Previous Counseling

Thanks a lot.

麻辣烫 ma2 la4 tang4, which is like soup but not real soup, these three character means the taste of this kind of soup, it is spicy, lip feels hot and really hot. that is why we call it 麻辣烫

Amanda,

Somehow a lot of garbage got into my last message.  Let me try again:

In "Street Food" the word for hot-and-spicy soup is given as "麻辣烫 mālàtàng."  Are these characters and tones right? I would have thought that 麻辣 was ma2la4, and I would have thought that 烫  should have been 汤.

           --Joe

Amanda,

    In "Street Food" the word for hot-and-spicy soup is given as "麻辣烫 mālàtàng."  Are these characters and tones right? I would have thought that 麻辣 was ma2la4, and I would have thought that 烫 should have been <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:SimSun; panose-1:2 1 6 0 3 1 1 1 1 1; mso-font-alt:宋体; mso-font-charset:134; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 135135232 16 0 262145 0;} @font-face {font-family:PMingLiU; panose-1:2 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-alt:新細明體; mso-font-charset:136; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 137232384 22 0 1048577 0;} @font-face {font-family:Gulim; panose-1:2 11 6 0 0 1 1 1 1 1; mso-font-alt:굴림; mso-font-charset:129; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1342176593 1775729915 48 0 524447 0;} @font-face {font-family:"\@Gulim"; panose-1:2 11 6 0 0 1 1 1 1 1; mso-font-charset:129; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1342176593 1775729915 48 0 524447 0;} @font-face {font-family:"\@SimSun"; panose-1:2 1 6 0 3 1 1 1 1 1; mso-font-charset:134; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 135135232 16 0 262145 0;} @font-face {font-family:"\@PMingLiU"; panose-1:2 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:136; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 137232384 22 0 1048577 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:PMingLiU;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> 汤.

           --Joe

李老师,

    "李子"和"梅子"有什么不一样?  (不在这个星期的课文).)  我找到了这个照片: http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&gbv=2&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=%E6%9D%8E%E5%AD%90&aq=0&aqi=g9&aql=&oq=%E6%9D%8Ezi&gs_rfai=&start=0, http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&gbv=2&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=3&q=%E6%A2%85%E5%AD%90&btnG=Search+images.

    --Joe 

李老师

    你的说明很清楚. 谢谢.

     --Joe

there is no difference in meaning between "不同时代的人有着不同的观念" and "不同时代的人有不同的观念", 着just to emphasize the state, such as 他看着这本书. he is looking at this book.

不同时代的人有着不同的观念: 不同时代的人 different age's people. the relationship here is the people of the different age. You need to know the belonging relationship.If you say 不同的时代的人is right but too many de1,so we omit first de1. 不同的观念just adj+de1+noun.

你不应该让他这么做=你不应该使他这么做, same meaning, Whether is "You shouldn't let him do that."or"You shouldn't have him do that" depends on the context.

一家人 here jia1 is measure word, a whole family of people,you can also say两家人,三家人. 家人 is just a word which means family members.

Amanda,

   Is there a difference in meaning between "照顾一家人的生活" and "照顾家人的生活"?

     --Joe

Amanda,

    One of the expansion sentences, "你不应该让他这么做" is translated as "You shouldn't let him do that."  Could it just has well mean "You shouldn't have him do that," i.e., "You shouldn't cause him to do that"? 

    Also, could the latter meaning be expressed more unambiguously by "你不应该使他这么做"?

    --Joe

Amanda,

    In the "Family Life" expansion sentence "不同时代的人有着不同的观念," there's a 的 after the second occurrence of 不同 but not after the first one.  Would the sentence be proper if that were reversed, or if neither or both occurrences included the 的?

    --Joe

Amanda,

    Is there a difference in meaning between "不同时代的人有着不同的观念" and "不同时代的人有不同的观念"?

     --Joe

没关系.  上个星期也好.

其它天都有课,不好意思,下个星期可以吗?

李老师,

对不起, 我这个星期二不能跟你说话.  其它的天可以吗?

           --Joe

哈哈,很好. 我很高兴你这么说.

谢谢. 我很享受了昨天的课程.

享受生活 xiang3 shou4 sheng1 huo2

he2 huo3 ren2 合伙人

我知道了. 謝謝.

Mr. Li doesn't think Mr. Wang is a good worker? we will say Mr Li is not happy with Mr.Wang's work but not like. you can say 李先生不满意王先生的工作. or you can put sth behind work like attitude. 李先生不喜欢王先生的工作态度.

Mr. Li wouldn't like to have Mr. Wang's job? is just李先生不喜欢王先生的工 作

Actually, the lesson title was "Future Goals," not "Future Plans."

Amanda,

In the expansion sentences for "Future Plans," the translation for "他不喜欢他 的工作" is "He doesn't like his job."  Could you also say, "李先生不喜欢王先生的工作," and would that instead mean "Mr. Li doesn't like Mr. Wang's work," i.e., that Mr. Li doesn't think Mr. Wang is a good worker?  Or would it instead mean that Mr. Li wouldn't like to have Mr. Wang's job?

          --Joe

Amanda,

     Thanks a lot for all the answers.

     --Joe

In the audio for the third expansion sentence under "犯规" in the "One on One Basketball" lesson, there seems to be an extra syllable between 次数 and 已经, and it that sounds like wu3.  I did not hear that.

一共is totally,to emphsize the whole match. 位 is more respectful to someone,but you can also say那个先生that is more casual, 次数actually is times, so frequency has two meanings which is 次数and 频率like radio frequency. The instance for 次数is 你这个月迟到的次数很多.The frequency of being late this month is a lot. 脚and足 are feet,but 足is old saying and written word while 脚is informal and colloquial.你用脚踢人you use feet to kick you.

Amanda,

    Would "他灌篮了几次？" mean the same as "他一共灌篮了几次？"?

          --Joe

Amanda,

     Can you use "那个先生" instead of "那位先生"?

          --Joe

Amanda,

    I should probably clarify the question I previously sent you about "次数."  I understand that in the expansion sentence it doesn't really mean "frequency"; it really means "number of times" (whereas "frequency" means number of times per second).  So my question really is, Can you think of any instances in which 次数 really does mean "frequency"?

     --Joe

In the audio for the third expansion sentence under "犯规" in the "One on One Basketball" lesson, there seems to be an extra syllable between 次数 and 已经, and it that sounds like wu3.  Do you hear it, too?

         --Joe

Amanda,

     How do the usages of 脚 and 足 differ?  My understanding is that they both mean "foot."

     The expansion sentences for "One on One Basketball" give "frequency" as the translation for "次数," but I assume that word is not used for radio frequency or sound frequency, right?

            --Joe

Amanda,

   Is the meaning of "你用脚踢人" the same as   "你踢人"?

    --Joe

yes,right, talk then.

Amanda,

    I've returned now, and I believe we're scheduled to speak at 8:45 AM Tuesday your time.  I lost track, but I think the lessons for today are those for Week three in the second lesson plan, namely, "Your turn to pay!", "Do I Look Good in This?", and "Shopping."

            --Joe

ok, got it. Talk then and take care.

Amanda,

    Something just came up that will prevent me from speaking with you tonight (tomorrow morning, your time). 

     I'll also be away on February 9th and February 16th (your time), so maybe we can speak again on February 23rd?

              --Joe

yes, you can, it is a fixed structure to express besides/except--"除了...以外", but you can omit 以外.

Amanda,

     Could the following sentence from "Shopping" 除了百货公司以外还有其它的买东西的地方吗？be said without the 以外还, i.e., 除了百货公司有其它的买东西的地方吗？

          --Joe

Amanda,

    Last week I used the English word squash.  Here's a picture of what I was talking about:http://serendipita.org/static/squash.jpg.

Amanda,

    The question that I'm about to ask is probably too complicated for our respective abilities in the other's language, but I will try it anyway.

    I think the given translation of 这样挤车多类呀, namely, "Fighting traffic like that is so tiring," is too loose for me to understand what the individual words do.  Specifically, I don't think that "fighting" is actually in the Chinese.  My guess is that it would be more faithful to the literal wording to say "Cars so crowded together are very tiring," although this is not what a native English speaker would ordinarily say.  If my guess is largely correct, then 多 means "very"--or maybe "excessively" in this context.

     Am I correct about what 挤 and 多 mean in this sentence?

Amanda,

   Thanks. For some reason, I had formed impression that 这个人 tended to signal a negative attitude about the subject being modified, but obviously that was not the case in this context.

     --Joe

Actually, I don't think there is a big difference here. it is just an emphasis and you can also just say你觉得他老实吗? but i feel if it is about character and some inner or personal thing, you can put这个人 to emphasize.

Amanda,

    In the expansion sentences for "Love Letter," how does the meaning of "你觉得他这个人实在吗?" differ from that of "你觉得他实在吗?"?  In other words, what does "这个人" add?

Joe,

I am very sorry for that because my computor is broken suddenly Tuesday morning. but we can talk longer next time. Happy early Christmas. and if you have any question, just let me know, thanks.

Amanda

Amanda,

   My understanding is that we are to speak at 8:45 AM Tuesday the 15th Shanghai time (which is 7:45 PM Monday the 14th Indianapolis time).

    By the way, I will thereafter be unavailable until January 4th/5th.

                 --Joe

谢谢.

Joe,

比你好的还有很多-there are still a lot of people better than you. 比你好的人有很多-there are a lot of people better than you.

Amanda

Thank you.

Another question: In "Wang Wei's Diary Food and Girls," The expansion sentence "比你好的人还有很多" is translated simply as "there are a lot of people better than you" rather than "there are still a lot of people better than you" or "there are a lot of other people better than you."  So would the meaning be the same without the 还?

Yes,it depends on the context,and we usually tell the other one what we want to borrow, so we can say can you lend me something?( ni3 neng2 jie4 wo3 dian3r dong1xi ma?.....)

Amanda,

   Could "把东西借给我" in the "Love Letter" exercises mean "lend me something" or "lend me anything" instead of "lend me that thing"?

               --Joe

謝謝! 你的回答很清楚.

Joe,

yes, they are nearly the same. chu1 is somethingl like"out", so you express out what I want to say. find out-zhao3 chu1(some clues,like discovering something), find-zhao3 dao4(just a result, you find it or not)

Amanda

Amanda,

   Does the expression 表达出我要说的意思  in the "Love Letter" lesson's expansion sentences mean the same as 表达我要说的意思?  That is, does 出 add anything?

Joe,

that is 夹菜 jia1 cai4-taking food with chopsticks,we do not have 来菜 lai2 cai4 this exression. the character looks similiar but not the same.

Amanda

Amanda,

    In the vocabulary and exercizes for "Discussing Eating," it gives 來菜 for "taking food (with chopsticks), but the pronunciation is given as jia1 cai4.  What's the right expression for taking food?

     --Joe

Joe,

I can give lesson next week same time.

Amanda

Amanda,

Yes, that's clear.  Thanks a lot.

   --Joe

Joe,

You're such a diligent student.You always paid attention to the details. Here is just a simple answer, we don't need to make it complicated, In the song,看到那桃花开.is not one flowers, it must be a lot of flowers,so you don't say朵. 看到那朵桃花开is just that flower,only one.Is it easy to understand?

Amanda 

Amanda,

    In the "Karaoke" lesson, the song has the phrase "看到那桃花开" instead of "看到那朵桃花开."  Would the latter expression have been correct?  If so, is there any difference between the two expressions' meanings?  Is there any resource that can help me learn how to know whether to include a measure word?

             --Joe

Joe,

Yes,it is. thanks.Talk to you next Tuesday

Amanda

Thanks a lot.

My understanding is that we are to speak at 8:45 Tuesday morning your time (7:45 Monday evening mine).

Joe,

Yes, chen1 wei2称为 can be used in the active voice. but you can also use that in the passive voice such as Amanda bei4 chen1 wei2 li3 lao3 shi1. Amanda被称为李老师. it is like sb is called as... and i call sb as....

Amanda

Amanda,

Thank you for your replies.  I do have a follow-up question, though.

My question wasn't whether "is" can be used in the active voice; it was whether 称为 can be used in the active voice.  For example, can I say, "我把李老师称为 'Amanda'"?

      --Joe

Joe，

了is used for the past tense,and you can omit it. but if you say ...already... happened, you can't omit 了，such as 我已经去过你家了。

"Is" only has active voice, and no passive voice. 被动态 means “passive voice.”  “active voice”is 主动语态

Would 特别 have worked in the second sentence just as well as 特别是? yes, it is special,  such as: 妈妈给我买了特别的礼物。 Mom bought me a special present.

In the dialog there’s no 在…都 in 上海女性的品味是全国有名的, but there is in the expansion sentence北京大学在全世界都很有名.  Does that make any difference in meaning?  Or does the use of 在…都 have something to do with the fact that the expansion sentence uses the 是…的 construction?

   北京大学在全世界都很有名. 在。。。都 is just an emphasis, which means Beijing University is so famous that people all over the world know it. so when you emphasis sth and put a range,then it means sth is ... than any other things, it is sth about comparison. 是。。的 is just it is ......in the ...,nothing special.

I hope that will be clear, is it too complex?

Amanda

Amanda,

I have a question about the presence of 了 in one of the expansion sentences for "Have You Been to Beijing?"  The sentence is 我已经去过你家了. Would the 了 have been omitted if 已经  had been omitted, too?  I.e., would it be 我去过你家 ?

Amanda,

     I have the following questions about "Shanghai Fashion":

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Is 称为 ever used in the active voice?  Can you give an example?  (被动态 means “passive voice.”  How do you say “active voice”?)

Would 特别 have worked in the second sentence just as well as 特别是?

      --Joe

 
 
Week Commencing: 11/03/2009       
Week 1           
1.    Elementary - Have you been to Beijing?       
2.    Elementary - China's Most Famous Tourist Destinations       
3.    Intermediate - Shanghai Fashion       
4.           
5 .           
Week 2           
1.    Elementary - Hobbies: Music       
2.    Elementary - Musical Instruments       
3.    Intermediate - Karaoke       
4.           
5.           
Week 3           
1.    Elementary - Discussing Eating       
2.    Elementary - Barbecuing       
3.    Intermediate - Buying a Drink       
4.           
5.           
Week 4           
1.    Elementary - Wang Wei's Diary: Food and Girls       
2.    Elementary - Yang Jie's Diary: Everyone Is Dating       
3.    Intermediate - Love Letter       
4.           
5.