User Comments - pearltowerpete

Posted on: Letting go with 放

Hi frosty

I've been called long-winded, but this pun blows them all away!

Posted on: Gone Fishing

Hi foleadu

Good question. Here, 一把 is being used as a measure word. Although an exact analogue doesn't exist in English, it's like we're saying "pull me a grip." The meaning is "give me a pull."

Posted on: Gone Fishing

Hi philren

不错，只改了两个地方，请看看：

我抓到鱼了。 （动作完成了）

太小了，把它再扔进水里去吧。（同音字）

谢谢卢老师帮我确定语法正确。

Posted on: Gone Fishing

Hi all

Catch-and-release 中文怎么講呢

Crappie candy呢？

Hip-waders?

Seth Green rig?

大家用过哪种鱼饵？面包团好用，口香糖也可以。

Posted on: 李敖吴宗宪对决

Hi bendidelaowai

You've raised an interesting point. I definitely have mainland friends who know and use plenty of 成语. And pengyu is right, 成语 are more often used in written Chinese on both sides of the strait.

Still, it's important to remember that many places on the Mainland passed through almost twenty years of extreme political and social upheaval during the late 1950s through 1970s.

During much of that time, anything from the past was considered disgusting, feudal, and evil. So books, temples, and educated people were destroyed. For many reasons, people don't like to talk about this. But there's no doubt it had a severe effect on the education of a generation. Taiwan escaped this tragedy.

Posted on: Hong Kong Visa Run

Some people misconstrued my remarks because either their English is not good enough to understand irony (fine, we are here to learn), or because they are looking for a fight.

Does anyone think that the 23 countries that recognize Taiwan do so entirely because of their deep convictions about the great Republic of China and the Three People's Principles? If you want to understand politics, the best thing you can do is: Follow the money. That is the point I was making earlier.

There is no need to discuss the Taiwan issue further. This is a lesson about visas.

Posted on: Hong Kong Visa Run

Hi chistudent,

I sincerely appreciate your good intentions. But I strongly disagree with the idea that "One ought to 入乡随俗 to avoid any forms of confrontation."

Any idea worth holding can withstand intelligent criticism. It doesn't matter whether the criticism comes from home or abroad, or from a country's own citizens.

Debate is healthy and normal. Chinese living abroad are free to express their opinions, even if they are unpopular. People living in China sometimes keep from expressing ourselves completely. This is not out of some desire to avoid "offending our hosts." It is because there is a very real state security apparatus that crushes open dissent.

Posted on: 李敖吴宗宪对决

Li Ao is known for his snappy cardigans and snappier comebacks. Let the battle of the wits begin!

Posted on: Grass 草

Hi chanelle77

So happy you enjoyed them!

Hi bendidilaowai

I wasn't familiar with Andre Brugiroux, but he sounds like a fascinating character. I'm a devoted Couchsurfer myself.

As for expanding these lessons, there are a few points to consider. There is of course the issue of resources-- it takes a lot of time for Connie, Jiaojie and the rest of the team to come up with good expansion sentences.

Plus, a lot of the words you'll encounter in Poems with Pete are rare or used in very different ways today than in the time the poems were written. So it would be a big challenge to create vocab lists and sample sentences for these words. So far, it seems the best approach is for me to explain these differences in the podcast and message boards. And of course, I encourage interested poddies to check your dictionaries.

But I agree that a PDF of the lesson with traditional characters is badly needed. Just hang in there.

Hi cassielin

多谢你跟大家分享你的知识！不过，你的讲法好像比我还悲观一些。 我认为诗人的意思就是，生活是一种循环，草木烧了以后还是回得来。 不要以为什么东西死了就没了。 不管怎么样，谢谢你跟大家说一下你的观点！

Hi tommaz,

Thank you for sharing your knowledge of the scriptures. You've reminded me of Ecclesiastes, 3:1

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted.

We tend to see life and death as opposites. But they are really a continuum.

Hi bill,

Thanks as always for your insights. I cannot read French, so your explanation is illuminating.
The Blake poem is delightful. I especially love the last line, "every child may joy to hear." This unconventional use of "joy" as a verb is memorable. That's the power of poetic license.

Posted on: Sympathy for the Farmers -- 悯农

Hi marygrace

Sorry for my delay in responding to your very kind comments. They really mean a lot to me. And the CPod team have been very supportive all along the way. The show could not have happened without their generous support.

Hi jrtgv

So glad you enjoyed the show. Make sure that you subscribe, by clicking on the show in your personal RSS feed in the "Me" section.

Hi camson

我同意，这首诗特别感动。农民日子过得很艰难。我们“知识分子” 可不要轻视他们的贡献。