User Comments - pearltowerpete
pearltowerpete
Posted on: Argument over Garbage (1)
November 19, 2008 at 11:37 PMHi bettine
其实破烂车进行的“回收” 不是“把旧的东西破坏，然后用这些材料来做新的产品”的意思。实际上，他们会把收到的东西卖给乡下人。于是你不用付钱，反而他会给你一点钱。 但因为他利润空间很小，所以他们一般买的特别贱。
我估计不同地方的广播还是会用不同方言吧。在上海你也能听到很不标准的普通话，例如： “hui1shou4, cai3dian4,bing1xiang4, kong3tiao2,xi3yi5ji5,"等。
Posted on: Leaving Luggage with the Hotel
November 19, 2008 at 9:12 AMHi dunderklumpen
The problem here is not your English, but the sometimes mysterious ways that measure words are used in Chinese. I think the most natural translation of 件jian4 is "article." But this is not perfect, because we don't say "an article of business" in English.
Generally there will be a more logical connection among the things that share a measure word. Here are a few fun examples.
条 tiao2 used for long, thin things including: fish, pants, a life
张 zhang1 for flat, broad things including a bed, a piece of paper, and a face.
The list goes on. You can get entire books on this stuff, if you're interested.
Posted on: How's the weather?
November 19, 2008 at 9:07 AMHi pdq123
Adding an 啊 "a5” to the ends of words like 好 or 谢谢(xie4xie4 thank you) softens the tone, and makes them seem even more polite.
Posted on: Argument over Garbage (1)
November 19, 2008 at 8:48 AMHi kesirui
It's bad enough that you didn't destroy the bottle. But the real problem is that you were drinking Baileys...and you didn't invite me?!
Hi baifameizhong
Your advice to make a mess of uneaten food is sound. Of course the ideal would be to 打包 (take it home), but it's not always feasible. And your writing was pretty good, but I think in your last sentence you mean "另外."
Posted on: Argument over Garbage (1)
November 19, 2008 at 7:58 AMHi henning
放我的鸽子 means "to stand me up," i.e. not to show up to a planned date.
Hi christudent,
哎呀，我同意，叫嚣是没必要的。又不是我们砸了她们的门。You are "preaching to the choir."
想多了解文化差异和双方的动机，听一下下个lesson.
Posted on: Argument over Garbage (1)
November 19, 2008 at 6:41 AMHi christudent, 我对你的话表示首肯。
但这种情况哪算得上“不同意见” 呢？在邻居门前乱放垃圾就是不文明的行为。再说，周六早上８点砸门有些夸张吧。
行为就是行为，意见就是意见。假如这些阿姨跟我直说这个问题，我完全可以接受并了解。这么讲礼貌的这些阿姨就应该身体力行，先跟人家说一下再露出狰狞面目 ;-)
Posted on: Argument over Garbage (1)
November 19, 2008 at 5:41 AMPerson D was actually the husband of one of the ladies. The dynamic was interesting because each person in the argument had someone else to pull them back -- for one lady it was her husband, for the other, her son, and for me, my girlfriend. This pattern seems fairly common in China. It has the benefit of allowing each party to save some face. Everyone disperses, but no one has to concede defeat.
Posted on: Argument over Garbage (1)
November 19, 2008 at 5:37 AMHi John,
I've always just stuck them in a bag and smashed them, but whatever works! When he moved house, one of my friends was offered 10 yuan per bottle for his collection of ABSOLUT bottles by the moving guys. He declined.
Hi bababardwan,
I'm the poor guy in the lesson. It was definitely a Clash of the Titans. I'm sorry to say that just like when I argue in English, the best zingers came too late. But that's the beauty of Connie, Jiaojie and Jenny's script-writing.
After the dust settled, I probably should've smoothed things over in the time honored way:
大家都是朋友，抽烟， 抽烟！*taps on pack of cigarettes*
Posted on: Argument over Garbage (1)
November 19, 2008 at 4:05 AMAnd here's a suggestion for all poddies: do your part to prevent fraud. Smash your bottles of foreign alcohol after drinking. These are a very tempting target for unscrupulous people who will refill them with who knows what.
Many Chinese restaurants have the same policy with their high-end 白酒 (bai2jiu3, grain alcohol) bottles.
Posted on: ID Check at the Internet Cafe
November 20, 2008 at 1:22 AMHi davidfong
They would ask something like 给我看一下你的身份证 (shen1fen5zheng4--ID card).
You could reply 我是澳大利亚人，没有身份证！
In which case they will probably want to see your 护照. I think the important thing is to copy down a number from an official looking document.