User Comments - podster

Posted on: Let Me Sleep a Little Longer

Hi, Fiona. Are "newbies" really expected to be able to read this? You guys really are raising standards! ;-)

Posted on: Breaking News - 4.0 Earthquake

Looks like a traditional version of the character slipped in. You've got better eyesight than I to distinguish 刹 from 剎 though. (Or maybe an electronic dictionary will not return the right result if traditional and simplified scripts are mixed like this and that's how you caught on to the mistake?) The traditional version of the compound would be 剎車.

Posted on: Breaking News - 4.0 Earthquake

Yes, the magnifying glass previously functioned like the search box on the lessons page but due to some technical problems it has been replaced, at least temporarily, by a custom Google search. The technical problem, as I understand it, is that the CPod search function currently fails to return some of the more recent lessons. So if you are searching for lessons on a specific topic you may want to try several different search methods as mentioned above.

Posted on: Long Leg, Short Leg

Fiona,

Re: "ChinesePod admin will delete tech related posts after the issue has been resolved "; if the audio file is changed does that mean people who have the earlier version on their CPod mobile app or who received it via podcast will have wrong information? If so, maybe a post like this should not be deleted. I appreciate the idea of keeping the discussion boards tidy if the problems is something like a broken link on the web page, for example, that is fully resolved by a technical change.

Posted on: New Breadmaker!

Linda, I have never seen toast referred to as 面包干 ( miàn bāo gān. ) When I looked up 面包干 in the dictionary it translated into English as "rusk" which I also had to look up. Rusk can mean various kinds of dried bread, but not toast. I have seen toast called 烤面包 ( kǎo miàn bāo )or phoneticized as 吐司 ( tǔ sī .) Is there somewhere that toast is actually called 面包干 (miàn bāo gān )?

By the way, I realize that this is sort of a pseudo-newbie lesson relative to the old criteria as evidenced by comments elsewhere on the site, but there used to be a convention of including pinyin in posted comments for Newbie lessons, which I suggest we continue to follow. I appreciate the fact that you did summarize your comment in English.

Posted on: Touch Your Toes

Thanks, Constance, and I'm glad you are here to help us all. 很开心我们有一位真正的老师 会指导我们。

Posted on: Touch Your Toes

It is not a typo. " 最重要的是背打直 " the important thing is to straighten your back . . without the 是 the sentence would have no verb. I think you are thinking in English, wanting to translate the word "thing" as 事 but in the Chinese it is already captured in 最重要的. (That which is most important / the most important thing / what matters most . . . )

Posted on: Product Localization

Try plugging "localization" into the Google Custom Search function on the CPod web site. (Its the magnifying glass at the top right of the page.) You could also try entering "本土化" into the glossary search function. (See the "Tools" drop down menu and choose "Dictionary". ) Finally, any of the pages that the Library drop down menu takes you too will have a search box in the upper left hand corner. Results will show you lessons with complete descriptions including content and level.

Posted on: Who's Been Spending My Money?

I think this lesson must have been problematic for the translator with the word "swipe" since the word can refer to sliding the card through a card reader (a legitimate activity), in addition of having the meaning "to steal." I had not seen the word 盗刷 before but I guess it may refer to either the use of an illegally replicated card (as Gwilym explains as one interpretation) or the act of replication. (”偷走“ as Fiona says.)

Fiona's explanation that 盗 connotes violence was interesting. This accords with words like 海盗 (pirate) but for the consumption of pirated intellectual property ( 盗版 ）I think many people in the Mandarin speaking world see this as a "victimless crime." (Maybe elsewhere too, but I am limiting myself to this specific linguistic usage). Anyway, in the context of this dialog the speaker obviously was not held up and relieved of their credit card. Maybe the speaker was the victim of a pick-pocket, but I'm guessing that the idea is that the details of the card were stolen electronically.

Posted on: Pricey Parking

Okay, I've listened to the lesson now, and I can can tell you that the alleged Margaret Thatcher quote is bogus. Other than that, contrary to what I wrote before, Fiona and Constance agreed that 开单 means 罚单 in this context. (Parking ticket, citation for violation). So your interpretation as 罚款 seems correct.