, from a French author and a Chinese illustrator. I\'m not 100% sure about the copyright on this story. I <a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/385988976_751590\">found it</a> floating all around on dozens of sites on the Chinese internet, but considering lax copyright protection in China, that doesn\'t mean it\'s not stolen. I hope not... but if you like it, I found one print copy of the Chinese version on Amazon, so <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2YkIIDw\">go buy it</a> to read aloud to young readers at home or in the classroom. It\'s better with pictures. If you are the copyright owner, <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/about/\">contact me</a>. \r\n\r\nAnyway, this is a sweet story that also includes a little bit of story-ception. At one point, Mile has to read a story to her class, so you get two beginner stories for the price of one. \r\n\r\nAs with most of these pieces, a few advanced phrases have snuck in, so let\'s take a look at those before we get going:\r\n\r\n<strong>小得不能再小</strong> [pinyin]xiao3 de bu4 neng2 zai4 xiao3[/pinyin]  - This structure actually just came up in my <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/29/essay-the-ugly-rock-by-jia-pingwa/\">last advanced post</a>, so it\'s pretty commonly used. Let\'s break it down: \r\n\r\n小 - Small \r\n得 - To the point that / to the degree that\r\n不能 - Cannot\r\n再 - Again\r\n小 - Small\r\n\r\nYikes. Hard to piece that together, even though we know the definition of each character. It means \"small to the point that it could not be any smaller\", or in better English, \"so small it could not be smaller\" / \"extremely small\". We can use this structure with many different adjectives. In the advanced post, the phrasing was: 丑得不能再丑, or \"so ugly it couldn\'t be uglier\". \r\n\r\n<strong>不知所措</strong> [pinyin]bu4 zhi1 suo3 cuo4[/pinyin] - To be at one\'s wit\'s end, to not know what to do. \r\n\r\n<strong>硬着头皮</strong> [pinyin]ying4 zhe tou2 pi2[/pinyin] - This one cracks me up. 头皮 is the skin on the top of your head over your skull. 硬, as we know, is usually an adjective which means \"hard\", as in \"a hard surface\". In this case,  硬 is being used as a verb, as in \"to harden\". But, \"to harden the skin over one\'s head\" still doesn\'t make any sense in English. That\'s because in Chinese, hardening one\'s head-skin is used to describe \"bracing oneself to do something scary or difficult\". For example, you\'ve got to 硬头皮 before you walk out on stage to give a performance, or before you have a hard conversation with your significant other, or before you walk into a job interview. 着 is a grammar word indicating something is continually happening. You can\'t just brace yourself for a second. You\'ve got to brace, and then hold onto that courage to go forth and complete whatever task you had to brace yourself for, so 着 shows us that this is a continual state. \r\n\r\n<strong>腿发软</strong> - [pinyin]tui fa1 ruan[/pinyin] Three easy characters that seem to make no sense together. Let\'s look at each:\r\n\r\n腿 - Legs\r\n发 - To emit, to radiate, to send out\r\n软 - Soft\r\n\r\nThe hard part here is the appearance of the character 发. In Chinese, 发 can be used to describe a kind of discomfort that radiates out from some part of the body. For example, after a workout, your muscles can 发酸 [pinyin]fa1 suan1[/pinyin], \"radiate ache\", or in better English \"be sore\". When you\'re sick, you may 发烧 [pinyin]fa1 shao1[/pinyin], \"radiate burn\", or in better English \"have a fever\". If a cut gets infected, it may 发炎 [pinyin]fa1 yan2[/pinyin], \"radiate heat\" or \"become inflamed\". If you\'re terrified, you may 发抖 [pinyin]fa1 dou3[/pinyin], \"radiate twitches\", or \"tremble\". So, all together, 腿发软 is equivalent to the English for \"to go weak in the knees\" or when ones \"legs go soft\" from fear. \r\n\r\n以为 [pinyin]yi3 wei2[/pinyin] - And last but not least, 以为 means \"to think\", but not \"to think\" in the sense of sitting around pondering something, like \"to think up a solution\" or \"to think about a friend\". It means to have the wrong idea about something, or to believe something false, as in, \"Did you really think you could beat <em>me</em>?\" or \"Do you think this is some kind of joke?\" or \"I really thought I turned that paper in already!\" \r\n\r\nAlright, ready? On with the Chinese.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《西红柿女孩》</h4>\r\n\r\n这个小姑娘叫米乐。她非常，非常，非常害羞。只要有人叫她的名字，她就会变得满脸通红！可怜的米乐！\r\n\r\n在学校的操场上，同学们最喜欢的游戏，就是米乐的脸变颜色。米乐的脸会从淡粉色变成玫瑰红。从“米乐”变成“西红柿”。\r\n\r\n上课的时候，如果老师叫到她的名字，她会马上心跳加速，呼吸困难。虽然她明明知道答案，但是答案却总是躲在脑子里，不肯出来。没有一个人听到过米乐<span class=\"highlightText\">小得不能再小</span>的声音。从来没有！\r\n\r\n在面包店的阿姨面前（那是常常送糖给她的阿姨哦），米乐也说不出一个字。领居家的小姑娘来米乐家玩，米乐也害羞得<span class=\"highlightText\">不知所措</span>。\r\n\r\n可怜的米乐，她从来不敢和同学们一起玩跳房子，同学们也不愿意和米乐一起玩。\r\n\r\n这些还不算什么。最最可怕、最最悲惨、最最让人担心的，这辈子最让米乐害怕的，是明天。因为明天她要在全班同学面前背诗！\r\n\r\n米乐度过了一个可怕的晚上。她在床上翻来覆去，先是怎么也睡不着，接着又做了许多的噩梦。\r\n\r\n可是第二天，米乐不得不硬着头皮去上学......\r\n\r\n“西红柿！”\r\n\r\n“米乐，该你了！”\r\n\r\n米乐的<span class=\"highlightText\">腿发软</span>、心乱跳，她恨不得自己能马上消失。\r\n\r\n“她的脸好红呀！”\r\n\r\n“西红柿！”\r\n\r\n老师说，“怎么这么吵！你们<span class=\"highlightText\">以为</span>这里是动物园吗? 是菜市场吗? 你们这些捣蛋鬼，不觉得难为情吗？她叫米乐。不叫西红柿！” \r\n\r\n米乐这才发现同学们的脸和她的一样红！突然，米乐张开了嘴。\r\n\r\n“小鸟\r\n一只小鸟，\r\n并不美丽，\r\n所有的动物都嘲笑它。\r\n它的颜色很奇怪，\r\n羽毛也不柔软。\r\n一天早上，在清晨的阳光里，\r\n小鸟唱起了动听的歌，\r\n所有的动物都伸长了耳朵，\r\n原来在并不耀眼的羽毛下，\r\n藏着最美丽的歌喉！”\r\n\r\n完。\r\n\r\n“太棒了！”\r\n\r\n“真好！”\r\n\r\n“真了不起！”\r\n\r\n从那天起，米乐有一个新外号，“米乐小百灵”。\r\n\r\n<h6>Buy on Amazon:</h6>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThis little girl is named Mile. She is very, very, very shy. One only needs to call her name, and her whole face will turn red! Poor Mile!\r\n\r\nOn the school playground, her classmates\' favorite game, is to make Mile\'s face change color. Mile\'s face will change from light pink to rose red. From \"Mile\" she becomes \"Tomato\". \r\n\r\nDuring classtime, if the teacher calls her name, her heartbeat immediately speeds up, and it\'s difficult to breathe. Although she clearly knows the answer, the answer always hides in her brain, unwilling to come out. Not one person has ever heard Mile\'s small [so small it couldn\'t be smaller] voice. Never! \r\n\r\nIn front of the lady [lit: auntie] at the bakery (that\'s the lady that always gives her some candy), Mile still can\'t speak a word. The neighbor\'s little girl came to Mila\'s house to play, and Mile was so shy she was at her wit\'s end. \r\n\r\nPoor Mile, she had never dared to play hopscotch with her classmates, and her classmates also weren\'t willing to play with her. \r\n\r\nBut all this was nothing. Most most frightening of all, most most miserable, most most worrisome, was tomorrow. Because tomorrow she had to read aloud in front of the whole class! \r\n\r\nMile spent the whole night terrified. She tossed and turned on her bed, first she should sleep, and then she had many nightmares. \r\n\r\nBut on the second day, Mile had to brace herself and go to school... \r\n\r\n\"Tomato!\"\r\n\r\n\"Mile, it\'s your turn!\"\r\n\r\nMile\'s legs went soft, her heart beat madly, and she wished she could immediately disappear. \r\n\r\n\"Her face is so red!\" \r\n\r\n\"Tomato!\" \r\n\r\nThe teacher said, \"How are you all this noisy? Do you think this is a zoo?! That it\'s a vegetable market? You troublemakers, aren\'t you ashamed? Her name is Mile. Not Tomato!\"  \r\n\r\nAt this time, Mile discovered all her classmate\'s faces were as red as hers! Suddenly, Mile opened her mouth. \r\n\r\n“Little bird,\r\nOne little bird,\r\nNot at all pretty, \r\nAll the animals made fun of it.\r\nIt\'s color was very strange,\r\nAnd its feathers were not soft.\r\nOne morning, in the light of the dawn,\r\nThe little bird sang a pleasant song,\r\nAll the animals perked up their ears,\r\nFor it turned out that under unremarkable feathers,\r\nThere was hidden the most beautiful song!\"\r\n\r\nShe finished.\r\n\r\n\"So great!\"\r\n\r\n\"Well done!\" \r\n\r\n\"Really impressive!\" \r\n\r\nFrom that day on, Mile had a new nickname, \"Mile the Little Lark\". \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Children\'s Stories: 《西红柿女孩》Tomato Girl', 'Poor little Mile (米乐) is so shy, she never speaks, and her face turns bright red whenever someone speaks to her. This story will be a reasonably comfortable read at around HSK 4, and a do-able read at HSK 3 with a bit of effort.  ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2065-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-29 19:47:36', '2020-04-29 23:47:36', '', 2065, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/29/2065-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2134, 1, '2020-04-29 19:51:10', '2020-04-29 23:51:10', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nPoor little Mile (米乐) is so shy, she never speaks, and her face turns bright red whenever someone speaks to her. This story is upper-beginner, will be a reasonably comfortable read at around HSK 4, and a do-able read at HSK 3 with a bit of effort.  \r\n\r\nSooooo, this is an actual picture book for kids, available in print, from a French author and a Chinese illustrator. I\'m not 100% sure about the copyright on this story. I <a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/385988976_751590\">found it</a> floating all around on dozens of sites on the Chinese internet, but considering lax copyright protection in China, that doesn\'t mean it\'s not stolen. I hope not... but if you like it, I found one print copy of the Chinese version on Amazon, so <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2YkIIDw\">go buy it</a> to read aloud to young readers at home or in the classroom. It\'s better with pictures. If you are the copyright owner, <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/about/\">contact me</a>. \r\n\r\nAnyway, this is a sweet story that also includes a little bit of story-ception. At one point, Mile has to read a story to her class, so you get two beginner stories for the price of one. \r\n\r\nAs with most of these pieces, a few advanced phrases have snuck in, so let\'s take a look at those before we get going:\r\n\r\n<strong>小得不能再小</strong> [pinyin]xiao3 de bu4 neng2 zai4 xiao3[/pinyin]  - This structure actually just came up in my <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/29/essay-the-ugly-rock-by-jia-pingwa/\">last advanced post</a>, so it\'s pretty commonly used. Let\'s break it down: \r\n\r\n小 - Small \r\n得 - To the point that / to the degree that\r\n不能 - Cannot\r\n再 - Again\r\n小 - Small\r\n\r\nYikes. Hard to piece that together, even though we know the definition of each character. It means \"small to the point that it could not be any smaller\", or in better English, \"so small it could not be smaller\" / \"extremely small\". We can use this structure with many different adjectives. In the advanced post, the phrasing was: 丑得不能再丑, or \"so ugly it couldn\'t be uglier\". \r\n\r\n<strong>不知所措</strong> [pinyin]bu4 zhi1 suo3 cuo4[/pinyin] - To be at one\'s wit\'s end, to not know what to do. \r\n\r\n<strong>硬着头皮</strong> [pinyin]ying4 zhe tou2 pi2[/pinyin] - This one cracks me up. 头皮 is the skin on the top of your head over your skull. 硬, as we know, is usually an adjective which means \"hard\", as in \"a hard surface\". In this case,  硬 is being used as a verb, as in \"to harden\". But, \"to harden the skin over one\'s head\" still doesn\'t make any sense in English. That\'s because in Chinese, hardening one\'s head-skin is used to describe \"bracing oneself to do something scary or difficult\". For example, you\'ve got to 硬头皮 before you walk out on stage to give a performance, or before you have a hard conversation with your significant other, or before you walk into a job interview. 着 is a grammar word indicating something is continually happening. You can\'t just brace yourself for a second. You\'ve got to brace, and then hold onto that courage to go forth and complete whatever task you had to brace yourself for, so 着 shows us that this is a continual state. \r\n\r\n<strong>腿发软</strong> - [pinyin]tui3 fa1 ruan3[/pinyin] Three easy characters that seem to make no sense together. Let\'s look at each:\r\n\r\n腿 - Legs\r\n发 - To radiate, to send out\r\n软 - Soft\r\n\r\nLegs send out soft?! Clearly, the hard part here is the appearance of the character 发. In Chinese, 发 can be used to describe a kind of discomfort that radiates out from some part of the body. For example, after a workout, your muscles can 发酸 [pinyin]fa1 suan1[/pinyin], \"radiate ache\", or in better English \"be sore\". When you\'re sick, you may 发烧 [pinyin]fa1 shao1[/pinyin], \"radiate burn\", or in better English \"have a fever\". If a cut gets infected, it may 发炎 [pinyin]fa1 yan2[/pinyin], \"radiate heat\" or \"become inflamed\". If you\'re terrified, you may 发抖 [pinyin]fa1 dou3[/pinyin], \"radiate twitches\", or \"tremble\". So, all together, 腿发软 is equivalent to the English for \"to go weak in the knees\" or when ones \"legs go soft\" from fear. \r\n\r\n以为 [pinyin]yi3 wei2[/pinyin] - And last but not least, 以为 means \"to think\", but not \"to think\" in the sense of sitting around pondering something, like \"to think up a solution\" or \"to think about a friend\". It means to have the wrong idea about something, or to believe something false, as in, \"Did you really think you could beat <em>me</em>?\" or \"Do you think this is some kind of joke?\" or \"I really thought I turned that paper in already!\" \r\n\r\nAlright, ready? On with the Chinese.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《西红柿女孩》</h4>\r\n\r\n这个小姑娘叫米乐。她非常，非常，非常害羞。只要有人叫她的名字，她就会变得满脸通红！可怜的米乐！\r\n\r\n在学校的操场上，同学们最喜欢的游戏，就是米乐的脸变颜色。米乐的脸会从淡粉色变成玫瑰红。从“米乐”变成“西红柿”。\r\n\r\n上课的时候，如果老师叫到她的名字，她会马上心跳加速，呼吸困难。虽然她明明知道答案，但是答案却总是躲在脑子里，不肯出来。没有一个人听到过米乐<span class=\"highlightText\">小得不能再小</span>的声音。从来没有！\r\n\r\n在面包店的阿姨面前（那是常常送糖给她的阿姨哦），米乐也说不出一个字。领居家的小姑娘来米乐家玩，米乐也害羞得<span class=\"highlightText\">不知所措</span>。\r\n\r\n可怜的米乐，她从来不敢和同学们一起玩跳房子，同学们也不愿意和米乐一起玩。\r\n\r\n这些还不算什么。最最可怕、最最悲惨、最最让人担心的，这辈子最让米乐害怕的，是明天。因为明天她要在全班同学面前背诗！\r\n\r\n米乐度过了一个可怕的晚上。她在床上翻来覆去，先是怎么也睡不着，接着又做了许多的噩梦。\r\n\r\n可是第二天，米乐不得不硬着头皮去上学......\r\n\r\n“西红柿！”\r\n\r\n“米乐，该你了！”\r\n\r\n米乐的<span class=\"highlightText\">腿发软</span>、心乱跳，她恨不得自己能马上消失。\r\n\r\n“她的脸好红呀！”\r\n\r\n“西红柿！”\r\n\r\n老师说，“怎么这么吵！你们<span class=\"highlightText\">以为</span>这里是动物园吗? 是菜市场吗? 你们这些捣蛋鬼，不觉得难为情吗？她叫米乐。不叫西红柿！” \r\n\r\n米乐这才发现同学们的脸和她的一样红！突然，米乐张开了嘴。\r\n\r\n“小鸟\r\n一只小鸟，\r\n并不美丽，\r\n所有的动物都嘲笑它。\r\n它的颜色很奇怪，\r\n羽毛也不柔软。\r\n一天早上，在清晨的阳光里，\r\n小鸟唱起了动听的歌，\r\n所有的动物都伸长了耳朵，\r\n原来在并不耀眼的羽毛下，\r\n藏着最美丽的歌喉！”\r\n\r\n完。\r\n\r\n“太棒了！”\r\n\r\n“真好！”\r\n\r\n“真了不起！”\r\n\r\n从那天起，米乐有一个新外号，“米乐小百灵”。\r\n\r\n<h6>Buy on Amazon:</h6>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThis little girl is named Mile. She is very, very, very shy. One only needs to call her name, and her whole face will turn red! Poor Mile!\r\n\r\nOn the school playground, her classmates\' favorite game, is to make Mile\'s face change color. Mile\'s face will change from light pink to rose red. From \"Mile\" she becomes \"Tomato\". \r\n\r\nDuring classtime, if the teacher calls her name, her heartbeat immediately speeds up, and it\'s difficult to breathe. Although she clearly knows the answer, the answer always hides in her brain, unwilling to come out. Not one person has ever heard Mile\'s small [so small it couldn\'t be smaller] voice. Never! \r\n\r\nIn front of the lady [lit: auntie] at the bakery (that\'s the lady that always gives her some candy), Mile still can\'t speak a word. The neighbor\'s little girl came to Mila\'s house to play, and Mile was so shy she was at her wit\'s end. \r\n\r\nPoor Mile, she had never dared to play hopscotch with her classmates, and her classmates also weren\'t willing to play with her. \r\n\r\nBut all this was nothing. Most most frightening of all, most most miserable, most most worrisome, was tomorrow. Because tomorrow she had to read aloud in front of the whole class! \r\n\r\nMile spent the whole night terrified. She tossed and turned on her bed, first she should sleep, and then she had many nightmares. \r\n\r\nBut on the second day, Mile had to brace herself and go to school... \r\n\r\n\"Tomato!\"\r\n\r\n\"Mile, it\'s your turn!\"\r\n\r\nMile\'s legs went soft, her heart beat madly, and she wished she could immediately disappear. \r\n\r\n\"Her face is so red!\" \r\n\r\n\"Tomato!\" \r\n\r\nThe teacher said, \"How are you all this noisy? Do you think this is a zoo?! That it\'s a vegetable market? You troublemakers, aren\'t you ashamed? Her name is Mile. Not Tomato!\"  \r\n\r\nAt this time, Mile discovered all her classmate\'s faces were as red as hers! Suddenly, Mile opened her mouth. \r\n\r\n“Little bird,\r\nOne little bird,\r\nNot at all pretty, \r\nAll the animals made fun of it.\r\nIt\'s color was very strange,\r\nAnd its feathers were not soft.\r\nOne morning, in the light of the dawn,\r\nThe little bird sang a pleasant song,\r\nAll the animals perked up their ears,\r\nFor it turned out that under unremarkable feathers,\r\nThere was hidden the most beautiful song!\"\r\n\r\nShe finished.\r\n\r\n\"So great!\"\r\n\r\n\"Well done!\" \r\n\r\n\"Really impressive!\" \r\n\r\nFrom that day on, Mile had a new nickname, \"Mile the Little Lark\". \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Children\'s Stories: 《西红柿女孩》Tomato Girl', 'Poor little Mile (米乐) is so shy, she never speaks, and her face turns bright red whenever someone speaks to her. This story will be a reasonably comfortable read at around HSK 4, and a do-able read at HSK 3 with a bit of effort.  ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2065-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-29 19:51:10', '2020-04-29 23:51:10', '', 2065, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/29/2065-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(2135, 1, '2020-04-29 19:52:15', '2020-04-29 23:52:15', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\nPoor little Mile (米乐) is so shy, she never speaks, and her face turns bright red whenever someone speaks to her. This story is upper-beginner, will be a reasonably comfortable read at around HSK 4, and a do-able read at HSK 3 with a bit of effort.  \n\nSooooo, this is an actual picture book for kids, available in print, from a French author and a Chinese illustrator. I\'m not 100% sure about the copyright on this story. I <a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/385988976_751590\">found it</a> floating all around on dozens of sites on the Chinese internet, but considering lax copyright protection in China, that doesn\'t mean it\'s not stolen. I hope not... but if you like it, I found one print copy of the Chinese version on Amazon, so <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2YkIIDw\">go buy it</a> to read aloud to young readers at home or in the classroom. It\'s better with pictures. If you are the copyright owner, <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/about/\">contact me</a>. \n\nAnyway, this is a sweet story that also includes a little bit of story-ception. At one point, Mile has to read a story to her class, so you get two beginner stories for the price of one. \n\nAs with most of these pieces, a few advanced phrases have snuck in, so let\'s take a look at those before we get going:\n\n<strong>小得不能再小</strong> [pinyin]xiao3 de bu4 neng2 zai4 xiao3[/pinyin]  - This structure actually just came up in my <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/29/essay-the-ugly-rock-by-jia-pingwa/\">last advanced post</a>, so it\'s pretty commonly used. Let\'s break it down: \n\n小 - Small \n得 - To the point that / to the degree that\n不能 - Cannot\n再 - Again\n小 - Small\n\nYikes. Hard to piece that together, even though we know the definition of each character. It means \"small to the point that it could not be any smaller\", or in better English, \"so small it could not be smaller\" / \"extremely small\". We can use this structure with many different adjectives. In the advanced post, the phrasing was: 丑得不能再丑, or \"so ugly it couldn\'t be uglier\". \n\n<strong>不知所措</strong> [pinyin]bu4 zhi1 suo3 cuo4[/pinyin] - To be at one\'s wit\'s end, to not know what to do. \n\n<strong>硬着头皮</strong> [pinyin]ying4 zhe tou2 pi2[/pinyin] - This one cracks me up. 头皮 is the skin on the top of your head over your skull. 硬, as we know, is usually an adjective which means \"hard\", as in \"a hard surface\". In this case,  硬 is being used as a verb, as in \"to harden\". But, \"to harden the skin over one\'s head\" still doesn\'t make any sense in English. That\'s because in Chinese, hardening one\'s head-skin is used to describe \"bracing oneself to do something scary or difficult\". For example, you\'ve got to 硬头皮 before you walk out on stage to give a performance, or before you have a hard conversation with your significant other, or before you walk into a job interview. 着 is a grammar word indicating something is continually happening. You can\'t just brace yourself for a second. You\'ve got to brace, and then hold onto that courage to go forth and complete whatever task you had to brace yourself for, so 着 shows us that this is a continual state. \n\n<strong>腿发软</strong> - [pinyin]tui3 fa1 ruan3[/pinyin] Three easy characters that seem to make no sense together. Let\'s look at each:\n\n腿 - Legs\n发 - To radiate, to send out\n软 - Soft\n\nLegs send out soft?! Clearly, the hard part here is the appearance of the character 发. In Chinese, 发 can be used to describe a kind of discomfort that radiates out from some part of the body. For example, after a workout, your muscles can 发酸 [pinyin]fa1 suan1[/pinyin], \"radiate ache\", or in better English \"be sore\". When you\'re sick, you may 发烧 [pinyin]fa1 shao1[/pinyin], \"radiate burn\", or in better English \"have a fever\". If a cut gets infected, it may 发炎 [pinyin]fa1 yan2[/pinyin], \"radiate heat\" or \"become inflamed\". If you\'re terrified, you may 发抖 [pinyin]fa1 dou3[/pinyin], \"radiate twitches\", or \"tremble\". So, all together, 腿发软 is equivalent to the English for \"to go weak in the knees\" or when ones \"legs go soft\" from fear. \n\n以为 [pinyin]yi3 wei2[/pinyin] - And last but not least, 以为 means \"to think\", but not \"to think\" in the sense of sitting around pondering something, like \"to think up a solution\" or \"to think about a friend\". It means to have the wrong idea about something, or to believe something false, as in, \"Did you really think you could beat <em>me</em>?\" or \"Do you think this is some kind of joke?\" or \"I really thought I turned that paper in already!\" \n\nAlright, ready? On with the Chinese.\n[/su_column]\n[/su_row]\n\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\n[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n<h4>《西红柿女孩》</h4>\n\n这个小姑娘叫米乐。她非常，非常，非常害羞。只要有人叫她的名字，她就会变得满脸通红！可怜的米乐！\n\n在学校的操场上，同学们最喜欢的游戏，就是米乐的脸变颜色。米乐的脸会从淡粉色变成玫瑰红。从“米乐”变成“西红柿”。\n\n上课的时候，如果老师叫到她的名字，她会马上心跳加速，呼吸困难。虽然她明明知道答案，但是答案却总是躲在脑子里，不肯出来。没有一个人听到过米乐<span class=\"highlightText\">小得不能再小</span>的声音。从来没有！\n\n在面包店的阿姨面前（那是常常送糖给她的阿姨哦），米乐也说不出一个字。领居家的小姑娘来米乐家玩，米乐也害羞得<span class=\"highlightText\">不知所措</span>。\n\n可怜的米乐，她从来不敢和同学们一起玩跳房子，同学们也不愿意和米乐一起玩。\n\n这些还不算什么。最最可怕、最最悲惨、最最让人担心的，这辈子最让米乐害怕的，是明天。因为明天她要在全班同学面前背诗！\n\n米乐度过了一个可怕的晚上。她在床上翻来覆去，先是怎么也睡不着，接着又做了许多的噩梦。\n\n可是第二天，米乐不得不硬着头皮去上学......\n\n“西红柿！”\n\n“米乐，该你了！”\n\n米乐的<span class=\"highlightText\">腿发软</span>、心乱跳，她恨不得自己能马上消失。\n\n“她的脸好红呀！”\n\n“西红柿！”\n\n老师说，“怎么这么吵！你们<span class=\"highlightText\">以为</span>这里是动物园吗? 是菜市场吗? 你们这些捣蛋鬼，不觉得难为情吗？她叫米乐。不叫西红柿！” \n\n米乐这才发现同学们的脸和她的一样红！突然，米乐张开了嘴。\n\n“小鸟\n一只小鸟，\n并不美丽，\n所有的动物都嘲笑它。\n它的颜色很奇怪，\n羽毛也不柔软。\n一天早上，在清晨的阳光里，\n小鸟唱起了动听的歌，\n所有的动物都伸长了耳朵，\n原来在并不耀眼的羽毛下，\n藏着最美丽的歌喉！”\n\n完。\n\n“太棒了！”\n\n“真好！”\n\n“真了不起！”\n\n从那天起，米乐有一个新外号，“米乐小百灵”。\n\n<h6>Buy on Amazon:</h6>\n\n</div>\n[/su_column]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\nThis little girl is named Mile. She is very, very, very shy. One only needs to call her name, and her whole face will turn red! Poor Mile!\n\nOn the school playground, her classmates\' favorite game, is to make Mile\'s face change color. Mile\'s face will change from light pink to rose red. From \"Mile\" she becomes \"Tomato\". \n\nDuring classtime, if the teacher calls her name, her heartbeat immediately speeds up, and it\'s difficult to breathe. Although she clearly knows the answer, the answer always hides in her brain, unwilling to come out. Not one person has ever heard Mile\'s small [so small it couldn\'t be smaller] voice. Never! \n\nIn front of the lady [lit: auntie] at the bakery (that\'s the lady that always gives her some candy), Mile still can\'t speak a word. The neighbor\'s little girl came to Mila\'s house to play, and Mile was so shy she was at her wit\'s end. \n\nPoor Mile, she had never dared to play hopscotch with her classmates, and her classmates also weren\'t willing to play with her. \n\nBut all this was nothing. Most most frightening of all, most most miserable, most most worrisome, was tomorrow. Because tomorrow she had to read aloud in front of the whole class! \n\nMile spent the whole night terrified. She tossed and turned on her bed, first she should sleep, and then she had many nightmares. \n\nBut on the second day, Mile had to brace herself and go to school... \n\n\"Tomato!\"\n\n\"Mile, it\'s your turn!\"\n\nMile\'s legs went soft, her heart beat madly, and she wished she could immediately disappear. \n\n\"Her face is so red!\" \n\n\"Tomato!\" \n\nThe teacher said, \"How are you all this noisy? Do you think this is a zoo?! That it\'s a vegetable market? You troublemakers, aren\'t you ashamed? Her name is Mile. Not Tomato!\"  \n\nAt this time, Mile discovered all her classmate\'s faces were as red as hers! Suddenly, Mile opened her mouth. \n\n“Little bird,\nOne little bird,\nNot at all pretty, \nAll the animals made fun of it.\nIt\'s color was very strange,\nAnd its feathers were not soft.\nOne morning, in the light of the dawn,\nThe little bird sang a pleasant song,\nAll the animals perked up their ears,\nFor it turned out that under unremarkable feathers,\nThere was hidden the most beautiful song!\"\n\nShe finished.\n\n\"So great!\"\n\n\"Well done!\" \n\n\"Really impressive!\" \n\nFrom that day on, Mile had a new nickname, \"Mile the Little Lark\". \n\n[/hide-this-part]\n[/su_column]\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Children\'s Stories: 《西红柿女孩》Tomato Girl', 'Poor little Mile (米乐) is so shy, she never speaks, and her face turns bright red whenever someone speaks to her. This story will be a reasonably comfortable read at around HSK 4, and a do-able read at HSK 3 with a bit of effort.  ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2065-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-04-29 19:52:15', '2020-04-29 23:52:15', '', 2065, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/29/2065-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2136, 1, '2020-04-29 19:52:53', '2020-04-29 23:52:53', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nPoor little Mile (米乐) is so shy (害羞 - [pinyin]hai4 xiu1[/pinyin]), she never speaks, and her face turns bright red whenever someone speaks to her. This story is upper-beginner, will be a reasonably comfortable read at around HSK 4, and a do-able read at HSK 3 with a bit of effort.  \r\n\r\nSooooo, this is an actual picture book for kids, available in print, from a French author and a Chinese illustrator. I\'m not 100% sure about the copyright on this story. I <a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/385988976_751590\">found it</a> floating all around on dozens of sites on the Chinese internet, but considering lax copyright protection in China, that doesn\'t mean it\'s not stolen. I hope not... but if you like it, I found one print copy of the Chinese version on Amazon, so <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2YkIIDw\">go buy it</a> to read aloud to young readers at home or in the classroom. It\'s better with pictures. If you are the copyright owner, <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/about/\">contact me</a>. \r\n\r\nAnyway, this is a sweet story that also includes a little bit of story-ception. At one point, Mile has to read a story to her class, so you get two beginner stories for the price of one. \r\n\r\nAs with most of these pieces, a few advanced phrases have snuck in, so let\'s take a look at those before we get going:\r\n\r\n<strong>小得不能再小</strong> [pinyin]xiao3 de bu4 neng2 zai4 xiao3[/pinyin]  - This structure actually just came up in my <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/29/essay-the-ugly-rock-by-jia-pingwa/\">last advanced post</a>, so it\'s pretty commonly used. Let\'s break it down: \r\n\r\n小 - Small \r\n得 - To the point that / to the degree that\r\n不能 - Cannot\r\n再 - Again\r\n小 - Small\r\n\r\nYikes. Hard to piece that together, even though we know the definition of each character. It means \"small to the point that it could not be any smaller\", or in better English, \"so small it could not be smaller\" / \"extremely small\". We can use this structure with many different adjectives. In the advanced post, the phrasing was: 丑得不能再丑, or \"so ugly it couldn\'t be uglier\". \r\n\r\n<strong>不知所措</strong> [pinyin]bu4 zhi1 suo3 cuo4[/pinyin] - To be at one\'s wit\'s end, to not know what to do. \r\n\r\n<strong>硬着头皮</strong> [pinyin]ying4 zhe tou2 pi2[/pinyin] - This one cracks me up. 头皮 is the skin on the top of your head over your skull. 硬, as we know, is usually an adjective which means \"hard\", as in \"a hard surface\". In this case,  硬 is being used as a verb, as in \"to harden\". But, \"to harden the skin over one\'s head\" still doesn\'t make any sense in English. That\'s because in Chinese, hardening one\'s head-skin is used to describe \"bracing oneself to do something scary or difficult\". For example, you\'ve got to 硬头皮 before you walk out on stage to give a performance, or before you have a hard conversation with your significant other, or before you walk into a job interview. 着 is a grammar word indicating something is continually happening. You can\'t just brace yourself for a second. You\'ve got to brace, and then hold onto that courage to go forth and complete whatever task you had to brace yourself for, so 着 shows us that this is a continual state. \r\n\r\n<strong>腿发软</strong> - [pinyin]tui3 fa1 ruan3[/pinyin] Three easy characters that seem to make no sense together. Let\'s look at each:\r\n\r\n腿 - Legs\r\n发 - To radiate, to send out\r\n软 - Soft\r\n\r\nLegs send out soft?! Clearly, the hard part here is the appearance of the character 发. In Chinese, 发 can be used to describe a kind of discomfort that radiates out from some part of the body. For example, after a workout, your muscles can 发酸 [pinyin]fa1 suan1[/pinyin], \"radiate ache\", or in better English \"be sore\". When you\'re sick, you may 发烧 [pinyin]fa1 shao1[/pinyin], \"radiate burn\", or in better English \"have a fever\". If a cut gets infected, it may 发炎 [pinyin]fa1 yan2[/pinyin], \"radiate heat\" or \"become inflamed\". If you\'re terrified, you may 发抖 [pinyin]fa1 dou3[/pinyin], \"radiate twitches\", or \"tremble\". So, all together, 腿发软 is equivalent to the English for \"to go weak in the knees\" or when ones \"legs go soft\" from fear. \r\n\r\n以为 [pinyin]yi3 wei2[/pinyin] - And last but not least, 以为 means \"to think\", but not \"to think\" in the sense of sitting around pondering something, like \"to think up a solution\" or \"to think about a friend\". It means to have the wrong idea about something, or to believe something false, as in, \"Did you really think you could beat <em>me</em>?\" or \"Do you think this is some kind of joke?\" or \"I really thought I turned that paper in already!\" \r\n\r\nAlright, ready? On with the Chinese.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《西红柿女孩》</h4>\r\n\r\n这个小姑娘叫米乐。她非常，非常，非常害羞。只要有人叫她的名字，她就会变得满脸通红！可怜的米乐！\r\n\r\n在学校的操场上，同学们最喜欢的游戏，就是米乐的脸变颜色。米乐的脸会从淡粉色变成玫瑰红。从“米乐”变成“西红柿”。\r\n\r\n上课的时候，如果老师叫到她的名字，她会马上心跳加速，呼吸困难。虽然她明明知道答案，但是答案却总是躲在脑子里，不肯出来。没有一个人听到过米乐<span class=\"highlightText\">小得不能再小</span>的声音。从来没有！\r\n\r\n在面包店的阿姨面前（那是常常送糖给她的阿姨哦），米乐也说不出一个字。领居家的小姑娘来米乐家玩，米乐也害羞得<span class=\"highlightText\">不知所措</span>。\r\n\r\n可怜的米乐，她从来不敢和同学们一起玩跳房子，同学们也不愿意和米乐一起玩。\r\n\r\n这些还不算什么。最最可怕、最最悲惨、最最让人担心的，这辈子最让米乐害怕的，是明天。因为明天她要在全班同学面前背诗！\r\n\r\n米乐度过了一个可怕的晚上。她在床上翻来覆去，先是怎么也睡不着，接着又做了许多的噩梦。\r\n\r\n可是第二天，米乐不得不硬着头皮去上学......\r\n\r\n“西红柿！”\r\n\r\n“米乐，该你了！”\r\n\r\n米乐的<span class=\"highlightText\">腿发软</span>、心乱跳，她恨不得自己能马上消失。\r\n\r\n“她的脸好红呀！”\r\n\r\n“西红柿！”\r\n\r\n老师说，“怎么这么吵！你们<span class=\"highlightText\">以为</span>这里是动物园吗? 是菜市场吗? 你们这些捣蛋鬼，不觉得难为情吗？她叫米乐。不叫西红柿！” \r\n\r\n米乐这才发现同学们的脸和她的一样红！突然，米乐张开了嘴。\r\n\r\n“小鸟\r\n一只小鸟，\r\n并不美丽，\r\n所有的动物都嘲笑它。\r\n它的颜色很奇怪，\r\n羽毛也不柔软。\r\n一天早上，在清晨的阳光里，\r\n小鸟唱起了动听的歌，\r\n所有的动物都伸长了耳朵，\r\n原来在并不耀眼的羽毛下，\r\n藏着最美丽的歌喉！”\r\n\r\n完。\r\n\r\n“太棒了！”\r\n\r\n“真好！”\r\n\r\n“真了不起！”\r\n\r\n从那天起，米乐有一个新外号，“米乐小百灵”。\r\n\r\n<h6>Buy on Amazon:</h6>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThis little girl is named Mile. She is very, very, very shy. One only needs to call her name, and her whole face will turn red! Poor Mile!\r\n\r\nOn the school playground, her classmates\' favorite game, is to make Mile\'s face change color. Mile\'s face will change from light pink to rose red. From \"Mile\" she becomes \"Tomato\". \r\n\r\nDuring classtime, if the teacher calls her name, her heartbeat immediately speeds up, and it\'s difficult to breathe. Although she clearly knows the answer, the answer always hides in her brain, unwilling to come out. Not one person has ever heard Mile\'s small [so small it couldn\'t be smaller] voice. Never! \r\n\r\nIn front of the lady [lit: auntie] at the bakery (that\'s the lady that always gives her some candy), Mile still can\'t speak a word. The neighbor\'s little girl came to Mila\'s house to play, and Mile was so shy she was at her wit\'s end. \r\n\r\nPoor Mile, she had never dared to play hopscotch with her classmates, and her classmates also weren\'t willing to play with her. \r\n\r\nBut all this was nothing. Most most frightening of all, most most miserable, most most worrisome, was tomorrow. Because tomorrow she had to read aloud in front of the whole class! \r\n\r\nMile spent the whole night terrified. She tossed and turned on her bed, first she should sleep, and then she had many nightmares. \r\n\r\nBut on the second day, Mile had to brace herself and go to school... \r\n\r\n\"Tomato!\"\r\n\r\n\"Mile, it\'s your turn!\"\r\n\r\nMile\'s legs went soft, her heart beat madly, and she wished she could immediately disappear. \r\n\r\n\"Her face is so red!\" \r\n\r\n\"Tomato!\" \r\n\r\nThe teacher said, \"How are you all this noisy? Do you think this is a zoo?! That it\'s a vegetable market? You troublemakers, aren\'t you ashamed? Her name is Mile. Not Tomato!\"  \r\n\r\nAt this time, Mile discovered all her classmate\'s faces were as red as hers! Suddenly, Mile opened her mouth. \r\n\r\n“Little bird,\r\nOne little bird,\r\nNot at all pretty, \r\nAll the animals made fun of it.\r\nIt\'s color was very strange,\r\nAnd its feathers were not soft.\r\nOne morning, in the light of the dawn,\r\nThe little bird sang a pleasant song,\r\nAll the animals perked up their ears,\r\nFor it turned out that under unremarkable feathers,\r\nThere was hidden the most beautiful song!\"\r\n\r\nShe finished.\r\n\r\n\"So great!\"\r\n\r\n\"Well done!\" \r\n\r\n\"Really impressive!\" \r\n\r\nFrom that day on, Mile had a new nickname, \"Mile the Little Lark\". \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Children\'s Stories: 《西红柿女孩》Tomato Girl', 'Poor little Mile (米乐) is so shy (害羞 - [pinyin]hai4 xiu1[/pinyin]), she never speaks, and her face turns bright red whenever someone speaks to her. This story is upper-beginner, will be a reasonably comfortable read at around HSK 4, and a do-able read at HSK 3 with a bit of effort. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2065-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-29 19:52:53', '2020-04-29 23:52:53', '', 2065, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/29/2065-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2137, 1, '2020-04-29 19:53:28', '2020-04-29 23:53:28', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nPoor little Mile (米乐) is so shy (害羞 - [pinyin]hai4 xiu1[/pinyin]), she never speaks, and her face turns bright red whenever someone speaks to her. This story is upper-beginner, will be a reasonably comfortable read at around HSK 4, and a do-able read at HSK 3 with a bit of effort.  \r\n\r\nSooooo, this is an actual picture book for kids, available in print, from a French author and a Chinese illustrator. I\'m not 100% sure about the copyright on this story. I <a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/385988976_751590\">found it</a> floating all around on dozens of sites on the Chinese internet, but considering lax copyright protection in China, that doesn\'t mean it\'s not stolen. I hope not... but if you like it, I found one print copy of the Chinese version on Amazon, so <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2YkIIDw\">go buy it</a> to read aloud to young readers at home or in the classroom. It\'s better with pictures. If you are the copyright owner, <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/about/\">contact me</a>. \r\n\r\nAnyway, this is a sweet story that also includes a little bit of story-ception. At one point, Mile has to read a story to her class, so you get two beginner stories for the price of one. \r\n\r\nAs with most of these pieces, a few advanced phrases have snuck in, so let\'s take a look at those before we get going:\r\n\r\n<strong>小得不能再小</strong> [pinyin]xiao3 de bu4 neng2 zai4 xiao3[/pinyin]  - This structure actually just came up in my <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/29/essay-the-ugly-rock-by-jia-pingwa/\">last advanced post</a>, so it\'s pretty commonly used. Let\'s break it down: \r\n\r\n小 - Small \r\n得 - To the point that / to the degree that\r\n不能 - Cannot\r\n再 - Again\r\n小 - Small\r\n\r\nYikes. Hard to piece that together, even though we know the definition of each character. It means \"small to the point that it could not be any smaller\", or in better English, \"so small it could not be smaller\" / \"extremely small\". We can use this structure with many different adjectives. In the advanced post, the phrasing was: 丑得不能再丑, or \"so ugly it couldn\'t be uglier\". \r\n\r\n<strong>不知所措</strong> [pinyin]bu4 zhi1 suo3 cuo4[/pinyin] - To be at one\'s wit\'s end, to not know what to do. \r\n\r\n<strong>硬着头皮</strong> [pinyin]ying4 zhe tou2 pi2[/pinyin] - This one cracks me up. 头皮 is the skin on the top of your head over your skull. 硬, as we know, is usually an adjective which means \"hard\", as in \"a hard surface\". In this case,  硬 is being used as a verb, as in \"to harden\". But, \"to harden the skin over one\'s head\" still doesn\'t make any sense in English. That\'s because in Chinese, hardening one\'s head-skin is used to describe \"bracing oneself to do something scary or difficult\". For example, you\'ve got to 硬头皮 before you walk out on stage to give a performance, or before you have a hard conversation with your significant other, or before you walk into a job interview. 着 is a grammar word indicating something is continually happening. You can\'t just brace yourself for a second. You\'ve got to brace, and then hold onto that courage to go forth and complete whatever task you had to brace yourself for, so 着 shows us that this is a continual state. \r\n\r\n<strong>腿发软</strong> - [pinyin]tui3 fa1 ruan3[/pinyin] Three easy characters that seem to make no sense together. Let\'s look at each:\r\n\r\n腿 - Legs\r\n发 - To radiate, to send out\r\n软 - Soft\r\n\r\nLegs send out soft?! Clearly, the hard part here is the appearance of the character 发. In Chinese, 发 can be used to describe a kind of discomfort that radiates out from some part of the body. For example, after a workout, your muscles can 发酸 [pinyin]fa1 suan1[/pinyin], \"radiate ache\", or in better English \"be sore\". When you\'re sick, you may 发烧 [pinyin]fa1 shao1[/pinyin], \"radiate burn\", or in better English \"have a fever\". If a cut gets infected, it may 发炎 [pinyin]fa1 yan2[/pinyin], \"radiate heat\" or \"become inflamed\". If you\'re terrified, you may 发抖 [pinyin]fa1 dou3[/pinyin], \"radiate twitches\", or \"tremble\". So, all together, 腿发软 is equivalent to the English for \"to go weak in the knees\" or when ones \"legs go soft\" from fear. \r\n\r\n<strong>以为</strong> [pinyin]yi3 wei2[/pinyin] - And last but not least, 以为 means \"to think\", but not \"to think\" in the sense of sitting around pondering something, like \"to think up a solution\" or \"to think about a friend\". It means to have the wrong idea about something, or to believe something false, as in, \"Did you really think you could beat <em>me</em>?\" or \"Do you think this is some kind of joke?\" or \"I really thought I turned that paper in already!\" \r\n\r\nAlright, ready? On with the Chinese.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《西红柿女孩》</h4>\r\n\r\n这个小姑娘叫米乐。她非常，非常，非常害羞。只要有人叫她的名字，她就会变得满脸通红！可怜的米乐！\r\n\r\n在学校的操场上，同学们最喜欢的游戏，就是米乐的脸变颜色。米乐的脸会从淡粉色变成玫瑰红。从“米乐”变成“西红柿”。\r\n\r\n上课的时候，如果老师叫到她的名字，她会马上心跳加速，呼吸困难。虽然她明明知道答案，但是答案却总是躲在脑子里，不肯出来。没有一个人听到过米乐<span class=\"highlightText\">小得不能再小</span>的声音。从来没有！\r\n\r\n在面包店的阿姨面前（那是常常送糖给她的阿姨哦），米乐也说不出一个字。领居家的小姑娘来米乐家玩，米乐也害羞得<span class=\"highlightText\">不知所措</span>。\r\n\r\n可怜的米乐，她从来不敢和同学们一起玩跳房子，同学们也不愿意和米乐一起玩。\r\n\r\n这些还不算什么。最最可怕、最最悲惨、最最让人担心的，这辈子最让米乐害怕的，是明天。因为明天她要在全班同学面前背诗！\r\n\r\n米乐度过了一个可怕的晚上。她在床上翻来覆去，先是怎么也睡不着，接着又做了许多的噩梦。\r\n\r\n可是第二天，米乐不得不硬着头皮去上学......\r\n\r\n“西红柿！”\r\n\r\n“米乐，该你了！”\r\n\r\n米乐的<span class=\"highlightText\">腿发软</span>、心乱跳，她恨不得自己能马上消失。\r\n\r\n“她的脸好红呀！”\r\n\r\n“西红柿！”\r\n\r\n老师说，“怎么这么吵！你们<span class=\"highlightText\">以为</span>这里是动物园吗? 是菜市场吗? 你们这些捣蛋鬼，不觉得难为情吗？她叫米乐。不叫西红柿！” \r\n\r\n米乐这才发现同学们的脸和她的一样红！突然，米乐张开了嘴。\r\n\r\n“小鸟\r\n一只小鸟，\r\n并不美丽，\r\n所有的动物都嘲笑它。\r\n它的颜色很奇怪，\r\n羽毛也不柔软。\r\n一天早上，在清晨的阳光里，\r\n小鸟唱起了动听的歌，\r\n所有的动物都伸长了耳朵，\r\n原来在并不耀眼的羽毛下，\r\n藏着最美丽的歌喉！”\r\n\r\n完。\r\n\r\n“太棒了！”\r\n\r\n“真好！”\r\n\r\n“真了不起！”\r\n\r\n从那天起，米乐有一个新外号，“米乐小百灵”。\r\n\r\n<h6>Buy on Amazon:</h6>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThis little girl is named Mile. She is very, very, very shy. One only needs to call her name, and her whole face will turn red! Poor Mile!\r\n\r\nOn the school playground, her classmates\' favorite game, is to make Mile\'s face change color. Mile\'s face will change from light pink to rose red. From \"Mile\" she becomes \"Tomato\". \r\n\r\nDuring classtime, if the teacher calls her name, her heartbeat immediately speeds up, and it\'s difficult to breathe. Although she clearly knows the answer, the answer always hides in her brain, unwilling to come out. Not one person has ever heard Mile\'s small [so small it couldn\'t be smaller] voice. Never! \r\n\r\nIn front of the lady [lit: auntie] at the bakery (that\'s the lady that always gives her some candy), Mile still can\'t speak a word. The neighbor\'s little girl came to Mila\'s house to play, and Mile was so shy she was at her wit\'s end. \r\n\r\nPoor Mile, she had never dared to play hopscotch with her classmates, and her classmates also weren\'t willing to play with her. \r\n\r\nBut all this was nothing. Most most frightening of all, most most miserable, most most worrisome, was tomorrow. Because tomorrow she had to read aloud in front of the whole class! \r\n\r\nMile spent the whole night terrified. She tossed and turned on her bed, first she should sleep, and then she had many nightmares. \r\n\r\nBut on the second day, Mile had to brace herself and go to school... \r\n\r\n\"Tomato!\"\r\n\r\n\"Mile, it\'s your turn!\"\r\n\r\nMile\'s legs went soft, her heart beat madly, and she wished she could immediately disappear. \r\n\r\n\"Her face is so red!\" \r\n\r\n\"Tomato!\" \r\n\r\nThe teacher said, \"How are you all this noisy? Do you think this is a zoo?! That it\'s a vegetable market? You troublemakers, aren\'t you ashamed? Her name is Mile. Not Tomato!\"  \r\n\r\nAt this time, Mile discovered all her classmate\'s faces were as red as hers! Suddenly, Mile opened her mouth. \r\n\r\n“Little bird,\r\nOne little bird,\r\nNot at all pretty, \r\nAll the animals made fun of it.\r\nIt\'s color was very strange,\r\nAnd its feathers were not soft.\r\nOne morning, in the light of the dawn,\r\nThe little bird sang a pleasant song,\r\nAll the animals perked up their ears,\r\nFor it turned out that under unremarkable feathers,\r\nThere was hidden the most beautiful song!\"\r\n\r\nShe finished.\r\n\r\n\"So great!\"\r\n\r\n\"Well done!\" \r\n\r\n\"Really impressive!\" \r\n\r\nFrom that day on, Mile had a new nickname, \"Mile the Little Lark\". \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Children\'s Stories: 《西红柿女孩》Tomato Girl', 'Poor little Mile (米乐) is so shy (害羞 - [pinyin]hai4 xiu1[/pinyin]), she never speaks, and her face turns bright red whenever someone speaks to her. This story is upper-beginner, will be a reasonably comfortable read at around HSK 4, and a do-able read at HSK 3 with a bit of effort. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2065-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-29 19:53:28', '2020-04-29 23:53:28', '', 2065, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/29/2065-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2138, 1, '2020-04-29 20:01:20', '2020-04-30 00:01:20', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nPoor little Mile (米乐) is so shy (害羞 - [pinyin]hai4 xiu1[/pinyin]), she never speaks, and her face turns bright red whenever someone speaks to her. This story is upper-beginner, will be a reasonably comfortable read at around HSK 4, and a do-able read at HSK 3 with a bit of effort.  \r\n\r\nSooooo, this is an actual picture book for kids, available in print, from a French author and a Chinese illustrator. I\'m not 100% sure about the copyright on this story. I <a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/385988976_751590\">found it</a> floating all around on dozens of sites on the Chinese internet, but considering lax copyright protection in China, that doesn\'t mean it\'s not stolen. I hope not... but if you like it, I found one print copy of the Chinese version on Amazon, so <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2YkIIDw\">go buy it</a> to read aloud to young readers at home or in the classroom. It\'s better with pictures. If you are the copyright owner, <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/about/\">contact me</a>. \r\n\r\nAnyway, this is a sweet story that also includes a little bit of story-ception. At one point, Mile has to read a story to her class, so you get two beginner stories for the price of one. \r\n\r\nAs with most of these pieces, a few advanced phrases have snuck in, so let\'s take a look at those before we get going:\r\n\r\n<strong>小得不能再小</strong> [pinyin]xiao3 de bu4 neng2 zai4 xiao3[/pinyin]  - This structure actually just came up in my <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/29/essay-the-ugly-rock-by-jia-pingwa/\">last advanced post</a>, so it\'s pretty commonly used. Let\'s break it down: \r\n\r\n小 - Small \r\n得 - To the point that / to the degree that\r\n不能 - Cannot\r\n再 - Again\r\n小 - Small\r\n\r\nYikes. Hard to piece that together, even though we know the definition of each character. It means \"small to the point that it could not be any smaller\", or in better English, \"so small it could not be smaller\" / \"extremely small\". We can use this structure with many different adjectives. In the advanced post, the phrasing was: 丑得不能再丑, or \"so ugly it couldn\'t be uglier\". \r\n\r\n<strong>不知所措</strong> [pinyin]bu4 zhi1 suo3 cuo4[/pinyin] - To be at one\'s wit\'s end, to not know what to do. \r\n\r\n<strong>硬着头皮</strong> [pinyin]ying4 zhe tou2 pi2[/pinyin] - This one cracks me up. 头皮 is the skin on the top of your head over your skull. 硬, as we know, is usually an adjective which means \"hard\", as in \"a hard surface\". In this case,  硬 is being used as a verb, as in \"to harden\". But, \"to harden the skin over one\'s head\" still doesn\'t make any sense in English. That\'s because in Chinese, hardening one\'s head-skin is used to describe \"bracing oneself to do something scary or difficult\". For example, you\'ve got to 硬头皮 before you walk out on stage to give a performance, or before you have a hard conversation with your significant other, or before you walk into a job interview. 着 is a grammar word indicating something is continually happening. You can\'t just brace yourself for a second. You\'ve got to brace, and then hold onto that courage to go forth and complete whatever task you had to brace yourself for, so 着 shows us that this is a continual state. \r\n\r\n<strong>腿发软</strong> - [pinyin]tui3 fa1 ruan3[/pinyin] Three easy characters that seem to make no sense together. Let\'s look at each:\r\n\r\n腿 - Legs\r\n发 - To radiate, to send out\r\n软 - Soft\r\n\r\nLegs send out soft?! Clearly, the hard part here is the appearance of the character 发. In Chinese, 发 can be used to describe a kind of discomfort that radiates out from some part of the body. For example, after a workout, your muscles can 发酸 [pinyin]fa1 suan1[/pinyin], \"radiate ache\", or in better English \"be sore\". When you\'re sick, you may 发烧 [pinyin]fa1 shao1[/pinyin], \"radiate burn\", or in better English \"have a fever\". If a cut gets infected, it may 发炎 [pinyin]fa1 yan2[/pinyin], \"radiate heat\" or \"become inflamed\". If you\'re terrified, you may 发抖 [pinyin]fa1 dou3[/pinyin], \"radiate twitches\", or \"tremble\". So, all together, 腿发软 is equivalent to the English for \"to go weak in the knees\" or when ones \"legs go soft\" from fear. \r\n\r\n<strong>以为</strong> [pinyin]yi3 wei2[/pinyin] - And last but not least, 以为 means \"to think\", but not \"to think\" in the sense of sitting around pondering something, like \"to think up a solution\" or \"to think about a friend\". It means to have the wrong idea about something, or to believe something false, as in, \"Did you really think you could beat <em>me</em>?\" or \"Do you think this is some kind of joke?\" or \"I really thought I turned that paper in already!\" \r\n\r\nAlright, ready? On with the Chinese.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《西红柿女孩》</h4>\r\n\r\n这个小姑娘叫米乐。她非常，非常，非常害羞。只要有人叫她的名字，她就会变得满脸通红！可怜的米乐！\r\n\r\n在学校的操场上，同学们最喜欢的游戏，就是米乐的脸变颜色。米乐的脸会从淡粉色变成玫瑰红。从“米乐”变成“西红柿”。\r\n\r\n上课的时候，如果老师叫到她的名字，她会马上心跳加速，呼吸困难。虽然她明明知道答案，但是答案却总是躲在脑子里，不肯出来。没有一个人听到过米乐<span class=\"highlightText\">小得不能再小</span>的声音。从来没有！\r\n\r\n在面包店的阿姨面前（那是常常送糖给她的阿姨哦），米乐也说不出一个字。领居家的小姑娘来米乐家玩，米乐也害羞得<span class=\"highlightText\">不知所措</span>。\r\n\r\n可怜的米乐，她从来不敢和同学们一起玩跳房子，同学们也不愿意和米乐一起玩。\r\n\r\n这些还不算什么。最最可怕、最最悲惨、最最让人担心的，这辈子最让米乐害怕的，是明天。因为明天她要在全班同学面前背诗！\r\n\r\n米乐度过了一个可怕的晚上。她在床上翻来覆去，先是怎么也睡不着，接着又做了许多的噩梦。\r\n\r\n可是第二天，米乐不得不硬着头皮去上学......\r\n\r\n“西红柿！”\r\n\r\n“米乐，该你了！”\r\n\r\n米乐的<span class=\"highlightText\">腿发软</span>、心乱跳，她恨不得自己能马上消失。\r\n\r\n“她的脸好红呀！”\r\n\r\n“西红柿！”\r\n\r\n老师说，“怎么这么吵！你们<span class=\"highlightText\">以为</span>这里是动物园吗? 是菜市场吗? 你们这些捣蛋鬼，不觉得难为情吗？她叫米乐。不叫西红柿！” \r\n\r\n米乐这才发现同学们的脸和她的一样红！突然，米乐张开了嘴。\r\n\r\n“小鸟\r\n一只小鸟，\r\n并不美丽，\r\n所有的动物都嘲笑它。\r\n它的颜色很奇怪，\r\n羽毛也不柔软。\r\n一天早上，在清晨的阳光里，\r\n小鸟唱起了动听的歌，\r\n所有的动物都伸长了耳朵，\r\n原来在并不耀眼的羽毛下，\r\n藏着最美丽的歌喉！”\r\n\r\n完。\r\n\r\n“太棒了！”\r\n\r\n“真好！”\r\n\r\n“真了不起！”\r\n\r\n从那天起，米乐有一个新外号，“米乐小百灵”。\r\n\r\n<h6>Buy on Amazon:</h6>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThis little girl is named Mile. She is very, very, very shy. One only needs to call her name, and her whole face will turn red! Poor Mile!\r\n\r\nOn the school playground, her classmates\' favorite game, is to make Mile\'s face change color. Mile\'s face will change from light pink to rose red. From \"Mile\" she becomes \"Tomato\". \r\n\r\nDuring classtime, if the teacher calls her name, her heartbeat immediately speeds up, and it\'s difficult to breathe. Although she clearly knows the answer, the answer always hides in her brain, unwilling to come out. Not one person has ever heard Mile\'s small [so small it couldn\'t be smaller] voice. Never! \r\n\r\nIn front of the lady [lit: auntie] at the bakery (that\'s the lady that always gives her some candy), Mile still can\'t speak a word. The neighbor\'s little girl came to Mila\'s house to play, and Mile was so shy she was at her wit\'s end. \r\n\r\nPoor Mile, she had never dared to play hopscotch with her classmates, and her classmates also weren\'t willing to play with her. \r\n\r\nBut all this was nothing. Most most frightening of all, most most miserable, most most worrisome, was tomorrow. Because tomorrow she had to read aloud in front of the whole class! \r\n\r\nMile spent the whole night terrified. She tossed and turned on her bed, first she couldn\'t sleep, and then she had many nightmares. \r\n\r\nBut on the second day, Mile had to brace herself and go to school... \r\n\r\n\"Tomato!\"\r\n\r\n\"Mile, it\'s your turn!\"\r\n\r\nMile\'s legs went soft, her heart beat madly, and she wished she could immediately disappear. \r\n\r\n\"Her face is so red!\" \r\n\r\n\"Tomato!\" \r\n\r\nThe teacher said, \"How are you all this noisy? Do you think this is a zoo?! That it\'s a vegetable market? You troublemakers, aren\'t you ashamed? Her name is Mile. Not Tomato!\"  \r\n\r\nAt this time, Mile discovered all her classmate\'s faces were as red as hers! Suddenly, Mile opened her mouth. \r\n\r\n“Little bird,\r\nOne little bird,\r\nNot at all pretty, \r\nAll the animals made fun of it.\r\nIt\'s color was very strange,\r\nAnd its feathers were not soft.\r\nOne morning, in the light of the dawn,\r\nThe little bird sang a pleasant song,\r\nAll the animals perked up their ears,\r\nFor it turned out that under unremarkable feathers,\r\nThere was hidden the most beautiful song!\"\r\n\r\nShe finished.\r\n\r\n\"So great!\"\r\n\r\n\"Well done!\" \r\n\r\n\"Really impressive!\" \r\n\r\nFrom that day on, Mile had a new nickname, \"Mile the Little Lark\". \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Children\'s Stories: 《西红柿女孩》Tomato Girl', 'Poor little Mile (米乐) is so shy (害羞 - [pinyin]hai4 xiu1[/pinyin]), she never speaks, and her face turns bright red whenever someone speaks to her. This story is upper-beginner, will be a reasonably comfortable read at around HSK 4, and a do-able read at HSK 3 with a bit of effort. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2065-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-29 20:01:20', '2020-04-30 00:01:20', '', 2065, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/29/2065-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2139, 1, '2020-05-01 00:00:25', '2020-05-01 04:00:25', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nA devout Christian explains the benefits of charitable giving to his neighbors. A short, 7-sentence read, but a little dense on new vocab with harder sentence structures (suitable around HSK 4-5). \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThis read is pretty much just an exercise in picking up new vocabulary. You\'ll learn good-for-the-soul words like \"Christianity\", \"pious\", \"charity\", \"donation\" and \"wealth\".\r\n\r\nGrammatically, the difficult bits are in the last paragraph, which includes two rhetorical questions that aren\'t quite so straightforward. I\'m actually not going to explain these like I usually do, because I don\'t think they\'ll trip up your understanding too much, but I will highlight them below so you know where to focus your attention. \r\n \r\n<a href=\"http://www.rensheng5.com/zheligushi/id-1787.html\">Source is here</a>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《上帝的铲子》</h4>\r\n\r\n有个农夫信仰基督教，对上帝十分的虔诚。他为人乐善好施，经常资助贫困的人们，还向各个慈善机构捐赠大笔钱款。邻居和亲友们都不明白，他捐赠如此之多的钱财，为何仍然这么富裕？\r\n\r\n有一天，邻人问他：“我们不明白，你捐出去那么多的钱，而且频频去施舍，可你怎么却越来越富有呢？\r\n\r\n农夫说：“<span class=\"highlightText\">这还不好解释</span>？你看，我用铲子不断地往上帝的仓库里铲，而上帝也不断地往我的仓库里回铲。你想想，<span class=\"highlightText\">我的铲子能有上帝的大吗？</span>”\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThere was a farmer who believed in Christianity, and was quite devout in the Lord. He was kind and generous to people, often aided the poor financially, and frequently donated large sums of money to charitable organizations. 　\r\n\r\nHis neighbors and close friends didn\'t understand, he donated so much money, how was he still well-to-do?\r\n\r\nOne day, his neighbors asked him: \"We don\'t get it, you give out so much money, and often give to charity, how are you then increasingly wealthy?\"　\r\n\r\nThe farmer said:　\"Must this be explained? Look, I use a shovel and unceasingly [fill up] God\'s storehouse, and God unceasingly shovels into mine in return. Think about it, could my shovel ever be bigger than God\'s?\"\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Fable: 《上帝的铲子》God\'s Shovel', 'A devout Christian explains the benefits of charitable giving to his neighbors. A short, 7-sentence read, but a little dense on new vocab with harder sentence structures (suitable around HSK 4-5). ', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'chinese-fable-gods-shovel', '', '', '2020-04-30 20:23:05', '2020-05-01 00:23:05', '', 0, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=2139', 0, 'post', '', 4),
(2140, 1, '2020-04-30 11:19:36', '2020-04-30 15:19:36', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nA short, 7-sentence read, but a little dense on new vocab with harder sentence structures (suitable around HSK 4-5). \r\nhttp://www.rensheng5.com/zheligushi/id-1787.html\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《上帝的铲子》</h4>\r\n\r\n有个农夫信仰基督教，对上帝十分的虔诚。\r\n\r\n他为人乐善好施，经常资助贫困的人们，还向各个慈善机构捐赠大笔钱款。\r\n\r\n邻居和亲友们都不明白，他捐赠如此之多的钱财，为何仍然这么富裕？\r\n\r\n有一天，邻人问他：“我们不明白，你捐出去那么多的钱，而且频频去施舍，可你怎么却越来越富有呢？\r\n\r\n农夫说：“这还不好解释？你看，我用铲子不断地往上帝的仓库里铲，而上帝也不断地往我的仓库里回铲。你想想，我的铲子能有上帝的大吗？”\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\n　　有个农夫信仰基督教，对上帝十分的虔诚。\r\n\r\n　　他为人乐善好施，经常资助贫困的人们，还向各个慈善机构捐赠大笔钱款。\r\n\r\n　　邻居和亲友们都不明白，他捐赠如此之多的钱财，为何仍然这么富裕？\r\n\r\n　　有一天，邻人问他：“我们不明白，你捐出去那么多的钱，而且频频去施舍，可你怎么却越来越富有呢？\r\n\r\n　　农夫说：“这还不好解释？你看，我用铲子不断地往上帝的仓库里铲，而上帝也不断地往我的仓库里回铲。你想想，我的铲子能有上帝的大吗？”\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Fable: 《上帝的铲子》God\'s Shovel', 'Poor little Mile (米乐) is so shy (害羞 - [pinyin]hai4 xiu1[/pinyin]), she never speaks, and her face turns bright red whenever someone speaks to her. This story is upper-beginner, will be a reasonably comfortable read at around HSK 4, and a do-able read at HSK 3 with a bit of effort. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2139-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-30 11:19:36', '2020-04-30 15:19:36', '', 2139, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/30/2139-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2141, 1, '2020-04-30 11:35:52', '0000-00-00 00:00:00', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nLife in quarantine\r\nhttp://www.rensheng5.com/zheligushi/id-1783.html\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《地狱的生活》</h4>\r\n\r\n有一个人死后，在去阎罗殿的路上，黑暗中一座金碧辉煌的宫殿出现在他的面前。宫殿的主人邀请他留下来居住。\r\n\r\n这个人说：“我在人世间辛辛苦苦地忙碌一辈子，我现在只想吃，只想睡，其他什么都不想做。”\r\n\r\n宫主笑着说：“若是这样，我这里便是最适合你居住的地方了。我这里有山珍海味，你想吃什么就吃什么；我这里有舒适的大床，你想睡多久就睡多久；而且，我保证不会有任何事情需要你去做。”\r\n\r\n于是这个人便住进了宫殿。开始逐步，这个人吃饱了睡，睡好了吃，过得非常愉快。可是，这种日子没过多久，他就感到有些寂寞和空虚，于是他就去见宫主，拒绝道：“这种每天吃吃睡睡的日子没有意思。我现在肠肥肚满，无聊的日子实在难熬，你能不能为我找一份工作？”\r\n\r\n宫主答道：“对不起，我不能满足你的要求，因为我们这里根本就没有工作。”\r\n\r\n又过了一次淘汰，这个人实在受不了了，又去见宫主：“我无法忍受这种生活。如果你不给我工作，我宁愿去地狱，也不愿住这里了。”哲理故事\r\n\r\n宫主依然笑笑：“你以为这里是天堂吗？这里本来就是地狱啊！”\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\n有一个人死后，在去阎罗殿的路上，黑暗中一座金碧辉煌的宫殿出现在他的面前。宫殿的主人邀请他留下来居住。\r\n\r\n这个人说：“我在人世间辛辛苦苦地忙碌一辈子，我现在只想吃，只想睡，其他什么都不想做。”\r\n\r\n宫主笑着说：“若是这样，我这里便是最适合你居住的地方了。我这里有山珍海味，你想吃什么就吃什么；我这里有舒适的大床，你想睡多久就睡多久；而且，我保证不会有任何事情需要你去做。”\r\n\r\n于是这个人便住进了宫殿。开始逐步，这个人吃饱了睡，睡好了吃，过得非常愉快。可是，这种日子没过多久，他就感到有些寂寞和空虚，于是他就去见宫主，拒绝道：“这种每天吃吃睡睡的日子没有意思。我现在肠肥肚满，无聊的日子实在难熬，你能不能为我找一份工作？”\r\n\r\n宫主答道：“对不起，我不能满足你的要求，因为我们这里根本就没有工作。”\r\n\r\n又过了一次淘汰，这个人实在受不了了，又去见宫主：“我无法忍受这种生活。如果你不给我工作，我宁愿去地狱，也不愿住这里了。”哲理故事\r\n\r\n宫主依然笑笑：“你以为这里是天堂吗？这里本来就是地狱啊！”\r\n\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Fable: 《地狱的生活》Life in Hell', '', 'draft', 'open', 'open', '', '', '', '', '2020-04-30 11:35:52', '2020-04-30 15:35:52', '', 0, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=2141', 0, 'post', '', 0),
(2142, 1, '2020-04-30 11:25:51', '2020-04-30 15:25:51', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nLife in quarantine\r\nhttp://www.rensheng5.com/zheligushi/id-1783.html\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《地狱的生活》</h4>\r\n\r\n有一个人死后，在去阎罗殿的路上，黑暗中一座金碧辉煌的宫殿出现在他的面前。宫殿的主人邀请他留下来居住。\r\n\r\n这个人说：“我在人世间辛辛苦苦地忙碌一辈子，我现在只想吃，只想睡，其他什么都不想做。”\r\n\r\n宫主笑着说：“若是这样，我这里便是最适合你居住的地方了。我这里有山珍海味，你想吃什么就吃什么；我这里有舒适的大床，你想睡多久就睡多久；而且，我保证不会有任何事情需要你去做。”\r\n\r\n于是这个人便住进了宫殿。开始逐步，这个人吃饱了睡，睡好了吃，过得非常愉快。可是，这种日子没过多久，他就感到有些寂寞和空虚，于是他就去见宫主，拒绝道：“这种每天吃吃睡睡的日子没有意思。我现在肠肥肚满，无聊的日子实在难熬，你能不能为我找一份工作？”\r\n\r\n宫主答道：“对不起，我不能满足你的要求，因为我们这里根本就没有工作。”\r\n\r\n又过了一次淘汰，这个人实在受不了了，又去见宫主：“我无法忍受这种生活。如果你不给我工作，我宁愿去地狱，也不愿住这里了。”哲理故事\r\n\r\n宫主依然笑笑：“你以为这里是天堂吗？这里本来就是地狱啊！”\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\n有一个人死后，在去阎罗殿的路上，黑暗中一座金碧辉煌的宫殿出现在他的面前。宫殿的主人邀请他留下来居住。\r\n\r\n这个人说：“我在人世间辛辛苦苦地忙碌一辈子，我现在只想吃，只想睡，其他什么都不想做。”\r\n\r\n宫主笑着说：“若是这样，我这里便是最适合你居住的地方了。我这里有山珍海味，你想吃什么就吃什么；我这里有舒适的大床，你想睡多久就睡多久；而且，我保证不会有任何事情需要你去做。”\r\n\r\n于是这个人便住进了宫殿。开始逐步，这个人吃饱了睡，睡好了吃，过得非常愉快。可是，这种日子没过多久，他就感到有些寂寞和空虚，于是他就去见宫主，拒绝道：“这种每天吃吃睡睡的日子没有意思。我现在肠肥肚满，无聊的日子实在难熬，你能不能为我找一份工作？”\r\n\r\n宫主答道：“对不起，我不能满足你的要求，因为我们这里根本就没有工作。”\r\n\r\n又过了一次淘汰，这个人实在受不了了，又去见宫主：“我无法忍受这种生活。如果你不给我工作，我宁愿去地狱，也不愿住这里了。”哲理故事\r\n\r\n宫主依然笑笑：“你以为这里是天堂吗？这里本来就是地狱啊！”\r\n\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Fable: 《地狱的生活》Life in Hell', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2141-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-30 11:25:51', '2020-04-30 15:25:51', '', 2141, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/30/2141-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(2143, 1, '2020-04-30 19:50:58', '2020-04-30 23:50:58', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nPoor little Mile (米乐) is so shy (害羞 - [pinyin]hai4 xiu1[/pinyin]), she never speaks, and her face turns bright red whenever someone speaks to her. This story is upper-beginner, will be a reasonably comfortable read at around HSK 4, and a do-able read at HSK 3 with a bit of effort.  \r\n\r\nSooooo, this is an actual picture book for kids, available in print, from a French author and a Chinese illustrator. I\'m not 100% sure about the copyright on this story. I <a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/385988976_751590\">found it</a> floating all around on dozens of sites on the Chinese internet, but considering lax copyright protection in China, that doesn\'t mean it\'s not stolen. I hope not... but if you like it, I found one print copy of the Chinese version on Amazon, so <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2YkIIDw\">go buy it</a> to read aloud to young readers at home or in the classroom. It\'s better with pictures. If you are the copyright owner, <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/about/\">contact me</a>. \r\n\r\nAnyway, this is a sweet story that also includes a little bit of story-ception. At one point, Mile has to read a story to her class, so you get two beginner stories for the price of one. \r\n\r\nAs with most of these pieces, a few advanced phrases have snuck in, so let\'s take a look at those before we get going:\r\n\r\n<strong>小得不能再小</strong> [pinyin]xiao3 de bu4 neng2 zai4 xiao3[/pinyin]  - This structure actually just came up in my <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/29/essay-the-ugly-rock-by-jia-pingwa/\">last advanced post</a>, so it\'s pretty commonly used. Let\'s break it down: \r\n\r\n小 - Small \r\n得 - To the point that / to the degree that\r\n不能 - Cannot\r\n再 - Again\r\n小 - Small\r\n\r\nYikes. Hard to piece that together, even though we know the definition of each character. It means \"small to the point that it could not be any smaller\", or in better English, \"so small it could not be smaller\" / \"extremely small\". We can use this structure with many different adjectives. In the advanced post, the phrasing was: 丑得不能再丑, or \"so ugly it couldn\'t be uglier\". \r\n\r\n<strong>不知所措</strong> [pinyin]bu4 zhi1 suo3 cuo4[/pinyin] - To be at one\'s wit\'s end, to not know what to do. \r\n\r\n<strong>硬着头皮</strong> [pinyin]ying4 zhe tou2 pi2[/pinyin] - This one cracks me up. 头皮 is the skin on the top of your head over your skull. 硬, as we know, is usually an adjective which means \"hard\", as in \"a hard surface\". In this case,  硬 is being used as a verb, as in \"to harden\". But, \"to harden the skin over one\'s head\" still doesn\'t make any sense in English. That\'s because in Chinese, hardening one\'s head-skin is used to describe \"bracing oneself to do something scary or difficult\". For example, you\'ve got to 硬头皮 before you walk out on stage to give a performance, or before you have a hard conversation with your significant other, or before you walk into a job interview. 着 is a grammar word indicating something is continually happening. You can\'t just brace yourself for a second. You\'ve got to brace, and then hold onto that courage to go forth and complete whatever task you had to brace yourself for, so 着 shows us that this is a continual state. \r\n\r\n<strong>腿发软</strong> - [pinyin]tui3 fa1 ruan3[/pinyin] Three easy characters that seem to make no sense together. Let\'s look at each:\r\n\r\n腿 - Legs\r\n发 - To radiate, to send out\r\n软 - Soft\r\n\r\nLegs send out soft?! Clearly, the hard part here is the appearance of the character 发. In Chinese, 发 can be used to describe a kind of discomfort that radiates out from some part of the body. For example, after a workout, your muscles can 发酸 [pinyin]fa1 suan1[/pinyin], \"radiate ache\", or in better English \"be sore\". When you\'re sick, you may 发烧 [pinyin]fa1 shao1[/pinyin], \"radiate burn\", or in better English \"have a fever\". If a cut gets infected, it may 发炎 [pinyin]fa1 yan2[/pinyin], \"radiate heat\" or \"become inflamed\". If you\'re terrified, you may 发抖 [pinyin]fa1 dou3[/pinyin], \"radiate twitches\", or \"tremble\". So, all together, 腿发软 is equivalent to the English for \"to go weak in the knees\" or when ones \"legs go soft\" from fear. \r\n\r\n<strong>以为</strong> [pinyin]yi3 wei2[/pinyin] - And last but not least, 以为 means \"to think\", but not \"to think\" in the sense of sitting around pondering something, like \"to think up a solution\" or \"to think about a friend\". It means to have the wrong idea about something, or to believe something false, as in, \"Did you really think you could beat <em>me</em>?\" or \"Do you think this is some kind of joke?\" or \"I really thought I turned that paper in already!\" \r\n\r\nAlright, ready? On with the Chinese.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《西红柿女孩》</h4>\r\n\r\n这个小姑娘叫米乐。她非常，非常，非常害羞。只要有人叫她的名字，她就会变得满脸通红！可怜的米乐！\r\n\r\n在学校的操场上，同学们最喜欢的游戏，就是米乐的脸变颜色。米乐的脸会从淡粉色变成玫瑰红。从“米乐”变成“西红柿”。\r\n\r\n上课的时候，如果老师叫到她的名字，她会马上心跳加速，呼吸困难。虽然她明明知道答案，但是答案却总是躲在脑子里，不肯出来。没有一个人听到过米乐<span class=\"highlightText\">小得不能再小</span>的声音。从来没有！\r\n\r\n在面包店的阿姨面前（那是常常送糖给她的阿姨哦），米乐也说不出一个字。邻居家的小姑娘来米乐家玩，米乐也害羞得<span class=\"highlightText\">不知所措</span>。\r\n\r\n可怜的米乐，她从来不敢和同学们一起玩跳房子，同学们也不愿意和米乐一起玩。\r\n\r\n这些还不算什么。最最可怕、最最悲惨、最最让人担心的，这辈子最让米乐害怕的，是明天。因为明天她要在全班同学面前背诗！\r\n\r\n米乐度过了一个可怕的晚上。她在床上翻来覆去，先是怎么也睡不着，接着又做了许多的噩梦。\r\n\r\n可是第二天，米乐不得不硬着头皮去上学......\r\n\r\n“西红柿！”\r\n\r\n“米乐，该你了！”\r\n\r\n米乐的<span class=\"highlightText\">腿发软</span>、心乱跳，她恨不得自己能马上消失。\r\n\r\n“她的脸好红呀！”\r\n\r\n“西红柿！”\r\n\r\n老师说，“怎么这么吵！你们<span class=\"highlightText\">以为</span>这里是动物园吗? 是菜市场吗? 你们这些捣蛋鬼，不觉得难为情吗？她叫米乐。不叫西红柿！” \r\n\r\n米乐这才发现同学们的脸和她的一样红！突然，米乐张开了嘴。\r\n\r\n“小鸟\r\n一只小鸟，\r\n并不美丽，\r\n所有的动物都嘲笑它。\r\n它的颜色很奇怪，\r\n羽毛也不柔软。\r\n一天早上，在清晨的阳光里，\r\n小鸟唱起了动听的歌，\r\n所有的动物都伸长了耳朵，\r\n原来在并不耀眼的羽毛下，\r\n藏着最美丽的歌喉！”\r\n\r\n完。\r\n\r\n“太棒了！”\r\n\r\n“真好！”\r\n\r\n“真了不起！”\r\n\r\n从那天起，米乐有一个新外号，“米乐小百灵”。\r\n\r\n<h6>Buy on Amazon:</h6>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThis little girl is named Mile. She is very, very, very shy. One only needs to call her name, and her whole face will turn red! Poor Mile!\r\n\r\nOn the school playground, her classmates\' favorite game, is to make Mile\'s face change color. Mile\'s face will change from light pink to rose red. From \"Mile\" she becomes \"Tomato\". \r\n\r\nDuring classtime, if the teacher calls her name, her heartbeat immediately speeds up, and it\'s difficult to breathe. Although she clearly knows the answer, the answer always hides in her brain, unwilling to come out. Not one person has ever heard Mile\'s small [so small it couldn\'t be smaller] voice. Never! \r\n\r\nIn front of the lady [lit: auntie] at the bakery (that\'s the lady that always gives her some candy), Mile still can\'t speak a word. The neighbor\'s little girl came to Mila\'s house to play, and Mile was so shy she was at her wit\'s end. \r\n\r\nPoor Mile, she had never dared to play hopscotch with her classmates, and her classmates also weren\'t willing to play with her. \r\n\r\nBut all this was nothing. Most most frightening of all, most most miserable, most most worrisome, was tomorrow. Because tomorrow she had to read aloud in front of the whole class! \r\n\r\nMile spent the whole night terrified. She tossed and turned on her bed, first she couldn\'t sleep, and then she had many nightmares. \r\n\r\nBut on the second day, Mile had to brace herself and go to school... \r\n\r\n\"Tomato!\"\r\n\r\n\"Mile, it\'s your turn!\"\r\n\r\nMile\'s legs went soft, her heart beat madly, and she wished she could immediately disappear. \r\n\r\n\"Her face is so red!\" \r\n\r\n\"Tomato!\" \r\n\r\nThe teacher said, \"How are you all this noisy? Do you think this is a zoo?! That it\'s a vegetable market? You troublemakers, aren\'t you ashamed? Her name is Mile. Not Tomato!\"  \r\n\r\nAt this time, Mile discovered all her classmate\'s faces were as red as hers! Suddenly, Mile opened her mouth. \r\n\r\n“Little bird,\r\nOne little bird,\r\nNot at all pretty, \r\nAll the animals made fun of it.\r\nIt\'s color was very strange,\r\nAnd its feathers were not soft.\r\nOne morning, in the light of the dawn,\r\nThe little bird sang a pleasant song,\r\nAll the animals perked up their ears,\r\nFor it turned out that under unremarkable feathers,\r\nThere was hidden the most beautiful song!\"\r\n\r\nShe finished.\r\n\r\n\"So great!\"\r\n\r\n\"Well done!\" \r\n\r\n\"Really impressive!\" \r\n\r\nFrom that day on, Mile had a new nickname, \"Mile the Little Lark\". \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Children\'s Stories: 《西红柿女孩》Tomato Girl', 'Poor little Mile (米乐) is so shy (害羞 - [pinyin]hai4 xiu1[/pinyin]), she never speaks, and her face turns bright red whenever someone speaks to her. This story is upper-beginner, will be a reasonably comfortable read at around HSK 4, and a do-able read at HSK 3 with a bit of effort. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2065-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-30 19:50:58', '2020-04-30 23:50:58', '', 2065, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/30/2065-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2144, 1, '2020-04-30 19:57:47', '2020-04-30 23:57:47', '<h3>The Basics</h3>\r\nMy name is: <strong>Kendra Schaefer <a href=\"http://www.kendraschaefer.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(My personal site)</a></strong>\r\nEmail me at: me@kendraschaefer.com\r\nI live in: <strong>Beijing</strong>\r\nAge: <strong>37</strong> \r\nIn China since: <strong>2002</strong>\r\nMy day job: <a href=\"http://www.triviumchina.com\">Tech research</a>\r\n\r\n<h3>The Backstory</h3>\r\nI got my BA in Mandarin at a university in Beijing, and though I\'ve been out of school for a while, reading Chinese is one of the few things I never get bored of, probably because no matter how long I study, there\'s always more to learn. \r\n\r\nI originally became interested in learning Chinese primarily because I wanted to read the language. And though reading textbooks is an important, I found the readings outrageously boring. I wanted to read important works of Chinese fiction, Chinese news, Chinese fables and myths - in other words, I wanted real reading, something a Chinese kid might read in school or online.\r\n\r\nBut I soon found that tracking down reading materials was difficult and frustrating. Everything I picked up tended to be too long, too short, too easy, or too hard, and I ended up spending more time looking for something that was suitable than actually doing any reading. I wanted something challenging, and was willing to work to understand it, but every time I found something new to read, I never knew if I would be able to finish it. I\'d often get through a few paragraphs only to hit a phrase I couldn\'t decipher and, with no one to ask, would have to put the reading aside. \r\n\r\nOnce I did get to a place where my reading level was high enough to get through most pieces, I started this site to keep my own skills fresh, and to pay it forward for those students who are in the same spot I was. \r\n\r\n<h4>How I Classify Reading Levels</h4>\r\nNothing on this site is truly beginner reading. If you just picked up Chinese yesterday, or if you\'re at HSK 1 or 2, even the beginner stuff is going to be a rough ride for you - I only have found a couple of pieces that HSK 1-2 might be able to tackle. This is because for any story, article or essay to really take shape, it usually has to have some higher-level grammar or vocabulary mixed in. This is why most truly beginner textbooks stick to dialogs (你好! 你好吗? 我很好!) as opposed to actual stories. And the truth is, truly fluent native readers read at well above HSK 6. And, in the real world, many pieces of writing are mixed-level; the first few paragraphs might be intermediate, with an advanced paragraph thrown in. So, my classifications are the same classifications you might apply to a native speaker, not a learner. I also don\'t classify by HSK level. But, as a general guideline, on this site:\r\n\r\nBeginner: HSK 2-4\r\nIntermediate: HSK 5-6\r\nAdvanced: HSK 6+\r\n\r\nThe idea is not to give you something you can read without difficulty, but something that is an appropriate challenge at your reading level. So, I try to put texts into the lowest level at which someone, with a little work, might be able to figure the text out. So if, for example, you\'re at HSK 4, there are some pieces in the intermediate section you should be able to get through with some work. And if you can\'t figure something out, post in the comments. I\'ll try to answer you.\r\n\r\n<h4>About the Translations</h4>\r\nMost (but not all) of the translations on this site are done by me. I am not a linguist, and I translate for readability. I don\'t post anything unless I\'ve checked it several times, but that doesn\'t mean I haven\'t made a mistake. Do feel free to comment if you see anything that ought to have a better translation - it won\'t be taken amiss. \r\n\r\n<h4>How did you do those pop-up Chinese hover effects?</h4>\r\nThanks to Alex, the coder behind <a href=\"http://mandarinspot.com/\">Mandarinspot.com</a>, Chinese Reading Practice now has pop-up translation on Chinese texts - hover over any mandarin word in the reading text to see the definition. If you\'d like to implement something similar on your own blog, you can head over there and grab his Javascript file / annotations API. \r\n\r\n<h4>Commenting rules</h4>\r\nI try to maintain a pleasant learning environment, so abusive (you idiot!), pointless (I am Groot.),  or unhelpful (Hi.) comments will be deleted. I will also delete links from your comments unless those links are very relevant to the post. For example, it\'s fine to link to a Wikipedia page that\'s relevant to Chinese or to the content of the translation, but if you link to your own site, I sadly don\'t have time to verify if it\'s a phishing link or malware or inappropriate content so I\'m just gonna take it out. I don\'t always manage to catch all the spam that slips through, though, so apologies if there\'s some clutter.\r\n\r\nEnjoy, and good luck with your studies.', 'About', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-30 19:57:47', '2020-04-30 23:57:47', '', 2, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/30/2-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2146, 1, '2020-04-30 20:22:32', '2020-05-01 00:22:32', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nA devout Christian explains the benefits of charitable giving to his neighbors. A short, 7-sentence read, but a little dense on new vocab with harder sentence structures (suitable around HSK 4-5). \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThis read is pretty much just an exercise in picking up new vocabulary. You\'ll learn good-for-the-soul words like \"Christianity\", \"pious\", \"charity\", \"donation\" and \"wealth\".\r\n\r\nGrammatically, the difficult bits are in the last paragraph, which includes two rhetorical questions that aren\'t quite so straightforward. I\'m actually not going to explain these like I usually do, because I don\'t think they\'ll trip up your understanding too much, but I will highlight them below so you know where to focus your attention. \r\n \r\n<a href=\"http://www.rensheng5.com/zheligushi/id-1787.html\">Source is here</a>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《上帝的铲子》</h4>\r\n\r\n有个农夫信仰基督教，对上帝十分的虔诚。他为人乐善好施，经常资助贫困的人们，还向各个慈善机构捐赠大笔钱款。邻居和亲友们都不明白，他捐赠如此之多的钱财，为何仍然这么富裕？\r\n\r\n有一天，邻人问他：“我们不明白，你捐出去那么多的钱，而且频频去施舍，可你怎么却越来越富有呢？\r\n\r\n农夫说：“<span class=\"highlightText\">这还不好解释</span>？你看，我用铲子不断地往上帝的仓库里铲，而上帝也不断地往我的仓库里回铲。你想想，<span class=\"highlightText\">我的铲子能有上帝的大吗？</span>”\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThere was a farmer who believed in Christianity, and was quite devout in the Lord. \r\n\r\nHe was kind and generous to people, often aided the poor financially, and frequently donated large sums of money to charitable organizations. 　\r\n\r\nHis neighbors and close friends didn\'t understand, he donated so much money, how was he still well-to-do?\r\n\r\nOne day, his neighbors asked him: \"We don\'t get it, you give out so much money, and often give to charity, how are you then increasingly wealthy?\"　\r\n\r\nThe farmer said:　\"Must this be explained? Look, I use a shovel and unceasingly [fill up] God\'s storehouse, and God unceasingly shovels into mine in return. Think about it, could my shovel ever be bigger than God\'s?\"\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Fable: 《上帝的铲子》God\'s Shovel', 'A devout Christian explains the benefits of charitable giving to his neighbors. A short, 7-sentence read, but a little dense on new vocab with harder sentence structures (suitable around HSK 4-5). ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2139-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-04-30 20:22:32', '2020-05-01 00:22:32', '', 2139, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/30/2139-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2145, 1, '2020-04-30 20:21:47', '2020-05-01 00:21:47', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nA devout Christian explains the benefits of charitable giving to his neighbors. A short, 7-sentence read, but a little dense on new vocab with harder sentence structures (suitable around HSK 4-5). \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThis read is pretty much just an exercise in picking up new vocabulary. You\'ll learn good-for-the-soul words like \"Christianity\", \"pious\", \"charity\", \"donation\" and \"wealth\".\r\n\r\nGrammatically, the difficult bits are in the last paragraph, which includes two rhetorical questions that aren\'t quite so straightforward. I\'m actually not going to explain these like I usually do, because I don\'t think they\'ll trip up your understanding too much, but I will highlight them below so you know where to focus your attention. \r\n \r\n<a href=\"http://www.rensheng5.com/zheligushi/id-1787.html\">Source is here</a>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《上帝的铲子》</h4>\r\n\r\n有个农夫信仰基督教，对上帝十分的虔诚。他为人乐善好施，经常资助贫困的人们，还向各个慈善机构捐赠大笔钱款。邻居和亲友们都不明白，他捐赠如此之多的钱财，为何仍然这么富裕？\r\n\r\n有一天，邻人问他：“我们不明白，你捐出去那么多的钱，而且频频去施舍，可你怎么却越来越富有呢？\r\n\r\n农夫说：“<span class=\"highlightText\">这还不好解释</span>？你看，我用铲子不断地往上帝的仓库里铲，而上帝也不断地往我的仓库里回铲。你想想，<span class=\"highlightText\">我的铲子能有上帝的大吗？</span>”\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThere was a farmer who believed in Christianity, and was quite devout in the Lord. \r\n\r\nHe was kind and generous to people, often aided the poor financially, and frequently donated large sums of money to charitable organizations. 　\r\n\r\nHis neighbors and close friends didn\'t understand, he donated so much money, how was he still well-to-do?\r\n\r\nOne day, his neighbors asked him: \"We don\'t get it, you give out so much money, and often give to charity, how are you then increasingly wealthy?\"　\r\n\r\nThe farmer said:　\"Must this be explained? Look, I use a shovel and unceasingly [fill up] God\'s storehouse, and God unceasingly shovels into mine in return. Think about it, could my shovel ever be bigger than God\'s?\"\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Fable: 《上帝的铲子》God\'s Shovel', 'A devout Christian explains the benefits of charitable giving to his neighbors. A short, 7-sentence read, but a little dense on new vocab with harder sentence structures (suitable around HSK 4-5). ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2139-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-30 20:21:47', '2020-05-01 00:21:47', '', 2139, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/30/2139-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2147, 1, '2020-04-30 20:23:05', '2020-05-01 00:23:05', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nA devout Christian explains the benefits of charitable giving to his neighbors. A short, 7-sentence read, but a little dense on new vocab with harder sentence structures (suitable around HSK 4-5). \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThis read is pretty much just an exercise in picking up new vocabulary. You\'ll learn good-for-the-soul words like \"Christianity\", \"pious\", \"charity\", \"donation\" and \"wealth\".\r\n\r\nGrammatically, the difficult bits are in the last paragraph, which includes two rhetorical questions that aren\'t quite so straightforward. I\'m actually not going to explain these like I usually do, because I don\'t think they\'ll trip up your understanding too much, but I will highlight them below so you know where to focus your attention. \r\n \r\n<a href=\"http://www.rensheng5.com/zheligushi/id-1787.html\">Source is here</a>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《上帝的铲子》</h4>\r\n\r\n有个农夫信仰基督教，对上帝十分的虔诚。他为人乐善好施，经常资助贫困的人们，还向各个慈善机构捐赠大笔钱款。邻居和亲友们都不明白，他捐赠如此之多的钱财，为何仍然这么富裕？\r\n\r\n有一天，邻人问他：“我们不明白，你捐出去那么多的钱，而且频频去施舍，可你怎么却越来越富有呢？\r\n\r\n农夫说：“<span class=\"highlightText\">这还不好解释</span>？你看，我用铲子不断地往上帝的仓库里铲，而上帝也不断地往我的仓库里回铲。你想想，<span class=\"highlightText\">我的铲子能有上帝的大吗？</span>”\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThere was a farmer who believed in Christianity, and was quite devout in the Lord. He was kind and generous to people, often aided the poor financially, and frequently donated large sums of money to charitable organizations. 　\r\n\r\nHis neighbors and close friends didn\'t understand, he donated so much money, how was he still well-to-do?\r\n\r\nOne day, his neighbors asked him: \"We don\'t get it, you give out so much money, and often give to charity, how are you then increasingly wealthy?\"　\r\n\r\nThe farmer said:　\"Must this be explained? Look, I use a shovel and unceasingly [fill up] God\'s storehouse, and God unceasingly shovels into mine in return. Think about it, could my shovel ever be bigger than God\'s?\"\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Fable: 《上帝的铲子》God\'s Shovel', 'A devout Christian explains the benefits of charitable giving to his neighbors. A short, 7-sentence read, but a little dense on new vocab with harder sentence structures (suitable around HSK 4-5). ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2139-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-30 20:23:05', '2020-05-01 00:23:05', '', 2139, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/30/2139-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2148, 1, '2020-04-30 20:24:10', '2020-05-01 00:24:10', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nPoor little Mile (米乐) is so shy (害羞 - [pinyin]hai4 xiu1[/pinyin]), she never speaks, and her face turns bright red whenever someone speaks to her. This story is upper-beginner, and is much longer than most beginner reads on this site. It will be a reasonably comfortable read at around HSK 4, and a do-able read at HSK 3 with a bit of effort.  \r\n\r\nSooooo, this is an actual picture book for kids, available in print, from a French author and a Chinese illustrator. I\'m not 100% sure about the copyright on this story. I <a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/385988976_751590\">found it</a> floating all around on dozens of sites on the Chinese internet, but considering lax copyright protection in China, that doesn\'t mean it\'s not stolen. I hope not... but if you like it, I found one print copy of the Chinese version on Amazon, so <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2YkIIDw\">go buy it</a> to read aloud to young readers at home or in the classroom. It\'s better with pictures. If you are the copyright owner, <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/about/\">contact me</a>. \r\n\r\nAnyway, this is a sweet story that also includes a little bit of story-ception. At one point, Mile has to read a story to her class, so you get two beginner stories for the price of one. \r\n\r\nAs with most of these pieces, a few advanced phrases have snuck in, so let\'s take a look at those before we get going:\r\n\r\n<strong>小得不能再小</strong> [pinyin]xiao3 de bu4 neng2 zai4 xiao3[/pinyin]  - This structure actually just came up in my <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/29/essay-the-ugly-rock-by-jia-pingwa/\">last advanced post</a>, so it\'s pretty commonly used. Let\'s break it down: \r\n\r\n小 - Small \r\n得 - To the point that / to the degree that\r\n不能 - Cannot\r\n再 - Again\r\n小 - Small\r\n\r\nYikes. Hard to piece that together, even though we know the definition of each character. It means \"small to the point that it could not be any smaller\", or in better English, \"so small it could not be smaller\" / \"extremely small\". We can use this structure with many different adjectives. In the advanced post, the phrasing was: 丑得不能再丑, or \"so ugly it couldn\'t be uglier\". \r\n\r\n<strong>不知所措</strong> [pinyin]bu4 zhi1 suo3 cuo4[/pinyin] - To be at one\'s wit\'s end, to not know what to do. \r\n\r\n<strong>硬着头皮</strong> [pinyin]ying4 zhe tou2 pi2[/pinyin] - This one cracks me up. 头皮 is the skin on the top of your head over your skull. 硬, as we know, is usually an adjective which means \"hard\", as in \"a hard surface\". In this case,  硬 is being used as a verb, as in \"to harden\". But, \"to harden the skin over one\'s head\" still doesn\'t make any sense in English. That\'s because in Chinese, hardening one\'s head-skin is used to describe \"bracing oneself to do something scary or difficult\". For example, you\'ve got to 硬头皮 before you walk out on stage to give a performance, or before you have a hard conversation with your significant other, or before you walk into a job interview. 着 is a grammar word indicating something is continually happening. You can\'t just brace yourself for a second. You\'ve got to brace, and then hold onto that courage to go forth and complete whatever task you had to brace yourself for, so 着 shows us that this is a continual state. \r\n\r\n<strong>腿发软</strong> - [pinyin]tui3 fa1 ruan3[/pinyin] Three easy characters that seem to make no sense together. Let\'s look at each:\r\n\r\n腿 - Legs\r\n发 - To radiate, to send out\r\n软 - Soft\r\n\r\nLegs send out soft?! Clearly, the hard part here is the appearance of the character 发. In Chinese, 发 can be used to describe a kind of discomfort that radiates out from some part of the body. For example, after a workout, your muscles can 发酸 [pinyin]fa1 suan1[/pinyin], \"radiate ache\", or in better English \"be sore\". When you\'re sick, you may 发烧 [pinyin]fa1 shao1[/pinyin], \"radiate burn\", or in better English \"have a fever\". If a cut gets infected, it may 发炎 [pinyin]fa1 yan2[/pinyin], \"radiate heat\" or \"become inflamed\". If you\'re terrified, you may 发抖 [pinyin]fa1 dou3[/pinyin], \"radiate twitches\", or \"tremble\". So, all together, 腿发软 is equivalent to the English for \"to go weak in the knees\" or when ones \"legs go soft\" from fear. \r\n\r\n<strong>以为</strong> [pinyin]yi3 wei2[/pinyin] - And last but not least, 以为 means \"to think\", but not \"to think\" in the sense of sitting around pondering something, like \"to think up a solution\" or \"to think about a friend\". It means to have the wrong idea about something, or to believe something false, as in, \"Did you really think you could beat <em>me</em>?\" or \"Do you think this is some kind of joke?\" or \"I really thought I turned that paper in already!\" \r\n\r\nAlright, ready? On with the Chinese.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《西红柿女孩》</h4>\r\n\r\n这个小姑娘叫米乐。她非常，非常，非常害羞。只要有人叫她的名字，她就会变得满脸通红！可怜的米乐！\r\n\r\n在学校的操场上，同学们最喜欢的游戏，就是米乐的脸变颜色。米乐的脸会从淡粉色变成玫瑰红。从“米乐”变成“西红柿”。\r\n\r\n上课的时候，如果老师叫到她的名字，她会马上心跳加速，呼吸困难。虽然她明明知道答案，但是答案却总是躲在脑子里，不肯出来。没有一个人听到过米乐<span class=\"highlightText\">小得不能再小</span>的声音。从来没有！\r\n\r\n在面包店的阿姨面前（那是常常送糖给她的阿姨哦），米乐也说不出一个字。邻居家的小姑娘来米乐家玩，米乐也害羞得<span class=\"highlightText\">不知所措</span>。\r\n\r\n可怜的米乐，她从来不敢和同学们一起玩跳房子，同学们也不愿意和米乐一起玩。\r\n\r\n这些还不算什么。最最可怕、最最悲惨、最最让人担心的，这辈子最让米乐害怕的，是明天。因为明天她要在全班同学面前背诗！\r\n\r\n米乐度过了一个可怕的晚上。她在床上翻来覆去，先是怎么也睡不着，接着又做了许多的噩梦。\r\n\r\n可是第二天，米乐不得不硬着头皮去上学......\r\n\r\n“西红柿！”\r\n\r\n“米乐，该你了！”\r\n\r\n米乐的<span class=\"highlightText\">腿发软</span>、心乱跳，她恨不得自己能马上消失。\r\n\r\n“她的脸好红呀！”\r\n\r\n“西红柿！”\r\n\r\n老师说，“怎么这么吵！你们<span class=\"highlightText\">以为</span>这里是动物园吗? 是菜市场吗? 你们这些捣蛋鬼，不觉得难为情吗？她叫米乐。不叫西红柿！” \r\n\r\n米乐这才发现同学们的脸和她的一样红！突然，米乐张开了嘴。\r\n\r\n“小鸟\r\n一只小鸟，\r\n并不美丽，\r\n所有的动物都嘲笑它。\r\n它的颜色很奇怪，\r\n羽毛也不柔软。\r\n一天早上，在清晨的阳光里，\r\n小鸟唱起了动听的歌，\r\n所有的动物都伸长了耳朵，\r\n原来在并不耀眼的羽毛下，\r\n藏着最美丽的歌喉！”\r\n\r\n完。\r\n\r\n“太棒了！”\r\n\r\n“真好！”\r\n\r\n“真了不起！”\r\n\r\n从那天起，米乐有一个新外号，“米乐小百灵”。\r\n\r\n<h6>Buy on Amazon:</h6>\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThis little girl is named Mile. She is very, very, very shy. One only needs to call her name, and her whole face will turn red! Poor Mile!\r\n\r\nOn the school playground, her classmates\' favorite game, is to make Mile\'s face change color. Mile\'s face will change from light pink to rose red. From \"Mile\" she becomes \"Tomato\". \r\n\r\nDuring classtime, if the teacher calls her name, her heartbeat immediately speeds up, and it\'s difficult to breathe. Although she clearly knows the answer, the answer always hides in her brain, unwilling to come out. Not one person has ever heard Mile\'s small [so small it couldn\'t be smaller] voice. Never! \r\n\r\nIn front of the lady [lit: auntie] at the bakery (that\'s the lady that always gives her some candy), Mile still can\'t speak a word. The neighbor\'s little girl came to Mila\'s house to play, and Mile was so shy she was at her wit\'s end. \r\n\r\nPoor Mile, she had never dared to play hopscotch with her classmates, and her classmates also weren\'t willing to play with her. \r\n\r\nBut all this was nothing. Most most frightening of all, most most miserable, most most worrisome, was tomorrow. Because tomorrow she had to read aloud in front of the whole class! \r\n\r\nMile spent the whole night terrified. She tossed and turned on her bed, first she couldn\'t sleep, and then she had many nightmares. \r\n\r\nBut on the second day, Mile had to brace herself and go to school... \r\n\r\n\"Tomato!\"\r\n\r\n\"Mile, it\'s your turn!\"\r\n\r\nMile\'s legs went soft, her heart beat madly, and she wished she could immediately disappear. \r\n\r\n\"Her face is so red!\" \r\n\r\n\"Tomato!\" \r\n\r\nThe teacher said, \"How are you all this noisy? Do you think this is a zoo?! That it\'s a vegetable market? You troublemakers, aren\'t you ashamed? Her name is Mile. Not Tomato!\"  \r\n\r\nAt this time, Mile discovered all her classmate\'s faces were as red as hers! Suddenly, Mile opened her mouth. \r\n\r\n“Little bird,\r\nOne little bird,\r\nNot at all pretty, \r\nAll the animals made fun of it.\r\nIt\'s color was very strange,\r\nAnd its feathers were not soft.\r\nOne morning, in the light of the dawn,\r\nThe little bird sang a pleasant song,\r\nAll the animals perked up their ears,\r\nFor it turned out that under unremarkable feathers,\r\nThere was hidden the most beautiful song!\"\r\n\r\nShe finished.\r\n\r\n\"So great!\"\r\n\r\n\"Well done!\" \r\n\r\n\"Really impressive!\" \r\n\r\nFrom that day on, Mile had a new nickname, \"Mile the Little Lark\". \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Children\'s Stories: 《西红柿女孩》Tomato Girl', 'Poor little Mile (米乐) is so shy (害羞 - [pinyin]hai4 xiu1[/pinyin]), she never speaks, and her face turns bright red whenever someone speaks to her. This story is upper-beginner, will be a reasonably comfortable read at around HSK 4, and a do-able read at HSK 3 with a bit of effort. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2065-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-30 20:24:10', '2020-05-01 00:24:10', '', 2065, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/30/2065-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2149, 1, '2020-04-30 20:25:15', '2020-05-01 00:25:15', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nPoor little Mile (米乐) is so shy (害羞 - [pinyin]hai4 xiu1[/pinyin]), she never speaks, and her face turns bright red whenever someone speaks to her. This story is upper-beginner, and is much longer than most beginner reads on this site. It will be a reasonably comfortable read at around HSK 4, and a do-able read at HSK 3 with a bit of effort.  \r\n\r\nSooooo, this is an actual picture book for kids, available in print, from a French author and a Chinese illustrator. I\'m not 100% sure about the copyright on this story. I <a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/385988976_751590\">found it</a> floating all around on dozens of sites on the Chinese internet, but considering lax copyright protection in China, that doesn\'t mean it\'s not stolen. I hope not... but if you like it, I found one print copy of the Chinese version on Amazon, so <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2YkIIDw\">go buy it</a> to read aloud to young readers at home or in the classroom. It\'s better with pictures. If you are the copyright owner, <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/about/\">contact me</a>. \r\n\r\nAnyway, this is a sweet story that also includes a little bit of story-ception. At one point, Mile has to read a story to her class, so you get two beginner stories for the price of one. \r\n\r\nAs with most of these pieces, a few advanced phrases have snuck in, so let\'s take a look at those before we get going:\r\n\r\n<strong>小得不能再小</strong> [pinyin]xiao3 de bu4 neng2 zai4 xiao3[/pinyin]  - This structure actually just came up in my <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/29/essay-the-ugly-rock-by-jia-pingwa/\">last advanced post</a>, so it\'s pretty commonly used. Let\'s break it down: \r\n\r\n小 - Small \r\n得 - To the point that / to the degree that\r\n不能 - Cannot\r\n再 - Again\r\n小 - Small\r\n\r\nYikes. Hard to piece that together, even though we know the definition of each character. It means \"small to the point that it could not be any smaller\", or in better English, \"so small it could not be smaller\" / \"extremely small\". We can use this structure with many different adjectives. In the advanced post, the phrasing was: 丑得不能再丑, or \"so ugly it couldn\'t be uglier\". \r\n\r\n<strong>不知所措</strong> [pinyin]bu4 zhi1 suo3 cuo4[/pinyin] - To be at one\'s wit\'s end, to not know what to do. \r\n\r\n<strong>硬着头皮</strong> [pinyin]ying4 zhe tou2 pi2[/pinyin] - This one cracks me up. 头皮 is the skin on the top of your head over your skull. 硬, as we know, is usually an adjective which means \"hard\", as in \"a hard surface\". In this case,  硬 is being used as a verb, as in \"to harden\". But, \"to harden the skin over one\'s head\" still doesn\'t make any sense in English. That\'s because in Chinese, hardening one\'s head-skin is used to describe \"bracing oneself to do something scary or difficult\". For example, you\'ve got to 硬头皮 before you walk out on stage to give a performance, or before you have a hard conversation with your significant other, or before you walk into a job interview. 着 is a grammar word indicating something is continually happening. You can\'t just brace yourself for a second. You\'ve got to brace, and then hold onto that courage to go forth and complete whatever task you had to brace yourself for, so 着 shows us that this is a continual state. \r\n\r\n<strong>腿发软</strong> - [pinyin]tui3 fa1 ruan3[/pinyin] Three easy characters that seem to make no sense together. Let\'s look at each:\r\n\r\n腿 - Legs\r\n发 - To radiate, to send out\r\n软 - Soft\r\n\r\nLegs send out soft?! Clearly, the hard part here is the appearance of the character 发. In Chinese, 发 can be used to describe a kind of discomfort that radiates out from some part of the body. For example, after a workout, your muscles can 发酸 [pinyin]fa1 suan1[/pinyin], \"radiate ache\", or in better English \"be sore\". When you\'re sick, you may 发烧 [pinyin]fa1 shao1[/pinyin], \"radiate burn\", or in better English \"have a fever\". If a cut gets infected, it may 发炎 [pinyin]fa1 yan2[/pinyin], \"radiate heat\" or \"become inflamed\". If you\'re terrified, you may 发抖 [pinyin]fa1 dou3[/pinyin], \"radiate twitches\", or \"tremble\". So, all together, 腿发软 is equivalent to the English for \"to go weak in the knees\" or when ones \"legs go soft\" from fear. \r\n\r\n<strong>以为</strong> [pinyin]yi3 wei2[/pinyin] - And last but not least, 以为 means \"to think\", but not \"to think\" in the sense of sitting around pondering something, like \"to think up a solution\" or \"to think about a friend\". It means to have the wrong idea about something, or to believe something false, as in, \"Did you really think you could beat <em>me</em>?\" or \"Do you think this is some kind of joke?\" or \"I really thought I turned that paper in already!\" \r\n\r\nAlright, ready? On with the Chinese.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《西红柿女孩》</h4>\r\n\r\n这个小姑娘叫米乐。她非常，非常，非常害羞。只要有人叫她的名字，她就会变得满脸通红！可怜的米乐！\r\n\r\n在学校的操场上，同学们最喜欢的游戏，就是米乐的脸变颜色。米乐的脸会从淡粉色变成玫瑰红。从“米乐”变成“西红柿”。\r\n\r\n上课的时候，如果老师叫到她的名字，她会马上心跳加速，呼吸困难。虽然她明明知道答案，但是答案却总是躲在脑子里，不肯出来。没有一个人听到过米乐<span class=\"highlightText\">小得不能再小</span>的声音。从来没有！\r\n\r\n在面包店的阿姨面前（那是常常送糖给她的阿姨哦），米乐也说不出一个字。邻居家的小姑娘来米乐家玩，米乐也害羞得<span class=\"highlightText\">不知所措</span>。\r\n\r\n可怜的米乐，她从来不敢和同学们一起玩跳房子，同学们也不愿意和米乐一起玩。\r\n\r\n这些还不算什么。最最可怕、最最悲惨、最最让人担心的，这辈子最让米乐害怕的，是明天。因为明天她要在全班同学面前背诗！\r\n\r\n米乐度过了一个可怕的晚上。她在床上翻来覆去，先是怎么也睡不着，接着又做了许多的噩梦。\r\n\r\n可是第二天，米乐不得不硬着头皮去上学......\r\n\r\n“西红柿！”\r\n\r\n“米乐，该你了！”\r\n\r\n米乐的<span class=\"highlightText\">腿发软</span>、心乱跳，她恨不得自己能马上消失。\r\n\r\n“她的脸好红呀！”\r\n\r\n“西红柿！”\r\n\r\n老师说，“怎么这么吵！你们<span class=\"highlightText\">以为</span>这里是动物园吗? 是菜市场吗? 你们这些捣蛋鬼，不觉得难为情吗？她叫米乐。不叫西红柿！” \r\n\r\n米乐这才发现同学们的脸和她的一样红！突然，米乐张开了嘴。\r\n\r\n“小鸟\r\n一只小鸟，\r\n并不美丽，\r\n所有的动物都嘲笑它。\r\n它的颜色很奇怪，\r\n羽毛也不柔软。\r\n一天早上，在清晨的阳光里，\r\n小鸟唱起了动听的歌，\r\n所有的动物都伸长了耳朵，\r\n原来在并不耀眼的羽毛下，\r\n藏着最美丽的歌喉！”\r\n\r\n完。\r\n\r\n“太棒了！”\r\n\r\n“真好！”\r\n\r\n“真了不起！”\r\n\r\n从那天起，米乐有一个新外号，“米乐小百灵”。\r\n\r\n<h6>Buy on Amazon:</h6>\r\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/385988976_751590\">Tomato Girl 《西红柿女孩》</a>\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThis little girl is named Mile. She is very, very, very shy. One only needs to call her name, and her whole face will turn red! Poor Mile!\r\n\r\nOn the school playground, her classmates\' favorite game, is to make Mile\'s face change color. Mile\'s face will change from light pink to rose red. From \"Mile\" she becomes \"Tomato\". \r\n\r\nDuring classtime, if the teacher calls her name, her heartbeat immediately speeds up, and it\'s difficult to breathe. Although she clearly knows the answer, the answer always hides in her brain, unwilling to come out. Not one person has ever heard Mile\'s small [so small it couldn\'t be smaller] voice. Never! \r\n\r\nIn front of the lady [lit: auntie] at the bakery (that\'s the lady that always gives her some candy), Mile still can\'t speak a word. The neighbor\'s little girl came to Mila\'s house to play, and Mile was so shy she was at her wit\'s end. \r\n\r\nPoor Mile, she had never dared to play hopscotch with her classmates, and her classmates also weren\'t willing to play with her. \r\n\r\nBut all this was nothing. Most most frightening of all, most most miserable, most most worrisome, was tomorrow. Because tomorrow she had to read aloud in front of the whole class! \r\n\r\nMile spent the whole night terrified. She tossed and turned on her bed, first she couldn\'t sleep, and then she had many nightmares. \r\n\r\nBut on the second day, Mile had to brace herself and go to school... \r\n\r\n\"Tomato!\"\r\n\r\n\"Mile, it\'s your turn!\"\r\n\r\nMile\'s legs went soft, her heart beat madly, and she wished she could immediately disappear. \r\n\r\n\"Her face is so red!\" \r\n\r\n\"Tomato!\" \r\n\r\nThe teacher said, \"How are you all this noisy? Do you think this is a zoo?! That it\'s a vegetable market? You troublemakers, aren\'t you ashamed? Her name is Mile. Not Tomato!\"  \r\n\r\nAt this time, Mile discovered all her classmate\'s faces were as red as hers! Suddenly, Mile opened her mouth. \r\n\r\n“Little bird,\r\nOne little bird,\r\nNot at all pretty, \r\nAll the animals made fun of it.\r\nIt\'s color was very strange,\r\nAnd its feathers were not soft.\r\nOne morning, in the light of the dawn,\r\nThe little bird sang a pleasant song,\r\nAll the animals perked up their ears,\r\nFor it turned out that under unremarkable feathers,\r\nThere was hidden the most beautiful song!\"\r\n\r\nShe finished.\r\n\r\n\"So great!\"\r\n\r\n\"Well done!\" \r\n\r\n\"Really impressive!\" \r\n\r\nFrom that day on, Mile had a new nickname, \"Mile the Little Lark\". \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Children\'s Stories: 《西红柿女孩》Tomato Girl', 'Poor little Mile (米乐) is so shy (害羞 - [pinyin]hai4 xiu1[/pinyin]), she never speaks, and her face turns bright red whenever someone speaks to her. This story is upper-beginner, will be a reasonably comfortable read at around HSK 4, and a do-able read at HSK 3 with a bit of effort. 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(2150, 1, '2020-04-30 20:26:05', '2020-05-01 00:26:05', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nPoor little Mile (米乐) is so shy (害羞 - [pinyin]hai4 xiu1[/pinyin]), she never speaks, and her face turns bright red whenever someone speaks to her. This story is upper-beginner, and is much longer than most beginner reads on this site. It will be a reasonably comfortable read at around HSK 4, and a do-able read at HSK 3 with a bit of effort.  \r\n\r\nSooooo, this is an actual picture book for kids, available in print, from a French author and a Chinese illustrator. I\'m not 100% sure about the copyright on this story. I <a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/385988976_751590\">found it</a> floating all around on dozens of sites on the Chinese internet, but considering lax copyright protection in China, that doesn\'t mean it\'s not stolen. I hope not... but if you like it, I found one print copy of the Chinese version on Amazon, so <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2YkIIDw\">go buy it</a> to read aloud to young readers at home or in the classroom. It\'s better with pictures. If you are the copyright owner, <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/about/\">contact me</a>. \r\n\r\nAnyway, this is a sweet story that also includes a little bit of story-ception. At one point, Mile has to read a story to her class, so you get two beginner stories for the price of one. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n\r\nAs with most of these pieces, a few advanced phrases have snuck in, so let\'s take a look at those before we get going:\r\n\r\n<strong>小得不能再小</strong> [pinyin]xiao3 de bu4 neng2 zai4 xiao3[/pinyin]  - This structure actually just came up in my <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/29/essay-the-ugly-rock-by-jia-pingwa/\">last advanced post</a>, so it\'s pretty commonly used. Let\'s break it down: \r\n\r\n小 - Small \r\n得 - To the point that / to the degree that\r\n不能 - Cannot\r\n再 - Again\r\n小 - Small\r\n\r\nYikes. Hard to piece that together, even though we know the definition of each character. It means \"small to the point that it could not be any smaller\", or in better English, \"so small it could not be smaller\" / \"extremely small\". We can use this structure with many different adjectives. In the advanced post, the phrasing was: 丑得不能再丑, or \"so ugly it couldn\'t be uglier\". \r\n\r\n<strong>不知所措</strong> [pinyin]bu4 zhi1 suo3 cuo4[/pinyin] - To be at one\'s wit\'s end, to not know what to do. \r\n\r\n<strong>硬着头皮</strong> [pinyin]ying4 zhe tou2 pi2[/pinyin] - This one cracks me up. 头皮 is the skin on the top of your head over your skull. 硬, as we know, is usually an adjective which means \"hard\", as in \"a hard surface\". In this case,  硬 is being used as a verb, as in \"to harden\". But, \"to harden the skin over one\'s head\" still doesn\'t make any sense in English. That\'s because in Chinese, hardening one\'s head-skin is used to describe \"bracing oneself to do something scary or difficult\". For example, you\'ve got to 硬头皮 before you walk out on stage to give a performance, or before you have a hard conversation with your significant other, or before you walk into a job interview. 着 is a grammar word indicating something is continually happening. You can\'t just brace yourself for a second. You\'ve got to brace, and then hold onto that courage to go forth and complete whatever task you had to brace yourself for, so 着 shows us that this is a continual state. \r\n\r\n<strong>腿发软</strong> - [pinyin]tui3 fa1 ruan3[/pinyin] Three easy characters that seem to make no sense together. Let\'s look at each:\r\n\r\n腿 - Legs\r\n发 - To radiate, to send out\r\n软 - Soft\r\n\r\nLegs send out soft?! Clearly, the hard part here is the appearance of the character 发. In Chinese, 发 can be used to describe a kind of discomfort that radiates out from some part of the body. For example, after a workout, your muscles can 发酸 [pinyin]fa1 suan1[/pinyin], \"radiate ache\", or in better English \"be sore\". When you\'re sick, you may 发烧 [pinyin]fa1 shao1[/pinyin], \"radiate burn\", or in better English \"have a fever\". If a cut gets infected, it may 发炎 [pinyin]fa1 yan2[/pinyin], \"radiate heat\" or \"become inflamed\". If you\'re terrified, you may 发抖 [pinyin]fa1 dou3[/pinyin], \"radiate twitches\", or \"tremble\". So, all together, 腿发软 is equivalent to the English for \"to go weak in the knees\" or when ones \"legs go soft\" from fear. \r\n\r\n<strong>以为</strong> [pinyin]yi3 wei2[/pinyin] - And last but not least, 以为 means \"to think\", but not \"to think\" in the sense of sitting around pondering something, like \"to think up a solution\" or \"to think about a friend\". It means to have the wrong idea about something, or to believe something false, as in, \"Did you really think you could beat <em>me</em>?\" or \"Do you think this is some kind of joke?\" or \"I really thought I turned that paper in already!\" \r\n\r\nAlright, ready? On with the Chinese.\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《西红柿女孩》</h4>\r\n\r\n这个小姑娘叫米乐。她非常，非常，非常害羞。只要有人叫她的名字，她就会变得满脸通红！可怜的米乐！\r\n\r\n在学校的操场上，同学们最喜欢的游戏，就是米乐的脸变颜色。米乐的脸会从淡粉色变成玫瑰红。从“米乐”变成“西红柿”。\r\n\r\n上课的时候，如果老师叫到她的名字，她会马上心跳加速，呼吸困难。虽然她明明知道答案，但是答案却总是躲在脑子里，不肯出来。没有一个人听到过米乐<span class=\"highlightText\">小得不能再小</span>的声音。从来没有！\r\n\r\n在面包店的阿姨面前（那是常常送糖给她的阿姨哦），米乐也说不出一个字。邻居家的小姑娘来米乐家玩，米乐也害羞得<span class=\"highlightText\">不知所措</span>。\r\n\r\n可怜的米乐，她从来不敢和同学们一起玩跳房子，同学们也不愿意和米乐一起玩。\r\n\r\n这些还不算什么。最最可怕、最最悲惨、最最让人担心的，这辈子最让米乐害怕的，是明天。因为明天她要在全班同学面前背诗！\r\n\r\n米乐度过了一个可怕的晚上。她在床上翻来覆去，先是怎么也睡不着，接着又做了许多的噩梦。\r\n\r\n可是第二天，米乐不得不硬着头皮去上学......\r\n\r\n“西红柿！”\r\n\r\n“米乐，该你了！”\r\n\r\n米乐的<span class=\"highlightText\">腿发软</span>、心乱跳，她恨不得自己能马上消失。\r\n\r\n“她的脸好红呀！”\r\n\r\n“西红柿！”\r\n\r\n老师说，“怎么这么吵！你们<span class=\"highlightText\">以为</span>这里是动物园吗? 是菜市场吗? 你们这些捣蛋鬼，不觉得难为情吗？她叫米乐。不叫西红柿！” \r\n\r\n米乐这才发现同学们的脸和她的一样红！突然，米乐张开了嘴。\r\n\r\n“小鸟\r\n一只小鸟，\r\n并不美丽，\r\n所有的动物都嘲笑它。\r\n它的颜色很奇怪，\r\n羽毛也不柔软。\r\n一天早上，在清晨的阳光里，\r\n小鸟唱起了动听的歌，\r\n所有的动物都伸长了耳朵，\r\n原来在并不耀眼的羽毛下，\r\n藏着最美丽的歌喉！”\r\n\r\n完。\r\n\r\n“太棒了！”\r\n\r\n“真好！”\r\n\r\n“真了不起！”\r\n\r\n从那天起，米乐有一个新外号，“米乐小百灵”。\r\n\r\n<h6>Buy on Amazon:</h6>\r\n<a href=\"https://www.sohu.com/a/385988976_751590\">Tomato Girl 《西红柿女孩》</a>\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThis little girl is named Mile. She is very, very, very shy. One only needs to call her name, and her whole face will turn red! Poor Mile!\r\n\r\nOn the school playground, her classmates\' favorite game, is to make Mile\'s face change color. Mile\'s face will change from light pink to rose red. From \"Mile\" she becomes \"Tomato\". \r\n\r\nDuring classtime, if the teacher calls her name, her heartbeat immediately speeds up, and it\'s difficult to breathe. Although she clearly knows the answer, the answer always hides in her brain, unwilling to come out. Not one person has ever heard Mile\'s small [so small it couldn\'t be smaller] voice. Never! \r\n\r\nIn front of the lady [lit: auntie] at the bakery (that\'s the lady that always gives her some candy), Mile still can\'t speak a word. The neighbor\'s little girl came to Mila\'s house to play, and Mile was so shy she was at her wit\'s end. \r\n\r\nPoor Mile, she had never dared to play hopscotch with her classmates, and her classmates also weren\'t willing to play with her. \r\n\r\nBut all this was nothing. Most most frightening of all, most most miserable, most most worrisome, was tomorrow. Because tomorrow she had to read aloud in front of the whole class! \r\n\r\nMile spent the whole night terrified. She tossed and turned on her bed, first she couldn\'t sleep, and then she had many nightmares. \r\n\r\nBut on the second day, Mile had to brace herself and go to school... \r\n\r\n\"Tomato!\"\r\n\r\n\"Mile, it\'s your turn!\"\r\n\r\nMile\'s legs went soft, her heart beat madly, and she wished she could immediately disappear. \r\n\r\n\"Her face is so red!\" \r\n\r\n\"Tomato!\" \r\n\r\nThe teacher said, \"How are you all this noisy? Do you think this is a zoo?! That it\'s a vegetable market? You troublemakers, aren\'t you ashamed? Her name is Mile. Not Tomato!\"  \r\n\r\nAt this time, Mile discovered all her classmate\'s faces were as red as hers! Suddenly, Mile opened her mouth. \r\n\r\n“Little bird,\r\nOne little bird,\r\nNot at all pretty, \r\nAll the animals made fun of it.\r\nIt\'s color was very strange,\r\nAnd its feathers were not soft.\r\nOne morning, in the light of the dawn,\r\nThe little bird sang a pleasant song,\r\nAll the animals perked up their ears,\r\nFor it turned out that under unremarkable feathers,\r\nThere was hidden the most beautiful song!\"\r\n\r\nShe finished.\r\n\r\n\"So great!\"\r\n\r\n\"Well done!\" \r\n\r\n\"Really impressive!\" \r\n\r\nFrom that day on, Mile had a new nickname, \"Mile the Little Lark\". \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Children\'s Stories: 《西红柿女孩》Tomato Girl', 'Poor little Mile (米乐) is so shy (害羞 - [pinyin]hai4 xiu1[/pinyin]), she never speaks, and her face turns bright red whenever someone speaks to her. This story is upper-beginner, will be a reasonably comfortable read at around HSK 4, and a do-able read at HSK 3 with a bit of effort. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2065-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-30 20:26:05', '2020-05-01 00:26:05', '', 2065, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/30/2065-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2151, 1, '2020-04-30 22:35:39', '2020-05-01 02:35:39', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn Part II of this , we\'ll read acclaimed author Ba Jin\'s reply to the 10 elementary school students who wrote him a letter asking him for moral guidance in 1987. If you haven\'t read Part I yet, go check it out - the original work . Part I is intermediate, likely as it was written by children, but Part II was written by an adult author, and veers into advanced territory, partially because of its length, partially because of its language. \r\n\r\nI\'m not a super weepy person, but I legit cried reading this. Ba Jin may have been well into his later years when he put pen to paper, but he had lost none of his literary . \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n<strong>Ideal vs. ideals</strong> - One of the beautiful things about this letter is that it illuminates the connection between the definitions of the word \"ideal\". In English, we use the word \"ideal\" to talk about what we wish would happen: our \"ideal life\", our \"ideal future\", our \"ideal partner\". Quite separately, we use the word \"ideals\" to describe our values, what we believe to be important. We never really use these things in the same context; the word is the same, but the definitions are divorced. \r\n\r\nIn Chinese, and specifically in this letter, these definitions are much more connected, and this underscores a deeper truth: the things we find important frame the future we most desire. If we care most about money, then what we most want is lots of money. And if we care most about generosity of spirit, then what we most want is a life full of kindness. So, you\'ll understand this piece better if you understand the word 理想 from both of these perspectives simultaneously - it is both the values we hold dear, and the future we most yearn for. You\'ll see that I struggle to choose which English word to use. Sometimes I use \"ideal\" and sometimes \"ideals\", and my choice changes the English meaning significantly, but in the Chinese, it all makes sense. \r\n\r\n“向钱看” vs. “向前看” - The author uses this play on words \r\n\r\n起了作用 - This comes up a few times in , and its meaning is a little amorphous. To be of use, to matter, to have impact.\r\n\r\n定风珠\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AF%BB%E6%89%BE%E7%90%86%E6%83%B3%E7%9A%84%E5%B0%91%E5%B9%B4%E6%9C%8B%E5%8F%8B/15130105?fr=aladdin\">Source here</a>\r\n\r\n</ul>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《寻找理想的少年朋友》</h4>\r\n亲爱的同学们：\r\n\r\n你们的信使我感到为难。我是一个有病的老人，最近虽然去北京开过会，可是回到上海就仿佛生了一场大病似的，一点力气也没有，讲话上气不接下气，写字手指不听指挥，因此要“以最快的速度”给你们一个回答，我很难办到。我只能跟在你们背后慢慢地前进，即使远远地落在后面，我还可以努力追赶。但要带着你们朝前飞奔，不是我不愿意，而是力不能及了。这就说明我不但并无“神奇的力量”，而且连你们有的那种朝气我也没有，更不用说什么“神秘钥匙”了。\r\n\r\n不过我看你们也不必这样急，“寻求理想”不是一天两天的事。理想是存在的。可是有的人追求了一生只得到幻灭；有的人找到了它一直坚持到生命的最后一息。各人有各人的目标，对理想当然也有不同的理解。我听广播、看报纸，仿佛人们随时随地都在谈论“理想”，仿佛理想在前面等待人，只要你一伸手就可以把它抓住。那么你们为什么还那样着急地向我“呼救”呢？你们不是都有了理想吗？你们在“向钱看”的社会风气中感觉到窒息，不正是说明你们的理想<span class=\"highlightText\">起了作用</span>吗？我不能不问，你们是不是感到了孤独，因此才把自己比做“迷途的羔羊”？可是照我看，你们并没有“迷途”，“迷途”的倒是你们四周的一些人。\r\n\r\n我常常想，我们生活在其中的社会有时会是十分古怪，叫人难以理解。人们喜欢说，形势大好，我也这样说过。这种说法不是没有道理，我也有自己的经验：根据我耳闻目睹，舍身救人、一心为公的英雄事迹和一人有难、八方支援的好人好事，每天都在远近发生。从好的方面看，当然一切都好；但要是专找不好的方面看，人就觉得好像被坏的东西包围了。尽管形势大好，总是困难很多；尽管遍地理想，偏偏有人惟利是图。你们说这是“新的现象”，我看风并不是一天两天刮起来的。\r\n\r\n面对着这种现象，有人毫不在乎，他们说这是支流，支流敌不过主流，正如邪不胜正。即使出现这样的情况，譬如说钞票变成了发光的“明珠”，大家追求一个目标：发财，人人争当“能赚会花”的英雄；又譬如说从喜欢空话、爱听假话，发展到贩卖假药、推销劣货，发展到以权谋私、见利忘义……也不要紧，因为邪不胜正。还有人说：“你不要看风越刮越厉害，不久就会过去的。我们有定风珠嘛！”同他们交谈，我也感到放心，我也是相信邪不胜正的人，我始终乐观。\r\n\r\n同学们，请原谅，我不是在这里讲空话。束手等待是盼不到美好的明天的。我说邪不胜正，因为在任何社会里都存在着是与非、光明与阴暗的斗争。最后的胜利当然属于正义、属于光明。但是在某一个时期甚至在较长的一段时期，是也会败于非，光明也会被阴暗掩盖，支流也会超过主流，在这里斗争双方力量的强弱会<span class=\"highlightText\">起大的作用</span>。在这一场理想与金钱的斗争中我们决不是旁观者，斗争的胜败关系到我们每个人的命运。我们是这个社会的成员，是这个国家的公民，要是我们大家不献出自己的汗水和才智，那么社会的发展和国家的腾飞，也不过是一句空话。我常常想为什么宣传了几十年的崇高理想和大好形势，却无法防止黄金瘟疫的传播？为什么用理想教育人们几十年，那么多的课本，那么多的学习资料，那么多的报刊，那么多的文章！到今天年轻的学生还彷徨无主、四处寻求呢？\r\n\r\n小朋友们，不瞒你们说，对着眼前五光十色的景象，就连我有时也感到迷惑不解了。我要问，理想究竟是什么？难道它是虚无缥缈的东西？难道它是没有具体内容的空话？这几十年来我们哪一天中断过关于理想的宣传？那么传播黄金疫的病毒究竟来自何处、哪方？今天到处在揭发有人贩卖霉烂的食品，推销冒牌的假货，办无聊小报，印盗版书，做各种空头生意，为了带头致富，不惜损公肥私、祸国害人。这些人，他们也谈理想，也讲豪言壮语，他们说一套，做另外一套。对他们，理想不过是招牌、是装饰、是工具。他们口里越是讲得天花乱坠，做的事情越是见不得人。“向前看”一下子就变为“向钱看”，定风珠也会变成风信鸡。在所谓“不正之风”刮得最厉害、是非难分、真假难辨的时候，我也曾几次疑惑地问自己：理想究竟在什么地方？它是不是已经被狂风巨浪吹打得无踪无影？我仿佛看见支流压倒了主流，它气势汹汹地滚滚向前。然而即使在这个时候我也没有理由灰心绝望，因为理想明明还在我前面闪光。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nDear students:\r\n\r\nYour letter embarassed me. I\'m a sick old man, though I recently attended a conference in Beijing, when I returned to Shanghai [I felt] as if I had contracted a serious illness, I had not even the slightest bit of energy, it\'s hard to catch my breath when I speak, when I write my fingers won\'t heed my commands, and because of this replying \"as quickly as possible\" [which the students asked him to do in Part I] was difficult for me. I can only slowly forge ahead at your back, and though I lag far behind, I can still diligently pursue. But as for dashing forward with you, it\'s not that I\'m not willing, but that I don\'t have the strength. This only shows that not only do I not have \"mystical powers\" [which students attributed to him in Part I], but that I don\'t even have your drive, and even less do I have any \"mysterious key\" [reference to Part I].\r\n\r\nBut as I see it you also needn\'t be in such a rush, [because] \"seeking ideals\" is not a matter of a day or two. Some people seek this all their lives and all they get is disillusionment, some people find it by persevering until their last breath. Everyone has their own goals, and of course everyone has a different understanding of ideals. I listen to broadcasts, read newspapers, and it seems like people are all casually discussing their \"ideals\", as if their ideal is waiting just ahead, and all you must do is reach out your hand and you can grasp them. So, why are you so anxious to \"call for aid\"? Is it not so that you already have ideals? That you feel so stifled in a social atmosphere that looks only to money, does that not show your ideals have played some part? I can\'t not ask, is it [perhaps] that you feel lonely, and because of this compare yourselves to \"lost lambs\"? But as I see it, you haven\'t \"lost the way\", those who have \"lost their way\" are the people all around you.\r\n\r\nI often think, our life in society is often so strange, and [can be] hard for us to comprehend. People like to say, circumstances are largely good, I\'ve also said this. This isn\'t without logic, as I\'ve experienced myself: from what I\'ve seen and heard, [acts of] sacrificing one\'s life to save others, heroic deeds of wholehearted [dedication] to the public, good people offering assistance and doing good works in every quarter, these things happen near and far every day. From a positive perspective, of course everything is great; but if you flip it around and look from a negative perspective, you may feel you are surrounded by bad things. Although circumstances are largely good, there are always many difficulties; although there are [grand] ideals everywhere, there is always someone bent solely on profit. You say this is a \"new phenomenon\", but I see the wind didn\'t [start] blowing this way in the last couple of days. \r\n\r\nFaced with this this phenomenon, some people don\'t care at all, they say this is just a tributary, a tributary can\'t overwhelm the mainstream, just like evil cannot triumph over good. Although these situations appear, for example cash money becoming a shining \"treasure\", everyone chasing after one goal: to get rich, and everyone vying to be a hero of \"earning and spending\", or for another example the habit of speaking and hearing empty words develops into the selling of fake medicine and poor-quality goods, which develops into using power for personal gain and forgetting what is right as soon as there is profit to be made... you still needn\'t be anxious, because evil cannot triumph over good. Still others say: \"You needn\'t pay attention to the wind blowing ever more violently, it will pass in a while. We have a Wind Stopping Pearl!\" As they talk, I also feel  less worry, I\'m also someone who believes evil cannot triumph over good, I\'m ever the optimist. \r\n\r\nStudents, please forgive me, I don\'t mean to speak empty words here. Waiting with our hands, we cannot look forward to a beautiful tomorrow. I say evil can\'t triumph over good, because in any society there exists a struggle between right and wrong, light and darkness. Final victory of course belongs to justice, belongs to light. But in any age, [perhaps] even for long periods of time, right can lose to wrong, light can also be covered by darkness, the tributary can engulf the mainstream, and in this fight the weakness and strength of both parties will matter greatly. In this struggle between ideals and money we are certainly not spectators, which side wins and which loses the struggle relates to each of our destinies. We are the members of this society, we are the citizens of this country, if we do not offer our sweat and wise ability, then society\'s development and the country\'s advancement are nothing but empty words. I often wonder why the noble ideals and general positivity propagandized over the last few decades have not been able to prevent the sickness of gold from spreading? Why have we used ideals to educate people for decades, so many textbooks, so many study materials, so many newspapers, so many articles! And [yet] today\'s young students pace about without [moral] guidance, seeking everywhere? \r\n\r\nYoung friends, I won\'t lie to you, facing all the multifarious scenes [that unfold] before my eyes, I also sometimes feel befuddled. I want to ask, what <em>are</em> ideals, really? Could it be that they are illusionary things? Could it be that they are empty words without substance? On what day over the last few decades did we stop propagandizing ideals? And then from which direction, which place, did the spreading plague of gold sickness come? These days, everywhere we uncover people selling rotten food, pushing imitation goods, making boring tabloids, printing pirated books, doing all kinds of phoney business, to be the first to get rich, not hesitating to make personal gain at public expense, bringing calamity on the country and harming people. These people, they also talk about ideals, they speak in grand language, they say one thing, but they do another. To them, ideals are shop signs, ornaments, tools. The more they speak of flowers cascading from the sky, the more their actions are unfit to be seen. \"Looking ahead\" in a moment becomes \"looking towards money\", and the Wind Stopping Pearl  。“向前看”一下子就变为“向钱看”，定风珠也会变成风信鸡。在所谓“不正之风”刮得最厉害、是非难分、真假难辨的时候，我也曾几次疑惑地问自己：理想究竟在什么地方？它是不是已经被狂风巨浪吹打得无踪无影？我仿佛看见支流压倒了主流，它气势汹汹地滚滚向前。然而即使在这个时候我也没有理由灰心绝望，因为理想明明还在我前面闪光。\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Letter: Ba Jin\'s Correspondence with \"Young Friends Searching for Ideals\" - Part II', 'In the first of a two-part post, we\'ll look at a letter sent in 1987 from a group of elementary school students to the anarchist writer Ba Jin (most famous for his 1931 novel The Family) as they struggle to cope with China\'s changing social values. In Part II, I\'ll translate Ba Jin\'s reply.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2060-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-30 22:35:39', '2020-05-01 02:35:39', '', 2060, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/30/2060-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2152, 1, '2020-04-30 23:06:41', '2020-05-01 03:06:41', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn Part II of this two-part series, we\'ll read acclaimed author Ba Jin\'s reply to the 10 elementary school students who wrote him a letter asking him for moral guidance in 1987. If you haven\'t read Part I yet, go check it out - the original work . Part I is intermediate, likely as it was written by children, but Part II was written by an adult author, and veers into advanced territory, partially because of its length, partially because of its language. \r\n\r\nI\'m not a super weepy person, but I legit cried reading this. Ba Jin may have been well into his later years when he put pen to paper, but he had lost none of his literary . \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n<strong>Ideal vs. ideals</strong> - One of the beautiful things about this letter is that it illuminates the connection between the definitions of the word \"ideal\". In English, we use the word \"ideal\" to talk about what we wish would happen: our \"ideal life\", our \"ideal future\", our \"ideal partner\". Quite separately, we use the word \"ideals\" to describe our values, what we believe to be important. We never really use these things in the same context; the word is the same, but the definitions are divorced. \r\n\r\nIn Chinese, and specifically in this letter, these definitions are much more connected, and this underscores a deeper truth: the things we find important frame the future we most desire. If we care most about money, then what we most want is lots of money. And if we care most about generosity of spirit, then what we most want is a life full of kindness. So, you\'ll understand this piece better if you understand the word 理想 from both of these perspectives simultaneously - it is both the values we hold dear, and the future we most yearn for. You\'ll see that I struggle to choose which English word to use. Sometimes I use \"ideal\" and sometimes \"ideals\", and my choice changes the English meaning significantly, but in the Chinese, it all makes sense. \r\n\r\n“向钱看” vs. “向前看” - The author uses this play on words \r\n\r\n起了作用 - This comes up a few times in , and its meaning is a little amorphous. To be of use, to matter, to have impact.\r\n\r\n定风珠\r\n风信鸡\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AF%BB%E6%89%BE%E7%90%86%E6%83%B3%E7%9A%84%E5%B0%91%E5%B9%B4%E6%9C%8B%E5%8F%8B/15130105?fr=aladdin\">Source here</a>\r\n\r\n</ul>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《寻找理想的少年朋友》</h4>\r\n亲爱的同学们：\r\n\r\n你们的信使我感到为难。我是一个有病的老人，最近虽然去北京开过会，可是回到上海就仿佛生了一场大病似的，一点力气也没有，讲话上气不接下气，写字手指不听指挥，因此要“以最快的速度”给你们一个回答，我很难办到。我只能跟在你们背后慢慢地前进，即使远远地落在后面，我还可以努力追赶。但要带着你们朝前飞奔，不是我不愿意，而是力不能及了。这就说明我不但并无“神奇的力量”，而且连你们有的那种朝气我也没有，更不用说什么“神秘钥匙”了。\r\n\r\n不过我看你们也不必这样急，“寻求理想”不是一天两天的事。理想是存在的。可是有的人追求了一生只得到幻灭；有的人找到了它一直坚持到生命的最后一息。各人有各人的目标，对理想当然也有不同的理解。我听广播、看报纸，仿佛人们随时随地都在谈论“理想”，仿佛理想在前面等待人，只要你一伸手就可以把它抓住。那么你们为什么还那样着急地向我“呼救”呢？你们不是都有了理想吗？你们在<span class=\"highlightText\">“向钱看”</span>的社会风气中感觉到窒息，不正是说明你们的理想<span class=\"highlightText\">起了作用</span>吗？我不能不问，你们是不是感到了孤独，因此才把自己比做“迷途的羔羊”？可是照我看，你们并没有“迷途”，“迷途”的倒是你们四周的一些人。\r\n\r\n我常常想，我们生活在其中的社会有时会是十分古怪，叫人难以理解。人们喜欢说，形势大好，我也这样说过。这种说法不是没有道理，我也有自己的经验：根据我耳闻目睹，舍身救人、一心为公的英雄事迹和一人有难、八方支援的好人好事，每天都在远近发生。从好的方面看，当然一切都好；但要是专找不好的方面看，人就觉得好像被坏的东西包围了。尽管形势大好，总是困难很多；尽管遍地理想，偏偏有人惟利是图。你们说这是“新的现象”，我看风并不是一天两天刮起来的。\r\n\r\n面对着这种现象，有人毫不在乎，他们说这是支流，支流敌不过主流，正如邪不胜正。即使出现这样的情况，譬如说钞票变成了发光的“明珠”，大家追求一个目标：发财，人人争当“能赚会花”的英雄；又譬如说从喜欢空话、爱听假话，发展到贩卖假药、推销劣货，发展到以权谋私、见利忘义……也不要紧，因为邪不胜正。还有人说：“你不要看风越刮越厉害，不久就会过去的。我们有<span class=\"highlightText\">定风珠</span>嘛！”同他们交谈，我也感到放心，我也是相信邪不胜正的人，我始终乐观。\r\n\r\n同学们，请原谅，我不是在这里讲空话。束手等待是盼不到美好的明天的。我说邪不胜正，因为在任何社会里都存在着是与非、光明与阴暗的斗争。最后的胜利当然属于正义、属于光明。但是在某一个时期甚至在较长的一段时期，是也会败于非，光明也会被阴暗掩盖，支流也会超过主流，在这里斗争双方力量的强弱会<span class=\"highlightText\">起大的作用</span>。在这一场理想与金钱的斗争中我们决不是旁观者，斗争的胜败关系到我们每个人的命运。我们是这个社会的成员，是这个国家的公民，要是我们大家不献出自己的汗水和才智，那么社会的发展和国家的腾飞，也不过是一句空话。我常常想为什么宣传了几十年的崇高理想和大好形势，却无法防止黄金瘟疫的传播？为什么用理想教育人们几十年，那么多的课本，那么多的学习资料，那么多的报刊，那么多的文章！到今天年轻的学生还彷徨无主、四处寻求呢？\r\n\r\n小朋友们，不瞒你们说，对着眼前五光十色的景象，就连我有时也感到迷惑不解了。我要问，理想究竟是什么？难道它是虚无缥缈的东西？难道它是没有具体内容的空话？这几十年来我们哪一天中断过关于理想的宣传？那么传播黄金疫的病毒究竟来自何处、哪方？今天到处在揭发有人贩卖霉烂的食品，推销冒牌的假货，办无聊小报，印盗版书，做各种空头生意，为了带头致富，不惜损公肥私、祸国害人。这些人，他们也谈理想，也讲豪言壮语，他们说一套，做另外一套。对他们，理想不过是招牌、是装饰、是工具。他们口里越是讲得天花乱坠，做的事情越是见不得人。<span class=\"highlightText\">“向前看”</span>一下子就变为<span class=\"highlightText\">“向钱看”</span>，<span class=\"highlightText\">定风珠</span>也会变成<span class=\"highlightText\">风信鸡</span>。在所谓“不正之风”刮得最厉害、是非难分、真假难辨的时候，我也曾几次疑惑地问自己：理想究竟在什么地方？它是不是已经被狂风巨浪吹打得无踪无影？我仿佛看见支流压倒了主流，它气势汹汹地滚滚向前。然而即使在这个时候我也没有理由灰心绝望，因为理想明明还在我前面闪光。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nDear students:\r\n\r\nYour letter embarrassed me. I\'m a sick old man, and though I recently attended a conference in Beijing, when I returned to Shanghai [I felt] as if I had contracted a serious illness, I had not even the slightest bit of energy, it\'s hard to catch my breath when I speak, when I write my fingers won\'t heed my commands, and because of this replying \"as quickly as possible\" [which the students asked him to do in Part I] was difficult for me. I can only slowly forge ahead at your back, and though I lag far behind, I can still work hard to follow. So as for dashing forward with you, it\'s not that I\'m not willing, but rather that I don\'t have the strength. This only shows that not only do I not have \"mystical powers\" [which students attributed to him in Part I], but that I don\'t even have your drive, and even less do I have any \"mysterious key\" [reference to Part I].\r\n\r\nBut as I see it you also needn\'t be in such a rush, [because] \"seeking ideals\" is not a matter of a day or two. Some people seek this all their lives and all they get is disillusionment, some people find it by persevering until their last breath. Everyone has their own goals, and of course everyone has a different understanding of ideals. I listen to broadcasts, read newspapers, and it seems like people are all casually discussing \"ideals\", as if ideals waiting just ahead, and all you must do is reach out your hand and you can grasp them. So, why are you so anxious to \"call for aid\"? Don\'t you already have ideals? [The fact that] you feel so stifled in a social atmosphere that looks only to money, does that not show your ideals have played some part? I can\'t not ask, is it [perhaps] that you feel lonely, and because of this compare yourselves to \"lost lambs\"? But as I see it, you haven\'t \"lost your way\", those who have \"lost their way\" are the people all around you.\r\n\r\nI often think, our life in society is often so bizarre, and [can be] hard for us to comprehend. People like to say, \"circumstances are pretty good\", I\'ve also said this. This isn\'t without logic, as I\'ve experienced myself: from what I\'ve seen and heard, [acts of] sacrificing one\'s life to save others, heroic deeds of wholehearted [dedication] to the public, good people offering assistance and doing good works in every quarter, these things happen near and far every day. From a positive perspective, of course everything looks great; but if you flip it around and look from a negative perspective, you may feel you are surrounded by bad things. Although circumstances are largely good, there are always many difficulties; although there are [grand] ideals everywhere, there is also always someone bent solely on profit. You say this is a \"new phenomenon\", but as I see it, the wind didn\'t [start] blowing this way in the last couple of days. \r\n\r\nFaced with this phenomenon, some people pay it no mind, they say [the people who behave this was] are just a tributary [of the river], and a tributary can\'t overwhelm the mainstream, just like evil cannot triumph over good. Although [bad] situations appear, for example cash money becoming a shining \"treasure\", everyone chasing after one goal: to get rich, and everyone vying to be a hero of \"earning and spending\"; or for another example, the habit of speaking and hearing empty words develops into the selling of fake medicine and poor-quality goods, which develops into using power for personal gain and forgetting what is right as soon as there is profit to be made... you still needn\'t be anxious, because evil cannot triumph over good. Still others say: \"You needn\'t pay attention to the wind blowing ever more violently, it will pass in a while. We have a Wind Stopping Pearl!\" As they talk, I also feel reassured, I\'m also someone who believes evil cannot triumph over good, I\'m ever the optimist. \r\n\r\nStudents, please forgive me, I don\'t mean to speak empty words here. [Simply] waiting with our hands tied, we cannot look forward to a beautiful tomorrow. I say evil can\'t triumph over good, because in any society there exists a struggle between right and wrong, light and darkness. Final victory of course belongs to justice, belongs to light. But in any age, [perhaps] even for long periods of time, right can lose to wrong, light can also be covered by darkness, the tributary can engulf the mainstream, and in this fight the weakness and strength of both sides will matter greatly. In this struggle between ideals and money we are certainly not spectators, which side wins and which loses the struggle relates to each of our destinies. We are the members of this society, we are the citizens of this country, if we do not offer our sweat and wise ability, then society\'s development and the country\'s advancement are nothing but empty words. I often wonder why the noble ideals and general positivity propagandized over the last few decades have not been able to prevent the sickness of gold from spreading? Why is it that we have used ideals to educate people for decades, so many textbooks, so many study materials, so many newspapers, so many articles! And [yet] today\'s young students pace about without [moral] guidance, seeking everywhere? \r\n\r\nYoung friends, I won\'t lie to you, facing all the multifarious scenes [that unfold] before my eyes, I also sometimes feel befuddled. I want to ask, what <em>are</em> ideals, really? Could it be that they are illusionary things? Could it be that they are empty words without substance? On what day over the last few decades did we stop propagandizing ideals? And then from which direction, which place, did the spreading plague of gold sickness come? These days, everywhere we uncover people selling rotten food, pushing imitation goods, making boring tabloids, printing pirated books, doing all kinds of phoney business, to be the first to get rich, not hesitating to make personal gain at public expense, bringing calamity on the country and harming the people. These people, they also talk about ideals, they speak in grand language, they say one thing, but they do another. To them, ideals are shop signs, ornaments, tools. The more they speak of flowers cascading from the sky, the more their actions are unfit to be seen. \"Looking ahead\" in an instant becomes \"looking towards money\", and the Wind Stopping Pearl becomes a weathervane. In all times when the so-called \"winds of injustice\" blow strongest, when right and wrong are hard to distinguish, when true and false are hard to recognize, I have also doubtfully asked myself: where <em>are</em> [our] ideals? Have they already been blown away without a trace by the violent winds and mighty waves? It\'s as if I can see the tributary overwhelming the mainstream, its momentum roaring tumultuously forward. But even in these times I have no reason to despair, because ideals are still clearly sparkling just ahead of us. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Letter: Ba Jin\'s Correspondence with \"Young Friends Searching for Ideals\" - Part II', 'In Part II of this two-part series, we\'ll read acclaimed author Ba Jin\'s reply to the 10 elementary school students who wrote him a letter asking him for moral guidance in 1987. If you haven\'t read Part I yet, go check it out. Part I is an intermediate read, while Part II is advanced. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2060-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-30 23:06:41', '2020-05-01 03:06:41', '', 2060, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/30/2060-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2153, 1, '2020-04-30 23:52:18', '2020-05-01 03:52:18', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn the second and final part of this series, we\'ll read acclaimed author <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba_Jin\">Ba Jin</a>\'s reply to the 10 elementary school students who wrote him a letter asking him for moral guidance in 1987. If you haven\'t read Part I yet, go check it out - I introduce Ba Jin and the context in which this letter was written. Part I is intermediate, likely as it was written by children, but Part II was written by an adult author, and veers into advanced territory, both because of length and language.\r\n\r\nI\'m not a super weepy person, but I legit cried reading this. Ba Jin may have been well into his later years when he put pen to paper, but he had lost none of his literary talent. My translation does this no justice at all - I struggled between writing in a way that made the language clearer to understand, and writing for beauty, and the former won out in most cases, so if you want get the feelz from this, you\'ll have to look to the original. This is a noble, elevating piece of writing, and reading it, I\'m reminded how similar all societies are, how similar our worries and aspirations, how we all struggle with the materialism that engulfs us, and how the great writers in every culture remind us how not to despair. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n<strong>Ideal vs. ideals</strong> - One of the beautiful things about this letter is that it illuminates the connection between the definitions of the word \"ideal\". In English, we use the word \"ideal\" to talk about what we wish would happen: our \"ideal life\", our \"ideal future\", our \"ideal partner\". Quite separately, we use the word \"ideals\" to describe our values, what we believe to be important. We never really use these things in the same context; the word is the same, but the definitions are divorced. \r\n\r\nIn Chinese, and specifically in this letter, these definitions are much more connected, and this underscores a deeper truth: the things we find important frame the future we most desire. If we care most about money, then what we most want is lots of money. And if we care most about generosity of spirit, then what we most want is a life full of kindness. So, you\'ll understand this piece better if you understand the word 理想 from both of these perspectives simultaneously - it is both the values we hold dear, and the future we most yearn for. You\'ll see that I struggle to choose which English word to use. Sometimes I use \"ideal\" and sometimes \"ideals\", and my choice changes the English meaning significantly, but in the Chinese, it all makes sense. \r\n\r\n<strong>“向前看” vs. “向钱看”</strong> - These two phrases sound similar, and Ba Jin uses this play on words to juxtapose those who \"look forward\" and those who only \"look towards money\".\r\n\r\n<strong>起了作用</strong> - This comes up a couple of times, and its meaning is a little amorphous. The characters seem to say \"to be of use\", but this definition doesn\'t illuminate the phrase\'s true meaning. 起了作用 means \"to have a hand in\", or \"to play a part in\". This can have both positive and negative connotations, depending on context. Negative, as in \"to have a hand in his demise\", positive as in \"to play a role in his advancement\". This has stuck in my head since one of my Chinese friends, who had recently been divorced and now had a new girlfriend, was once telling me that his mother hated his girlfriend because she erroneously believed that his girlfriend \"起了作用\" in his divorce, in other words, that his girlfriend had a hand in manipulating him to get a divorce from his wife. But in this piece, the positive definition of 起了作用 is used. \r\n\r\n<strong>定风珠 and 风信鸡</strong> - These are two physical objects that Ba Jin uses to represent bigger concepts. <a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AE%9A%E9%A3%8E%E7%8F%A0/2099916?fr=aladdin\">定风珠</a> is a mythological pearl that can stop the wind. In this story, he uses it to describe the power to put a stop to negative social trends. 风信鸡 is a weathervane, which can really only reflect the direction that winds (negative social trends, in this case) are blowing. \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AF%BB%E6%89%BE%E7%90%86%E6%83%B3%E7%9A%84%E5%B0%91%E5%B9%B4%E6%9C%8B%E5%8F%8B/15130105?fr=aladdin\">Source here</a>\r\n\r\n</ul>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《寻找理想的少年朋友》</h4>\r\n亲爱的同学们：\r\n\r\n你们的信使我感到为难。我是一个有病的老人，最近虽然去北京开过会，可是回到上海就仿佛生了一场大病似的，一点力气也没有，讲话上气不接下气，写字手指不听指挥，因此要“以最快的速度”给你们一个回答，我很难办到。我只能跟在你们背后慢慢地前进，即使远远地落在后面，我还可以努力追赶。但要带着你们朝前飞奔，不是我不愿意，而是力不能及了。这就说明我不但并无“神奇的力量”，而且连你们有的那种朝气我也没有，更不用说什么“神秘钥匙”了。\r\n\r\n不过我看你们也不必这样急，“寻求理想”不是一天两天的事。理想是存在的。可是有的人追求了一生只得到幻灭；有的人找到了它一直坚持到生命的最后一息。各人有各人的目标，对理想当然也有不同的理解。我听广播、看报纸，仿佛人们随时随地都在谈论“理想”，仿佛理想在前面等待人，只要你一伸手就可以把它抓住。那么你们为什么还那样着急地向我“呼救”呢？你们不是都有了理想吗？你们在<span class=\"highlightText\">“向钱看”</span>的社会风气中感觉到窒息，不正是说明你们的理想<span class=\"highlightText\">起了作用</span>吗？我不能不问，你们是不是感到了孤独，因此才把自己比做“迷途的羔羊”？可是照我看，你们并没有“迷途”，“迷途”的倒是你们四周的一些人。\r\n\r\n我常常想，我们生活在其中的社会有时会是十分古怪，叫人难以理解。人们喜欢说，形势大好，我也这样说过。这种说法不是没有道理，我也有自己的经验：根据我耳闻目睹，舍身救人、一心为公的英雄事迹和一人有难、八方支援的好人好事，每天都在远近发生。从好的方面看，当然一切都好；但要是专找不好的方面看，人就觉得好像被坏的东西包围了。尽管形势大好，总是困难很多；尽管遍地理想，偏偏有人惟利是图。你们说这是“新的现象”，我看风并不是一天两天刮起来的。\r\n\r\n面对着这种现象，有人毫不在乎，他们说这是支流，支流敌不过主流，正如邪不胜正。即使出现这样的情况，譬如说钞票变成了发光的“明珠”，大家追求一个目标：发财，人人争当“能赚会花”的英雄；又譬如说从喜欢空话、爱听假话，发展到贩卖假药、推销劣货，发展到以权谋私、见利忘义……也不要紧，因为邪不胜正。还有人说：“你不要看风越刮越厉害，不久就会过去的。我们有<span class=\"highlightText\">定风珠</span>嘛！”同他们交谈，我也感到放心，我也是相信邪不胜正的人，我始终乐观。\r\n\r\n同学们，请原谅，我不是在这里讲空话。束手等待是盼不到美好的明天的。我说邪不胜正，因为在任何社会里都存在着是与非、光明与阴暗的斗争。最后的胜利当然属于正义、属于光明。但是在某一个时期甚至在较长的一段时期，是也会败于非，光明也会被阴暗掩盖，支流也会超过主流，在这里斗争双方力量的强弱会<span class=\"highlightText\">起大的作用</span>。在这一场理想与金钱的斗争中我们决不是旁观者，斗争的胜败关系到我们每个人的命运。我们是这个社会的成员，是这个国家的公民，要是我们大家不献出自己的汗水和才智，那么社会的发展和国家的腾飞，也不过是一句空话。我常常想为什么宣传了几十年的崇高理想和大好形势，却无法防止黄金瘟疫的传播？为什么用理想教育人们几十年，那么多的课本，那么多的学习资料，那么多的报刊，那么多的文章！到今天年轻的学生还彷徨无主、四处寻求呢？\r\n\r\n小朋友们，不瞒你们说，对着眼前五光十色的景象，就连我有时也感到迷惑不解了。我要问，理想究竟是什么？难道它是虚无缥缈的东西？难道它是没有具体内容的空话？这几十年来我们哪一天中断过关于理想的宣传？那么传播黄金疫的病毒究竟来自何处、哪方？今天到处在揭发有人贩卖霉烂的食品，推销冒牌的假货，办无聊小报，印盗版书，做各种空头生意，为了带头致富，不惜损公肥私、祸国害人。这些人，他们也谈理想，也讲豪言壮语，他们说一套，做另外一套。对他们，理想不过是招牌、是装饰、是工具。他们口里越是讲得天花乱坠，做的事情越是见不得人。<span class=\"highlightText\">“向前看”</span>一下子就变为<span class=\"highlightText\">“向钱看”</span>，<span class=\"highlightText\">定风珠</span>也会变成<span class=\"highlightText\">风信鸡</span>。在所谓“不正之风”刮得最厉害、是非难分、真假难辨的时候，我也曾几次疑惑地问自己：理想究竟在什么地方？它是不是已经被狂风巨浪吹打得无踪无影？我仿佛看见支流压倒了主流，它气势汹汹地滚滚向前。然而即使在这个时候我也没有理由灰心绝望，因为理想明明还在我前面闪光。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nDear students:\r\n\r\nYour letter embarrassed me. I\'m a sick old man, and though I recently attended a conference in Beijing, when I returned to Shanghai [I felt] as if I had contracted a serious illness, I had not even the slightest bit of energy, it\'s hard to catch my breath when I speak, when I write my fingers won\'t heed my commands, and because of this replying \"as quickly as possible\" [which the students asked him to do in Part I] was difficult for me. I can only slowly forge ahead at your back, and though I lag far behind, I can still work hard to follow. So as for dashing forward with you, it\'s not that I\'m not willing, but rather that I don\'t have the strength. This only shows that not only do I not have \"mystical powers\" [which students attributed to him in Part I], but that I don\'t even have your drive, and even less do I have any \"mysterious key\" [reference to Part I].\r\n\r\nBut as I see it you also needn\'t be in such a rush, [because] \"seeking ideals\" is not a matter of a day or two. Some people seek this all their lives and all they get is disillusionment, some people find it by persevering until their last breath. Everyone has their own goals, and of course everyone has a different understanding of ideals. I listen to broadcasts, read newspapers, and it seems like people are all casually discussing \"ideals\", as if ideals waiting just ahead, and all you must do is reach out your hand and you can grasp them. So, why are you so anxious to \"call for aid\"? Don\'t you already have ideals? [The fact that] you feel so stifled in a social atmosphere that looks only to money, does that not show your ideals have played some part? I can\'t not ask, is it [perhaps] that you feel lonely, and because of this compare yourselves to \"lost lambs\"? But as I see it, you haven\'t \"lost your way\", those who have \"lost their way\" are the people all around you.\r\n\r\nI often think, our life in society is often so bizarre, and [can be] hard for us to comprehend. People like to say, \"circumstances are pretty good\", I\'ve also said this. This isn\'t without logic, as I\'ve experienced myself: from what I\'ve seen and heard, [acts of] sacrificing one\'s life to save others, heroic deeds of wholehearted [dedication] to the public, good people offering assistance and doing good works in every quarter, these things happen near and far every day. From a positive perspective, of course everything looks great; but if you flip it around and look from a negative perspective, you may feel you are surrounded by bad things. Although circumstances are largely good, there are always many difficulties; although there are [grand] ideals everywhere, there is also always someone bent solely on profit. You say this is a \"new phenomenon\", but as I see it, the wind didn\'t [start] blowing this way in the last couple of days. \r\n\r\nFaced with this phenomenon, some people pay it no mind, they say [the people who behave this was] are just a tributary [of the river], and a tributary can\'t overwhelm the mainstream, just like evil cannot triumph over good. Although [bad] situations appear, for example cash money becoming a shining \"treasure\", everyone chasing after one goal: to get rich, and everyone vying to be a hero of \"earning and spending\"; or for another example, the habit of speaking and hearing empty words develops into the selling of fake medicine and poor-quality goods, which develops into using power for personal gain and forgetting what is right as soon as there is profit to be made... you still needn\'t be anxious, because evil cannot triumph over good. Still others say: \"You needn\'t pay attention to the wind blowing ever more violently, it will pass in a while. We have a Wind Stopping Pearl!\" As they talk, I also feel reassured, I\'m also someone who believes evil cannot triumph over good, I\'m ever the optimist. \r\n\r\nStudents, please forgive me, I don\'t mean to speak empty words here. [Simply] waiting with our hands tied, we cannot look forward to a beautiful tomorrow. I say evil can\'t triumph over good, because in any society there exists a struggle between right and wrong, light and darkness. Final victory of course belongs to justice, belongs to light. But in any age, [perhaps] even for long periods of time, right can lose to wrong, light can also be covered by darkness, the tributary can engulf the mainstream, and in this fight the weakness and strength of both sides will matter greatly. In this struggle between ideals and money we are certainly not spectators, which side wins and which loses the struggle relates to each of our destinies. We are the members of this society, we are the citizens of this country, if we do not offer our sweat and wise ability, then society\'s development and the country\'s advancement are nothing but empty words. I often wonder why the noble ideals and general positivity propagandized over the last few decades have not been able to prevent the sickness of gold from spreading? Why is it that we have used ideals to educate people for decades, so many textbooks, so many study materials, so many newspapers, so many articles! And [yet] today\'s young students pace about without [moral] guidance, seeking everywhere? \r\n\r\nYoung friends, I won\'t lie to you, facing all the multifarious scenes [that unfold] before my eyes, I also sometimes feel befuddled. I want to ask, what <em>are</em> ideals, really? Could it be that they are illusionary things? Could it be that they are empty words without substance? On what day over the last few decades did we stop propagandizing ideals? And then from which direction, which place, did the spreading plague of gold sickness come? These days, everywhere we uncover people selling rotten food, pushing imitation goods, making boring tabloids, printing pirated books, doing all kinds of phoney business, to be the first to get rich, not hesitating to make personal gain at public expense, bringing calamity on the country and harming the people. These people, they also talk about ideals, they speak in grand language, they say one thing, but they do another. To them, ideals are shop signs, ornaments, tools. The more they speak of flowers cascading from the sky, the more their actions are unfit to be seen. \"Looking ahead\" in an instant becomes \"looking towards money\", and the Wind Stopping Pearl becomes a weathervane. In all times when the so-called \"winds of injustice\" blow strongest, when right and wrong are hard to distinguish, when true and false are hard to recognize, I have also doubtfully asked myself: where <em>are</em> [our] ideals? Have they already been blown away without a trace by the violent winds and mighty waves? It\'s as if I can see the tributary overwhelming the mainstream, its momentum roaring tumultuously forward. But even in these times I have no reason to despair, because ideals are still clearly sparkling just ahead of us. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Letter: Ba Jin\'s Correspondence with \"Young Friends Searching for Ideals\" - Part II', 'In Part II of this two-part series, we\'ll read acclaimed author Ba Jin\'s reply to the 10 elementary school students who wrote him a letter asking him for moral guidance in 1987. If you haven\'t read Part I yet, go check it out. Part I is an intermediate read, while Part II is advanced. 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(2154, 1, '2020-04-30 23:52:34', '2020-05-01 03:52:34', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn the second and final part of this series, we\'ll read acclaimed author <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba_Jin\">Ba Jin</a>\'s reply to the 10 elementary school students who wrote him a letter asking him for moral guidance in 1987. If you haven\'t read Part I yet, go check it out - I introduce Ba Jin and the context in which this letter was written. Part I is intermediate, likely as it was written by children, but Part II was written by an adult author, and veers into advanced territory, both because of length and language.\r\n\r\nI\'m not a super weepy person, but I legit cried reading this. Ba Jin may have been well into his later years when he put pen to paper, but he had lost none of his literary talent. My translation does this no justice at all - I struggled between writing in a way that made the language clearer to understand, and writing for beauty, and the former won out in most cases, so if you want get the feelz from this, you\'ll have to look to the original. This is a noble, elevating piece of writing, and reading it, I\'m reminded how similar all societies are, how similar our worries and aspirations, how we all struggle with the materialism that engulfs us, and how the great writers in every culture remind us how to stave off despair. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n<strong>Ideal vs. ideals</strong> - One of the beautiful things about this letter is that it illuminates the connection between the definitions of the word \"ideal\". In English, we use the word \"ideal\" to talk about what we wish would happen: our \"ideal life\", our \"ideal future\", our \"ideal partner\". Quite separately, we use the word \"ideals\" to describe our values, what we believe to be important. We never really use these things in the same context; the word is the same, but the definitions are divorced. \r\n\r\nIn Chinese, and specifically in this letter, these definitions are much more connected, and this underscores a deeper truth: the things we find important frame the future we most desire. If we care most about money, then what we most want is lots of money. And if we care most about generosity of spirit, then what we most want is a life full of kindness. So, you\'ll understand this piece better if you understand the word 理想 from both of these perspectives simultaneously - it is both the values we hold dear, and the future we most yearn for. You\'ll see that I struggle to choose which English word to use. Sometimes I use \"ideal\" and sometimes \"ideals\", and my choice changes the English meaning significantly, but in the Chinese, it all makes sense. \r\n\r\n<strong>“向前看” vs. “向钱看”</strong> - These two phrases sound similar, and Ba Jin uses this play on words to juxtapose those who \"look forward\" and those who only \"look towards money\".\r\n\r\n<strong>起了作用</strong> - This comes up a couple of times, and its meaning is a little amorphous. The characters seem to say \"to be of use\", but this definition doesn\'t illuminate the phrase\'s true meaning. 起了作用 means \"to have a hand in\", or \"to play a part in\". This can have both positive and negative connotations, depending on context. Negative, as in \"to have a hand in his demise\", positive as in \"to play a role in his advancement\". This has stuck in my head since one of my Chinese friends, who had recently been divorced and now had a new girlfriend, was once telling me that his mother hated his girlfriend because she erroneously believed that his girlfriend \"起了作用\" in his divorce, in other words, that his girlfriend had a hand in manipulating him to get a divorce from his wife. But in this piece, the positive definition of 起了作用 is used. \r\n\r\n<strong>定风珠 and 风信鸡</strong> - These are two physical objects that Ba Jin uses to represent bigger concepts. <a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AE%9A%E9%A3%8E%E7%8F%A0/2099916?fr=aladdin\">定风珠</a> is a mythological pearl that can stop the wind. In this story, he uses it to describe the power to put a stop to negative social trends. 风信鸡 is a weathervane, which can really only reflect the direction that winds (negative social trends, in this case) are blowing. \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AF%BB%E6%89%BE%E7%90%86%E6%83%B3%E7%9A%84%E5%B0%91%E5%B9%B4%E6%9C%8B%E5%8F%8B/15130105?fr=aladdin\">Source here</a>\r\n\r\n</ul>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《寻找理想的少年朋友》</h4>\r\n亲爱的同学们：\r\n\r\n你们的信使我感到为难。我是一个有病的老人，最近虽然去北京开过会，可是回到上海就仿佛生了一场大病似的，一点力气也没有，讲话上气不接下气，写字手指不听指挥，因此要“以最快的速度”给你们一个回答，我很难办到。我只能跟在你们背后慢慢地前进，即使远远地落在后面，我还可以努力追赶。但要带着你们朝前飞奔，不是我不愿意，而是力不能及了。这就说明我不但并无“神奇的力量”，而且连你们有的那种朝气我也没有，更不用说什么“神秘钥匙”了。\r\n\r\n不过我看你们也不必这样急，“寻求理想”不是一天两天的事。理想是存在的。可是有的人追求了一生只得到幻灭；有的人找到了它一直坚持到生命的最后一息。各人有各人的目标，对理想当然也有不同的理解。我听广播、看报纸，仿佛人们随时随地都在谈论“理想”，仿佛理想在前面等待人，只要你一伸手就可以把它抓住。那么你们为什么还那样着急地向我“呼救”呢？你们不是都有了理想吗？你们在<span class=\"highlightText\">“向钱看”</span>的社会风气中感觉到窒息，不正是说明你们的理想<span class=\"highlightText\">起了作用</span>吗？我不能不问，你们是不是感到了孤独，因此才把自己比做“迷途的羔羊”？可是照我看，你们并没有“迷途”，“迷途”的倒是你们四周的一些人。\r\n\r\n我常常想，我们生活在其中的社会有时会是十分古怪，叫人难以理解。人们喜欢说，形势大好，我也这样说过。这种说法不是没有道理，我也有自己的经验：根据我耳闻目睹，舍身救人、一心为公的英雄事迹和一人有难、八方支援的好人好事，每天都在远近发生。从好的方面看，当然一切都好；但要是专找不好的方面看，人就觉得好像被坏的东西包围了。尽管形势大好，总是困难很多；尽管遍地理想，偏偏有人惟利是图。你们说这是“新的现象”，我看风并不是一天两天刮起来的。\r\n\r\n面对着这种现象，有人毫不在乎，他们说这是支流，支流敌不过主流，正如邪不胜正。即使出现这样的情况，譬如说钞票变成了发光的“明珠”，大家追求一个目标：发财，人人争当“能赚会花”的英雄；又譬如说从喜欢空话、爱听假话，发展到贩卖假药、推销劣货，发展到以权谋私、见利忘义……也不要紧，因为邪不胜正。还有人说：“你不要看风越刮越厉害，不久就会过去的。我们有<span class=\"highlightText\">定风珠</span>嘛！”同他们交谈，我也感到放心，我也是相信邪不胜正的人，我始终乐观。\r\n\r\n同学们，请原谅，我不是在这里讲空话。束手等待是盼不到美好的明天的。我说邪不胜正，因为在任何社会里都存在着是与非、光明与阴暗的斗争。最后的胜利当然属于正义、属于光明。但是在某一个时期甚至在较长的一段时期，是也会败于非，光明也会被阴暗掩盖，支流也会超过主流，在这里斗争双方力量的强弱会<span class=\"highlightText\">起大的作用</span>。在这一场理想与金钱的斗争中我们决不是旁观者，斗争的胜败关系到我们每个人的命运。我们是这个社会的成员，是这个国家的公民，要是我们大家不献出自己的汗水和才智，那么社会的发展和国家的腾飞，也不过是一句空话。我常常想为什么宣传了几十年的崇高理想和大好形势，却无法防止黄金瘟疫的传播？为什么用理想教育人们几十年，那么多的课本，那么多的学习资料，那么多的报刊，那么多的文章！到今天年轻的学生还彷徨无主、四处寻求呢？\r\n\r\n小朋友们，不瞒你们说，对着眼前五光十色的景象，就连我有时也感到迷惑不解了。我要问，理想究竟是什么？难道它是虚无缥缈的东西？难道它是没有具体内容的空话？这几十年来我们哪一天中断过关于理想的宣传？那么传播黄金疫的病毒究竟来自何处、哪方？今天到处在揭发有人贩卖霉烂的食品，推销冒牌的假货，办无聊小报，印盗版书，做各种空头生意，为了带头致富，不惜损公肥私、祸国害人。这些人，他们也谈理想，也讲豪言壮语，他们说一套，做另外一套。对他们，理想不过是招牌、是装饰、是工具。他们口里越是讲得天花乱坠，做的事情越是见不得人。<span class=\"highlightText\">“向前看”</span>一下子就变为<span class=\"highlightText\">“向钱看”</span>，<span class=\"highlightText\">定风珠</span>也会变成<span class=\"highlightText\">风信鸡</span>。在所谓“不正之风”刮得最厉害、是非难分、真假难辨的时候，我也曾几次疑惑地问自己：理想究竟在什么地方？它是不是已经被狂风巨浪吹打得无踪无影？我仿佛看见支流压倒了主流，它气势汹汹地滚滚向前。然而即使在这个时候我也没有理由灰心绝望，因为理想明明还在我前面闪光。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nDear students:\r\n\r\nYour letter embarrassed me. I\'m a sick old man, and though I recently attended a conference in Beijing, when I returned to Shanghai [I felt] as if I had contracted a serious illness, I had not even the slightest bit of energy, it\'s hard to catch my breath when I speak, when I write my fingers won\'t heed my commands, and because of this replying \"as quickly as possible\" [which the students asked him to do in Part I] was difficult for me. I can only slowly forge ahead at your back, and though I lag far behind, I can still work hard to follow. So as for dashing forward with you, it\'s not that I\'m not willing, but rather that I don\'t have the strength. This only shows that not only do I not have \"mystical powers\" [which students attributed to him in Part I], but that I don\'t even have your drive, and even less do I have any \"mysterious key\" [reference to Part I].\r\n\r\nBut as I see it you also needn\'t be in such a rush, [because] \"seeking ideals\" is not a matter of a day or two. Some people seek this all their lives and all they get is disillusionment, some people find it by persevering until their last breath. Everyone has their own goals, and of course everyone has a different understanding of ideals. I listen to broadcasts, read newspapers, and it seems like people are all casually discussing \"ideals\", as if ideals waiting just ahead, and all you must do is reach out your hand and you can grasp them. So, why are you so anxious to \"call for aid\"? Don\'t you already have ideals? [The fact that] you feel so stifled in a social atmosphere that looks only to money, does that not show your ideals have played some part? I can\'t not ask, is it [perhaps] that you feel lonely, and because of this compare yourselves to \"lost lambs\"? But as I see it, you haven\'t \"lost your way\", those who have \"lost their way\" are the people all around you.\r\n\r\nI often think, our life in society is often so bizarre, and [can be] hard for us to comprehend. People like to say, \"circumstances are pretty good\", I\'ve also said this. This isn\'t without logic, as I\'ve experienced myself: from what I\'ve seen and heard, [acts of] sacrificing one\'s life to save others, heroic deeds of wholehearted [dedication] to the public, good people offering assistance and doing good works in every quarter, these things happen near and far every day. From a positive perspective, of course everything looks great; but if you flip it around and look from a negative perspective, you may feel you are surrounded by bad things. Although circumstances are largely good, there are always many difficulties; although there are [grand] ideals everywhere, there is also always someone bent solely on profit. You say this is a \"new phenomenon\", but as I see it, the wind didn\'t [start] blowing this way in the last couple of days. \r\n\r\nFaced with this phenomenon, some people pay it no mind, they say [the people who behave this was] are just a tributary [of the river], and a tributary can\'t overwhelm the mainstream, just like evil cannot triumph over good. Although [bad] situations appear, for example cash money becoming a shining \"treasure\", everyone chasing after one goal: to get rich, and everyone vying to be a hero of \"earning and spending\"; or for another example, the habit of speaking and hearing empty words develops into the selling of fake medicine and poor-quality goods, which develops into using power for personal gain and forgetting what is right as soon as there is profit to be made... you still needn\'t be anxious, because evil cannot triumph over good. Still others say: \"You needn\'t pay attention to the wind blowing ever more violently, it will pass in a while. We have a Wind Stopping Pearl!\" As they talk, I also feel reassured, I\'m also someone who believes evil cannot triumph over good, I\'m ever the optimist. \r\n\r\nStudents, please forgive me, I don\'t mean to speak empty words here. [Simply] waiting with our hands tied, we cannot look forward to a beautiful tomorrow. I say evil can\'t triumph over good, because in any society there exists a struggle between right and wrong, light and darkness. Final victory of course belongs to justice, belongs to light. But in any age, [perhaps] even for long periods of time, right can lose to wrong, light can also be covered by darkness, the tributary can engulf the mainstream, and in this fight the weakness and strength of both sides will matter greatly. In this struggle between ideals and money we are certainly not spectators, which side wins and which loses the struggle relates to each of our destinies. We are the members of this society, we are the citizens of this country, if we do not offer our sweat and wise ability, then society\'s development and the country\'s advancement are nothing but empty words. I often wonder why the noble ideals and general positivity propagandized over the last few decades have not been able to prevent the sickness of gold from spreading? Why is it that we have used ideals to educate people for decades, so many textbooks, so many study materials, so many newspapers, so many articles! And [yet] today\'s young students pace about without [moral] guidance, seeking everywhere? \r\n\r\nYoung friends, I won\'t lie to you, facing all the multifarious scenes [that unfold] before my eyes, I also sometimes feel befuddled. I want to ask, what <em>are</em> ideals, really? Could it be that they are illusionary things? Could it be that they are empty words without substance? On what day over the last few decades did we stop propagandizing ideals? And then from which direction, which place, did the spreading plague of gold sickness come? These days, everywhere we uncover people selling rotten food, pushing imitation goods, making boring tabloids, printing pirated books, doing all kinds of phoney business, to be the first to get rich, not hesitating to make personal gain at public expense, bringing calamity on the country and harming the people. These people, they also talk about ideals, they speak in grand language, they say one thing, but they do another. To them, ideals are shop signs, ornaments, tools. The more they speak of flowers cascading from the sky, the more their actions are unfit to be seen. \"Looking ahead\" in an instant becomes \"looking towards money\", and the Wind Stopping Pearl becomes a weathervane. In all times when the so-called \"winds of injustice\" blow strongest, when right and wrong are hard to distinguish, when true and false are hard to recognize, I have also doubtfully asked myself: where <em>are</em> [our] ideals? Have they already been blown away without a trace by the violent winds and mighty waves? It\'s as if I can see the tributary overwhelming the mainstream, its momentum roaring tumultuously forward. But even in these times I have no reason to despair, because ideals are still clearly sparkling just ahead of us. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Letter: Ba Jin\'s Correspondence with \"Young Friends Searching for Ideals\" - Part II', 'In Part II of this two-part series, we\'ll read acclaimed author Ba Jin\'s reply to the 10 elementary school students who wrote him a letter asking him for moral guidance in 1987. If you haven\'t read Part I yet, go check it out. Part I is an intermediate read, while Part II is advanced. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2060-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-30 23:52:34', '2020-05-01 03:52:34', '', 2060, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/30/2060-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2155, 1, '2020-05-01 10:33:08', '2020-05-01 14:33:08', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\nIn the second and final part of this series, we\'ll read acclaimed author <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba_Jin\">Ba Jin</a>\'s reply to the 10 elementary school students who wrote him a letter asking him for moral guidance in 1987. If you haven\'t read Part I yet, <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/27/letters-ba-jins-correspondence-with-young-friends-searching-for-ideals-part-i/\">go check it out</a>. In Part I, I introduce Ba Jin and the context in which this letter was written. Part I is intermediate, likely as it was written by children, but Part II was written by an adult author, and veers well into advanced territory, in length, subject matter and language.\n\nI\'m not a super weepy person, but I legit cried reading this. Ba Jin may have been well into his later years when he put pen to paper, but he had lost none of his literary talent. My translation does this no justice at all - I struggled between writing in a way that made the language clearer to understand, and writing for beauty, and the former won out in most cases, so if you want get the feelz from this, you\'ll have to look to the original. This is a noble, elevating piece of writing, and reading it, I\'m reminded how similar all societies are, how similar our struggles, and how we all struggle with the materialism that engulfs us.\n\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\nSmall point of order: You\'ve probably noticed by now, Chinese sentences can get way longer than English sentences, so I messed with the punctuation in the translation a little to make things a little clearer. Sorry about that, if you\'re using punctuation to track your place in the translation.\n\n<strong>Ideal vs. ideals</strong> - One of the beautiful things about this letter is that it illuminates the connection between the definitions of the word \"ideal\", or 理想 [pinyin]li4 xiang3[/pinyin]. In English, we use the word \"ideal\" to talk about what we wish would happen: our \"ideal life\", our \"ideal future\", our \"ideal partner\". Quite separately, we use the word \"ideals\" to describe our values, what we believe to be important. We never really use these things in the same context; the word is the same, but the definitions are divorced. \n\nIn Chinese, and specifically in this letter, these definitions are much more connected, and this underscores a deeper truth: the things we find important frame the future we most desire. If we care most about money, then what we most want is lots of money. And if we care most about generosity of spirit, then what we most want is a life full of kindness. So, you\'ll understand this piece better if you understand the word 理想 from both of these perspectives simultaneously - it is both the values we hold dear, and the future we most yearn for. You\'ll see that I struggle to choose which English word to use. Sometimes I use \"ideal\" and sometimes \"ideals\", and my choice changes the English meaning significantly, but in the Chinese, it all makes sense. \n\n<strong>“向前看” vs. “向钱看”</strong> - These two phrases sound similar, and Ba Jin uses this play on words to juxtapose those who \"look to the future\" and those who only \"look towards money\".\n\n<strong>起了作用</strong> - This comes up a couple of times, and its meaning is a little amorphous. The characters seem to say \"to be of use\", but this definition doesn\'t illuminate the phrase\'s true meaning. 起了作用 means \"to have a hand in\", or \"to play a part in\". This can have both positive and negative connotations, depending on context. Negative, as in \"to have a hand in his demise\", positive as in \"to play a role in his advancement\". This has stuck in my head since one of my Chinese friends, who had recently been divorced and now had a new girlfriend, told me that his mother hated his girlfriend because she erroneously believed that his girlfriend \"起了作用\" in his divorce, in other words, that his girlfriend had a hand in manipulating him to get a divorce from his wife. But in this piece, the positive definition of 起了作用 is used. \n\n<strong>定风珠 and 风信鸡</strong> - These are two physical objects that Ba Jin uses to represent bigger concepts. <a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AE%9A%E9%A3%8E%E7%8F%A0/2099916?fr=aladdin\">定风珠</a> is a mythological pearl that can stop the wind. In this story, he uses it to describe the power to put a stop to negative social trends. 风信鸡 is a weathervane, which can really only reflect the direction that winds (negative social trends, in this case) are blowing. \n\n<a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AF%BB%E6%89%BE%E7%90%86%E6%83%B3%E7%9A%84%E5%B0%91%E5%B9%B4%E6%9C%8B%E5%8F%8B/15130105?fr=aladdin\">Source here</a>\n\n</ul>\n[/su_column]\n[/su_row]\n\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\n[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n<h4>《寻找理想的少年朋友》</h4>\n亲爱的同学们：\n\n你们的信使我感到为难。我是一个有病的老人，最近虽然去北京开过会，可是回到上海就仿佛生了一场大病似的，一点力气也没有，讲话上气不接下气，写字手指不听指挥，因此要“以最快的速度”给你们一个回答，我很难办到。我只能跟在你们背后慢慢地前进，即使远远地落在后面，我还可以努力追赶。但要带着你们朝前飞奔，不是我不愿意，而是力不能及了。这就说明我不但并无“神奇的力量”，而且连你们有的那种朝气我也没有，更不用说什么“神秘钥匙”了。\n\n不过我看你们也不必这样急，“寻求理想”不是一天两天的事。理想是存在的。可是有的人追求了一生只得到幻灭；有的人找到了它一直坚持到生命的最后一息。各人有各人的目标，对理想当然也有不同的理解。我听广播、看报纸，仿佛人们随时随地都在谈论“理想”，仿佛理想在前面等待人，只要你一伸手就可以把它抓住。那么你们为什么还那样着急地向我“呼救”呢？你们不是都有了理想吗？你们在<span class=\"highlightText\">“向钱看”</span>的社会风气中感觉到窒息，不正是说明你们的理想<span class=\"highlightText\">起了作用</span>吗？我不能不问，你们是不是感到了孤独，因此才把自己比做“迷途的羔羊”？可是照我看，你们并没有“迷途”，“迷途”的倒是你们四周的一些人。\n\n我常常想，我们生活在其中的社会有时会是十分古怪，叫人难以理解。人们喜欢说，形势大好，我也这样说过。这种说法不是没有道理，我也有自己的经验：根据我耳闻目睹，舍身救人、一心为公的英雄事迹和一人有难、八方支援的好人好事，每天都在远近发生。从好的方面看，当然一切都好；但要是专找不好的方面看，人就觉得好像被坏的东西包围了。尽管形势大好，总是困难很多；尽管遍地理想，偏偏有人惟利是图。你们说这是“新的现象”，我看风并不是一天两天刮起来的。\n\n面对着这种现象，有人毫不在乎，他们说这是支流，支流敌不过主流，正如邪不胜正。即使出现这样的情况，譬如说钞票变成了发光的“明珠”，大家追求一个目标：发财，人人争当“能赚会花”的英雄；又譬如说从喜欢空话、爱听假话，发展到贩卖假药、推销劣货，发展到以权谋私、见利忘义……也不要紧，因为邪不胜正。还有人说：“你不要看风越刮越厉害，不久就会过去的。我们有<span class=\"highlightText\">定风珠</span>嘛！”同他们交谈，我也感到放心，我也是相信邪不胜正的人，我始终乐观。\n\n同学们，请原谅，我不是在这里讲空话。束手等待是盼不到美好的明天的。我说邪不胜正，因为在任何社会里都存在着是与非、光明与阴暗的斗争。最后的胜利当然属于正义、属于光明。但是在某一个时期甚至在较长的一段时期，是也会败于非，光明也会被阴暗掩盖，支流也会超过主流，在这里斗争双方力量的强弱会<span class=\"highlightText\">起大的作用</span>。在这一场理想与金钱的斗争中我们决不是旁观者，斗争的胜败关系到我们每个人的命运。我们是这个社会的成员，是这个国家的公民，要是我们大家不献出自己的汗水和才智，那么社会的发展和国家的腾飞，也不过是一句空话。我常常想为什么宣传了几十年的崇高理想和大好形势，却无法防止黄金瘟疫的传播？为什么用理想教育人们几十年，那么多的课本，那么多的学习资料，那么多的报刊，那么多的文章！到今天年轻的学生还彷徨无主、四处寻求呢？\n\n小朋友们，不瞒你们说，对着眼前五光十色的景象，就连我有时也感到迷惑不解了。我要问，理想究竟是什么？难道它是虚无缥缈的东西？难道它是没有具体内容的空话？这几十年来我们哪一天中断过关于理想的宣传？那么传播黄金疫的病毒究竟来自何处、哪方？今天到处在揭发有人贩卖霉烂的食品，推销冒牌的假货，办无聊小报，印盗版书，做各种空头生意，为了带头致富，不惜损公肥私、祸国害人。这些人，他们也谈理想，也讲豪言壮语，他们说一套，做另外一套。对他们，理想不过是招牌、是装饰、是工具。他们口里越是讲得天花乱坠，做的事情越是见不得人。<span class=\"highlightText\">“向前看”</span>一下子就变为<span class=\"highlightText\">“向钱看”</span>，<span class=\"highlightText\">定风珠</span>也会变成<span class=\"highlightText\">风信鸡</span>。在所谓“不正之风”刮得最厉害、是非难分、真假难辨的时候，我也曾几次疑惑地问自己：理想究竟在什么地方？它是不是已经被狂风巨浪吹打得无踪无影？我仿佛看见支流压倒了主流，它气势汹汹地滚滚向前。然而即使在这个时候我也没有理由灰心绝望，因为理想明明还在我前面闪光。\n</div>\n[/su_column]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\nDear students:\n\nYour letter embarrassed me. I\'m a sick old man, and though I recently attended a conference in Beijing, when I returned to Shanghai it was as if I had contracted a serious illness, I had not even the slightest bit of energy, it was hard to catch my breath when I spoke, when I wrote my fingers wouldn\'t heed my commands, and because of this replying \"as quickly as possible\" [which the students asked him to do in Part I] was difficult for me to accomplish. I can only slowly forge ahead at your back, and though I lag far behind, I can still diligently pursue you. So as for dashing forward with you, it\'s not that I\'m not willing, but rather that I don\'t have the strength. This only shows that not only do I not have \"mystical powers\" [which students attributed to him in Part I], but that I don\'t even have your dynamism, and even less do I have any \"mysterious key\" [reference to Part I].\n\nBut as I see it you also needn\'t be in such a rush, [because] \"seeking ideals\" is not a matter of a day or two. Ideals exist. But people seek them all their lives and all they find is disillusionment, some people find them by persevering until their last breath. Everyone has their own goals, and of course everyone has a different understanding of ideals. I listen to broadcasts, read newspapers, and it seems like people are all casually discussing \"ideals\", as if an ideal is [always] waiting just ahead, and all you must do is reach out your hand and you can grasp it. So, why do you so anxiously \"call for my aid\"? Do you not already have ideals? [The fact that] you feel so stifled in a social atmosphere that looks only to money, does that not precisely show your ideals are already playing a role? I can\'t not ask, is it [perhaps] that you feel lonely, and because of this compare yourselves to \"lost lambs\"? But as I see it, you haven\'t \"lost your way\", on the contrary, those who have \"lost their way\" are the people all around you.\n\nI often think, our life in society is sometimes so odd, and [can be] hard for us to comprehend. People like to say, \"life [literally: circumstances] is pretty good\", I\'ve also said this. This isn\'t without logic, as I\'ve experienced myself: from what I\'ve witnessed personally, [acts of] sacrificing one\'s life to save others, heroic deeds of wholehearted [dedication] to the public, and when one person is in trouble, good people [appear from] all directions to offer assistance, these things happen near and far every day. From a positive perspective, of course everything looks great; but if you flip it around and look from a negative perspective, you may feel you are surrounded by bad things. Although life is largely good, there are [still] always many troubles; although there are [grand] ideals everywhere, there is also always someone bent solely on profit. You say this is a \"new phenomenon\", but as I see it, this wind didn\'t blow in over the last couple of days.\n\nFaced with this phenomenon, some people pay it no mind, they say [the people who behave this way] are just a tributary [of the river], and a tributary can\'t overwhelm the mainstream, just like evil cannot triumph over good. Although [bad] situations [make frequent] appearances – for example [when] cash becomes [seen as] a shining \"treasure\", everyone chasing after one goal: to get rich, and everyone vying to be a hero of \"earning and spending\"; or for another example, when the love of speaking empty words and listening to falsehoods develops into the selling of fake medicine and poor-quality goods, which develops into using power for personal gain and forgetting what is right as soon as there is profit to be made – you still needn\'t be anxious, because evil cannot triumph over good. Still others say: \"You needn\'t pay attention to the wind blowing ever more violently, it will pass in a while. We have a Wind Stopping Pearl!\" As they talk, I also feel reassured, I\'m also someone who believes evil cannot triumph over good, I\'m ever the optimist. \n\nStudents, please forgive me, I don\'t mean to speak empty words here. [Simply] waiting with our hands tied, we cannot look forward to a beautiful tomorrow. I say evil can\'t triumph over good, because in any society there exists a struggle between right and wrong, light and darkness. Final victory of course belongs to justice, belongs to light. But in any age, [perhaps] even for long periods of time, right can lose to wrong, light can also be covered by darkness, the tributary can engulf the mainstream, and in this fight the weakness and strength of both sides will matter greatly. In this struggle between ideals and money we are certainly not spectators, which side wins and which loses the struggle is dependent upon our own destinies. We are the members of this society, we are the citizens of this country, if we do not offer our sweat and wise ability, then \"social development\" and \"national advancement\" are nothing but empty words. I often wonder why the noble ideals and general positivity propagandized over the last few decades have not been able to prevent the sickness of gold from spreading? Why is it that we have used ideals to educate people for decades, so many textbooks, so many study materials, so many newspapers, so many articles! And [yet] today\'s young students pace about without [moral] guidance, seeking everywhere? \n\nYoung friends, I won\'t lie to you, facing all the multifarious scenes [that unfold] before my eyes, I also sometimes feel befuddled. I want to ask, what <em>are</em> ideals, really? Could it be that they are illusionary things? Could it be that they are empty words without substance? On what day over the last few decades did we stop propagandizing ideals? And then from which direction, which place, did the spreading plague of gold sickness come? These days, everywhere we uncover people selling rotten food, pushing imitation goods, making boring tabloids, printing pirated books, doing all kinds of phoney business, to be the first to get rich, not hesitating to make personal gain at public expense, bringing calamity on the country and harming the people. These people, they also talk about ideals, they speak in grand language, they say one thing, but they do another. To them, ideals are shop signs, ornaments, tools. The more they speak of flowers cascading from the sky, the more their actions are unfit for the world of men. \"Looking ahead\" in an instant becomes \"looking towards money\", and the Wind Stopping Pearl becomes [nothing but] a weathervane. In all times when the so-called \"winds of injustice\" blow strongest, when right and wrong are hard to distinguish, when true and false are hard to recognize, I have also doubtfully asked myself: where <em>are</em> [our] ideals? Have they already been blown away without a trace by the violent winds and mighty waves? It\'s as if I can see the tributary overwhelming the mainstream, its momentum roaring tumultuously forward. But even in these times I have no reason to despair, because ideals are still clearly sparkling just ahead of us. \n[/hide-this-part]\n[/su_column]\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Letter: Ba Jin\'s Correspondence with \"Young Friends Searching for Ideals\" - Part II', 'In Part II of this two-part series, we\'ll read acclaimed author Ba Jin\'s reply to the 10 elementary school students who wrote him a letter asking him for moral guidance in 1987. If you haven\'t read Part I yet, go check it out. Part I is an intermediate read, while Part II is advanced. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2060-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-05-01 10:33:08', '2020-05-01 14:33:08', '', 2060, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/30/2060-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2156, 1, '2020-04-30 23:53:50', '2020-05-01 03:53:50', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nIn the second and final part of this series, we\'ll read acclaimed author <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba_Jin\">Ba Jin</a>\'s reply to the 10 elementary school students who wrote him a letter asking him for moral guidance in 1987. If you haven\'t read Part I yet, <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/27/letters-ba-jins-correspondence-with-young-friends-searching-for-ideals-part-i/\">go check it out</a> - I introduce Ba Jin and the context in which this letter was written. Part I is intermediate, likely as it was written by children, but Part II was written by an adult author, and veers well into advanced territory, in length, subject matter and language.\r\n\r\nI\'m not a super weepy person, but I legit cried reading this. Ba Jin may have been well into his later years when he put pen to paper, but he had lost none of his literary talent. My translation does this no justice at all - I struggled between writing in a way that made the language clearer to understand, and writing for beauty, and the former won out in most cases, so if you want get the feelz from this, you\'ll have to look to the original. This is a noble, elevating piece of writing, and reading it, I\'m reminded how similar all societies are, how similar our worries and aspirations, how we all struggle with the materialism that engulfs us, and how the great writers in every culture remind us how to stave off despair. \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\n<strong>Ideal vs. ideals</strong> - One of the beautiful things about this letter is that it illuminates the connection between the definitions of the word \"ideal\". In English, we use the word \"ideal\" to talk about what we wish would happen: our \"ideal life\", our \"ideal future\", our \"ideal partner\". Quite separately, we use the word \"ideals\" to describe our values, what we believe to be important. We never really use these things in the same context; the word is the same, but the definitions are divorced. \r\n\r\nIn Chinese, and specifically in this letter, these definitions are much more connected, and this underscores a deeper truth: the things we find important frame the future we most desire. If we care most about money, then what we most want is lots of money. And if we care most about generosity of spirit, then what we most want is a life full of kindness. So, you\'ll understand this piece better if you understand the word 理想 from both of these perspectives simultaneously - it is both the values we hold dear, and the future we most yearn for. You\'ll see that I struggle to choose which English word to use. Sometimes I use \"ideal\" and sometimes \"ideals\", and my choice changes the English meaning significantly, but in the Chinese, it all makes sense. \r\n\r\n<strong>“向前看” vs. “向钱看”</strong> - These two phrases sound similar, and Ba Jin uses this play on words to juxtapose those who \"look forward\" and those who only \"look towards money\".\r\n\r\n<strong>起了作用</strong> - This comes up a couple of times, and its meaning is a little amorphous. The characters seem to say \"to be of use\", but this definition doesn\'t illuminate the phrase\'s true meaning. 起了作用 means \"to have a hand in\", or \"to play a part in\". This can have both positive and negative connotations, depending on context. Negative, as in \"to have a hand in his demise\", positive as in \"to play a role in his advancement\". This has stuck in my head since one of my Chinese friends, who had recently been divorced and now had a new girlfriend, was once telling me that his mother hated his girlfriend because she erroneously believed that his girlfriend \"起了作用\" in his divorce, in other words, that his girlfriend had a hand in manipulating him to get a divorce from his wife. But in this piece, the positive definition of 起了作用 is used. \r\n\r\n<strong>定风珠 and 风信鸡</strong> - These are two physical objects that Ba Jin uses to represent bigger concepts. <a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AE%9A%E9%A3%8E%E7%8F%A0/2099916?fr=aladdin\">定风珠</a> is a mythological pearl that can stop the wind. In this story, he uses it to describe the power to put a stop to negative social trends. 风信鸡 is a weathervane, which can really only reflect the direction that winds (negative social trends, in this case) are blowing. \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AF%BB%E6%89%BE%E7%90%86%E6%83%B3%E7%9A%84%E5%B0%91%E5%B9%B4%E6%9C%8B%E5%8F%8B/15130105?fr=aladdin\">Source here</a>\r\n\r\n</ul>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"readingPassage\">\r\n[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<h4>《寻找理想的少年朋友》</h4>\r\n亲爱的同学们：\r\n\r\n你们的信使我感到为难。我是一个有病的老人，最近虽然去北京开过会，可是回到上海就仿佛生了一场大病似的，一点力气也没有，讲话上气不接下气，写字手指不听指挥，因此要“以最快的速度”给你们一个回答，我很难办到。我只能跟在你们背后慢慢地前进，即使远远地落在后面，我还可以努力追赶。但要带着你们朝前飞奔，不是我不愿意，而是力不能及了。这就说明我不但并无“神奇的力量”，而且连你们有的那种朝气我也没有，更不用说什么“神秘钥匙”了。\r\n\r\n不过我看你们也不必这样急，“寻求理想”不是一天两天的事。理想是存在的。可是有的人追求了一生只得到幻灭；有的人找到了它一直坚持到生命的最后一息。各人有各人的目标，对理想当然也有不同的理解。我听广播、看报纸，仿佛人们随时随地都在谈论“理想”，仿佛理想在前面等待人，只要你一伸手就可以把它抓住。那么你们为什么还那样着急地向我“呼救”呢？你们不是都有了理想吗？你们在<span class=\"highlightText\">“向钱看”</span>的社会风气中感觉到窒息，不正是说明你们的理想<span class=\"highlightText\">起了作用</span>吗？我不能不问，你们是不是感到了孤独，因此才把自己比做“迷途的羔羊”？可是照我看，你们并没有“迷途”，“迷途”的倒是你们四周的一些人。\r\n\r\n我常常想，我们生活在其中的社会有时会是十分古怪，叫人难以理解。人们喜欢说，形势大好，我也这样说过。这种说法不是没有道理，我也有自己的经验：根据我耳闻目睹，舍身救人、一心为公的英雄事迹和一人有难、八方支援的好人好事，每天都在远近发生。从好的方面看，当然一切都好；但要是专找不好的方面看，人就觉得好像被坏的东西包围了。尽管形势大好，总是困难很多；尽管遍地理想，偏偏有人惟利是图。你们说这是“新的现象”，我看风并不是一天两天刮起来的。\r\n\r\n面对着这种现象，有人毫不在乎，他们说这是支流，支流敌不过主流，正如邪不胜正。即使出现这样的情况，譬如说钞票变成了发光的“明珠”，大家追求一个目标：发财，人人争当“能赚会花”的英雄；又譬如说从喜欢空话、爱听假话，发展到贩卖假药、推销劣货，发展到以权谋私、见利忘义……也不要紧，因为邪不胜正。还有人说：“你不要看风越刮越厉害，不久就会过去的。我们有<span class=\"highlightText\">定风珠</span>嘛！”同他们交谈，我也感到放心，我也是相信邪不胜正的人，我始终乐观。\r\n\r\n同学们，请原谅，我不是在这里讲空话。束手等待是盼不到美好的明天的。我说邪不胜正，因为在任何社会里都存在着是与非、光明与阴暗的斗争。最后的胜利当然属于正义、属于光明。但是在某一个时期甚至在较长的一段时期，是也会败于非，光明也会被阴暗掩盖，支流也会超过主流，在这里斗争双方力量的强弱会<span class=\"highlightText\">起大的作用</span>。在这一场理想与金钱的斗争中我们决不是旁观者，斗争的胜败关系到我们每个人的命运。我们是这个社会的成员，是这个国家的公民，要是我们大家不献出自己的汗水和才智，那么社会的发展和国家的腾飞，也不过是一句空话。我常常想为什么宣传了几十年的崇高理想和大好形势，却无法防止黄金瘟疫的传播？为什么用理想教育人们几十年，那么多的课本，那么多的学习资料，那么多的报刊，那么多的文章！到今天年轻的学生还彷徨无主、四处寻求呢？\r\n\r\n小朋友们，不瞒你们说，对着眼前五光十色的景象，就连我有时也感到迷惑不解了。我要问，理想究竟是什么？难道它是虚无缥缈的东西？难道它是没有具体内容的空话？这几十年来我们哪一天中断过关于理想的宣传？那么传播黄金疫的病毒究竟来自何处、哪方？今天到处在揭发有人贩卖霉烂的食品，推销冒牌的假货，办无聊小报，印盗版书，做各种空头生意，为了带头致富，不惜损公肥私、祸国害人。这些人，他们也谈理想，也讲豪言壮语，他们说一套，做另外一套。对他们，理想不过是招牌、是装饰、是工具。他们口里越是讲得天花乱坠，做的事情越是见不得人。<span class=\"highlightText\">“向前看”</span>一下子就变为<span class=\"highlightText\">“向钱看”</span>，<span class=\"highlightText\">定风珠</span>也会变成<span class=\"highlightText\">风信鸡</span>。在所谓“不正之风”刮得最厉害、是非难分、真假难辨的时候，我也曾几次疑惑地问自己：理想究竟在什么地方？它是不是已经被狂风巨浪吹打得无踪无影？我仿佛看见支流压倒了主流，它气势汹汹地滚滚向前。然而即使在这个时候我也没有理由灰心绝望，因为理想明明还在我前面闪光。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nDear students:\r\n\r\nYour letter embarrassed me. I\'m a sick old man, and though I recently attended a conference in Beijing, when I returned to Shanghai [I felt] as if I had contracted a serious illness, I had not even the slightest bit of energy, it\'s hard to catch my breath when I speak, when I write my fingers won\'t heed my commands, and because of this replying \"as quickly as possible\" [which the students asked him to do in Part I] was difficult for me. I can only slowly forge ahead at your back, and though I lag far behind, I can still work hard to follow. So as for dashing forward with you, it\'s not that I\'m not willing, but rather that I don\'t have the strength. This only shows that not only do I not have \"mystical powers\" [which students attributed to him in Part I], but that I don\'t even have your drive, and even less do I have any \"mysterious key\" [reference to Part I].\r\n\r\nBut as I see it you also needn\'t be in such a rush, [because] \"seeking ideals\" is not a matter of a day or two. Some people seek this all their lives and all they get is disillusionment, some people find it by persevering until their last breath. Everyone has their own goals, and of course everyone has a different understanding of ideals. I listen to broadcasts, read newspapers, and it seems like people are all casually discussing \"ideals\", as if ideals waiting just ahead, and all you must do is reach out your hand and you can grasp them. So, why are you so anxious to \"call for aid\"? Don\'t you already have ideals? [The fact that] you feel so stifled in a social atmosphere that looks only to money, does that not show your ideals have played some part? I can\'t not ask, is it [perhaps] that you feel lonely, and because of this compare yourselves to \"lost lambs\"? But as I see it, you haven\'t \"lost your way\", those who have \"lost their way\" are the people all around you.\r\n\r\nI often think, our life in society is often so bizarre, and [can be] hard for us to comprehend. People like to say, \"circumstances are pretty good\", I\'ve also said this. This isn\'t without logic, as I\'ve experienced myself: from what I\'ve seen and heard, [acts of] sacrificing one\'s life to save others, heroic deeds of wholehearted [dedication] to the public, good people offering assistance and doing good works in every quarter, these things happen near and far every day. From a positive perspective, of course everything looks great; but if you flip it around and look from a negative perspective, you may feel you are surrounded by bad things. Although circumstances are largely good, there are always many difficulties; although there are [grand] ideals everywhere, there is also always someone bent solely on profit. You say this is a \"new phenomenon\", but as I see it, the wind didn\'t [start] blowing this way in the last couple of days. \r\n\r\nFaced with this phenomenon, some people pay it no mind, they say [the people who behave this was] are just a tributary [of the river], and a tributary can\'t overwhelm the mainstream, just like evil cannot triumph over good. Although [bad] situations appear, for example cash money becoming a shining \"treasure\", everyone chasing after one goal: to get rich, and everyone vying to be a hero of \"earning and spending\"; or for another example, the habit of speaking and hearing empty words develops into the selling of fake medicine and poor-quality goods, which develops into using power for personal gain and forgetting what is right as soon as there is profit to be made... you still needn\'t be anxious, because evil cannot triumph over good. Still others say: \"You needn\'t pay attention to the wind blowing ever more violently, it will pass in a while. We have a Wind Stopping Pearl!\" As they talk, I also feel reassured, I\'m also someone who believes evil cannot triumph over good, I\'m ever the optimist. \r\n\r\nStudents, please forgive me, I don\'t mean to speak empty words here. [Simply] waiting with our hands tied, we cannot look forward to a beautiful tomorrow. I say evil can\'t triumph over good, because in any society there exists a struggle between right and wrong, light and darkness. Final victory of course belongs to justice, belongs to light. But in any age, [perhaps] even for long periods of time, right can lose to wrong, light can also be covered by darkness, the tributary can engulf the mainstream, and in this fight the weakness and strength of both sides will matter greatly. In this struggle between ideals and money we are certainly not spectators, which side wins and which loses the struggle relates to each of our destinies. We are the members of this society, we are the citizens of this country, if we do not offer our sweat and wise ability, then society\'s development and the country\'s advancement are nothing but empty words. I often wonder why the noble ideals and general positivity propagandized over the last few decades have not been able to prevent the sickness of gold from spreading? Why is it that we have used ideals to educate people for decades, so many textbooks, so many study materials, so many newspapers, so many articles! And [yet] today\'s young students pace about without [moral] guidance, seeking everywhere? \r\n\r\nYoung friends, I won\'t lie to you, facing all the multifarious scenes [that unfold] before my eyes, I also sometimes feel befuddled. I want to ask, what <em>are</em> ideals, really? Could it be that they are illusionary things? Could it be that they are empty words without substance? On what day over the last few decades did we stop propagandizing ideals? And then from which direction, which place, did the spreading plague of gold sickness come? These days, everywhere we uncover people selling rotten food, pushing imitation goods, making boring tabloids, printing pirated books, doing all kinds of phoney business, to be the first to get rich, not hesitating to make personal gain at public expense, bringing calamity on the country and harming the people. These people, they also talk about ideals, they speak in grand language, they say one thing, but they do another. To them, ideals are shop signs, ornaments, tools. The more they speak of flowers cascading from the sky, the more their actions are unfit to be seen. \"Looking ahead\" in an instant becomes \"looking towards money\", and the Wind Stopping Pearl becomes a weathervane. In all times when the so-called \"winds of injustice\" blow strongest, when right and wrong are hard to distinguish, when true and false are hard to recognize, I have also doubtfully asked myself: where <em>are</em> [our] ideals? Have they already been blown away without a trace by the violent winds and mighty waves? It\'s as if I can see the tributary overwhelming the mainstream, its momentum roaring tumultuously forward. But even in these times I have no reason to despair, because ideals are still clearly sparkling just ahead of us. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Letter: Ba Jin\'s Correspondence with \"Young Friends Searching for Ideals\" - Part II', 'In Part II of this two-part series, we\'ll read acclaimed author Ba Jin\'s reply to the 10 elementary school students who wrote him a letter asking him for moral guidance in 1987. If you haven\'t read Part I yet, go check it out. Part I is an intermediate read, while Part II is advanced. 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