ChinesePod

1 lit. the other mountain's stone can polish jade (idiom); to improve oneself by accepting criticism from outside
2 to borrow talent from abroad to develop the nation effectively

他乡遇故知

tā xiāng yù gù zhī

1 meeting an old friend in a foreign place (idiom)

别无他用

bié wú tā yòng

1 to have no other use or purpose (idiom)

各人自扫门前雪，莫管他家瓦上霜

gè rén zì sǎo mén qián xuě , mò guǎn tā jiā wǎ shàng shuāng

1 sweep the snow from your own door step, don't worry about the frost on your neighbor's roof (idiom)

王顾左右而言他

wáng gù zuǒ yòu ér yán tā

1 the king looked left and right and then talked of other things
2 to digress from the topic of discussion (idiom)

Sample Sentences

一打啤酒对俄罗斯人来说只是小意思，这是大家都知道的常识。但是你知道吗？俄罗斯人喝啤酒，有一个潜规则，他们如果找你喝酒，绝对不能拒绝。

yīdá píjiǔ duì Éluósī rén láishuō zhǐshì xiǎoyìsi ，zhèshì dàjiā dōu zhīdào de chángshí 。dànshì nǐ zhīdào ma ？Éluósī rén hē píjiǔ ，yǒu yīgē qiánguīzé ，tāmen rúguǒ zhǎo nǐ hējiǔ ，juéduì bùnéng jùjué 。

A dozen of beers is a piece of cake for Russian, which is common sense that everyone knows. But you know that? Russians have a hidden rule when it comes to drinking beers, that is, if they invite you for a drink, you can’t say no.

Go to Lesson

叔叔和婶婶是在微博上认识的，他们觉得这样的相遇过程非常地难得，所以特别珍惜对方。

shūshu hé shěnshen shì zài wēibó shàng rènshi de ，tāmen juéde zhèyàng de xiāngyù guòchéng fēicháng de nándé ，suǒyǐ tèbié zhēnxī duìfāng 。

My uncle and aunt met on Weibo. They think that it's rare to meet each other in this way, so they really cherish each other.

Go to Lesson

秦宇终于松了一口气，原来是个乌龙，只是虚惊一场罢了。他趁机问了女孩儿的名字，聊了几句，原来女孩儿喜欢看话剧，同时也是个古董控，一个月前去了上海玩，在上海看了几场话剧，还去逛了一些跳蚤市场。秦宇原本想加她微信，但女孩儿说手机上周摔坏了，暂时没有手机可以用。于是他们直接约了隔天表演开场前的半小时在剧院门口碰面。

QínYǔ zhōngyú sōngleyìkǒuqì ，yuánlái shì ge wūlóng ，zhǐshì xūjīngyìchǎng bàle 。tā chènjī wèn le nǚháiēr de míngzi ，liáo le jǐ jù ，yuánlái nǚháiēr xǐhuan kàn huàjù ，tóngshí yě shì ge gǔdǒng kòng ，yīgē yuè qián qù le Shànghǎi wán ，zài Shànghǎi kàn le jǐ chǎng huàjù ，hái qù quàng le yīxiē tiàozǎoshìchǎng 。QínYǔ yuánběn xiǎng jiā tā Wēixìn ，dàn nǚháiēr shuō shǒujī shàngzhōu shuāihuài le ，zànshí méiyǒu shǒujī kěyǐ yòng 。yúshì tāmen zhíjiē yuē le gétiān biǎoyǎn kāichǎng qián de bànxiǎoshí zài jùyuàn ménkǒu pèngmiàn 。

QinYu took a load off his mind. As it turned out that it's a mistake, merely a false alarm. He seized the opportunity and asked the girl's name, chatted for a while. In fact, the girl likes to watch stage drama, and she's a big fan of antique as well. Last month, she went to visit Shanghai, watched some play there, and visited some flea market. QinYu was thinking to add her on Wechat, but the girl said that she broke her phone last week, so she doesn't have a phone. Therefore, they decided to meet in front of the theatre half an hour before the play starts the next day.

Go to Lesson

屋内一张桌子上，放了一个大相框，框上系着两条黑绳，框里是女孩儿的头像照片儿。相框前点着两支白色的蜡烛，中间摆了一个秦宇他们店里的外卖咖啡杯。

wū nèi yī zhāng zhuōzi shàng ，fàng le yī ge dà xiàngkuàng ，kuàng shàng xì zhe liǎng tiáo Hēi shéng ，kuàng lǐ shì nǚháiēr de tóuxiàng zhàopiàn r 。xiàngkuàng qián diǎn zhe liǎng Zhī báisè de làzhú ，zhōngjiān bǎi le yīgē QínYǔ tāmen diàn lǐ de wàimài kāfēi bēi 。

In the room, there was a desk. On top of it was a picture frame with the girl's portrait, tied with two black ropes. There were two white candles lit up in front of the frame, and there was a coffee cup from QinYu's shop in between the candles.

Go to Lesson

那你肯定很难理解网上那些组织应援、为偶像摇旗呐喊的行为啦，现在很多偶像是通过粉丝支持、创造流量爆红的，所以粉丝几乎是他们的衣食父母呀。

nà nǐ kěndìng hěn nán lǐjiě wǎngshàng nàxiē zǔzhī yìngyuán 、wèi ǒuxiàng yáoqínàhǎn de xíngwéi la ，xiànzài hěnduō ǒuxiàng shì tōngguò fěnsī zhīchí 、chuàngzào liúliàng bàohóng de ，suǒyǐ fěnsī jīhū shì tāmen de yīshífùmǔ ya 。

Then you must find it hard to understand how online groups provide support, carry flags and shout support for their idols. Now many idols are supported by fans who help to create traffic. So fans have almost become their parents.

Go to Lesson

只要在甲方和乙方都同意的情况之下，他们是可以解约的。

zhǐyào zài jiǎfāng hé yǐfāng dōu tóngyì de qíngkuàng zhīxià ，tāmen shì kěyǐ jiěyuē de 。

As long as Party A and Party B both agree, they can terminate the contract.

Go to Lesson

如果我想煮饭，超市就会把新鲜的食材送到我家，他们送的东西包括蔬菜、肉类、海鲜，只要你能想到的应有尽有。

rúguǒ wǒ xiǎng zhǔfàn ，chāoshì jiù huì bǎ xīnxiān de shícái sòng dào wǒ jiā ，tāmen sòng de dōngxi bāokuò shūcài 、ròulèi 、hǎixiān ，zhǐyào nǐ néng xiǎngdào de yīngyǒujìnyǒu 。

If I want to cook, the delivery people will deliver fresh groceries to my house. What they deliver includes vegetables, meat, seafood and anything you can think of.

Go to Lesson

我知道，但我宁愿卷铺盖走人，也不想跟他们周旋。

wǒ zhīdào ，dàn wǒ nìngyuàn juǎnpūgàizǒurén ，yě bùxiǎng gēn tāmen zhōuxuán 。

I know, but I'd rather pack up and leave than to deal with them.

Go to Lesson

秦宇是个羞涩的男孩儿，他其实有时候想和这个女孩儿聊几句，但也不知道该从何聊起。就这么过了将近三个月，他和女孩儿几乎天天见到面，但除了点咖啡和道谢之外，他们两人未曾说过其它话语。

qínyǔ shì gè xiūsè de nánháir ，tā qíshí yǒushíhou xiǎng hé zhège nǚháiēr liáo jǐ jù ，dàn yě bù zhīdào gāi cónghé liáo qǐ 。jiù zhème guò le jiāngjìn sān ge yuè ，tā hé nǚháiēr jīhū tiāntiān jiàndào miàn ，dàn chúle diǎn kāfēi hé dàoxiè zhīwài ，tāmen liǎng rén wèicéng shuō guo qítā huàyǔ 。

QinYu is a shy boy. Sometimes he really wanted to make small talk with this girl, but he didn't know where to start. About three months had passed, and he had been meeting this girl almost every day. But aside from ordering coffee and a thank-you, they hadn't said anything else to each other.

Go to Lesson

以前我读书的时候，大家都不喜欢举手问问题，因为他们觉得问问题的人是在出风头。

yǐqián wǒ dúshū de shíhou ，dàjiā dōu bù xǐhuan jǔshǒu wèn wèntí ，yīnwèi tāmen juéde wèn wèntí de rén shì zài chūfēngtou 。

When I was a student, people didn't like to raise their hands to ask questions during the class because they would think the person asking questions is showing off.

Go to Lesson