美语咖啡屋 Lesson 14: Studying Chinese

Y:各位听众好，欢迎大家到美语咖啡屋。我是杨晨。

J: Hello and welcome to American Cafe. My name is Jody! Hey, Yang Chen, who's going to join us today on American Cafe?

Y: 明克胜先生。你知道吗，现在中国有学英语热，但是他们不知道其实在美国也有很多人在学中文。所以我们今天请明克胜先生来给我们谈谈他为什么要学中文，还有他在学中文的过程中遇到什么困难。我们今天还有一位神秘的嘉宾。你知道是谁吗？

J: I have no idea.

Y: 就是你。

J: Oh, my gosh!

Y: 好，我们就请明克胜先生谈谈他为什么要学中文，他是怎么开始的。

实录1: Carl: Well, I started a long time ago. First learned¹ a little bit when I was in college. But I probably picked up most of it when I was overseas in Taiwan and also Mainland² China for about three years total. Started learning³, really learning, when I was in Taiwan.

Y: 那么，Jody你呢， 你是怎么开始学中文的呢？

实录2: Jody: Actually I started studying Chinese when I arrived in China. I don't have Chinese under my belt before that time, Yang Chen. So I arrived in Shanghai when I was 21 years old, not speaking any Chinese. And I arrived at the train station at 3 o'clock in the morning surrounded by people who did not speak my language. And I can tell you it was a little frightening. So, I did the only thing I knew what to do ... I sang a song, "Rain drops keep falling on my head." And everyone started laughing and it made the situation better. Actually, Carl said that he began studying in college while he was in the United States. I did not do that. I got a scholarship to leave the country and go to China and study and I took advantage of it. I really wanted to go abroad to study and China seemed like the most foreign place on the planet⁴.

Y: 我们可以想象美国人学中文一定有很多困难，因为这两个语言实在是相差的太远了。那么下面请你们谈谈你们在学习中遇到过什么困难，首先我们让明克胜先生谈一谈。

实录3: Carl: Two of the most challenging things when you study Chinese, in particular, are the tones⁵ and the characters. I think that's just extremely difficult. And it was frustrating⁶ to be teaching⁷ ... teaching kindergarten students and realizing that their reading was much better than mine.

Y: Jody， 你觉得明克胜谈的这些困难是不是每个学中文的学生都会遇到的困难呢？

实录4: Jody: Oh, most definitely⁸. The tones and the characters, Yang Chen, they're so difficult. We're just not used to it. We're not used to the strict tonal aspect of Chinese. 妈、麻、马、骂。

Y: 没错， 我听到过很多外国人说中文的时候因为四声没有掌握对，所以闹出很多笑话。 比如把一个东西讲成另一个东西。我想学中文也和学其他语言一样，每个人都有一些小的诀窍。那么你们两谈一谈你们在学习的过程中有些什么样的诀窍，或者是技巧啊，或者有什么好的经验介绍给大家。

实录5: Carl: The best thing to do when you're learning Chinese is to be around a lot of four-year olds. And the reason I say that is because their level of Chinese and yours are at the very beginning quite similar. You can have these great conversations like "I'm hungry!" "I like blue." "I want the ball!" And so, I thought it was great to be able do that ... very simple Chinese expressions with four and five-year olds.

实录6: Jody: Yeah. I didn't teach small children. I taught university students and we mostly used English. But I did have the opportunity to make friends with students in the music department and I learned several Chinese pop songs and I was able to perform with them and sing Chinese songs at concerts. And when you're a foreigner living in China you get asked to do television commercials and acting⁹ shows.

Y: 所以这个语言环境是很重要的，你和不同行业的人交谈也可以学到很多东西。

J: Not only the language but most importantly, the culture and how people live their lives and make a living and have fun.

Y: 好，我们今天的时间快到了，我想最后请你们二位一人用中文讲一句中国的成语啊， 俗语啊，或者是俏皮话，讲什么都可以。

C：天下无难事，只怕有心人。

J：I like this idiom. I heard it and it stuck with me and here it is 好马不吃回头草。

Y：哇，你们两都说得非常好。好，我们今天的时间到了。谢谢大家收听。我们下次节目再见。

J: See you later!

1 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

2 mainland   

n.大陆，本土

参考例句：

• The new bridge will link the island to the mainland.新的桥梁将把该岛与大陆连接在一起。
• Hong Kong's prosperity relies heavily on mainland.香港的繁荣在很大程度上依赖于大陆。

3 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

4 planet   

n.行星

参考例句：

• Neptune is the furthest planet from the sun. 海王星是离太阳最远的行星。
• Rubbish, however, is only part of the problem of polluting our planet. 然而, 垃圾只是我们这个星球的污染问题的一个方面。

5 tones   

音( tone的名词复数 )； 色调； 腔调； 全音 （英式英语）

参考例句：

• his clipped military tones 他那短促的军人音调
• His name was always mentioned in almost reverential tones. 人们每次提起他的名字，语调中几乎总是充满了敬意。

6 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

8 definitely   

adv.一定地，肯定地；明确地，确切地

参考例句：

• The team will definitely lose if he doesn't play.如果他不参加比赛，这个队肯定会输。
• I shall definitely be home before six o'clock.6点以前，我一定回家。

9 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。