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(2463, 1, '2020-05-31 01:00:46', '2020-05-31 05:00:46', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n<p style=\"padding:25px; margin-bottom: 20px; font-style: italic; background-color:#ffeaee;\">In the <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/tag/novels/\">Novels</a> series, I get you started reading the first few paragraphs of classic Chinese fiction. If you like the beginning, you can <a href=“https://amzn.to/2zEEBIo\">buy the book</a> and keep reading.</p> \r\n\r\nOkay, guys, time for a super duper challenge: this is the longest and most difficult read I\'ve ever posted. Long, because I wanted to put up the entire first chapter. Difficult, because... well, I explain below. \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wang_Shuo\">Wang Shuo (王朔)</a> is the bad boy of contemporary Chinese writers, a real controversial figure, and his work, which centers around the dark underbelly of Beijing in the 1970s and 80s, spawned its own genre of \"hooligan\" fiction. This isn\'t the organized, moneyed mob fiction of Hong Kong, this is the small-scale thievery that reflects urban life on the mainland right after the Cultural Revolution, when the country just started opening up to international trade and society was a mess. Wang Shuo\'s plots are so ugly, dark and brutal that he has been called a \"spiritual pollutant\" by the powers that be.  \r\n\r\nThis is the complete first chapter of his book <em>Hot and Cold, Measure for Measure</em>, or 《一半是火焰，一半是海水》. The book contains several short novellas, but the namesake work is only around 90 pages long in total. I\'m just about to finish reading it. The plot is horrendously depressing: the story of a thug who casually seduces a young high school girl with a bright future, breaks her down with his callousness until she becomes a prostitute and eventually kills herself, which sets off another chain of events. The extremely relatable realism with which Wang Shuo describes her destruction will have any woman who has ever been involved with a bad-news boyfriend cringing. \r\n\r\nThis chapter sets up the rest of the book in two scenes: One, we meet the protagonist as he is in the middle of a scam he often runs. I\'m going to explain the nature of the scam here because it\'s confusing unless you spent time in China twenty years ago. Basically, the protagonist works with a gang that includes a friend of his (named 方方) and a few prostitutes (mainly one called 亚红). During this time in China, it was very common for prostitutes to work in and around hotels, they would push their cards under the door of hotel rooms, or cold-call the room to ask if services were required. This was illegal, but it happened all the time; I can still remember having cards pushed under my hotel room doors in the early 2000s, sometimes five different cards a night. The protagonist and his friend wait until one of the prostitutes in the gang have landed a client. Then complicit hotel staff calls the protagonist and his gang, who burst into the room dressed like policemen and demand money as a \"fine\" from the hotel guest, and take the prostitute out as if they are arresting her. So this is where the book starts, with a phone call from a corrupt staff member at the hotel\'s front desk to the gangsters, telling them which rooms the prostitutes are in with their clients.\r\n\r\nIn the second half of the chapter, the protagonist goes about the next day of his life doing some errands, and eventually meets and has a conversation with this girl, Wudi (吴迪), whose life he will later ruin. She is spunky but naive, daring and precocious in the way that young people can be when they think they can handle themselves, but haven\'t yet encountered real danger or darkness in their lives. \r\n\r\nAs you have probably guessed by now, this read is <em>not appropriate for children</em>. There is swearing and sexual content - you have been warned. \r\n\r\n<h3>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nLinguistically speaking, this is one of the hardest Chinese books I\'ve ever read, because it\'s full, full, full of underworld slang, colloquialisms and swear words, and like a lot of great fiction, some of the things that happen aren\'t clearly spelled out, they\'re only suggested and you have to read between the lines. I read it very slowly, 5-10 pages in a sitting. I\'m going to explain some of the slang used here that isn\'t in the dictionary. \r\n\r\n野鸽 - 鸽 is slang for \"prostitute\". 野, as you probably know from the word 野生, means \"wild\" or \"untamed\". 野鸽 refers to a prostitute that is not working for the gang. In the first paragraph, 野 is used by itself, and it is referring to an unaffiliated prostitute.\r\n\r\n小子 - This is a derogatory way to refer to someone. It translates to something like, \"little shit\". \r\n\r\n他妈 - Usually 他妈的, the swear word \"fuck\" or \"fucking\" - but not referring to the sexual act itself, just used for emphasis in the middle of a sentence, same way it is in English, as in \"What the fuck are you doing here?\"\r\n\r\n没劲\r\n\r\n小毛头\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>《一半是火焰，一半是海水》第一章</h4>\r\n	\r\n“喂，两对都进房了。房间号927、1208，还有一只野的，进了1713.”\r\n\r\n“知道了。” \r\n\r\n我放下电话，马上穿上西服外套，提起书包，招呼正在看电视的方方，三步并作两步跑下楼。我那辆花四千元买来的旧“白茹”车停在街角便道上。我们坐进车里，把汽车迅速地开上马路，直驶远处灯火辉煌的“燕都”大饭店。在饭店旁边的一条林荫道上，我招手停在一溜轿车的后边，下了车“乒乓”关好门，快步加入一群刚从一辆大旅行车下来的日本游客中间，走进“燕都”饭店富丽堂皇的大厅。彬彬有礼地站在总服务台里的卫宁不易察觉地给我们使个眼声：一切正常。我和方方走进盥洗室，打开皮包，拿出两套警服换上，走出盥洗室，沿安全楼梯爬上去。爬到第九层，我们都是气喘吁吁，待呼吸均匀了，我们走向服务台，坐着的服务员抬头诧异地看我们。“我们是公安局的，请开927房间。”\r\n\r\n服务员顺从地拎起一串钥匙领着我们走向长廊尽头的一间客房。“里边有客人。”服务员看到门上挂的“请勿打扰”的小牌，回头对我说。“知道，打开锁。”我命令道。\r\n\r\n服务员钮开锁，站在一旁。\r\n\r\n“你回去吧。”方方粗鲁地挥手避开服务员。\r\n\r\n服务员消逝在走廊的另一端，我和方方立即开门冲了进去……我和方方带着亚红出来，皮包里塞着几千崭新的钞票，神情严肃地走服务台进了电梯间，方方和亚红忍不住笑起来。\r\n\r\n“你们笑什么，真<span class=\"textHighlight\">他妈没劲</span>。”我说着也忍不住笑了，对亚红说：“你在楼下酒吧等会儿，我们还得上去收拾12层那小子。”我们把电梯开到底层，让亚红出去，又开上12层。\r\n\r\n十五分钟后，我们换下警服带着另一个姑娘在酒吧找到亚红，一起喝了杯酒，亚红挽着方方先出去。我给总服务台的卫宁打了电话，告诉他事已办完，十七层那只野鸽让她舒舒服服睡一宿，早晨报警。我挽着另一个姑娘坦然走出饭店。方方已经把“白茹”发动了，我们一上车就开走了。\r\n\r\n早晨，我被电话铃吵醒，睡在我旁边的亚红接了电话，告诉我，卫宁说那两个受到我们讹诈的倒霉蛋已经结了房钱走了，那只野鸽也被在大门等着的警察塞上车抓走了。亚红翻身又睡了。我却睡不着，一支接一支地抽起烟。阳光从厚重的窗帘后倾泄出来，我轻轻走到窗前，从窗帘缝隙看了会儿外面车水马龙，阳光明媚的街道，把窗帘拉严。我不喜欢晴朗的早晨，看到成千上万的人兴冲冲地去上班、上学，我就感到形孤影单。白天我没有什么事可干，也没什么人等我，我的朋友们都在睡觉。我又抽了五支烟，看了看日历，然后穿衣服，洗脸刷牙，走出我住的这套公寓。我走过街角停放的“自茹”车，径直走向公共汽车站。尽管上班高峰已过，车内还是十分拥挤。一个坐着的中年男人下车，我刚要坐下，看到一个抱小孩的年轻妇女，便呼招她过来。\r\n\r\n“谢谢。”年轻妇女坐下后，又逗弄着小孩说：“谢谢叔叔。”\r\n\r\n“谢谢叔叔。”我冲小孩笑笑，小孩从衣兜里掏出一块彩纸包装的巧克力，剥开纸刚要往嘴里填，看我瞅着他，举起巧克力给我。\r\n\r\n“不要，叔叔不吃。”“吃吧，没事。”“真的不吃，叔叔要下车了。”\r\n\r\n我挤下车，沿街走了一站，到单位医务室要了张“三联单”，打电话约了一肝不太好的朗友去医院替我抽了一管血。又在商业区的两个储蓄所把我昨晚挣的那笔钱分别用我去世父母的名字存了进去，然后去邮局给一个交钱即可注册入学，不须考试的函授大学汇了报名款和一年的学费。我报的专业是法律。办完这些事，我到一家人不太多的豪华餐厅吃午饭。这家餐厅菜做的十分讲究，我看着漂亮的图案喝了不少红酒，又吃了几个浇了巧克力汁的冰淇淋，下午才走出餐厅，在报亭买当天所有的日报和晚报，坐在电报局等长途电话的排椅上细细测览。黄昏时我给家里打了个电话，方方接的。我们聊了会儿，他正在和卫宁下围棋，卫宁一早前来了，他们下了一天棋，他四胜三和五负，晚上准备凑人撞麻将。我告诉他我晚点回去，就挂了电话。\r\n\r\n暮春时节，树木草地都绿遍了，花丛怒放。我走进一个举办晚间音乐会的公园，在音乐亭前等退票。一个老人送了我一张，我又转送给一对只有一张票的青年伴侣，坚决不要他们加倍的票款。在高大、油漆剥落的廊柱间，我看到一美丽少女坐以汉白玉石台上看书，悬在空中的两条长腿互相勾着脚，一翘一翘。她一手棒书，一手从放在身旁的一个袋袋中抓瓜子磕，吐出的皮儿拢成一堆，嘴里哼着歌，间或翻一页书，悠闲自在，楚楚动人。我悄悄走到她身后，踮脚看那本使她入迷的书。是一本很深奥的文艺理论著作，我一目十行地看了一会儿，索然无味，正要转身走开，忽听女孩说：\r\n\r\n“看不懂吧。”她仰起脸，笑吟吟地望着我。\r\n\r\n我脸红了，感到不知所措，因为我还会脸红。片刻，我镇静下来，说：“就是学生，这会儿在公司看书也有点装模作样。”“我在这儿坐了一下午了，你瞧，我看了多少。”\r\n\r\n她快速地把看过一页数捻了一遍，我捏捏那厚厚的一迭，联想到书的内容，怀疑地问：“你看这么快”\r\n\r\n“我也看不懂呗，就看得快。”\r\n\r\n　　我们都笑了。“不看了。”女孩把书撂到一旁。“你有事吗”她问我。“没有。”我说：“没人约我。”“聊聊？”“聊聊。”我在她旁边坐，她把瓜子袋推给我。我不大会磕瓜子，磕得皮瓤唾液一塌糊涂。\r\n\r\n　　“瞧我。”女孩示范性地磕了一个瓜子，洁白的贝齿一闪，我下意识地闭紧自己被烟熏得黑黄的牙齿。女孩倒没注意，晃悠着腿四处张望。“你是哪个学校的”我注意到她里面毛衣上别着一枚校徽。女孩龇齿咬着瓜子看着我笑起来。\r\n\r\n　　“这就叫‘套瓷’吧。”女孩说：“下边你该说自己是哪个学校的，我们两校挨得如何近，没准天天能碰见……”\r\n\r\n　　“你看我象学生吗”我说：“我是劳改释放犯，现在还靠敲诈勒索为生。”“我才不管你是什么呢。”女孩笑着瞅着自己的脚尖，似乎那儿有什么好玩可笑的，“你是什么我都无所谓。”\r\n\r\n　　我半天没说话，女孩也没说话，只是美滋滋地看着天边夕阳消逝后迅即黯淡下来，却又不失瑰丽的云彩：“那块云象马克思、那块象海盗，象吗，你说象吗”\r\n\r\n　　“你多大了”女孩转过头看我，仔仔细细打量了我一遍：“你，过去没怎么跟女孩接触过吧。”“没有。”我面不改声色心不跳地骗她。\r\n\r\n　　“我早看出来了，小男孩！刚才我看书时就看见你远远地，想过来搭讪又胆怯，怕我臊你一顿是不是”\r\n\r\n　　“我和一百多个女的睡过觉。”\r\n\r\n　　女孩放声笑起来，笑得那么肆无忌惮，那么开心。\r\n\r\n　　“你笑起来，”我说：“跟个傻丫头似的。”\r\n\r\n　　女孩一下不笑了，悻悻地白了我一眼：“我不说你，你也别说我了。实话告诉你，我已经谈了一年多恋爱了。”女孩又笑了，有几分得意。“是你的傻冒同学吧？”\r\n\r\n　　“他才不傻呢，是学生会干部。”\r\n\r\n　　“那还不傻傻得已经没法练了。”\r\n\r\n　　“哼，你这种只被爸爸妈妈吻过的<span class=\"highlightText\">小毛头</span>也<span class=\"highlightText\">配</span>说他。”\r\n\r\n　　“我要是他，就敢跟你睡觉。”我微笑地说：“他敢吗？”\r\n\r\n　　尽管天色已经很暗了，我也察觉得出女孩的脸排红了：“他很尊重我。”我哧笑：“嘁，尊重，别说了，咱甭说了。你也别装傻了。”\r\n\r\n　　女孩闷了半天没吭声。我吹起口哨，叼起一支烟，把烟盒递给她，她摇摇头。“”又完了不是“我取笑她，”敢在光天化日之下看书，不会抽烟，时髦半截。“”你别来劲。“女孩不服地说，”给我一支！“\r\n\r\n　　我把嘴上的烟给她，她抽了一口，“呼”地全吹了出去。我伸胳膊搭在她肩上，她哆嗦了一下，并没拒绝。我把她搂过来，她近在咫尺地看看我，拔拉掉我的胳膊，强笑着说：\r\n\r\n　　“我有点儿信你和一百多个女人睡过觉了。”\r\n\r\n　　“干吗有点信，就应该信。知道我外号叫什么吗？老枪！”\r\n\r\n　　我听到完完全全收拾书的声音，恶意地笑着说：“我叫你害怕了。”“才没有呢。”女孩站起来：“我只是该走了。”\r\n\r\n　　“敢告诉我你叫什么，住哪儿吗”\r\n\r\n　　女孩跳下石台，亮晶晶的眼睛在黑暗中闪烁，笑着说：“啊哈！我还以为你能始终不同凡响，闹了半天，也落了俗套。”\r\n\r\n　　“好，我俗。你走吧。哎，”我叫住她：“咱们要是再见了，就得算朋友了吧”“算朋友”女孩笑着走了。\r\n\r\n　　我笑眯眯地在石台上坐了一会儿，也跳下石台走了。\r\nBy <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2zEEBIo\" target=\"blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">paperback</a> or <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2Z7Japj\">Kindle</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\"Hey, both pairs just went into their rooms, the room numbers are 927, 1208, and there\'s one other [that isn\'t part of our gang], went into 1713.\" \r\n\r\n\"Got it.\" \r\n\r\nI put down the phone, immediately put on my suit jacket, picked up my book bag, and called to Fangfang who was watching TV, and we ran down the stairs two at a time. The “Peugeot” car I paid 4000 RMB for was parked on the corner of the street. We got in the car, and drove quickly onto the road, 我那辆花四千元买来的旧“白茹”车停在街角便道上。我们坐进车里，把汽车迅速地开上马路，直驶远处灯火辉煌的“燕都”大饭店。在饭店旁边的一条林荫道上，我招手停在一溜轿车的后边，下了车“乒乓”关好门，快步加入一群刚从一辆大旅行车下来的日本游客中间，走进“燕都”饭店富丽堂皇的大厅。彬彬有礼地站在总服务台里的卫宁不易察觉地给我们使个眼声：一切正常。我和方方走进盥洗室，打开皮包，拿出两套警服换上，走出盥洗室，沿安全楼梯爬上去。爬到第九层，我们都是气喘吁吁，待呼吸均匀了，我们走向服务台，坐着的服务员抬头诧异地看我们。“我们是公安局的，请开927房间。”\r\n\r\n　　服务员顺从地拎起一串钥匙领着我们走向长廊尽头的一间客房。“里边有客人。”服务员看到门上挂的“请勿打扰”的小牌，回头对我说。“知道，打开锁。”我命令道。\r\n\r\n　　The service staff twisted open the lock, and stood to one side.\r\n\r\n　　\"Go back,\" Fangfang roughly waved away the staffer. \r\n\r\n　　The service staff disappeared down another hallway, and Fangfang and I immediately opened the door and charged inside.... Fangfang and I walked out with Yahong, our leather bag stuffed full of a few thousand fresh bank notes, and with serious expressions entered the elevator next to the service desk, then Fangfang and Yahong could [no longer] suppress their laughter. \r\n\r\n\"What are you two laughing at, it\'s really fucking uninteresting.\" But as I spoke I couldn\'t help laughing myself, and I said to Yahong, \"Wait in the bar downstairs for a bit, we\'ve still got to go grab up those little shits on the 12th floor.\" We took the elevator to the lower floor, let Yahong out, then went back up to 12.  　\r\n\r\nFifteen minutes later, we changed out of our police clothes and took the second girl to the bar to find Yahong, had some drinks together, and Yahong left on Fangfang\'s arm. I gave Weining at the main service desk a call, told him it was done, and to let the hooker on the 17th floor sleep soundly for the night, then call the [real] cops [on her] in the morning. With the other girl on my arm I walked casually out of the hotel. Fangfang had already started up the Peugeot, and he drove off as soon as we got in.\r\n\r\nIn the morning, I was woken up by a phone call, Yahong who had been sleeping by my side answered it, and told me, Weining said that the two sorry suckers that we\'d scammed had already paid for the rooms and left, the other prostitute had been taken away by the cops that were waiting at the main entrance. Yahong rolled over and went back to sleep. I couldn\'t fall back to sleep, and smoked one cigarette after another. Sunlight peeked through from behind the thick curtains, I walked quietly to the window, 阳光从厚重的窗帘后倾泄出来，我轻轻走到窗前，从窗帘缝隙看了会儿外面车水马龙，阳光明媚的街道，把窗帘拉严。我不喜欢晴朗的早晨，看到成千上万的人兴冲冲地去上班、上学，我就感到形孤影单。白天我没有什么事可干，也没什么人等我，我的朋友们都在睡觉。我又抽了五支烟，看了看日历，然后穿衣服，洗脸刷牙，走出我住的这套公寓。我走过街角停放的“自茹”车，径直走向公共汽车站。尽管上班高峰已过，车内还是十分拥挤。一个坐着的中年男人下车，我刚要坐下，看到一个抱小孩的年轻妇女，便呼招她过来。\r\n\r\n　　“谢谢。”年轻妇女坐下后，又逗弄着小孩说：“谢谢叔叔。”\r\n\r\n　　“谢谢叔叔。”我冲小孩笑笑，小孩从衣兜里掏出一块彩纸包装的巧克力，剥开纸刚要往嘴里填，看我瞅着他，举起巧克力给我。\r\n\r\n\"No thanks, uncle doesn\'t want it.\" \r\n\r\n\"Have it, it\'s nothing.\" \r\n\r\n\"No, really, uncle\'s got to get off.\" \r\n\r\nI pushed my way off the bus, 　我挤下车，沿街走了一站，到单位医务室要了张“三联单”，打电话约了一肝不太好的朗友去医院替我抽了一管血。又在商业区的两个储蓄所把我昨晚挣的那笔钱分别用我去世父母的名字存了进去，然后去邮局给一个交钱即可注册入学，不须考试的函授大学汇了报名款和一年的学费。我报的专业是法律。办完这些事，我到一家人不太多的豪华餐厅吃午饭。这家餐厅菜做的十分讲究，我看着漂亮的图案喝了不少红酒，又吃了几个浇了巧克力汁的冰淇淋，下午才走出餐厅，在报亭买当天所有的日报和晚报，坐在电报局等长途电话的排椅上细细测览。黄昏时我给家里打了个电话，方方接的。我们聊了会儿，他正在和卫宁下围棋，卫宁一早前来了，他们下了一天棋，他四胜三和五负，晚上准备凑人撞麻将。我告诉他我晚点回去，就挂了电话。\r\n\r\n　　暮春时节，树木草地都绿遍了，花丛怒放。我走进一个举办晚间音乐会的公园，在音乐亭前等退票。一个老人送了我一张，我又转送给一对只有一张票的青年伴侣，坚决不要他们加倍的票款。在高大、油漆剥落的廊柱间，我看到一美丽少女坐以汉白玉石台上看书，悬在空中的两条长腿互相勾着脚，一翘一翘。她一手棒书，一手从放在身旁的一个袋袋中抓瓜子磕，吐出的皮儿拢成一堆，嘴里哼着歌，间或翻一页书，悠闲自在，楚楚动人。我悄悄走到她身后，踮脚看那本使她入迷的书。是一本很深奥的文艺理论著作，我一目十行地看了一会儿，索然无味，正要转身走开，忽听女孩说：\r\n\r\n\"You don\'t understand it, huh,\" she turned up her face, looking at me with a smile. \r\n\r\nMy face turned red, and I felt at a loss that I [was still capable of] getting embarrassed. After a moment, I settled down, and said: \"　\r\n我脸红了，感到不知所措，因为我还会脸红。片刻，我镇静下来，说：“就是学生，这会儿在公司看书也有点装模作样。”\r\n\r\n\"I\'ve been sitting here all afternoon, look here you, at how much I\'ve read.\"\r\n\r\nShe quickly flipped through all the pages she\'d read, and I pinched that thick stack, and thinking back on the contents, asked doubtfully, \"You read that quickly?\" \r\n\r\n\"I don\'t understand it either, but I read it quickly.\" \r\n\r\nWe both smiled. \"I\'m done reading.\" The girl put the book to one side. \"You have somewhere to be?\" she asked me. \r\n\r\n\"No,\" I said. \"No appointments.\" \r\n\r\n\"[Shall we] chat [for a bit]?\"\r\n\r\n\"Let\'s chat.\" \r\n\r\nI sat down next to her, and she pushed the bag of sunflower seeds over to me. I didn\'t really know how to crack the sunflower seeds [with my teeth], and [when I tried] spittle went everywhere.\r\n\r\n\"Watch me.\" The girl demonstrated with a single sunflower seed, her pure white teeth flashing, and I subconsciously closed my mouth over my own tobacco smoke-yellowed teeth. But she didn\'t notice, swinging her legs in all directions. \"What school are you from?\" I noticed there was a school emblem on her inside sweater. Biting down on a sunflower seed, the girl looked at me and smiled. \r\n\r\n\"That\'s called \'cottoning up\',\" she said. \"Next you\'ll probably say whatever school you\'re from, and that our schools are so close to each other, maybe we can run into each other every day...\" \r\n\r\n\"You think I look like a student?\" I said. \"I\'m a criminal freed from the work camps, I extort people for a living.\"\r\n\r\n\"I don\'t care what you are,\" the girl said, smiling and looking at her toes, as if there was something amusing there. \"Whatever you are is nothing to me.\" \r\n\r\nI didn\'t speak for a while, and the girl didn\'t speak either, just looked on, pleased, as the evening light disappeared on the horizon and the sky quickly dimmed, but didn\'t lose its magnificent clouds: \"That cloud looks like Marx, that one looks like a pirate, doesn\'t it, don\'t you think so?\" \r\n\r\n\"How old are you?\" the girl turned her head to look at me, carefully looking me over. \"You, doesn\'t look like you\'ve been with that many women.\" \r\n\r\n\"Nope,\" I said, lying to her without a change in expression or a thump of the heart. \r\n\r\n\"I could tell right away, little boy! As I was reading my book just now, I saw you standing far away, wanting to talk to me but also timid, afraid I\'d curse you, huh?\"　\r\n\r\n\"[Actually,] I\'ve slept with over 100 women.\"\r\n\r\nThe girl let loose a laugh, an unbridled laugh, so amused. \r\n\r\n\"You laugh,\" I said, \"like a dumb chick.\"　　\r\n\r\nThe girl suddenly stopped laughing, angrily throwing me a scornful glance, \"I didn\'t criticize you, don\'t criticize me. Truthfully speaking, I\'ve already been with someone for a year.\" The girl smiled again, quite satisfied with herself. \r\n\r\n\"Is it one of your idiot classmates?\" 　\r\n\r\n\"He\'s not an idiot, he\'s a cadre in the student union.\"　　\r\n\r\n\"Then he\'s stupid beyond measure.\"　\r\n\r\n\"Huh, a little baby like you who\'s only been kissed by his parents doesn\'t deserve to speak of him.\"　\r\n\r\n\"If I was him, I\'d already have had the courage to bed you,\" I said, smiling lightly. \"Has he dared?\"　　\r\n\r\nAlthough the sky was already gloomy, I perceived the girl\'s face reddening, \"He respects me.\" \r\n\r\nI tittered, \"Oh, respect, don\'t even, no need for us to talk about that. And no need for you to play dumb.\"  \r\n\r\nThe girl sat there vexed for a while saying nothing. I started whistling, started sucking on a cigarette, passed her the cigarette pack, she shook her head. “”又完了不是“我取笑她，”敢在光天化日之下看书，不会抽烟，时髦半截。“”你别来劲。“女孩不服地说，”给我一支！“\r\n\r\nI passed her the cigarette that was in my mouth, she took a puff, and <em>heng</em>, blew it all out. I stretched an arm around her shoulder, she trembled a second, but didn\'t refuse. I pulled her near to me, she looked at me from close up, pushed my arm off, and with a forced smile said: \r\n\r\n\"I might believe a little that you\'ve slept with over 100 women.\" \r\n\r\n\"What are you doing only \'believing a little\', you ought to just believe. You want to know what they call me? The Old Pistol.\"　\r\n\r\nI heard her grabbing up all of her books, and she said with a nasty smile, \"Well, <em>I</em> call you scared.\" \r\n\r\n\"Well, I\'m not.\"\r\n\r\nThe girl stood up: \"I should probably go.\"\r\n\r\n\"Do you dare tell me your name, or where you live?\"　\r\n\r\nThe girl jumped off the platform, her bright, crystal eyes flashed in the darkness, and she said smiling, \"Ah ha! I thought maybe you weren\'t like everyone else, [talking shit] half the day, but then sinking into mediocrity.\"　　\r\n\r\n\"Fine, I\'m mediocre. Go. Hey,\" I called her to stop, \"If we meet again, let\'s consider ourselves friends.\"\r\n\r\n\"Sure, friends,\" she said, and smiling, left.　\r\n\r\nI 　　我笑眯眯地在石台上坐了一会儿，也跳下石台走了。\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Novels: Start reading Chinese gangster novel 《一半是火焰，一半是海水》by Wang Shuo', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2453-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-31 01:00:46', '2020-05-31 05:00:46', '', 2453, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/31/2453-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1726, 1, '2020-04-20 03:31:37', '2020-04-20 07:31:37', '[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]', 'The Silent Dog', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1432-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 03:31:37', '2020-04-20 07:31:37', '', 1432, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/1432-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1727, 1, '2020-04-20 03:33:36', '2020-04-20 07:33:36', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\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-->\n\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: \n\n能有幸请 [pinyin]neng2 you3 xing4 qing3[/pinyin] - A politely formal phrase of invitation \"May have the pleasure of inviting you ...\" or more specifically, \"May I be so lucky as to...\" (have this dance?) (take you on a date?). \n\n看上去 [pinyin]kan4 shang4 qu4[/pinyin] - To look like. \n\n你要是再不走开 [pinyin]ni3 yao4 shi4 zai4 bu4 zou3 kai1[/pinyin] - This one might be a little confusing. Let\'s break it down: \n\n你 - You\n要是 - If\n再不 - Otherwise / If not\n走开 - Go away\n\nThe full phrase means \"If you don\'t go away....\"\n\n他会来收拾你的 [pinyin]ta1 hui4 lai2 shou1 shi5 ni3 de5[/pinyin]. In the story, Miss Pig says this to an unwelcome guest. The \"他\" in this case is Mr. Pig. The Beginners often learn the word \"收拾\", meaning \"to tidy up\". Usually, this means exactly what it sounds like, and applies to cleaning up a room or an apartment. In this case, it\'s being used in kind of an action movie way, meaning \"He\'ll come over and <strong>deal with</strong> you!\" or \"He\'ll come <strong>straighten you out</strong>!\". So Miss Pig is threatening the unwelcome guest, telling him that Mr. Pig will come over and beat him up. \n\n[/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>猪先生去野餐</h4>\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。\n\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>！”\n\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。\n\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。\n\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。\n\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。\n\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！”\n\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。\n\n“能有幸请你一起去野餐吗？”他又问。\n\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。”\n\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。\n\n</div>\n[/su_column]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\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.\n\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!\"\n\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. \n\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.  \n\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.\n\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. \n\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!\"\n\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. \n\n\"Would you do me the honor of having a picnic with me?\" he asked again. \n\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.\" \n\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.\n[/hide-this-part]\n[/su_column]\n[/su_row]', 'Mr. Pig\'s Picnic', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1450-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 03:33:36', '2020-04-20 07:33:36', '', 1450, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/1450-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1728, 1, '2020-04-20 03:34:36', '2020-04-20 07:34:36', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\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-->\n\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>. \n\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.\n\nTwo quick notes on phrases here: 传来了 [pinyin]chuan4 lai2[/pinyin] is an intermediate phrase that can be a little hard to understand, but it is used in reference to things we hear that come to us from afar. This may include voices (like hearing someone\'s voice from outside your house), or noises, or smells, or a piece of news. You can use this to talk about sensations and things that come to you from no particular person or direction - from \"afar\" or \"all around\". \n\n掏出 [pinyin]tao1 chu1[/pinyin]: this means to fish something out of something else. For example, to fish your phone out of your pocket, or to fish your sweatshirt out of your backpack. \n[/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>小熊的美梦</h4>\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。\n\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>！”\n\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……\n\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。 \n</div>\n[/su_column]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\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. \n\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!\" \n\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.\n\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. \n[/hide-this-part]\n[/su_column]\n[/su_row]', 'Little Bear\'s Beautiful Dream', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1460-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 03:34:36', '2020-04-20 07:34:36', '', 1460, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/1460-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1732, 1, '2013-03-03 12:56:40', '2013-03-03 17:56:40', '[two_third]\r\nBeen a little while since I posted, I\'ve been a bit wrapped up in my new iPad app, <a href=\"http://www.hanzireader.com/hanzireader/Home.html\">Hanzi Reader</a>, which is, may I say, amazing for reading practice. It\'s very much like this site, except you can choose any Chinese text you like, copy-paste it into the reader, the reader analyses the text. After the analysis is complete, pushing any word in the text pops up an English and pinyin translation - truly a wonderful reading tool. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/20130303-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Read Simplified Chinese: Read Chinese Characters\" title=\"Read Chinese: Read Mandarin Chinese Lessons Exercises \" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />The \"Story Behind the Idiom\" posts are my favorite to put up, they\'re not only helpful in remember idioms, they\'re usually pretty interesting to read. This one is a lower intermediate text. \r\n\r\nAt the end of the first paragraph, the protagonist says, \"“我早就看出那个家伙不是个好东西。” This translates  to \"I always thought that guy was no good.\" But why use the term \"东西\", or \"thing\", instead of \"person\"? In Chinese, when you refer to a person as 东西, or \"thing\", this is a form of insult. In English, an equivalent might be the phrase \"you worthless thing!\" So we can understand from the use of the word 东西 in this sentence that the protagonist really doesn\'t like the person he\'s speaking about. \r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\r\n斧子 - [pinyin]fu3 zi5[/pinyin] - Axe\r\n邻居 - [pinyin]lin2 ju1[/pinyin] - Neighbor\r\n言行 - [pinyin]yan2 xing2[/pinyin] - Words and Actions\r\n神情 - [pinyin]shen2 qing2[/pinyin] - Look, expression\r\n断定 - [pinyin]duan4 ding4[/pinyin] - To conclude\r\n家伙 - [pinyin]jia1 huo5[/pinyin] - Guy, chap\r\n砍柴 - [pinyin]kan3 chai2[/pinyin] - Chop firewood\r\n怀疑 - [pinyin]huan2 yi2[/pinyin] - To doubt, to suspect\r\n根本 - [pinyin]gen1 ben3[/pinyin] - At all, in any way\r\n胡乱 - [pinyin]hu2 luan4[/pinyin] - Careless, reckless\r\n猜疑 - [pinyin]cai1 yi2[/pinyin] - Suspicious\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_third]\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n有人丢失了一把<strong>斧子</strong>，怎么找也没有找到。后来他认为是<strong>邻居</strong>的儿子偷去了，他注意到邻居的孩子的<strong>言行</strong>，<strong>神情</strong>怎么看都象是一个小偷。于是他<strong>断定</strong>是那个孩子偷去了，心里还对说，“我早就看出那个<strong>家伙</strong>不是个好东西。”\r\n\r\n第二天，他上山<strong>砍柴</strong>时在一棵树边上发现了丢失的斧子。现在他才想起来，原来是前天忘记在这里了。他后悔随便的<strong>怀疑</strong>邻居的孩子。回家后，再看那个孩子的言行和神情，<strong>根本</strong>不象是偷东西的人。于是他又对说，“我早就想过，他不是那种偷东西的人。”　　 　　\r\n\r\n后来人们就用“失斧疑邻”形容主观臆造、<strong>胡乱</strong><strong>猜疑</strong>。\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nThere once was a man who lost his axe, and though he searched all over for it he still couldn\'t find it. After a while he thought it must have been that the neighbor\'s son stole it, so he began to take note of the child\'s expressions, words and actions and thought they were all those of a thief. Thus, he concluded that it was the neighbor\'s kid that stole it, and in his heart he said, \"I always thought that guy was no good.\" \r\n\r\nOn the second day, when he went up the mountain to chop firewood and at the side of a tree he found his lost axe. Now he finally remembered that he\'d actually forgotten it there two days before. He regretted casually suspecting his neighbor\'s child. After he returned home, he took another look at the child\'s behavior, words and actions, and he didn\'t seem at all like a person who would steal anything. So he said, \"I\'ve always thought that [that kid] is not the kind of person who would steal\". 　 　　\r\n\r\nAfter this, people have used the phrase \"Lose the Axe and Suspect the Neighbor\" to describe inventing subjective feelings and careless suspicions. \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Story Behind the Idiom: Lose the Axe, Suspect the Neighbor', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1339-revision-v1', '', '', '2013-03-03 12:56:40', '2013-03-03 17:56:40', '', 1339, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2013/03/03/1339-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1735, 1, '2014-06-10 20:07:19', '2014-06-11 00:07:19', '<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\nI live in: <strong>Beijing</strong>\r\nAge: <strong>31</strong> \r\nFirst year in China: <strong>2002</strong>\r\nWhat this site is for: This site doesn\'t exist to teach you Chinese from scratch - there are plenty of sites and programs that do that. But this collection might help you keep your skills fresh, practice recognizing sentence structure, or pick up the occasional new vocabulary word.\r\n\r\n<h3>The Story</h3>\r\nAfter spending a few years China studying Mandarin and working, I took a several-year hiatus and returned to my native country. It was alarming how quickly my language skills began disintegrating. I searched online for Chinese reading materials, and though I found plenty of dictionaries and flash card sources, I had a very difficult time finding something that was at an appropriate reading level, was different than the typical textbook-y stuff available online, was presented in a way that was easy to read, and that I was sure I could get through. I ended up spending more time looking for something that was suitable than actually doing any reading. Even worse, 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. Annoy-ing! \r\n\r\nAs someone who organizes her thoughts into a series of domain names, it was inevitable I\'d eventually start a website about it, and here you are. I post whenever I get a chance. \r\n\r\n<h4>About the Translations</h4>\r\nMost (but not all) of the translations on this site are done by me, and I don\'t post anything unless I\'ve checked it several times, but that doesn\'t mean I haven\'t missed something. 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\nIt\'s often quite difficult to do a word-for-word translation, as Chinese words that fit well into a particular Chinese sentence read very awkwardly after they\'ve been translated - sometimes a direct translation just sounds off. This is more and more true the higher your reading level.  \r\n\r\nI\'ll often change the order of wording in a sentence so that it makes sense or reads well in English. You\'ll also notice that I often remove commas, split long Chinese sentences into two or more English sentences, or rearrange the order of clauses, which is necessary to accommodate Chinese grammar.  The translation is meant as a guidepost to help point you in the right direction and keep you grounded in the text when needed - it\'s up to you to dissect sentence structure.\r\n<h4>How I Classify Reading Levels</h4>\r\nUltimately, my classifications are pretty arbitrary, but I\'ll try to lay out some of my basic reasoning here.\r\n\r\n<strong>Beginner</strong> - Very very few of these texts are actually beginner tests; at least I haven\'t been able to find any real beginner stuff yet (I\'m still looking for good sources of real beginner texts that aren\'t boring dialogs - if you know of any, please write!). This is because for any story, article or essay to really take shape, it usually must involve some intermediate grammar or intermediate vocabulary. This is why most truly beginner textbooks stick to dialogs as opposed to actual articles. In order to do any real reading, you\'ve got to at least know the basics of sentence structure. I will classify something as beginner if at least a couple of the following criteria are met:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>The sentence structure is easy throughout</li>\r\n	<li>It contains mostly simpler words that are in the dictionary</li>\r\n	<li>There is no modern slang</li>\r\n	<li>The subject matter is basic / or for children</li>\r\n	<li>It\'s not too long</li>\r\n	<li>It contains few or no idioms</li>\r\n<li>It contains intermediate vocabulary but the story structure is very repetitive, so you can pick up the thread more easily as you go along.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n\r\n<strong>Intermediate</strong> - I classify something as intermediate if:\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>It\'s a longer piece that you have to hold a narrative thread through.</li>\r\n<li>The language is intermediate or upper-intermediate.</li>\r\n<li>There are some light idioms.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n\r\n<strong>Advanced</strong> - Most of what\'s out there online is advanced reading. That\'s why as of now, there are more advanced texts on here than anything else. I classify something as advanced if:\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>It contains many specialized or technical words (technology, health, beauty, geography, etc.)</li>\r\n<li>It contains high-level structures, like newspaper-y or literary writing styles.</li>\r\n<li>It contains any archaic words.</li>\r\n<li>The sentence structure is very complicated.</li>\r\n<li>It contains a lot of modern slang.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n\r\nEnjoy, and good luck with your studies.', 'About', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2-revision-v1', '', '', '2014-06-10 20:07:19', '2014-06-11 00:07:19', '', 2, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2014/06/10/2-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1738, 1, '2020-04-20 03:49:39', '2020-04-20 07:49:39', '<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\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 Story</h3>\r\nReading 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\nBut I\'ve always found that finding reading materials is the most difficult and frustrating part of the process. Everything I pick up tends to be too long, too short, too easy, or too hard. Particularly when I was just starting out, I ended up spending more time looking for something that was suitable than actually doing any reading. Even worse, 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. Annoy-ing! \r\n\r\nAs someone who starts a website every time I have a thought, it was inevitable I\'d eventually start a website to solve that problem, and here you are. I post whenever I get a chance. \r\n\r\n<h4>About the Translations</h4>\r\nMost (but not all) of the translations on this site are done by me, and 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\nI am not a linguist and I don\'t follow academic translation guidelines. I\'ll often change the order of wording in a sentence so that it makes sense or reads well in English. You\'ll also notice that I often remove commas, split long Chinese sentences into two or more English sentences, or rearrange the order of clauses, which is necessary to accommodate Chinese grammar.  The translation is meant as a guidepost to help point you in the right direction and keep you grounded in the text when needed - it\'s up to you to dissect sentence structure.\r\n\r\n<h4>How I Classify Reading Levels</h4>\r\nUltimately, my classifications are pretty arbitrary, but I\'ll try to lay out some of my basic reasoning here.\r\n\r\n<strong>Beginner</strong> - Very very few of these texts are actually beginner texts. This is because for any story, article or essay to really take shape, it usually must involve some intermediate grammar or intermediate vocabulary. This is why most truly beginner textbooks stick to dialogs (Ni hao! Ni hao ma? Wo hen hao!) as opposed to actual stories. In order to do any real reading, you\'ve got to at least know the basics of sentence structure. I will classify something as beginner if at least a couple of the following criteria are met:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>The sentence structure is easy throughout</li>\r\n	<li>It contains mostly simpler words that are in the dictionary</li>\r\n	<li>There is no modern slang</li>\r\n	<li>The subject matter is basic / or for children</li>\r\n	<li>It\'s not too long</li>\r\n	<li>It contains few or no idioms</li>\r\n<li>It contains intermediate vocabulary but the story structure is very repetitive, so you can pick up the thread more easily as you go along.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n\r\n<strong>Intermediate</strong> - I classify something as intermediate if:\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>It\'s a longer piece that you have to hold a narrative thread through.</li>\r\n<li>The language is intermediate or upper-intermediate.</li>\r\n<li>There are some light idioms.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n\r\n<strong>Advanced</strong> - Most of what\'s out there online is advanced reading. That\'s why as of now, there are more advanced texts on here than anything else. I classify something as advanced if:\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>It contains many specialized or technical words (technology, health, beauty, geography, etc.)</li>\r\n<li>It contains high-level structures, like newspaper-y or literary writing styles.</li>\r\n<li>It contains any archaic words.</li>\r\n<li>The sentence structure is very complicated.</li>\r\n<li>It contains a lot of modern slang.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n\r\nEnjoy, and good luck with your studies.', 'About', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 03:49:39', '2020-04-20 07:49:39', '', 2, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/2-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(1736, 1, '2020-04-20 03:39:23', '2020-04-20 07:39:23', '<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\nI live in: <strong>Beijing</strong>\r\nAge: <strong>37</strong> \r\nFirst year in China: <strong>2002</strong>\r\nWhat this site is for: This site doesn\'t exist to teach you Chinese from scratch - there are plenty of sites and programs that do that. But this collection might help you keep your skills fresh, practice recognizing sentence structure, or pick up the occasional new vocabulary word.\r\n\r\n<h3>The Story</h3>\r\nAfter spending a few years China studying Mandarin and working, I took a several-year hiatus and returned to my native country. It was alarming how quickly my language skills began disintegrating. I searched online for Chinese reading materials, and though I found plenty of dictionaries and flash card sources, I had a very difficult time finding something that was at an appropriate reading level, was different than the typical textbook-y stuff available online, was presented in a way that was easy to read, and that I was sure I could get through. I ended up spending more time looking for something that was suitable than actually doing any reading. Even worse, 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. Annoy-ing! \r\n\r\nAs someone who organizes her thoughts into a series of domain names, it was inevitable I\'d eventually start a website about it, and here you are. I post whenever I get a chance. \r\n\r\n<h4>About the Translations</h4>\r\nMost (but not all) of the translations on this site are done by me, and I don\'t post anything unless I\'ve checked it several times, but that doesn\'t mean I haven\'t missed something. 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\nIt\'s often quite difficult to do a word-for-word translation, as Chinese words that fit well into a particular Chinese sentence read very awkwardly after they\'ve been translated - sometimes a direct translation just sounds off. This is more and more true the higher your reading level.  \r\n\r\nI\'ll often change the order of wording in a sentence so that it makes sense or reads well in English. You\'ll also notice that I often remove commas, split long Chinese sentences into two or more English sentences, or rearrange the order of clauses, which is necessary to accommodate Chinese grammar.  The translation is meant as a guidepost to help point you in the right direction and keep you grounded in the text when needed - it\'s up to you to dissect sentence structure.\r\n<h4>How I Classify Reading Levels</h4>\r\nUltimately, my classifications are pretty arbitrary, but I\'ll try to lay out some of my basic reasoning here.\r\n\r\n<strong>Beginner</strong> - Very very few of these texts are actually beginner tests; at least I haven\'t been able to find any real beginner stuff yet (I\'m still looking for good sources of real beginner texts that aren\'t boring dialogs - if you know of any, please write!). This is because for any story, article or essay to really take shape, it usually must involve some intermediate grammar or intermediate vocabulary. This is why most truly beginner textbooks stick to dialogs as opposed to actual articles. In order to do any real reading, you\'ve got to at least know the basics of sentence structure. I will classify something as beginner if at least a couple of the following criteria are met:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>The sentence structure is easy throughout</li>\r\n	<li>It contains mostly simpler words that are in the dictionary</li>\r\n	<li>There is no modern slang</li>\r\n	<li>The subject matter is basic / or for children</li>\r\n	<li>It\'s not too long</li>\r\n	<li>It contains few or no idioms</li>\r\n<li>It contains intermediate vocabulary but the story structure is very repetitive, so you can pick up the thread more easily as you go along.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n\r\n<strong>Intermediate</strong> - I classify something as intermediate if:\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>It\'s a longer piece that you have to hold a narrative thread through.</li>\r\n<li>The language is intermediate or upper-intermediate.</li>\r\n<li>There are some light idioms.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n\r\n<strong>Advanced</strong> - Most of what\'s out there online is advanced reading. That\'s why as of now, there are more advanced texts on here than anything else. I classify something as advanced if:\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>It contains many specialized or technical words (technology, health, beauty, geography, etc.)</li>\r\n<li>It contains high-level structures, like newspaper-y or literary writing styles.</li>\r\n<li>It contains any archaic words.</li>\r\n<li>The sentence structure is very complicated.</li>\r\n<li>It contains a lot of modern slang.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n\r\nEnjoy, and good luck with your studies.', 'About', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 03:39:23', '2020-04-20 07:39:23', '', 2, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/2-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1740, 1, '2020-04-20 03:55:31', '2020-04-20 07:55:31', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\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-->\n\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/20130617-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Read Chinese: Bedtime Stories in Mandarin Chinese Characters\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />Though the majority of this text is very basic reading, there are three phrases which jump out at me as being difficult, or words I couldn\'t find in basic dictionaries. \n\n理所应当 - [pinyin]li3 suo3 ying1 dang1[/pinyin] This phrase means to feel something is well-deserved, that something has been earned through hard work, usually when it actually hasn\'t. So I guess that roughly translates to \'taking a reward for granted\'? In this story, Monkey feels that his payment is well-earned or well-deserved. But as readers, we know Monkey doesn\'t deserve anything at all - he\'s taking that payment for granted when he didn\'t really earn it. Consider this phrase in another context:\n\n别人帮助你那是义气，你不能当作是理所应当的。 - \"When other people help you it\'s in the spirit of self-sacrifice, you shouldn\'t consider this something you deserve as a matter of course.\"  \n\n甜头 - Though this looks like two words, the first meaning \"sweet\" and the second meaning \"head\" or \"brain\", it\'s actually a colloquialism that just means \"sweet flavor\" or \"pleasant taste\".  \n\n贪念 - These two characters also seem separate, they don\'t appear together in my dictionary, but they\'re actually one word. According to <a href=\"http://baike.baidu.com/view/3187101.htm\">Baidu Bai Ke</a>, the Baidu dictionary (a Chinese-language resource for word meanings and derivations), 贪念 [pinyin]tan1 nian4[/pinyin] just means \"greedy\" (I presume the \"念\" probably adds the meaning \"idea\" or \"thoughts\" here, so 贪念 could be read as \"greedy thoughts\"). \n\n<a href=\"http://www.tom61.com/ertongwenxue/yuyangushi/2012-10-06/26930.html\">You can read the original here.</a> \n\n[/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>医生与</h4>\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。\n\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。\n\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。\n\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>。\n\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。\n\n唉!我们不知道有多少人是在猴子那里看的病啊!\n\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\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.\n\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. \n\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.\n\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. \n\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. \n\nAi! We don\'t know how many people were examined by Monkey!\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'The Doctor and the Monkey', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1401-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 03:55:31', '2020-04-20 07:55:31', '', 1401, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/1401-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1742, 1, '2020-04-20 04:00:59', '2020-04-20 08:00:59', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\nThough the conclusion of this essay might fall a bit flat for all of us who are very used to having a telephone, this is an interesting glimpse into what a monumental rite of passage it is for children in rural areas to have one or use one for the first time. <!--more--> \n\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/20130611-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Learn to Read Simplified Chinese Exercises: Study Chinese Characters Learning Exercises\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />A confusing word (and an important and often-repeated one) in this text might be 安. We know this word most commonly means \"peace\". But the author keeps saying 安电话. This does not, contrary to appearances, mean \"peace phone\". In this case, 安 is the shorter version of 安装 [pinyin]an1 zhuang1[/pinyin], meaning \"to install\". So, 安电话 means \"to install a phone\".\n\nThere are also a few proper names in here, which we\'ll point out early: 燃燃 is the author\'s name, when the author is addressed by a loved one (typically who is older than them).  李燃 is the author\'s actual full name. You can see from this that family members and close friends will sometimes take a Chinese person\'s given name (which as we know, comes last, and in this case is 燃), and double it as a form of endearment. So 李燃 becomes 燃燃 to close friends and family. This isn\'t always the case but you\'ll see it a lot. It is inappropriate to address a Chinese person this way unless you know them very well, and you should never address an elder this way. It\'s considered very cutesy. Another proper name is 王钰涵 [pinyin]wang2 yu4 han2[/pinyin], the author\'s best friend mentioned in passing. \n\nIn several instances, the author also mentions the \"滋味\" of using a phone. 滋味 literally means \"flavor\" or \"taste\" (noun). In English, we\'d probably substitute the word \"feeling\". \n\nAnd a final grammar note on the phrase: 像是没见过电话似的. Pay attention to the 像 - it\'s attached to the 似的 at the end. Together, wrapped around a phrase, these characters mean \"as if...\" or \"like...\". This phrase means \"... as if I had never seen a phone before\". \n\n<a href=\"http://www.51edu.com/zuowen/xiaoxue/yinianji/3302494.html\">Here\'s the original text of 第一次打电话</a>\n\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n安 - [pinyin]an1[/pinyin] - short for 安装, to install\n记忆犹新 - [pinyin]ji4 yi4 you2 xin1[/pinyin] - Remember something as if it just happened\n迫不及待 - [pinyin]po4 bu4 ji2 dai4[/pinyin] - Impatient, itching to get on with sthg.\n仔细 - [pinyin]zi3 xi4[/pinyin] - Meticulously, carefully\n打量 - [pinyin]da3 liang5[/pinyin] - To size up\n机身 - [pinyin]ji1 shen1[/pinyin] - Body of a machine, casing\n整齐 - [pinyin]zheng3 qi2[/pinyin] - Neat and tidy\n愣 - [pinyin]leng4[/pinyin] - To stare blankly\n催 - [pinyin]cui1[/pinyin] - To urge\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n<h4>第一次打电话</h4>\n同学们，我的新家<strong>安</strong>电话的时侯还是几年前，可现在想起来可真是<strong>记忆犹新</strong>呀！不信？那我就讲给你听听，我可要出点丑了！\n\n“燃燃，你快点来呀，咱们家安电话了！”\n\n啊？什么？安了？其实，我家以前也安过电话，不过那个时侯安电话时，我还是个婴儿，根本不知道刚安电话后打电话的滋味，我早就想尝一尝啦！\n\n我<strong>迫不及待</strong>的向家门跑去。我进门时爸爸对我说：“燃燃，你不是说你想尝一尝刚安电话的时候打电话的滋味吗？快点来呀！”\n\n我拿起电话，像是没见过电话似的，盯着电话看了老半天，<strong>仔细</strong><strong>打量</strong>着这部电话来：绿色的<strong>机身</strong>，0——9的电话号码<strong>整齐</strong>的排列着……\n\n“还<strong>愣</strong>着干嘛？快打呀！”爸爸<strong>催</strong>我。\n\n我想：这第一次打该打给谁呢？打给我的好朋友王钰涵，让她分享我打电话的喜悦？打给亲朋好友让他们来我家玩？不，我要打给老师。“8-5-8-6-1-1-5-8”爸爸告诉我老师的电话。\n\n“8-5-8-6-1-1-8-5”通了。“老师，我是李燃，我家安了电话，我以后……”\n\n“小朋友，你打错了，我不是你老师。”\n\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nFellow students, [though] it was several years ago when our new home installed a telephone, but when I think of it now it\'s still fresh in my memory! Don\'t believe me? Then I\'ll give you a listen [to my story], and my shame will be apparent! \n\n\"Ranran, come quickly, we\'ve installed a telephone!\" \n\nOh? What? Installed one? Actually, we had a phone before, but when we had the phone installed, I was still an infant, and I didn\'t know the feeling of making a call after the phone had been installed, but I\'d always wanted to try! \n\nI impatiently ran back towards the door of the house. When I entered the door, dad said to me \"Ranran, didn\'t you say you wanted to try the experience [lit: flavor] of using the phone when it had been installed? Come quick!\" \n\nI picked up the phone, as if I\'d never seen a phone before, and stared at the phone for [what seemed like] half a day, carefully sizing it up: it had a green casing, and the numbers 0-9 were arrayed in neat rows. \n\n\"What are you doing just standing there? Quick, make a call!\" papa urged me. \n\nI thought: who should my first telephone call be to?  Should I call my good friend Wang Yu Han, and let her share the joy of a phone call? Call close friends and family and tell them to come over to my house and play? No, I want to call my teacher. \"8-5-8-6-1-1-5-8\", dad told me teachers phone number. [The call to] \"8-5-8-6-1-1-8-5\" went through. \n\n\"Teacher, this is Li Ran, we just installed a telephone, after this I...\" \n\n\"Kid, you dialed the wrong number, I\'m not your teacher.\" \n\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Essay: My First Telephone Call', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1393-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 04:00:59', '2020-04-20 08:00:59', '', 1393, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/1393-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1743, 1, '2020-04-20 04:02:53', '2020-04-20 08:02:53', '[two_third]\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-->\n\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/20130603-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Chinese Reading comprehension exercises: Learn to read mandarin chinese\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />Couple 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.\" \n\nAnother point: When the father learns that his cigarettes are gone, he 东翻西找. This phrase is actually a mixture of two words: 东西 (east and west / left and right / in all directions) and 翻找 (to rummage through things while searching, turn things over). We\'ve seen this kind of thing before in previous posts, as with the phrase \"仰起头来\" in the post <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/01/02/little-dog-wears-shoes/\">Little Dog Wears Shoes</a>. If you let the mental picture kind of wash over you, you get an image of the father turning things over looking for his cigarettes.\n\nA word of interest: 大烟枪. Literally, this word means \"big opium pipe\" or in more contemporary times can actually mean \"big bong\". Colloquially in reference to a person, this means \"someone who smokes a lot\", a \"heavy smoker\". \n\nOriginal is <a href=\"http://www.tom61.com/youxiuzuowen/xiaoxueyinianjizuowen/2013-04-15/1365990844246971.html\">here</a>. \n\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>爸爸请您别抽烟了</h4>\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。\n\n爸爸，请您别抽烟了！我常常发现您上班时，烟盒的烟还是满满的，可下班回来时，烟盒里的香烟只剩下几根了。每当看见您身旁云雾缭绕，我的鼻子感觉酸酸的。我担心您的<strong>肺</strong>已被<strong>尼古丁</strong>熏得<strong>千疮百孔</strong>。\n\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。\n\n爸爸，为了您的健康，为了我们，请您别抽烟了!\n</div>\n[/su_column]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\nPapa, please don\'t smoke! I still remember clearly, that day, I quietly stole your box of cigarettes, and secretly threw them in the trash can, because I was thinking that would stop you from smoking. But who 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].\n\nPapa, please don\'t smoke! I always find that when you go to work, your box of cigarettes is still full of cigarettes, but when you get off work and come back, there are only a few cigarettes left in the box. Every time I see you you\'re surrounded by a curling cloud [of smoke], there\'s a sour smell in my nose. I worry that your lungs have already been riddled with gaping wounds by the nicotine. \n\nPapa, please don\'t smoke! You cough every day, and every day you expectorate. I worry that you will leave us. When you abandon us, then what will we do? \n\nPapa, for your health, and for us, please don\'t smoke! \n[/hide-this-part]\n[/su_column]\n[/su_row]', 'Papa, Please Don\'t Smoke!', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1385-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 04:02:53', '2020-04-20 08:02:53', '', 1385, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/1385-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1744, 1, '2020-04-20 04:13:10', '2020-04-20 08:13:10', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\nWell well well, lookie here. A guest post! Today we\'ll be reading Rebecca Chua\'s (Chinese name: 蔡幸彤) translation of an essay from her textbook. The post is about the rewards of honesty. I remember my own textbook being full of these types of essays, so thank you, Rebecca, for the traditional read. <!--more-->\n\nRebecca has this to say about the post: <em>This story talks about a school-going child\'s problems of getting his parents to sign his papers. It also talks about being honest, and that \"the exam of life\" matters more than tests in school. This essay was from my tutoring centre\'s teaching materials. This was done with help. Thank you for those who helped me!</em>\n\n(And the same in Chinese:) 这个故事是讲述华文考试卷要签名所遇到的困难。这个故事教我们要诚实，也教我们，虽然考卷的真正分数低，但人生的考卷上有高分才是最重要的。\n\nOne of the interesting things about this post is the punctuation. In Chinese, they use a six-dot ellipses …… where we only use... three. (u c wat i did thar?). We also learn a little culture here: it\'s worth noting that in most Chinese high schools, parents actually have to sign your test results to prove you showed it to them.\n\nI\'m super loving this phrase - 从天堂降落到地狱 - though it might need a little breakdown:\n\n从 - From\n天堂 - Heaven\n降落 - descend\n到 - to\n地狱 - Hell\n\nThis phrase means to \"have a sinking heart\" or to \"fall from joy to misery\".\n\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>人生考卷</h4>\n我背着书包，手里拿着刚刚<strong>发下来</strong>的<strong>考卷</strong>，一边拖着<strong>沉重</strong>的脚步向家走着，一边紧张的思考怎样让爸爸在考卷上签名……前两天的考卷，今天老师发下来了。我拿了一个A+，考到了97分！同学们都很<strong>羡慕</strong>我，我也得到老师的肯定。在老师要我们做改正的时候，我就<strong>从天堂降落到地狱</strong>。天啊！我<strong>竟然</strong>忘了一整页试题，整整要被扣十分！但是老师却没发现，我还真不知该不该对她说。这时，我的头脑出现了两个“我”，一个说：“算了，不要告诉老师，我已经得了老师的肯定，同学们又那么羡慕我，如果我告诉老师，不就等于丢我的脸，还失去爸爸要给我的礼物。”另一个说：“不行，要做个诚实的人，一定要告诉老师。”于是，我对老师说：“我漏掉了这些题，应该是87 分！”老师帮我改分数的那一刻，我立刻<strong>松了一口气</strong>。\n\n在回家的路上，我真希望我没有对老师说这番话。现在，我不仅要丢掉爸爸的礼物，还得被他骂一<strong>顿</strong>。晚上，我把考卷交给爸爸，爸爸说：“你为什么那么不小心？为什么一整页的题目没做？为什么？” 如在平时，当他问我这些问题时，我会叫他一个“十万个为什么”的人。可现在，我不敢，应为他生气得好像要打我似的。突然，他看见97分改成87分，很奇怪地问我：\"<strong>到底</strong>怎么一回事？“我把情况如实地告诉了他。我低着头，准备继续挨训。\n\n爸爸沉默了一会儿，突然惊喜地看着我：“不，宝贝儿，虽然你考卷上的分数不尽人意，但是在人生考卷上你却得了高分。爸爸为你骄傲！你做得对......”说完他在考卷上签了名。\n\n第二天早上，我背起书包，手里拿着由爸爸签名的考卷，迈着轻快的脚步，迎着初升的朝阳，信心十足地向学校走去……\n\n</div>\n[/su_column]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\nCarrying a heavy load on my back, holding the exam papers that were just handed back to us, I wondered how I could make my father sign this paper......\n\nThe exam, which was held just two days before, had just been handed back to us. I got an A+, a high score of 97 points! All the students in my class were envious of me, and my teacher praised me. But when we were asked to do corrections, I found myself dropping all the way from heaven to hell. I discovered that I forgot to answer a whole page of questions, worth a deduction of 10 points! But my teacher hadn\'t noticed, and I wasn\'t sure if I should tell her. I was of two minds. One said, \"Don\'t tell her, otherwise you\'ll lose face and your father won\'t give you a present!\" The other said, \"No, you should be honest, just tell her!\" So, I said, \"I missed these questions, I should actually receive 87 points!\" She helped me change my score, and I heaved a sigh of relief.\n\nAs I was going home, I wished I hadn\'t told her. Now, not only was I not going to receive a gift from my father, but I was also going to be scolded. That night, when I passed my paper to him, he said, \"Why were you so careless? Why did you miss a whole page of questions?\" Usually, when he asks me these kinds of things, I call him a \"dad of ten-thousand questions\". But I didn\'t dare because he seemed so angry that he might hit me. Suddenly, he saw that my 97 points had been changed to 87 points, and he asked me, \"What happened?\" I told him the truth, and lowered my head, ready for him to yell at me.\n\nMy father was silent for a while. Then he suddenly said, \"No, darling, even though your results weren\'t satisfactory, in the exam of life, you have gotten high marks. I am proud of you! You did right......\" after saying that, he signed his name.\n\nThe next morning, carrying my schoolbag, with light steps, I was feeling happy. Welcoming the rising sun, I walked towards my school with confidence......\n[/hide-this-part]\n[/su_column]\n[/su_row]', 'Guest Post by Rebecca Chua: The difference between life\'s exam and exam papers', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1348-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 04:13:10', '2020-04-20 08:13:10', '', 1348, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/1348-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1749, 1, '2020-04-20 04:13:20', '2020-04-20 08:13:20', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nWell well well, lookie here. A guest post! Today we\'ll be reading Rebecca Chua\'s (Chinese name: 蔡幸彤) translation of an essay from her textbook. The post is about the rewards of honesty. I remember my own textbook being full of these types of essays, so thank you, Rebecca, for the traditional read. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nRebecca has this to say about the post: <em>This story talks about a school-going child\'s problems of getting his parents to sign his papers. It also talks about being honest, and that \"the exam of life\" matters more than tests in school. This essay was from my tutoring centre\'s teaching materials. This was done with help. Thank you for those who helped me!</em>\r\n\r\n(And the same in Chinese:) 这个故事是讲述华文考试卷要签名所遇到的困难。这个故事教我们要诚实，也教我们，虽然考卷的真正分数低，但人生的考卷上有高分才是最重要的。\r\n\r\nOne of the interesting things about this post is the punctuation. In Chinese, they use a six-dot ellipses …… where we only use... three. (u c wat i did thar?). We also learn a little culture here: it\'s worth noting that in most Chinese high schools, parents actually have to sign your test results to prove you showed it to them.\r\n\r\nI\'m super loving this phrase - 从天堂降落到地狱 - though it might need a little breakdown:\r\n\r\n从 - From\r\n天堂 - Heaven\r\n降落 - descend\r\n到 - to\r\n地狱 - Hell\r\n\r\nThis phrase means to \"have a sinking heart\" or to \"fall from joy to misery\".\r\n\r\n[/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>人生考卷</h4>\r\n我背着书包，手里拿着刚刚<strong>发下来</strong>的<strong>考卷</strong>，一边拖着<strong>沉重</strong>的脚步向家走着，一边紧张的思考怎样让爸爸在考卷上签名……前两天的考卷，今天老师发下来了。我拿了一个A+，考到了97分！同学们都很<strong>羡慕</strong>我，我也得到老师的肯定。在老师要我们做改正的时候，我就<strong>从天堂降落到地狱</strong>。天啊！我<strong>竟然</strong>忘了一整页试题，整整要被扣十分！但是老师却没发现，我还真不知该不该对她说。这时，我的头脑出现了两个“我”，一个说：“算了，不要告诉老师，我已经得了老师的肯定，同学们又那么羡慕我，如果我告诉老师，不就等于丢我的脸，还失去爸爸要给我的礼物。”另一个说：“不行，要做个诚实的人，一定要告诉老师。”于是，我对老师说：“我漏掉了这些题，应该是87 分！”老师帮我改分数的那一刻，我立刻<strong>松了一口气</strong>。\r\n\r\n在回家的路上，我真希望我没有对老师说这番话。现在，我不仅要丢掉爸爸的礼物，还得被他骂一<strong>顿</strong>。晚上，我把考卷交给爸爸，爸爸说：“你为什么那么不小心？为什么一整页的题目没做？为什么？” 如在平时，当他问我这些问题时，我会叫他一个“十万个为什么”的人。可现在，我不敢，应为他生气得好像要打我似的。突然，他看见97分改成87分，很奇怪地问我：\"<strong>到底</strong>怎么一回事？“我把情况如实地告诉了他。我低着头，准备继续挨训。\r\n\r\n爸爸沉默了一会儿，突然惊喜地看着我：“不，宝贝儿，虽然你考卷上的分数不尽人意，但是在人生考卷上你却得了高分。爸爸为你骄傲！你做得对......”说完他在考卷上签了名。\r\n\r\n第二天早上，我背起书包，手里拿着由爸爸签名的考卷，迈着轻快的脚步，迎着初升的朝阳，信心十足地向学校走去……\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nCarrying a heavy load on my back, holding the exam papers that were just handed back to us, I wondered how I could make my father sign this paper......\r\n\r\nThe exam, which was held just two days before, had just been handed back to us. I got an A+, a high score of 97 points! All the students in my class were envious of me, and my teacher praised me. But when we were asked to do corrections, I found myself dropping all the way from heaven to hell. I discovered that I forgot to answer a whole page of questions, worth a deduction of 10 points! But my teacher hadn\'t noticed, and I wasn\'t sure if I should tell her. I was of two minds. One said, \"Don\'t tell her, otherwise you\'ll lose face and your father won\'t give you a present!\" The other said, \"No, you should be honest, just tell her!\" So, I said, \"I missed these questions, I should actually receive 87 points!\" She helped me change my score, and I heaved a sigh of relief.\r\n\r\nAs I was going home, I wished I hadn\'t told her. Now, not only was I not going to receive a gift from my father, but I was also going to be scolded. That night, when I passed my paper to him, he said, \"Why were you so careless? Why did you miss a whole page of questions?\" Usually, when he asks me these kinds of things, I call him a \"dad of ten-thousand questions\". But I didn\'t dare because he seemed so angry that he might hit me. Suddenly, he saw that my 97 points had been changed to 87 points, and he asked me, \"What happened?\" I told him the truth, and lowered my head, ready for him to yell at me.\r\n\r\nMy father was silent for a while. Then he suddenly said, \"No, darling, even though your results weren\'t satisfactory, in the exam of life, you have gotten high marks. I am proud of you! You did right......\" after saying that, he signed his name.\r\n\r\nThe next morning, carrying my schoolbag, with light steps, I was feeling happy. Welcoming the rising sun, I walked towards my school with confidence......\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Guest Post: The difference between life\'s exam and exam papers', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1348-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 04:13:20', '2020-04-20 08:13:20', '', 1348, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/1348-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1750, 1, '2020-04-20 04:15:28', '2020-04-20 08:15:28', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\nHey hey! This site has made it through two years online and 100 posts! That makes an average of 50 posts a year, which averages out to a little less than one a week. Not terribly shabby, huh? In any case, on with the Chinese. \n\nI\'ve been having a bit of trouble rounding up truly beginner texts, and whenever I try I end up with an intermediate post. But this one, though not earth-shattering, should certainly do. We\'ve got three short jokes here of the silly variety, appropriate for young kids. <!--more-->\n\nThough we could probably skip this info, you might want to know that 晨练 - meaning \"morning exercise\" - is a much more formalized concept in China than in west. Here, every morning in almost any weather, crowds of old people gather together in parks around 6-7a.m. to do group taiqi, stretch and take brisk walks. This is so prevalent that you can show up at any park or open community space in China early in the morning and see groups of mostly old people doing their exercises. So, while reading the first joke, you should imagine a scene of 40 or so retirees doing taiqi forms in the park. \n\n[/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>小笑话</h4>\n小姑娘指着<strong>晨练</strong>的老人问： 为什么他们能天天到公园来玩？\n奶奶：因为他们是<strong>退休</strong>人员。\n一天，爸爸问女儿：你长大当什么？\n小姑娘：退休人员。\n\n<hr />\n\n父亲教儿子学算术：“一加一是多少？”\n儿子：“不知道。”\n父亲：“是两个，<strong>笨蛋</strong>！知道了吗？”\n儿子：“知道了。”\n父亲：“那么，我和你，加起来是几个人？”\n儿子：“是两个笨蛋！” \n\n<hr />\n\n一个女孩和一个男孩吃<strong>汉堡</strong>。男孩说女孩：“我要<strong>告诉</strong>你一件事！”\n女孩说：“不要跟我说话在我吃的时候，当我吃我的汉堡，那么你就可以<strong>谈</strong>。”\n所以，当他们吃完了女孩问男孩：“现在你想说什么呢？”\n男孩说：“嗯，我是说，有一只<strong>蟑螂</strong>在你的汉堡里！” \n</div>\n[/su_column]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\nA little girl pointing at old people doing morning exercises, said: \"Why are they allowed to play in the park all day?\"\nGrandmother: \"Because they are retirees.\"\nOne day, the father asked the little girl: What do you want to be when you grow up?\nLittle girl: A retiree!\n\n<hr />\n\nFather is teaching his son arithmetic: \"One plus one is how much?\"  \nSon: \"I don\'t know.\" \nFather: \"It\'s two, idiot! You get it?\"\nSon: \"I get it.\" \nFather: \"Now, me and you, put us together and how many people is that?\"\nSon: \"Two idiots!\" \n\n<hr />\n\nA girl and a boy are eating hamburgers. The boy says to the girl: \"I want to tell you something!\" \nThe girl says: \"Don\'t talk to me while I\'m eating, when I\'m done with my hamburger, then you can speak.\"\nSo, when they finished eating the girl asked the boy: \"Now what do you want to say?\"\nBoy says: \"Huh, I was saying, there\'s a cockroach in your hamburger.\"\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Our 100th Post! Plus some new beginner jokes', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1329-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 04:15:28', '2020-04-20 08:15:28', '', 1329, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/1329-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1754, 1, '2013-01-03 09:27:08', '2013-01-03 14:27:08', '[two_third]\r\n<strong>Chinese Title: 暴风雪已致15人死 2000航班延误取消</strong>\r\n\r\nIn the spirit of the holiday season, which is winding to a blissfully overweight close, I give you an article about something you may or may not have just struggled through if you flew home for the holidays (which I did).<!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/20130103-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Reading Mandarin Chinese News: Reading Materials for Advanced Learners\" title=\"How to Read Simplified Chinese: Practice Reading Chinese Newspaper Articles\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />This is a wildly factual article about the congestion caused by the snow storms a week or so ago. Not a lot of excitement here, mostly a tallying up of what a big fat mess the American aviation system becomes during the annual Christmas hysteria. \r\n\r\nLots and lots of proper nouns in here, including lots of U.S. states, some cities and even a couple of basketball team names. Probably the most fun you\'ll have reading this is trying to decipher the list of Chinese names for U.S. states (read the characters out loud quickly and see if you can guess - example: 弗吉尼亚州 fo ji ni ya = Virginia). You can always tell you\'re reading a U.S. state name because the character 州 appears at the tail end of each state. \r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\r\n暴风 - [pinyin]bao4 feng1[/pinyin] - Blizzard\r\n造成 - [pinyin]zao4 cheng2[/pinyin] - To cause, bring about\r\n严寒 - [pinyin]yan2 han2[/pinyin] - Severe winter\r\n警告 - [pinyin]jing3 gao4[/pinyin] - Warning (typically official one, issued by police or govt.)\r\n凛冽 - [pinyin]lin3 lie4[/pinyin] - Biting cold\r\n构成 - [pinyin]gou4 cheng2[/pinyin] - To constitute \r\n威胁 - [pinyin]wei1 xie2[/pinyin] - Threat\r\n气象部门 - [pinyin]qi4 xiang4 bu4 men2[/pinyin] - Weather service \r\n成千上万 - [pinyin]cheng2 qian1 shang4 wan4[/pinyin] - Tens of thousands\r\n推迟 - [pinyin]tui1 chi2[/pinyin] - To postpone\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圣诞节期间美国遭遇<strong>暴风</strong>雪袭击，已至少<strong>造成</strong>15人死亡，2000次美国航班延误或取消。\r\n\r\n据报道，因暴雪<strong>严寒</strong>造成人员死亡的州包括肯塔基州、俄亥俄州、印第安纳州、阿肯色州、俄克拉何马州、得克萨斯州、路易斯安那州、宾夕法尼亚州和弗吉尼亚州。\r\n\r\n很多地区发出<strong>警告</strong>提醒人们不要外出，因为<strong>凛冽</strong>狂风、低温和充满危险的路况对行人<strong>构成</strong><strong>威胁</strong>。<strong>气象部门</strong>说，位于美国东北部的新英格兰地区数州即将出现大雪天气，缅因州部分地区的降雪厚度达18英寸(约45厘米)。因此，很多人的圣诞节假期旅行计划受到影响。\r\n\r\n目前，已有超过20万居民家中断电，<strong>成千上万</strong>出游的人们滞留在各处。nba<strong>推迟</strong>了原本于周三晚在印第安纳波利斯举行的印第安纳步行者对芝加哥公牛队的篮球赛。\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nThis Christmas season, America is suffering through a blizzard, which has already caused at least 15 deaths and the delay or cancellation of 2000 flights. \r\n\r\nAccording to reports, the snowstorm and bitter cold has caused deaths in states including Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Virginia. \r\n\r\nMany regions issued warnings reminding people not to go outside, because the biting cold, howling winds, low temperatures and dangerous traffic conditions compose a threat to pedestrians. The weather department said that severe snow will soon appear in America\'s northeastern New England area, with snowfall in Maine reaching 18 inches (about 45 centimeters). As a result, many people\'s Christmas travel plans will be effected.\r\n\r\nCurrently, 200,000 homes have already experienced electrical outages, and tens of thousands of travelers have been detained. [Also due to snow] in Indianapolis, the NBA postponed Wednesday night\'s Indiana Pacers vs. Chicago Bulls basketball game.  \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'News: Snowstorm has caused 15 deaths and 2000 flight delays or cancellations', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1304-revision-v1', '', '', '2013-01-03 09:27:08', '2013-01-03 14:27:08', '', 1304, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2013/01/03/1304-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1756, 1, '2020-04-20 05:38:21', '2020-04-20 09:38:21', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\nYayzors, horsies. \n\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-->\n\n<h3>A few notable points:</h3>\n\n他过的很快乐，时光飞快地过去了。\n\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.\n\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?). \n\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). \n\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)\n\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？). \n\n5) Another 过去 - to \"pass across\", \"to cross\" (as in a river or street).\n\n6) 过去 \"to pass by\" (someone or something). \n\nAnd on and on. In our sentence here, we\'re using #4 first, and then #2. \n\n他<strong>过</strong>的很快乐，时光飞快地<strong>过</strong>去了。\n\n\"He <strong>passed</strong> [his days] very happily, time flew <strong>past</strong>.\"\n\nMake sense? Hope so, because several different usages of 过去 come up in this post, so keep an eye out. \n\n<h3>One more thing:</h3>\n\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：\n\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\".)\n咱们： \"Why don\'t we see a movie this afternoon?” （The speaker is including the person spoken to in the \"we\".)\n\n我们： \"I\'ll call you as soon as we get back.\" (The person being spoken to is not included in the \"we\".)\n咱们： \"What should we do when we get back?” （The speaker is including the person spoken to in the \"we\".)\n\n我们： \"We\'re not home right now, leave a message!\" (The person being spoken to is not included in the \"we\".)\n咱们： \"We could go home right now and check the messages.” （The speaker is including the person spoken to in the \"we\".)\n\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>小马过河</h4>\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。”\n\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？”\n\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。”\n\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。”\n\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。”\n\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。\n \n</div>\n[/su_column]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\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.\" \n\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?\" \n\nUncle Ox straightened his big, tall body and laughing, said: \"Not deep, not deep. It only comes up to my calf.\" \n\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.\" \n\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.\" \n\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. \n\n[/hide-this-part]\n[/su_column]\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Little Horse Crosses the River', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1596-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 05:38:21', '2020-04-20 09:38:21', '', 1596, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/1596-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1757, 1, '2020-05-07 17:15:19', '2020-05-07 21:15:19', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\nHere we\'ll cover the back story behind the idiom \"夜郎自大\", or \"Yelang thinks highly of itself\". This idiom one refers to someone who has a high, but misguided, opinion of their own worth. Stick this one in the language bank for when you need to take someone down a peg (preferably while stroking your fu manchu and calmly catching flies with your chopsticks). <!--more-->\n\nI learned a new word on this one: 统治 [pinyin]tong3 zhi4[/pinyin]. Which brings the total number of \"tongzhi\" words (tonal differences aside) I know up to three. \n\nWe\'ve got:\n同志 - [pinyin]tong2 zhi4[/pinyin] or \"Comrade\" (and in Chinese slang this also means \"a homosexual\", though if you keep an eye on the Chinese news you\'ll see that that one of the more reputable local dictionaries refused to include that definition though it\'s in common use) \n\n通知 [pinyin]tong1 zhi1[/pinyin] - To notify, give notice\n\nAnd now, 统治 [pinyin]tong3 zhi4[/pinyin] - To rule over (a kingdom / country)\n\nLet us hope there aren\'t any more configurations of that sound. \n[/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>夜郎自大</h4>\n<strong>汉朝</strong>的时候，在西南方有个名叫夜郎的小国家，它虽然是一个独立的国家，可是<strong>国土</strong>很小，百姓也少，物产更是少得可怜。但是由于邻近地区以夜郎这个国家最大，从没离开过国家的夜郎国国王就以为自己<strong>统治</strong>的国家是全天下最大的国家。\n\n有一天，夜郎国国王与<strong>部下</strong><strong>巡视</strong><strong>国境</strong>的时候，他指着前方问说：“这里哪个国家最大呀？”部下们为了<strong>迎合</strong>国王的心意，于是就说：“当然是夜郎国最大啰！”走着走着，国王又抬起头来、望着前方的高山问说：“天底下还有比这座山更高的山吗？”部下们回答说：“天底下没有比这座山更高的山了。”后来，他们来到河边，国王又问：“我认为这可是世界上最长的河川了。”部下们仍然<strong>异口同声</strong>回答说：“大王说得一点都没错。”从此以后，无知的国王就更相信夜郎是天底下最大的国家。\n\n有一次，汉朝<strong>派</strong><strong>使者</strong>来到夜郎，<strong>途中</strong>先经过夜郎的邻国滇国，滇王问使者：“汉朝和我的国家比起来哪个大？”使者一听吓了一跳，他没想到这个小国家，竟然无知的自以为能与汉朝相比。却没想到后来使者到了夜郎国，骄傲又无知的国王因为不知道自己统治的国家只和汉朝的一个县差不多大，竟然不知天高地厚也问使者：“汉朝和我的国家哪个大？”\n</div>\n[/su_column]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\nDuring the Han Dynasty, in the southwest there was a small country called Yelang, and although it was an independent nation, its territory was small, there weren\'t many citizens, and its products were pitifully few. Because it was the largest kingdom in the near area, the Yelang king who\'d never left his own country thought the country he ruled was the biggest on earth. \n\nOne day, the king of Yelang was on a national border inspection tour with his troops, when he pointed in front of him [to neighboring country] and said, \"Which country is bigger?\" In order to serve their own interests and make the king happy, the troops said, \"Of course Yelang is bigger!\" They walked along, and the king once again lifted up his head, gazed at the big mountain in the distance and asked: \"Is there a taller mountain than this anywhere on earth?\" And his men answered: \"No, there\'s no mountain taller than this one on earth.\" After a while, they reached the river side, and the king asked again: \"I think this is the world\'s longest river.\" And all his men said in unison \"The king speaks truly.\" After this, the ignorant king believed even more firmly that Yelang was the world\'s biggest country.\n\nThen one day, the Han Dynasty dispatched an envoy to Yelang, and en route they encountered the neighboring kingdom DianGuo, and the King of Dian asked the emissary: \"If you compared the Han Dynasty and my Kingdom, which one would be bigger?\" The emissary listened in astonishment, as he\'d never have thought this small a country thought it could compare itself to the Han Dynasty. But he really never could have suspected that when he got to Yelang, the prideful and ignorant king who didn\'t know that the kingdom he ruled was about the size of one Han county, would ask with an exaggerated opinion of his own worth, \"Which is bigger: the Han Dynasty or my country?\"  \n[/hide-this-part]\n[/su_column]\n[/su_row]', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 夜郎自大 - Thinking too highly of oneself', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1300-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 17:15:19', '2020-05-07 21:15:19', '', 1300, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/1300-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(2254, 1, '2020-05-07 17:17:12', '2020-05-07 21:17:12', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThis is the backstory behind the Chinese idiom 鹬蚌相争 [pinyin]yu4 bang4 xiang1 zheng1[/pinyin], which translates to \"The Sandpiper and the Clam Fight Each Other\", and means \"Two parties fight and a third party benefits.\" <!--more-->\r\n\r\nCool upper-intermediate piece - in case it hasn\'t been obvious throughout these posts, I love classical stories about wily government counselors and should probably post about something else on occasion, but so many classical tales involve this trope that it\'s hard to avoid. \r\n\r\nThis piece is cool because - excepting the first sentence - the sentence structure is simple but there are quite a few classical words, so you\'ll learn some historical terms. In case you think this kind of thing isn\'t really useful, think again. Historical figures in the Chinese dynasties are mentioned frequently in the oddest places, and their stories bleed out into every medium. If you\'re at a museum, if you\'re reading Chinese magazines, if you\'re reading Chinese historical essays, if you\'re watching a TV show or book or listening to the radio, you\'ll see mentions of historical dynasties all the time. But most importantly, if you want to watch Chinese war movies or period pieces (and there are some great ones), this vocab is crucial. You might as well know at least when to recognize that the conversation has gone that way.\r\n\r\nThis short story takes place during the Warring States period (475 BC to 221 BC), and mentions three of the seven warring kingdoms of that time, so you\'ll learn some dynasty names: 赵国 [pinyin]zhao4 guo2[/pinyin] (The Zhao State), 燕国 [pinyin]yan1 guo2[/pinyin] (The Yan State), and 秦国 [pinyin]qin2 guo2[/pinyin] (the Qin State). Speaking of dynasties, when you\'re reading this, look out for the word 王[pinyin]wang2[/pinyin] - as you probably know at this point in your studies, 王means \"king\", and when you see that, you can sometimes guess that the two or three characters before this word are the name of the king. Unlike in English, where we say \"King Charles\" or \"King John\", in this case the Chinese put \"king\" after the name. For example, in this story, we have 赵惠文王 - King Huiwen of Zhao (in other words, king of the Zhao state).\r\n\r\nWhat\'s amusing about this story is that in reality, the Qin Dynasty came out on top of the Warring States period and ruled China (well, for a decade or so, anyway) after the Warring States were over - so bear that in mind as you read the last sentence. \r\n\r\nYou\'ll also meet our protagonist 苏代 [pinyin]su1 dai4[/pinyin] - who he is is explained in the first sentence, but suffice to say that 苏代 is a person\'s name. He\'s mentioned in conjunction with 纵横家 [pinyin]zong4 heng2 jia1[/pinyin], the School of Diplomacy, which was a sort of league of scholar-statesmen from the Warring States period. If you\'re interested, you can <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_of_Diplomacy\">read more about it on Wikipedia</a>. \r\n\r\nAnyway, I\'m making this story sound really complicated, but other than the historical terminology, the storyline is not at all convoluted. \r\n\r\nOriginal story is <a href=\"http://www.diyifanwen.com/chengyu/sizichengyugushi/20100516141051614035955767805.html\">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>鹬蚌相争</h4>\r\n赵国将要讨伐燕国，苏代(战国时<strong>策士</strong>，纵横家苏秦的弟弟)替燕国游说赵惠文王，讲了<strong>如下</strong>的<strong>寓言</strong>故事: \r\n\r\n“我来的时候经过<strong>易水</strong>，<strong>恰好</strong>看到<strong>蚌</strong>出来晒太阳。<strong>鹬</strong>趁机啄蚌的肉，蚌把两扇<strong>介壳</strong>一闭就夹住了鹬的喙。鹬说:‘今天不下雨，明天不下雨，就有死蚌。’蚌也<strong>针锋相对</strong>地说: ‘今天不出，明天不出(夹住不放)，就有死鹬。’<strong>两者</strong>谁也不肯罢休，这时过来一个<strong>渔父</strong>把两者一起拎走了。”燕赵相对抗，都搞得很<strong>疲劳</strong>，我恐怕强大的秦国正在<strong>扮演</strong>渔父的角色，所以希望大王<strong>深思熟虑</strong>。\r\n\r\n惠文王赞同苏代的意见，停止对燕国用兵。\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nThe Zhao State was taking up arms against the Yan State, and Su Dai (a military strategist during the Warring States period, and little brother to Su Qin of the School of Diplomacy) traveled to speak with King HuiWen of Zhao on behalf of the Yan State, and he told the following fable: \r\n\r\n\"When I was coming here I passed over some gentle water, and by chance I happened to see a clam sunning itself. A sandpiper seized the opportunity to peck at the clam\'s meat, but the clam slammed the two wings of its hard shell shut on the sandpiper\'s beak. The sandpiper said, \'Today it won\'t rain, tomorrow it won\'t rain, and there will be one dead clam!\' The clam gave as good as he got, saying: \'I won\'t come out today, I won\'t come out tomorrow (so your beak won\'t be free), and there will be one dead sandpiper!\' Neither party was willing to give up, and at this time, a fisherman scooped them both up and carried them off. If Yan and Zhao oppose each other, we\'ll both fight ourselves weary. I\'m afraid the strong Qin State is playing the role of the fisherman, so I hope that your majesty will carefully deliberate on this matter.\" \r\n\r\nKing HuiWen approved of SuDai\'s message, and stopped using armed forces against the Yan State.\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 鹬蚌相争 - When two parties fight and a third party benefits', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1036-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 17:17:12', '2020-05-07 21:17:12', '', 1036, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/07/1036-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1759, 1, '2020-04-20 04:34:02', '2020-04-20 08:34:02', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\nGonna lay it on a bit thick today with something nice and serious. This is an abstract of an academic paper from the <a href=\"http://www.genderstudy.cn/\">Gender Studies Network</a> authored by Zhou Ying. <!--more-->\n\nBecause this is an advanced academic abstract, you can really see how, in the upper levels of written Chinese, a ton of words that we find essential in English can be dropped from a sentence while still preserving the essence of the meaning. We tend to extend sentences with explanation, but here, I feel, is a fabulous example of how efficient Chinese can be. Because so many words have been dropped, I\'ve added a whole lot of bracketed explanation and English fill-in words in the translation to better illuminate the implied meaning.\n\nI\'m not quite sure I know what a \"proper role in domestic life is\", I\'m fairly certain that not all policewomen feel intensely conflicted, but I do like the idea of implementing some social policies to better support working women. \n\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n禁区 - [pinyin]jin4 qu1[/pinyin] - Forbidden region\n范围 - [pinyin]fan4 wei2[/pinyin] - Range, scope\n治安 - [pinyin]zhi4 an1[/pinyin] - Law and order\n打击 - [pinyin]da3 ji1[/pinyin] - Crack down on\n面临 - [pinyin]mian4 lin2[/pinyin] - Be faced with\n工作与生活平衡 - [pinyin]gong1 zuo4 yu2 sheng1 huo2 ping2 heng2[/pinyin] - Work-life balance\n比例 - [pinyin]bi3 li4[/pinyin] - Proportion\n岗位 - [pinyin]gang3 wei4[/pinyin] - A job\n限 - [pinyin]xian4[/pinyin] - Limit\n遭受 - [pinyin]zao1 shou4[/pinyin] - To suffer\n威胁 - [pinyin]wei1 xie2[/pinyin] - To threaten\n扮演 - [pinyin]ban4 yan3[/pinyin] - To play a role\n冲突 - [pinyin]chong1 tu1[/pinyin] - Conflict\n政策 - [pinyin]zheng4 ce4[/pinyin] - Policy\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n<h4>女警察工作与生活平衡问题探讨</h4>\n警察职业曾是女性的“<strong>禁区</strong>”。随着社会的发展, 目前女警数量不断扩大, 警务工作<strong>范围</strong>不断扩展, 他们已成为维护社会<strong>治安</strong>、<strong>打击</strong>犯罪的特殊力量。女警发展<strong>面临</strong>着<strong>工作与生活平衡</strong>的困境。一方面, 存在着女警人数所占<strong>比例</strong>小、<strong>岗位</strong>受<strong>限</strong>、晋升和参与决策的机会有限、职业安全<strong>遭受</strong>到<strong>威胁</strong>等限制职业发展的问题。另一方面, 繁忙的警务工作使其无法<strong>扮演</strong>好家庭角色, 内心<strong>冲突</strong>激烈。促进女警工作与生活平衡需要社会方面与个体方面的双重努力, 特别是社会<strong>政策</strong>的支持。\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nPolice work was once an occupational area forbidden to women. In the wake of [current] social development, the continuous increase in the number of policewomen and the continuous expansion in the scope of police work, policewomen have become an extraordinary force in upholding law and order and cracking down on crime.  [At the same time,] this development has left policewomen faced with difficulties in [maintaining] work-life balance. On the one hand, [there are work-related issues such as] their small number in proportion [to male policemen], a limited number of posts they may accept, few opportunities for promotion or participation in decision-making, threats to their occupational safety, and so on. On the other hand, [there are personal issues such as the fact that] the frenetic pace of police work makes it almost impossible to play a proper role in domestic life, creating an intense inner conflict in [policewomen\'s] heart. In order to improve policewomen\'s work-life balance, we must strive [to address] both the social and individual aspects [of this problem], particularly in the form of support through social policies. \n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'A Probe into the Work-Life Balance of Chinese Policewomen', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1287-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 04:34:02', '2020-04-20 08:34:02', '', 1287, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/1287-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1761, 1, '2020-04-20 04:43:07', '2020-04-20 08:43:07', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nGonna lay it on a bit thick today with something nice and serious. This is an abstract of an academic paper from the <a href=\"http://www.genderstudy.cn/\">Gender Studies Network</a> authored by Zhou Ying. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nBecause this is an advanced academic abstract, you can really see how, in the upper levels of written Chinese, a ton of words that we find essential in English can be dropped from a sentence while still preserving the essence of the meaning. We tend to extend sentences with explanation, but here, I feel, is a fabulous example of how efficient Chinese can be. Because so many words have been dropped, I\'ve added a whole lot of bracketed explanation and English fill-in words in the translation to better illuminate the implied meaning.\r\n\r\nI\'m not quite sure I know what a \"proper role in domestic life is\", I\'m fairly certain that not all policewomen feel intensely conflicted, but I do like the idea of implementing some social policies to better support working women. \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>女警察工作与生活平衡问题探讨</h4>\r\n警察职业曾是女性的“<strong>禁区</strong>”。随着社会的发展, 目前女警数量不断扩大, 警务工作<strong>范围</strong>不断扩展, 他们已成为维护社会<strong>治安</strong>、<strong>打击</strong>犯罪的特殊力量。女警发展<strong>面临</strong>着<strong>工作与生活平衡</strong>的困境。一方面, 存在着女警人数所占<strong>比例</strong>小、<strong>岗位</strong>受<strong>限</strong>、晋升和参与决策的机会有限、职业安全<strong>遭受</strong>到<strong>威胁</strong>等限制职业发展的问题。另一方面, 繁忙的警务工作使其无法<strong>扮演</strong>好家庭角色, 内心<strong>冲突</strong>激烈。促进女警工作与生活平衡需要社会方面与个体方面的双重努力, 特别是社会<strong>政策</strong>的支持。\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\nPolice work was once an occupational area forbidden to women. In the wake of [current] social development, the continuous increase in the number of policewomen and the continuous expansion in the scope of police work, policewomen have become an extraordinary force in upholding law and order and cracking down on crime.  [At the same time,] this development has left policewomen faced with difficulties in [maintaining] work-life balance. On the one hand, [there are work-related issues such as] their small number in proportion [to male policemen], a limited number of posts they may accept, few opportunities for promotion or participation in decision-making, threats to their occupational safety, and so on. On the other hand, [there are personal issues such as the fact that] the frenetic pace of police work makes it almost impossible to play a proper role in domestic life, creating an intense inner conflict in [policewomen\'s] heart. In order to improve policewomen\'s work-life balance, we must strive [to address] both the social and individual aspects [of this problem], particularly in the form of support through social policies. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'A Probe into the Work-Life Balance of Chinese Policewomen', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1287-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 04:43:07', '2020-04-20 08:43:07', '', 1287, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/1287-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1764, 1, '2020-04-20 05:08:22', '2020-04-20 09:08:22', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\nThis excerpt is one of the Tiger Team supernatural mystery novels for adolescents. The Tiger Team series was originally created in German by author <a href=\"http://www.thomasbrezina.co.uk/buecher-serien/?sid=ca3599a37c59e0c87d1b27da100ae194\">Thomas C. Brezina</a>, and features a band of young detectives: Jupiter Katz, son of a supernatural researcher Erasmus Katz, Jupiter\'s cousin Vicky and Vicky\'s little brother Nick. This is listed as \"advanced\" not necessarily because of the vocabulary - which isn\'t terribly difficult - but also because some of the sentence structures aren\'t very straightforward. This is the easy end of the advanced spectrum, so if you think you might be an advanced reader, try this.<!--more-->\n\nI found this Chinese translation of the Tiger Team novel \"Ghost Hotel\" in my local bookstore, and I\'ve manually typed in the first few paragraphs of the book, which describe a dilapidated, mostly-abandoned hotel, where most of the novel takes place. This is interesting practice in reading longer descriptions, and includes many words that are strictly book-language: you\'re not likely to run into them in daily conversation. There\'s probably an actual English version of this book, but I can\'t easily get my hands on this, so bear in mind you\'re not reading the official English translation. <a href=\"http://www.amazon.cn/%E6%83%8A%E6%81%90%E5%B0%8F%E8%99%8E%E9%98%9F-%E6%89%98%E9%A9%AC%E6%96%AF%C2%B7%E5%B8%83%E7%83%AD%E9%BD%90%E7%BA%B3/dp/product-description/B005EVSBFG\">Here\'s the Chinese version on Amazon China</a>. \n\nThere are a couple of difficult passages here that don\'t quite mean what they seem to mean. One is 木条都不知下落了. Originally, I read this as \"wooden slats scattered here and there\", or literally \"wooden slats fallen down in who knows how many places\". But 下落, in this case, doesn\'t mean \"fall down\". It means \"where is it?\" (the same as 在哪儿). So 不知下落 actually means \"to be missing\", or \"to be gone to who knows where\". \n\nAnother phrase I should note is 数目远远大于实际需要, \"an amount (数目) far (远远) greater (大于) than actually (实际) needed (需要)\". 远远 - meaning \"far away\" - can also sometimes be used the same way in Chinese as in English, to mean \"very\" (example: <strong><em>far </em></strong>above the normal amount). \n\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>第一章</h4>\n那栋房子是木质结构的， 看起来就像是婚礼蛋糕。 它总共有四层，越向上越<strong>狭窄</strong>，所以最高的那层就只是一座带有小小玻璃<strong>穹顶</strong>的尖塔了。\n\n<strong>灰蒙蒙</strong>的木头外墙已经腐朽不堪， 黑色的穹顶上好像也被<strong>戳</strong>了好几个窟窿。\n\n窗户都是拱形，数目远远大于实际需要，上面还钉了好多木条。\n\n这栋房子从1911年起就<strong>矗立</strong>在这座<strong>孤零零</strong>的<strong>山丘</strong>上。有时候，附近的农民发现这栋房子会像磁铁一样，吸引着乌云，雷电，冰雹和风雨。\n\n如果谁在夏天的时候走近这栋房子，就会发现这里奇特现象：房子周围为数不多的那几棵树都是<strong>光秃秃</strong>的。 树枝如同黝黑的手臂， 高高地指向天空。\n\n这块地被低矮的木栅栏圈在当中， 有几处已经被人损坏， 木条都不知下落了。 甚至， 有的地方已经完全被<strong>杂草</strong>所<strong>掩埋</strong>。\n</div>\n[/su_column]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\nThe building was constructed of wood, and looked like a wedding cake. Altogether, it had four floors, each narrower than the one below, so the topmost floor was just a small minaret topped with a glass dome. \n\nThe gloomy outer wall was already in a state of extreme disrepair, and the dark and the vaulted roof looked as if it had been stabbed full of holes. \n\nThe windows were all arched, there were far more of them than actually necessary, and they had wooden boards nailed over them. \n\nThe house had towered atop this isolated hill since 1911. Sometimes, the nearby villagers would find that the building was like a magnet, attracting dark clouds, lightening, hail, wind and rain. \n\nIf anyone walked near the house during summer, they would discover a strange phenomenon: the few surrounding trees were all bare. The tree branches were like dark arms, pointing tall towards the sky. \n\nThe land was encircled by a low fence, which had been broken in several places, and the wooden slats were missing. It was in such a state that some parts of it had even been completely buried by weeds. \n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Novels: Tiger Team - Ghost Hotel', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1209-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 05:08:22', '2020-04-20 09:08:22', '', 1209, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/1209-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1771, 1, '2020-04-20 05:13:00', '2020-04-20 09:13:00', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThis very indignant kid seems destined to be a vegetarian.  <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/20120804-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Learn Chinese Reading: Beginner Practice Exercises for Mandarin Chinese: Children&#039;s Essays\" title=\"Learn to Read Chinese: Exercises for Beginner Mandarin Chinese Learners\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />I\'d say the most difficult phrase in this little passage is: 家里人都<strong>吃得很香</strong>. The beginning of that sentence is no problem: 家里人都 \"Everyone in the family...\", but 吃得很香 is a bit more difficult, as we don\'t have sentence structure similar to this in English. Let\'s break it down:\r\n\r\n吃 - [pinyin]chi1[/pinyin] - To eat\r\n得 - [pinyin]de[/pinyin] - Grammar word, which kind of acts as a bridge between \"吃\" and \"香\", indicating that the result of 吃 (eating) is that it was very 香 (savory)\r\n很 - [pinyin]hen3[/pinyin] - Very\r\n香 - [pinyin]xiang1[/pinyin] - Savory\r\n\r\nAnother interesting thing about this sentence is the word 香, which can mean both \"fragrant\" (smells good) and / or \"savory\" (tastes good). I find it particularly interesting that the Chinese recognize in language the interconnectedness of good taste and smell. \r\n\r\nOne other notable point is the word 又, which means \"again\". But did you know that in Chinese, there are two ways to say \"again\"? There\'s 又, and there\'s also 再. It\'s a little alien to a native English speaker that there might be two different ways to say \"again\", so let me explain the difference:\r\n\r\n又 - Indicates that the action has already been repeated in the past. Example: \"<strong>You forgot your homework again? You\'re going to get in trouble.</strong>\" The person being scolded forgot their homework once, then already forgot it again (maybe many times). The forgetting of homework again has already happened. So we use 又.\r\n\r\n再 - Indicates that something will happen again <em>in the future</em>. An example of this would be: <strong>Don\'t forget your homework again or you\'ll get in trouble.</strong> In other words, you forgot your homework at least once already, don\'t repeat that action again in the future. Another example of this is would be a sentence like, \"When will I see you again?\" The seeing again hasn\'t yet happened - it may happen in the future. So we would use 再. \r\n\r\nThe Chinese title of this text is 爸爸是个大坏蛋.\r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\r\n青蛙 - [pinyin]qing1 wa1[/pinyin] - Frog\r\n害虫 - [pinyin]hai4 chong2[/pinyin] - Harmful pests (insects, etc.)\r\n庄稼 - [pinyin]zhuang1 jia5[/pinyin] - Farm crop\r\n消灭 - [pinyin]xiao1 mie4[/pinyin] - Nasty, vile\r\n能手 - [pinyin]neng2 shou3[/pinyin] - Put an end to, annihilate\r\n煮 - [pinyin]zhu3[/pinyin] - Cook, boil\r\n却 - [pinyin]que4[/pinyin] -  But, however\r\n可怜 - [pinyin]ke3 lian2[/pinyin] - A pity \r\n</div>\r\n[/one_third]\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<strong>青蛙</strong>捉<strong>害虫</strong>，是<strong>庄稼</strong>的好朋友。可我爸爸成天出去捉青蛙。\r\n\r\n我对爸爸说：“青蛙是<strong>消灭</strong>害虫的<strong>能手</strong>，你不能捉它！”爸爸却笑着说：“大人的事，小孩别管。”我很着急。\r\n\r\n爸爸又捉了许多青蛙，<strong>煮</strong>了一锅青蛙肉。家里人都吃得很香，我<strong>却</strong>一点儿也不想吃。我想：我们吃了青蛙肉，又有许多小青蛙没妈妈了，他们一定在哭着找妈妈，多<strong>可怜</strong>呀！爸爸真是个大坏蛋！\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nFrogs catch pests, so they\'re a farm crop\'s good friend. But my dad goes out during the day and catches frogs. \r\n\r\nI said to dad: \"Frogs are experts at annihilating pests, you can\'t catch them!\" But my dad only smiled and said: \"Children should stay out of adult business.\" I\'m very worried.\r\n\r\nOnce again, dad caught several frogs and boiled up a pot of frog meat. Everyone in the family ate up the savory [food], but I didn\'t even want to eat a little. I thought: here we are eating frog meat, that means there are many small frogs with no mama, surely they\'re crying for their mother, it\'s such a pity! My dad is a big scoundrel! \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'My Dad is a Scoundrel!', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1192-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 05:13:00', '2020-04-20 09:13:00', '', 1192, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/1192-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1773, 1, '2012-04-25 04:35:11', '2012-04-25 08:35:11', '[two_third]\r\nHoo boy, this song is an AWESOME find. Not only is it politically charged in the most amazing way, it\'s ultra-beginner reading. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/20120405-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Study Easy Chinese Childrens Reading: Chinese Children&#039;s Songs, Poems and Stories\" title=\"Study Easy Chinese Childrens Reading: Chinese Children&#039;s Songs, Poems and Stories\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />But first, a little back story so we all know what we\'re reading here (and I do hope after this my blog stays available on the mainland - gonna use some weird spacing and spelling to avoid bots). The big campaign here right now is an expansion of the \"Ha rmoni ous S *ocie\\ ty\" campaign. It\'s on every political poster on the roadsides - there are 20 such signs on my street alone. The point, basically, is to do your job in your place and not make waves, or make life uncomfortable for those around you. Sounds nice, but you can kind of see a little ways down that road, and you can understand why \"harmo  ny\" has become a euphemism for ce n z*or*sh p. For example, whenever something \"offensive\" is, erm, stricken from the internet, Chinese sarcastically say that it has been \"h-a r m onisd\".  This concept goes right back to Confucius, whose big idea was that everyone has their duty and their place, and should follow a very strict set of rules governing what people in their position should and should not be able to do. \r\n\r\nSo the concept of har mony (和谐 - [pinyin]he2 xie2[/pinyin]) has long been an integral part of Chinese culture, but it\'s also been a point of criticism. Sadly, this whole \"nail that sticks up gets hammered down\" mentality is now giving the honchos a headache, because while the Chinese now have the manpower and the money to take the world economy by storm, they can\'t get enough people to break away, be creative and innovate. \r\n\r\nAmusingly, the solution to this has apparently been to put signs up all over Beijing that say: \"Beijing Spirit: Patriotism, Innovation, Inclusiveness, Morality.\" So now, the message is \"Don\'t piss anyone off, but hurry up and do something unique\".\r\n\r\nGuess that solves that problem. NEXT!\r\n\r\nAnyway, the below is a children\'s song that has probably been made up in the last few years, teaching children why harmony is so important. There are a couple of intermediate words in the last sentence, but they\'re easy to figure out. \r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\r\n清 - [pinyin]qing1[/pinyin] - Clear\r\n密 - [pinyin]mi4[/pinyin] - Dense, thick\r\n空 - [pinyin]kong4[/pinyin] - Open, empty, unoccupied\r\n忙 - [pinyin]mang2[/pinyin] - To rush around\r\n啊 - [pinyin]a1[/pinyin] - Ah!, Oh!\r\n和谐 - [pinyin]he2 xie2[/pinyin] - Harmony, harmonious\r\n环境 - [pinyin]huan2 jing4[/pinyin] - Environment\r\n创造 - [pinyin]chuang4 zao4[/pinyin] - to create, to bring about\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_third]\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n蓝蓝的天上鸟儿飞，\r\n<strong>清</strong>清的水里鱼儿游，\r\n<strong>密</strong>密的森林动物跑，\r\n<strong>空</strong>空的草地孩子<strong>忙</strong>，\r\n　　……\r\n<strong>啊</strong>！这一切<strong>多么</strong>美好！\r\n<strong>和谐</strong>的<strong>环境</strong>需要我们去<strong>创造</strong>。\r\n</div>\r\n\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH\"]\r\nBirds fly in a blue blue sky, \r\nFish swim in the clear clear water, \r\nAnimals run in the thick thick forest, \r\nChildren run around in the open open meadow, \r\n　　……\r\nOh, how wonderful everything is like this, \r\nA harmonious environment requires us to create it.\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'The Harmonious Environment Song', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1065-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-04-25 04:35:11', '2012-04-25 08:35:11', '', 1065, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/04/25/1065-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1774, 1, '2020-04-20 05:16:13', '2020-04-20 09:16:13', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\nIn this essay you\'ll learn to read Chinese martial arts words - well, a few, anyway - but it\'s not really the vocabulary that places this in the \"advanced\" category. It\'s more that most of the text is full of wax-on, wax-off Karate Kid statements, as the martial arts master talks about how putting oneself in a position of inferiority allows you to attain superiority. <!--more-->\n\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/20120419-inline.jpg\" alt=\"Learn to Read Mandarin Chinese Free - Martial Arts Mastery Essay\" title=\"Reading Chinese: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced Chinese Practice Essays\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />This kind of \"making logic out of illogical-sounding contradictions\" is very typical of martial arts and Eastern mysticism, and most of this type of stuff comes strait out of Taoist philosophy. \n\nThere are two phrases I found grammatically difficult to get past, the first being 处于劣势, or as the text has it, 处于一种劣势. \"处于\" [pinyin]chu3 yu2[/pinyin] means to \"be in a state of...\", or \"to be in a position of...\". 劣势 [pinyin]lie4 shi4[/pinyin] means \"inferior\". Put together, this translates into English as \"to be at a disadvantage\", or in the case of 处于一种劣势, \"to be at some kind of disadvantage\".\n\nThe second and more difficult phrase is found in the third paragraph: 以剑招之长补兵器之短. The thing that makes this sentence difficult is all the accursed nebulous words that have many meanings - we\'ve got 以, 之, and 补 all smooshed together, and these words are the keys to unlocking the meaning of this sentence. So let\'s break this down word by word and see if all the definitions together don\'t give us a clue: \n\n以 - [pinyin]yi3[/pinyin] - The definition of 以 that\'s being used here is \"by means of\" or \"by way of\"\n剑招 - [pinyin]jian4 zhao1[/pinyin] - Swordsmanship maneuvers\n之 - [pinyin]zhi1[/pinyin] - of\n长 - [pinyin]chang2[/pinyin] - length\n补 - [pinyin]bu3[/pinyin] -   \"to make up for\"\n兵器 - [pinyin]bing1 qi4[/pinyin] -  Weapon\n之 - [pinyin]zhi1[/pinyin] - of\n短 - [pinyin]duan3[/pinyin] - shortness\n\nAh hah! Though this is still a little convoluted, once we know the meaning of 以 and 补 in this instance, this now becomes much simpler to read. It says: \"By means of the \'length\' of [my] swordsmanship maneuvers, [I] make up for the shortness of [my] weapon.\" We can see here that \"length\" doesn\'t really mean how \"long\" something is - \"length\" here means a high level of skill. The word \"length\" is just being used to juxtapose against the word \"short\". \n\nYou\'ll enjoy this if you\'re an upper-intermediate or advanced reader, and are interested in some specialized vocabulary. \n\n<a href=\"http://gushi365.com/info/6017.html\">See the original</a>\n\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n剑客 - [pinyin]jian4 ke4[/pinyin] - Swordsman, fencer\n武林泰斗 - [pinyin]wu3 lin2 tai4 dou3[/pinyin] - Martial arts master - lit: leading scholar in martial arts circles\n请教 - [pinyin]qing3 jiao4[/pinyin] - Ask for guidance\n多亏 - [pinyin]duo1 kui1[/pinyin] - Thanks to\n大为不解 - [pinyin]da4 wei4 bu4 jie3[/pinyin] - Bewildered\n兵器 - [pinyin]bing1 qi4[/pinyin] - Department of Women, Family and Community Development\n谱 - [pinyin]pu3[/pinyin] - Chart, table, register\n处于 - [pinyin]chu3 yu2[/pinyin] - To be in a state of...\n劣势 - [pinyin]lie4 shi4[/pinyin] - Inferior, disadvantaged\n对阵 - [pinyin]dui4 zhen4[/pinyin] - Poised for battle\n招 - [pinyin]zhao1[/pinyin] - Square up for a fight\n补 - [pinyin]bu3[/pinyin] - To make up for\n优势 - [pinyin]you1 shi4[/pinyin] - Advantage, superior\n注入 - [pinyin]zhu4 ru4[/pinyin] - To pour into\n敢于 - [pinyin]gan3 yu2[/pinyin] - To dare to\n胜利 - [pinyin]sheng4 li4[/pinyin] - Victory\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n一名<strong>剑客</strong>去拜访一位<strong>武林泰斗</strong>，<strong>请教</strong>他是如何练就非凡武艺的。武林泰斗拿出一把只有一尺长的剑，说:“<strong>多亏</strong>了它，才让我有了今天的成就。”\n\n 剑客<strong>大为不解</strong>，问:“别人的剑都是三尺三寸长的，而你的剑为什么只有一尺长呢?<strong>兵器</strong><strong>谱</strong>上说:剑短一分，险增三分。拿着这么短的剑无疑是<strong>处于</strong>一种<strong>劣势</strong>，你怎么还说这剑好呢?”\n\n武林泰斗说:“就因为在兵器上我处于劣势，所以我才会时时刻刻想到，如果与别人<strong>对阵</strong>，我会是多么的危险，所以我只有勤练剑<strong>招</strong>，以剑招之长<strong>补</strong>兵器之短，这样一来，我的剑招不断进步，劣势就转化为<strong>优势</strong>了。”\n\n    的确，优势和劣势有时候并不是绝对的。把自己放在劣势，就是给自己压力，为自己<strong>注入</strong>进取的动力，<strong>敢于</strong>把自己放在劣势的人，最终就有可能把劣势转化成为优势，从而取得<strong>胜利</strong>。\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nA swordsman went to pay a visit to a martial arts master [literally: a leading figure in martial arts circles] to ask for guidance on how to train [so as to attain] exceptional martial skill. The martial arts master took out a sword that was only 1 foot long, and said: \"Thanks to this, I\'ve accomplished what I have today.\" \n\nBewildered, the swordsman asked, \"Other people\'s swords are all 3 feet 3 inches long, so why is yours only one foot long? The weapons chart says that: if your sword is one-fold shorter, the danger to you is threefold greater. Using this short of a sword undoubtedly places you at a disadvantage, how can you say this is a good sword?\" \n\nThe martial arts master said: \"That\'s precisely it - my weapon puts me at a disadvantage, so I must always be thinking that if I\'m up against another person in a fight, the danger to me is greater, and all I have is my diligently practiced sword maneuvers, so the \"length\" of my maneuvers must make up for the shortness of my sword; thus, I\'m always improving, and a disadvantage is transformed into an advantage.    \n\nIndeed, \"advantage\" and \"disadvantage\" really isn\'t always set in stone. If you put yourself at a disadvantage, you put pressure on yourself, pouring into yourself the power to forge ahead; those who dare to place themselves in an inferior position, can perhaps in the end turn their disadvantage into an advantage, and thereby achieve victory. \n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Martial Arts Mastery: Put Yourself at a Disadvantage', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '989-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 05:16:13', '2020-04-20 09:16:13', '', 989, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/989-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1776, 1, '2020-04-20 05:18:24', '2020-04-20 09:18:24', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\nThis is probably the longest text I\'ve ever posted. The first few sentences are much more intermediate as we learn new vocabulary words and set up the story, but after that the reading is mostly a dialogue which is very smooth and fairly simple, so press through the first paragraph or two if you can. <!--more-->\n\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/20120425-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Learn to Read Mandarin Chinese: Learn to Read Mandarin Chinese for Free\" title=\"Mandarin Chinese Characters: Learn to Read Simplified Chinese\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />I kind of can\'t tell weather I should be offended by this or not - the protagonists are two \"lazy Uighurs\" (A Uighur 维吾尔族 [pinyin]wei2 wu2 er3 zu2[/pinyin] is a member of the ethnic minority hailing from the Uighur Autonomous Region of China, a politically touchy topic on the mainland). I\'ve never seen a folk story about heroic Uighurs or smart Uighurs, or really ever seen a story about Uighurs at all. So to run across this one first makes me wonder if the \"lazy Uighur\" thing is a mean stereotype or if I just haven\'t read widely enough. I\'ll have to go in search of some Uighur folk tales in Mandarin and see what I can dig up. \n\nI really know almost nothing about Uighur cultural history, but this story taught me something interesting: it looks like Uighurs have six-character names (as opposed to two and three character names for Chinese and 4 character names for Japanese). Our two protagonists here are rather lengthily called 哈山代吾来克 [pinyin]Ha1 shan1 dai4 wu2 lai2 ke4[/pinyin] and 沙吾提卡巴克 [pinyin]sha1 wu2 ti2 ka3 ba1 ke4[/pinyin]. \n\nAnother interesting thing: this story mentions a 大鹏鸟 [pinyin]da peng3 niao3[/pinyin] - called a \"Roc\" in English (though I\'d never heard that word before). Apparently, it\'s a legendary fictional bird of prey, like a giant eagle.\n\nThe Chinese title of this post is 两个懒汉 - the two lazybones. \n\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n懒汉- [pinyin]lan3 han4[/pinyin] - Lazybones\n要命 - [pinyin]yao4 ming4[/pinyin] - Extremely\n墙根 - [pinyin]qiang2 gen1[/pinyin] - Base of a wall\n久而久之 - [pinyin]jiu3 er2 jiu3 zhi1[/pinyin] - As time passed\n不得不 - [pinyin]bu4 de2 bu4[/pinyin] - have no choice but to... \n赶 - [pinyin]gan3[/pinyin] - To kick or drive [someone / something] out \n流浪 - [pinyin]liu2 lang4[/pinyin] - Drift aimlessly, wander\n馕 - [pinyin]nang2[/pinyin] - Flatbread\n蹲 - [pinyin]dun1[/pinyin] - To crouch, squat\n神仙 - [pinyin]shen2 xian1[/pinyin] - Immortals, dieties\n干嘛 - [pinyin]gan4 ma2[/pinyin] - Why on earth would...? Why should [I / you]...? Whatever for...?\n鄙视 - [pinyin]bi3 shi4[/pinyin] - Contempt, disdain \n好倒好 - [pinyin]hao3 dao3 hao3[/pinyin] - That\'s all very well and good, but...\n梯子 - [pinyin]ti1 zi[/pinyin] - A ladder\n山谷 - [pinyin]shan1 gu3[/pinyin] - A valley\n抓住 - [pinyin]zhua1 zhu4[/pinyin] - To grab onto, catch\n窝 - [pinyin]wo1[/pinyin] - A nest\n躲藏 - [pinyin]duo3 cang2[/pinyin] - To hide \n飘飘荡荡 - [pinyin]piao1 piao1 dang4 dang4[/pinyin] - To drift, float on waves or wind\n窟窿 - [pinyin]ku1 long5[/pinyin] - Hole, pocket, cavity, opening\n松 - [pinyin]song1[/pinyin] - To loosen or relax a hold\n摇摇晃晃 - [pinyin]yao2 yao2 huang4 huan4[/pinyin] - back and forth\n肉酱 - [pinyin]rou4 jiang4[/pinyin] - Mincemeat\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n从前，维吾尔族有这么两个<strong>懒汉</strong>，一个叫哈山代吾来克，一个叫沙吾提卡巴克。他们都懒得<strong>要命</strong>，吃穿全靠父母，一点活儿也不干，一天到晚靠着<strong>墙根</strong>晒太阳。 这样，<strong>久而久之</strong>，弄得他们父母也<strong>讨厌</strong>他们了，<strong>不得不</strong>把他们从家里<strong>赶</strong>了出来。他们俩过着<strong>流浪</strong>的生活，饿了几天肚子，一块<strong>馕</strong>也没有吃到。\n\n这天，他俩<strong>蹲</strong>在馕坑上商量着今后该怎么办。哈山代吾来克说: “最好到一个有吃有穿，又不需要劳动的地方去，不知道有没有这么个地方？”\n\n沙吾提卡巴克说: “世界上是没有这么个地方的，只天上有吧！听说天上的<strong>神仙</strong>最快活。”\n\n哈山代吾来克说: “那末，我们就上天去吧，<strong>干嘛</strong>要呆在这个必须劳动的地方受人<strong>鄙视</strong>呢？”\n\n沙吾提卡巴克说: “<strong>好倒好</strong>，不过怎么上去呢？能找到这么个长<strong>梯子</strong>吗？”\n\n哈山代吾来克肯定地说: “这么长的梯子是找不到的。但是，没有梯子也可以上去。”\n\n沙吾提卡巴克惊奇地问道: “怎么上去？”\n\n哈山代吾来克说: “<strong>山谷</strong>里有一只大鹏鸟，小时候我跟父亲上去看见过。我们只要把这只大鹏<strong>抓住</strong>，它就会带我们上天去的。”\n\n沙吾提卡巴克说: “好办法，我们就这样办好了。”\n\n两个朋友就这么决定了。第二天一早，他们就起身往山上走去，走到一个山谷里，找到了大鹏的<strong>窝</strong>，他们在附近<strong>躲藏</strong>起来，等到太阳落山的时候，大鹏飞回来刚落在窝里，就被哈山代吾来克紧紧地抓住了。他连忙招呼沙吾提卡巴克抓住自己的脚，大鹏受了惊，直往天空飞去。\n\n就这样，沙吾提卡巴克抓住哈山代吾来克的脚，哈山代吾来克抓住大鹏的爪子，<strong>飘飘荡荡</strong>地一直飞向七层云端里去了。\n\n沙吾提卡巴克问道: “嘿！到了吗？我的手吃不消啦！”\n\n哈山代吾来克望着云层的空隙说: “快啦！连<strong>窟窿</strong>都已经看见了。”\n\n沙吾提卡巴克问道: “窟窿有多大？我们能不能钻进去呀？”\n\n哈山代吾来克回答: “有这么大。”哈山代吾来克一面答应着，一面用手来比划窟窿的大小。\n\n不料哈山代吾来克两手一<strong>松</strong>，这两个懒汉朋友都离开了大鹏鸟，<strong>摇摇晃晃</strong>地掉下来，摔成<strong>肉酱</strong>了。\n</div>\n\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH\"]\nLong ago, among the Uighur people there were two lazybones, one called Hashandaiwulaike, the other called Shawutikabake. They were both extremely lazy, depending on their parents for food and clothing, unwilling to do even a little work, from morning to night they sat at the base of a wall and sunned themselves. As time passed this way, their parents [began to] loathe them, and had no choice but to kick them out. The two of them lived a drifter\'s life, and went hungry for days at a time, with not even a piece of bread to eat.   \n\nOne day, they were squatting next to a bread pit discussing what to do. Hashandaiwulaike said: \"The best thing would be to go to a place where there\'s food and clothes, but you don\'t have to work - I don\'t know if there is such a place?\"\n\nShawutikabake said: \"There\'s no such place on this earth, only in heaven! I heard that the immortals in heaven are the happiest.\" \n\nHashandaiwulaike said: \"In that case, we should go to heaven. Why on earth would we stay in this place where we have to work and suffer other people\'s disdain?\" \n\nShawutikabake said:  \"That\'s all very well and good, but how will we get up there? Can we find a ladder that long?\" \n\nHashandaiwulaike said: \"We could never find a ladder that long, but you can still get up there without a ladder.\" \n\nShawutikabake said: \"How?\"\n\nHashandaiwulaike said: \"In the valley there\'s a Roc bird, when I was little I saw it when I went up there with my father. All we have to do is grab onto the Roc, and he will take us up to heaven.\"\n\nShawutikabake said:  \"That\'s a great idea, we\'ll do it that way.\" \n\nSo the two friends decided thus. On the morning of the next day, they got us and walked to the mountain. When they got to the mountain valley, they found the Roc\'s nest, and they hid themselves next to it. They waited until the sun fell behind the mountain and the Roc flew back and had just landed in its nest, when Hashandaiwulaike grabbed it and held it tightly. He promptly called to Shawutikabake to grab his feet, and the Roc was frightened and flew into the sky.\n\nSo Shawutikabake  was holding on to Hashandaiwulaike\'s feet, and Hashandaiwulaike  was holding on to the Roc\'s claws, and they floated towards the seventh level of clouds [heaven]. \n\nShawutikabake asked,\" Hey! Are we there yet? I can\'t hold on much longer!\" \n\nHashandaiwulaike looked into a gap between the clouds and said, \"Almost! I can already see the opening!\" \n\nShawutikabake asked, \"How big is the opening? Can we fit into it?\" \n\nHashandaiwulaike answered, \"It\'s this big.\"   As Hashandaiwulaike answered, he used his hands to demonstrate how big the opening [to heaven] was. \n\nBut to his surprise, as soon as Hashandaiwulaike let go, the two lazy friends parted ways with the Roc, tumbled down, and were smashed into mincemeat. \n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'The Two Lazybones', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1086-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 05:18:24', '2020-04-20 09:18:24', '', 1086, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/1086-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2386, 1, '2020-05-24 00:22:10', '2020-05-24 04:22:10', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n<p style=\"padding:25px; margin-bottom: 20px; font-style: italic; background-color:#ffeaee;\">It\'s Communism Week at CRP. All this week, we\'re learning Chinese through the lens of historical and modern CCP propaganda, speeches, stories, essays and songs.</p> \r\n\r\n<strong>Quick reminder:</strong> To maintain a polite, language learning-focused environment, political comments - positive, negative, or neutral - are not allowed, and will be deleted.\r\n\r\nThis song is a relic of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). The melody was adapted from an old farmer\'s folk song back in 1942, and became popular when Mao Zedong\'s (毛泽东) cult of personality was in full swing. This rousing anthem worships the glory of Chairman Mao (毛主席). To be clear: this is not the official Chinese national anthem, but during the height of the Cultural Revolution it was kind of an unofficial national anthem, and most folks on mainland usually remember at least some of the lyrics. \r\n\r\nI often get requests from readers to add audio to my posts, and I can\'t do it because of time constraints, but since this was such a popular song, there are still lots of places you can listen to it. So, if you want to listen to the song with music and lyrics, <a href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwFt6YH2t74\">you can check it out here</a> (and if that link breaks in the future, just look up 东方红 on Youtube, there are lots of vids). \r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nI had an impossible time trying to find actual beginner-level reading on Communism. Even the children\'s stories are pretty hard. To read this smoothly without looking anything up, you\'d have to be an advanced reader. But this song is great for HSK 3-4 readers who are willing to put in a bit of effort, because it\'s a good overview of all the entry-level Communist vocab, the lyrics are very repetitive and bite-sized, and there are enough beginner-level words here to point you in the right direction, so with some study, you can get this. However, because there\'s a lot to parse here, I\'m going to do a lot of explaining.\r\n\r\nFirst, some critical Communist-themed vocab: \r\n \r\n<strong>毛泽东</strong> [pinyin]mao2 ze2 dong1[/pinyin] - Mao Zedong, the founder of modern China, who died in 1976\r\n\r\n<strong>毛主席</strong> [pinyin]mao2 zhu3 xi2[/pinyin] - Chairman Mao, Mao Zedong\'s official title\r\n\r\n<strong>大救星</strong> [pinyin]da4 jiu4 xing1[/pinyin] - You can probably figure out the general idea here by looking at each character individually. 大 is \"big\" or \"great\", 救 is \"to rescue\", and 星 is \"star\". All together, this means \"great savior\", one of the many worshipful terms used to describe Chairman Mao during the Cultural Revolution.\r\n\r\n<strong>共产党</strong> [pinyin]gong4 chan3 dang3[/pinyin] - The Communist Party (CCP)\r\n\r\n<strong>人民</strong> [pinyin]ren2 min2[/pinyin] - The People. This is used in almost every line of this song, so I won\'t highlight every instance. \r\n\r\n<strong>解放</strong> [pinyin]jie3 fang4[/pinyin] - Liberation\r\n\r\nThen, some grammatical points of order:\r\n\r\n<strong>了</strong> [pinyin]le / liao3[/pinyin] - If you listen to the audio, you\'ll notice that the singers pronounce 了 as <em>liao</em>, rather than <em>le</em>. This is just a colloquial pronunciation thing, the meaning of this grammar word has not changed.\r\n\r\n<strong>出了</strong> [pinyin]chu1 le / liao3[/pinyin] - Grammatically speaking, the most difficult part of these lyrics for me is translating 出了, because it\'s a little abstract. The full lyric is 中国出了个毛泽东, which I\'ll break down here:\r\n\r\n中国 - China\r\n出了 - ???\r\n个 - A / one\r\n毛泽东 - Mao Zedong\r\n\r\nWe know that 出 means \"to go out\", \"to issue forth\". It\'s present in the word 出生 [pinyin]chu1 sheng1[/pinyin], \"to be born\", and also present in the word 出现 [pinyin]chu1 xian4[/pinyin], \"to appear\". So, this lyric means something like \"Mao Zedong appeared in China\", or \"China gave birth to one Mao Zedong\". Neither of those translations feel exactly right, but you get the point.   \r\n\r\n<strong>为</strong> [pinyin]wei4[/pinyin] - Another tricky grammar point here is the use of 为. We see this being used in two ways, once just by itself, and once as 为了. These two uses have different definitions. When 为 is by itself before a noun, it means \"for (noun)\". As in \"for the people\". When it is 为了, before a verb, it means \"in order to (do something)\". \r\n\r\n<strong>得</strong> [pinyin]de2[/pinyin] - The definition of 得 being used here is \"to receive\". \r\n\r\n<strong>呼儿嗨哟</strong> [pinyin]hu1 er hei1 yo1[/pinyin] - Don\'t get tripped up on this, these aren\'t real words. These are just sounds that round out the song, as in the \"ooooh\" or \"la la la\", that you might hear in English songs. You might best translate this as \"Hurrah!\", a sound that expresses joy and victory.\r\n\r\nAlright, ready? Let\'s do this.\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>东方红</h4>\r\n东方红,太阳升 \r\n中国<span class=\"highlightText\">出了</span>个<span class=\"highlightText\">毛泽东</span>\r\n他<span class=\"highlightText\">为</span>人民谋幸福\r\n<span class=\"highlightText\">呼儿嗨哟</span>\r\n他是人民<span class=\"highlightText\">大救星</span>\r\n他<span class=\"highlightText\">为</span>人民谋幸福\r\n<span class=\"highlightText\">呼儿嗨哟</span>\r\n他是人民<span class=\"highlightText\">大救星</span>\r\n\r\n<span class=\"highlightText\">毛主席</span>爱人民 \r\n他是我们的带路人\r\n<span class=\"highlightText\">为了</span>建设新中国 \r\n<span class=\"highlightText\">呼儿嗨哟</span>\r\n领导我们向前进 \r\n<span class=\"highlightText\">为了</span>建设新中国\r\n<span class=\"highlightText\">呼儿嗨哟</span> \r\n领导我们向前进\r\n\r\n<span class=\"highlightText\">共产党</span>像太阳 \r\n照到那里那里亮\r\n哪里有了共产党 \r\n<span class=\"highlightText\">呼儿嗨哟</span>\r\n那里人民<span class=\"highlightText\">得</span><span class=\"highlightText\">解放</span>\r\n哪里有了共产党\r\n<span class=\"highlightText\">呼儿嗨哟</span>\r\n那里人民<span class=\"highlightText\">得</span><span class=\"highlightText\">解放</span>\r\n\r\n东方红,太阳升 \r\n中国<span class=\"highlightText\">出了</span>个<span class=\"highlightText\">毛泽东</span>\r\n他<span class=\"highlightText\">为</span>人民谋幸福\r\n<span class=\"highlightText\">呼儿嗨哟</span>\r\n他是人民<span class=\"highlightText\">大救星</span>\r\n他<span class=\"highlightText\">为</span>人民谋幸福\r\n<span class=\"highlightText\">呼儿嗨哟</span>\r\n他是人民<span class=\"highlightText\">大救星</span> \r\n<span class=\"highlightText\">大救星</span>\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 East is Red, the sun is rising\r\nMao Zedong appeared in China\r\nHe is working for the People\'s prosperity\r\nHurrah!\r\nHe is the People\'s great savior \r\nHe is working for the People\'s prosperity\r\nHurrah!\r\nHe is the People\'s great savior \r\n\r\nChairman Mao loves the People\r\nHe is our guide\r\nIn order to build New China\r\nHurrah!\r\nHe leads us towards advancement\r\nIn order to build New China\r\nHurrah!\r\nHe leads us towards advancement\r\n\r\nThe Communist Party is like the sun\r\nWherever it shines, there is light\r\nWherever the Communist Party goes\r\nHurrah!\r\nThe People there receive liberation\r\nWherever the Communist Party goes\r\nHurrah!\r\nThe People there receive liberation\r\n\r\nThe east is red, the sun is rising\r\nMao Zedong appeared in China\r\nHe is working for the People\'s prosperity\r\nHurrah!\r\nHe is the People\'s great savior\r\nHe is working for the people\'s prosperity\r\nHurrah!\r\nHe is the People\'s great savior\r\nGreat savior\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Communist songs: 《东方红》- The East is Red', 'This song is a relic of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). The melody was adapted from an old farmer\'s folk song back in 1942, and became popular when Mao Zedong\'s (毛泽东) cult of personality was in full swing.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2343-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-24 00:22:10', '2020-05-24 04:22:10', '', 2343, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/24/2343-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(1781, 1, '2012-02-12 20:12:57', '2012-02-13 01:12:57', '[two_third]\r\nThis short paragraph is taken from a China Daily article about a new kind of rollercoaster that may or may not be built. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/20120218-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Advanced Chinese News Stories and Reading Practice Passages\" title=\"Advanced Chinese News Stories and Reading Exercises\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />I\'m only translating the first paragraph here, if you want to read the rest, <a href=\"http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hqzx/2012-02/11/content_14581576.htm\">the complete article</a> can be found on the China Daily site.\r\n\r\nOne of the fun words in this paragraph is 模拟舱 [pinyin]mo2 ni3 cang1[/pinyin], which means \"simulator\", like a flight simulator. In English, \"simulator\" can refer to anything that simulates, so this could be a combat simulator that\'s really just a video game on a flat panel, but the Chinese word here is more specific. 模拟 means \"simulate\", but 舱 [pinyin]cang1[/pinyin] means a kind of cabin, like an airplane cabin, that you can step into and ride in. \r\n\r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\r\n失重 - [pinyin]shi1 zhong4[/pinyin] - Weightlessness\r\n模拟舱 - [pinyin]mo2 ni3 cang1[/pinyin] - Simulator / simulation cabin\r\n遥不可及 - [pinyin]yao2 bu4 ke3 ji2[/pinyin] - Unattainable\r\n研发 - [pinyin]yan2 fa1[/pinyin] - Research and development\r\n过山车 - [pinyin]guo4 shan1 che1[/pinyin] - Rollercoaster\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_third]\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n目前若想体验完全<strong>失重</strong>的感觉，除非成为一名航天员，或是搭乘失重<strong>模拟舱</strong>，否则这将是一个<strong>遥不可及</strong>的梦想。近日美国一家设计公司提出了一个新想法，他们计划<strong>研发</strong>一款能让乘客体验8秒钟完全失重感觉的<strong>过山车</strong>。如果资金充足，这款新型过山车会在2013年底前与世人见面。\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nAt present, if you want to experience what it feels like to be weightless, you can only become an astronaut or ride in an zero-gravity simulator, otherwise this dream is out of reach. But today, an American design company proposed a new idea, they have a plan to research and develop a rollercoaster that would allow passengers to experience weightlessness for 8 seconds.  If there is sufficient capital, this new type of roller coaster would be introduced to the people of the world in late 2013. \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'A New Kind of Rollercoaster', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1017-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-02-12 20:12:57', '2012-02-13 01:12:57', '', 1017, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/02/12/1017-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1783, 1, '2020-04-20 05:26:01', '2020-04-20 09:26:01', '[two_third]\nThis is the backstory behind the Chinese idiom 鹬蚌相争 [pinyin]yu4 bang4 xiang1 zheng1[/pinyin], which translates to \"The Sandpiper and the Clam Fight Each Other\", and means \"Two parties fight and a third party benefits.\" <!--more-->\n\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/20110323-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Chinese Political Short Stories with English Translation: Intermediate Fables and Chinese Idioms Explained\" title=\"Reading Chinese Short Stories with Translation: Intermediate Reading\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />Cool upper-intermediate piece - in case it hasn\'t been obvious throughout these posts, I love classical stories about wily government counselors and should probably post about something else on occasion, but so many classical tales involve this trope that it\'s hard to avoid. \n\nThis piece is cool because - excepting the first sentence - the sentence structure is simple but there are quite a few classical words, so you\'ll learn some historical terms. In case you think this kind of thing isn\'t really useful, think again. Historical figures in the Chinese dynasties are mentioned frequently in the oddest places, and their stories bleed out into every medium. If you\'re at a museum, if you\'re reading Chinese magazines, if you\'re reading Chinese historical essays, if you\'re watching a TV show or book or listening to the radio, you\'ll see mentions of historical dynasties all the time. But most importantly, if you want to watch Chinese war movies or period pieces (and there are some great ones), this vocab is crucial. You might as well know at least when to recognize that the conversation has gone that way.\n\nThis short story takes place during the Warring States period (475 BC to 221 BC), and mentions three of the seven warring kingdoms of that time, so you\'ll learn some dynasty names: 赵国 [pinyin]zhao4 guo2[/pinyin] (The Zhao State), 燕国 [pinyin]yan1 guo2[/pinyin] (The Yan State), and 秦国 [pinyin]qin2 guo2[/pinyin] (the Qin State). Speaking of dynasties, when you\'re reading this, look out for the word 王[pinyin]wang2[/pinyin] - as you probably know at this point in your studies, 王means \"king\", and when you see that, you can sometimes guess that the two or three characters before this word are the name of the king. Unlike in English, where we say \"King Charles\" or \"King John\", in this case the Chinese put \"king\" after the name. For example, in this story, we have 赵惠文王 - King Huiwen of Zhao (in other words, king of the Zhao state).\n\nWhat\'s amusing about this story is that in reality, the Qin Dynasty came out on top of the Warring States period and ruled China (well, for a decade or so, anyway) after the Warring States were over - so bear that in mind as you read the last sentence. \n\nYou\'ll also meet our protagonist 苏代 [pinyin]su1 dai4[/pinyin] - who he is is explained in the first sentence, but suffice to say that 苏代 is a person\'s name. He\'s mentioned in conjunction with 纵横家 [pinyin]zong4 heng2 jia1[/pinyin], the School of Diplomacy, which was a sort of league of scholar-statesmen from the Warring States period. If you\'re interested, you can <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_of_Diplomacy\">read more about it on Wikipedia</a>. \n\nAnyway, I\'m making this story sound really complicated, but other than the historical terminology, the storyline is not at all convoluted. \n\nOriginal story is here: <a href=\"http://www.diyifanwen.com/chengyu/sizichengyugushi/20100516141051614035955767805.html\">http://www.diyifanwen.com/chengyu/sizichengyugushi/20100516141051614035955767805.html</a>\n[/two_third]\n\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n策士 - [pinyin]ce5 shi1[/pinyin] - Military strategist\n如下 - [pinyin]ru xia[/pinyin] - The following, as follows\n寓言 - [pinyin]yu4 yan2[/pinyin] - Fable\n易水 - [pinyin]yi4 shui3[/pinyin] - Gentle waters\n恰好 - [pinyin]qia4 hao3[/pinyin] - As it happens\n蚌 - [pinyin]bang4[/pinyin] - Clam\n鹬 - [pinyin]yu4[/pinyin] - Sandpiper\n介壳 - [pinyin]jie4 qiao4[/pinyin] - Hard outer shell\n针锋相对 - [pinyin]zhen1 feng1 xiang1 dui4[/pinyin] - Measure for measure, give as good as one gets, fight back just as hard\n两者 - [pinyin]liang3 zhe3[/pinyin] - Both sides\n渔父 - [pinyin]yu4 fu4[/pinyin] - Fisherman\n疲劳 - [pinyin]pi2 lao2[/pinyin] - Weary\n扮演 - [pinyin]ban4 yan3[/pinyin] - To play the role of, as an actor, or person pretending\n深思熟虑 - [pinyin]shen1 si1 shu2 lv4[/pinyin] - Consider carefully\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n赵国将要讨伐燕国，苏代(战国时<strong>策士</strong>，纵横家苏秦的弟弟)替燕国游说赵惠文王，讲了<strong>如下</strong>的<strong>寓言</strong>故事: \n\n“我来的时候经过<strong>易水</strong>，<strong>恰好</strong>看到<strong>蚌</strong>出来晒太阳。<strong>鹬</strong>趁机啄蚌的肉，蚌把两扇<strong>介壳</strong>一闭就夹住了鹬的喙。鹬说:‘今天不下雨，明天不下雨，就有死蚌。’蚌也<strong>针锋相对</strong>地说: ‘今天不出，明天不出(夹住不放)，就有死鹬。’<strong>两者</strong>谁也不肯罢休，这时过来一个<strong>渔父</strong>把两者一起拎走了。”燕赵相对抗，都搞得很<strong>疲劳</strong>，我恐怕强大的秦国正在<strong>扮演</strong>渔父的角色，所以希望大王<strong>深思熟虑</strong>。\n\n惠文王赞同苏代的意见，停止对燕国用兵。\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nThe Zhao State was taking up arms against the Yan State, and Su Dai (a military strategist during the Warring States period, and little brother to Su Qin of the School of Diplomacy) traveled to speak with King HuiWen of Zhao on behalf of the Yan State, and he told the following fable: \n\n\"When I was coming here I passed over some gentle water, and by chance I happened to see a clam sunning itself. A sandpiper seized the opportunity to peck at the clam\'s meat, but the clam slammed the two wings of its hard shell shut on the sandpiper\'s beak. The sandpiper said, \'Today it won\'t rain, tomorrow it won\'t rain, and there will be one dead clam!\' The clam gave as good as he got, saying: \'I won\'t come out today, I won\'t come out tomorrow (so your beak won\'t be free), and there will be one dead sandpiper!\' Neither party was willing to give up, and at this time, a fisherman scooped them both up and carried them off. If Yan and Zhao oppose each other, we\'ll both fight ourselves weary. I\'m afraid the strong Qin State is playing the role of the fisherman, so I hope that your majesty will carefully deliberate on this matter.\" \n\nKing HuiWen approved of SuDai\'s message, and stopped using armed forces against the Yan State.\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 鹬蚌相争', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1036-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 05:26:01', '2020-04-20 09:26:01', '', 1036, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/1036-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2375, 1, '2020-05-23 22:18:51', '2020-05-24 02:18:51', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"] \r\nHad a complaint a few days ago that my <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/18/chinese-childrens-fable-freedom-in-heaven/\">fable about a pretty bird</a> was too political, so I figured I\'d give ya\'ll something more exciting to complain about. Break out your Little Red Books, it\'s Communism Week at CRP. \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lei_Feng\">Lei Feng</a> (雷锋) was a larger-than-life Communist people\'s folk hero. Though tales of his good deeds spread like wildfire and took on a mythic quality, he was actually a real person: a People\'s Liberation Army solider who lived from 1940-1962, dying at the age of 22 when he was struck by a falling telephone pole in the line of duty. But his legend never really waned: he is still considered the personification of Mao Zedong Thought and the ultimate socialist Boy Scout. He was held up by the Party propaganda machine as a person to emulate, someone with a perfect moral character and devotion to the socialist cause, so much so that children were encouraged to foster \"Lei Feng Spirit\" (雷锋精神).\r\n\r\nIn this post, I translate one of many, many stories about Lei Feng\'s general do-gooding. I chose this one because it\'s got all the best elements of a classic Lei Feng tale: over-the-top selflessness towards the common people, grand statements of loyalty to the Party, and all the rest.\r\n\r\n<h4>Some Language Stuff</h4>\r\nIf this is your first foray into Communist-themed reading, you\'ll learn a few new words that are common to writing from the 1940s-1970s: \r\n\r\n单位 [pinyin]dan1 wei4[/pinyin] - work unit\r\n解放军 [pinyin]jie3 fang4 jun1[/pinyin] - [People\'s] Liberation Army (PLA) \r\n同志 [pinyin]tong2 zhi4[/pinyin] - comrade \r\n毛主席 [pinyin]mao2 zhu3 xi2[/pinyin] - Chairman Mao\r\n党 [pinyin]dang3[/pinyin] - short for \"共产党\", the Party / the Communist Party.  \r\n\r\nThere are also a few names of places: Shenyang (沈阳), Liaoning (辽宁) and Jilin (吉林) - all places within northeastern China. \r\n\r\nThis post centers around good deeds that Lei Feng did while traveling around the northeast on army business. I had a little bit of trouble translating some of the travel-related sentences, because the way people talk about travel in Chinese is slightly different than the way we do in English. For one thing, if someone is traveling within China, the phrase 去外地 [pinyin]qu4 wai4 di4[/pinyin] is used. At first glance, \"去外地\" just means \"to go other places\", but this is specifically used to mean \"other places within China\", not \"other countries\". Trips outside of China are usually described as 去国外 or 去外国. Also, pay attention to the word 出差 [pinyin]chu1 chai1[/pinyin]. This specially means \"to travel on business\", as opposed to traveling for pleasure.\r\n\r\n想都没想 [pinyin]xiang3 dou1 mei3 xiang3[/pinyin] - Phrase means \"without even thinking about it\" or \"without a second thought\". \r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E9%9B%B7%E9%94%8B/5569?fr=aladdin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">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>雷锋小故事</h4>\r\n从一九六一年开始，雷锋经常应邀去外地作报告，他出差的机会多了，为人民服务的机会也就多了。\r\n\r\n人们流传着这样一句话：“雷锋出差一千里，好事做了一火车。”\r\n\r\n有一次，雷锋外出，在<span class=\"highlightText\">沈阳</span>车站换车，出检票口的时候，他发现一群人围着一个背着小孩儿的中年妇女。原来这名妇女从<span class=\"highlightText\">辽宁</span>去<span class=\"highlightText\">吉林</span>看丈夫，一不小心把车票和钱都丢了 ，雷锋连忙用自己的津贴费买了一张去吉林的火车票塞到大嫂手里，大嫂眼含热泪地问：“小兄弟，你叫什么名字？住哪的？是哪个<span class=\"highlightText\">单位</span>的？”\r\n\r\n雷锋回答道：“我叫<span class=\"highlightText\">解放军</span>，家就住在中国。”\r\n\r\n五月的一天，雷锋冒雨去<span class=\"highlightText\">沈阳</span>。他为了赶早车，早晨5点多就起来，带了几个干馒头就披上雨衣上路了。路上，雷锋看见一位妇女背着一个小孩，手还牵着一个小女孩，正艰难地向车站走去。雷锋<span class=\"highlightText\">想都没想</span>，脱下身上的雨衣就披在大嫂身上，又抱起小女孩陪她们一起来到车站。上车后，雷锋见小女孩冷得直发抖，就把自己的贴身衬衣脱下来给她穿上。雷锋估计她们早饭没吃，就把自己带的馒头给她们吃。火车到了沈阳，天还在下雨，雷锋便把她们送到家里。\r\n\r\n那位妇女感激地说：“<span class=\"highlightText\">同志</span>，我可怎么感谢你呀！”\r\n\r\n雷锋说 ：“不要感谢我，应该感谢<span class=\"highlightText\">党</span>和<span class=\"highlightText\">毛主席</span>啊！”\r\n\r\n他在日记中写下了这样一段话：“我的一切都是<span class=\"highlightText\">党</span>给的，光荣应该归于<span class=\"highlightText\">党</span>，归于热情帮助我的<span class=\"highlightText\">同志</span>，至于我个人做的工作，那是太少了，我这么一点点贡献，比起对我的要求和期望还是非常不够的……” \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\nBeginning in 1961, Lei Feng was often invited to go to other cities to make reports, and [since] he had many opportunities to travel on business, he also had many opportunities to serve the people.   \r\n\r\nPeople often said [of him]: \"When Lei Feng travels for business, [he rides there] on a train of good deeds.\" \r\n\r\nOne time, [while] Lei Feng was out and about, he was changing trains at Shenyang station, and when he was at the ticket booth, he saw a group of people standing around a middle-aged woman who was carrying a small child on her back. Turns out this woman was going from Liaoning to Jilin to see her husband, and accidentally lost her ticket and her wallet, so Lei Feng quickly used his own allowance to buy a ticket to Jilin and pressed it into the woman\'s [lit: \"elder sister\'s\"] hand. Her eyes brimming with tears the woman [lit: elder sister] said: \"Little Brother, What is your name? Where do you live? What is your work unit?\" \r\n\r\nLei Feng answered: \"My name is Liberation Army, and China is my home.\" \r\n\r\nOne day in May, Lei Feng braved the rain to go to Shenyang. In order to catch the early train, he woke up at 5:00 A.M., took some dry steamed buns, put on his rain gear and set out upon the road. On the road, Lei Feng saw a woman carrying a small child on her back, and leading another little girl by the hand, and [she was] struggling towards the train station. Lei Feng didn\'t give it a second thought, he took off his own rain gear and draped it over the woman\'s body, picked up the little girl and accompanied them to the station. On the train, Lei Feng saw the little girl shivering from cold, so he took off the shirt on his back and gave it to her to wear. Lei Feng guessed that they hadn\'t eaten breakfast, so he took out the buns he had brought and gave them to the women. When the train reached Shenyang, it was still raining, and Lei Feng took the women to their home. \r\n\r\nThe women gratefully said: \"Comrade, how can I ever thank you?\" \r\n\r\nLei Feng said, \"You don\'t have to thank me, you should thank the Party and Chairman Mao!\"\r\n\r\nIn his diary, he wrote the following: \"Everything I have was given to me by the Party, and all glory should belong to the Party, should belong to those comrades who enthusiastically helped me. As for the work I\'ve done, it isn\'t very much, my tiny contributions don\'t measure up to what I need and hope [to give]....\"\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Communist folk tales:  The good deeds of Lei Feng', 'It\'s Communism Week at CRP! I\'m kicking off with some classic stories about the good deeds of Communist folk hero Lei Feng, the ultimate socialist Boy Scout. HSK 4-5.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2350-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-23 22:18:51', '2020-05-24 02:18:51', '', 2350, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/23/2350-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1789, 1, '2020-04-20 05:33:48', '2020-04-20 09:33:48', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\nI apologize for not posting a month or so, I\'ve been in the process of - ta da - moving back to China, so life\'s been exciting but busy. On the upside, looks like I\'ll have some interesting new posts from here. But today, in place of something interesting, we\'ve got a slightly insipid story for young children about a bird who appears to have no head. <!--more-->\n\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/20120212-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Childrens Beginner Chinese Reading Passage: The Little Bird with No Head\" title=\"Easy Beginner Chinese Reading Passage: The Little Bird with No Head\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />Not sure what the life lesson is in this story or if it\'s supposed to have one at all. Maybe \"don\'t gossip\"? Or \"don\'t make wild assumptions?\" Not sure. I\'d say the most interesting word in here is 天哪, which means \"My goodness!\" This is used with relative frequency in China, and it\'s a good interjection to use when you\'re shocked or unpleasantly surprised about something but don\'t want to swear or be offensive. For example, if you walked into a room that smelled badly, or if you were jostled by a few dozen people coming off the subway, or if you found out that something you want to buy is outrageously expensive. It doesn\'t always have negative connotations, though - this can be used neutrally as well, but I rarely hear it used in a super positive context. Because the word 天 \"Tian\" ends with an \"n\" and the word 哪 \"na\" starts with one, this usually comes out sounding like \"Tian ah!\" rather than \"Tian na\".\n\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>小马过河</h4>\n一只<strong>白鹭</strong>在<strong>浅浅</strong>的<strong>池</strong>水中站着。\n\n一只小<strong>刺猬</strong>走过，他说: “天哪，这只白鹭怎么没有<strong>脑袋</strong>！”\n\n“真的！”一只小<strong>鼹鼠</strong>也叫了起来，“没有脑袋的鸟，我第一次看到!”\n\n“<strong>假如</strong>我没有了脑袋就不能活了！”小刺猬说。\n\n“是啊，可这只鸟还能站着不动，真了不起!”小鼹鼠说。\n\n这时，白鹭从她那<strong>翅膀</strong>底下，<strong>伸出</strong>了长脖子，长脖子上长着一颗好短短的脑袋。\n\n白鹭笑着说: “我是把脑袋钻进翅膀底下，<strong>梳理</strong>梳理羽毛，我怎么是没有脑袋的鸟呢?”\n\n小刺猬和小鼹鼠都笑了，他们说:\n\n“是我们没有用脑袋好好想一想，对不起，白鹭姐姐！”\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nAn egret stood in the middle of a shallow pond. \n\nA hedgehog walked up and said, \"Goodness gracious! Somehow, that egret has no head!\" \n\n\"Really!\" a little mole also cried out, \"This is the first time I\'ve seen a bird without a head!\"　　\n\n\"If I didn\'t have a head, I wouldn\'t be able to live!\" the little hedgehog said.　　\n\n\"Yes, but this bird can still stand there not moving, how very impressive!\"　　\n\nAt this time, from beneath her wing the egret stretched out a long neck, and on top of that long neck grew a very short head.　　\n\nSmiling, the egret said, \"I had my head tucked beneath my wing to comb out my feathers, how could I be a bird with no head?\"　　\n\nThe little hedgehog and the little mole smiled, and they said:　　\n\n\"It was us that weren\'t using our heads to think, sorry Sister Egret!\"　　\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'The Little Bird with No Head', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1007-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 05:33:48', '2020-04-20 09:33:48', '', 1007, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/1007-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1791, 1, '2020-04-20 05:35:04', '2020-04-20 09:35:04', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nI apologize for not posting a month or so, I\'ve been in the process of - ta da - moving back to China, so life\'s been exciting but busy. On the upside, looks like I\'ll have some interesting new posts from here. But today, in place of something interesting, we\'ve got a slightly insipid story for young children about a bird who appears to have no head. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/20120212-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Childrens Beginner Chinese Reading Passage: The Little Bird with No Head\" title=\"Easy Beginner Chinese Reading Passage: The Little Bird with No Head\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />Not sure what the life lesson is in this story or if it\'s supposed to have one at all. Maybe \"don\'t gossip\"? Or \"don\'t make wild assumptions?\" Not sure. I\'d say the most interesting word in here is 天哪, which means \"My goodness!\" This is used with relative frequency in China, and it\'s a good interjection to use when you\'re shocked or unpleasantly surprised about something but don\'t want to swear or be offensive. For example, if you walked into a room that smelled badly, or if you were jostled by a few dozen people coming off the subway, or if you found out that something you want to buy is outrageously expensive. It doesn\'t always have negative connotations, though - this can be used neutrally as well, but I rarely hear it used in a super positive context. Because the word 天 \"Tian\" ends with an \"n\" and the word 哪 \"na\" starts with one, this usually comes out sounding like \"Tian ah!\" rather than \"Tian na\".\r\n\r\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>没有脑袋的鸟</h4>\r\n一只<strong>白鹭</strong>在<strong>浅浅</strong>的<strong>池</strong>水中站着。\r\n\r\n一只小<strong>刺猬</strong>走过，他说: “天哪，这只白鹭怎么没有<strong>脑袋</strong>！”\r\n\r\n“真的！”一只小<strong>鼹鼠</strong>也叫了起来，“没有脑袋的鸟，我第一次看到!”\r\n\r\n“<strong>假如</strong>我没有了脑袋就不能活了！”小刺猬说。\r\n\r\n“是啊，可这只鸟还能站着不动，真了不起!”小鼹鼠说。\r\n\r\n这时，白鹭从她那<strong>翅膀</strong>底下，<strong>伸出</strong>了长脖子，长脖子上长着一颗好短短的脑袋。\r\n\r\n白鹭笑着说: “我是把脑袋钻进翅膀底下，<strong>梳理</strong>梳理羽毛，我怎么是没有脑袋的鸟呢?”\r\n\r\n小刺猬和小鼹鼠都笑了，他们说:\r\n\r\n“是我们没有用脑袋好好想一想，对不起，白鹭姐姐！”\r\n</div>\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\r\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\r\nAn egret stood in the middle of a shallow pond. \r\n\r\nA hedgehog walked up and said, \"Goodness gracious! Somehow, that egret has no head!\" \r\n\r\n\"Really!\" a little mole also cried out, \"This is the first time I\'ve seen a bird without a head!\"　　\r\n\r\n\"If I didn\'t have a head, I wouldn\'t be able to live!\" the little hedgehog said.　　\r\n\r\n\"Yes, but this bird can still stand there not moving, how very impressive!\"　　\r\n\r\nAt this time, from beneath her wing the egret stretched out a long neck, and on top of that long neck grew a very short head.　　\r\n\r\nSmiling, the egret said, \"I had my head tucked beneath my wing to comb out my feathers, how could I be a bird with no head?\"　　\r\n\r\nThe little hedgehog and the little mole smiled, and they said:　　\r\n\r\n\"It was us that weren\'t using our heads to think, sorry Sister Egret!\"　　\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'The Little Bird with No Head', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1007-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 05:35:04', '2020-04-20 09:35:04', '', 1007, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/1007-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1803, 1, '2011-10-10 23:59:39', '2011-10-11 03:59:39', '[two_third]\r\nThis is a plot synopsis of the book <a href=\"http://www.amazon.com/Opposite-Me-Novel-Sarah-Pekkanen/dp/1439121982\">\"Opposite of Me\" by Sarah Pekkanen</a>. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/20111010-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Chinese Reading Passages and Chinese Book Passages: Advanced\" title=\"Chinese Reading Passages and Chinese Book Passages: Advanced\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />Since this is an English language novel, if it sounds like your cup of tea, you can follow the link to Amazon above and snag a copy. \r\n\r\nYou can see the original Chinese synopsis (and many others) on book site <a href=\"http://book.douban.com/subject/6041708/\">http://book.douban.com</a>. \r\n\r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\r\n爱恨交织 - [pinyin]ai4 hen4 jiao1 zhi1[/pinyin] - Love-hate entaglement\r\n双胞胎- [pinyin]shuang1 bao1 tai1[/pinyin] - Twins\r\n嫉恨 - [pinyin]ji4 hen4[/pinyin] - To hate out of jealousy\r\n主人公 - [pinyin]zhu3 ren2 gong1[/pinyin] - Protagonist of a story\r\n筹码 - [pinyin]chou2 ma3[/pinyin] - Bargaining chip\r\n陷入 - [pinyin]xian4 ru4[/pinyin] -  To sink into\r\n前所未有的 - [pinyin]qian2 suo3 wei4 you3 de5[/pinyin] - Unprecedented\r\n艰辛 - [pinyin]jian4 xin1[/pinyin] - Don\'t worry\r\n邂逅 - [pinyin]xie4 hou4[/pinyin] - A chance encounter\r\n掀起- [pinyin]xian1 qi3[/pinyin] - To lift; an upsurge\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　　《世上另一个我》: 讲述了一段<strong>爱恨交织</strong>的情感纠葛。林赛有一个美丽漂亮的<strong>双胞胎</strong>姐姐亚历克斯，一个在她生命里扮演了重要角色的人，一个让她羡慕、<strong>嫉恨</strong>了二十多年的人。亚历克斯永远性感美丽、光彩照人，轻易就能得到父母甚至是陌生人的宠爱，那是林赛从未有过的幸福。和姐姐在一起，她总是令人遗憾的存在。在《世上另一个我》中，<strong>主人公</strong>林赛努力学习、拼命工作，事业的成功是她获得关注的唯一<strong>筹码</strong>。她为工作赔上了自己全部的生活，却终究逃不脱这个社会并非以实力论输赢的规矩。当工作遭遇重大背叛，她的职业也<strong>陷入</strong><strong>前所未有的</strong>危机当中。\r\n　\r\n 　《世上另一个我》也是一场找寻自我的<strong>艰辛</strong>历程，一个温馨感人的爱情故事。重返故乡的林赛依然要面对亚历克斯耀眼的光芒。甚至那个喜欢了她二十多年的男孩，也只因和亚历克斯的一场<strong>邂逅</strong>，就从此改变了心意。林赛埋怨命运的不公，而这种情绪也全部转嫁到了亚历克斯的身上。\r\n\r\n　　然而，当厄运朝亚历克斯袭来，林赛终于发现自己对姐姐的情感远非自己以为的那么直接简单。为了满足姐姐的愿望，林赛爬上了关闭多年的阁楼，却意外发现了一个尘封多年的旧信封，信封里面揭示的竟是一个隐藏了近三十年的大秘密。它打破了林赛长久以来为自己规划的人生历程，也在姐妹二人的生活中<strong>掀起</strong>了新的风浪……\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n\"The opposite of me\" is about emotional entanglements in a love-hate relationship. Lynsey has a beautiful twin sister, Alex, who plays a very important role in her life, who makes her envious, and is someone she has jealously hated for 20 years. Alex has always been sexy and beautiful, radiant to look upon, and because of this easily gains the love of her parents and even strangers, a blessing Linsey has never had. When she\'s with her sister, her sister\'s presence is always regrettable. In \"The Opposite of Me\", the main protagonist Linsey is a diligent student, a hard worker, and her careers success is the only thing she has. Her life has suffered at the expense of her work, but after all is said and done, she can\'t shake off the fact that in this society, winning or losing doesn\'t really depend on playing by the rules. When she\'s betrayed at work, her career also sinks into an unprecedented crisis. \r\n\r\n　\"The Opposite of Me\" is also about the process of working through hardships, a comforting love story. Returning to her roots, Linsey still must face Alex\'s dazzling radiance. Even the man who has liked her for 20 years, after meeting Alex by chance, changes his affections. Linsey complains about the unfairness of fate, and heaps this moodiness onto Alex\'s shoulders. \r\n\r\n　　However, when bad luck comes to visit Alex, Linsey finally finds out that her feelings towards her sister are far from as simple as she thought. In order to fulfill her sister\'s wish, Linsey climbs into the attic that has been closed for years, and unexpectedly discovers an old envelope that has been gathering dust for years; inside the envelope is a secret that has been hidden for almost 30 years. It changes the long-set course of her life, and raises a new wind in the lives of two sisters. \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'The Opposite of Me', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '798-revision-v1', '', '', '2011-10-10 23:59:39', '2011-10-11 03:59:39', '', 798, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/10/10/798-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1804, 1, '2011-11-02 21:06:59', '2011-11-03 01:06:59', '[two_third]This is a mid-level essay about learning to be honest. If you\'ve read some of my other essay translations, you will start to see a pattern emerge in school essay writing. They usually include an all-too-tidy life lesson in morality, and usually an instance of tears welling up in the author\'s eyes. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/20111028-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Easy Simplified Chinese Reading Passage Texts - Intermediate Level\" title=\"Easy Simplified Chinese Reading Passage Texts - Intermediate Level\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />When I was in Chinese class in college in China, my friends and I used to joke about this - how almost every essay we were assigned to read involved the author being moved to tears. We found this pattern especially strange because the Chinese people are not prone to crying in public - and if you do cry in front of a Chinese person you don\'t know well, the polite thing for them to do is pretend not to notice and look the other way. Though that may seem heartless to a culture where the polite thing to do is get involved and try to comfort the crying person, the Chinese help a crying person save face by giving them the opportunity to pull themselves together and make the whole situation go away without comment.\r\n\r\nHowever, during funerals it is entirely acceptable to hire professional mourners, who fake-cry and sing sad songs while fake-sobbing and crawling on their knees in fake despair. Later during the funeral, the mourners will perform happy dances to lighten the mood - it\'s almost like they guide the Chinese through the process of mourning and healing during the funeral. Though everyone there is aware the tears are faked for the benefit of performance, the Chinese find this very moving, whereas I think I would find it offensive if a stranger made a show of fake-crying at a funeral.\r\n\r\nPerhaps to a Chinese person, who knows that crying in front of others is, in most circumstances, too blatant a display of one\'s secret inner self, the thought of someone being so upset that they lose control and cry in public shows just how upset they are, and is therefore moving. This is one thing I may never quite figure out. \r\n\r\nAnyway, this article has a lot less to do with crying than I\'m leading you to believe, and more to do with integrity. This is a little more accessible than most articles because it includes a trope that we\'re all familiar with: a variation of the devil and and angel sitting on opposite shoulders routine. This essay doesn\'t use the word \"devil\", instead it uses the term \"evil angel\". This confusion is probably due to the fact that Christianity doesn\'t get a lot of play in China. The only thing most Chinese know is that Islam, Christianity and Judaism are major world religions, and involve going to church, but that\'s often about it. But Chinese mythology does have good and evil spirits in it, so I imagine that\'s where the mixup comes in - well... if we\'re going to get specific, technically Lucifer is an evil angel, but my point is that there is a Chinese word for \"devil\" (more like \"a devil\" than \"the Devil\", though), 魔鬼, which does not appear here. \r\n\r\nThe Chinese title of this is 一诺千金.\r\n\r\n\r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\r\n西塞罗- [pinyin]xi1 sai1 luo2[/pinyin] - Cicero\r\n坦白 - [pinyin]tan3 bai2[/pinyin] - forthright\r\n寒假 - [pinyin]han2 jia4[/pinyin] - winter vacation\r\n吞吞吐吐 - [pinyin]tun1 tun1 tu3 tu3[/pinyin] - Stutter when speaking, hem and haw\r\n天使 - [pinyin]tian1 shi3[/pinyin] - angel\r\n邪恶- [pinyin]xie2 e4[/pinyin] - Wicked, evil\r\n脑海 - [pinyin]nao3 hai3[/pinyin] - The mind, the brain\r\n奴隶 - [pinyin]nu2 li4[/pinyin] - slave\r\n此时此刻 - [pinyin]ci3 shi2 ci3 ke4[/pinyin] - At that very moment\r\n诺 - [pinyin]nuo4[/pinyin] - promise\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　　诚信是做人之本啊！有时候诚信就在于一个动作，一句语言，<strong>西塞罗</strong>曾经说过一句话: “<strong>坦白</strong>使人心地轻松的妙药”。这一句话我深有体会，今年<strong>寒假</strong>，我做了一个没有诚信的小孩子。\r\n\r\n　　记得在一个忙碌的寒假日，我赶着做作业。突然，我发现作文本和摘录笔用完了，我急急忙忙的拿着钱下楼买本子去了。那个老人用善良的微笑对我问道: “小朋友，你要买什么啊？”我说: “我要买一本作文本和一本摘录本。”“一共5元钱”老人说。我想了想，我只有4元钱，怎么办呢？我<strong>吞吞吐吐</strong>地说: “我…我只有4元钱啊？”怎么办，我和店主商量说: “我住在你们楼上，我下次再拿钱给你吧，好吗？”“好。”他爽快地答应了。过了几天，我又再次去买东西，那个老人忘记那件事情了。我似乎也忘了那件事。\r\n\r\n我付完了第二次买东西的钱后，我准备回家去了。突然，有一位善良的小<strong>天使</strong>和一位<strong>邪恶</strong>的小天使在我的脑海里出现了，它们在我的心中争吵。我听到了两种不同的语言。那位善良的小天使说: “你要把事实说出来啊！”那位邪恶的小天使说: “不要讲啊，如果讲出来要浪费一元钱呢。”那位善良的小天使说: “你不要做金钱的<strong>奴隶</strong>，要做诚信的主人啊！”那邪恶的小天使说:“干嘛要做有诚信的人啊，诚信又不能当饭吃啊！”他们不停地争吵，我心烦意乱的，这时我想起书上看到的这句子话；“坦白使人心地轻松的妙药”。\r\n\r\n　　我鼓足了勇气，坦白地说出来。开始时，老人脸涨得红红的，好像很生气似的。过了一会儿，他对我说: “没关系了，我不会怪你的，你是一个知错就改的孩子啊！”<strong>此时此刻</strong>，泪水盈满了我的眼眶，我诚恳地对那个老人说: “对不起，爷爷。”\r\n\r\n　　我从这件事，我明白了: 做人不能骗人，要做个有诚信的人啊！一<strong>诺</strong>千金是多么的重要啊！诚信是金，用多少钱都买不回来。\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nHonesty is the root of integrity! Sometimes honesty is based in an action, a spoken word. Cicero said that: \"Forthrightness is a wonderful medicine that puts the heart at ease.\" This is something I understand deeply from personal experience. During this year\'s winter vacation, I [did something bad that meant I] was not a very honest child.　\r\n\r\nI remember on a busy winter break day, I was catching up on homework. Suddenly, I discovered that my essay book and my excerpt book had both been filled up [with writing], so carrying my money, I hurried downstairs to go buy notebooks. The old person [at the store] smiled kindly at me and asked: \"Small friend, what do you want to buy?\" I said: \"I want to buy one essay book and one excerpt book.\" \"That will be a total of 5 yuan,\" the old person said. I thought and thought, I only had 4 yuan, what should I do? Stuttering, I said, \"I... I only have for yuan?\" Talking over what to do with the shop owner, I said, \"I live just above you, the next time I come down I\'ll give you the rest of the money, OK?\" \"Ok,\" he answered brightly. A few days passed, and again I went down to buy something, but the old person had forgotten the whole incident. I acted as if I had also forgotten.\r\n\r\nAfter I\'d finished paying after the second time I went to buy something, I was about to leave to go back to my house. Suddenly, a good little angel and an evil little angel appeared in my mind, and they began to fight with each other. I listened to their differing words. The good little angel said, \"You should speak up about this incident!\" The evil little angel said, \"Don\'t mention it, if you mention it then you\'ll have wasted 1 yuan.\" The good angel said, \"Don\'t be a slave to money, be a master of honesty!\" The evil little angel said, \"What do you want to be an honest person for, you can\'t eat honesty [lit: honesty can\'t be food].\" They fought incessantly, and I was torn and confused, but at that moment I remembered the phrase I had read in a book, \"Forthrightness is a wonderful medicine that puts the heart at ease.\" \r\n\r\nI drummed up my courage, and forthrightly spoke up. At first, the old person\'s face became red, and he seemed very angry. After a while, he said to me, \"Don\'t worry about it, I won\'t blame you, you\'re a child that corrects a mistake when he sees it!\" At that very moment, tears welled up in my eyes, and I sincerely said to the old person, \"I\'m sorry, grandfather.\" [not the author\'s real grandfather - this is a form of respect from a younger child to an older man.]\r\n\r\nAfter this, I understood, having integrity means you can\'t cheat people, and I want to be an honest person! [The phrase] \"A promise is worth a thousand gold\" is so very important! Honesty is gold, and you can\'t buy it back with money. \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'A Promise is Worth A Thousand Gold, and thoughts on crying', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '875-revision-v1', '', '', '2011-11-02 21:06:59', '2011-11-03 01:06:59', '', 875, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/11/02/875-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1806, 1, '2020-04-20 05:58:17', '2020-04-20 09:58:17', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\nA short, sweet children\'s essay about how umbrellas look on a rainy day. The Chinese title is 小伞花. <!--more-->\n\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/20111102-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Easy Chinese Reading - Simplified Texts, Passages and Essays\" title=\"Easy Chinese Reading - Simplified Texts, Passages and Essays\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />Most of this is beginner reading, but there is one part of a sentence towards the end of the text which is intermediate reading, so I\'ve outlined the more difficult words there in the \"click to listen\" area. \n\nYou\'ll also notice another onomatopoeia (I\'ve been running into those a lot lately), 滴滴答答. We\'re rather lucky when we describe sounds in English, we can mash a bunch of letters together until they sound similar to the sound we heard - we have a little more flexibility. I could write: pfffsssshhhh, and you could make that sound, or imagine that sound. The Chinese have no alphabet to work with, so they do this by taking existing characters that sound similar and arranging them together. In this case 滴滴答答 (di1 di1 da1 da1) represents the pattering of raindrops, as you might hear rain fall against a window or roof.\n\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n传来- [pinyin]chuan2 lai2[/pinyin] - Arrive\n滴滴答答 - [pinyin]di1 di1 da1 da1[/pinyin] - The sound of water droplets falling on something\n行人 - [pinyin]xing2 ren2[/pinyin] - Pedestrian\n雨伞 - [pinyin]yu3 san3[/pinyin] - Umbrella\n极了 - [pinyin]ji2 le5[/pinyin] - very, extremely [used after word it refers to]\n撑- [pinyin]cheng1[/pinyin] - To open up / unfurl\n晴朗 - [pinyin]qing2 lang3[/pinyin] - sunny and cloudless\n陪伴 - [pinyin]pei2 ban4[/pinyin] - Accompany\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n今天，我回家写作业的时候，我听见外面<strong>传来</strong>了<strong>滴滴答答</strong>的声音，我想一定是下雨了。我赶忙跑到窗前，向下一看，街上的<strong>行人</strong>都打着<strong>雨伞</strong>，真的是下雨了。\n\n雨伞有黄色的、有白色的、有红色的、有紫色的，还有银灰色的……，美丽<strong>极了</strong>!\n\n我觉得雨伞可真好，它为我们<strong>撑</strong>起了一片<strong>晴朗</strong>的天空，它真是我们的好朋友。我希望每天都能下雨，让我的漂亮小雨伞每天都能<strong>陪伴</strong>我。\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nToday, when I had returned to my house and I was doing my homework, I heard the sound of droplets coming from outside, and I thought it surely must be raining. I hurriedly ran to the window, and looked down, on the street the pedestrians were all carrying umbrellas, and it was indeed raining. \n\nThere were yellow umbrellas, and there were white ones, and red ones, and purple ones, and also silver ones... so beautiful!\n\nI thought about how great umbrellas are, they unfurl a sunny and cloudless sky for us, they\'re really our good friends. I wish it could rain every day, so that my beautiful little umbrella could accompany me.\n\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Umbrella Flowers', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '887-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 05:58:17', '2020-04-20 09:58:17', '', 887, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/887-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1808, 1, '2020-05-07 17:17:32', '2020-05-07 21:17:32', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\nThis short tale addresses the background story behind the Chinese idiom 一暴十寒, which literally translates to \"One day of sun, ten days of frost\", and which means \"to bust butt for a little while and then get lazy\", or \"to only work for a short time and then fail\". The story below really applies to the latter meaning. Though this is categorized as advanced, upper-intermediate readers could surely tackle this. <!--more-->\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>一暴十寒</h4>\n<strong>战国</strong>时，有个叫<strong>孟轲</strong>的人，大家称他为<strong>孟子</strong>。孟子<strong>善于</strong>通过打比方来发表议论。\n\n当时，有人<strong>指责</strong>孟子不尽力帮助齐王。孟子便解释说:“比如说，天下有些易活的植物，假如把它放在太阳下晒一天，然后再把它放在<strong>阴冷</strong>的地方冻十天，即使是<strong>生命力</strong>再强的植物也会死。我见到齐王的机会<strong>少之甚少</strong>，即使给了他些良好的影响与帮助，我一离开，一些和我主张不同的人，又带给他许多不好影响。我怎么能使齐王的思想、品质好起来呢？”\n</div>\n[/su_column]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\nDuring the Warring States Period, there was a man named Meng Ke [Mencius], who everyone called MengZi. Menzi was very good at creating analogies to foster discussion.　\n\nAt that time, there was a person who criticized Mencius for not trying harder to help the King of Qi. Mencius explained plainly, saying, \"Take this as an example: there are some plants that live well on this earth [lit: under heaven], but if you take them and put them in the sun for a day, then you take them and put them in the gloom and cold to freeze for ten days, even if their vitality is strong they\'re still going to die.  My opportunities to see the King of Qi have been less and less, so even if I give him some good influence and help, as soon as I leave, some people that don\'t advocate the same things I do will influence him negatively. [That being the case,] how can I improve the quality of the King of Qi\'s thinking?\"\n[/hide-this-part]\n[/su_column]\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Story Behind the Idiom: 一暴十寒 - Temporary diligence followed by laziness', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '901-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-05-07 17:17:32', '2020-05-07 21:17:32', '', 901, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/901-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1811, 1, '2020-04-28 19:39:53', '2020-04-28 23:39:53', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\nA short, easy (very) beginner read about a child going ice-skating. The word \"ice skating\" appears about a bazillion times in the space of these few sentences, so, after reading this, you may expect to recognize the word for the rest of your natural life. <!--more-->\n\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/20111210-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Beginner Simplified Chinese Essay - Chinese Reading Passage\" title=\"Beginner Simplified Chinese Essay - Chinese Reading Passage\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />A note: The characters 周井寒 which appear in this essay are a person\'s name. The person is referred to twice, first by their given name, 井寒, then by their full name, 周井寒. The person\'s relationship to the author isn\'t really specified. This clearly isn\'t the name of the child\'s mother, as 周井寒 is referred to as a \"he\". \n\n<a href=\"http://www.tom61.com/youxiuzuowen/xiaoxueyinianjizuowen/2011-11-28/1322449584234905.html\">And here\'s the original source</a>\n\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>快乐的我</h4>\n早上，我把<strong>作业</strong>写好了，妈妈起来了，我对妈妈说: “妈妈，我把作业都做好了。”吃过<strong>早饭</strong>后，妈妈<strong>带</strong>我去<strong>溜冰</strong>。到了<strong>溜冰场</strong>，我穿好<strong>溜冰鞋</strong>，开始溜冰了。溜冰的时候，我一不小心<strong>摔倒</strong>了，井寒把我<strong>扶</strong>起来了，我<strong>连声</strong>说: “谢谢你，周井寒。”周井寒摔倒了，我也把他扶起来。　　\n\n今天，你帮我，我帮你，我们<strong>互相</strong>帮助，我们真快乐啊！　　\n</div>\n[/su_column]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\nIn the morning, I finished my homework, and [when] mother got up, I said to her: \"Mama, I finished all my homework.\" After we ate breakfast, mama took me ice skating. When we got to the ice rink, I put on my ice skates and began ice skating. When I was ice skating, I wasn\'t being careful and fell down, and Jing Han helped me back up, I repeatedly said: \"Thank you, Zhou Jing Han.\" Zhou Jing Han fell down, and I also helped him up.  \n\nToday, you help me, I help you, we help each other, we\'re so happy! \n[/hide-this-part]\n[/su_column]\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Happy Me!', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '933-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 19:39:53', '2020-04-28 23:39:53', '', 933, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/933-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(1814, 1, '2020-04-20 06:11:15', '2020-04-20 10:11:15', '<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\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 Story</h3>\r\nReading 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\nBut I\'ve always found that finding reading materials is the most difficult and frustrating part of the process. Everything I pick up tends to be too long, too short, too easy, or too hard. Particularly when I was just starting out, I ended up spending more time looking for something that was suitable than actually doing any reading. Even worse, 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. Annoy-ing! \r\n\r\nAs someone who starts a website every time I have a thought, it was inevitable I\'d eventually start a website to solve that problem, and here you are. I post whenever I get a chance. \r\n\r\n<h4>About the Translations</h4>\r\nMost (but not all) of the translations on this site are done by me, and 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\nI am not a linguist and I don\'t follow academic translation guidelines. I\'ll often change the order of wording in a sentence so that it makes sense or reads well in English. You\'ll also notice that I often remove commas, split long Chinese sentences into two or more English sentences, or rearrange the order of clauses, which is necessary to accommodate Chinese grammar.  The translation is meant as a guidepost to help point you in the right direction and keep you grounded in the text when needed - it\'s up to you to dissect sentence structure.\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 all Chinese text. 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>How I Classify Reading Levels</h4>\r\nUltimately, my classifications are pretty arbitrary, but I\'ll try to lay out some of my basic reasoning here.\r\n\r\n<strong>Beginner</strong> - Very very few of these texts are actually beginner texts. This is because for any story, article or essay to really take shape, it usually must involve some intermediate grammar or intermediate vocabulary. This is why most truly beginner textbooks stick to dialogs (Ni hao! Ni hao ma? Wo hen hao!) as opposed to actual stories. In order to do any real reading, you\'ve got to at least know the basics of sentence structure. I will classify something as beginner if at least a couple of the following criteria are met:\r\n<ul>\r\n	<li>The sentence structure is easy throughout</li>\r\n	<li>It contains mostly simpler words that are in the dictionary</li>\r\n	<li>There is no modern slang</li>\r\n	<li>The subject matter is basic / or for children</li>\r\n	<li>It\'s not too long</li>\r\n	<li>It contains few or no idioms</li>\r\n<li>It contains intermediate vocabulary but the story structure is very repetitive, so you can pick up the thread more easily as you go along.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n\r\n<strong>Intermediate</strong> - I classify something as intermediate if:\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>It\'s a longer piece that you have to hold a narrative thread through.</li>\r\n<li>The language is intermediate or upper-intermediate.</li>\r\n<li>There are some light idioms.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n\r\n<strong>Advanced</strong> - Most of what\'s out there online is advanced reading. That\'s why as of now, there are more advanced texts on here than anything else. I classify something as advanced if:\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n<li>It contains many specialized or technical words (technology, health, beauty, geography, etc.)</li>\r\n<li>It contains high-level structures, like newspaper-y or literary writing styles.</li>\r\n<li>It contains any archaic words.</li>\r\n<li>The sentence structure is very complicated.</li>\r\n<li>It contains a lot of modern slang.</li>\r\n</ul>\r\n\r\nEnjoy, and good luck with your studies.', 'About', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 06:11:15', '2020-04-20 10:11:15', '', 2, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/2-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2363, 1, '2020-05-21 19:53:19', '2020-05-21 23:53:19', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nOne picky little horse doesn\'t appreciate the food he is served, until he sees what everyone else is eating. Upper-beginner, bordering on intermediate, HSK 4.\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nQuite a bit of the harder vocab in this piece revolves around eating. We\'ve got  津津有味 [pinyin]jin1 jin1 you3 wei4[/pinyin], to eat something with joyous relish, 啃 [pinyin]ken3[/pinyin], to gnaw on, 狼吞虎咽 [pinyin]lang2 tun1 hu3 yan4[/pinyin], to fiercely gobble something up, and 饥肠辘辘 [pinyin]ji1 chang2 lu4 lu4[/pinyin], to be so hungry one\'s stomach is rumbling. \r\n\r\n饥肠辘辘 is actually a pretty interesting phrase. 饥肠 means \"an empty stomach\", and 辘辘 is being used as an onomatopoeia, <em>lu lu</em> being the sound of one\'s stomach grumbling from hunger.  \r\n\r\n<strong>爱挑食</strong> [pinyin]ai4 tiao1 shi2[/pinyin] - Three different words here, 爱, to love, 挑, to be picky, and 食, food. The literal translation here is \"loves to be picky about food\". It bears pointing out that in this case, \"love\" does not really mean \"to have fondness for\", but rather, \"to do something often\". We use \"love\" this way in English as well, as in, \"You just love to start an argument, don\'t you?\"\r\n\r\n<strong>转一圈</strong> [pinyin]zhuan3 yi1 quan1[/pinyin] - 转 is \"to turn around\" and 一圈 is \"a circle\" or \"a loop\". That might sound like it means \"to spin around in a circle while standing in place\", but it doesn\'t. It means \"to make a circular pass through a place\" - imagine shopping at a farmer\'s market or something, you walk all around to the different stalls to see what everyone is selling. \r\n\r\n<strong>一幕</strong> [pinyin]yi1 mu4[/pinyin] - You\'ll notice my popup dictionary translates this as \"a curtain\", a \"screen\" or \"an act of a play\". A 幕 is indeed the measure word for \"an act of a play\", but this is being used figuratively, what it means here is \"scene\", as in, \"When my eyes came to rest upon that ugly scene...\" \r\n\r\n<strong>那儿</strong> [pinyin]na4 er[/pinyin] - Literally means \"there\", but when it comes after a noun, it means \"over where [noun] is\", or \"[noun\'s] place\". I just covered a similar usage of \"这儿\" in the <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/20/chinese-fable-the-learned-son/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">last beginner post</a>. \r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.rensheng5.com/xiaogushi/id-9965.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">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>最可口的食物</h4>\r\n\r\n　在一个农场里养着很多动物。其中有一匹<span class=\"highlightText\">爱挑食</span>的小马，它总是不满意农场主给它的食物。于是它决定去转<span class=\"highlightText\">一圈</span>，看看别的动物们<span class=\"highlightText\">那儿</span>有什么好吃的。\r\n　　\r\n它很快就发现了几只鸡正在愉快地吃着什么，上前一看，是谷子，它尝了一口，却马上又吐了出来，“一点味没有，不好吃！”说着就走了。\r\n　　\r\n不久它又看到一只狗在<span class=\"highlightText\">津津有味</span>地<span class=\"highlightText\">啃</span>着骨头，还有一只猫一边唱着歌一边<span class=\"highlightText\">撕咬</span>着一条鱼。这些食物，它看了都害怕，那气味快使它呕吐。它赶紧走开了。\r\n　　\r\n走了好一会儿，小马有点渴了，它来到水塘边喝水。看到两只鸭子正在抢夺一条蚯蚓，蚯蚓被它们拉扯的又细又长，最后断成两截，两只鸭子<span class=\"highlightText\">狼吞虎咽</span>地吃下了各自的半截，又开始寻找起来。看到这残忍的<span class=\"highlightText\">一幕</span>，小马水也<span class=\"highlightText\">顾不上</span>喝就跑开了，“真恐怖！”它说。\r\n　　\r\n跑了<span class=\"highlightText\">一大圈</span>，它看到的动物吃的东西，都不合它的胃口，有的甚至还让它感得恶心。小马饥肠辘辘的回到马厩，才发现主人为它预备的草料，才是它最喜爱最可口的食物。\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 farm where many animals were raised. Among them was one little horse that was very picky about his food, he was always unsatisfied with what the farmer gave him to eat. So he decided to go walk around, to see what yummy things the other animals had to eat. \r\n　　\r\nHe quickly discovered a few chickens happily eating something, so he went over to look, it was grain, so he tried a mouthful, but he spit out, \"[This] has no flavor, it\'s gross!\", he said and left.　\r\n　　\r\nNot long after he saw a dog gnawing on a bone with relish, and a cat singing a song while tearing into a fish. Just looking at these foods frightened him, and the smell made him retch, so he quickly took his leave. 　\r\n　　\r\nAfter walking for a while, the little horse was a bit thirsty, so he went to the pond to drink some water. He saw two ducks fighting over an earthworm, they stretched the earthworm out long and thin, and finally broke it into two pieces, and the two ducks each gobbled down their piece, and started looking about [for another]. Seeing this cruel scene, the little horse couldn\'t even stand to drink any water and quickly ran away, \"Truly horrifying!\" he said. \r\n　　\r\nHe ran all around, and everything he saw the other animals eating didn\'t suit his own tastes, and some even disgusted him. He returned to his pen with his stomach rumbling, and found that the grass master had prepared for him to eat was his favorite delicious food after all.  \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Children\'s Story: 最可口的食物 - The most appetizing meal', 'One picky little horse doesn\'t appreciate the food he is served, until he sees what everyone else is eating. Upper-beginner, bordering on intermediate, HSK 4.', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '2331-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-05-21 19:53:19', '2020-05-21 23:53:19', '', 2331, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/05/21/2331-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1820, 1, '2020-04-20 06:25:52', '2020-04-20 10:25:52', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\nAnother super-simple and very short children\'s joke. \n\n<!--more-->\n\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/20110810-inline.jpg\" alt=\"Beginner Chinese Passages and Chinese Kids Jokes\" title=\"Beginner Chinese Stories and Chinese Kids Jokes\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />One thing to watch out for here that can be confusing is the way the word \"分\" is used here. Typically, one says \"100分\", meaning that one received \"100%\" on a test. In this case, the student indicates that he wants the teacher to give him \"5分\", which we can take to mean \"5 stars\" - not actually 5%.  The Chinese title of this joke is \"父子不和\".\n\n\n老师:“同学们，今天的家庭问题<strong>讨论</strong>课，讨论‘父子<strong>不和</strong>’这个<strong>题目</strong>。<strong>秋子</strong>同学，你认为要<strong>消除</strong>父子不和的<strong>现象</strong>，最好的办法是什么呢？”\n秋子起立回答: “老师，最好的办法是:这一次在我的<strong>成绩</strong><strong>通知单</strong>上全<strong>填</strong>5分！”\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\n\n<strong>Teacher said: </strong>\"Students, in today\'s Family Issues Discussion Class, the topic is \"Father and Son Don\'t Get Along\". Student QiuZi, do you know the best way to eliminate an issue with father and son not getting along?\" \n<strong>QiuZi immediately answered: </strong>\"Teacher, the best way to eliminate this problem is to give me five stars on my next report card!\"\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]\n\n\n\n\n', 'Father and Son Don\'t Get Along', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '718-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 06:25:52', '2020-04-20 10:25:52', '', 718, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/718-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1822, 1, '2011-06-02 20:46:35', '2011-06-03 00:46:35', '[two_third]\r\n\r\nThis short bullet-pointed list was snagged from a health blog. Chinese title: 起床后的第一杯水的重要性\r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/20110602-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Advanced Chinese Reading: Health Vocabulary\" title=\"Advanced Chinese Reading: Health Vocabulary\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />Very heavy on the medical language, this quick post outlines five health benefits to have a glass of water upon waking up. I\'m not 100% sure on the definition of 血溶量 - this translates to \"level of blood solubility\", or literally \"blood dissolve level\" - no dictionary or translator has been able to help me out with this one, so if you\'ve got a good answer, please post a comment!\r\n\r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\r\n补充 - [pinyin]bu3 chong1[/pinyin] - Replenish\r\n代谢 - [pinyin]dai4 xie4[/pinyin] - Replcement; metabolism\r\n便秘 - [pinyin]bian4 mi4[/pinyin] - Constipation\r\n刺激 - [pinyin]ci4 ji1[/pinyin] - Provoke, irritate, upset\r\n肠道 - [pinyin]chang2 dao4[/pinyin] - Intestines, gut\r\n冲刷 - [pinyin]chong1 shua1[/pinyin] - To cleanse\r\n最佳 - [pinyin]zui4 jia1[/pinyin] - Optimal, peak\r\n血液循环 - [pinyin]xue4 ye4 xun2 huan2[/pinyin] - Blood circulation\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_third]\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n\r\n①<strong>补充</strong>水份-补充<strong>身体</strong>代谢失去的水份；\r\n②防止<strong>便秘</strong>-<strong>刺激</strong>胃肠的蠕动，湿润<strong>肠道</strong>，促进大便的排泄，防治便秘；\r\n③<strong>冲刷</strong>肠胃-洗涤清洁肠胃，冲淡胃酸，减轻胃的刺激，使胃肠保持<strong>最佳</strong>的状态；\r\n④清醒大脑-增加血溶量，稀释血液，降低血液稠度，促进<strong>血液循环</strong>；\r\n⑤美容养颜-排出毒素。\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_6e5987830100ot4k.html\">Read original post</a>\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n\r\n1. Replenishes water levels: Replenishes water lost by the body\r\n2. Prevents constipation: Stimulates intestinal movement, moistens the intestines, promotes evacuation of the bowels, prevents and cures constipation\r\n3. Cleanses the digestive system: Rinses the digestive system clean, dilutes gastric acid, alleviates stomach irritation, maintains optimal digestive health [lit: maintains optimal stomach and intestinal situation]\r\n4. Clear-headedness: Increases blood <em>solubility</em>, dilutes the blood, reduces blood thickness, promotes circulation\r\n5. Beauty: Purges toxins\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n', 'The Importance of the First Glass of Water After Waking', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '511-revision-v1', '', '', '2011-06-02 20:46:35', '2011-06-03 00:46:35', '', 511, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/06/02/511-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1823, 1, '2020-04-20 06:28:07', '2020-04-20 10:28:07', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\nThis is a very short beginner children\'s joke. The Chinese title of this joke is \"沙漠\", desert. <a href=\"http://www.tom61.com/ertongwenxue/ertongxiaoxiaohua/2011-04-26/22880.html\">Read the original on Tom61</a>\n\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n沙漠 - [pinyin]sha1 mo4[/pinyin] - Desert\n宽 - [pinyin]kuan1[/pinyin] - Wide\n秃 - [pinyin]tu1[/pinyin] - Bald\n\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />\n\n[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n老师: “<strong>沙漠</strong>是一块又长又<strong>宽</strong>的地方，上面光光的，什么东西都不长。”\n小学生: “老师，我明白了。我爸爸的<strong>秃</strong>头就是一片沙漠。”\n</div>\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\n\nTeacher: \"A desert is a long, wide place, its surface is very bright, and not a single thing grows there.\" \nPrimary School Student: \"Teacher, I understand. My father\'s bald head is a strip of desert.\" \n\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]\n\n\n\n\n', 'The Desert', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '713-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 06:28:07', '2020-04-20 10:28:07', '', 713, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/713-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1825, 1, '2020-05-01 21:02:24', '2020-05-02 01:02:24', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\nThis excerpt is from the modern militant action novel \"Coldspike\", or 《冷刺》, written by 天地飘鸥. You\'ll be reading the first part of Chapter 1: King of the Commandos (特种兵之王). \n\nThe language here is very heavy on the cheesy military slang, so if you like action movies and thrillers, you\'ll be able to catch quite a few of the cliches. If you\'d like to finish reading the book after you finish this first bit, the <a href=\"http://vip.book.sina.com.cn/book/index_162000.html\">full text is available online from Sina.com</a>\'s book archive.  \n\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>《冷刺》</h4>\n韩枫静静地伏在厚厚的落叶下，一动不动，安静得如同一条<strong>冬眠</strong>的蛇，不，他比蛇还要无声无息，谁也不会想到<strong>斑驳</strong>腐烂的落叶堆里会有这样坚强的生命存在，仿佛亘古就是如此。真是无法想象一个人能在这样的环境中<strong>潜伏</strong>两天两夜，不吃不喝，<strong>纹丝不动</strong>。在苍茫的原始丛林中，空气<strong>闷热</strong>得令人窒息，浑身就像霉烂了似的，湿漉漉的感觉别提有多难受了，何况韩枫的身上还捂着这么厚的一堆落叶，真是连气也喘不过来了。\n\n韩枫就这样无声无息地潜伏着，安静得几乎连生命的体征也消失了，身边来来往往已经过去了几个特种小组，就连最擅长<strong>追踪</strong>的“灵狐”特战小组也没有发现他。\n\n他不能动，也不敢动，因为他知道林中还有不少<strong>特战</strong>高手在伺机<strong>狙</strong>杀，他要做最有耐心的猎人而不是成为别人的猎物。他们这一组除了他，其他人都“挂”了，在三天前残酷的“<strong>杀戮</strong>”中先后“阵亡”，而他，凭着超强的第六感和<strong>匪夷所思</strong>的身手不但逃过了对方的狙杀，而且还“杀”了数名富有经验的特战精英，居然毫发无伤。在十多个特战精英小组的攻击下能做到这一点，真是奇迹！\n\n这次的特种兵大<strong>比武</strong>，是五年一度的全国“特种兵”对抗大赛，来自全国七大<strong>军区</strong>的特战精英，个个都是身经百战的高手，随便挑出一个，横扫一个普通连队绝不是痴人说梦。这次的特种兵大比武是实兵对抗，一切从实战出发，除了弹药是空包弹外，其他都是特种部队必需的武器装备。十天为限，没有后援，没有给养，各自为战，淘汰者<strong>出局</strong>。\n</div>\n[/su_column]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\nHan Feng silently hid beneath a thick pile of dead leaves, motionless, as calm as a hibernating snake; no, he was even more silent than a snake. No one would think that a strong life could exist inside such a motley, rotten pile of dead leaves, it was as if [the pile] had always been this way. There was no way to imagine  that a person could hide in this environment for two days without food or drink, not moving a whisker. In this vast primeval forest, the weather was so stiflingly hot as to make men suffocate, as if they were rotting from head to toe; needless to say the clamminess was very uncomfortable, moreso since Han Feng was covered in a thick pile of dead leaves - it was difficult to even draw breath. \n\nAnd so Han Feng hid there not making a sound, his very sense of life nearly fading away, as special units came and went around him; even the most expert trackers, the \"Quick Foxes\" special forces unit, didn\'t discover his position.\n\nHe didn\'t move, he didn\'t dare, because he knew that in the forest special forces experts were laying in wait to ambush him. He must be the most patient hunter, or else he would become someone else\'s prey. Everyone else in his group had already been \"hung\". In the \"massacre\" three days before, they\'d \"died\" in battle one after the other. But he, relying on his superior sixth sense and freakish agility, had escaped his opponent\'s ambush, and had also \"killed\" more than a few of supremely experienced special forces elite, somehow taking no wounds himself. It was a real miracle that he\'d managed this under attack from 10-plus special forces elite groups!\n\nTo this Commando Competition, an international \"special forces soldier\" face-off held once every five years, came elite commandos from the world\'s seven major military regions. Each [soldier] had [proven themselves] in numerous battles - it would not be unrealistic to say that any one you picked out of the bunch could single-handedly wipe out a whole unit of regular soldiers. This Commando Competition was a real military engagement, everything was like a real war, except for the fact that blanks are used for ammunition, all other equipment was special forces standard issue. A ten day limit, no reinforcements, no support, every man for himself, anyone eliminated is out of the running. \n[/hide-this-part]\n[/su_column]\n[/su_row]</div>\n', 'Novels: Start reading 《冷刺》Coldspike', 'Get your dose of cheesy militaristic language in this excerpt is from the modern militant action novel \"Coldspike\", or 冷刺, written by 天地飘鸥. You\'ll be reading the first part of Chapter 1: King of the Commandos (特种兵之王). ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '630-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-05-01 21:02:24', '2020-05-02 01:02:24', '', 630, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/630-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(2080, 1, '2020-04-28 19:36:43', '2020-04-28 23:36:43', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThis excerpt is from the modern militant action novel \"Cold Thorn\", or 冷刺, written by 天地飘鸥. You\'ll be reading the first part of Chapter 1: King of the Commandos (特种兵之王). \r\n\r\nThe language here is very heavy on the cheesy military slang, so if you like action movies and thrillers, you\'ll be able to catch quite a few of the cliches. If you\'d like to finish reading the book after you finish this first bit, the <a href=\"http://vip.book.sina.com.cn/book/index_162000.html\">full text is available online from Sina.com</a>\'s book archive.  \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>《冷刺》</h4>\r\n韩枫静静地伏在厚厚的落叶下，一动不动，安静得如同一条<strong>冬眠</strong>的蛇，不，他比蛇还要无声无息，谁也不会想到<strong>斑驳</strong>腐烂的落叶堆里会有这样坚强的生命存在，仿佛亘古就是如此。真是无法想象一个人能在这样的环境中<strong>潜伏</strong>两天两夜，不吃不喝，<strong>纹丝不动</strong>。在苍茫的原始丛林中，空气<strong>闷热</strong>得令人窒息，浑身就像霉烂了似的，湿漉漉的感觉别提有多难受了，何况韩枫的身上还捂着这么厚的一堆落叶，真是连气也喘不过来了。\r\n\r\n韩枫就这样无声无息地潜伏着，安静得几乎连生命的体征也消失了，身边来来往往已经过去了几个特种小组，就连最擅长<strong>追踪</strong>的“灵狐”特战小组也没有发现他。\r\n\r\n他不能动，也不敢动，因为他知道林中还有不少<strong>特战</strong>高手在伺机<strong>狙</strong>杀，他要做最有耐心的猎人而不是成为别人的猎物。他们这一组除了他，其他人都“挂”了，在三天前残酷的“<strong>杀戮</strong>”中先后“阵亡”，而他，凭着超强的第六感和<strong>匪夷所思</strong>的身手不但逃过了对方的狙杀，而且还“杀”了数名富有经验的特战精英，居然毫发无伤。在十多个特战精英小组的攻击下能做到这一点，真是奇迹！\r\n\r\n这次的特种兵大<strong>比武</strong>，是五年一度的全国“特种兵”对抗大赛，来自全国七大<strong>军区</strong>的特战精英，个个都是身经百战的高手，随便挑出一个，横扫一个普通连队绝不是痴人说梦。这次的特种兵大比武是实兵对抗，一切从实战出发，除了弹药是空包弹外，其他都是特种部队必需的武器装备。十天为限，没有后援，没有给养，各自为战，淘汰者<strong>出局</strong>。\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\nHan Feng silently hid beneath a thick pile of dead leaves, motionless, as calm as a hibernating snake; no, he was even more silent than a snake. No one would think that a strong life could exist inside such a motley, rotten pile of dead leaves, it was as if [the pile] had always been this way. There was no way to imagine  that a person could hide in this environment for two days without food or drink, not moving a whisker. In this vast primeval forest, the weather was so stiflingly hot as to make men suffocate, as if they were rotting from head to toe; needless to say the clamminess was very uncomfortable, moreso since Han Feng was covered in a thick pile of dead leaves - it was difficult to even draw breath. \r\n\r\nAnd so Han Feng hid there not making a sound, his very sense of life nearly fading away, as special units came and went around him; even the most expert trackers, the \"Quick Foxes\" special forces unit, didn\'t discover his position.\r\n\r\nHe didn\'t move, he didn\'t dare, because he knew that in the forest special forces experts were laying in wait to ambush him. He must be the most patient hunter, or else he would become someone else\'s prey. Everyone else in his group had already been \"hung\". In the \"massacre\" three days before, they\'d \"died\" in battle one after the other. But he, relying on his superior sixth sense and freakish agility, had escaped his opponent\'s ambush, and had also \"killed\" more than a few of supremely experienced special forces elite, somehow taking no wounds himself. It was a real miracle that he\'d managed this under attack from 10-plus special forces elite groups!\r\n\r\nTo this Commando Competition, an international \"special forces soldier\" face-off held once every five years, came elite commandos from the world\'s seven major military regions. Each [soldier] had [proven themselves] in numerous battles - it would not be unrealistic to say that any one you picked out of the bunch could single-handedly wipe out a whole unit of regular soldiers. This Commando Competition was a real military engagement, everything was like a real war, except for the fact that blanks are used for ammunition, all other equipment was special forces standard issue. A ten day limit, no reinforcements, no support, every man for himself, anyone eliminated is out of the running. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>\r\n', 'Novels: Start reading 《冷刺》Coldspike', 'Get your dose of cheesy militaristic language in this excerpt is from the modern militant action novel \"Coldspike\", or 冷刺, written by 天地飘鸥. You\'ll be reading the first part of Chapter 1: King of the Commandos (特种兵之王). ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '630-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 19:36:43', '2020-04-28 23:36:43', '', 630, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/630-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1827, 1, '2020-04-20 06:34:15', '2020-04-20 10:34:15', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\nA very basic story about a young elephant who learns a valuable life lesson. There is one particularly difficult sentence here, and that\'s  小象爬到树去学飞“哎哟”一声，摔了一个大跟头. The words themselves aren\'t too hard, but the sentence arrangement doesn\'t make a lot of sense when directly translated into English. Let\'s take it step by step:\n\n小象 - Little Elephant\n爬到 - Climbed to / climbed up\n树 - tree\n去 - go\n学飞 - learn to fly\n“哎哟” - \'Ai yo!\' Sound which means \"Yikes!\" or \"Ow!\" \n一声 - Noise, sound\n摔了 - to fall\n一个大 - a big\n跟头 - Fall, trip and fall.\n\nIf you look at all these words together, you can more easily process the overall meaning of the sentence, which is, \"In order to learn to fly, Little Elephant climbed a tree and, with a yelp of \"Ai Yo!\", fell heavily to the ground.\" \n\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>小象也要飞</h4>\n\n小象生下来的第三天，跟妈妈来到<strong>小河</strong>边，看见一只小鸟在天空<strong>飞来飞去</strong>。小象想：“要是我也会飞，可以看到更多的东西，多好呀！”\n\n小象<strong>爬</strong>到树去学飞“哎哟”一声，摔了一个大<strong>跟头</strong>。\n\n蛇看见了说:“小象，我们有自己的<strong>本事</strong>。我不会飞，可是，我会在树上睡觉。”\n\n狮子说:“我也不会飞，可是，我能跳过<strong>宽</strong>宽的大河。”\n\n老虎说:“我不会飞，可是我会游泳！”\n\n爸爸妈妈对小象说:“我们象的力气大，这是小鸟<strong>不能比的</strong>。”小象明白了。他用长鼻子一钩，大木头就搬走了。\n</div>\n[/su_column]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\nOn the third day after he was born, Little Elephant went with his mother to the banks of a stream, and there he saw a bird in the sky flying here and there. Little Elephant said: \"If I could fly, I could see even more things, it would be great!\"\n\nIn order to learn to fly, Little Elephant climbed a tree and, with a yelp of \"Ai Yo!\", fell heavily to the ground.\n\nSeeing this, the snake said: \"Little elephant, we all have our own abilities. I can\'t fly, but I can sleep in a tree.\"\n\nLion said: \"I also can\'t fly, but I can jump across a wide river.\"\n\nTiger said, \"I can\'t fly, but I can swim!\"\n\nLittle Elephant\'s father and mother said to him, \"We elephants have great strength, incomparably greater than that little bird\'s.\"\n\nLittle Elephant understood. He used his long nose as a hook and moved a large branch.\n[/hide-this-part]\n[/su_column]\n[/su_row]</div>\n', 'The Little Elephant that Wanted to Fly', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '688-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 06:34:15', '2020-04-20 10:34:15', '', 688, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/688-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1833, 1, '2020-04-28 19:34:00', '2020-04-28 23:34:00', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\nThis not-too-dirty-but-not-really-clean joke comes from a great blog on the Sina blog network, the Chinese equivalent of Blogger. The joke is about a woman whose new parrot can\'t seem to stop saying one particular come-hither phrase. The phrase so embarrasses the woman that she tries to take action, but her plan doesn\'t quite work out the way she wanted. \n\nI had a bit of trouble translating the phrase 近朱者赤, which appears to mean \"If you stand next to something red, you\'ll become red yourself.\" This idiom isn\'t in the dictionary, but I believe it means that people are influenced by the things in their environment. \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>两只鹦鹉</h4>\n\n话说某位女士一时兴起，买了一只母<strong>鹦鹉</strong>。没想到带回家里，它说的第一句话就是: “想跟我<strong>上床</strong>吗？”\n\n女士一听，心想: 坏了，外人还以为这话是我教的呢，这不把我的<strong>淑女</strong>形象全给毁了。于是她想尽办法，想教那只鹦鹉说些<strong>高雅</strong>的东西，可是那只母鹦鹉算是铁了心了，只会说一句话: “想跟我上床吗？”\n\n　　…… 怎么办呢？在那位女士失去主张的时候，听说<strong>神父</strong>那儿也养了一只鹦鹉（公的），而且那只鹦鹉，不但不讲<strong>粗话</strong>，反而是个虔诚的教徒，每天大部分时间里都在<strong>祷告</strong>。于是那位女士去找神父求助。神父明白她的来意之后，面色微难的说:“这个，很难办呀，其实那只鹦鹉，也并没有刻意的教它什么，它之所以这么虔诚，也可能是长期在此受熏陶的缘故吧。”\n\n神父见女士很失落，便说道: “这样吧，你把那只鹦鹉带到我这里来，我把它们放在一起。希望经过一段时间，你那只鹦鹉能够被<strong>感化</strong>。我只能做这些了，有没有效果，就看神的旨意了……”\n\n女士一听，也只能这样了，不是有句话叫: <strong>近朱者赤</strong>吗？试试吧。于是她把鹦鹉带到神父那里。神父依照诺言把两只鹦鹉放在了一起。开始母鹦鹉还有些拘谨，看那只公鹦鹉在笼子的一角，默默的祷告，还真不忍心打扰。可是她还是管不住自己，终于朗声说道:“想跟我上床吗？“\n\n公鹦鹉听到这话，停止了祷告，转身看了看母鹦鹉，忽然泪如雨下: “感谢上帝，我祷告这么多年的愿望终于<strong>实现</strong>了……”\n\n</div>\n[/su_column]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\n\nThere once was a woman who bought a female parrot. But little did she know, when she brought the parrot home she found it could only say one sentence: \"Will you sleep with me?\"\n\nAs soon as the woman heard this, she thought: \"Oh no! If anyone else hears the parrot speak they\'ll think I taught the parrot to say that, it\'ll destroy my reputation as a virtuous woman.\" By way of a solution, she thought maybe she could teach the parrot to say something dainty instead, but it seemed the parrot had a heart of iron, it would only say one thing, \"Will you sleep with me?\"　\n\nWhat was she to do? Just when she had about given up, she heard of a priest who also owned a parrot (a male one), and moreover his parrot not only didn\'t say vulgar things, it was actually a devout disciple; it spent most of its time in prayer. So the women went to see the priest. When the priest understood the woman\'s reason for coming, he said a little sadly, \"This is a hard problem to solve. In actual fact, I didn\'t teach my parrot anything, maybe the reason it\'s like that is because it\'s spent a long time in this [church] environment.\"　　\n\nThe priest saw the woman\'s disappointment, so he said, \"How about this: bring your parrot here to me, I\'ll put it with my own. We can hope that after a little while, your parrot will be correctively influenced by mine. This is all I can do, whether it will work or not is up to God...\"　\n\nThe woman listened [to his suggestions], and [also thought] that this was her only option, after all, isn\'t there a saying: \"Proximity to red will turn you red\"? She figured she might as well try it. So the woman brought her parrot to the priest. The priest honored his promise and put the two birds together. At first, the female parrot was a little cautious, seeing the male bird over in one corner of the cage, silently praying, she didn\'t have the heart to disturb him. But [after a while] she couldn\'t help herself, and finaly said, \"Will you sleep with me?\"\n\nThe male parrot heard her say this, stopped praying, turned around and looked at her, and suddenly with tears streaming down its face said, \"Thank you God, the thing I\'ve prayed for all of these long years has finally happened...\" \n\n[/hide-this-part]\n[/su_column]\n[/su_row]</div>\n\n\n\n\n', 'Joke: The Two Parrots', 'This not-too-dirty-but-not-really-clean joke comes from a great blog on the Sina blog network, the Chinese equivalent of Blogger. The joke is about a woman whose new parrot can\'t seem to stop saying one particular come-hither phrase. The phrase so embarrasses the woman that she tries to take action, but her plan doesn\'t quite work out the way she wanted. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '519-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 19:34:00', '2020-04-28 23:34:00', '', 519, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/519-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1835, 1, '2020-04-20 06:48:00', '2020-04-20 10:48:00', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\n\nA very simple story about three friendly butterflies who stick up for each other.<!--more-->\n\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n蝴蝶 - [pinyin]hu2 die2[/pinyin] - Butterfly\n翅膀 - [pinyin]chi4 bang3[/pinyin] - [colloquial] Wings\n躲 - [pinyin]duo3[/pinyin] - Hide\n一块 - [pinyin]yi1 kuai4[/pinyin] - Together, a block, as a group\n乌云 - [pinyin]wu1 yun2[/pinyin] - Black cloud\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n\n    花园里有三只<strong>蝴蝶</strong>，一只是红色的，一只是黄色的，一只是白色的。三个好朋友天天都在一起玩，可好了。一天，他们正玩得，天突然下起了雨。三只蝴蝶的<strong>翅膀</strong>都被雨打湿了，浑身冻得发抖。\n\n    三只小蝴蝶一起飞到红花那里，对红花说: “红花姐姐，让我们飞到你的叶子下面躲<strong>躲</strong>雨吧！”\n\n   红花说: “红蝴蝶进来吧，其他的快飞开！”\n\n   三个好朋友一齐摇摇头: “我们是好朋友，<strong>一块</strong>儿来，也一块儿走。”\n\n   他们又飞到黄花那里，对黄花说: “黄花姐姐，让我们飞到你的叶子下面躲躲雨吧！”黄花说: “黄蝴蝶进来吧，其他的快飞开！”\n\n     三个好朋友一齐摇摇头: “我们是好朋友，一块儿来，也一块儿走。”\n\n   然后，他们又飞到白花那里，对白花说: “白花姐姐，让我们飞到你的叶子下面躲躲雨吧！”\n\n   可是白花也说: “白蝴蝶进来吧，其他的快飞开！”\n\n     这三个好朋友还是一齐摇摇头，对白花说: “我们是好朋友，一块儿来，也一块儿走。”\n\n     这时，太阳公公看见了，赶忙把<strong>乌云</strong>赶走，叫雨停下。\n\n     天终于晴了，这三个好朋友又一起在花丛中跳舞玩游戏了。\n</div>\n\n\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\n\nIn the garden there were three butterflies, one red one, one yellow one, and one white one. Every day the three good friends played together, it was great. One day just as they were playing, it suddenly began to rain. The three butterflies\' wings were drenched by the rain, their whole bodies were trembling with cold. \n\nThe three butterflies few together to a red flower, and said to it: \"Big Sister Red Flower, let us hide from the rain under your leaves.\" \n\nThe red flower said: \"The red butterfly can come in, but the others must leave.\"\n\nThe three good friends shook their heads together: \"We\'re good friends, we came together, and we\'ll leave together.\"\n\nThey flew off to a yellow flower, and to the yellow flower said, \"Big Sister Yellow Flower, let us hide from the rain under your leaves.\" The yellow flower said: \"The yellow butterfly can come in, but the others must leave.\"\n\nThe three good friends shook their heads and said: \"We\'re good friends, we came together, and we\'ll leave together.\"\n\nThen, they flew away to the white flower, and to the white flower said: \"Big Sister White Flower, let us hide from the rain under your leaves!\"  \n\nBut the white flower said to them: \"The white butterfly can come in, but the rest must leave.\" \n\nThe three good friends still shook their heads together and said: \"We\'re good friends, we came together and we\'ll leave together.\"\n\nAt this time, Old Man Sun saw what was happening, and he hurriedly chased the black clouds away and made the rain stop.     \n\nThe sky was finally clear, and the three friends again went again to play and dance among the flowers. \n\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]\n\n\n\n\n', 'Three Good Friends', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '539-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 06:48:00', '2020-04-20 10:48:00', '', 539, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/539-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1838, 1, '2020-04-20 06:57:13', '2020-04-20 10:57:13', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\n\nMy heart goes out to the many who lost their family, friends or homes in Japan this week. This straightforward Chinese article reviews the Japanese death tolls in the recent earthquake. \n\nThe tragedy in Japan has been big news in Asia (as it has been everywhere in the world), particularly as many fear the radiation from the failed nuclear reactors will hit their shores. This article is chalk full of words you hate to read but which newspapers seems to love so much: fatality, refugee camp, disaster, missing persons, etc.\n\n\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>日本地震已致7653人死亡11746人失踪</h4>\n\n中新网3月20日电  据“中央社”报道，日本3月11日<strong>强震</strong>和<strong>海啸</strong>灾难，今天迈入第10天，警察厅指出，<strong>截至</strong>19日深夜11时为止，确认死亡人数达7653人，<strong>下落不明</strong>者增至1万1746人，死亡和失踪人数合计1万9399人。\n\n警察厅指出，<strong>罹难</strong>者遍布12都县，其中宫城县4449人、岩手县2501人、福岛县647人，此3县<strong>沿海地区</strong>遭海啸侵袭，灾情最惨重。警方接获的行踪不明者通报，岩手县有4253人、福岛县4503人、宫城县2895人，另外3县也有人失踪。\n\n此外，仍栖身<strong>避难所</strong>的灾民总数约36万3000人。其中宫城县约有15万5000人、福岛县约13万2000人、岩手县约4万9000人。很多人因避难生活长期化而健康恶化，灾民依然处于严峻状况下。 \n\n</div>\n[/su_column]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\n\n<strong>China News Service, March 20 via [Taiwan] Central News Agency Report:</strong> The March 11 Japan mega-quake disaster is entering its 10th day and according to Japan\'s National Police Agency has confirmed that, as of [March] 19th at 11:00p.m., the death toll has reached 7653 people, and the number of persons unaccounted for has increased to 11,746 people, with the missing and dead totaling 19,399 people.   \n\nThe National Police Agency reports that the fatalities are spread over 12 districts, included among these are Miyagi with 4449 people, Iwate with 2501 people, and Fukushima with 647 people - these three districts are coastal areas where the tsunami was most disastrous. The police recieved reports of 4253 missing persons in Iwate, 4503 in Fukushima, and 2895 in Miyagi. Three other districts additionally have [reported] missing persons. \n\nIn addition, there are still 363,000 victims living in refugee shelters. That number includes 155,000 people in Miyagi, 132,000 people in Fukushima, and 49,000 from Iwate. Due to long-term stays in the shelters, the health of many refugees is worsening, leaving many in a grim situation. \n\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '7653 Dead in Japan Earthquake and 11746 Missing', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '564-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 06:57:13', '2020-04-20 10:57:13', '', 564, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/564-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1841, 1, '2020-04-20 07:00:01', '2020-04-20 11:00:01', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\n\nA very short, very easy, Chinese passage about a fictional teacher at Beijing University.  <!--more-->\n\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/20110324-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Easy Chinese Reading: Mr. Wang Works at the University\" title=\"Easy Chinese Reading: Mr. Wang Works at the University\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />You\'ll learn a couple of interesting Chinese abbreviations for some of the biggest and most famous universities in Beijing, and a few school-centric words. Not a whole lot of compelling narrative here, and not much of a stunning conclusion, but good practice nonetheless.\n\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\n北大 - [pinyin]bei3 da4[/pinyin] - Abbr. for Beijing University\n生日- [pinyin]sheng1 ri4[/pinyin] - Birthday\n经验 - [pinyin]jing1 yan4[/pinyin] - Experience\n学期 - [pinyin]xue2 qi1[/pinyin] - Semester\n现代 - [pinyin]xian4 dai4[/pinyin] - Modern\n师大 - [pinyin]shi1 da4[/pinyin] - Abbr. for Beijing Normal University\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n王先生是<strong>北大</strong>的老教师，一九三八年五月二十四号出生，　今年五十八岁。　今天是他的<strong>生日</strong>。　他是一位非常有<strong>经验</strong>的法语老师。这个<strong>学期</strong>他教大三的学生<strong>现代</strong>法语语法。\n\n王先生的一位老朋友是老年大学的老师，　他经常在这个大学教日语。\n\n他的一个学生在<strong>师大</strong>工作。　他有汉语书，法语书和日语书。　他天天教留学生现代汉语。现在他有五个男学生，八个女学生。\n\n</div>\n\n[/one_half]\n\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\n\nMr. Wang is an old teacher at Beijing University. He was born May 24, 1938, he\'s 58 this year. Today is his birthday. He is a French teacher with a lot of experience. This semester he is teaching modern French grammar to 3rd year students. \n\nOne of Mr. Wang\'s friends is an old university teacher, he often teaches Japanese at this university. \n\nOne of his students works at Beijing Normal University. He has Chinese books, French book and Japanese books. Every day he teaches foreign students modern Chinese. Right now he has 5 male students and 8 female students. \n\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]\n', 'Mr. Wang Works at the University', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '590-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 07:00:01', '2020-04-20 11:00:01', '', 590, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/590-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1843, 1, '2011-03-27 21:35:59', '2011-03-28 01:35:59', '[two_third]\r\n\r\nThis is a slightly sad blurb about a substitue 班长, or classroom leader.  If you\'ve ever used Chinese-made textbooks to study, or if you\'re studying language in China, this could be managable for a beginner, otherwise, consider it an intermediate passage. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/20110326-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Intermediate Chinese Reading Exercise: You are Just a Substitute\" title=\"Intermediate Chinese Reading Exercise: You are Just a Substitute\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />Chinese beginner textbooks are often filled with classroom-y words, and stories about inter-student and student-teacher relationships, so this should make a bit more intuitive sense if you\'ve ever been in a real Chinese classroom environment. \r\n\r\nIn my opinion, there\'s no good English translation for the word 班长. In Chinese classrooms, one student is elected the class leader - they are responsible for keeping other students in line, are given extra classroom duties, and are akin to a teacher\'s pet. But in English, the word \"teacher\'s pet\" has a negative meaning. Not so in Chinese classrooms, where being the 班长 is considered a real privilege. \r\n\r\nOne of the more difficult clauses here is ... 埋头继续玩\"三国杀\". This means \"... immersed themselves in continuing to play San Guo Sha.\" San Guo Sha is a popular Asian card game (which, I understand, has been turned into an online multiplayer network game). \r\n\r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\r\n核心 - [pinyin]he2 xin1[/pinyin] - Core, \"heart\", nucleus\r\n代替- [pinyin]dai4 ti4[/pinyin] - Substitute, instead\r\n讲台 - [pinyin]jiang3 tai2[/pinyin] - Speaking platform, podium\r\n乱哄哄 - [pinyin]luan4 hong1 hong1[/pinyin] - Disorderly and noisy, in an uproar\r\n耳旁风 - [pinyin]er3 pang2 feng1[/pinyin] - In one ear and out the other\r\n狡辩 - [pinyin]jiao3 bian4[/pinyin] - Quibble, argue\r\n反驳 - [pinyin]fan3 bo1[/pinyin] - Retort, sharp reply\r\n斥责 - [pinyin]chi4 ze2[/pinyin] - Denounce\r\n嚣张 - [pinyin]xiao1 zhang1[/pinyin] - Be arrogant, be on one\'s high horse\r\n争辩 - [pinyin]zheng1 bian2[/pinyin] - Dispute\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_third]\r\n\r\n<hr />[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n班长是一个班级里的核心，权力地位是不用说的，在班长不在时，能怎么办呢？只能找一位能力好、成绩好的同学<strong>代替</strong>了。\r\n\r\n我就是代替的，在当天班长不在时，老师就总是找我代替，我也很开心为老师干活。\r\n\r\n这天，刚好班长有事出去了，我只能跑上<strong>讲台</strong>，管好纪律。课室里<strong>乱哄哄</strong>的，谁也没有注意到我。我大声喊: \"全部回到自己的位置上，现在开始<strong>记名</strong>。\" 顿时，课室里静了一会儿，大部分同学都回到座位上了，只有少数同学把我的话当做\"<strong>耳旁风</strong>\"，埋头继续玩\"三国杀\"。\r\n\r\n我怒了，把他们的名字登到黑板上去，而且写的大大的。他们极力<strong>狡辩</strong>\"为什么登我名？\" 我刚想<strong>反驳</strong>，可是检查的人来了，我心平气和地对他们说道: \"检查的人来了，不许吵闹，不然可是要加作业的。\" 他们立刻闭上嘴。唉，班长不好当啊！\r\n\r\n检查团一走，他们又不管我的<strong>斥责</strong>，继续吵闹，并反驳: \"你<strong>嚣张</strong>什么啊，你只是个代替的。\" 他们说这话时可神气多了。我转过身，眼泪在我的眼眶里打转，我忍住了，没有跟他们<strong>争辩</strong>。\r\n\r\n最后，班长回来了，我停止了我的\"代替生活\"。\r\n\r\n唉，代替的比正的还要烦心啊。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.qnwz.cn/html/article/chengchangjishi/201103/18-258875.html\">See the original on QingNian WenZhai</a>\r\n\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n\r\nThe class monitor is the heart of any class [lit: grade level], needless to say it\'s a powerful position. When the class monitor isn\'t there, how should you deal with it? Well, you find another skilled student with good grades to substitute. \r\n\r\nI\'m a [class monitor] substitute; when the class monitor isn\'t there, the teacher asks me instead, and I\'m happy to do some work for the teacher. \r\n\r\nThis one day, the class monitor had just left to do something, so I ran up to the podium to oversee classroom discipline. The classroom was disorderly and loud, no one was paying attention to me. I called out loudly: \"Everyone return to your places, we\'re going to call roll.\" The classroom immediately quieted down a bit, most students returned to their seats, but for a few, my words went in one ear and out the other, and they immersed themselves in their game of San Guo Sha. \r\n\r\nIndignant, I wrote the names [of the misbehaving students] on the blackboard in big letters. They tried vehemently to argue, saying :\"Why are you writing my name?\" I had just thought up a [stinging] retort, but the class inspector arrived, and I calmly said, \"The inspector has arrived, you must not be noisy, or else you\'ll be assigned extra homework.\" They immediately shut their mouths. Ai, it\'s no fun being the class monitor! \r\n\r\nAs soon as the classroom inspector left, they once again ignored my protests, continued being noisy, and snapped, \"What are you on your high horse about, you\'re just a substitute.\" They said this in a [mean]-spirited way. I turned away, tears welling in my eyes, but I tolerated it and did not argue with them.\r\n\r\nFinally, the class monitor returned, and I stopped [living] my \"life as a substitute\". \r\n\r\nAi, being a substitute is more trouble than being the real thing. \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]\r\n', 'You are Just a Substitute', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '586-revision-v1', '', '', '2011-03-27 21:35:59', '2011-03-28 01:35:59', '', 586, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/03/27/586-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(1845, 1, '2011-04-08 08:49:16', '2011-04-08 12:49:16', '[two_third]\r\n\r\nWell, not exactly one line, but close enough. These three jokes are meant for young kids, the type of thing you might find on the back of a kid\'s cereal box. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/20110217-INLINE-one-liners.jpg\" alt=\"Beginner Chinese Reading Practice: Super Simple One Liners\" title=\"Beginner Chinese Reading Practice: Super Simple One Liners\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />The punchline of the last joke, \"I Won\'t Let You Die\", hinges on the Chinese slang [verb]死了 [pinyin]si3le5[/pinyin]，which doesn\'t actually have anything to do with death, but rather means \"very\". For example, 饿死了, literally \"die from hunger\", means \"very hungry\", similar to the English phrase \"I\'m starving to death!\" In this case, the phrase is 高兴死了, \"happy to death\", or \"very happy\". \r\n\r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\r\n冰糕 - [pinyin]bing1 gao1[/pinyin] - Popsicle\r\n陪 - [pinyin]pei2[/pinyin] - To accompany, go with\r\n标签 - [pinyin]biao1 qian1[/pinyin] - Label\r\n遗失 - [pinyin]yi2 shi1[/pinyin] - To lose\r\n自黏 - [pinyin]zi4 nian2[/pinyin] - Self-adhesive\r\n多余 - [pinyin]duo1 yu2[/pinyin] - Unnecessarily\r\n孝子 - [pinyin]xiao4 zi3[/pinyin] - Obedient / filial son\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_third]\r\n\r\n<hr />[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n\r\n<strong>冰糕</strong>\r\n\r\n今年初天气还冷，五岁的李茜<strong>陪</strong>妈妈上商场，李茜要妈妈买冰糕吃，妈妈说冷天气吃冰糕小肚肚会痛。李茜说，“那您帮我买一个回家后让奶奶蒸热了我再吃”。\r\n\r\n<strong>一张标签1</strong>\r\n\r\n刚上小学一年级的美美，常在学校<strong>遗失</strong>许多文具用品她妈妈于是买了许多<strong>自黏</strong>标签，把她的东西全贴上名字并郑重的告诉她:“贴了你的名字的东西，就是你的。以后你的东西就不会丢了，别人捡到也会还给你的。”\r\n\r\n美美连忙写了一张标签，贴在她妈妈脸颊上，并向她爸爸及哥哥宣布，“以后妈妈是我的了，你们不许来抢。”\r\n\r\n<strong>不会让您死</strong>\r\n\r\n儿子: “爸爸，假如有一天我考了全班第一名，您会怎样？”\r\n\r\n父亲: “那我一定高兴死了。”\r\n\r\n儿子: “爸爸，您这样的担心是多余的，我是孝子，不会让您死的。”\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n\r\n<strong>POPSICLE</strong>\r\n\r\nThe day started out quite cold, and 5-year-old LiQuan went to the market with his mother. LiQuan wanted his mother to buy him a popsicle to eat, but mama said that eating a popsicle in cold weather would make his little stomach hurt. LiQuan said, \"Then buy me a popsicle and we\'ll take it back to the house and have grandma heat it up before I eat it.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>ONE LABEL</strong>\r\n\r\nMeimei had just begun her first year of school, and she was always losing her school supplies [lit: writing tools, such as pens, pencils, etc.], so her mother went and bought a lot of self-adhesive labels, stuck her [Meimei\'s] name on all her things, and told her seriously, \"Whatever has your name stuck to it is yours. Now you won\'t lose your things, and other people who pick them up can give them back to you.\"\r\n\r\nMeimei promptly wrote out a label, stuck it on her mother\'s cheek, then said to her father and older brother, \"Mama is mine now, you can\'t take her.\"\r\n\r\n<strong>I WON\'T LET YOU DIE</strong>\r\n\r\nSon: \"Father, if I\'m ever first in my class, what would you do?\"\r\n\r\nFather: \"Well, I\'d be so happy I\'d die!\" \r\n\r\nSon: \"Father, you don\'t need to worry unnecessarily, I\'m a filial son, I won\'t let you die.\"\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Super Simple One Liners', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '354-revision-v1', '', '', '2011-04-08 08:49:16', '2011-04-08 12:49:16', '', 354, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/04/08/354-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1851, 1, '2011-01-18 07:34:14', '2011-01-18 12:34:14', '[two_third]\r\n\r\nAs pop-psychology self-help books from Japan take aim at the Chinese market, we\'re seeing more and more reads like this one, \"My First Workplace Color Book\", by Zhi Kou Ling Yi (Chinese transliteration of Japanese name). <!--more--> This book synopsis from 青年文摘 (Youth Digest) sums up the benefits of wearing various colors to work, and what you might acheive by doing so.\r\n\r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Interesting Vocabulary</h4>\r\n分析 - [pinyin]fen1 xi1[/pinyin] - Analysis\r\n直观 - [pinyin]zhi2 guan1[/pinyin] - Intuitive\r\n探究 - [pinyin]tan4 jiu1[/pinyin] - To explore, delve into\r\n决心 - [pinyin]jue2 xin1[/pinyin] - Determination\r\n冷静 - [pinyin]leng3 jing4[/pinyin] - Cool-headed, calm\r\n有效 - [pinyin]you3 xiao4[/pinyin] - Effective\r\n场合 - [pinyin]chang3 he2[/pinyin] - Situation, occasion\r\n得心应手 - [pinyin]de2 xin1 ying4 shou3[/pinyin] - lit. \"What the heart wishes, the hand accomplishes\" - to be skilled at a job\r\n技巧 - [pinyin]ji4 qiao3[/pinyin] - Technique\r\n透露 - [pinyin]tou4 lu4[/pinyin] - Divulge\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_third]\r\n\r\n<hr />[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n\r\n本书是日本色彩女王枝口玲己最受欢迎的职场色彩书，她通过对12种主流色彩的<strong>分析</strong>，快速而<strong>直观</strong>地<strong>探究</strong>人最深层的心理本质——在谈判时穿红色套装能表达你的<strong>决心</strong>，戴银色首饰传达出你<strong>冷静</strong>和认真的态度，而白色在你想要表现自己纯洁、干净整洁、诚实的时候特别有效……\r\n\r\n最重要的是，本书提供了适合28个场合的色彩作战方案，无论你是希望享受一段甜蜜的爱情，还是期待在职场上<strong>得心应手</strong>，只要掌握了这些<strong>技巧</strong>，一切都将变得非常简单！\r\n\r\nBe careful，在不经意间，你也向别人<strong>透露</strong>了内心的想法哦！\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.qnwz.cn/book/1/wodediyibenzhichangsecaishu-766.html\">See the original summary</a>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n\r\nThis book is Japanese color queen Zhi Kou Ling Yi\'s most popular introduction to workplace color, and through analysis of 12 mainstream colors, she quickly and intuitively explores man\'s deepest psychological nature. During negotiations, wearing a red suit expresses your determination, wearing silver jewelry conveys your cool-headed and hard-working attitude, while white shows purity and tidiness, particularly effective when you want to appear honest...\r\n\r\nThe most important thing is that this book provides color-based strategies [lit: operational plans] to suit 28 different situations, whether you want to enjoy sweet love, or you look forward to acheiving what you want at work, as long as you master these techniques, everything will become very easy!\r\n\r\nBe careful, if you don\'t watch out, you might divulge your true intentions to others!\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'My First Workplace Color Book', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '98-revision-v1', '', '', '2011-01-18 07:34:14', '2011-01-18 12:34:14', '', 98, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/01/18/98-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1852, 1, '2011-01-16 20:26:21', '2011-01-17 01:26:21', '[two_third]\r\n\r\nLike most children\'s fables, this story features a simple sentence structure, but an upper-intermediate word list, perfect for picking up a lot of vocabulary and a couple of tame colloquialisms. <!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe most difficult paragraph here is probably the fourth, particularly the part: 几句刺耳的话从海岸的岩石那边儿飞过来. We can break this down this way:\r\n\r\n几句 - Several sentences [of]\r\n刺耳的话 - Ear-piercing words\r\n从海岸的岩石那边 - From a seashore rock direction (from the direction of a seaside rock)\r\n飞过来 - Flew in (in this case, this is best translated as \"drifted over\".)\r\n\r\nThis tells us that there was more than one speaker, in this case the nest of swifts, who are screeching at Little Gull from nearby.\r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Interesting Vocabulary</h4>\r\n爱美 - [pinyin]ai4 mei3[/pinyin] - Set store by appearance\r\n天底下 - [pinyin]tian1 di3 xia4[/pinyin] - Under the sun\r\n得意 - [pinyin]de2 yi4[/pinyin] - Pleased with oneself\r\n刺耳 - [pinyin]ci4 er3[/pinyin] - Ear-piercing\r\n七嘴八舌 - [pinyin]qi1 zui3 ba1 she2[/pinyin] - Chattering, everyone talking at once\r\n哼 - [pinyin]heng1[/pinyin] - Sound for \"Hmph!\"\r\n海礁 - [pinyin]hai3 jiao1[/pinyin] - Reef\r\n大海妈妈 - [pinyin]da4 hai3 ma1 ma5[/pinyin] - Sea Mother (Mythical)\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_third]\r\n\r\n<hr />[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n\r\n小海鸥十分漂亮，她特别<strong>爱美</strong>。\r\n\r\n早晨，小海鸥拍打着翅膀飞到大海上。  大海是小海鸥的镜子，她每天都到这儿来梳洗打扮。\r\n\r\n小海鸥对着这面镜子瞧啊，照啊，她一会儿扭动身躯，一会儿梳理羽毛，自以为是<strong>天底下</strong>最美的姑娘。\r\n\r\n正在小海鸥十分<strong>得意</strong>的时候，几句<strong>刺耳</strong>的话从海岸的岩石那边儿飞过来：“臭美：臭美：”造燕窝的小雨燕<strong>七嘴八舌</strong>地议论，“不劳动，没人喜欢你！”\r\n\r\n“<strong>哼</strong>，你们嫉妒我！”小海鸥不服地扭过身子，继续照镜子。\r\n\r\n中午，小海鸥飞到<strong>海礁</strong>上，啄食岸边晾晒的鱼虾。突然，海燕跑过来说：“懒家伙，不许吃，那是我们捕的鱼虾！”\r\n\r\n小海鸥坐在岸边的礁石上哭了，哭得好伤心哟！镜子里的她一点儿也不美。\r\n\r\n<strong>大海妈妈</strong>对她说：“劳动，是最高尚的美德，你为什么不和他们一起劳动呢？”  小海鸥点了点头。\r\n\r\n后来，海鸟劳动者的队伍里又多了一只美丽的海鸟，她就是小海鸥。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.gushi51.com/ertong/ertong1940.html\">See the original story</a> [/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n\r\nLittle Gull was very beautiful, and she set great store by her appearance.\r\n\r\nIn the mornings, Little Gull would flap her wings and fly out onto the ocean.  The ocean was her mirror, and she went there every day to wash and make herself up.\r\n\r\nLooking into the mirror [lit: opposite the mirror], Little Gull would gaze, and stare, twisting this way and that and combing her feathers. She thought she was the most beautiful girl under the sun.\r\n\r\nJust when she was feeling quite proud of herself, she heard some piercing screeches coming from the vicinity of a seaside rock: \"Show off! Show off!\", chattered a bunch of nest-making swifts, \"You don\'t work, no one likes you!\"\r\n\r\n\"Hmph! You\'re just jealous of me!\" said Little Gull, refusing to accept the truth, and she continuing to turn about in the mirror.\r\n\r\nAt noon, Little Gull flew out to a reef, and began to peck at some fish she found drying in the sun. Suddenly, a swallow ran up to her and said, \"Hey lazybones! Don\'t eat that, we [swallows] caught that fish!\"\r\n\r\nLittle swallow sat on the reef and cried, cried from such sadness! The gull she saw in the mirror didn\'t look at all beautiful.\r\n\r\nThe great Sea Mother said to her, \"To work is one of the noblest virtues. Why don\'t you go work with them?\"  Little Gull nodded her head.\r\n\r\nAfter that, the ranks of worker seabirds grew by one, and that one was Little Gull.  \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'The Pride of Gull Girl', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '190-revision-v1', '', '', '2011-01-16 20:26:21', '2011-01-17 01:26:21', '', 190, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/01/16/190-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1854, 1, '2020-04-20 07:18:18', '2020-04-20 11:18:18', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\n\nA short news item from Beijing Youth Daily talks of the tragic January 14th stampede in a temple in India. <!--more-->\n\n[/two_third]\n[one_third last=last]\n<div class=\"postintro\">\n<h4>Interesting Vocabulary</h4>\n喀拉拉邦 - [pinyin]Ka1 la1 la1 bang1[/pinyin] - Kerala\n踩踏 - [pinyin]cai3 ta4[/pinyin] - Trample on\n辛格 - [pinyin]xin1 ge2[/pinyin] - Sikh name \"Singh\"\n遇难 - [pinyin]yu4 nan4[/pinyin] - Be killed, perish [lit: meet difficulty]\n</div>\n[/one_third]\n\n<hr />[one_half]\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\n印度西南<strong>喀拉拉邦</strong>14日晚发生重大踩踏事件，目前造成至少104人死亡。踩踏事件是在信众参加印度教庆祝活动后返回时发生的。印度总理<strong>辛格</strong>决定，为每位<strong>遇难</strong>者的家属提供10万卢比（1美元约合45卢比）的抚恤金，为每位伤者提供5万卢比的补偿金。\n</div>\n<a href=\"http://bjyouth.ynet.com/article.jsp?oid=76203872\">Read the original news item</a>\n[/one_half]\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\nA major stampede took place the night of [January] 14th in India\'s southwestern Kerala state, leaving at least 104 people dead. The trampling incident happened when a crowd participating in a Hindu festival left. Indian Prime Minister Singh is offering 100,000 rupees in compensation to the family members of each of the deceased (1 US Dollar is approximately 45 rupees), and 50,000 rupees in compensation to the injured.\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', '100 Killed in India Temple Stampede', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '279-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 07:18:18', '2020-04-20 11:18:18', '', 279, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/279-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1856, 1, '2013-06-17 03:19:59', '2013-06-17 07:19:59', '[two_third]\r\n\r\nThis very short husband and wife joke is courtesy of the March 2006 print issue of Youth Digest.  <!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe vocabulary here is intermediate, but the story contains quite a few beginner words and short sentences that you may enjoy puzzling out.\r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Interesting Vocabulary</h4>\r\n性感 - [pinyin]xing4 gan3[/pinyin] - Sexy\r\n期盼 -  [pinyin]qi1 pan4[/pinyin] - Look forward to, hope to expect\r\n袍 -  [pinyin]pao4[/pinyin] - Gown\r\n镂空 - [pinyin]lou4 kong4[/pinyin] - Lacy or mostly see-through. Lit: Pierced with holes\r\n睡褂 - [pinyin]shui4 gua4[/pinyin] - Sleep robe\r\n吓了一条 - [pinyin]xia4 le5 yi1 tiao2[/pinyin] - Be startled\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_third]\r\n\r\n<hr />[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n\r\n丈夫问我，40岁生日礼物想要什么东西，我告诉他想要一种能使我看上去更加<strong>性感</strong>和美丽的东西，也就是说，我心中<strong>期盼</strong>的是装有黑色丝<strong>袍</strong>和<strong>镂空睡褂</strong>的女内衣盒。 但是礼物送到时，我着实<strong>吓了一跳</strong>。 丈夫拖回家一直巨大笨重的包装箱，里面是一辆健身自行车。\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n\r\nMy husband asked me what I wanted for my 40th birthday. I told him that I wanted something that would make me look more sexy and beautiful. In other words, I was looking forward to getting some clothes, like a black silk gown and a lacy sleeping robe in a women\'s lingerie box. But when the gift arrived, I was startled. My husband dragged home a huge, heavy package, and inside was an exercise bike. \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Birthday Present', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '270-revision-v1', '', '', '2013-06-17 03:19:59', '2013-06-17 07:19:59', '', 270, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2013/06/17/270-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1857, 1, '2011-01-15 23:55:03', '2011-01-16 04:55:03', '[two_third]\r\n\r\nUnlike most Chinese poetry, which requires about 7 billion years of specialized study to understand (and which I won\'t even attempt without a translation handy), this poem, originally found in the online version of Youth Digest magazine, is fairly short, only mildly abstract, and extremely melancholy. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n\r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Interesting Vocabulary</h4>\r\n逆风 - [pinyin]ni4 feng1[/pinyin] - Against the wind\r\n脸庞 - [pinyin]lian3 pang2[/pinyin] - Face\r\n跳跃 - [pinyin]tiao4 yue4[/pinyin] - Leap, skip\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_third]\r\n\r\n<hr />[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n\r\n不知从何时起 喜欢逆风行走 感受花瓣吹向脸庞\r\n仿佛那是白的、黄的、粉的蝴蝶在空中跳跃\r\n不知从何时起 喜欢逆风奔跑 望着风筝越飞越高\r\n仿佛自己的梦想在空中自由飞翔\r\n\r\n \r\n小时候 是坐在父亲高大的自行车横档 感受他的怀抱\r\n后来 坐在他身后 叽叽喳喳地讲着一天的新鲜事儿\r\n现在 是坐在他的斜后边 静静地看着他的各种动作\r\n越来越远 是的 越来越远\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.qnwz.cn/hi/xinqingriji/200801/01-82803.html\">See the original poem</a> [/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n\r\nI don\'t know when it started  &nbsp; I like to walk against the wind  &nbsp; feel the petals blowing against my face<br />\r\nThey\'re like white, yellow and pink butterflies skipping in the air<br />\r\nI don\'t know when it started &nbsp; I like to run against the wind &nbsp; gazing at the kites getting farther away as they go higher<br />\r\nThey\'re like my own dreams flying in the air\r\n\r\nWhen I was small &nbsp; I sat on the handles of my father\'s tall bicycle  &nbsp; and felt his embrace<br />\r\nLater, I sat behind him &nbsp; and chattered on about the things that had happened that day<br />\r\nNow, I sit on the slope behind him &nbsp; quietly watching him go about his day<br />\r\nFarther and farther away &nbsp; truly &nbsp; farther and farther away.\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'The House Behind Me', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '236-revision-v1', '', '', '2011-01-15 23:55:03', '2011-01-16 04:55:03', '', 236, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/01/15/236-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1860, 1, '2011-01-15 23:49:00', '2011-01-16 04:49:00', '[two_third]\r\n\r\nGotta love dream dictionaries - this online Chinese dream interpretation site categorizes dream meanings based on symbolism. This page addresses what it means when someone dreams about a temple (寺庙 - [pinyin]si4 miao4[/pinyin]).<!--more-->\r\n\r\nThough some of the language is undoutedly advanced, the sentence structure is super short and repetitive, so I\'m classifying this as intermediate an intermediate read.\r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Interesting Vocabulary</h4>\r\n宇 - [pinyin]yu3[/pinyin] - Room, hall\r\n四分五裂 - [pinyin]si4 fen1 wu3 lie4[/pinyin] - Splinter, be disharmonious\r\n化为泡影 - [pinyin]hua4 wei2 pao4 ying3[/pinyin] - To become nothing [lit: to become a soap bubble]\r\n胎儿 - [pinyin]tai1 er2[/pinyin] - Unborn child\r\n亏损 - [pinyin]kui1 sun3[/pinyin] - Deficit, loss\r\n降 - [pinyin]xiang2[/pinyin] - Surrender\r\n吉兆 - [pinyin]ji2 zhao4[/pinyin] - Lucky omen\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_third]\r\n\r\n<hr />[one_half]\r\n\r\n女人梦见庙<strong>宇</strong> —— 丈夫家的人会<strong>四分五裂</strong>。\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n\r\n病人梦见寺庙 —— 病情会加重。\r\n\r\n梦见进入寺庙 —— 一切努力都会<strong>化为泡影</strong>。\r\n\r\n孕妇梦见进入庙宇 —— <strong>胎儿</strong>会有问题。\r\n\r\n商人梦见进入寺庙 —— 生意会大<strong>亏损</strong>。\r\n\r\n梦见别人进了寺庙 —— 一切困难都会过去。\r\n\r\n梦见妻子进了庙宇 —— 夫妻生活和谐、幸福。\r\n\r\n梦见敌人跨入庙门 —— 自己能<strong>降</strong>服敌人，渡过难关。\r\n\r\n梦见自己坐在庙宇里 —— 这是成功或成亲的<strong>吉兆</strong>。\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.51jiemeng.com/building/temple.html\">See the source</a>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n\r\nA woman dreams about a temple hall: Her husband\'s family will splinter into disharmony.\r\n\r\nA sick person dreams about a temple: The patient\'s condition will become more serious.\r\n\r\nYou dream of entering a temple: All of your hard work will come to nothing.\r\n\r\nA pregnant woman dreams of entering a temple: There will be a problem with the baby.\r\n\r\nA businessperson dreams of entering a temple: The business will suffer a great loss.\r\n\r\nYou dream of another person entering a temple: All of your troubles will pass.\r\n\r\nYou dream of a wife entering a temple: The couple will live in harmony and prosperity.\r\n\r\nYou dream of your enemy stepping into a temple door: If you surrender to your enemy, you can ride out the storm.\r\n\r\nYou dream of yourself sitting inside a temple hall: This is an omen that you will succeed or get married.\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Apparently, Dreaming about Temples is Usually Bad', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '168-revision-v1', '', '', '2011-01-15 23:49:00', '2011-01-16 04:49:00', '', 168, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/01/15/168-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1865, 1, '2011-01-15 23:35:08', '2011-01-16 04:35:08', '[two_third]\r\n\r\nSinopec, one of China\'s leading oil conglomerates, is currently running an ad targeted at a younger Chinese market on the China Youth Daily home page. <!--more-->The ad encourages young adults to check out Sinopec\'s Flash-animated history of oil, completed with the requisite cartoon oil-drop mascot named \"You Di\" (a homophone for \"oil drop\"). Using typically expansive language, the lead-in introduces the mascot and the theme of the presentation.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.sinopecgroup.com/ydydgs/Pages/default.aspx\">See the original page</a>\r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Interesting Vocabulary</h4>\r\n滴 - [pinyin]di1[/pinyin] - Droplet, drop\r\n微不足道 - [pinyin]wei1 bu4 zu2 dao4[/pinyin] - Insignificant\r\n小看 - [pinyin]xiao3 kan4[/pinyin] - Look down on, underestimate\r\n演化 - [pinyin]yan3 hua4[/pinyin] - Evolution\r\n工序 - [pinyin]gong1 xu4[/pinyin] - Process\r\n汽油柴油 - [pinyin]qi4 you2[/pinyin] - Petrol / gasoline\r\n柴油 - [pinyin]chai2 you2[/pinyin] - Diesel\r\n运转 - [pinyin]yun4 zhuan3[/pinyin] - To work / operate\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_third]\r\n\r\n<hr />[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">一<strong>滴</strong>油，也许大家觉得<strong>微不足道</strong>，滴在地上只是一个小小的油印，装在车里，车也走不了几米。但大家不要<strong>小看</strong>这小小的一滴油，他的年纪可真不小，他可是经历了上亿年的<strong>演化</strong>，经过数千道各种<strong>工序</strong>才能从最初的生物变成现在用在汽车和各种机器上的<strong>汽油柴油</strong>。下面我们来讲讲这一滴油的故事，我们给这一滴油起一个名字，就叫做“油迪”吧。因为石油真的是地球留给我们人类的最最宝贵的财富。我们现在的工业社会，都是建立在石油工业的基础之上的，如果没有了石油，我们的机器无法<strong>运转</strong>，汽车无法开动，很多日常用品也没有办法生产，就连肥皂和洗衣服这些基本日常用品，都是石油工业的产品。</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n\r\nEveryone might think that a single drop of oil is insignificant. A drop on the ground is just a tiny oily smear, and if you put it in a car, the car couldn\'t even go a few meters. But we shouldn\'t underestimate this little drop of oil. It\'s very old, and it\'s experienced hundreds of millions of years of evolution, having passed through many thousands of various processes before finally, from the very first animals, becoming the substance we use today in cars, and the petrol and deisel we use in various machines. After this, we\'ll take a look at the story of this drop of oil, and we\'ll give him a name - how about we call him \"You Di\". Because oil truly is the most precious treasure the earth has given us. Our industrial society was built on the foundation of the oil industry. If we didn\'t have oil, our machines wouldn\'t work, our cars wouldn\'t start, and we\'d have no way to produce many everyday necessities, even basic things like soap and washing clothes, all these are products of the oil industry.\r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Sinopec Introduction to the History of Oil', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '53-revision-v1', '', '', '2011-01-15 23:35:08', '2011-01-16 04:35:08', '', 53, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/01/15/53-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1867, 1, '2020-04-20 07:33:28', '2020-04-20 11:33:28', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\nThis is the full translation of an article that was in the headlines of the post <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/12/03/interesting-headlines-series-2/\">Interesting Headlines: Series 2</a>. <!--more-->\n\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/20120107-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Advanced Chinese News Reading Practice - Advanced Chinese Newspaper Vocabulary\" title=\"Advanced Chinese News Reading Practice - Advanced Chinese Newspaper Vocabulary\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />This news story covers a new government initiative to help protect women from sexual harassment by providing special women-only taxis in the capital city Kuala Lumpur. \n\nHere, as usual, we see the two news words that you see in just about every article, 据 [pinyin]ju4[/pinyin], meaning \"according to\", as in \"According to reports...\", and also 称 [pinyin]cheng1[/pinyin], meaning \"to state\", as in \"Our sources state...\" or \"The Prime Minister stated today that...\". I know I keep harping on 称 every time the word comes up in a news post, but I can\'t stress strongly enough how often you\'ll see this word in the newspaper - it\'s in just about every article, and once you know what it means, news reading becomes that much clearer. This is news-specific language, so you\'ll also hear radio and TV news anchors say it a lot, but you won\'t often see or hear it elsewhere. \n\n[/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>马来西亚推出50辆女性专用出租车 大受欢迎</h4>\n在<strong>马来西亚</strong>，女性常常成为抢劫、<strong>性骚扰</strong>和其他暴力行为的受害者。<strong>据</strong>法国媒体11月30日报道，为了更好地保护女性免受暴力侵害，马来西亚首都吉隆坡上周末推出了50辆只搭载女性的“女性出租车”。\n\n这些车的<strong>挡风玻璃</strong>顶端标有“女性出租车”字样，司机也是女性。与<strong>吉隆坡</strong>几家出租公司合作发起该项目的马来西亚<strong>妇女、家庭和社会发展部</strong>称，希望将“女性出租车”数量增加到400辆左右。\n\n此举受到了当地女性的热烈欢迎。“这<strong>项</strong><strong>举措</strong>当然很好，我们乘车时会感到更加安全。”26岁的办公室文员纳西尔说。不过，有的女司机担心男性乘客会因此流失；也有人<strong>担忧</strong>“女性出租车”的标志可能会使驾驶这种出租车的女司机成为<strong>袭击</strong>目标。\n\n马来西亚此前还曾推出粉红色女性专用火车车厢、只载女乘客的女性专用公交车，以免女性受到性骚扰等伤害。除了马来西亚，墨西哥、<strong>埃及</strong>、<strong>伊朗</strong>等国都曾推出女性专用出租车。\n</div>\n[/su_column]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\nIn Malaysia, women often become the victims of robberies, sexual harassment and other violent acts. According to a November 30 French media report, in order to better protect women from violence, last weekend the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur released 50 \"women\'s taxis\" which will only transport women.  \n\nThe top of the windshields of these taxis show a sign reading \"women\'s taxi\", and the drivers are also women. the project is a cooperation between several of Kuala Lumpur\'s taxi companies and the project initiator, Malaysia\'s Department of Women, Family and Community Development, who said that they hope to increase the number of \"women\'s taxi\'s\" to 400.   \n\nThis has received a warm welcome from the local women. \"This act is of course very good, we can feel safer getting into a taxi,\" said 26-year-old office worker Na Xi Er (proper name). However, some female taxi drivers worry about the loss of male customers, and some people are concerned that because of what the \"women\'s only taxis\" symbolize, the female drivers will become the target of attacks.\n\nBefore this, Malaysia has already released pink women-only train carriages, as well as buses that only carry women, in order to [help women] avoid suffering harm from sexual harassment. Besides Malaysia, Mexico, Egypt, Iran and other countries have already unveiled women-only taxis. \n[/hide-this-part]\n[/su_column]\n[/su_row]</div>', 'News: Malaysia Unveils Special Taxis for Women Only to Warm Welcome', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '976-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 07:33:28', '2020-04-20 11:33:28', '', 976, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/976-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1870, 1, '2014-02-05 05:21:12', '2014-02-05 10:21:12', '[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]', 'The History of the Pencil', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1466-revision-v1', '', '', '2014-02-05 05:21:12', '2014-02-05 10:21:12', '', 1466, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2014/02/05/1466-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1871, 1, '2013-01-02 22:03:50', '2013-01-03 03:03:50', '[two_third]\r\nI\'ve been idly looking at moving to a new apartment lately (looks like I won\'t be moving after all - a good thing, too, because I like my current place), and I typically use the Chinese property search sites instead of the foreign ones. The prices are about 4 times as high on the English sites made for foreigners, and the properties they offer there are often aimed at high-rolling executives. It helps quite a bit to be able to browse the Chinese listings, so I\'m doing a few here. This is solidly advanced stuff. Local place names abound, so you have to be able to at least guess when something is or isn\'t a proper noun, and because we\'re working with real estate classifieds, a few words are shortened to save space or the formal version is used to sound professional.<!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/20120917-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Mandarin Chinese Reading: How and Where to Find an Apartment in Beijing\" title=\"Learn to Read Chinese: Real Estate Classifieds and Apartment Hunting in Beijing\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />One thing to bear in mind if you\'re actually looking for an apartment in China is that quite a few of the pictures are fake, are from other houses in the same compound, or if you\'re dealing with an agency, you should know that most places online have been rented already, but the agencies have left the ads up in hopes you\'ll call them anyway and they can show you something else. \r\n\r\nYou really do have to go hunt around in person in China, but online apartment hunting can give you a few valuable pieces of info: what types of apartments are available in which areas (only old buildings? skyrises? hutong-houses?), which complexes are newer and have nicer amenities, and what apartments in a particular area usually go for. \r\n\r\nHere are three of the best and most popular Beijing real estate websites, if you want to practice on your own:\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://bj.58.com/zufang/\">bj.58.com/zufang/</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://beijing.anjuke.com\">beijing.anjuke.com</a>\r\n<a href=\"http://zu.soufun.com/\">zu.soufun.com/</a>\r\n\r\nI\'m going to list and translate a few different Beijing listings here, but I won\'t link to the original listings as I imagine they\'ll come down fairly fast, so I\'ll just show a couple of photos. You can visit the links above for similar stuff. I\'m taking some examples from a little spectrum: one crappy (and very very typical) older apartment near Beijing, a cheaper and nicer apartment in the distant suburbs of Beijing, a high-rolling super luxury apartment city-center, and a traditional-style siheyuan home. \r\n\r\nYou\'ll see a lot of similarities between real estate and property listings in Beijing or anywhere, but a couple of major points of local flavor: \r\n\r\n押一付三　- This indicates how rent is paid. In Beijing, rent is not paid monthly. It can either be paid every three months, every six months, or you can pay the whole year in advance. This indicates rent is to be paid every 3 months (付三), which is by far the most common way to pay, and that a one-month deposit will be required (押一).\r\n\r\n朝向南北 - Man, the Chinese sure do care which way their apartment faces. People here will flat-out turn down an east/west facing place if they can afford to. The best apartments, apparently, face south / north, so you get sun all day, but it\'s not blasting in your windows. Less ideal is when a place faces east / west - and people here care SO MUCH about this, that you can get a cheaper place if you don\'t care that it faces east/west (though for haggling purposes, you\'re better off pretending you do care). This is why the direction is front and center. \r\n \r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\r\n享受 - [pinyin]xiang3 shou4[/pinyin] - To live it up\r\n户型 - [pinyin]hu4 xing2[/pinyin] - Type of house\r\n住宅 - [pinyin]zhu4 zhai2[/pinyin] - Residence (usually apartment)\r\n所属 - [pinyin]suo3 shu3[/pinyin] - Belonging to, comprising\r\n环岛 - [pinyin]huan2 dao3[/pinyin] - Traffic roundabout\r\n城铁 - [pinyin]cheng2 tie3[/pinyin] - High speed rail\r\n巡查 - [pinyin]xun2 cha2[/pinyin] - To patrol\r\n周边 - [pinyin]zhou1 bian1[/pinyin] - Nearby\r\n入住 - [pinyin]ru4 zhu4[/pinyin] - To move in [to a house]\r\n宽带 - [pinyin]kuan1 dai4[/pinyin] - Broadband\r\n豪华 - [pinyin]hao2 hua2[/pinyin] - Luxurious\r\n装修 - [pinyin]zhuang1 xiu1[/pinyin] - Interior decor\r\n平房 - [pinyin]ping2 fang2[/pinyin] - Buangalow (separate house)\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_third]\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\"><img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/1a-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"1a\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" class=\"imgborder\" />\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/1b-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"1b\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" class=\"imgborder\" />\r\n\r\nTitle: 超低的价格 美好的<strong>享受</strong> 就在京通苑 ,3室精装修 \r\n租金价格： 3200 元/月 　押一付三　 \r\n房屋<strong>户型</strong>： 3室1厅1卫　108㎡\r\n房屋情况： 普通<strong>住宅</strong>   精装修　朝向南北　\r\n<strong>所属</strong>楼层： 6层/6层\r\n所在区域： 朝阳 - 管庄 - 京通苑\r\n所在地址： 朝阳路杨闸<strong>环岛</strong>西北角 （交通地图）\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/2b-300x224.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"2b\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" class=\"imgborder\" />\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/2c-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"2c\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" class=\"imgborder\" />\r\nTitle: 《眼见为实》果园<strong>城铁</strong>低价出租翠屏里两居 首次出租 \r\n租金价格： 2900 元/月 　押一付三　 \r\n房屋户型： 2室2厅1卫　89㎡\r\n房屋情况： 普通住宅   简单装修　朝向东西　\r\n所属楼层： 2层/6层\r\n所在区域： 通州 - 果园 - 翠屏里\r\n所在地址： 通州区果园环岛南700米\r\n1.小区位于果园城铁站南侧，绿化面积达50%，有24小时保安<strong>巡查</strong>。\r\n2.<strong>周边</strong>配套设施齐全，有苏荷时代购物广场、物美大卖场，北机菜市场。\r\n3.出门就是果园城铁站，周边还有多路公交车站可直达大北窑。\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/3a-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"3a\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" class=\"imgborder\" />\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/3b-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"3b\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" class=\"imgborder\" />\r\nTitle:拎包<strong>入住</strong>北京星河湾3期全新地暖房欧式豪装4居、品味高贵生活环境\r\n租 金：43000元/月 (押一付三)\r\n面积 ：353㎡\r\n户型： 3室2厅4卫\r\n装修： 豪华装修\r\n楼层： 23/33\r\n朝向： 南北\r\n入住： 随时\r\n建筑年代： 2009年\r\n楼盘：星河湾  朝阳\r\n配置： 电话，热水器，空调，冰箱，洗衣机，床，家具， 微波炉，厨具\r\n设施： 水，电，煤气/天然气，暖气，有线电视，<strong>宽带</strong>\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/4a-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"4a\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" class=\"imgborder\" />\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/4b-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"4b\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" class=\"imgborder\" />\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/4c-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"4c\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" class=\"imgborder\" />\r\nTitle: 什刹海前海四合院 2室2厅110平米 <strong>豪华</strong><strong>装修 </strong>\r\n租金价格： 11000 元/月 　押一付三　 \r\n房屋户型： 2室2厅1卫　110㎡\r\n房屋情况： <strong>平房</strong>   豪华装修　朝向南　\r\n所属楼层： 1层/2层\r\n所在区域： 西城 - 什刹海 - 前海四合院\r\n所在地址： 前海银锭桥附近\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/1a-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"1a\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" class=\"imgborder\" />\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/1b-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"1b\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" class=\"imgborder\" />\r\nTitle: Super Low Price - Wonderful Lifestyle - Located at JingTongYuan, Three Beds Nice Decor  \r\nRental Price: 3200 RMB / Month   Paid in 3-month increments 　\r\nRooms: 3 beds, 1 living room, 1 bath, 108 square meters \r\nHome type: Standard residence, nice decor, facing south / north \r\nWhich floor [in the building]: Floor 6 of 6 \r\nDistrict / location: Chaoyang - Guanzhuang - JingTongYuan\r\nAddress: ChaoYang Raod, YangZha Roundabout, Northwest Corner (transportation map [link]) \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/2b-300x224.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"2b\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" class=\"imgborder\" />\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/2c-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"2c\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" class=\"imgborder\" />\r\nTitle: \"Seeing is Believing\" GuoYuan Rail Station - Low price Rental in Cui Ping Li - Two-Bedroom - First come, first serve \r\nRental Price: 2900 RMB / Month  Pay 3 months at a time   \r\nRooms: 2 beds, 2 living rooms, 1 bath, 89 square meters \r\nHome type: Standard residence, simple decor, facing east / west \r\nFloor: Floor 2 of 6 \r\nDistrict / location: TongZhou - GuoYuan - CuiPingLi \r\nAddress: TongZhou District, 700 meters south frmo the GuoYuan Roundabout\r\n1. The apartment block is located on the south side of GuoYuan rail station, the area\'s 50% greenery, and there are guards on patrol 24-hours \r\n2. [You\'ll have] a complete set of amenities nearby: there\'s SuHe ShiDai Shopping Mall, WuMei Retail Store, and BeiJi Food Market \r\n3. GuoYuan rail station is right outside the door, and close by there are also many bus stations with non-stop service to DaBeiYao.  \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/3a-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"3a\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" class=\"imgborder\" />\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/3b-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"3b\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" class=\"imgborder\" />\r\nTitle: Move in with just your handbag - Beijing\'s XingHeWan Block 3, Completely New Warm Home in European Style with Stunning Decor - 4 bedrooms, experience [lit: taste] a grand living environment\r\nRental price: 43000 RMB / month (pay in 3 month increments)\r\nArea: 353 square meters \r\nRooms: 3 beds, 2 living rooms, 4 baths \r\nDecor: Luxurious Interior Decor\r\nFloor: Floor 23 of 33\r\nDirection: South / North \r\nWhen you can move in: anytime \r\nBuilt in: 2009\r\nProperty: XingHeWan (Star River Bay), ChaoYang \r\nIncludes: Phone, water heater, air conditioning, fridge, washing machine, bed, furniture, microwave, kitchen implements\r\nInstalled: Water, electricity, coal / natural gas, heating, landline, broadband \r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/4a-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"4a\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" class=\"imgborder\" />\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/4b-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"4b\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" class=\"imgborder\" />\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/4c-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"4c\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" class=\"imgborder\" />\r\nTitle: ShiChaHai QianHai Courtyard House, 2 beds 2 living rooms 110 square meters, Luxurious Decor\r\nRental Price: 11000 RMB / month  Pay in 3 month increments 　 \r\nRooms: 2 beds, 2 living rooms, 1 bath, 110 square meters \r\nHome type: Bungalow, luxurious decor, facing south\r\nFloor: Floor 1 of 2 \r\nLocation: XiCheng - ShiChaHai - QianHai Courtyard \r\nAddress: In Qianhai near YinDing Bridge\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Understanding Chinese Apartment Rental Listings', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1254-revision-v1', '', '', '2013-01-02 22:03:50', '2013-01-03 03:03:50', '', 1254, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2013/01/02/1254-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1872, 1, '2012-08-13 01:39:42', '2012-08-13 05:39:42', '[two_third]\r\nThis is an upper-beginner or low-intermediate level text. It\'s good for beginner readers in the sense that a) it\'s short, and b) it\'s extremely repetitive - if you can puzzle out the first two or three sentences, the rest should be clear. To get you going, it might be worth noting there that the protagonist is a small blade of (or lump of, or field of - it\'s never really defined) grass named \"YinYin\" (小草银银), who keeps asking one particular favor of each season. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/20120615-INLINE.jpg\" alt=\"Simplified Chinese Literacy: Easy Passages in Chinese for Beginners\" title=\"Simplified Chinese Literacy: Easy Passages in Chinese for Beginners\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />The seasons are personified as ladies - for example, \"The Lady of Spring\" (春姑娘) and \"the Lady of Summer\" (夏姑娘), etc. \r\n\r\nThere\'s so much metaphor going on in this I\'m not sure where to start. You could choose to interpret this as a statement about aging, about changing seasons, go nuts. \r\n\r\nAnd on a personal note, not 100% sure I\'m happy with the conclusion that\'s drawn here, considering I dye my hair all the time, but what the hell. \r\n\r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\r\n春天  - [pinyin]chun1 tian1[/pinyin] - springtime\r\n染 - [pinyin]ran3[/pinyin] - dye\r\n青色 - [pinyin]qing1 se4[/pinyin] - A blue, green or blue-green the Chinese consider the \"color of nature\"\r\n伤心 - [pinyin]shang1 xin1[/pinyin] - Broken-hearted\r\n夏天 - [pinyin]xia4 tian1[/pinyin] - Summer\r\n深绿 - [pinyin]shen1 lv4[/pinyin] - Dark green\r\n秋天 - [pinyin]qiu1 tian1[/pinyin] - Autumn\r\n金黄 - [pinyin]jin1 huang2[/pinyin] - Golden yellow\r\n冬天 - [pinyin]dong1 tian1[/pinyin] -  Winter\r\n后悔 - [pinyin]hou4 hui3[/pinyin] - Regret\r\n可不要 - [pinyin]ke3 bu4 yao4[/pinyin] - Won\'t [you] be...(ex. sad?)\r\n忽然 - [pinyin]hu1 ran2[/pinyin] - Suddenly\r\n掉下来 - [pinyin]diao4 xia4 lai2[/pinyin] - fall, drop down\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_third]\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n小草银银喜欢银色。\r\n　　<strong>春天</strong>，小草银银让春姑娘把她的头发<strong>染</strong>成银色。春姑娘说：“对不起，银银，我只能把你的头发染成<strong>青色</strong>”。银银非常<strong>伤心</strong>。\r\n　　<strong>夏天</strong>小草银银让夏姑娘把她的头发染成银色。夏姑娘说：“对不起，银银，我只能把你的头发染成<strong>深绿</strong>色”。银银非常伤心。\r\n　　<strong>秋天</strong>小草银银让秋姑娘把她的头发染成银色。秋姑娘说：“对不起，银银，我只能把你的头发染成金黄色”。银银非常伤心。\r\n　　<strong>冬天</strong>小草银银让冬姑娘把她的头发染成银色。冬姑娘说：“好啊，不过你<strong>可不要</strong><strong>后悔</strong>呦”？银银说：“不会的，有了那么漂亮的头发我高兴还来不及呢”！\r\n　　就这样银银的头发变成了银色。<strong>忽然</strong>，银银的头发<strong>掉下来</strong>了，这是怎么回事呢？原来，头发染多了是会伤害身体的。这下银银真的后悔了。\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nThe little grass YinYin liked the color silver. \r\n　　In spring time, little grass Yinyin asked the Lady of Spring to dye her hair silver. The Lady of Spring said: \"I\'m sorry, YinYin, I can only dye your hair blue/green [see explanation]. YinYin was very broken-hearted. \r\n\r\nIn summer time, little grass YinYin asked the Lady of Summer to dye her hair silver. The lady of summer said, \"I\'m sorry, YinYin, I can only dye your hair green!\" YinYin was very broken-hearted. \r\n\r\nIn autumn, little grass YinYin asked the Lady of Autumn to dye her hair silver. The Lady of Autumn said: \"I\'m sorry, YinYin, I can only dye your hair golden yellow.\" YinYin was very broken-hearted.\r\n\r\nIn winter, little grass YinYin asked the Lady of Winter to dye her hair silver. The Lady of Winter said, \"Okay, but won\'t you regret it?\" YinYin said, \"I won\'t, if I had hair that beautiful I couldn\'t be happier!\" And so YinYin\'s hair turned silver. Suddenly, YinYin\'s hair fell out - how could this be? Of course, if you dye your hair too often, it\'s not good for you. And after this YinYin was indeed regretful. \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Little Grass\' Silver Hair', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1123-revision-v1', '', '', '2012-08-13 01:39:42', '2012-08-13 05:39:42', '', 1123, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2012/08/13/1123-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(1873, 1, '2011-06-06 16:18:13', '2011-06-06 20:18:13', '[two_third]\r\n\r\nI\'ve found some cool Chinese movie review sites, so the next few posts will probably focus there. This one is a very short blurb introducing the plot of the new comic book movie Thor. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/20110507-inline.jpg\" alt=\"\" title=\"20110507-inline\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" class=\"imgborder alignleft\" />The <a href=\"http://movie.douban.com/subject/1866471/\">original summary</a> was taken from the movie section of Chinese web portal Douban. \r\n\r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\r\n剧情 - [pinyin]ju4 qing2[/pinyin] - Plot, storyline\r\n掌控- [pinyin]zhang3 kong4[/pinyin] - Control\r\n点燃 - [pinyin]dian3 ran2[/pinyin] - To ignite\r\n战火 - [pinyin]zhan4 huo3[/pinyin] - Conflagration, fires of war\r\n恶势力 - [pinyin]e4 shi4 li5[/pinyin] - Evil forces\r\n重任 - [pinyin]zhong4 ren4[/pinyin] - Heavy responsibility\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_third]\r\n\r\n<hr />[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\">\r\n<strong>剧情简介:</strong>\r\n《雷神托尔》讲述了北欧神话中<strong>掌控</strong>着暴风和闪电的雷神因<strong>点燃</strong>了古代战争的<strong>战火</strong>，被发配到地球生活。然而地球却遭到了<strong>恶势力</strong>派来的阿斯加德（Asgard）王国黑暗力量的入侵，雷神肩负保护地球的<strong>重任</strong>，在这里他学会了如何成为一个真正的英雄。\r\n</div>\r\n\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\n\r\n\"Thunder God Thor\" gives an account of the god from Northern European mythology who controls storms and lightning, who ignited the flames of an ancient war, and [because of this] was banished to live on Earth. But when Earth suffers as evil forces invade the kingdom of Asgard, Thor shoulders the heavy responsibility of protecting Earth, and in doing so learns how to be a real hero. \r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]\r\n', 'Introduction to the Movie Thor', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '657-revision-v1', '', '', '2011-06-06 16:18:13', '2011-06-06 20:18:13', '', 657, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/06/06/657-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1874, 1, '2011-05-07 17:40:54', '2011-05-07 21:40:54', '[two_third]\r\n\r\nA little late for a post about Tron, but hey. This synopses covers the movie Tron: Legacy, released around Christmas last year. <!--more-->\r\n\r\n<img class=\"imgborder alignleft\" title=\"Practice Reading Advanced Chinese: Tron Legacy Movie Overview\" src=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/20110510-inline.jpg\" alt=\"Practice Reading Advanced Chinese: Tron Legacy Movie Overview\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" /> Giant nerd that I am, I was super excited about Tron coming out, so this post is kind of a way for me to relive that in Chinese. Enjoy.\r\n\r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\r\n辉煌 - [pinyin]hui1 huang2[/pinyin] - Glorious\r\n继承 - [pinyin]ji4 cheng2[/pinyin] - Inherit, carry on\r\n冒险 - [pinyin]mao4 xian3[/pinyin] - Adventurous, risk-taking\r\n荒废 - [pinyin]huang1 fei4[/pinyin] - Abandoned\r\n探查 - [pinyin]tan4 cha2[/pinyin] - Nose around, investigate\r\n虚拟世界 - [pinyin]xu1 ni3 shi4 jie4[/pinyin] - Virtual reality, web-based fantasy world\r\n争霸 - [pinyin]zheng1 ba4[/pinyin] - Power struggle\r\n\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_third]\r\n\r\n<hr />\r\n\r\n[one_half]\r\n<div id=\"chinesetext\"><strong>剧情简介:</strong>\r\n20世纪80年代，电子软体天才凯文·弗林（杰夫·布里吉斯 Jeff Bridges 饰）创建了英康公司，将人类带入一个全新的时代。可是在<strong>辉煌</strong>的时代开创不久后，凯文神秘失踪。在此之后，凯文年幼的儿子萨姆（加内特·赫德兰 Garrett Hedlund 饰）<strong>继承</strong>了父亲的位置，实际工作则由其他工作人员主持。萨姆天资聪颖，充满<strong>冒险</strong>精神，经常给英康的高层们惹来麻烦。这一天，他得知一间<strong>荒废</strong>已久的工作室内竟传来父亲的讯息。萨姆前去<strong>探查</strong>，结果竟进入一个全数字化的虚拟世界。这个世界的掌控者克鲁（杰夫·布里吉斯 Jeff Bridges 饰）与父亲有着同样的容貌，却野心勃勃，邪恶无比。萨姆被迫卷入一场充满阴谋的电子<strong>争霸</strong>战中……\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nIn the 80\'s (of the 20th century), electronic software genius Kevin Flyin (played by Jeff Bridges) founded ENCOM, which would lead humanity into a brand new age. But not long after this glorious new age began, Kevin mysteriously disappeared. After that, Kevin\'s young son Sam (played by Garret Hedlund) inherited his father\'s position, but actually the company is run by other employees. Sam is talented, smart and full of adventurous spirit, often causing trouble for the higher-ups at ENCOM. One day, he hears of an abandoned work room via a message which was surprisingly sent from his father. Sam goes to nose around, and is transported into a digital virtual reality world. The world\'s master (played by Jeff Bridges) looks just like his father, but is ambitious and wicked. Sam is drawn into the middle of a war full of plotting and electronic power struggles...\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]\r\n\r\n', 'Tron Legacy Movie Synopsis', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '667-revision-v1', '', '', '2011-05-07 17:40:54', '2011-05-07 21:40:54', '', 667, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2011/05/07/667-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1875, 1, '2020-04-20 07:51:43', '2020-04-20 11:51:43', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\nThis not-too-dirty-but-not-really-clean joke comes from a great blog on the Sina blog network, the Chinese equivalent of Blogger. The joke is about a woman whose new parrot can\'t seem to stop saying one particular come hither phrase. The phrase so embarasses the woman that she tries to take action, but her plan doesn\'t quite work out the way she wanted. \r\n\r\nI had a bit of trouble translating the phrase 近朱者赤, which appears to mean \"If you stand next to something red, you\'ll become red yourself.\" This idiom isn\'t in the dictionary, but I believe it means that people are influenced by the things in their environment. \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>两只鹦鹉</h4>\r\n\r\n话说某位女士一时兴起，买了一只母<strong>鹦鹉</strong>。没想到带回家里，它说的第一句话就是: “想跟我<strong>上床</strong>吗？”\r\n\r\n女士一听，心想: 坏了，外人还以为这话是我教的呢，这不把我的<strong>淑女</strong>形象全给毁了。于是她想尽办法，想教那只鹦鹉说些<strong>高雅</strong>的东西，可是那只母鹦鹉算是铁了心了，只会说一句话: “想跟我上床吗？”\r\n\r\n　　…… 怎么办呢？在那位女士失去主张的时候，听说<strong>神父</strong>那儿也养了一只鹦鹉（公的），而且那只鹦鹉，不但不讲<strong>粗话</strong>，反而是个虔诚的教徒，每天大部分时间里都在<strong>祷告</strong>。于是那位女士去找神父求助。神父明白她的来意之后，面色微难的说:“这个，很难办呀，其实那只鹦鹉，也并没有刻意的教它什么，它之所以这么虔诚，也可能是长期在此受熏陶的缘故吧。”\r\n\r\n神父见女士很失落，便说道: “这样吧，你把那只鹦鹉带到我这里来，我把它们放在一起。希望经过一段时间，你那只鹦鹉能够被<strong>感化</strong>。我只能做这些了，有没有效果，就看神的旨意了……”\r\n\r\n女士一听，也只能这样了，不是有句话叫: <strong>近朱者赤</strong>吗？试试吧。于是她把鹦鹉带到神父那里。神父依照诺言把两只鹦鹉放在了一起。开始母鹦鹉还有些拘谨，看那只公鹦鹉在笼子的一角，默默的祷告，还真不忍心打扰。可是她还是管不住自己，终于朗声说道:“想跟我上床吗？“\r\n\r\n公鹦鹉听到这话，停止了祷告，转身看了看母鹦鹉，忽然泪如雨下: “感谢上帝，我祷告这么多年的愿望终于<strong>实现</strong>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\nThere once was a woman who bought a female parrot. But little did she know, when she brought the parrot home she found it could only say one sentence: \"Will you sleep with me?\"\r\n\r\nAs soon as the woman heard this, she thought: \"Oh no! If anyone else hears the parrot speak they\'ll think I taught the parrot to say that, it\'ll destroy my reputation as a virtuous woman.\" By way of a solution, she thought maybe she could teach the parrot to say something dainty instead, but it seemed the parrot had a heart of iron, it would only say one thing, \"Will you sleep with me?\"　\r\n\r\nWhat was she to do? Just when she had about given up, she heard of a priest who also owned a parrot (a male one), and moreover his parrot not only didn\'t say vulgar things, it was actually a devout disciple; it spent most of its time in prayer. So the women went to see the priest. When the priest understood the woman\'s reason for coming, he said a little sadly, \"This is a hard problem to solve. In actual fact, I didn\'t teach my parrot anything, maybe the reason it\'s like that is because it\'s spent a long time in this [church] environment.\"　　\r\n\r\nThe priest saw the woman\'s disappointment, so he said, \"How about this: bring your parrot here to me, I\'ll put it with my own. We can hope that after a little while, your parrot will be correctively influenced by mine. This is all I can do, whether it will work or not is up to God...\"　\r\n\r\nThe woman listened [to his suggestions], and [also thought] that this was her only option, after all, isn\'t there a saying: \"Proximity to red will turn you red\"? She figured she might as well try it. So the woman brought her parrot to the priest. The priest honored his promise and put the two birds together. At first, the female parrot was a little cautious, seeing the male bird over in one corner of the cage, silently praying, she didn\'t have the heart to disturb him. But [after a while] she couldn\'t help herself, and finaly said, \"Will you sleep with me?\"\r\n\r\nThe male parrot heard her say this, stopped praying, turned around and looked at her, and suddenly with tears streaming down its face said, \"Thank you God, the thing I\'ve prayed for all of these long years has finally happened...\" \r\n\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n', 'The Two Parrots', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '519-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 07:51:43', '2020-04-20 11:51:43', '', 519, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/519-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1876, 1, '2013-01-06 06:34:07', '2013-01-06 11:34:07', '[two_third]\r\nYou know you need a KTV song! Beijing, Beijing is a slow ballad sung by Chinese artist 汪峰 [pinyin]wang1 feng1[/pinyin] and was in the <a href=\"http://music.baidu.com/top/new\">Baidu Top 100</a> top 10 for a bit this year. Now it looks like it\'s fallen between the 30th and 40th place on various music charts, but it\'s still pretty popular, particularly in, you know, Beijing. If you can find it in yourself to embrace the painful 80\'s growly I-mean-it man voice and the \"Streets of Philadelphia\" emo-dad thing, you may find that the song is a good karaoke song if you\'re just starting out because it\'s repetitive, it\'s not abstract, it\'s sung slowly enough to sing along and it\'s so emotionally over-fraught that it\'s fun. \r\n\r\n<iframe height=498 width=510 frameborder=0 src=\"http://player.youku.com/embed/XMjA5NzgwNTky\" allowfullscreen></iframe>\r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\nI recommend you read and translate the lyrics before you listen to the song, so you\'ve got an idea of what you\'re hearing. \r\n\r\nA few translation notes: it\'s not always clear exactly how to translate song lyrics. Example: 寻找着追逐着奄奄一息的碎梦 is not an easy lyric to translate. Or rather, it\'s super easy to get the gist of the meaning (searching, chasing, dying, broken dreams... you get the idea), but put an \"of\" in the wrong place and the meaning changes to something slightly different. I\'ve done my best, feel free to re-write or re-interpret those in a different way. \r\n[/two_third]\r\n[one_third last=last]\r\n<div class=\"postintro\">\r\n<h4>Click to Listen</h4>\r\n平静 - [pinyin]ping2 jing4[/pinyin] - Tranquil\r\n轰鸣 - [pinyin]hong1 ming2[/pinyin] - Rumble\r\n烛骨 - [pinyin]zhu2 gu3[/pinyin] - wick (of a candle)\r\n哭泣 - [pinyin]ku1 qi4[/pinyin] - Weep\r\n祈祷 - [pinyin]qi2 dao3[/pinyin] - Pray\r\n迷惘 - [pinyin]mi2 wang3[/pinyin] - Pray\r\n霓虹灯 - [pinyin]ni2 hong2 deng1[/pinyin] - Neon lights\r\n挣扎 - [pinyin]zheng1 zha2[/pinyin] - Struggle\r\n奄奄一息 - [pinyin]yan3 yan3 yi1 xi1[/pinyin] - Last gasp\r\n眷恋 - [pinyin]juan4 lian4[/pinyin] - To long for\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当我走在这里的每一条街道 \r\n我的心似乎从来都不能<strong>平静</strong> 　　\r\n除了发动机的<strong>轰鸣</strong>和电器之音 　　\r\n我似乎听到了他<strong>烛骨</strong>般的心跳 　　\r\n我在这里欢笑 　　\r\n我在这里<strong>哭泣</strong> 　　\r\n我在这里活着 　　\r\n也在这死去 　　\r\n我在这里<strong>祈祷</strong> 　　\r\n我在这里<strong>迷惘</strong> 　　\r\n我在这里寻找 　　\r\n也在这儿失去 　　\r\n北京 北京 　　\r\n\r\n咖啡馆与广场有三个街区 　　\r\n就像<strong>霓虹灯</strong>到月亮的距离 　　\r\n人们在<strong>挣扎</strong>中相互告慰和拥抱 　　\r\n寻找着追逐着<strong>奄奄一息</strong>的碎梦 　　\r\n我们在这欢笑 　　\r\n我们在这哭泣 　　\r\n我们在这活着 　　\r\n也在这死去 　　\r\n我们在这祈祷 　　\r\n我们在这迷惘 　　\r\n我们在这寻找 　　\r\n也在这儿失去 　　\r\n北京 北京 　\r\n　\r\n如果有一天我不得不离去 　　\r\n我希望人们把我埋在这里 　　\r\n在这儿我能感觉到我的存在 　　\r\n在这儿有太多让我<strong>眷恋</strong>的东西 　　\r\n我在这里欢笑 　　\r\n我在这里哭泣 　　\r\n我在这里活着 　　\r\n也在这儿死去 　　\r\n我在这里祈祷 　　\r\n我在这里迷惘 　　\r\n我在这里寻找 　　\r\n也在这儿失去 　　\r\n北京 北京\r\n</div>\r\n[/one_half]\r\n\r\n[one_half last=last][hide-this-part morelink=\"SHOW ENGLISH TRANSLATION\"]\r\nWhen I walk the streets here\r\nIt seems like my heart can never be serene\r\nBeyond the rumble of engines and sounds of electronics\r\nI seem to hear its candlewick heartbeat\r\nThis is where I laugh happily\r\nThis is where I weep\r\nThis is where I live\r\nAnd this is where I\'ll die\r\nThis is where I pray\r\nThis is where I\'m confused\r\nThis is where I search\r\nAnd also where I lose\r\nBeijing, Beijing 　　\r\n\r\nThe three blocks between the coffee shop and the plaza\r\nSeem like the distance between the neon lights and the moon 　　\r\nPeople comfort and embrace each other as they struggle together\r\nSearching for, chasing after, the last gasp of broken dreams\r\nThis is where we laugh happily\r\nThis is where we cry bitterly \r\nThis is where we live\r\nAnd this is where we\'ll die\r\nThis is where we pray\r\nThis is where we\'re confused\r\nThis is where we search\r\nAnd also where we lose\r\nBeijing, Beijing 　　　\r\n\r\n　\r\nIf someday I have no choice but to leave\r\nI hope people bury me here\r\nHere I can sense my existence \r\nHere there are too many things I yearn for\r\nThis is where I laugh happily\r\nThis is where I cry bitterly \r\nThis is where I live\r\nAnd this is where I die\r\nThis is where I pray\r\nThis is where I\'m confused\r\nThis is where I search\r\nAnd also where I lose\r\nBeijing, Beijing 　　\r\n[/hide-this-part][/one_half]', 'Song Lyrics: Beijing Beijing by Wang Feng', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1295-revision-v1', '', '', '2013-01-06 06:34:07', '2013-01-06 11:34:07', '', 1295, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2013/01/06/1295-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1882, 1, '2020-04-19 10:33:37', '2020-04-19 14:33:37', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n<p style=\"padding:25px; margin-bottom: 20px; font-style: italic; background-color:#ffeaee;\">In the <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/tag/novels/\">Novels</a> series, I get you started reading the first few paragraphs of classic Chinese fiction. If you like the beginning, you can <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2Y239oT\">buy the book</a> and keep reading.</p> \r\n<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Hua\">Yu Hua</a> (余华) is for sure my favorite author of Chinese modern lit. He writes the lives of ordinary village people, and like pretty much all great Chinese village-based fiction from the 20th century, the stories are full of vulgar realism, as you will soon see. But Yu Hua\'s work is also tinged with bittersweetness, and for anyone with an HSK 5-6 vocabulary, his novels are surprisingly approachable. \r\n\r\nI\'m posting an excerpt from the first chapter of Yu Hua\'s novel <em>To Live</em> 《活着》, which is one of his most well-known works, and a classic of modern literature. Normally I\'d like to start at the beginning, but the first few paragraphs of Chapter One are told from the viewpoint of a narrator who comes to a small village to collect folksongs and stories from the locals. In a field there he meets an old man - the protagonist of the novel - who recounts his life for remainder of the book, and we don\'t really hear from the narrator again in any meaningful way. So, I\'ll skip the narrator\'s intro, and I\'ll be starting from where the old man begins to tell his tale.\r\n\r\n<h3>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThis novel begins while feudalism was breathing its last gasp in China, before the country sank into decades of war and upheaval, so some of the words use are things that no longer exist, like 佃户 [pinyin]dian4 hu4[/pinyin], which is a tenant farmer on a lord\'s land, and 私塾 [pinyin]si1 shu2[/pinyin], a classical style private school where one master would be paid to instruct usually a small group of students. \r\n\r\nA couple of the sentences are also a little rough:\r\n\r\n“好好听着，爹给你念一段。”: The protagonist says this to his schoolmaster. On the surface, it looks like it means \"Listen well, your father is going to read aloud.\" But 爹 in this case doesn\'t really mean \"father\", it\'s being used as an insult. A child is saying it to an elder gentleman, which is extremely disrespectful, so you could better translate this as something like, \"Listen up, your better is going to read to you.\" The point is that the protagonist is being a sassy little jerk. \r\n\r\n朽木不可雕也: This is an old-school idiom, it comes from the <em><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analects\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Analects</a></em> of Confucius. Literally, it means \"you can\'t carve rotten wood\". Practically, it means that some people are just hopeless and can\'t be taught anything, and is an excellent burn for any occasion. \r\n \r\n我是徐家仅有的一根香火: Again, double-meaning here. Literally: \"I was the Xu family\'s only stick of incense.\" Actual meaning: \"I was the Xu family\'s only son.\"\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>《活着》第一章</h4>\r\n<em>这位老人后来和我一起坐在了那棵茂盛的树下，在那个充满阳光的下午，他向我讲述了自己。</em>\r\n\r\n四十多年前，我爹常在这里走来走去，他穿着一身黑颜色的绸衣，总是把双手背在身后，他出门时常对我娘说：\r\n\r\n“我到自己的地上去走走。”\r\n\r\n我爹走在自己的田产上，干活的佃户见了，都要双手握住锄头恭敬地叫一声：\r\n\r\n“老爷。”\r\n\r\n我爹走到了城里，城里人见了都叫他先生。我爹是很有身份的人，可他拉屎时就像个穷人了。他不爱在屋里床边的马桶上拉屎，跟牲畜似的喜欢到野地里去拉屎。每天到了傍晚的时候，我爹打着饱嗝，那声响和青蛙叫唤差不多，走出屋去，慢吞吞地朝村口的粪缸走去。\r\n\r\n走到了粪缸旁，他嫌缸沿脏，就抬脚踩上去蹲在上面。我爹年纪大了，屎也跟着老了，出来不容易，那时候我们全家人都会听到他在村口嗷嗷叫着。\r\n\r\n几十年来我爹一直这样拉屎，到了六十多岁还能在粪缸上一蹲就是半晌，那两条腿就和鸟爪一样有劲。我爹喜欢看着天色慢慢黑下来，罩住他的田地。我女儿凤霞到了三、四岁，常跑到村口去看她爷爷拉屎，我爹毕竟年纪大了，蹲在粪缸上腿有些哆嗦，凤霞就问他：\r\n\r\n“爷爷，你为什么动呀？”\r\n\r\n我爹说：“是风吹的。”\r\n\r\n那时候我们家境还没有败落，我们徐家有一百多亩地，从这里一直到那边工厂的烟囱，都是我家的。我爹和我，是远近闻名的阔老爷和阔少爷，我们走路时鞋子的声响，都像是铜钱碰来撞去的。我女人家珍，是城里米行老板的女儿，她也是有钱人家出生的。有钱人嫁给有钱人，就是把钱堆起来，钱在钱上面哗哗地流，这样的声音我有四十年没有听到了。\r\n\r\n我是我们徐家的败家子，用我爹的话说，我是他的孽子。\r\n\r\n我念过几年私塾，穿长衫的私塾先生叫我念一段书时，是我最高兴的。我站起来，拿着本线装的《千字文》，对私塾先生说：\r\n\r\n“好好听着，爹给你念一段。”\r\n\r\n年过花甲的私塾先生对我爹说：\r\n\r\n“你家少爷长大了准能当个二流子。”\r\n\r\n我从小就不可救药，这是我爹的话。私塾先生说我是朽木不可雕也。现在想想他们都说对了，当初我可不这么想，我想我有钱呵，我是徐家仅有的一根香火，我要是灭了，徐家就得断子绝孙。\r\n\r\n上私塾时我从来不走路，都是我家一个雇工背着我去，放学时他已经恭恭敬敬地弯腰蹲在那里了，我骑上去后拍拍雇工的脑袋，说一声：\r\n\r\n“长根，跑呀。”\r\n\r\n雇工长根就跑起来，我在上面一颠一颠的，像是一只在树梢上的麻雀。我说一声：\r\n\r\n“飞呀。”\r\n\r\n长根就一步一跳，做出一副飞的样子。\r\n\r\n我长大以后喜欢往城里跑，常常是十天半月不回家。我穿着白色的丝绸衣衫，头发抹得光滑透亮，往镜子前一站，我看到自己满脑袋的黑油漆，一副有钱人的样子。\r\n\r\n<a href=\"https://amzn.to/2Y239oT\" target=\"blank\" class=\"inline-link-button\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Buy it on Amazon</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<em>Later, this old man sat down with me beneath the verdant trees, and on that sunlit afternoon, he told me of himself.</em>\r\n\r\nForty-odd years ago, my father would often walk around out here, wearing a black silk robe, always with both hands behind his back, and whenever he went out he would say to my mother: \r\n\r\n\"I\'m going to walk around my place.\"\r\n\r\nMy father would walk on his estate, and when the tenant farmers saw him, they would hold their shovels still in between two hands and say respectfully: \r\n\r\n\"Master.\" \r\n\r\nWhenever my father walked into town, the townsfolk called him \"Mister\". My father was a personage of some repute, but when he moved his bowels, he did it like a poor man. He didn\'t like to relieve himself in the toilet by the bed, and preferred to shit in the wilds like a farm animal. Every evening, my father let out a belch, a sound like a croaking frog, and left the house, walking sluggishly towards the manure vat at the mouth of the village. \r\n\r\nHe\'d arrive at the manure vat, and finding the filth around its edges distasteful, he\'d go up on tiptoe and squat above it. My father was old, and his feces were as old as he was, they didn\'t come out easily, and everyone in the house could hear him grunting.  \r\n\r\nFor many years this is how my father moved his bowels, at 60 years old he could still squat over the manure pit for half the day, his two legs had the strength of a bird\'s claws. My father like to watch the sky slowly fade to black, covering his fields. When my daughter Feng Xia was three or four, she would often run to the mouth of the village to watch grandpa poop, after all my father was getting on in years, and as he was squatting there his legs would tremble a bit, and Feng Xia would ask: \r\n\r\n\"Grandpa, why are you moving?\" \r\n\r\nAnd my dad would say: \"It\'s the wind.\"  \r\n\r\nAt that time our family\'s situation hadn\'t yet deteriorated, the Xu\'s had 100-plus <em>mu</em> of land, from here all the way to that factory\'s smokestack, all of it was our family\'s. My dad and I, were famous near and far as the Rich Old Master and the Rich Young Master, when we walked on the road, the sound of our shoes was like the sound of copper cash striking. My wife Jia Zhen, was the daughter of a rice industry bigwig in town, she also came from a wealthy family. A wealthy woman marrying a wealthy man, money piled on money, swishing in a great stream, I haven\'t heard that sound in 40 years. \r\n\r\nI was the Xu family wastrel, or in my father\'s words, I was his unfilial son.\r\n\r\nI went to private school for a couple of years, and when the school master in his long silk gown called on me to read a passage aloud, that\'s when I was happiest. I would stand up, holding a string-bound copy of <em>Qianzi Wen</em>, and say to him:\r\n\r\n\"Listen up, your elder is going to read you a passage.\"   \r\n\r\nThe schoolmaster, who was over sixty, would say to my father:\r\n\r\n\"Your family\'s young master is going to be a loafer when he grows up.\" \r\n\r\nEver since I was little, I\'ve been incorrigable, that\'s what my father said. The schoolmaster said I was \"rotten wood that couldn\'t be carved\". Now that I think on it they were both right, but at the time I didn\'t think this was so, I thought I had money, I was the Xu family\'s only son, if something happened to me, the family would be without heirs.\r\n\r\nWhen I went to school I never walked, it was always our hired worker that carried me there on his back, and when I got off, he always respectfully crouched over there, and when I jumped on I patted his head and said: \r\n\r\n\"Run, Changgen!\"\r\n\r\nThe worker Changgen would run, and I would bounce along, like a sparrow sitting on a tree branch. I\'d say:\r\n\r\n\"Fly.\"\r\n\r\nAnd Changgun would walk one step and jump one step, and make as if he was flying. \r\n\r\nAfter I grew up I like to go into the city, and often wouldn\'t come back for 10 days or half a month. I\'d wear a white silk shirt, my hair sleek and shiny, standing in front of the mirror, I\'d see the black oil in my hair, the picture of a wealthy man.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Novels: Start Reading \"To Live\" 《活着》by Yu Hua', 'Yu Hua (余华) is for sure my favorite author of Chinese modern lit. He writes the lives of ordinary village people, and like pretty much all great Chinese village-based fiction from the 20th century, the stories are full of vulgar realism, as you will soon see. But Yu Hua\'s work is also tinged with bittersweetness, and for anyone with an HSK 5-6 vocabulary, his novels are surprisingly approachable.', 'publish', 'open', 'open', '', 'novels-start-reading-to-live-by-yu-hua', '', '', '2020-04-25 13:07:27', '2020-04-25 17:07:27', '', 0, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/?p=1882', 0, 'post', '', 2),
(2072, 1, '2020-04-28 19:15:47', '2020-04-28 23:15:47', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jia_Pingwa\">Jia Pingwa</a> (贾平凹) is one of China\'s modern literary greats, and in this short story, it shows. I don\'t know how this guy crammed so many insights on the human condition into a few paragraphs about a rock, but he undeniably did. \r\n\r\nI\'ve read one of Jia Pingwa\'s more recent works,《自在独行》<em>Walking Alone Freely</em>, which though pretty solid didn\'t blow me away, but I still haven\'t read his most famous novel, 《废都》 <em>Ruined City</em>, which was banned for 13 years in China due to sexual content.\r\n\r\nAnyway, I couldn\'t love this little story any more. In it, you\'ll sympathize with an inanimate object, wonder at the glory of the night sky, shake your head at your own small-mindedness, and wonder whether or not this constitutes satirical commentary on the art world or a jab at those who judge by appearances.\r\n\r\n<h4>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThe difficult language here mostly isn\'t grammatically difficult, it\'s just referencing stuff we don\'t see in daily life outside of China, so it\'s hard to imagine the scene, or it\'s colloquial Chinese that doesn\'t show up in the dictionary. \r\n\r\n<strong>想以它垒山墙</strong> - In paragraph two, the narrator is talking about ways the ugly rock was to be used, and he mentions that uncle \"wanted to use it to lay (垒) the gables (山墙)\". I had to look up pictures of 山墙-style gables to understand what they were talking about, because western gables don\'t require stone. <a href=\"http://image.baidu.com/search/index?tn=baiduimage&ps=1&ct=201326592&lm=-1&cl=2&nc=1&ie=utf-8&word=%E5%B1%B1%E5%A2%99&ie=utf-8\">Take a look</a>, makes a lot more sense if you do. \r\n\r\n<strong>洗一台石磨</strong> - Same kind of thing here: this says, \"to wash a millstone\". But \"washing a millstone\" doesn\'t make sense in context. Turns out 洗 in this case does not mean \"wash\". The process of making a millstone involves carving a pit out of rock and rinsing it off as you go. So, in the context of the story, this means \"to make a millstone\". \r\n\r\n<strong>我们这些做孩子的</strong> - Colloquial Chinese, meaning \"we kids\". \r\n\r\n<strong>每每到了十五的夜晚</strong> - Literally, \"Every time it reached the 15 night.\" Took me a sec to figure out what he meant by 十五, since he doesn\'t say 十五日， or 十五天, but in context, he\'s talking about the night of the full moon, so the \"15\" is in reference to the 15th of the month, or the middle of the month, around which time the full moon appears. \r\n\r\n<strong>丑得不能再丑的丑石</strong> - Also colloquial phrasing. Let\'s break this one down real quick:\r\n\r\n丑 - Ugly\r\n得 - To the point that\r\n不能 - Could not\r\n再 - Again\r\n丑的 - Ugly\r\n丑石 - Ugly rock. \r\n\r\nThat\'s a whole lot of ugly. This is equivalent to the English phrase \"An ugly rock so ugly that it couldn\'t be uglier.\" You can use this phrasing with many different descriptors. \"美不能再美\" = \"Couldn\'t be more beautiful\", or \"普通不能再普通\" = \"Couldn\'t be more ordinary\".\r\n\r\n<strong>以丑为美</strong> - This construction is little difficult because both 以 and 为 have so many meanings in Chinese. In this case 以 means \"on the basis of\", and 为 is \"to be\". In English, we\'d probably flip this around: \"To attain beauty through ugliness\", or \"To be beautiful because of one\'s ugliness\".\r\n\r\nIf you want more Jia Pingwa, you can pick up <em>Ruined City</em> in <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2W53bcV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chinese</a> or <a href=\"https://amzn.to/3aMNlZu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">English</a>. \r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.rain8.com/article/class4/201308/16709.htm\">Source 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>《丑石》</h4>\r\n\r\n我常常遗憾我家门前的那块丑石呢：它黑黝黝地卧在那里，牛似的模样；谁也不知道是什么时候留在这里的，谁也不去理会它。只是麦收时节，门前摊了麦子，奶奶总是要说：这块丑石，多碍地面哟，多时把它搬走吧。\r\n\r\n于是，伯父家盖房，<span class=\"highlightText\">想以它垒山墙</span>，但苦于它极不规则，没棱角儿，也没平面儿；用錾破开吧，又懒得花那么大气力，因为河滩并不甚远，随便去掮一块回来，哪一块也比它强。房盖起来，压铺台阶，伯父也没有看上它。有一年，来了一个石匠，为我家<span class=\"highlightText\">洗一台石磨</span>，奶奶又说：用这块丑石吧，省得从远处搬动。石匠看了看，摇着头，嫌它石质太细，不太采用。\r\n\r\n它不像汉白玉那样的细腻，可以凿下刻字雕花，也不像大青石那样的光滑，可以供来浣纱捶布；它静静地卧在那里，院边的槐荫没有庇覆它，花儿也不再在它身边生长。荒草便繁衍出来，枝蔓上下，慢慢地，竟锈上了绿苔、黑斑。我们这些做孩子的，也讨厌起它来，曾合伙要搬走它，但力气又不足；虽时时咒骂它，嫌弃它，也无可奈何，只好任它留在那里去了。\r\n\r\n稍稍能安慰我们的，是在那石上有一个不大不小的坑凹儿，雨天就盛满了水。常常雨过三天了，地上已经干燥，那石凹里水儿还有，鸡儿便去那里渴饮。<span class=\"highlightText\">每每到了十五的夜晚</span>，我们盼着满月出来，就爬到其上，翘望天边；奶奶总是要骂的，害怕我们摔下来。果然那一次就摔了下来，磕破了我的膝盖呢。\r\n\r\n人都骂它是丑石，它真是<span class=\"highlightText\">丑得不能再丑的丑石</span>了。\r\n\r\n终有一日，村子里来了一个天文学家。他在我家门前路过，突然发现了这块石头，眼光立即就拉直了。他再没有走去，就住了下来；以后又来了好些人，说这是一块陨石，从天上落下来已经有二三百年了，是一件了不起的东西。不久便来了车，小心翼翼地将它运走了。\r\n\r\n这使我们都很惊奇！这又怪又丑的石头，原来是天上的呢！它补过天，在天上发过热，闪过光，我们的先祖或许仰望过它，它给了他们光明，向往，憧憬；而它落下来了，在污土里，荒草里，一躺就是几百年了？！\r\n\r\n奶奶说：“真看不出！它那么不一般，却怎么连墙也垒不成，台阶也垒不成呢？”\r\n\r\n “它是太丑了。”天文学家说。\r\n\r\n“真的，是太丑了。”\r\n\r\n“可这正是它的美!”天文学家说，“它是<span class=\"highlightText\">以丑为美</span>的。”\r\n\r\n“以丑为美？”\r\n\r\n“是的，丑到极处，便是美到极处。正因为它不是一般的顽石，当然不能去做墙，做台阶，不能去雕刻，捶布。它不是做这些玩意儿的，所以常常就遭到一般世俗的讥讽。”\r\n\r\n奶奶脸红了，我也脸红了。\r\n\r\n我感到自己的可耻，也感到了丑石的伟大；我甚至怨恨它这么多年竟会默默地忍受着这一切，而我又立即深深地感到它那种不屈于误解的寂寞的生存的伟大。\r\n\r\n<h6>Buy on Amazon</h6>\r\n<em>Ruined City</em> in <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2W53bcV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chinese</a> or <a href=\"https://amzn.to/3aMNlZu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">English</a>. \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\nI often think regretfully of that ugly rock outside the door of our home: it lay there darkly, looking like a cow; no one knew when it had been left there, and no one paid it any attention. It was only in harvest season, when wheat was spread before the door, that grandma would always say: That ugly rock, takes up all the [space on the] ground, we should move it before long. \r\n\r\nAnd so, [when] my uncle was building a house [there], he wanted to use it to lay the gables, but was troubled that it was uneven, it had no edges and corners, and wasn\'t flat; he [could have] used a chisel to break it open, but was too lazy to expend that much effort, because the riverbank wasn\'t far away, he could carry a rock back from there on his shoulders, and any one of [those rocks by the river] were better than it. [Once] the house was built, [uncle was] laying the stairs, and [for this] also didn\'t see it as [suitable]. One year, a stonemason came to fashion a millstone for our family, and grandma said again: How about you use that ugly rock, save [yourself the effort] of bringing one from far away. The stonemason gave it a lookover, shook his head, disliking the smooth quality of the stone, which wasn\'t of much use. \r\n\r\nIt wasn\'t fine like marble, which could be engraved with letters and flowers, and it wasn\'t as smooth as limestone, which could be used to wash cloth, it lay there silently, the shade of the scholartrees didn\'t cover it, and flowers wouldn\'t grow at its side. Weeds [sprouted] out in profusion, branches and tendrils all over, and slowly, it rusted over with green moss and black stripes. We kids also began to hate it, and we once banded together to move it away, but we weren\'t strong enough; so sometimes we would curse it, or avoid it, but we had no choice, we had to allow it to stay there.  \r\n\r\nWhat comforted us a little was that the top of the rock had a pit in it neither large nor small, which would fill up with water on a rainy day. Often three days after a rain had passed, the ground was already dry, but the pit in that rock still had water in it, and the birds would go there to drink. Whenever it reached the middle night of the month, we would watch the full moon come out, and climb on top of it, to gaze up at the sky; grandma always yelled [at us], afraid we would fall off. Naturally it happened, and I smashed open my knee.\r\n\r\nEveryone cursed it as an ugly rock, an ugly rock so ugly it couldn\'t be uglier. \r\n\r\nFinally one day, an astronomer came to the village. He passed in front of our house, and suddenly saw this stone, and his gaze was immediately drawn to it. he didn\'t keep walking, but stopped there; later many more people arrived, saying this was a meteorite, which had fallen from the sky and had already been here for two or three hundred years, that it was a praiseworthy thing. Soon a car came, and carefully took it away. \r\n\r\nThis shocked us all! As it turned out, this strange and ugly rock was from the heavens! It had mended the sky [NOTE: A reference to a mythological story in which a goddess uses molten rocks to mend a tear in the sky], it had burned in the firmament, had sparkled with light, our ancestors may have looked upon it, it had given them radiance, hope, yearning; but it fell here, in the filth, in the weeds, and lay there several hundred years?!  \r\n\r\nGrandma said: \"You couldn\'t tell by looking at it! So unique, yet it couldn\'t brace a gable, or be used to make stairs?\" \r\n\r\n\"It\'s too ugly,\" the astronomer said. \r\n\r\n\"Yes, too ugly.\" \r\n\r\n\"But this is its beauty!\" the astronomer said, \"It\'s beauty comes from its ugliness.\" \r\n\r\n\"Beauty from ugliness?\" \r\n\r\n\"Yes, when ugliness reaches its extreme, it also reaches the extreme of beauty. Precisely because it isn\'t average stone, of course it can\'t [be used to] make a wall, or [be used to] make stairs, and can\'t be carved or wash cloth. It\'s not made to do those things, so it often suffers common ridicule.\"\r\n\r\nGrandma\'s face reddened, my face reddened also. \r\n\r\nI felt my own humiliation, and felt the rock\'s greatness. I even resented it for silently enduring everything for years, and I deeply felt the greatness of its lonely existence unbent for having been misunderstood. \r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Essay: 《丑石》The Ugly Rock by Jia Pingwa', 'Jia Pingwa (贾平凹) is one of China\'s modern literary greats, and in this short story, it shows. I don\'t know how this guy crammed so many insights on the human condition into a few paragraphs about a rock, but he undeniably did. ', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1983-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-28 19:15:47', '2020-04-28 23:15:47', '', 1983, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/28/1983-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1884, 1, '2020-04-20 08:50:38', '2020-04-20 12:50:38', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div style=\"background-color:#ffeaee; padding: 25px; font-style:italic; font-size: 0.9em; margin-bottom: 20px;\">In the <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/tag/novels/\">Novels</a> series, I get you started reading the first few paragraphs of classic Chinese fiction. If you like the beginning, you can buy the book and keep reading.</div>  \r\nMo Yan is a legendary novelist. My Chinese lit teacher said: sex, violence, and vulgarity. \r\n\r\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Sorghum_(novel)\r\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mo_Yan\r\nhttps://www.kanunu8.com/book3/8256/182711.html\r\nhttps://www.penguin.com/ajax/books/excerpt/9780140168549\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]', 'Novels: Start Reading \"Red Sorghum\" 《红高粱家族》', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1881-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 08:50:38', '2020-04-20 12:50:38', '', 1881, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/1881-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(1885, 1, '2020-04-20 08:52:40', '2020-04-20 12:52:40', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div style=\"background-color:#ffeaee; padding: 25px; font-style:italic; font-size: 0.9em; margin-bottom: 20px;\">In the <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/tag/novels/\">Novels</a> series, I get you started reading the first few paragraphs of classic Chinese fiction. If you like the beginning, you can buy the book and keep reading.</div>  \r\nMo Yan is a legendary novelist. My Chinese lit teacher said: sex, violence, and vulgarity. \r\n\r\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Sorghum_(novel)\r\nhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mo_Yan\r\nhttps://www.kanunu8.com/book3/8256/182711.html\r\nhttps://www.penguin.com/ajax/books/excerpt/9780140168549\r\nHere\'s Big Tits fat ass: https://www.kanunu8.com/book3/8255/182597.html\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]', 'Novels: Start Reading \"Red Sorghum\" 《红高粱家族》', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1881-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 08:52:40', '2020-04-20 12:52:40', '', 1881, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/1881-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1894, 1, '2020-04-20 10:55:39', '2020-04-20 14:55:39', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n<em>In the <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/tag/novels/\">Novels</a> series, I get you started reading the first few paragraphs of classic Chinese fiction. If you like the beginning, you can buy the book and keep reading.</em>  \r\n<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Hua\">Yu Hua</a> (余华) is for sure my favorite author of Chinese modern lit. He writes the lives of ordinary village people, and like pretty much all great Chinese village-based fiction from the 20th century, the stories are full of vulgar realism, as you will soon see. But Yu Hua\'s work is also tinged with bittersweetness, and for anyone with an HSK 5-6 vocabulary, his novels are surprisingly approachable. \r\n\r\nI\'m posting an excerpt from the first chapter of Yu Hua\'s novel <em>To Live</em> 《活着》, which is one of his most well-known works, and a classic of modern literature. Normally I\'d like to start at the beginning, but the first few paragraphs of Chapter One is told from the viewpoint of a narrator who comes to a small village to collect folksongs and stories from the locals. In a field there he meets an old man - the protagonist of the novel - who recounts his life for remainder of the book, and we don\'t really hear from the narrator again in any meaningful way. So, I\'ll skip the narrator\'s intro, and I\'ll be starting from where the old man begins to tell his tale.\r\n\r\n<h3>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThis novel begins while feudalism was breathing its last gasp in China, before the country sank into decades of war and upheaval, so some of the words use are things that no longer exist, like 佃户 [pinyin]dian4 hu4[/pinyin], which is a tenant farmer on a lord\'s land, and 私塾 [pinyin]si1 shu2[/pinyin], a classical style private school where one master would be paid to instruct usually a small group of students. \r\n\r\nA couple of the sentences are also a little rough:\r\n\r\n“好好听着，爹给你念一段。”: The protagonist says this to his schoolmaster. On the surface, it looks like it means \"Listen well, your father is going to read aloud.\" But 爹 in this case doesn\'t really mean \"father\", it\'s being used as an insult. A child is saying it to an elder gentleman, which is extremely disrespectful, so you could better translate this as something like, \"Listen up, your better is going to read to you.\" The point is that the protagonist is being a sassy little jerk. \r\n\r\n朽木不可雕也: This is an old-school idiom, it comes from the <em><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analects\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Analects</a></em> of Confucius. Literally, it means \"you can\'t carve rotten wood\". Practically, it means that some people are just hopeless and can\'t be taught anything, and is an excellent burn for any occasion. \r\n \r\n我是徐家仅有的一根香火: Again, double-meaning here. Literally: \"I was the Xu family\'s only stick of incense.\" Actual meaning: \"I was the Xu family\'s only son.\"\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>《活着》第一章</h4>\r\n<em>这位老人后来和我一起坐在了那棵茂盛的树下，在那个充满阳光的下午，他向我讲述了自己。</em>\r\n\r\n四十多年前，我爹常在这里走来走去，他穿着一身黑颜色的绸衣，总是把双手背在身后，他出门时常对我娘说：\r\n\r\n“我到自己的地上去走走。”\r\n\r\n我爹走在自己的田产上，干活的佃户见了，都要双手握住锄头恭敬地叫一声：\r\n\r\n“老爷。”\r\n\r\n我爹走到了城里，城里人见了都叫他先生。我爹是很有身份的人，可他拉屎时就像个穷人了。他不爱在屋里床边的马桶上拉屎，跟牲畜似的喜欢到野地里去拉屎。每天到了傍晚的时候，我爹打着饱嗝，那声响和青蛙叫唤差不多，走出屋去，慢吞吞地朝村口的粪缸走去。\r\n\r\n走到了粪缸旁，他嫌缸沿脏，就抬脚踩上去蹲在上面。我爹年纪大了，屎也跟着老了，出来不容易，那时候我们全家人都会听到他在村口嗷嗷叫着。\r\n\r\n几十年来我爹一直这样拉屎，到了六十多岁还能在粪缸上一蹲就是半晌，那两条腿就和鸟爪一样有劲。我爹喜欢看着天色慢慢黑下来，罩住他的田地。我女儿凤霞到了三、四岁，常跑到村口去看她爷爷拉屎，我爹毕竟年纪大了，蹲在粪缸上腿有些哆嗦，凤霞就问他：\r\n\r\n“爷爷，你为什么动呀？”\r\n\r\n我爹说：“是风吹的。”\r\n\r\n那时候我们家境还没有败落，我们徐家有一百多亩地，从这里一直到那边工厂的烟囱，都是我家的。我爹和我，是远近闻名的阔老爷和阔少爷，我们走路时鞋子的声响，都像是铜钱碰来撞去的。我女人家珍，是城里米行老板的女儿，她也是有钱人家出生的。有钱人嫁给有钱人，就是把钱堆起来，钱在钱上面哗哗地流，这样的声音我有四十年没有听到了。\r\n\r\n我是我们徐家的败家子，用我爹的话说，我是他的孽子。\r\n\r\n我念过几年私塾，穿长衫的私塾先生叫我念一段书时，是我最高兴的。我站起来，拿着本线装的《千字文》，对私塾先生说：\r\n\r\n“好好听着，爹给你念一段。”\r\n\r\n年过花甲的私塾先生对我爹说：\r\n\r\n“你家少爷长大了准能当个二流子。”\r\n\r\n我从小就不可救药，这是我爹的话。私塾先生说我是朽木不可雕也。现在想想他们都说对了，当初我可不这么想，我想我有钱呵，我是徐家仅有的一根香火，我要是灭了，徐家就得断子绝孙。\r\n\r\n上私塾时我从来不走路，都是我家一个雇工背着我去，放学时他已经恭恭敬敬地弯腰蹲在那里了，我骑上去后拍拍雇工的脑袋，说一声：\r\n\r\n“长根，跑呀。”\r\n\r\n雇工长根就跑起来，我在上面一颠一颠的，像是一只在树梢上的麻雀。我说一声：\r\n\r\n“飞呀。”\r\n\r\n长根就一步一跳，做出一副飞的样子。\r\n\r\n我长大以后喜欢往城里跑，常常是十天半月不回家。我穿着白色的丝绸衣衫，头发抹得光滑透亮，往镜子前一站，我看到自己满脑袋的黑油漆，一副有钱人的样子。\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\n<em>Later, this old man sat down with me beneath the verdant trees, and on that sunlit afternoon, he told me of himself.</em>\r\n\r\nForty-odd years ago, my father would often walk around out here, wearing a black silk robe, always with both hands behind his back, and whenever he went out he would say to my mother: \r\n\r\n\"I\'m going to walk around my place.\"\r\n\r\nMy father would walk on his estate, and when the tenant farmers saw him, they would hold their shovels still in between two hands and say respectfully: \r\n\r\n\"Master.\" \r\n\r\nWhenever my father walked into town, the townsfolk called him \"Mister\". My father was a personage of some repute, but when he moved his bowels, he did it like a poor man. He didn\'t like to relieve himself in the toilet by the bed, and preferred to shit in the wilds like a farm animal. Every evening, my father let out a belch, a sound like a croaking frog, and left the house, walking sluggishly towards the manure vat at the mouth of the village. \r\n\r\nHe\'d arrive at the manure vat, and finding the filth around its edges distasteful, he\'d go up on tiptoe and squat above it. My father was old, and his feces were as old as he was, they didn\'t come out easily, and everyone in the house could hear him grunting.  \r\n\r\nFor many years this is how my father moved his bowels, at 60 years old he could still squat over the manure pit for half the day, his two legs had the strength of a bird\'s claws. My father like to watch the sky slowly fade to black, covering his fields. When my daughter Feng Xia was three or four, she would often run to the mouth of the village to watch grandpa poop, after all my father was getting on in years, and as he was squatting there his legs would tremble a bit, and Feng Xia would ask: \r\n\r\n\"Grandpa, why are you moving?\" \r\n\r\nAnd my dad would say: \"It\'s the wind.\"  \r\n\r\nAt that time our family\'s situation hadn\'t yet deteriorated, the Xu\'s had 100-plus <em>mu</em> of land, from here all the way to that factory\'s smokestack, all of it was our family\'s. My dad and I, were famous near and far as the Rich Old Master and the Rich Young Master, when we walked on the road, the sound of our shoes was like the sound of copper cash striking. My wife Jia Zhen, was the daughter of a rice industry bigwig in town, she also came from a wealthy family. A wealthy woman marrying a wealthy man, money piled on money, swishing in a great stream, I haven\'t heard that sound in 40 years. \r\n\r\nI was the Xu family wastrel, or in my father\'s world, I was his unfilial son.\r\n\r\nI went to private school for a couple of years, and when the school master in his long silk gown called on me to read a passage aloud, that\'s when I was happiest. I would stand up, holding a string-bound copy of <em>Qianzi Wen</em>, and say to him:\r\n\r\n\"Listen up, your elder is going to read you a passage.\"   \r\n\r\nThe schoolmaster, who was over sixty, would say to my father:\r\n\r\n\"Your family\'s young master is going to be a loafer when he grows up.\" \r\n\r\nEver since I was little, I\'ve been incorrigable, that\'s what my father said. The schoolmaster said I was \"rotten wood that couldn\'t be carved\". Now that I think on it they were both right, but at the time I didn\'t think this was so, I thought I had money, I was the Xu family\'s only son, if something happened to me, the family would be without heirs.\r\n\r\nWhen I went to school I never walked, it was always our hired worker that carried me there on his back, and when I got off, he always respectfully crouched over there, and when I jumped on I patted his head and said: \r\n\r\n\"Run, Changgen!\"\r\n\r\nThe worker Changgen would run, and I would bounce along, like a sparrow sitting on a tree branch. I\'d say:\r\n\r\n\"Fly.\"\r\n\r\nAnd Changgun would walk one step and jump one step, and make as if he was flying. \r\n\r\nAfter I grew up I like to go into the city, and often wouldn\'t come back for 10 days or half a month. I\'d wear a white silk shirt, my hair sleek and shiny, standing in front of the mirror, I\'d see the black oil in my hair, the picture of a wealthy man.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Novels: Start Reading \"To Live\" 《活着》by Yu Hua', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1882-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 10:55:39', '2020-04-20 14:55:39', '', 1882, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/1882-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1889, 1, '2020-04-20 10:40:04', '2020-04-20 14:40:04', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div style=\"background-color:#ffeaee; padding: 25px; font-style:italic; font-size: 0.9em; margin-bottom: 20px;\">In the <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/tag/novels/\">Novels</a> series, I get you started reading the first few paragraphs of classic Chinese fiction. If you like the beginning, you can buy the book and keep reading.</div>  \r\n<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Hua\">Yu Hua</a> (余华) is for sure my favorite author of Chinese modern lit. He writes the lives of ordinary village people, and like pretty much all great Chinese village-based fiction from the 20th century, the stories are full of vulgar realism, as you will soon see. But Yu Hua\'s work is also tinged with bittersweetness, and for anyone with an HSK 5-6 vocabulary, his novels are surprisingly approachable. \r\n\r\nI\'m posting an excerpt from the first chapter of Yu Hua\'s novel <em>To Live</em> 《活着》, which is one of his most well-known works, and a classic of modern literature. Normally I\'d like to start at the beginning, but the first few paragraphs of Chapter One is told from the viewpoint of a narrator who comes to a small village to collect folksongs and stories from the locals. In a field there he meets an old man - the protagonist of the novel - who recounts his life for remainder of the book, and we don\'t really hear from the narrator again in any meaningful way. So, I\'ll skip the narrator\'s intro, and I\'ll be starting from where the old man begins to tell his tale.\r\n\r\n<h3>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThis novel begins while feudalism was breathing its last gasp in China, before the country sank into decades of war and upheaval, so some of the world that are used are things that no longer exist, like 佃户 [pinyin]dian4 hu4[/pinyin], which is a tenant farmer on a lord\'s land, and 私塾 [pinyin]si1 shu2[/pinyin], a classical style private school where one master would be paid to instruct usually a small group of students. \r\n\r\nA couple of the sentences are also a little rough:\r\n\r\n“好好听着，爹给你念一段。”: The protagonist says this to his schoolmaster. On the surface, it looks like it means \"Listen well, your father is going to read aloud.\" But 爹 in this case doesn\'t really mean \"father\", it\'s being used as an insult. A child is saying it to an elder gentleman, which is extremely disrespectful, so you could better translate this as something like, \"Listen up, your better is going to read to you.\" The point is that the protagonist is being a sassy little jerk. \r\n\r\n朽木不可雕也: This is an old-school idiom, it comes from the <em><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analects\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Analects</a> of Confucius. Literally, it means \"you can\'t carve rotten wood\". Practically, it means that some people are just hopeless and can\'t be taught anything, and is an excellent burn for any occasion. \r\n \r\n我是徐家仅有的一根香火: Again, double-meaning here. Literally: \"I was the Xu family\'s only stick of incense.\" Actual meaning: \"I was the Xu family\'s only son.\"\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>《活着》第一章</h4>\r\n<em>这位老人后来和我一起坐在了那棵茂盛的树下，在那个充满阳光的下午，他向我讲述了自己。</em>\r\n\r\n四十多年前，我爹常在这里走来走去，他穿着一身黑颜色的绸衣，总是把双手背在身后，他出门时常对我娘说：\r\n\r\n“我到自己的地上去走走。”\r\n\r\n我爹走在自己的田产上，干活的佃户见了，都要双手握住锄头恭敬地叫一声：\r\n\r\n“老爷。”\r\n\r\n我爹走到了城里，城里人见了都叫他先生。我爹是很有身份的人，可他拉屎时就像个穷人了。他不爱在屋里床边的马桶上拉屎，跟牲畜似的喜欢到野地里去拉屎。每天到了傍晚的时候，我爹打着饱嗝，那声响和青蛙叫唤差不多，走出屋去，慢吞吞地朝村口的粪缸走去。\r\n\r\n走到了粪缸旁，他嫌缸沿脏，就抬脚踩上去蹲在上面。我爹年纪大了，屎也跟着老了，出来不容易，那时候我们全家人都会听到他在村口嗷嗷叫着。\r\n\r\n几十年来我爹一直这样拉屎，到了六十多岁还能在粪缸上一蹲就是半晌，那两条腿就和鸟爪一样有劲。我爹喜欢看着天色慢慢黑下来，罩住他的田地。我女儿凤霞到了三、四岁，常跑到村口去看她爷爷拉屎，我爹毕竟年纪大了，蹲在粪缸上腿有些哆嗦，凤霞就问他：\r\n\r\n“爷爷，你为什么动呀？”\r\n\r\n我爹说：“是风吹的。”\r\n\r\n那时候我们家境还没有败落，我们徐家有一百多亩地，从这里一直到那边工厂的烟囱，都是我家的。我爹和我，是远近闻名的阔老爷和阔少爷，我们走路时鞋子的声响，都像是铜钱碰来撞去的。我女人家珍，是城里米行老板的女儿，她也是有钱人家出生的。有钱人嫁给有钱人，就是把钱堆起来，钱在钱上面哗哗地流，这样的声音我有四十年没有听到了。\r\n\r\n我是我们徐家的败家子，用我爹的话说，我是他的孽子。\r\n\r\n我念过几年私塾，穿长衫的私塾先生叫我念一段书时，是我最高兴的。我站起来，拿着本线装的《千字文》，对私塾先生说：\r\n\r\n“好好听着，爹给你念一段。”\r\n\r\n年过花甲的私塾先生对我爹说：\r\n\r\n“你家少爷长大了准能当个二流子。”\r\n\r\n我从小就不可救药，这是我爹的话。私塾先生说我是朽木不可雕也。现在想想他们都说对了，当初我可不这么想，我想我有钱呵，我是徐家仅有的一根香火，我要是灭了，徐家就得断子绝孙。\r\n\r\n上私塾时我从来不走路，都是我家一个雇工背着我去，放学时他已经恭恭敬敬地弯腰蹲在那里了，我骑上去后拍拍雇工的脑袋，说一声：\r\n\r\n“长根，跑呀。”\r\n\r\n雇工长根就跑起来，我在上面一颠一颠的，像是一只在树梢上的麻雀。我说一声：\r\n\r\n“飞呀。”\r\n\r\n长根就一步一跳，做出一副飞的样子。\r\n\r\n我长大以后喜欢往城里跑，常常是十天半月不回家。我穿着白色的丝绸衣衫，头发抹得光滑透亮，往镜子前一站，我看到自己满脑袋的黑油漆，一副有钱人的样子。\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\n<em>Later, this old man sat down with me beneath the verdant trees, and on that sunlit afternoon, he told me of himself.</em>\r\n\r\nForty-odd years ago, my father would often walk around out here, he would wear a black silk robe, always with both hands behind his back, and when he went out he would say to my mother: \r\n\r\n\"I\'m going to walk around my place.\"\r\n\r\nMy father would walk on his estate, and when the tenant farmers saw him, they would hold the shovels still in their two hands and say respectfully: \r\n\r\n\"Master.\" \r\n\r\nWhen my father walked into town, when the townsfolk saw him they called him \"Mister\". My father was a personage of some repute, but when he moved his bowels, he did it like a poor man. He didn\'t like to relieve himself in the toilet by the bed, and preferred to shit in the wilds like a farm animal. Every evening, my father let out a belch, a sound like a croaking frog, and left the house, walking sluggishly towards the manure vat at the mouth of the village. \r\n\r\nHe\'d arrive at the manure vat, and finding the filth around its edges distasteful, he\'d go up on tiptoe and squat above it. My father was too old, and his feces were as old as he was, they didn\'t come out easily, and everyone in the house could hear him grunting.  \r\n\r\nFor many years this is how my father moved his bowels, at 60 years old he could still squat over the manure pit for half the day, his two legs had the strength of a bird\'s claws. My father like to watch the sky slowly fade to black, covering his fields. When my daughter Feng Xia was three or four, she would often run to the mouth of the village to watch grandpa poop, after all my father was getting on in years, and as he was squatting there his legs would tremble a bit, and Feng Xia would ask: \r\n\r\n\"Grandpa, why are you moving?\" \r\n\r\nAnd my dad would say: \"It\'s the wind.\"  \r\n\r\nAt that time our family\'s situation hadn\'t yet deteriorated, the Xu\'s had 100-plus <em>mu</em> of land, from here all the way to that factory\'s smokestack, all of it was our family\'s. My dad and I, were famous near and far as the Rich Old Master and the Rich Young Master, when we walked on the road, the sound of our shoes was like the sound of copper cash striking. My wife Jia Zhen, was the daughter of a rice industry bigwig in town, she also came from a wealthy family. A wealthy woman marrying a wealthy man, money piled on money, swishing in a great stream, I haven\'t heard that sound in 40 years. \r\n\r\nI was the Xu family wastrel, or in my father\'s world, I was his unfilial son.\r\n\r\nI went to private school for a couple of years, and when the school master in his long silk gown called on me to read a passage aloud, that\'s when I was happiest. I would stand up, holding a string-bound copy of <em>Qianzi Wen</em>, and say to him:\r\n\r\n\"Listen up, your elder is going to read you a passage.\"   \r\n\r\nThe schoolmaster, who was over sixty, would say to my father:\r\n\r\n\"Your family\'s young master is going to be a loafer when he grows up.\" \r\n\r\nEver since I was little, I\'ve been incorrigable, that\'s what my father said. The schoolmaster said I was \"rotten wood that couldn\'t be carved\". Now that I think on it they were both right, but at the time I didn\'t think this was so, I thought I had money, I was the Xu family\'s only son, if something happened to me, the family would be without heirs.\r\n\r\nWhen I went to school I never walked, it was always our hired worker that carried me there on his back, and when I got off, he always respectfully crouched over there, and when I jumped on I patted his head and said: \r\n\r\n\"Run, Changgen!\"\r\n\r\nThe worker Changgen would run, and I would bounce along, like a sparrow sitting on a tree branch. I\'d say:\r\n\r\n\"Fly.\"\r\n\r\nAnd Changgun would walk one step and jump one step, and make as if he was flying. \r\n\r\nAfter I grew up I like to go into the city, and often wouldn\'t come back for 10 days or half a month. I\'d wear a white silk shirt, my hair sleek and shiny, standing in front of the mirror, I\'d see the black oil in my hair, the picture of a wealthy man.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Novels: Start Reading \"To Live\" 《活着》by Yu Hua', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1882-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 10:40:04', '2020-04-20 14:40:04', '', 1882, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/1882-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1886, 1, '2020-04-20 10:33:37', '2020-04-20 14:33:37', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div style=\"background-color:#ffeaee; padding: 25px; font-style:italic; font-size: 0.9em; margin-bottom: 20px;\">In the <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/tag/novels/\">Novels</a> series, I get you started reading the first few paragraphs of classic Chinese fiction. If you like the beginning, you can buy the book and keep reading.</div>  \r\n<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Hua\">Yu Hua</a> (余华) is for sure my favorite author of Chinese modern lit. He writes the lives of ordinary village people, and like pretty much all great Chinese village-based fiction from the 20th century, the stories sport some vulgar realism. But Yu Hua\'s work is also tinged with bittersweetness, and for anyone with an HSK 5-6 vocabulary, his novels are surprisingly approachable. \r\n\r\nI\'m posting an excerpt from the first chapter of Yu Hua\'s novel <em>To Live</em> 《活着》, which is one of his most well-known works, and a classic of modern literature. Normally I\'d like to start at the beginning, but the first few paragraphs of Chapter One is told from the viewpoint of a narrator who comes to a small village to collect folksongs and stories from the locals. In a field there he meets an old man - the protagonist of the novel - who recounts his life for remainder of the book, and we don\'t really hear from the narrator again in any meaningful way. So, I\'ll skip the narrator\'s intro, and I\'ll be starting from where the old man begins to tell his tale.\r\n\r\n<h3>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThis novel begins while feudalism was breathing its last gasp in China, before the country sank into decades of war and upheaval, so some of the world that are used are things that no longer exist, like 佃户 [pinyin][/pinyin], which is a tenant farmer on a lord\'s land, and 私塾 [pinyin][/pinyin], a classical style private school where one master would be paid to instruct usually a small group of students. \r\n\r\nA couple of the sentences are also a little rough:\r\n\r\n“好好听着，爹给你念一段。”: The protagonist says this to his schoolmaster. On the surface, it looks like it means \"Listen well, your father is going to read aloud.\" But 爹 in this case doesn\'t really mean \"father\", it\'s being used as an insult. A child is saying it to an elder gentleman, which is extremely disrespectful, so you could better translate this as something like, \"Listen up, your better is going to read to you.\" The point is that the protagonist is being a sassy little jerk. \r\n\r\n朽木不可雕也: This is an old-school idiom, it comes from the <em><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analects\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Analects</em> of Confucius. Literally, it means \"you can\'t carve rotten wood\". Practically, it means that some people are just hopeless and can\'t be taught anything, and is an excellent burn for any occasion. \r\n \r\n我是徐家仅有的一根香火: Again, double-meaning here. Literally: \"I was the Xu family\'s only stick of incense.\" Actual meaning: \"I was the Xu family\'s only son.\"\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>《活着》第一章</h4>\r\n<em>这位老人后来和我一起坐在了那棵茂盛的树下，在那个充满阳光的下午，他向我讲述了自己。</em>\r\n\r\n四十多年前，我爹常在这里走来走去，他穿着一身黑颜色的绸衣，总是把双手背在身后，他出门时常对我娘说：\r\n\r\n“我到自己的地上去走走。”\r\n\r\n我爹走在自己的田产上，干活的佃户见了，都要双手握住锄头恭敬地叫一声：\r\n\r\n“老爷。”\r\n\r\n我爹走到了城里，城里人见了都叫他先生。我爹是很有身份的人，可他拉屎时就像个穷人了。他不爱在屋里床边的马桶上拉屎，跟牲畜似的喜欢到野地里去拉屎。每天到了傍晚的时候，我爹打着饱嗝，那声响和青蛙叫唤差不多，走出屋去，慢吞吞地朝村口的粪缸走去。\r\n\r\n走到了粪缸旁，他嫌缸沿脏，就抬脚踩上去蹲在上面。我爹年纪大了，屎也跟着老了，出来不容易，那时候我们全家人都会听到他在村口嗷嗷叫着。\r\n\r\n几十年来我爹一直这样拉屎，到了六十多岁还能在粪缸上一蹲就是半晌，那两条腿就和鸟爪一样有劲。我爹喜欢看着天色慢慢黑下来，罩住他的田地。我女儿凤霞到了三、四岁，常跑到村口去看她爷爷拉屎，我爹毕竟年纪大了，蹲在粪缸上腿有些哆嗦，凤霞就问他：\r\n\r\n“爷爷，你为什么动呀？”\r\n\r\n    我爹说：“是风吹的。”\r\n\r\n    那时候我们家境还没有败落，我们徐家有一百多亩地，从这里一直到那边工厂的烟囱，都是我家的。我爹和我，是远近闻名的阔老爷和阔少爷，我们走路时鞋子的声响，都像是铜钱碰来撞去的。我女人家珍，是城里米行老板的女儿，她也是有钱人家出生的。有钱人嫁给有钱人，就是把钱堆起来，钱在钱上面哗哗地流，这样的声音我有四十年没有听到了。\r\n\r\n    我是我们徐家的败家子，用我爹的话说，我是他的孽子。\r\n\r\n    我念过几年私塾，穿长衫的私塾先生叫我念一段书时，是我最高兴的。我站起来，拿着本线装的《千字文》，对私塾先生说：\r\n\r\n    “好好听着，爹给你念一段。”\r\n\r\n    年过花甲的私塾先生对我爹说：\r\n\r\n    “你家少爷长大了准能当个二流子。”\r\n\r\n    我从小就不可救药，这是我爹的话。私塾先生说我是朽木不可雕也。现在想想他们都说对了，当初我可不这么想，我想我有钱呵，我是徐家仅有的一根香火，我要是灭了，徐家就得断子绝孙。\r\n\r\n    上私塾时我从来不走路，都是我家一个雇工背着我去，放学时他已经恭恭敬敬地弯腰蹲在那里了，我骑上去后拍拍雇工的脑袋，说一声：\r\n\r\n    “长根，跑呀。”\r\n\r\n    雇工长根就跑起来，我在上面一颠一颠的，像是一只在树梢上的麻雀。我说一声：\r\n\r\n    “飞呀。”\r\n\r\n    长根就一步一跳，做出一副飞的样子。\r\n\r\n    我长大以后喜欢往城里跑，常常是十天半月不回家。我穿着白色的丝绸衣衫，头发抹得光滑透亮，往镜子前一站，我看到自己满脑袋的黑油漆，一副有钱人的样子。\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\n<em>Later, this old man sat down with me beneath the verdant trees, and on that sunlit afternoon, he told me of himself.</em>\r\n\r\nForty-odd years ago, my father would often walk around out here, he would wear a black silk robe, always with both hands behind his back, and when he went out he would say to my mother: \r\n\r\n\"I\'m going to walk around my place.\"\r\n\r\nMy father would walk on his estate, and when the tenant farmers saw him, they would hold the shovels still in their two hands and say respectfully: \r\n\r\n\"Master.\" \r\n\r\nWhen my father walked into town, when the townsfolk saw him they called him \"Mister\". My father was a personage of some repute, but when he moved his bowels, he did it like a poor man. He didn\'t like to relieve himself in the toilet by the bed, and preferred to shit in the wilds like a farm animal. Every evening, my father let out a belch, a sound like a croaking frog, and left the house, walking sluggishly towards the manure vat at the mouth of the village. \r\n\r\nHe\'d arrive at the manure vat, and finding the filth around its edges distasteful, he\'d go up on tiptoe and squat above it. My father was too old, and his feces were as old as he was, they didn\'t come out easily, and everyone in the house could hear him grunting.  \r\n\r\nFor many years this is how my father moved his bowels, at 60 years old he could still squat over the manure pit for half the day, his two legs had the strength of a bird\'s claws. My father like to watch the sky slowly fade to black, covering his fields. When my daughter Feng Xia was three or four, she would often run to the mouth of the village to watch grandpa poop, after all my father was getting on in years, and as he was squatting there his legs would tremble a bit, and Feng Xia would ask: \r\n\r\n\"Grandpa, why are you moving?\" \r\n\r\nAnd my dad would say: \"It\'s the wind.\"  \r\n\r\nAt that time our family\'s situation hadn\'t yet deteriorated, the Xu\'s had 100-plus <em>mu</em> of land, from here all the way to that factory\'s smokestack, all of it was our family\'s. My dad and I, were famous near and far as the Rich Old Master and the Rich Young Master, when we walked on the road, the sound of our shoes was like the sound of copper cash striking. My wife Jia Zhen, was the daughter of a rice industry bigwig in town, she also came from a wealthy family. A wealthy woman marrying a wealthy man, money piled on money, swishing in a great stream, I haven\'t heard that sound in 40 years. \r\n\r\nI was the Xu family wastrel, or in my father\'s world, I was his unfilial son.\r\n\r\nI went to private school for a couple of years, and when the school master in his long silk gown called on me to read a passage aloud, that\'s when I was happiest. I would stand up, holding a string-bound copy of <em>Qianzi Wen</em>, and say to him:\r\n\r\n\"Listen up, your elder is going to read you a passage.\"   \r\n\r\nThe schoolmaster, who was over sixty, would say to my father:\r\n\r\n\"Your family\'s young master is going to be a loafer when he grows up.\" \r\n\r\nEver since I was little, I\'ve been incorrigable, that\'s what my father said. The schoolmaster said I was \"rotten wood that couldn\'t be carved\". Now that I think on it they were both right, but at the time I didn\'t think this was so, I thought I had money, I was the Xu family\'s only son, if something happened to me, the family would be without heirs.\r\n\r\nWhen I went to school I never walked, it was always our hired worker that carried me there on his back, and when I got off, he always respectfully crouched over there, and when I jumped on I patted his head and said: \r\n\r\n\"Run, Changgen!\"\r\n\r\nThe worker Changgen would run, and I would bounce along, like a sparrow sitting on a tree branch. I\'d say:\r\n\r\n\"Fly.\"\r\n\r\nAnd Changgun would walk one step and jump one step, and make as if he was flying. \r\n\r\nAfter I grew up I like to go into the city, and often wouldn\'t come back for 10 days or half a month. I\'d wear a white silk shirt, my hair sleek and shiny, standing in front of the mirror, I\'d see the black oil in my hair, the picture of a wealthy man.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Novels: Start Reading \"To Live\" 《活着》by Yu Hua', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1882-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 10:33:37', '2020-04-20 14:33:37', '', 1882, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/1882-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1887, 1, '2020-04-20 11:16:53', '2020-04-20 15:16:53', '[su_row]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\n<p style=\"padding:25px; margin-bottom: 20px; font-style: italic; background-color:#ffeaee;>In the <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/tag/novels/\">Novels</a> series, I get you started reading the first few paragraphs of classic Chinese fiction. If you like the beginning, you can <a href=\"https://amzn.to/2Y239oT\">buy the book</a> and keep reading.</p> \n<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Hua\">Yu Hua</a> (余华) is for sure my favorite author of Chinese modern lit. He writes the lives of ordinary village people, and like pretty much all great Chinese village-based fiction from the 20th century, the stories are full of vulgar realism, as you will soon see. But Yu Hua\'s work is also tinged with bittersweetness, and for anyone with an HSK 5-6 vocabulary, his novels are surprisingly approachable. \n\nI\'m posting an excerpt from the first chapter of Yu Hua\'s novel <em>To Live</em> 《活着》, which is one of his most well-known works, and a classic of modern literature. Normally I\'d like to start at the beginning, but the first few paragraphs of Chapter One is told from the viewpoint of a narrator who comes to a small village to collect folksongs and stories from the locals. In a field there he meets an old man - the protagonist of the novel - who recounts his life for remainder of the book, and we don\'t really hear from the narrator again in any meaningful way. So, I\'ll skip the narrator\'s intro, and I\'ll be starting from where the old man begins to tell his tale.\n\n<h3>Some language stuff</h4>\nThis novel begins while feudalism was breathing its last gasp in China, before the country sank into decades of war and upheaval, so some of the words use are things that no longer exist, like 佃户 [pinyin]dian4 hu4[/pinyin], which is a tenant farmer on a lord\'s land, and 私塾 [pinyin]si1 shu2[/pinyin], a classical style private school where one master would be paid to instruct usually a small group of students. \n\nA couple of the sentences are also a little rough:\n\n“好好听着，爹给你念一段。”: The protagonist says this to his schoolmaster. On the surface, it looks like it means \"Listen well, your father is going to read aloud.\" But 爹 in this case doesn\'t really mean \"father\", it\'s being used as an insult. A child is saying it to an elder gentleman, which is extremely disrespectful, so you could better translate this as something like, \"Listen up, your better is going to read to you.\" The point is that the protagonist is being a sassy little jerk. \n\n朽木不可雕也: This is an old-school idiom, it comes from the <em><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analects\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Analects</a></em> of Confucius. Literally, it means \"you can\'t carve rotten wood\". Practically, it means that some people are just hopeless and can\'t be taught anything, and is an excellent burn for any occasion. \n \n我是徐家仅有的一根香火: Again, double-meaning here. Literally: \"I was the Xu family\'s only stick of incense.\" Actual meaning: \"I was the Xu family\'s only son.\"\n\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>《活着》第一章</h4>\n<em>这位老人后来和我一起坐在了那棵茂盛的树下，在那个充满阳光的下午，他向我讲述了自己。</em>\n\n四十多年前，我爹常在这里走来走去，他穿着一身黑颜色的绸衣，总是把双手背在身后，他出门时常对我娘说：\n\n“我到自己的地上去走走。”\n\n我爹走在自己的田产上，干活的佃户见了，都要双手握住锄头恭敬地叫一声：\n\n“老爷。”\n\n我爹走到了城里，城里人见了都叫他先生。我爹是很有身份的人，可他拉屎时就像个穷人了。他不爱在屋里床边的马桶上拉屎，跟牲畜似的喜欢到野地里去拉屎。每天到了傍晚的时候，我爹打着饱嗝，那声响和青蛙叫唤差不多，走出屋去，慢吞吞地朝村口的粪缸走去。\n\n走到了粪缸旁，他嫌缸沿脏，就抬脚踩上去蹲在上面。我爹年纪大了，屎也跟着老了，出来不容易，那时候我们全家人都会听到他在村口嗷嗷叫着。\n\n几十年来我爹一直这样拉屎，到了六十多岁还能在粪缸上一蹲就是半晌，那两条腿就和鸟爪一样有劲。我爹喜欢看着天色慢慢黑下来，罩住他的田地。我女儿凤霞到了三、四岁，常跑到村口去看她爷爷拉屎，我爹毕竟年纪大了，蹲在粪缸上腿有些哆嗦，凤霞就问他：\n\n“爷爷，你为什么动呀？”\n\n我爹说：“是风吹的。”\n\n那时候我们家境还没有败落，我们徐家有一百多亩地，从这里一直到那边工厂的烟囱，都是我家的。我爹和我，是远近闻名的阔老爷和阔少爷，我们走路时鞋子的声响，都像是铜钱碰来撞去的。我女人家珍，是城里米行老板的女儿，她也是有钱人家出生的。有钱人嫁给有钱人，就是把钱堆起来，钱在钱上面哗哗地流，这样的声音我有四十年没有听到了。\n\n我是我们徐家的败家子，用我爹的话说，我是他的孽子。\n\n我念过几年私塾，穿长衫的私塾先生叫我念一段书时，是我最高兴的。我站起来，拿着本线装的《千字文》，对私塾先生说：\n\n“好好听着，爹给你念一段。”\n\n年过花甲的私塾先生对我爹说：\n\n“你家少爷长大了准能当个二流子。”\n\n我从小就不可救药，这是我爹的话。私塾先生说我是朽木不可雕也。现在想想他们都说对了，当初我可不这么想，我想我有钱呵，我是徐家仅有的一根香火，我要是灭了，徐家就得断子绝孙。\n\n上私塾时我从来不走路，都是我家一个雇工背着我去，放学时他已经恭恭敬敬地弯腰蹲在那里了，我骑上去后拍拍雇工的脑袋，说一声：\n\n“长根，跑呀。”\n\n雇工长根就跑起来，我在上面一颠一颠的，像是一只在树梢上的麻雀。我说一声：\n\n“飞呀。”\n\n长根就一步一跳，做出一副飞的样子。\n\n我长大以后喜欢往城里跑，常常是十天半月不回家。我穿着白色的丝绸衣衫，头发抹得光滑透亮，往镜子前一站，我看到自己满脑袋的黑油漆，一副有钱人的样子。\n\n<a href=\"https://amzn.to/2Kl3DhO\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https://amzn.to/2Y239oT</a>\n [su_button url=\"https://amzn.to/2Y239oT\" target=\"blank\" style=\"flat\" background=\"#b31ffd\" radius=\"0\"]Buy it on Amazon[/su_button]\n</div>\n[/su_column]\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"no\" class=\"\"]\n[hide-this-part morelink=\"Show English translation\"]\n<em>Later, this old man sat down with me beneath the verdant trees, and on that sunlit afternoon, he told me of himself.</em>\n\nForty-odd years ago, my father would often walk around out here, wearing a black silk robe, always with both hands behind his back, and whenever he went out he would say to my mother: \n\n\"I\'m going to walk around my place.\"\n\nMy father would walk on his estate, and when the tenant farmers saw him, they would hold their shovels still in between two hands and say respectfully: \n\n\"Master.\" \n\nWhenever my father walked into town, the townsfolk called him \"Mister\". My father was a personage of some repute, but when he moved his bowels, he did it like a poor man. He didn\'t like to relieve himself in the toilet by the bed, and preferred to shit in the wilds like a farm animal. Every evening, my father let out a belch, a sound like a croaking frog, and left the house, walking sluggishly towards the manure vat at the mouth of the village. \n\nHe\'d arrive at the manure vat, and finding the filth around its edges distasteful, he\'d go up on tiptoe and squat above it. My father was old, and his feces were as old as he was, they didn\'t come out easily, and everyone in the house could hear him grunting.  \n\nFor many years this is how my father moved his bowels, at 60 years old he could still squat over the manure pit for half the day, his two legs had the strength of a bird\'s claws. My father like to watch the sky slowly fade to black, covering his fields. When my daughter Feng Xia was three or four, she would often run to the mouth of the village to watch grandpa poop, after all my father was getting on in years, and as he was squatting there his legs would tremble a bit, and Feng Xia would ask: \n\n\"Grandpa, why are you moving?\" \n\nAnd my dad would say: \"It\'s the wind.\"  \n\nAt that time our family\'s situation hadn\'t yet deteriorated, the Xu\'s had 100-plus <em>mu</em> of land, from here all the way to that factory\'s smokestack, all of it was our family\'s. My dad and I, were famous near and far as the Rich Old Master and the Rich Young Master, when we walked on the road, the sound of our shoes was like the sound of copper cash striking. My wife Jia Zhen, was the daughter of a rice industry bigwig in town, she also came from a wealthy family. A wealthy woman marrying a wealthy man, money piled on money, swishing in a great stream, I haven\'t heard that sound in 40 years. \n\nI was the Xu family wastrel, or in my father\'s world, I was his unfilial son.\n\nI went to private school for a couple of years, and when the school master in his long silk gown called on me to read a passage aloud, that\'s when I was happiest. I would stand up, holding a string-bound copy of <em>Qianzi Wen</em>, and say to him:\n\n\"Listen up, your elder is going to read you a passage.\"   \n\nThe schoolmaster, who was over sixty, would say to my father:\n\n\"Your family\'s young master is going to be a loafer when he grows up.\" \n\nEver since I was little, I\'ve been incorrigable, that\'s what my father said. The schoolmaster said I was \"rotten wood that couldn\'t be carved\". Now that I think on it they were both right, but at the time I didn\'t think this was so, I thought I had money, I was the Xu family\'s only son, if something happened to me, the family would be without heirs.\n\nWhen I went to school I never walked, it was always our hired worker that carried me there on his back, and when I got off, he always respectfully crouched over there, and when I jumped on I patted his head and said: \n\n\"Run, Changgen!\"\n\nThe worker Changgen would run, and I would bounce along, like a sparrow sitting on a tree branch. I\'d say:\n\n\"Fly.\"\n\nAnd Changgun would walk one step and jump one step, and make as if he was flying. \n\nAfter I grew up I like to go into the city, and often wouldn\'t come back for 10 days or half a month. I\'d wear a white silk shirt, my hair sleek and shiny, standing in front of the mirror, I\'d see the black oil in my hair, the picture of a wealthy man.\n[/hide-this-part]\n[/su_column]\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Novels: Start Reading \"To Live\" 《活着》by Yu Hua', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1882-autosave-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 11:16:53', '2020-04-20 15:16:53', '', 1882, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/1882-autosave-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
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(1892, 1, '2020-04-20 10:43:17', '2020-04-20 14:43:17', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div style=\"background-color:#ffeaee; padding: 25px; font-style:italic; font-size: 0.9em; margin-bottom: 20px;\">In the <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/tag/novels/\">Novels</a> series, I get you started reading the first few paragraphs of classic Chinese fiction. If you like the beginning, you can buy the book and keep reading.</div>  \r\n<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Hua\">Yu Hua</a> (余华) is for sure my favorite author of Chinese modern lit. He writes the lives of ordinary village people, and like pretty much all great Chinese village-based fiction from the 20th century, the stories are full of vulgar realism, as you will soon see. But Yu Hua\'s work is also tinged with bittersweetness, and for anyone with an HSK 5-6 vocabulary, his novels are surprisingly approachable. \r\n\r\nI\'m posting an excerpt from the first chapter of Yu Hua\'s novel <em>To Live</em> 《活着》, which is one of his most well-known works, and a classic of modern literature. Normally I\'d like to start at the beginning, but the first few paragraphs of Chapter One is told from the viewpoint of a narrator who comes to a small village to collect folksongs and stories from the locals. In a field there he meets an old man - the protagonist of the novel - who recounts his life for remainder of the book, and we don\'t really hear from the narrator again in any meaningful way. So, I\'ll skip the narrator\'s intro, and I\'ll be starting from where the old man begins to tell his tale.\r\n\r\n<h3>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThis novel begins while feudalism was breathing its last gasp in China, before the country sank into decades of war and upheaval, so some of the words use are things that no longer exist, like 佃户 [pinyin]dian4 hu4[/pinyin], which is a tenant farmer on a lord\'s land, and 私塾 [pinyin]si1 shu2[/pinyin], a classical style private school where one master would be paid to instruct usually a small group of students. \r\n\r\nA couple of the sentences are also a little rough:\r\n\r\n“好好听着，爹给你念一段。”: The protagonist says this to his schoolmaster. On the surface, it looks like it means \"Listen well, your father is going to read aloud.\" But 爹 in this case doesn\'t really mean \"father\", it\'s being used as an insult. A child is saying it to an elder gentleman, which is extremely disrespectful, so you could better translate this as something like, \"Listen up, your better is going to read to you.\" The point is that the protagonist is being a sassy little jerk. \r\n\r\n朽木不可雕也: This is an old-school idiom, it comes from the <em><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analects\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Analects</a></em> of Confucius. Literally, it means \"you can\'t carve rotten wood\". Practically, it means that some people are just hopeless and can\'t be taught anything, and is an excellent burn for any occasion. \r\n \r\n我是徐家仅有的一根香火: Again, double-meaning here. Literally: \"I was the Xu family\'s only stick of incense.\" Actual meaning: \"I was the Xu family\'s only son.\"\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>《活着》第一章</h4>\r\n<em>这位老人后来和我一起坐在了那棵茂盛的树下，在那个充满阳光的下午，他向我讲述了自己。</em>\r\n\r\n四十多年前，我爹常在这里走来走去，他穿着一身黑颜色的绸衣，总是把双手背在身后，他出门时常对我娘说：\r\n\r\n“我到自己的地上去走走。”\r\n\r\n我爹走在自己的田产上，干活的佃户见了，都要双手握住锄头恭敬地叫一声：\r\n\r\n“老爷。”\r\n\r\n我爹走到了城里，城里人见了都叫他先生。我爹是很有身份的人，可他拉屎时就像个穷人了。他不爱在屋里床边的马桶上拉屎，跟牲畜似的喜欢到野地里去拉屎。每天到了傍晚的时候，我爹打着饱嗝，那声响和青蛙叫唤差不多，走出屋去，慢吞吞地朝村口的粪缸走去。\r\n\r\n走到了粪缸旁，他嫌缸沿脏，就抬脚踩上去蹲在上面。我爹年纪大了，屎也跟着老了，出来不容易，那时候我们全家人都会听到他在村口嗷嗷叫着。\r\n\r\n几十年来我爹一直这样拉屎，到了六十多岁还能在粪缸上一蹲就是半晌，那两条腿就和鸟爪一样有劲。我爹喜欢看着天色慢慢黑下来，罩住他的田地。我女儿凤霞到了三、四岁，常跑到村口去看她爷爷拉屎，我爹毕竟年纪大了，蹲在粪缸上腿有些哆嗦，凤霞就问他：\r\n\r\n“爷爷，你为什么动呀？”\r\n\r\n我爹说：“是风吹的。”\r\n\r\n那时候我们家境还没有败落，我们徐家有一百多亩地，从这里一直到那边工厂的烟囱，都是我家的。我爹和我，是远近闻名的阔老爷和阔少爷，我们走路时鞋子的声响，都像是铜钱碰来撞去的。我女人家珍，是城里米行老板的女儿，她也是有钱人家出生的。有钱人嫁给有钱人，就是把钱堆起来，钱在钱上面哗哗地流，这样的声音我有四十年没有听到了。\r\n\r\n我是我们徐家的败家子，用我爹的话说，我是他的孽子。\r\n\r\n我念过几年私塾，穿长衫的私塾先生叫我念一段书时，是我最高兴的。我站起来，拿着本线装的《千字文》，对私塾先生说：\r\n\r\n“好好听着，爹给你念一段。”\r\n\r\n年过花甲的私塾先生对我爹说：\r\n\r\n“你家少爷长大了准能当个二流子。”\r\n\r\n我从小就不可救药，这是我爹的话。私塾先生说我是朽木不可雕也。现在想想他们都说对了，当初我可不这么想，我想我有钱呵，我是徐家仅有的一根香火，我要是灭了，徐家就得断子绝孙。\r\n\r\n上私塾时我从来不走路，都是我家一个雇工背着我去，放学时他已经恭恭敬敬地弯腰蹲在那里了，我骑上去后拍拍雇工的脑袋，说一声：\r\n\r\n“长根，跑呀。”\r\n\r\n雇工长根就跑起来，我在上面一颠一颠的，像是一只在树梢上的麻雀。我说一声：\r\n\r\n“飞呀。”\r\n\r\n长根就一步一跳，做出一副飞的样子。\r\n\r\n我长大以后喜欢往城里跑，常常是十天半月不回家。我穿着白色的丝绸衣衫，头发抹得光滑透亮，往镜子前一站，我看到自己满脑袋的黑油漆，一副有钱人的样子。\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\n<em>Later, this old man sat down with me beneath the verdant trees, and on that sunlit afternoon, he told me of himself.</em>\r\n\r\nForty-odd years ago, my father would often walk around out here, he would wear a black silk robe, always with both hands behind his back, and when he went out he would say to my mother: \r\n\r\n\"I\'m going to walk around my place.\"\r\n\r\nMy father would walk on his estate, and when the tenant farmers saw him, they would hold the shovels still in their two hands and say respectfully: \r\n\r\n\"Master.\" \r\n\r\nWhen my father walked into town, when the townsfolk saw him they called him \"Mister\". My father was a personage of some repute, but when he moved his bowels, he did it like a poor man. He didn\'t like to relieve himself in the toilet by the bed, and preferred to shit in the wilds like a farm animal. Every evening, my father let out a belch, a sound like a croaking frog, and left the house, walking sluggishly towards the manure vat at the mouth of the village. \r\n\r\nHe\'d arrive at the manure vat, and finding the filth around its edges distasteful, he\'d go up on tiptoe and squat above it. My father was too old, and his feces were as old as he was, they didn\'t come out easily, and everyone in the house could hear him grunting.  \r\n\r\nFor many years this is how my father moved his bowels, at 60 years old he could still squat over the manure pit for half the day, his two legs had the strength of a bird\'s claws. My father like to watch the sky slowly fade to black, covering his fields. When my daughter Feng Xia was three or four, she would often run to the mouth of the village to watch grandpa poop, after all my father was getting on in years, and as he was squatting there his legs would tremble a bit, and Feng Xia would ask: \r\n\r\n\"Grandpa, why are you moving?\" \r\n\r\nAnd my dad would say: \"It\'s the wind.\"  \r\n\r\nAt that time our family\'s situation hadn\'t yet deteriorated, the Xu\'s had 100-plus <em>mu</em> of land, from here all the way to that factory\'s smokestack, all of it was our family\'s. My dad and I, were famous near and far as the Rich Old Master and the Rich Young Master, when we walked on the road, the sound of our shoes was like the sound of copper cash striking. My wife Jia Zhen, was the daughter of a rice industry bigwig in town, she also came from a wealthy family. A wealthy woman marrying a wealthy man, money piled on money, swishing in a great stream, I haven\'t heard that sound in 40 years. \r\n\r\nI was the Xu family wastrel, or in my father\'s world, I was his unfilial son.\r\n\r\nI went to private school for a couple of years, and when the school master in his long silk gown called on me to read a passage aloud, that\'s when I was happiest. I would stand up, holding a string-bound copy of <em>Qianzi Wen</em>, and say to him:\r\n\r\n\"Listen up, your elder is going to read you a passage.\"   \r\n\r\nThe schoolmaster, who was over sixty, would say to my father:\r\n\r\n\"Your family\'s young master is going to be a loafer when he grows up.\" \r\n\r\nEver since I was little, I\'ve been incorrigable, that\'s what my father said. The schoolmaster said I was \"rotten wood that couldn\'t be carved\". Now that I think on it they were both right, but at the time I didn\'t think this was so, I thought I had money, I was the Xu family\'s only son, if something happened to me, the family would be without heirs.\r\n\r\nWhen I went to school I never walked, it was always our hired worker that carried me there on his back, and when I got off, he always respectfully crouched over there, and when I jumped on I patted his head and said: \r\n\r\n\"Run, Changgen!\"\r\n\r\nThe worker Changgen would run, and I would bounce along, like a sparrow sitting on a tree branch. I\'d say:\r\n\r\n\"Fly.\"\r\n\r\nAnd Changgun would walk one step and jump one step, and make as if he was flying. \r\n\r\nAfter I grew up I like to go into the city, and often wouldn\'t come back for 10 days or half a month. I\'d wear a white silk shirt, my hair sleek and shiny, standing in front of the mirror, I\'d see the black oil in my hair, the picture of a wealthy man.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Novels: Start Reading \"To Live\" 《活着》by Yu Hua', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1882-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 10:43:17', '2020-04-20 14:43:17', '', 1882, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/1882-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1888, 1, '2020-04-20 10:35:51', '2020-04-20 14:35:51', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div style=\"background-color:#ffeaee; padding: 25px; font-style:italic; font-size: 0.9em; margin-bottom: 20px;\">In the <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/tag/novels/\">Novels</a> series, I get you started reading the first few paragraphs of classic Chinese fiction. If you like the beginning, you can buy the book and keep reading.</div>  \r\n<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Hua\">Yu Hua</a> (余华) is for sure my favorite author of Chinese modern lit. He writes the lives of ordinary village people, and like pretty much all great Chinese village-based fiction from the 20th century, the stories are full of vulgar realism, as you will soon see. But Yu Hua\'s work is also tinged with bittersweetness, and for anyone with an HSK 5-6 vocabulary, his novels are surprisingly approachable. \r\n\r\nI\'m posting an excerpt from the first chapter of Yu Hua\'s novel <em>To Live</em> 《活着》, which is one of his most well-known works, and a classic of modern literature. Normally I\'d like to start at the beginning, but the first few paragraphs of Chapter One is told from the viewpoint of a narrator who comes to a small village to collect folksongs and stories from the locals. In a field there he meets an old man - the protagonist of the novel - who recounts his life for remainder of the book, and we don\'t really hear from the narrator again in any meaningful way. So, I\'ll skip the narrator\'s intro, and I\'ll be starting from where the old man begins to tell his tale.\r\n\r\n<h3>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThis novel begins while feudalism was breathing its last gasp in China, before the country sank into decades of war and upheaval, so some of the world that are used are things that no longer exist, like 佃户 [pinyin]dian4 hu4[/pinyin], which is a tenant farmer on a lord\'s land, and 私塾 [pinyin]si1 shu2[/pinyin], a classical style private school where one master would be paid to instruct usually a small group of students. \r\n\r\nA couple of the sentences are also a little rough:\r\n\r\n“好好听着，爹给你念一段。”: The protagonist says this to his schoolmaster. On the surface, it looks like it means \"Listen well, your father is going to read aloud.\" But 爹 in this case doesn\'t really mean \"father\", it\'s being used as an insult. A child is saying it to an elder gentleman, which is extremely disrespectful, so you could better translate this as something like, \"Listen up, your better is going to read to you.\" The point is that the protagonist is being a sassy little jerk. \r\n\r\n朽木不可雕也: This is an old-school idiom, it comes from the <em><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analects\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Analects</em> of Confucius. Literally, it means \"you can\'t carve rotten wood\". Practically, it means that some people are just hopeless and can\'t be taught anything, and is an excellent burn for any occasion. \r\n \r\n我是徐家仅有的一根香火: Again, double-meaning here. Literally: \"I was the Xu family\'s only stick of incense.\" Actual meaning: \"I was the Xu family\'s only son.\"\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>《活着》第一章</h4>\r\n<em>这位老人后来和我一起坐在了那棵茂盛的树下，在那个充满阳光的下午，他向我讲述了自己。</em>\r\n\r\n四十多年前，我爹常在这里走来走去，他穿着一身黑颜色的绸衣，总是把双手背在身后，他出门时常对我娘说：\r\n\r\n“我到自己的地上去走走。”\r\n\r\n我爹走在自己的田产上，干活的佃户见了，都要双手握住锄头恭敬地叫一声：\r\n\r\n“老爷。”\r\n\r\n我爹走到了城里，城里人见了都叫他先生。我爹是很有身份的人，可他拉屎时就像个穷人了。他不爱在屋里床边的马桶上拉屎，跟牲畜似的喜欢到野地里去拉屎。每天到了傍晚的时候，我爹打着饱嗝，那声响和青蛙叫唤差不多，走出屋去，慢吞吞地朝村口的粪缸走去。\r\n\r\n走到了粪缸旁，他嫌缸沿脏，就抬脚踩上去蹲在上面。我爹年纪大了，屎也跟着老了，出来不容易，那时候我们全家人都会听到他在村口嗷嗷叫着。\r\n\r\n几十年来我爹一直这样拉屎，到了六十多岁还能在粪缸上一蹲就是半晌，那两条腿就和鸟爪一样有劲。我爹喜欢看着天色慢慢黑下来，罩住他的田地。我女儿凤霞到了三、四岁，常跑到村口去看她爷爷拉屎，我爹毕竟年纪大了，蹲在粪缸上腿有些哆嗦，凤霞就问他：\r\n\r\n“爷爷，你为什么动呀？”\r\n\r\n我爹说：“是风吹的。”\r\n\r\n那时候我们家境还没有败落，我们徐家有一百多亩地，从这里一直到那边工厂的烟囱，都是我家的。我爹和我，是远近闻名的阔老爷和阔少爷，我们走路时鞋子的声响，都像是铜钱碰来撞去的。我女人家珍，是城里米行老板的女儿，她也是有钱人家出生的。有钱人嫁给有钱人，就是把钱堆起来，钱在钱上面哗哗地流，这样的声音我有四十年没有听到了。\r\n\r\n我是我们徐家的败家子，用我爹的话说，我是他的孽子。\r\n\r\n我念过几年私塾，穿长衫的私塾先生叫我念一段书时，是我最高兴的。我站起来，拿着本线装的《千字文》，对私塾先生说：\r\n\r\n“好好听着，爹给你念一段。”\r\n\r\n年过花甲的私塾先生对我爹说：\r\n\r\n“你家少爷长大了准能当个二流子。”\r\n\r\n我从小就不可救药，这是我爹的话。私塾先生说我是朽木不可雕也。现在想想他们都说对了，当初我可不这么想，我想我有钱呵，我是徐家仅有的一根香火，我要是灭了，徐家就得断子绝孙。\r\n\r\n上私塾时我从来不走路，都是我家一个雇工背着我去，放学时他已经恭恭敬敬地弯腰蹲在那里了，我骑上去后拍拍雇工的脑袋，说一声：\r\n\r\n“长根，跑呀。”\r\n\r\n雇工长根就跑起来，我在上面一颠一颠的，像是一只在树梢上的麻雀。我说一声：\r\n\r\n“飞呀。”\r\n\r\n长根就一步一跳，做出一副飞的样子。\r\n\r\n我长大以后喜欢往城里跑，常常是十天半月不回家。我穿着白色的丝绸衣衫，头发抹得光滑透亮，往镜子前一站，我看到自己满脑袋的黑油漆，一副有钱人的样子。\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\n<em>Later, this old man sat down with me beneath the verdant trees, and on that sunlit afternoon, he told me of himself.</em>\r\n\r\nForty-odd years ago, my father would often walk around out here, he would wear a black silk robe, always with both hands behind his back, and when he went out he would say to my mother: \r\n\r\n\"I\'m going to walk around my place.\"\r\n\r\nMy father would walk on his estate, and when the tenant farmers saw him, they would hold the shovels still in their two hands and say respectfully: \r\n\r\n\"Master.\" \r\n\r\nWhen my father walked into town, when the townsfolk saw him they called him \"Mister\". My father was a personage of some repute, but when he moved his bowels, he did it like a poor man. He didn\'t like to relieve himself in the toilet by the bed, and preferred to shit in the wilds like a farm animal. Every evening, my father let out a belch, a sound like a croaking frog, and left the house, walking sluggishly towards the manure vat at the mouth of the village. \r\n\r\nHe\'d arrive at the manure vat, and finding the filth around its edges distasteful, he\'d go up on tiptoe and squat above it. My father was too old, and his feces were as old as he was, they didn\'t come out easily, and everyone in the house could hear him grunting.  \r\n\r\nFor many years this is how my father moved his bowels, at 60 years old he could still squat over the manure pit for half the day, his two legs had the strength of a bird\'s claws. My father like to watch the sky slowly fade to black, covering his fields. When my daughter Feng Xia was three or four, she would often run to the mouth of the village to watch grandpa poop, after all my father was getting on in years, and as he was squatting there his legs would tremble a bit, and Feng Xia would ask: \r\n\r\n\"Grandpa, why are you moving?\" \r\n\r\nAnd my dad would say: \"It\'s the wind.\"  \r\n\r\nAt that time our family\'s situation hadn\'t yet deteriorated, the Xu\'s had 100-plus <em>mu</em> of land, from here all the way to that factory\'s smokestack, all of it was our family\'s. My dad and I, were famous near and far as the Rich Old Master and the Rich Young Master, when we walked on the road, the sound of our shoes was like the sound of copper cash striking. My wife Jia Zhen, was the daughter of a rice industry bigwig in town, she also came from a wealthy family. A wealthy woman marrying a wealthy man, money piled on money, swishing in a great stream, I haven\'t heard that sound in 40 years. \r\n\r\nI was the Xu family wastrel, or in my father\'s world, I was his unfilial son.\r\n\r\nI went to private school for a couple of years, and when the school master in his long silk gown called on me to read a passage aloud, that\'s when I was happiest. I would stand up, holding a string-bound copy of <em>Qianzi Wen</em>, and say to him:\r\n\r\n\"Listen up, your elder is going to read you a passage.\"   \r\n\r\nThe schoolmaster, who was over sixty, would say to my father:\r\n\r\n\"Your family\'s young master is going to be a loafer when he grows up.\" \r\n\r\nEver since I was little, I\'ve been incorrigable, that\'s what my father said. The schoolmaster said I was \"rotten wood that couldn\'t be carved\". Now that I think on it they were both right, but at the time I didn\'t think this was so, I thought I had money, I was the Xu family\'s only son, if something happened to me, the family would be without heirs.\r\n\r\nWhen I went to school I never walked, it was always our hired worker that carried me there on his back, and when I got off, he always respectfully crouched over there, and when I jumped on I patted his head and said: \r\n\r\n\"Run, Changgen!\"\r\n\r\nThe worker Changgen would run, and I would bounce along, like a sparrow sitting on a tree branch. I\'d say:\r\n\r\n\"Fly.\"\r\n\r\nAnd Changgun would walk one step and jump one step, and make as if he was flying. \r\n\r\nAfter I grew up I like to go into the city, and often wouldn\'t come back for 10 days or half a month. I\'d wear a white silk shirt, my hair sleek and shiny, standing in front of the mirror, I\'d see the black oil in my hair, the picture of a wealthy man.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]', 'Novels: Start Reading \"To Live\" 《活着》by Yu Hua', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1882-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 10:35:51', '2020-04-20 14:35:51', '', 1882, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/1882-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1890, 1, '2020-04-20 10:41:52', '2020-04-20 14:41:52', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div style=\"background-color:#ffeaee; padding: 25px; font-style:italic; font-size: 0.9em; margin-bottom: 20px;\">In the <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/tag/novels/\">Novels</a> series, I get you started reading the first few paragraphs of classic Chinese fiction. If you like the beginning, you can buy the book and keep reading.</div>  \r\n<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Hua\">Yu Hua</a> (余华) is for sure my favorite author of Chinese modern lit. He writes the lives of ordinary village people, and like pretty much all great Chinese village-based fiction from the 20th century, the stories are full of vulgar realism, as you will soon see. But Yu Hua\'s work is also tinged with bittersweetness, and for anyone with an HSK 5-6 vocabulary, his novels are surprisingly approachable. \r\n\r\nI\'m posting an excerpt from the first chapter of Yu Hua\'s novel <em>To Live</em> 《活着》, which is one of his most well-known works, and a classic of modern literature. Normally I\'d like to start at the beginning, but the first few paragraphs of Chapter One is told from the viewpoint of a narrator who comes to a small village to collect folksongs and stories from the locals. In a field there he meets an old man - the protagonist of the novel - who recounts his life for remainder of the book, and we don\'t really hear from the narrator again in any meaningful way. So, I\'ll skip the narrator\'s intro, and I\'ll be starting from where the old man begins to tell his tale.\r\n\r\n<h3>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThis novel begins while feudalism was breathing its last gasp in China, before the country sank into decades of war and upheaval, so some of the world that are used are things that no longer exist, like 佃户 [pinyin]dian4 hu4[/pinyin], which is a tenant farmer on a lord\'s land, and 私塾 [pinyin]si1 shu2[/pinyin], a classical style private school where one master would be paid to instruct usually a small group of students. \r\n\r\nA couple of the sentences are also a little rough:\r\n\r\n“好好听着，爹给你念一段。”: The protagonist says this to his schoolmaster. On the surface, it looks like it means \"Listen well, your father is going to read aloud.\" But 爹 in this case doesn\'t really mean \"father\", it\'s being used as an insult. A child is saying it to an elder gentleman, which is extremely disrespectful, so you could better translate this as something like, \"Listen up, your better is going to read to you.\" The point is that the protagonist is being a sassy little jerk. \r\n\r\n朽木不可雕也: This is an old-school idiom, it comes from the <em><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analects\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Analects</a> of Confucius. Literally, it means \"you can\'t carve rotten wood\". Practically, it means that some people are just hopeless and can\'t be taught anything, and is an excellent burn for any occasion. \r\n \r\n我是徐家仅有的一根香火: Again, double-meaning here. Literally: \"I was the Xu family\'s only stick of incense.\" Actual meaning: \"I was the Xu family\'s only son.\"\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>《活着》第一章</h4>\r\n<em>这位老人后来和我一起坐在了那棵茂盛的树下，在那个充满阳光的下午，他向我讲述了自己。</em>\r\n\r\n四十多年前，我爹常在这里走来走去，他穿着一身黑颜色的绸衣，总是把双手背在身后，他出门时常对我娘说：\r\n\r\n“我到自己的地上去走走。”\r\n\r\n我爹走在自己的田产上，干活的佃户见了，都要双手握住锄头恭敬地叫一声：\r\n\r\n“老爷。”\r\n\r\n我爹走到了城里，城里人见了都叫他先生。我爹是很有身份的人，可他拉屎时就像个穷人了。他不爱在屋里床边的马桶上拉屎，跟牲畜似的喜欢到野地里去拉屎。每天到了傍晚的时候，我爹打着饱嗝，那声响和青蛙叫唤差不多，走出屋去，慢吞吞地朝村口的粪缸走去。\r\n\r\n走到了粪缸旁，他嫌缸沿脏，就抬脚踩上去蹲在上面。我爹年纪大了，屎也跟着老了，出来不容易，那时候我们全家人都会听到他在村口嗷嗷叫着。\r\n\r\n几十年来我爹一直这样拉屎，到了六十多岁还能在粪缸上一蹲就是半晌，那两条腿就和鸟爪一样有劲。我爹喜欢看着天色慢慢黑下来，罩住他的田地。我女儿凤霞到了三、四岁，常跑到村口去看她爷爷拉屎，我爹毕竟年纪大了，蹲在粪缸上腿有些哆嗦，凤霞就问他：\r\n\r\n“爷爷，你为什么动呀？”\r\n\r\n我爹说：“是风吹的。”\r\n\r\n那时候我们家境还没有败落，我们徐家有一百多亩地，从这里一直到那边工厂的烟囱，都是我家的。我爹和我，是远近闻名的阔老爷和阔少爷，我们走路时鞋子的声响，都像是铜钱碰来撞去的。我女人家珍，是城里米行老板的女儿，她也是有钱人家出生的。有钱人嫁给有钱人，就是把钱堆起来，钱在钱上面哗哗地流，这样的声音我有四十年没有听到了。\r\n\r\n我是我们徐家的败家子，用我爹的话说，我是他的孽子。\r\n\r\n我念过几年私塾，穿长衫的私塾先生叫我念一段书时，是我最高兴的。我站起来，拿着本线装的《千字文》，对私塾先生说：\r\n\r\n“好好听着，爹给你念一段。”\r\n\r\n年过花甲的私塾先生对我爹说：\r\n\r\n“你家少爷长大了准能当个二流子。”\r\n\r\n我从小就不可救药，这是我爹的话。私塾先生说我是朽木不可雕也。现在想想他们都说对了，当初我可不这么想，我想我有钱呵，我是徐家仅有的一根香火，我要是灭了，徐家就得断子绝孙。\r\n\r\n上私塾时我从来不走路，都是我家一个雇工背着我去，放学时他已经恭恭敬敬地弯腰蹲在那里了，我骑上去后拍拍雇工的脑袋，说一声：\r\n\r\n“长根，跑呀。”\r\n\r\n雇工长根就跑起来，我在上面一颠一颠的，像是一只在树梢上的麻雀。我说一声：\r\n\r\n“飞呀。”\r\n\r\n长根就一步一跳，做出一副飞的样子。\r\n\r\n我长大以后喜欢往城里跑，常常是十天半月不回家。我穿着白色的丝绸衣衫，头发抹得光滑透亮，往镜子前一站，我看到自己满脑袋的黑油漆，一副有钱人的样子。\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\n<em>Later, this old man sat down with me beneath the verdant trees, and on that sunlit afternoon, he told me of himself.</em>\r\n\r\nForty-odd years ago, my father would often walk around out here, he would wear a black silk robe, always with both hands behind his back, and when he went out he would say to my mother: \r\n\r\n\"I\'m going to walk around my place.\"\r\n\r\nMy father would walk on his estate, and when the tenant farmers saw him, they would hold the shovels still in their two hands and say respectfully: \r\n\r\n\"Master.\" \r\n\r\nWhen my father walked into town, when the townsfolk saw him they called him \"Mister\". My father was a personage of some repute, but when he moved his bowels, he did it like a poor man. He didn\'t like to relieve himself in the toilet by the bed, and preferred to shit in the wilds like a farm animal. Every evening, my father let out a belch, a sound like a croaking frog, and left the house, walking sluggishly towards the manure vat at the mouth of the village. \r\n\r\nHe\'d arrive at the manure vat, and finding the filth around its edges distasteful, he\'d go up on tiptoe and squat above it. My father was too old, and his feces were as old as he was, they didn\'t come out easily, and everyone in the house could hear him grunting.  \r\n\r\nFor many years this is how my father moved his bowels, at 60 years old he could still squat over the manure pit for half the day, his two legs had the strength of a bird\'s claws. My father like to watch the sky slowly fade to black, covering his fields. When my daughter Feng Xia was three or four, she would often run to the mouth of the village to watch grandpa poop, after all my father was getting on in years, and as he was squatting there his legs would tremble a bit, and Feng Xia would ask: \r\n\r\n\"Grandpa, why are you moving?\" \r\n\r\nAnd my dad would say: \"It\'s the wind.\"  \r\n\r\nAt that time our family\'s situation hadn\'t yet deteriorated, the Xu\'s had 100-plus <em>mu</em> of land, from here all the way to that factory\'s smokestack, all of it was our family\'s. My dad and I, were famous near and far as the Rich Old Master and the Rich Young Master, when we walked on the road, the sound of our shoes was like the sound of copper cash striking. My wife Jia Zhen, was the daughter of a rice industry bigwig in town, she also came from a wealthy family. A wealthy woman marrying a wealthy man, money piled on money, swishing in a great stream, I haven\'t heard that sound in 40 years. \r\n\r\nI was the Xu family wastrel, or in my father\'s world, I was his unfilial son.\r\n\r\nI went to private school for a couple of years, and when the school master in his long silk gown called on me to read a passage aloud, that\'s when I was happiest. I would stand up, holding a string-bound copy of <em>Qianzi Wen</em>, and say to him:\r\n\r\n\"Listen up, your elder is going to read you a passage.\"   \r\n\r\nThe schoolmaster, who was over sixty, would say to my father:\r\n\r\n\"Your family\'s young master is going to be a loafer when he grows up.\" \r\n\r\nEver since I was little, I\'ve been incorrigable, that\'s what my father said. The schoolmaster said I was \"rotten wood that couldn\'t be carved\". Now that I think on it they were both right, but at the time I didn\'t think this was so, I thought I had money, I was the Xu family\'s only son, if something happened to me, the family would be without heirs.\r\n\r\nWhen I went to school I never walked, it was always our hired worker that carried me there on his back, and when I got off, he always respectfully crouched over there, and when I jumped on I patted his head and said: \r\n\r\n\"Run, Changgen!\"\r\n\r\nThe worker Changgen would run, and I would bounce along, like a sparrow sitting on a tree branch. I\'d say:\r\n\r\n\"Fly.\"\r\n\r\nAnd Changgun would walk one step and jump one step, and make as if he was flying. \r\n\r\nAfter I grew up I like to go into the city, and often wouldn\'t come back for 10 days or half a month. I\'d wear a white silk shirt, my hair sleek and shiny, standing in front of the mirror, I\'d see the black oil in my hair, the picture of a wealthy man.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Novels: Start Reading \"To Live\" 《活着》by Yu Hua', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1882-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 10:41:52', '2020-04-20 14:41:52', '', 1882, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/1882-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1891, 1, '2020-04-20 10:42:47', '2020-04-20 14:42:47', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div style=\"background-color:#ffeaee; padding: 25px; font-style:italic; font-size: 0.9em; margin-bottom: 20px;\">In the <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/tag/novels/\">Novels</a> series, I get you started reading the first few paragraphs of classic Chinese fiction. If you like the beginning, you can buy the book and keep reading.</div>  \r\n<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Hua\">Yu Hua</a> (余华) is for sure my favorite author of Chinese modern lit. He writes the lives of ordinary village people, and like pretty much all great Chinese village-based fiction from the 20th century, the stories are full of vulgar realism, as you will soon see. But Yu Hua\'s work is also tinged with bittersweetness, and for anyone with an HSK 5-6 vocabulary, his novels are surprisingly approachable. \r\n\r\nI\'m posting an excerpt from the first chapter of Yu Hua\'s novel <em>To Live</em> 《活着》, which is one of his most well-known works, and a classic of modern literature. Normally I\'d like to start at the beginning, but the first few paragraphs of Chapter One is told from the viewpoint of a narrator who comes to a small village to collect folksongs and stories from the locals. In a field there he meets an old man - the protagonist of the novel - who recounts his life for remainder of the book, and we don\'t really hear from the narrator again in any meaningful way. So, I\'ll skip the narrator\'s intro, and I\'ll be starting from where the old man begins to tell his tale.\r\n\r\n<h3>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThis novel begins while feudalism was breathing its last gasp in China, before the country sank into decades of war and upheaval, so some of the words use are things that no longer exist, like 佃户 [pinyin]dian4 hu4[/pinyin], which is a tenant farmer on a lord\'s land, and 私塾 [pinyin]si1 shu2[/pinyin], a classical style private school where one master would be paid to instruct usually a small group of students. \r\n\r\nA couple of the sentences are also a little rough:\r\n\r\n“好好听着，爹给你念一段。”: The protagonist says this to his schoolmaster. On the surface, it looks like it means \"Listen well, your father is going to read aloud.\" But 爹 in this case doesn\'t really mean \"father\", it\'s being used as an insult. A child is saying it to an elder gentleman, which is extremely disrespectful, so you could better translate this as something like, \"Listen up, your better is going to read to you.\" The point is that the protagonist is being a sassy little jerk. \r\n\r\n朽木不可雕也: This is an old-school idiom, it comes from the <em><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analects\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Analects</a> of Confucius. Literally, it means \"you can\'t carve rotten wood\". Practically, it means that some people are just hopeless and can\'t be taught anything, and is an excellent burn for any occasion. \r\n \r\n我是徐家仅有的一根香火: Again, double-meaning here. Literally: \"I was the Xu family\'s only stick of incense.\" Actual meaning: \"I was the Xu family\'s only son.\"\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>《活着》第一章</h4>\r\n<em>这位老人后来和我一起坐在了那棵茂盛的树下，在那个充满阳光的下午，他向我讲述了自己。</em>\r\n\r\n四十多年前，我爹常在这里走来走去，他穿着一身黑颜色的绸衣，总是把双手背在身后，他出门时常对我娘说：\r\n\r\n“我到自己的地上去走走。”\r\n\r\n我爹走在自己的田产上，干活的佃户见了，都要双手握住锄头恭敬地叫一声：\r\n\r\n“老爷。”\r\n\r\n我爹走到了城里，城里人见了都叫他先生。我爹是很有身份的人，可他拉屎时就像个穷人了。他不爱在屋里床边的马桶上拉屎，跟牲畜似的喜欢到野地里去拉屎。每天到了傍晚的时候，我爹打着饱嗝，那声响和青蛙叫唤差不多，走出屋去，慢吞吞地朝村口的粪缸走去。\r\n\r\n走到了粪缸旁，他嫌缸沿脏，就抬脚踩上去蹲在上面。我爹年纪大了，屎也跟着老了，出来不容易，那时候我们全家人都会听到他在村口嗷嗷叫着。\r\n\r\n几十年来我爹一直这样拉屎，到了六十多岁还能在粪缸上一蹲就是半晌，那两条腿就和鸟爪一样有劲。我爹喜欢看着天色慢慢黑下来，罩住他的田地。我女儿凤霞到了三、四岁，常跑到村口去看她爷爷拉屎，我爹毕竟年纪大了，蹲在粪缸上腿有些哆嗦，凤霞就问他：\r\n\r\n“爷爷，你为什么动呀？”\r\n\r\n我爹说：“是风吹的。”\r\n\r\n那时候我们家境还没有败落，我们徐家有一百多亩地，从这里一直到那边工厂的烟囱，都是我家的。我爹和我，是远近闻名的阔老爷和阔少爷，我们走路时鞋子的声响，都像是铜钱碰来撞去的。我女人家珍，是城里米行老板的女儿，她也是有钱人家出生的。有钱人嫁给有钱人，就是把钱堆起来，钱在钱上面哗哗地流，这样的声音我有四十年没有听到了。\r\n\r\n我是我们徐家的败家子，用我爹的话说，我是他的孽子。\r\n\r\n我念过几年私塾，穿长衫的私塾先生叫我念一段书时，是我最高兴的。我站起来，拿着本线装的《千字文》，对私塾先生说：\r\n\r\n“好好听着，爹给你念一段。”\r\n\r\n年过花甲的私塾先生对我爹说：\r\n\r\n“你家少爷长大了准能当个二流子。”\r\n\r\n我从小就不可救药，这是我爹的话。私塾先生说我是朽木不可雕也。现在想想他们都说对了，当初我可不这么想，我想我有钱呵，我是徐家仅有的一根香火，我要是灭了，徐家就得断子绝孙。\r\n\r\n上私塾时我从来不走路，都是我家一个雇工背着我去，放学时他已经恭恭敬敬地弯腰蹲在那里了，我骑上去后拍拍雇工的脑袋，说一声：\r\n\r\n“长根，跑呀。”\r\n\r\n雇工长根就跑起来，我在上面一颠一颠的，像是一只在树梢上的麻雀。我说一声：\r\n\r\n“飞呀。”\r\n\r\n长根就一步一跳，做出一副飞的样子。\r\n\r\n我长大以后喜欢往城里跑，常常是十天半月不回家。我穿着白色的丝绸衣衫，头发抹得光滑透亮，往镜子前一站，我看到自己满脑袋的黑油漆，一副有钱人的样子。\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\n<em>Later, this old man sat down with me beneath the verdant trees, and on that sunlit afternoon, he told me of himself.</em>\r\n\r\nForty-odd years ago, my father would often walk around out here, he would wear a black silk robe, always with both hands behind his back, and when he went out he would say to my mother: \r\n\r\n\"I\'m going to walk around my place.\"\r\n\r\nMy father would walk on his estate, and when the tenant farmers saw him, they would hold the shovels still in their two hands and say respectfully: \r\n\r\n\"Master.\" \r\n\r\nWhen my father walked into town, when the townsfolk saw him they called him \"Mister\". My father was a personage of some repute, but when he moved his bowels, he did it like a poor man. He didn\'t like to relieve himself in the toilet by the bed, and preferred to shit in the wilds like a farm animal. Every evening, my father let out a belch, a sound like a croaking frog, and left the house, walking sluggishly towards the manure vat at the mouth of the village. \r\n\r\nHe\'d arrive at the manure vat, and finding the filth around its edges distasteful, he\'d go up on tiptoe and squat above it. My father was too old, and his feces were as old as he was, they didn\'t come out easily, and everyone in the house could hear him grunting.  \r\n\r\nFor many years this is how my father moved his bowels, at 60 years old he could still squat over the manure pit for half the day, his two legs had the strength of a bird\'s claws. My father like to watch the sky slowly fade to black, covering his fields. When my daughter Feng Xia was three or four, she would often run to the mouth of the village to watch grandpa poop, after all my father was getting on in years, and as he was squatting there his legs would tremble a bit, and Feng Xia would ask: \r\n\r\n\"Grandpa, why are you moving?\" \r\n\r\nAnd my dad would say: \"It\'s the wind.\"  \r\n\r\nAt that time our family\'s situation hadn\'t yet deteriorated, the Xu\'s had 100-plus <em>mu</em> of land, from here all the way to that factory\'s smokestack, all of it was our family\'s. My dad and I, were famous near and far as the Rich Old Master and the Rich Young Master, when we walked on the road, the sound of our shoes was like the sound of copper cash striking. My wife Jia Zhen, was the daughter of a rice industry bigwig in town, she also came from a wealthy family. A wealthy woman marrying a wealthy man, money piled on money, swishing in a great stream, I haven\'t heard that sound in 40 years. \r\n\r\nI was the Xu family wastrel, or in my father\'s world, I was his unfilial son.\r\n\r\nI went to private school for a couple of years, and when the school master in his long silk gown called on me to read a passage aloud, that\'s when I was happiest. I would stand up, holding a string-bound copy of <em>Qianzi Wen</em>, and say to him:\r\n\r\n\"Listen up, your elder is going to read you a passage.\"   \r\n\r\nThe schoolmaster, who was over sixty, would say to my father:\r\n\r\n\"Your family\'s young master is going to be a loafer when he grows up.\" \r\n\r\nEver since I was little, I\'ve been incorrigable, that\'s what my father said. The schoolmaster said I was \"rotten wood that couldn\'t be carved\". Now that I think on it they were both right, but at the time I didn\'t think this was so, I thought I had money, I was the Xu family\'s only son, if something happened to me, the family would be without heirs.\r\n\r\nWhen I went to school I never walked, it was always our hired worker that carried me there on his back, and when I got off, he always respectfully crouched over there, and when I jumped on I patted his head and said: \r\n\r\n\"Run, Changgen!\"\r\n\r\nThe worker Changgen would run, and I would bounce along, like a sparrow sitting on a tree branch. I\'d say:\r\n\r\n\"Fly.\"\r\n\r\nAnd Changgun would walk one step and jump one step, and make as if he was flying. \r\n\r\nAfter I grew up I like to go into the city, and often wouldn\'t come back for 10 days or half a month. I\'d wear a white silk shirt, my hair sleek and shiny, standing in front of the mirror, I\'d see the black oil in my hair, the picture of a wealthy man.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Novels: Start Reading \"To Live\" 《活着》by Yu Hua', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1882-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 10:42:47', '2020-04-20 14:42:47', '', 1882, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/1882-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0),
(1893, 1, '2020-04-20 10:46:58', '2020-04-20 14:46:58', '[su_row]\r\n[su_column size=\"1/2\" center=\"yes\" class=\"\"]\r\n<div style=\"background-color:#ffeaee; padding: 25px; font-style:italic; font-size: 0.9em; margin-bottom: 20px;\">In the <a href=\"http://chinesereadingpractice.com/tag/novels/\">Novels</a> series, I get you started reading the first few paragraphs of classic Chinese fiction. If you like the beginning, you can buy the book and keep reading.</div>  \r\n<a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu_Hua\">Yu Hua</a> (余华) is for sure my favorite author of Chinese modern lit. He writes the lives of ordinary village people, and like pretty much all great Chinese village-based fiction from the 20th century, the stories are full of vulgar realism, as you will soon see. But Yu Hua\'s work is also tinged with bittersweetness, and for anyone with an HSK 5-6 vocabulary, his novels are surprisingly approachable. \r\n\r\nI\'m posting an excerpt from the first chapter of Yu Hua\'s novel <em>To Live</em> 《活着》, which is one of his most well-known works, and a classic of modern literature. Normally I\'d like to start at the beginning, but the first few paragraphs of Chapter One is told from the viewpoint of a narrator who comes to a small village to collect folksongs and stories from the locals. In a field there he meets an old man - the protagonist of the novel - who recounts his life for remainder of the book, and we don\'t really hear from the narrator again in any meaningful way. So, I\'ll skip the narrator\'s intro, and I\'ll be starting from where the old man begins to tell his tale.\r\n\r\n<h3>Some language stuff</h4>\r\nThis novel begins while feudalism was breathing its last gasp in China, before the country sank into decades of war and upheaval, so some of the words use are things that no longer exist, like 佃户 [pinyin]dian4 hu4[/pinyin], which is a tenant farmer on a lord\'s land, and 私塾 [pinyin]si1 shu2[/pinyin], a classical style private school where one master would be paid to instruct usually a small group of students. \r\n\r\nA couple of the sentences are also a little rough:\r\n\r\n“好好听着，爹给你念一段。”: The protagonist says this to his schoolmaster. On the surface, it looks like it means \"Listen well, your father is going to read aloud.\" But 爹 in this case doesn\'t really mean \"father\", it\'s being used as an insult. A child is saying it to an elder gentleman, which is extremely disrespectful, so you could better translate this as something like, \"Listen up, your better is going to read to you.\" The point is that the protagonist is being a sassy little jerk. \r\n\r\n朽木不可雕也: This is an old-school idiom, it comes from the <em><a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analects\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Analects</a></em> of Confucius. Literally, it means \"you can\'t carve rotten wood\". Practically, it means that some people are just hopeless and can\'t be taught anything, and is an excellent burn for any occasion. \r\n \r\n我是徐家仅有的一根香火: Again, double-meaning here. Literally: \"I was the Xu family\'s only stick of incense.\" Actual meaning: \"I was the Xu family\'s only son.\"\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>《活着》第一章</h4>\r\n<em>这位老人后来和我一起坐在了那棵茂盛的树下，在那个充满阳光的下午，他向我讲述了自己。</em>\r\n\r\n四十多年前，我爹常在这里走来走去，他穿着一身黑颜色的绸衣，总是把双手背在身后，他出门时常对我娘说：\r\n\r\n“我到自己的地上去走走。”\r\n\r\n我爹走在自己的田产上，干活的佃户见了，都要双手握住锄头恭敬地叫一声：\r\n\r\n“老爷。”\r\n\r\n我爹走到了城里，城里人见了都叫他先生。我爹是很有身份的人，可他拉屎时就像个穷人了。他不爱在屋里床边的马桶上拉屎，跟牲畜似的喜欢到野地里去拉屎。每天到了傍晚的时候，我爹打着饱嗝，那声响和青蛙叫唤差不多，走出屋去，慢吞吞地朝村口的粪缸走去。\r\n\r\n走到了粪缸旁，他嫌缸沿脏，就抬脚踩上去蹲在上面。我爹年纪大了，屎也跟着老了，出来不容易，那时候我们全家人都会听到他在村口嗷嗷叫着。\r\n\r\n几十年来我爹一直这样拉屎，到了六十多岁还能在粪缸上一蹲就是半晌，那两条腿就和鸟爪一样有劲。我爹喜欢看着天色慢慢黑下来，罩住他的田地。我女儿凤霞到了三、四岁，常跑到村口去看她爷爷拉屎，我爹毕竟年纪大了，蹲在粪缸上腿有些哆嗦，凤霞就问他：\r\n\r\n“爷爷，你为什么动呀？”\r\n\r\n我爹说：“是风吹的。”\r\n\r\n那时候我们家境还没有败落，我们徐家有一百多亩地，从这里一直到那边工厂的烟囱，都是我家的。我爹和我，是远近闻名的阔老爷和阔少爷，我们走路时鞋子的声响，都像是铜钱碰来撞去的。我女人家珍，是城里米行老板的女儿，她也是有钱人家出生的。有钱人嫁给有钱人，就是把钱堆起来，钱在钱上面哗哗地流，这样的声音我有四十年没有听到了。\r\n\r\n我是我们徐家的败家子，用我爹的话说，我是他的孽子。\r\n\r\n我念过几年私塾，穿长衫的私塾先生叫我念一段书时，是我最高兴的。我站起来，拿着本线装的《千字文》，对私塾先生说：\r\n\r\n“好好听着，爹给你念一段。”\r\n\r\n年过花甲的私塾先生对我爹说：\r\n\r\n“你家少爷长大了准能当个二流子。”\r\n\r\n我从小就不可救药，这是我爹的话。私塾先生说我是朽木不可雕也。现在想想他们都说对了，当初我可不这么想，我想我有钱呵，我是徐家仅有的一根香火，我要是灭了，徐家就得断子绝孙。\r\n\r\n上私塾时我从来不走路，都是我家一个雇工背着我去，放学时他已经恭恭敬敬地弯腰蹲在那里了，我骑上去后拍拍雇工的脑袋，说一声：\r\n\r\n“长根，跑呀。”\r\n\r\n雇工长根就跑起来，我在上面一颠一颠的，像是一只在树梢上的麻雀。我说一声：\r\n\r\n“飞呀。”\r\n\r\n长根就一步一跳，做出一副飞的样子。\r\n\r\n我长大以后喜欢往城里跑，常常是十天半月不回家。我穿着白色的丝绸衣衫，头发抹得光滑透亮，往镜子前一站，我看到自己满脑袋的黑油漆，一副有钱人的样子。\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\n<em>Later, this old man sat down with me beneath the verdant trees, and on that sunlit afternoon, he told me of himself.</em>\r\n\r\nForty-odd years ago, my father would often walk around out here, wearing a black silk robe, always with both hands behind his back, and whenever he went out he would say to my mother: \r\n\r\n\"I\'m going to walk around my place.\"\r\n\r\nMy father would walk on his estate, and when the tenant farmers saw him, they would hold their shovels still in between two hands and say respectfully: \r\n\r\n\"Master.\" \r\n\r\nWhenever my father walked into town, the townsfolk called him \"Mister\". My father was a personage of some repute, but when he moved his bowels, he did it like a poor man. He didn\'t like to relieve himself in the toilet by the bed, and preferred to shit in the wilds like a farm animal. Every evening, my father let out a belch, a sound like a croaking frog, and left the house, walking sluggishly towards the manure vat at the mouth of the village. \r\n\r\nHe\'d arrive at the manure vat, and finding the filth around its edges distasteful, he\'d go up on tiptoe and squat above it. My father was old, and his feces were as old as he was, they didn\'t come out easily, and everyone in the house could hear him grunting.  \r\n\r\nFor many years this is how my father moved his bowels, at 60 years old he could still squat over the manure pit for half the day, his two legs had the strength of a bird\'s claws. My father like to watch the sky slowly fade to black, covering his fields. When my daughter Feng Xia was three or four, she would often run to the mouth of the village to watch grandpa poop, after all my father was getting on in years, and as he was squatting there his legs would tremble a bit, and Feng Xia would ask: \r\n\r\n\"Grandpa, why are you moving?\" \r\n\r\nAnd my dad would say: \"It\'s the wind.\"  \r\n\r\nAt that time our family\'s situation hadn\'t yet deteriorated, the Xu\'s had 100-plus <em>mu</em> of land, from here all the way to that factory\'s smokestack, all of it was our family\'s. My dad and I, were famous near and far as the Rich Old Master and the Rich Young Master, when we walked on the road, the sound of our shoes was like the sound of copper cash striking. My wife Jia Zhen, was the daughter of a rice industry bigwig in town, she also came from a wealthy family. A wealthy woman marrying a wealthy man, money piled on money, swishing in a great stream, I haven\'t heard that sound in 40 years. \r\n\r\nI was the Xu family wastrel, or in my father\'s world, I was his unfilial son.\r\n\r\nI went to private school for a couple of years, and when the school master in his long silk gown called on me to read a passage aloud, that\'s when I was happiest. I would stand up, holding a string-bound copy of <em>Qianzi Wen</em>, and say to him:\r\n\r\n\"Listen up, your elder is going to read you a passage.\"   \r\n\r\nThe schoolmaster, who was over sixty, would say to my father:\r\n\r\n\"Your family\'s young master is going to be a loafer when he grows up.\" \r\n\r\nEver since I was little, I\'ve been incorrigable, that\'s what my father said. The schoolmaster said I was \"rotten wood that couldn\'t be carved\". Now that I think on it they were both right, but at the time I didn\'t think this was so, I thought I had money, I was the Xu family\'s only son, if something happened to me, the family would be without heirs.\r\n\r\nWhen I went to school I never walked, it was always our hired worker that carried me there on his back, and when I got off, he always respectfully crouched over there, and when I jumped on I patted his head and said: \r\n\r\n\"Run, Changgen!\"\r\n\r\nThe worker Changgen would run, and I would bounce along, like a sparrow sitting on a tree branch. I\'d say:\r\n\r\n\"Fly.\"\r\n\r\nAnd Changgun would walk one step and jump one step, and make as if he was flying. \r\n\r\nAfter I grew up I like to go into the city, and often wouldn\'t come back for 10 days or half a month. I\'d wear a white silk shirt, my hair sleek and shiny, standing in front of the mirror, I\'d see the black oil in my hair, the picture of a wealthy man.\r\n[/hide-this-part]\r\n[/su_column]\r\n[/su_row]</div>', 'Novels: Start Reading \"To Live\" 《活着》by Yu Hua', '', 'inherit', 'closed', 'closed', '', '1882-revision-v1', '', '', '2020-04-20 10:46:58', '2020-04-20 14:46:58', '', 1882, 'http://chinesereadingpractice.com/2020/04/20/1882-revision-v1/', 0, 'revision', '', 0);
