User Comments - ElijahW
ElijahW
Posted on: More harm than good? 饮鸩止渴—咖啡不能停
February 14, 2019 at 11:32 AMHaha, no, I'm not that rich unfortunately. I used ChinesePod heavily from 2007 through 2010, then dropped out of the scene until last year when I re-committed to raising my Chinese level. Being involved with ChinesePod is really helpful.
Posted on: How thin is too thin? 适可而止──老人养生别太瘦
February 13, 2019 at 11:36 PMThis seems to be a common comment lately. :(
Posted on: More harm than good? 饮鸩止渴—咖啡不能停
February 13, 2019 at 1:01 PMWow, that's not good... Have you reported that with the "Report a Mistake" button?
Posted on: University Major: Part 1
February 11, 2019 at 4:20 PMChéngwéi means "to become," whereas dāng means "to be." They're similar, but chéngwéi tends to emphasize change, whereas dāng just refers to the way things are. If you're a lawyer, and you want to do a career change to become a teacher, you could use the word chéngwéi.
Posted on: How to Say Hello
February 11, 2019 at 4:11 PMIs it working now? I just tried it, and things seem fine.
Posted on: Swapping Zodiac Signs
February 11, 2019 at 4:07 PMFull transcripts of an entire lesson are rarely offered. The focus of a lesson is the dialogue itself (and there is a full transcript). Any Chinese discussion in the "Full Lesson" is there to challenge a student's listening ability. As a student's ability and confidence grows at a particular level, more and more of the "Full Lesson" discussion becomes understandable. When a student can routinely understand everything said in a "Full Lesson," it's probably time to start thinking about moving up a level.
In the past, some students have on their own written out full transcripts of the Full Lessons. This is a great way to develop stronger listening skills. They would then post questions about particular places in the Full Lesson (listing the exact time) where they weren't able to understand what was said.
Posted on: 66 Enjoyable Characters with Joy #3
February 11, 2019 at 4:01 PMThe tone doesn't bother me personally - I've grown pretty thick skin over the years - but I do think Joan has a point. It's a problem I've seen often, and it goes both ways. I've seen frustrated English teachers talking to Chinese college students like they're 3-year-olds. I've discussed this with ChinesePod staff, and it is on their radar.
Posted on: I Like Those Sweet Kind of Things
February 8, 2019 at 3:01 PMI did some looking on Baidu, and I'm seeing both. Doing an image search with each term brings up different results - 蔓越莓 brings up images of the fresh fruit, whereas 蔓越梅 brings up images of dried pieces, especially in cookies or biscuits.
So, no real answer from me, but I'd be curious to know how a native speaker would answer this.
Posted on: I want to play
February 7, 2019 at 1:34 AMYou're hearing it correctly! This is a regional difference. Southerners say "wan" (玩) but northerners typically insist that "wanr" (玩儿) is the only correct way to say it. No matter which way you say it, be prepared to be corrected depending on whether you're with northerners or southerners.
Posted on: More harm than good? 饮鸩止渴—咖啡不能停
February 14, 2019 at 11:34 AMI work at a Chinese factory in South Carolina, but I do have some involvement with the ChinesePod team. Fiona and Constance had left just as I was starting to get involved again, so I'm not familiar with their situations. And you're no bother at all!