User Comments - calicartel
calicartel
Posted on: 扎着麻花辫的女孩
November 7, 2009 at 4:53 PMI have a longish query reagarding the sequence 我有意侧过身想看一下 in the penultimate line. This is translated as "I tried to pass her by so I could take a look". Now in the dictionary 侧 means "to incline towards". I'm not clear about what physical action is taking place. Shouldn't it be "I bent over to take a look"? Also, I don't know what to make of 过身想. If 侧过 is a verb (meaning "to pass by"?), then what is 身想 and what does it mean? How should this be dissected? 侧-过身-想看 or 侧过-身想-看 ?
Posted on: Fruit Basket of Cause-Effect
October 24, 2009 at 1:55 PMThis lesson is more about a particular character than about grammar. I think this is a good approach. It fills a gap in learning. Making sense of these recurring characters I mean. Bringing some logic into the vocab. I hope there will be more of this.
No drop in sound quality as far as I'm concerned.
Posted on: Nothing More Than Only and Just
October 24, 2009 at 1:46 PMI consider myself UI and I found this lesson interesting. Essential points of grammar do not belong to any particular level. It's good to be reminded of them regardless of one's level.
Posted on: Kaixin Wang Farm Thieves
October 24, 2009 at 12:29 PMRegarding internet censorship, I wonder whether the traditional version of Wikipedia is spared the obligation to "toe the line". After all, it targets a non-PRC public. Are traditional characters at all associated with dissident "pro-imperialist" ideology?
Incidentally, stealing cows and pigs is not as ridiculous a passtime as it looks. Greek mythology is full of incidents where characters, including Gods, steal cattle and horses from one another. In one famous incident Dyonisous stole Appollo's cows. Zeus himself had to intervene to prevent the quarrel between the two brothers from degenerating. Other people will see parallels between some video games and the Trojan wars. Human has come full circle.
Posted on: Funny Business 5
October 20, 2009 at 6:17 AMRjberki said "you really ought to consider using WLCP."
I did! I downloaded WLCP twice at a 6-month interval (two different releases). It worked neither time. It kept returning empty folders. I'm using Firefox though. I remember sending a log to someone in charge of WLCP so that they could see what was wrong, but I got no feedback. Anyway, editing the audio review works fine right now. I only wish the reader of the English translations would speak up. I can barely hear the English.
Posted on: Chinese Idol 2
October 19, 2009 at 9:06 PMAbout the audio review, may I suggest the reading of the English translations in the expansion to be as loud as the Chinese. I end up guessing the English after hearing the Chinese, which is a good sign in that it proves my Chinese is not so bad. But there's no reason for the English - if it is to be read out at all - to be spoken in a barely audible whisper. I'm listening to these files while commuting so it is essential for the decibel level to be consistent from one line to the next (this also applies to lesson dialogues of course). I would hate to have to choose which CP resources to use purely on acoustic grounds.
Posted on: Funny Business 5
October 18, 2009 at 7:55 PMGood gracious Tal my friend you saved my life a second time. I've just downloaded mp3DirectCut and it works wonderfully! Intuitive to use, just cut and erase really.
I downloaded from http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/mpDirectCut-Download-4880.html
No Windows registry mishap either.
On another subject: I managed to find what might be one last fault with your Funny business Part 3 transcript.
Thanks again!
Posted on: Funny Business 5
October 17, 2009 at 5:59 AMHey Tal, thanks for pointing out the audio review now has all the sentences. As a premium subscriber I didn't know about this! It's either me or it's CP not being good about informing their customers about major enhancements. All the while I keep getting CP mails on a second e-mail ID of mine urging me to become a premium member which I've been for over a year now.
I'll download some of the audio reviews to test if they can do me any good. I don't feel the isolated words do much for me so I'll have to fast forward through to the sentences.
Posted on: Playing the Stock Market
October 16, 2009 at 1:06 PMIf someone is still reading this, could they shed light on what 该 is doing in the expansion sentence 去年该市房价的总体涨势不太明 ? This character means "should", "ought". This is not rendered in the translation which says "Last year the inflation in the housing market was not terribly apparent." According to MDGB 该 also means "above-mentioned". Could it be that the source sentence contained such a reference which should've been removed for the sentence to stand on its own?
Posted on: Thank You Note
November 11, 2009 at 2:11 PMRegarding cursive and other scripts/fonts, maybe CP could give us some exposure to them, for example by introducing a 3rd option into the cogwheel (simplified + traditional + cursive). I've noticed any departure - even straightforward italics - from the standard type-face is worth practising.
What about having all expansion sentences in alternative fonts (possibly keeping pop-ups in normal font for clarification)?