Chinese Pinyin - 2 Bed apartment for rent (ChaoYang district) -

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2 Bed apartment for rent (ChaoYang district)
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walkinrain -

A nice 2 Bedroom apartment for rent ( Chao Yang district, Beijing)

Name of compound: City Moonlight

Address: Jia No.9, east road of North 4th Ring road,
Chao Yang district, Beijing, China

Map: http://www.ikea.com/ms/zh_CN/popup/bj_map.html
( 200m northeast of new IKEA)

Description: 2 bedrooms, kitchen, bathroom, living room, 90 square meters,
12th floor of 24 floors, fully decorated , fully furnished, including TV,DVD player, fridge,
microwave, washing machine, air conditioners, etc. broadband internet access point

Public transportation:
101, 110, 201, 361, 408, 753, 628, 827, 944, 614, 623, 840
Also there is a free customer bus service to and from IKEA to dongzhermen

Rental: 5000RMB /Month

No agents please.

Contact: Ms. Li
Email: thanksgiving111 at yahoo dot com dot cn



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Chinese Character - tips on speaking better chinese -

> Learning Chinese > Speaking and Listening
tips on speaking better chinese
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赫杰 -

Hi all,

After working hard this past six months on getting my listening skills caught up with my speaking
skills, I have recently noticed during conversations my listening skills have not only caught up
with my speaking, but passed it. (So happy) So now I got good confidence in my speaking and
listening, I am ready to turn the emphasis back to speaking. I find that my ways to express myself
has also improved, but I have lost a little of that "fluidity" that I had previously (due to
countless hours of watching tv and news and not interaction).

I have seen some great suggestions on the site, most notably finding a "brutal" chinese
friend/tutor to correct you, also saw some more good study material from Roddy.

So besides these methods and the obvious need to talk as much as possible with peeps, what other
tips do you guys suggest? Here are some of my thoughts:

Despite being fortunate enough to pick up the basic speaking aspect quickly early in my studies, I
personally believe speaking (as well as writing papers) will eventually prove to be the most
difficult aspect to really grasp for all chinese students, because it is more of a "thought"
problem, I must admit I usually do use chinese to think these days, but that does not mean I think
in authentic chinese, so when I speak even if the grammar is correct, it still just sounds
weird...and I think my thoughts in chinese are too "simple" when I speak my thoughts I always want
to expand them to make it sound better...ughhh...which sometimes leaves me at a loss...

I was thinking of making a small list of topics, nothing too deep, just conversational material
and then spend everyday just speaking my thoughts (to myself) on the topic and coming up with
counter questions or something, just trying to find a feeling that I don't know how to express in
Chinese, and trying to use appropriate and authentic expressions to express myself.

What do you guys think?


Thank you

HJ



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WoAiJolinTsai -

Can you explain how you improved your listening skills? I'm in the same boat as you were.

Thanks










adrianlondon -

I have great listening skills; I just don't understand what's being said :-)

OK, crap joke, but ... simply listening to other people chat in Mandarin, even if you don't
understand what they're on about, helps. You'll suddenly get taught something which you heard one
of your friends say in conversation, and you'll therefore know what it sounds like when spoken at
"normal" speed. Also, you get to pick up certain phrases after a while and, if you think you can
parrot it back, can ask your friend what it meant.










赫杰 -

Improved listening by basing studies first around news radio and then cctv.

please see
http://www. /showth...highlight=cctv

no tips on speaking? 555










Long Zhiren -

(1) Watch some movies or documentaries in Chinese. I like the IMAX documentaries (can talk all
about Alaska, polar bears and glaciers in Mandarin! woo-hoo!) However, I'm O.D.'d on movies now
and can't watch any more.
(2) Join an appropriate Toastmasters group.
(3) Practice tongue twisters, singing, etc. http://www.uebersetzung.at/twister/zh.htm










xiaojiang216 -

If you have some free time on your hands, why not go on www.chinesepod.com? You can listen to some
of the broadcasts that may be above your comfort level. If you listen to them a few times, you
will definitely get much more comfortable with the content.

I hope John Pasden does some more podcasts! I love his charisma!










imron -

The best way I've found to improve speaking, is to record myself and compare it to a native
speaker saying the same thing.

As your listening skills are already quite high, I'm sure you can tell when someone is speaking
good Chinese or bad Chinese, and so why not apply this on yourself

So, first, download a program like Audacity which allows you to record/edit yourself on the
computer.

Then, take a sound recording of a native speaker that you have and that you are already quite
familiar with - for example, the CRI broadcasts, or if you think they might be a bit too formal
for speaking practise then you could try recordings from one of the TV shows.

In the beginning, just take a small portion of it (maybe even 5-10 seconds), and record yourself
saying the same thing - without using the script as an aid. Make sure you understand what you're
saying and try to match it as close as possible with speed and tone to the native speaker. Then,
compare your recording with the original version, making note of where your recording was
different and how to correct this difference. Then continue recording, comparing and correcting
until you decide that your Chinese is close enough to what you define as acceptable.

Then gradually start to increase the length of time of your recordings, 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 1
minute, 2 minutes, 5 minutes etc.

As the length of time increases, and because you're not using the script as an aid, you'll be
starting to internalise various speech patterns, and this will then be reflected in the way you
speak about other things.










赫杰 -

Thanks imron! I like this idea! I am scared to listen to myself speak though haha

Another exercise that I remember that helped my speaking back when I was based my studies around
conversations, is reading aloud texts and dialogues and trying to match the speed and rhythm of
like the news reporters and stuff. This seemed to help a little, and definately helped my
listening.

So I think I will try this method out, supplement it with that method that I previously said, and
start watching a little more of speaking relating dramas and less of investigative reports and
news and stuff. hmm, the more I think about the method of creating some common questions the more
I like it.

Any more suggestions?

Thanks










Language Guy -

I remember when I was studying for the French Advanced Placement Test for college. There was an
oral part, and fluidity was was more important than correctness.

So what I did is while I was walking around the house or outside, I would talk to myself about
what I see out loud and what I think of what I'm seeing. Usually your mind will sidetrack and
you'll start talking about other things entirely. All this is great for your vocabulary.

But I must admit, seeing the same thing day after day (like inside your home) or a drive to work
or a walk to the store can get very old. When those got old, I would talk to myself about
political issues or something, where there are alot of points and information to touch upon.

I hope this helps a little bit with speaking practicing.










Hero Doug -

I've used this teaching english, but it can be applied easily to any language.

The idea is to get you thinking quickly and speaking very quickly.

Get small pieces of paper, and write a word or phrase on each one, then, make a story using the
words/phrases as a guide. You always want to be speaking and never taking a moment to think. Just
look at the new word/phrase, and incorperate it in within a few sentences, pick a new word/phrase,
and incorperate that as quickly as possible, and so on and so on.












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Pnyin - some errors -

> Learning Chinese > Chinese Computing and Technology > Adsotrans.com Forum
some errors
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KWinShanghai -

切实 qie4shi2

没有将利润，即价值创造看做企业的成功标准 - 将 should mean 把 in this context,

都 duoyinci should be 'all'

努力提高 should be nu3li4ti2gao1

遵照 english should read obey/comply VERB

计划体制 ji4hua4ti3zhi1 (wrong shengdiao)

解脱 better translation extricate



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trevelyan -

Thanks. With the exception of 都 -- not sure what the reported problem is here -- all of these
problems should be fixed. Cannot guarantee that 将 will be properly handled in all cases in the
future since its treatment depends on its contextual surroundings and the grammar code, but have
added some instructions to the CODE field which bias it towards 把-style treatment when following
有 or 没有.

I'm happy to make the corrections myself. In cases where pinyin/definitions are incorrect the most
immediate way to solve things is to manually correct the error using the advanced editing form:
http://www.adsotrans.com/adso/uniedit.pl.

cheers, --dave












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Study Chinese - Help me pick a good book or CD. -

> Learning Chinese > Resources and General Study Issues
Help me pick a good book or CD.
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Magnum -

Hi, I registered here a while ago, but never started studying Mandarin because I was finishing
French. Now, I am ready to study Mandarin an hour a day.

I am looking for a good beginners program to buy. I want a CD where they say the word in English,
then in Mandarin a couple times, then in a sentance.

I have learned French, so I have some experience in studying foriegn languages. I expect Mandarin
will be much more difficult to learn. That is why I want to start with the basics and learn them
well.

Can anyone recommend a good CD program? My local bookstore has a few different CD's such as "Learn
In Your Car Chinese: Mandarin", "Teach Yourself Chinese Complete Course", and "Basic Mandarin
Chinese".

What is a good book and CD to start with? My goal is to find a program that will teach me 200
words in a month, and that I will be able to speak the correct way. If I can learn, then I will be
willing to buy a more advanced program like Pimsleur.

Thanks for any advice!



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mikeedward -

I'd recommend going to http://en.chinabroadcast.cn/ce_chinese/ and go to the Learn Chinese Now
section at the bottom. There are a couple of hundred really good beginner lessons you can download
and burn to CD, and there are transcripts as well. This course probably beats the pants off of
anything in your local bookstore. If you can get your hands on Pimsleur, its also a great starting
point. If you use Pimsleur before you learn the Pinyin (writing) system, I think it can be a big
advantage because hopefully you won't be trying to match what you hear to english words and
english pronunciations. You can just focus on reproducing exactly what you hear, and you won't be
thinking about how the word is spelled in Pinyin, which could have a negative affect on the
accuracy of your pronunciation.

If you want a good beginner's book, I remember that Chinese the Easy Way by Williams and Wu was
one of the best. There are a lot of beginner's books that are really only good for people who
maybe just plan on taking a vacation in China and aren't serious about learning the language. The
first beginner's Chinese book I bought didn't even have tone markings. The author started by
saying that you don't need to use tones to be understood by most Chinese people. So, obviously
stay away from this type of book if you want achieve any level of proficiency in the language.

Mike










Magnum -

Thanks Mike, that website looks great. I found the link you mentioned, but none of the audio seems
to be working tonight. I'll check out that book too.










johnd -

See the first post of this thread to find out how to download these lessons:

http://www. /showthread.php?t=9837










Magnum -

JohnD, it seems the audio files won't load. The session keeps timing out. Does anyone else have
problems playing the audio? Do I need to update my windows media player to 10?


In my searches I found a very basic, very good introduction to a few basic words.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/chine...se/index.shtml

I wish I could find another website like the bbc, with more lessons. They are short, simple, and
easy to remember.










Magnum -

I had one more idea. Does anyone know a store that sells Chinese videos designed for children aged
6, 7 or 8? Since that is how Chinese kids learn words, maybe it is a good way for anyone to learn.
It would be a form of immersion learning.










mikeedward -

Yeah the chinabroadcast site definitely has some problems connecting a lot of the time. Keep
trying though. You should try chinesepod.com in the meantime.

I downloaded some videos for kids in that age range you mentioned but wanted to shoot myself after
a few minutes because the voices in the videos were extremely annoying. But for beginners I would
say that it was still much too difficult anyways. I still have never found any chinese tv show
that is suitable for someone just starting the language. Even the entertaining children's cartoon
小新 is quite difficult for someone to understand in their first year or 2 of study. Immersion
is a good idea, but not that practical with the videos available.

Mike










xor333 -

I strongly recommend you - go to www.chinesepod.com. You should download mp3s and pdf's, use iPod,
Walkman, or any mp3 player and LISTENING ALL THE TIME (I do that

But for serious and complementary learning I sugest you to buy 'A Key To Chinese Speech and
Writing' by Joel Bellassen and Zhang Pengpeng. This book is the best course of chinese I ever met.
For every sinogram there is a complementary description - the stroke order, a tradicional variant,
a puzzle (radicals that are put togheter to make a new sinogram), and the best and unique thing -
THE ORIGIN OF SINOGRAMS - I mean the old ageg view. It really help to understand the mystical of
chinese writing.

I've got an mp3s from this book. If anyone want to download - please write










Magnum -

xor333, thanks for that link, it is wonderful! I already found some mp3's to download.

I am going to look for that book tomorrow.










Chinese Learner -

Hi,

I just bought these books - can someone please post the link to the MP3s as I can only seem to
find tapes fro these books and not CDs - I don't own a tape machine!

Thanks!!!!!!!












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Chinese Speaking - Question on similar accents -

> Learning Chinese > Speaking and Listening
Question on similar accents
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anticks -

Hi im planning on visiting China to study for a little while and just check out some places in
general. The places that appeal to me most so far are; Harbin, Dalian, Qingdao, Kunming, Nanjing
and Beijing 2nd.

Im just wondering; which places have the most similar accent to Putonghua? Ive read that Harbin
and Dalian and basically anywhere north of Beijing (or there about) have Putonghua as a local
dialect? But ive also read that Kunming is also a good place to study even though they have their
own local dialect. Is it because Kunminghua is very similar to Putonghua? How about The Nanjing
and Qingdao local dialects? How do they compare?

The reason places like Shanghai put me off is that, as i understand, friends and families speak
Shanghainese to eachother.

I cant find much information and really looking to be set on the right path. As im seeing it now;
Beijing and North of Beijing have the easiest Mandarin to understand from a foreigner perspective?
Someone who has been learning Mandarin in another country might find these places the best to go
to improve their language skills?

Also for those who have travelled throughout China and speak Putonghua; What Cities have the most
similar local dialects to Putonghua? Are there any cities that you can goto that are not freezing
cold but where alot of (easy to understand) putonghua is spoken among friends/on the street etc?



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anonymoose -

I had the same queries as you before I decided where to spend my year in China as an English
teacher. In the end, I picked Dalian, partly from language considerations, but also because I had
heard from various sources that it is a pleasant city.

In hindsight, I don't think choice of location is as critical as you might expect. I guess it
partly depends on what you will be doing in China. As a teacher, most of the Chinese people I had
contact with were my colleagues and students. Being from relatively educated backgrounds, they
spoke more-or-less standard putonghua. As for people on the street, it really depended from person
to person. Basically, the more 土气, the harder they were to understand. This I expect is partly
as a result of local dialect, but chances are that any large city you go to, many of the people
you meet will be 外地人 anyway, and thus have a variety of different accents. Of course, if you
are going to study in a language school, and the general public will be the main focus of your
practise, location may be a more important factor.










Xiao Kui -

Kunming is a good place to study because it's beautiful, cheap, and is in a good location relative
to other travel destinations in SW China, but the dialect is not very similar to Putonghua. If you
have studied Mandarin a while you can understand quite a bit of Kunminghua but listening to it is
definitely not going to help your Mandarin. I lived in SW China for 5 years. I also stayed in
Harbin for 2 months and I'm certain that if I had spent these 5 years there instead of Kunming and
Chengdu my spoken Mandarin would be much better, just because I would be exposed more to it in
daily life. In the case of Chengdu the Sichuanhua they speak actually hurts your Mandarin because
some of the tones are switched around. I don't know abt the tones as much in Kunminghua but maybe
they are switched, too. From my experience of learning Spanish while living in Latin America I
know that this kind of daily exposure to a language really speeds up the learning process because
there aren't as many dialects in latin America, nor are there as many English speakers as in urban
China, so you are forced to learn the language and the daily exposure reinforces everything you
learn.

I don't even know if Harbin Chinese is "standard Mandarin", but it was a lot closer to what I was
learning in the textbooks than Kunminghua. I think there are several discussions on this topic
posted already and both Harbin and Dalian are big winners as far as dialect goes. I think there
may have been some posts abt Qingdao as well, so you might want to do a search on it in the forums.










Lu -



Quote:

Harbin, Dalian, Qingdao, Kunming, Nanjing and Beijing 2nd.

The Chinese spoken in Harbin, Dalian and Beijing is very close to putonghua.
In Nanjing people speak Nanjinghua, most notable difference from putonghua is that Nanjingnese
tend to switch the l and the n (laozi for naozi, li for ni, etc. Interesting, but not very good
for your Mandarin.)
People in Kunming speak Yunnanese. Having only spent one day in Kunming I can't say much about how
understandable that is to a speaker of Mandarin, I didn't understand it, but maybe if you stay a
bit longer you get used to it. It's a Mandarin dialect, so in theory it should be easier to get
used to than Shanghainese or Cantonese. Apart from the dialect I liked Kunming as a city.
Don't know much about Qingdao, all I heard of it is that Shandongnese is quite close to Mandarin,
except that the tones are different.



Quote:

Are there any cities that you can go to that are not freezing cold but where alot of (easy to
understand) putonghua is spoken among friends/on the street etc?

Shenzhen?










anticks -

Ill most likely be studying over there.

Lu: kunming and nanjing both sound good. So Nanjinghua would be easier to understand than
kunminghua for a beginner speak you think? Do you know what the cost of living/schooling etc is
like in Nanjing compared to Kunming?

anonymoose: Dalian seems to be fullfilling most of the requirements i am looking for. I do have
one quesiton though. Ive read at a few places that Dalian locals talk funny? Whats the deal behind
that? It doesnt sound too major but i am curious.

Shenzhen sounds good too and was on my list. It dropped a bit after i read about the crime level
and that there are better places to visit with regard to culture aswell.










anonymoose -

I'm not sure exactly what you're refering to about Dalian locals talking funny. I think that most
people when talking in informal situations will be using a sloppy colloquial style which,
regardless of the region of China, will be hard for a learner of Chinese to understand, initially
at least.

There were often times when I overheard conversations between natives and found it difficult to
even recognise any of the words, let alone follow the conversation. However, in nearly all
instances when I was speaking to a local, it was sufficiently clear and well-pronounced for me to
understand. I assume that was partly as a result of people making an extra effort to talk clearly
with a foreigner. Even so, I wouldn't say it was anything like what you'd hear on CCTV, but it was
certainly good enough to be of benefit to me as a learner of Chinese.

As for people in Nanjing speaking Nanjinghua, I think you need to be careful as to what is meant
by Nanjinghua. It is true that Nanjingers speaking putonghua do pronounce l as n. However, the
local dialect, what I'd refer to as Nanjinghua, is not mandarin, but a wu dialect similar to
Shanghaihua.










Lu -



Quote:

Lu: kunming and nanjing both sound good. So Nanjinghua would be easier to understand than
kunminghua for a beginner speak you think? Do you know what the cost of living/schooling etc is
like in Nanjing compared to Kunming?

Sorry, I have no idea about the cost of living. Both are cheaper than Beijing, but that's all I
can tell you.

As to Nanjing: The local dialect is hard to understand (as anonymoose says), and on top of that
you have the n/l thing when the locals do speak Mandarin. It'll be hard to avoid to pick that up
yourself, especially if your Chinese is not very good yet.










NYC -

As someone who studied in Nanjing, I can say some things about that city's "dialect". Nanjinghua
is so different from Putonghua, they might as well be separate languages, I couldn't understand
it. But it's not Wu, it's "Southern Mandarin". In any case, the locals you come into contact will
normally speak to you in PTH only, and depending on factors like age and education, with varying
degrees of accent (some had no accent that I could detect).

Still it's a good place to learn PTH, although if you want to learn standard pronunciation, you'll
have to careful not to pick up local (mis)pronunciations, like the typical z-,c-,s- for
zh-,ch-,sh-, n/l mixup, for example.

Plus, Nanjing is also a 5-hour train trip to Shanghai so you can take a weekend trip there if you
want. And the weather is pretty good except the summer when it gets very hot.










Crivens200 -

It doesn't really matter where you learn putonghua in China. It makes next to no difference if you
learn it in Beijing, Nanjing, Shanghai or Kunming.

Nobody learns chinese from street talk, it's a language that has to be studied and studied
properly. And if you are studying it you will be taught by a teacher who speaks putonghua. Getting
results learning chinese is something that is directly proportional to the amount of effort you
put in, not dependent on which city you live in.

Yeah, there might be different accents but anyone under 50 will speak pu tong hua.

The only people who don't speak pu tong hua would be uneducated old farmers which I presume that
most westerners in China would have no earthly reason to speak to.

For someone to say that they would have had better chinese if they had spent more time in City A
as opposed to City B is a pile of gash.

Anyone you need to speak to in China speaks putonghua and anyone who claims to have learnt their
chinese from some method other than studying it is a goddam dirty liar










Lu -

Crivens: I think you're overestimating people's putonghua. My current language partner, well under
fifty, well-educated and intelligent, is from Nanjing and switches his n and l all the time. Many
of my local friends in Taiwan (also under 50) have no retroflexes and tend to mix up -n and -ng.

Language is not only learned in the classroom, it's learned by speaking and listening it as much
as possible, preferably with native speakers. Sure you can learn Mandarin in Nanjing, Taibei (ok
actually you can learn fine Mandarin in Taibei) or even Hongkong, but you're likely to pick up an
accent from the people you're speaking with outside of the classroom, and if you don't speak to
people outside of the classroom, your Chinese won't get that good.












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Free Chinese Lesson - Where to go from Pimsleur? - Page 2 -

> Learning Chinese > Speaking and Listening
Where to go from Pimsleur?
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stephanhodges -

I see that the Assimil approach for Chinese was just released. Do you have personal experience
with it, or just have faith that "it must be good" because it's Assimil?

According to http://how-to-learn-any-language.com...?TID=2235&PN=1, it still wasn't available
by March 2006 (for English speakers), although the Assimil web site does offer it now.

Regardless of how good the program is, there's only 2 1/2 hours of audio with the first (of two)
course. Pimsleur beats that hands down. IMO, that's much more important, as long as the items
being taught are fairly accurate.



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Ferno -

ideally you should have gone through Rosetta Stone before doing anything else (grammar, english
translations, pinyin, characters)..










johnmck -

Now you have learnt some of the language why don't you try using it. You learn more by speaking
than by listening. Get yourself a Chinese language partner at:
http://www.polyglot-learn-language.c...x_polyglot.php

There are lots of Chinese who will help you speak Chinese if you help them speak English (or other
languages) If you have ADSL and use Skype then it does not cost you a penny.










pookie -

Hi everyone,

I'm also just coming to the end of Pimsleurs level 3. I've had language partners since before I'd
started level 1 (at that point i'd done a one year course at Leeds Met Uni). It's fair to say
other than making good friends, having a language partner until at least being at Pims level 3 was
useless. Unless of course they are natural teachers and can purely teach you rather than
conversation exchange.

I now find that I can effectively have a conversation partner now that I've nearly finished level
3. One thing you wont have is being able to rely on the repetition to ingrain a new word. So make
notes when with a language partner and ensure that you have them memorized before the next
meeting. Maybe 5 -10 new words a meeting is a good way of progressing. I've used text books before
when at Leeds Met, and they were boring an unmotivating. a language partner is the way forward for
me. I'm fortunate that I live in Nottingham and have 3,500 native Chinese on my doorstep to choose
from. My email request last year for a partner elicited over 300 responses - mainly from girls!
They seem to be far more interested in language exchange. Anyway, I'm digressing.

GET A LANGUAGE PARTNER AFTER FINISHING LEVEL 3!










bomaci -



Quote:

I see that the Assimil approach for Chinese was just released. Do you have personal experience
with it, or just have faith that "it must be good" because it's Assimil?

According to http://how-to-learn-any-language.com...?TID=2235&PN=1, it still wasn't available
by March 2006 (for English speakers), although the Assimil web site does offer it now.

Regardless of how good the program is, there's only 2 1/2 hours of audio with the first (of two)
course. Pimsleur beats that hands down. IMO, that's much more important, as long as the items
being taught are fairly accurate.

I friend of mine is using the Assimil chinese so I have had a look at it. I would use it myself
but I already know most of the vocabulary it teaches so it feels a bit pointless. Sure if you
count the CD:s there is more audio in a Pimsleur course but you have to consider how much of that
audio consists of pauses and English prompts. Furhtermore there is alot of repetion in Pimsleur so
the number of unique sentences taught in Pimsleur isn't necessarily that big. The audio in assimil
is chinese and only chinese. I have used Pimsleur mandarin myself and I enjoyed it but I'm
starting to think that Assimil is a much more efficient way of learning a language. The Assimil
chinese course has 105 lessons and teaches about 1500 words so it goes much further than Pimsleur.
Futhermore towards the end of the course the speakers start speaking at more natural speed than in
Pimsleur,so Assimil also has some use for training listening comprehension. I think that if you
took two learners with equal talent and let one of them use Assimil for 6 months and one of them
use Pimsleur the Assimil learner would have progressed much farther.










runehh -

A lot of good input for me to look at, I will have a look at the different suggestions and see how
it goes.

Anticks, about my level now (having finished Pimsleur III lesson 25) I find that people can
understand me very easily and also that I pick up new words much easier than before. However, I
still struggle when people speak to me if they speak at normal pace, and obviously there are still
many words I don´t know. Also, some of the commonly used words in Pimsleur are not used that much
in the place I am staying (in Zhejiang). For example, nar (where) is narli, idienar (a little) is
idienidien and so on. Once you remember this it is not a big problem but for a beginner, such as
myself, it can be quite confusing. So, as happy as I am with Pimsleur, I still find there is a
long way to go before I can make actual conversation, or understand a conversation between two
Chinese people.










incuria -

Thanks Bomaci. That is good feed back.

Has anyone used either the "Teach Yourself Chinese or Teach Yourself Beginners Chinese - same
British publisher and author - one has a slightly larger book (by 100pgs or so)" or the
"Colloquial Chinese - (Routledge Publisher in USA)" self teaching courses?

They both use a book/cd's combination and look to cover similar material with the Teach Yourself
Series also having a dedicated but seperate learn Beginners Chinese script book.

These seem to bridge the gap from just audio to combined audio - script/pinyin. Maybe beyond
Pimsleur but before (New/Old) Practical Chinese Reader Course?


For example broadly grouping in order of difficulty/content:

Pimsleur (audio only) - vocab 500 words?
Assimal (audio with book) but more vocabulary - 1500 words?

Colloquial Chinese (audio + introduction to script)
Teach Yourself Chinese (audio + short introduction to script) + (extra learn script book available)

Practical Chinese Reader (audio + pinyin/script leading to pinyin phased out/script only in extra
volumes).

Comments anyone?










yingguoguy -

I bought Colloquial Chinese as one of my first Chinese text books and can't say I cared for it
very much. I don't have the book with me and haven't looked at it for a year or so, but if I
remember rightly, it didn't focus enought on hanzi and I found the audio a little too fast as a
beginner. (Though if you're using it to suppliment Pimsleur this might not be a problem). Found
the layout of having pinyin and hanzi in seperate sections rather than above/below each other
confusing and awkward. I ended up using the (Old) Practical Chinese Reader, which I'm fond of
dispite it's faults. I find the New PCR series excellent, but haven't seen Textbook 1 so don't
know if it's suitable.

I'd echo what Pookie said, there's a right time to get a language partner, if you can't say
anything then it will be very boring for them. It's worth paying someone for a few lessons to help
you with your tones and basic pronounication though.



Quote:

I'm fortunate that I live in Nottingham and have 3,500 native Chinese on my doorstep to choose
from.

Ask them to teach you one hanzi each and you'll be literate.










nongmin -

If you have a fast internet connection, you may want to try www.instantspeakchinese.com
This new system is similar to Pimsleur but covers more dialogs/vocabulary and uses more practical
language. You can hear every word pronounced clearly by rolling over the word. I am the product
manager for this product so let me know if you have any questions. We've spent quite a while
developing the product and its received great reviews.

There is an online video demo at www.instantspeakchinese.com/faq.cfm -> then click on the
"Lessons" demo.










stephanhodges -

Nongmin, perhaps you could start a new thread and introduce the product. I have a couple
questions, but I don't want to misdirect this thread.












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Learning Mandarin - Dutch museums put their surplus art on eBay

ENTERTAINMENT / Theater & Arts






Dutch museums put their surplus art on eBay

(AFP)
Updated: 2007-07-07 17:26



THE HAGUE - Part of the Dutch national art collection featuring some
1,000 paintings, statues and other objects has gone on sale through
Internet auction site eBay, officials said Friday.

"It is the first sale of this size," said Marina Raymakers of the
Institute Collection Netherlands (ICN) which manages part of the
Netherland's national art treasures.

Five museums are also taking part in the initiative which has sparked
outrage among some of the artists whose work is up for sale.

"They called me the Picasso of Amsterdam. I did not paint rubbish,"
painter Robert Kruzdlo complained to the NRC Next newspaper.

His work, "Fear and Powerlessness of the Third World War," is now on eBay
because the ICN decided it was "without artistic merit and historic
significance."

On Friday the highest bid for the painting was 205.50 euros (279.91
dollars).

Other artists are more positive, like painter Willem Oorebeek who looked
forward to reaching a new audience through the Internet.

"I don't see the auction as a loss but more a renaissance of my work, a
rediscovery," he told NRC Next.

Between now and October 1,000 works of art, at the rate of 50 a week,
will by auctioned on eBay.

Raymakers said the government was not looking to make money from the
artworks but to get them off the state's hands.

"What counts is that the works will have a new home," she said.

The ICN will also have a more traditional sale at The Hague auction house
Venduehuis for the 300 best lots in October.

"It is a test so we can draw lessons from it for similar sales in
future," Raymakers said, adding that another 3,000 objects could be sold
through eBay at a later date.

The ICN manages about 100,000 works from the Dutch state's art
collection. When the objects are not gracing the walls of Dutch museums,
ministries or embassies they languish in depots.

"Conservation is costly. There are the costs of maintenance of the
buildings, keeping everything at the right temperature, security,
transport, registration and documentation," Raymakers explained.

"These are works that have not been on display in 100 years or works that
do not fit in with the kind of exhibitions in museums."

She said a "big part" of the works on sale were produced under a
government scheme to support Dutch artists in the 1980s. In exchange for
a living allowance the artists had to produce a certain number of works
for the state.

Raymakers said each work had been analysed for its "artistic merits and
historic significance."

"We study the work of the artist. We also try to determine the value of
the work in the future. Maybe a work is not considered important today
but could become important," she said.

If it's decided not to keep a work in the collection it will be first put
on a database for Dutch museums. If after three months the object is not
claimed by a museum it will go on sale, she said.

Of the 1,300 works sold off by the ICN, the Venduehuis auction house
selected a little over 300.

"There is a lot of old Dutch furniture. We think collectors must be able
to judge the quality of the objects which is not really possible on the
Internet," Venduehuis representative Cuno van der Feltz said.

The traditional auction will be held in The Hague on October 23 with the
300 works and possibly some objects that could not be sold on eBay.






















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Chinese School - "Stargate" star serves "Breakfast" online

ENTERTAINMENT / Movies






"Stargate" star serves "Breakfast" online

(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-07-05 15:30



LOS ANGELES - MGM is giving a new film an online debut, making "A Dog's
Breakfast" available on iTunes and Amazon's Unbox on Tuesday.

A comedy about sibling rivalry, the film was directed by David Hewlett,
the star of another MGM property, "Stargate Atlantis." The cast includes
several "Stargate" players, including Christopher Judge and Rachel
Luttrell.

"Breakfast" eventually will be served on DVD beginning September 18.

















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Chinese Online Class

CITYLIFE / Public Manners in Limelight









Updated: 2007-07-04 11:09




















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Free Chinese Lesson - 'Rat' leads box office with $47 million

ENTERTAINMENT / Movies






'Rat' leads box office with $47 million

(AP)
Updated: 2007-07-03 08:25



LOS ANGELES - Moviegoers had an appetite for "Ratatouille" as the
animated adventure took in $47 million to debut at the top of the weekend
box office.

Bruce Willis' "Live Free or Die Hard" opened in second place with $33.4
million.

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday,
followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations,
average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in
release, as compiled Monday by Media By Numbers LLC are:

1. "Ratatouille," Disney, $47,027,395, 3,940 locations, $11,936 average,
$47,027,395, one week.

2. "Live Free Or Die Hard," Fox, $33,369,559, 3,408 locations, $9,792
average, $48,398,130, one week.

3. "Evan Almighty," Universal, $15,143,945, 3,636 locations, $4,165
average, $60,679,545, two weeks.

4. "1408," MGM, $10,662,804, 2,733 locations, $3,902 average,
$40,442,058, two weeks.

5. "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer," Fox, $9,143,876, 3,424
locations, $2,671 average, $114,944,684, three weeks.

6. "Knocked Up," Universal, $7,302,325, 2,665 locations, $2,740 average,
$122,291,755, five weeks.

7. "Ocean's Thirteen," Warner Bros., $6,085,959, 2,903 locations, $2,096
average, $102,120,537, four weeks.

8. "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," Disney, $4,960,368, 2,162
locations, $2,294 average, $295,703,075, six weeks.

9. "Sicko," Lionsgate, $4,501,712, 441 locations, $10,208 average,
$4,616,786, two weeks.

10. "Evening," Focus, $3,501,971, 977 locations, $3,584 average,
$3,501,971, one week.

11. "Shrek the Third," Paramount-DreamWorks, $2,673,877, 2,066 locations,
$1,294 average, $313,739,703, seven weeks.

12. "Surf's Up," Sony, $2,446,757, 2,503 locations, $978 average,
$53,760,658, four weeks.

13. "Nancy Drew," Warner Bros., $1,876,247, 1,932 locations, $971
average, $21,210,986, three weeks.

14. "A Mighty Heart," Paramount Vantage, $1,587,323, 1,350 locations,
$1,176 average, $7,005,463, two weeks.

15. "La Vie En Rose," Picturehouse, $617,080, 142 locations, $4,346
average, $4,933,571, four weeks.

16. "Spider-Man 3," Sony, $602,153, 609 locations, $989 average,
$333,693,426, nine weeks.

17. "Waitress," Fox Searchlight, $469,384, 314 locations, $1,495 average,
$16,761,797, nine weeks.

18. "Mr. Brooks," MGM, $431,611, 602 locations, $717 average,
$27,730,576, five weeks.

19. "Once," Fox Searchlight, $381,336, 128 locations, $2,979 average,
$3,842,578, seven weeks.

20. "Wild Hogs," Disney, $283,459, 310 locations, $914 average,
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Pnyin - Woman freed in Foxy Brown assault case

ENTERTAINMENT / Gossip






Woman freed in Foxy Brown assault case

(AP)
Updated: 2007-06-30 09:18







Foxy Brown, whose birth name is Inga Marchand, enters Manhattan criminal
court, in this Oct. 24, 2006 file photo, in New York. [AP]


NEW YORK - A woman charged with assaulting and robbing Foxy Brown was
released from jail after the rapper failed to appear before a grand jury
to testify against her.

Roshawn Anthony, 23, was released from Riker's Island on her own
recognizance Thursday but still faces charges of robbery, assault and
grand larceny in the alleged attack last Saturday, according to a
spokesman for the Brooklyn district attorney's office. She has denied the
charges.

Police say Anthony and three other people teamed up to rob Brown of a
Louis Vuitton bag, $500 in cash and credit cards in the East New York
section of Brooklyn.

The 27-year-old rapper, whose real name is Inga Marchand, is no stranger
to violence. She pleaded guilty last year to misdemeanor assault charges
stemming from a fight with salon workers over payment for a manicure in
Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood. Brown is on probation in that case.

She is also facing a battery charge in another incident earlier this
year. Police allege she threw hair glue at a beauty shop employee in
Florida when he asked her to leave because the shop was closing.

Anthony is scheduled to return to court Aug. 9.











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HSK - Charges dropped in Kidman spy case

ENTERTAINMENT / Gossip






Charges dropped in Kidman spy case

(AP)
Updated: 2007-06-28 13:55





Australian actress Nicole Kidman, left, is driven from her Sydney
waterfront home as photographers and camera crews surround her car in
this June 23, 2006 file photo.[AP]

SYDNEY, Australia - Prosecutors on Thursday withdrew charges against a
celebrity photographer accused of planting a listening device outside
Nicole Kidman's mansion.

Jamie Fawcett, 46, was charged in January 2005 with possessing and using
a listening device after he allegedly was spotted planting the bug near a
sidewalk outside Kidman's Sydney home.

The New South Wales state Department of Public Prosecutions withdrew all
charges against Fawcett in Sydney's Local Court on Thursday. The reasons
for the decision were not immediately clear.

"I'm naturally happy," Fawcett told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
outside the court. "I didn't think that ... there was any reason to bring
the charges in the first place."

Kidman's Australian agent, Wendy Day, said it was a matter for
prosecutors and the actress had no comment.

"It has nothing to do with Nicole," she told The Associated Press. "That
was something to do between the DPP and Jamie Fawcett."

Not long after he was charged, a Sydney court ordered Fawcett to provide
a DNA sample to compare with samples allegedly found on the listening
device.

But the photographer appealed to the New South Wales state Supreme Court,
which ruled that he could not be forced to provide police with a DNA
sample since there was no evidence he had violated any law.

In 2005, Kidman reached an out-of-court settlement with Fawcett and
fellow Sydney-based photographer Ben McDonald after she was granted a
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HSK Exam - The ups and downs of being Potter-film child stars

ENTERTAINMENT / Movies






The ups and downs of being Potter-film child stars

(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-06-27 07:50









Actors Daniel Radcliffe (R), Rupert Grint (L), and Emma Watson pose
during a photocall to promote the new film 'Harry Potter and the Order of
the Phoenix' at County Hall in London, June 25, 2007. [Reuters]



LONDON (Reuters) - Dodging paparazzi and juggling homework with filming
are just some of the drawbacks of being a teenaged movie star, the young
actors from the "Harry Potter" film series said.

Daniel Radcliffe has played boy wizard Harry Potter since the start of
the Warner Bros. franchise in 2001, and has signed up to the part until
the series ends with the seventh film, slated for release in 2010.

"The only things that can be troublesome -- there's a lesser degree of
spontaneity in my life ... than there would be in other teenagers,"'
Radcliffe said of his fame, while stressing that he loved the acting and
filming itself.

"If someone says, 'Do you want to come to this particular club?' it could
be hard, because you couldn't just go. You'd have to find out what the
place was like first," he added, referring to celebrity hangouts popular
with photographers.

The 17-year-old, a household name in Britain with personal wealth
estimated at over 20 million pounds ($39.98 million), has turned to
theater to develop his career, most recently in Peter Shaffer's "Equus,"
in which he played a troubled stable boy.

"Every night I was coming out of the theater when I was doing 'Equus,'
there would be paparazzi there," he told Reuters in a recent interview to
promote "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," the fifth Potter
film released next month.

"So ... I would wear the same hat and the same jacket every single night
on the way out, so that it all looked like photos from the same night. It
was quite a good idea."

He said his relationship with the media was generally good, although it
could get harder when he turns 18 next month.

"I just think I'm going to be more sort of fair game," he explained.

STUDIES AND STUDIOS

Co-star Emma Watson, who plays Harry's friend Hermione Granger at
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, has to juggle schoolwork with
filming and publicity work for the movies, including interviews, press
conferences and red-carpet events.

"I love doing it, don't get me wrong, but there is a lot of pressure and
a lot of responsibility," the 17-year-old told Reuters. "I have a job as
well as doing school.

"Harry Potter is such a big franchise, it never really stops. It's kind
of like a full-time job because even when you've made a film it's not
over. It's never over."

She agreed with Radcliffe that her fame restricted what she did as a
teenager, although she worked hard to keep her professional and personal
lives apart.

"One of the things about being a teenager is you just do what you want
and you let your hair down and you dye your hair funny colors and you
experiment and you do crazy things.

"I'm not really being able to do that in quite the same way that a lot of
my friends are."

Watson also wants to continue acting after the Potter series is over, but
plans to go to college, probably in Britain, as one way of keeping her
options open.

"It's a really hard business to be in and I just get the sense that I
always want to have something else to hold on to."

Rupert Grint, who plays Ron Weasley, told a press conference last week
that he had bought an ice cream van, which was an option for the future
should his acting career fail.

"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" opens in theaters in July,
and follows Potter and his magical pals as they rally a small group of
followers to prepare for a battle against dark forces that Harry knows
lies ahead.








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Chinese Tutor - Uma Thurman to star in HBO's "Zinc Bed"

ENTERTAINMENT / Movies






Uma Thurman to star in HBO's "Zinc Bed"

(Reuters)
Updated: 2007-06-23 10:34



LOS ANGELES - Uma Thurman, Jonathan Pryce and Paddy Considine will star
in "My Zinc Bed," an HBO adaptation of the play by acclaimed playwright
David Hare ("The Hours").

Anthony Page ("Inadmissible Evidence") is on board to direct Hare's
screenplay. It will be filmed in London.



"Zinc" examines issues of alcohol addiction and obsession through the
story of a young recovering alcoholic (Considine) who becomes involved
with his boss' (Pryce) young wife (Thurman), formerly a cocaine addict.

Thurman won a Golden Globe for her starring role in HBO's "Hysterical
Blindness." Pryce earned Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for HBO's
"Barbarians at the Gate." Paddy Considine stars in HBO Films' upcoming
"PU-239." which is filming in London.

The original 2000 staging of "My Zinc Bed" at London's Royal Court
starred Tom Wilkinson, Julia Ormond and Steven Mackintosh. The play was
nominated for best new play at the 2001 Laurence Olivier Theatre Awards.









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Chinese Character - Back in the saddle Pilates

CITYLIFE / Hip & New






Back in the saddle Pilates

By Pam LeBlanc (Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2007-06-20 10:56


Dancers were among the first to exercise on Pilates machines - which look
suspiciously like torture racks - to strengthen and balance their core
muscles.

Eventually, golfers, swimmers and cyclists realized Pilates could improve
their performances, too. In Austin, Texas, you can now add equestrians to
the list of athletes who cross-train with core-buffing Pilates routines.



Riders say it keeps them more stable in the saddle, improves flexibility
and helps them connect with their horses, all skills that can be thrown
out of whack by crouching over a keyboard or slouching in a chair too
long.

"In a sense, you are blending with what the horse is doing," said Maggie
Parker, a Pilates instructor who works with all types of equestrians,
from polo players to dressage riders.

"A rider is on another living flesh-and-blood being. You really have to
connect, blend the musculature, yet keep it separate."

Pilates teaches athletes to rely on their body's deepest muscles and
relax the big overworked extrinsic muscles such as the quadriceps and
glutes. For riders, building inner strength can mean moving with the
horse instead of bouncing against it.

A rider's upper body essentially floats in space when he's on a horse. If
his core muscles are strong, he is less likely to yank on the reins or
grip with his glutes to stay in the saddle. He also can better maintain a
"neutral pelvis," or home base that his pelvis moves from and returns to
while riding.


1 2










Feature




Pilgrimage to Tibet If you want to get a detailed Travel Handbook to
Tibet and know more interesting tour routes leading to this divine place.
Please click here!

Yunnan New Film Project Ten female directors from China! Ten unique
sights from mysterious Yunnan Province!Yunnan New Film Project,Travel
with the film.Wanna know more? Please click here!




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� Back to the old days





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Eating out: What's your beef?
Bars&Cafes: Maze-like nest
Weekend&Holiday: Bird watching
Shopping: Making a splash
What's on: Fusion music comes







Shanghai Guide


Eating out: Something a little different
Bars&Cafes: Bread talks for itself
Weekend&Holiday: Dance through your life
Shopping: Revitalize the office
What's on: Mama Mia hits!





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Learn Chinese - Kristy Swanson arrested in altercation

ENTERTAINMENT / Gossip






Kristy Swanson arrested in altercation

(AP)
Updated: 2007-06-18 10:56



LOS ANGELES - Kristy Swanson pressed assault charges on Sunday against
the ex-wife of her companion and former skating partner, Lloyd Eisler,
the actress' representative said.

Police took pictures of bruises on her back and other parts of her body
to document the injuries that Swanson claimed she got during a scuffle
with Eisler's ex-wife, Marcia O'Brien, on Friday in Canada, according to
Swanson spokesman Michael Sands.

O'Brien filed a complaint against Swanson first, however. Swanson told
People magazine she was arrested Saturday night for allegedly assaulting
O'Brien. Swanson, 37, said she was released after posting bail in
Kingston, Ontario.

"I had to go the police station where I had an appointment at 9 p.m. to
begin the process of being arrested," People quoted her saying on its Web
site Sunday.

Sand said Eisler and Swanson were in Kingston to visit Eisler's children
and discuss custody with O'Brien.

Kingston Police Sgt. Rick LaBrash declined comment. Attempts to reach
O'Brien were not successful.

Eisler, 44, a former world champion pairs skater, and Swanson met in 2006
while filming the FOX reality series "Skating with Celebrities." Eisler
left his wife for Swanson, whose film credits include "Buffy the Vampire
Slayer" and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."












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Learn Mandarin online - Britney Spears shares a tender moment with son

ENTERTAINMENT / Most Viewed Photos in 72 Hours






Britney Spears shares a tender moment with son

(Daily Mail)
Updated: 2007-06-13 16:45



Mum Britney kicked back and enjoyed a tender moment with her youngest son
Jayden James by the pool.

The pop princess has seemingly sought to keep son Jayden out of the
spotlight, but in a candid moment, the pair shared some quality time
together in the Hawaiian sunshine.


Mummy dearest: Britney enjoys a tender moment with youngest son Jayden
James
who has rarely been seen since his birth eight months ago

Wearing the briefest of bikinis, Britney takes care to shield son Jayden
from the sun, covering him with a brightly coloured towel as she cradled
him to her bosom.


1 2 3 4 5







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Chinese Tutor - 1408

ENTERTAINMENT / Coming Soon






1408


Updated: 2007-06-11 14:40




Renowned horror novelist Mike Enslin believes only in what he can see
with his own two eyes. But after a string of best-sellers discrediting
paranormal events in the most infamous haunted houses and graveyards
around the world, he has no real proof of life--afterlife. But Enslin's
phantom-free run of long and lonely nights is about to change forever
when he checks into suite 1408 of the notorious Dolphin Hotel for his
latest project, "Ten Nights in Haunted Hotel Rooms." Defying the warnings
of the hotel manager, the author is the first person in years to stay in
the reputedly haunted room. Another best-seller may be imminent, but
first he must go from skeptic to true believer--and ultimately survive
the night.

Production Status: In Production/Awaiting Release

Logline: In hotel room #1408, a writer, known for his ghost stories and
haunted tales, gets a taste of his own fiction when his stay turns into a
night of fright.

Genres: Suspense/Horror and Adaptation

Release Date: June 22nd, 2007 (wide)

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for thematic material including disturbing sequences
of violence and terror, frightening images and language.

Distributors: Dimension Films, MGM Distribution Company

Production Co.: di Bonaventura Pictures, Inc.

Studios: Dimension Films

Filming Locations: United Kingdom

Produced in: United States











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