User Comments - bodawei

Posted on: Language Exchange

When my Australian teacher learned that I was going to study in China she said : 'Make sure you get a language partner; they are really useful for doing your homework.'  I laughed, but when I got to China I realised that it was no joke.  Chinese teachers have no real appreciation for how lazy we foreigners can be; they lay on lots of exercises, every day, that keep you busy for many hours, and then humiliate you if you fail to submit your 作业 in a nice little homework book.  So language partners have their place.. :-)     

My advice though is 1. to look for language learning opportunities everywhere, and 2. pay a tutor for one on one language help. 

Posted on: 沙漠寻踪四

@pete

Trying to control 物价 (commodity prices) is often self-defeating but controlling the price of network services (eg. electricity, water, gas, railways) improves the welfare of the community - do you happen to know how to translate something like the 'price of monopoly services'?  Drawing the comparison with 'commodity prices' (eg. milk, petrol, rice, pork.)  Related question - do you happen to know a good Chinese dictionary covering technical terms in finance and economics?  [I remember you said in your interview that you did translations in the world of business.]

Posted on: How're You Doing? 得

@changye

讲价 jiang3jia4 (to haggle over prices) 你忘了！  A slightly less formal use of the word? 

讲理是动词， 对吧？ 意思是'reason things out' 还有 'be reasonable', 两个词不一样的意思。

Posted on: Lessons and Comment Policy

My guess is the the new comments policy will not change behaviour much - certainly that is my hope.  As Zhenlijiang says, the community is like (and I paraphrase).. a delicate flower.  Too much regulation and people will desert this country and find somewhere else to graze.  I don't wish CP management anything but goodwill in these comments.  But as a student of efficient regulation I offer the view that the key is to create incentives for healthy learning behaviour.   Putting up articfical boundaries is rarely successful (not unless you have a big army to enforce the rules.)  

One of the problems observed by Mark and others is that language questions sometimes, let's say mostly, go unanswered.  I suggest that given the 'pot luck' involved, where this happens we should direct questions by PM to teachers. This provides an incentive to CP for the community questions to receive a response.  And we need to recognise the practical difficulties for teachers responding to questions on  Community; there is risk of wasted effort and duplication because of time lag and so many questions attended to by other poddies. 

I think that the best we can hope for is incremental change for the better .. that is, a better strike rate in responding to learners' questions, and a high level of tolerance by CP in respect of the drivel.

PS. The suggestion that poddies should start another thread elsewhere has its problems.  Many of these threads get missed, even on interesting topics.  And it is hard enough keeping track of the Lesson threads, let alone an increased number of individual threads.  The whole point of the Community is that it involves and focuses a horde of people with something to offer, so the Community is a better place to post.

Posted on: Lessons and Comment Policy

As one of the worst offenders for spurious comments I thought I should get in with this post today (new policy starts Monday right?) 

I hope that doesn't mean that comments have to be totally lesson focused.  For example, I hope that culture related points can be expressed?  [Klingon culture might be out of order?]  Culture brings the language learning experience alive.  I guess a bit of judgement is required and we'll have to taste it and see.

Posted on: No TV Before Your Test!

@go_manly

you make fair points - don't start me, I am less and less interested in watching sport myself. If I enjoy watching anything it is league, and it is cruel that the Raiders get on free-to-air about once per season ..err, possibly to get beaten by Manly :-(.  

And I'm with you on 'getting out in the sun' - my doctor tells me that half the population is Vitamin D deficient because we've all been encouraged to 'slip, slop, and slap'.  Now I have been ordered outside without hat or block-out for at least two 15 minute sessions a day!  And I find that the sun cheers me up, no question.

Posted on: How're You Doing? 得

@Gleeful Three

三个欢欣的人教我们教得很好，当然我们听得特别开心。 

the Gleeful Three taught us very well so naturally we listened happily. 

不好意思，我拍马屁拍得不好。。

Posted on: Ice Cream

@catchit, barbs

My wife is a fan of green tea icecream (and red bean icecream).  Unfortunately she is more an expert in eating than making. She says that there are different types of green tea icream and some have a gritty texture; she suggests that it might be made with a green tea powder.  She also recommends red bean icecream over green tea icecream.  

But just up the road at a Japanese place I can buy green tea lattes - yeah, they taste lke milky green tea.

I am no fan of Chinese icecream - it all tastes to me as if made with roughage like bran.  Rule of thumb it costs about 10 percent of Western brands sold in China.

Posted on: No TV Before Your Test!

@go_manly

I trust that the reason you 'don't care much for Origin football' didn't just develop in the past few years; I hope it has nothing to do with the fact of your own NSW 'origin'?  Even worse, I hope it has nothing to do with a certain bearded winger who had a shocker in Origin I?  As if it required explanation, although I have lived in Sydney nearly 27 years ('too long' says my wife), I was born in Brissie and therfore I'm a Qlder. Specially at Origin time.. Actually I feel most comfortable going for the underdog; I'm feeling uncomfortable at present with all of Qld's success.

Posted on: Traveling around China

@tvan

:-) .. everyone has to make a living.  He was not counting on repeat business.