There are many great tourist attractions around the world that are fun and educational to visit. Here is a list of English Chinese translation of the most important tourist attractions around the world.
Asia 亚洲
The Hilalays 喜马拉雅山
Great Wall, China 中国长城
Forbidden City, Beijing, China 北京故宫
Mount Fuji, Japan 日本富士山
Taj Mahal, India 印度泰姬陵
Angkor Wat, Cambodia 柬埔寨吴哥窟
Bali, Indonesia 印度尼西亚巴厘岛
Borobudur, Indonesia 印度尼西亚波罗浮屠
Sentosa, Singapore 新加坡圣淘沙
Crocodile Farm, Thailand 泰国北榄鳄鱼湖
Pattaya Beach, Thailand 泰国芭堤雅海滩
Babylon, Iraq 伊拉克巴比伦遗迹
Mosque of St, Sophia in Istanbul （Constantinople）, Turkey 土耳其圣索非亚教堂
Africa 非洲
Suez Canal, Egypt 印度苏伊士运河
Aswan High Dam, Egypt 印度阿斯旺水坝
Nairobi National Park, Kenya 肯尼亚内罗毕国家公园
Cape of Good Hope, South Africa 南非好望角
Sahara Desert 撒哈拉大沙漠
Pyramids, Egypt 埃及金字塔
The Nile, Egypt 埃及尼罗河
Oceania 大洋洲
Great Barrier Reef 大堡礁
Sydney Opera House, Australia 悉尼歌剧院
Ayers Rock 艾尔斯巨石
Mount Cook 库克山
Easter Island 复活节岛
Europe 欧洲
Notre Dame de Paris, France 法国巴黎圣母院
Eiffel Tower, France 法国艾菲尔铁塔
Suez Canal, Egypt 印度苏伊士运河
Aswan High Dam, Egypt 印度阿斯旺水坝
Nairobi National Park, Kenya 肯尼亚内罗毕国家公园
Cape of Good Hope, South Africa 南非好望角
Sahara Desert 撒哈拉大沙漠
Pyramids, Egypt 埃及金字塔
The Nile, Egypt 埃及尼罗河
The Americas 美洲
Niagara Falls, New York State, USA 美国尼亚加拉大瀑布
Bermuda 百慕大
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA 美国夏威夷火奴鲁鲁
Panama Canal 巴拿马大运河
Yellowstone National Park, USA 美国黄石国家公园
Statue of Liberty, New York City, USA 美国纽约自由女神像
Times Square, New York City, USA 美国纽约时代广场
The White House, Washington DC., USA 美国华盛顿白宫
World Trade Center, New York City, USA 美国纽约世界贸易中心
Central Park, New York City, USA 美国纽约中央公园
Yosemite National Park, USA 美国尤塞米提国家公园
Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA 美国亚利桑那州大峡谷
Hollywood, California, USA 美国加利佛尼亚好莱坞
Disneyland, California, USA 加利佛尼亚迪斯尼乐园
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA 美国内华达拉斯维加斯
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, USA 纽约大都会艺术博物馆
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Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Post-holiday Syndrome
English Chinese translation of post-holiday syndrome
The time has come to get back into the discipline of work after enjoying a relaxing, worry and stress-free vacation. With the gloomy prospect of returning to work, many people could suffer post-holiday syndrome, experts said.
在享受完轻松，无忧无虑的假期过后又要回到工作中。专家说，一想到又要回到单调的上班生活，许多人都会患上假后综合症。
“假后综合症”就是post-holiday syndrome。The syndrome refers to a general feeling of depression before returning to work, which is caused by irregular lifestyles during the vacation. （假后综合症指的是在即将回去上班之前人们普遍感到的抑郁心情，通常是由度假期间不规律的生活方式导致的），symptoms include fatigue, lack of appetite and concentration, irritability and a feeling of helplessness.（假后综合症的症状包括感到疲惫、没有胃口、无法集中精力、易怒和无助感等）。
Post作为前缀有“在……之后”的意思，例如：post-disaster reconstruction（灾后重建）；post-war economy（战后经济）等。Syndrome这个词大家也不陌生，AIDS（艾滋病）的全称就是acquired immunodeficiency syndrome，还有一度让人谈之色变的SARS“非典”——非典型性肺炎是Severe Acute Respiratory Syndromes。
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The time has come to get back into the discipline of work after enjoying a relaxing, worry and stress-free vacation. With the gloomy prospect of returning to work, many people could suffer post-holiday syndrome, experts said.
在享受完轻松，无忧无虑的假期过后又要回到工作中。专家说，一想到又要回到单调的上班生活，许多人都会患上假后综合症。
“假后综合症”就是post-holiday syndrome。The syndrome refers to a general feeling of depression before returning to work, which is caused by irregular lifestyles during the vacation. （假后综合症指的是在即将回去上班之前人们普遍感到的抑郁心情，通常是由度假期间不规律的生活方式导致的），symptoms include fatigue, lack of appetite and concentration, irritability and a feeling of helplessness.（假后综合症的症状包括感到疲惫、没有胃口、无法集中精力、易怒和无助感等）。
Post作为前缀有“在……之后”的意思，例如：post-disaster reconstruction（灾后重建）；post-war economy（战后经济）等。Syndrome这个词大家也不陌生，AIDS（艾滋病）的全称就是acquired immunodeficiency syndrome，还有一度让人谈之色变的SARS“非典”——非典型性肺炎是Severe Acute Respiratory Syndromes。
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Sunday, December 26, 2010
American talk slippier than you might think
It is commonly believed among many Chinese that Westerners who take "yes" and "no" by their face meanings are more straightforward than Chinese.
The perception contains some value. Normally Westerners don’t have to adopt Chinese tactics like sweeping the floor or constantly checking the clock to indicate to a guest that it’s time to leave. They don’t have to hesitate in saying "no" when they are not able to, or don’t want to, offer help to a friend in need. There is no embarrassment attached to this behavior.
But it is too simple to conclude that Westerners are more direct speakers than the Chinese.
There are many occasions when the way Westerners express themselves make Chinese look more straightforward and honest.
When I was a fresh international student, the director of our program once asked students in an e-mail what we thought about a new adjunct professor. I simply said "She seems to know a lot but doesn’t know how to teach." And the director replied with "Thank you for being candid."
Only years later when I better understood the new culture, I realized why I had gone too far. If that question were asked now, the reply would have three paragraphs devoted to the qualities of the professor before the last line came out - "There are some gaps in her teaching methodology." Still tough, but at least it wouldn’t be considered rude?
Indeed, the introverted social norms and the deeply-rooted "face issue" make honest speaking risky in China; Americans have their own reasons to distort words. This results partly from suffocating political correctness. It also results from several generations of people who have been told they have done well even when they have failed. It may not be unfair to suggest that many Americans are oversensitive and obsessed with a perfect self image.
So, the next time you hear about the inscrutable and indirect Chinese, it would be worth challenging the source and pointing out that the cultural comparisons are much more complex. But maybe you should do it in a roundabout way, to be polite?
English Chinese translation:
中国人通常认为，西方人面对 “是”和“否”的回答时，往往比中国人更加直接。
这种观点的确有些道理。西方人不会像中国人那样，采取扫地或不停看时间的方式，暗示 “逐客令”的下达。在西方，朋友需要帮助时，如果自己无能为力或不愿相助，可以毫不犹豫地说“不”，这不会造成尴尬局面的产生。
但是，下定论说西方人比中国人说话更直白，那就太简单了。
在许多场合，他们的表述反而显得我们中国人更直率诚实。
在我还是一个国际新生的时候，课程的主任有一次让学生在电子邮件中发表自己对新来兼职教授的看法。我只是简略地写道：“她看似学识渊博，但却不知如何教学生。”而主任回复我：“多谢你的坦诚。”
几年以后，在对这个崭新文化有更深刻的了解之后，我才意识到当时自己做得有多过火。如果现在再问我相同的问题，我一定先写三段赞扬她优点的话，最后再写一句：“她的教学方法有点难以接受。”虽然仍带尖刻，至少看上去不那么粗鲁了。
确实，在中国，内敛的社交氛围以及根深蒂固的“面子”观念使得说实话者要承担很大的风险，而在美国，说话绕弯，也有他们的原因，可能是严格的政治正确性迫使他们委婉用词，也可能是来源于多年来的传统——对失败者都不吝惜赞美之词。所以，认为美国人过分敏感与极端自负的观点，都有失公道。
因此，当以后再听到表示中文深奥晦涩的论调时，你可以对此辩驳一番，并指出文化的比较是很复杂的。但是，出于礼貌，你可能要采用更委婉的方式论述自己的想法，不是吗？
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The perception contains some value. Normally Westerners don’t have to adopt Chinese tactics like sweeping the floor or constantly checking the clock to indicate to a guest that it’s time to leave. They don’t have to hesitate in saying "no" when they are not able to, or don’t want to, offer help to a friend in need. There is no embarrassment attached to this behavior.
But it is too simple to conclude that Westerners are more direct speakers than the Chinese.
There are many occasions when the way Westerners express themselves make Chinese look more straightforward and honest.
When I was a fresh international student, the director of our program once asked students in an e-mail what we thought about a new adjunct professor. I simply said "She seems to know a lot but doesn’t know how to teach." And the director replied with "Thank you for being candid."
Only years later when I better understood the new culture, I realized why I had gone too far. If that question were asked now, the reply would have three paragraphs devoted to the qualities of the professor before the last line came out - "There are some gaps in her teaching methodology." Still tough, but at least it wouldn’t be considered rude?
Indeed, the introverted social norms and the deeply-rooted "face issue" make honest speaking risky in China; Americans have their own reasons to distort words. This results partly from suffocating political correctness. It also results from several generations of people who have been told they have done well even when they have failed. It may not be unfair to suggest that many Americans are oversensitive and obsessed with a perfect self image.
So, the next time you hear about the inscrutable and indirect Chinese, it would be worth challenging the source and pointing out that the cultural comparisons are much more complex. But maybe you should do it in a roundabout way, to be polite?
English Chinese translation:
中国人通常认为，西方人面对 “是”和“否”的回答时，往往比中国人更加直接。
这种观点的确有些道理。西方人不会像中国人那样，采取扫地或不停看时间的方式，暗示 “逐客令”的下达。在西方，朋友需要帮助时，如果自己无能为力或不愿相助，可以毫不犹豫地说“不”，这不会造成尴尬局面的产生。
但是，下定论说西方人比中国人说话更直白，那就太简单了。
在许多场合，他们的表述反而显得我们中国人更直率诚实。
在我还是一个国际新生的时候，课程的主任有一次让学生在电子邮件中发表自己对新来兼职教授的看法。我只是简略地写道：“她看似学识渊博，但却不知如何教学生。”而主任回复我：“多谢你的坦诚。”
几年以后，在对这个崭新文化有更深刻的了解之后，我才意识到当时自己做得有多过火。如果现在再问我相同的问题，我一定先写三段赞扬她优点的话，最后再写一句：“她的教学方法有点难以接受。”虽然仍带尖刻，至少看上去不那么粗鲁了。
确实，在中国，内敛的社交氛围以及根深蒂固的“面子”观念使得说实话者要承担很大的风险，而在美国，说话绕弯，也有他们的原因，可能是严格的政治正确性迫使他们委婉用词，也可能是来源于多年来的传统——对失败者都不吝惜赞美之词。所以，认为美国人过分敏感与极端自负的观点，都有失公道。
因此，当以后再听到表示中文深奥晦涩的论调时，你可以对此辩驳一番，并指出文化的比较是很复杂的。但是，出于礼貌，你可能要采用更委婉的方式论述自己的想法，不是吗？
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Thursday, December 23, 2010
A Merry, Wary Christmas Is Flourishing in Beijing
Our housing compound looks like it might take off any minute. The trees throughout the common grounds are festooned with lights and a dormant-for-winter fountain has been transformed into a towering electronic Christmas tree. It took an army of workers a week or more to set up all this firepower and the results are impressive. The other day I drove home and saw a large group of Chinese gawking at it and taking photos of each other.
In the three years we've been in China there has been a continuous increase in the amount of Christmas celebrating here. Friends who can't or don't go home for the holidays tell me this has eased the strain of being in China for the holiday. Meanwhile, we are double outsiders, as Westerners who don't celebrate Christmas. Peering at it from so far away has led me to feel both more and less connected to the holiday, which has always so dominated this season.
My friends Wyatt and Jacqui Cameron moved to Shanghai 10 years ago and struggled to find a few items to add some Christmas cheer to their apartment. Two years later, she says, there was a noticeable change, when trees appeared at the flower markets. There's been a little more of everything every year since.
'Every year it increases and that makes it easier for me,' says Mrs. Cameron. 'I think I actually celebrate the holiday more here than I would at home. I feel an obligation to participate in it more for my [three] kids because I'm not home. I feel I have to establish tradition for my kids, like I had. And I feel that it's all on me to do, without an extended family nearby.'
Christmas came to Beijing a little slower than it did to Shanghai. Just a few years ago, Western expats had to search high and low for Christmas trees and decorations, or make sure they had a good supply from home. Now there are sellers of real trees all around the expat-heavy area where we live and they are also abundant at local flower markets, indicating that at least some of the growth is due to more Chinese marking the holiday. There is even a single seller of small, sad-looking artificial trees at the downscale local market near our house.
You can still traverse vast sections of Beijing without noticing that it is the Christmas season, but many higher-end locales have decorations, most of them garish and overblown. The Pacific Century Mall features a huge Christmas display on its front sidewalk, including three skinny Chinese guys in Santa Claus suits complementing two more roly-poly mannequin Santas, wire reindeer and even a manger scene. Baby Jesus rubs elbows with Santa Claus and Prancer.
I've heard tell of a stuffed Santa Claus cradling baby Jesus and even of a crucified Santa on a cross, though I haven't seen these myself and think they are probably urban legends. While people in the U.S. often fret about putting the Christ back in Christmas, he was never really in it here. My old Chinese teacher Yechen, who lived in London for five years and enjoyed the Christmas season there, told me last year he found it full of a spirituality that's sorely lacking here. 'Starbucks, McDonald's and Christmas are all the same to most people here -- they just like foreign things,' he said. 'People don't understand what the holiday means. It's just fashionable, big fun.'
At the mall, a large white faux church complete with imitation stained-glass windows showing Jesus and Mary serves as a backdrop. A Chinese family posed in front of the 'church' for pictures and laughed when I asked if it had any religious significance to them. 'It's just pretty,' the mother said, as Michael Bolton's take on Christmas carols wafted from speakers behind us. 'We come here and take pictures every year.'
Despite the carols and the Merry Christmas signs, there's no gift-buying frenzy, even on a Sunday afternoon a few weeks before the holiday. That is reserved for Chinese New Year, which is like Christmas, Thanksgiving and New Years all rolled into one. Chinese friends who enjoy marking Christmas tell me that exchanging small gifts is purely optional, a sweet little lark.
My family and I, meanwhile, belong to that small subset of the expat world that doesn't celebrate Christmas, status that has given us a heightened sense of closeness to each other and to our small circle of Jewish friends and Sunday-school mates. Lighting a menorah here feels a little extra special. It would have been easy to opt out of religious life while living in China, since being Jewish has always been only a part of who I am. But once we opted in, it seemed to mean more, maybe because it took some extra effort and it clearly sets us apart here. My kids take great joy in explaining Chanukah to their classmates -- they own the holiday in a way they wouldn't back in the States.
And I don't want to tip this appropriately warm balance by digging in my feet on Santa Claus or Christmas trees. Since coming to China I've loosened up about whether my kids engage in Christmas festivities. I have enjoyed watching them participate in huge Santa-infused events at their British school the last couple of years and even threw a Santa hat on myself last week when the big man visited the second-grade classes. Being so far away I feel some warmth for these Christmas totems, which seem to represent America more than they do than anything religious.
But I do have my limits, and they were tested by Jacob's 'holiday' play this year, a musical reenactment of the birth of Jesus called Rejoice. I squirmed in my seat as my son and his friend Sam wore skullcaps on stage as the token Jews. It was meant as a show of diversity but it felt all wrong, as did the entire production, which nowadays would be considered wildly inappropriate in a non-religious American school. Other American families of different faiths were also upset, but our British and Aussie friends couldn't understand why. It was another reminder that in my expat life, the cultural miscommunication is not always between me and China.
我们居住的小区现在已经装饰得流光溢彩了。树木缠上了彩灯，因为冬季而陷于休眠状态的喷泉也变身为一棵高高耸立的电灯圣诞树。一大班工人花一周多时间才给我们的小区置上了这身行头，而且效果确实醒目。某天我开车回家时看到很多中国人在这棵“树”前驻足观看，并互相拍照留念。
在我们旅居中国的三年当中，庆祝圣诞节的气氛越来越浓郁。那些无法回家过节的朋友们告诉我这样有助于缓解他们在假日期间的思乡之情。不过，作为不过圣诞节的西方人，我们一家难免显得有点“双重”置身事外。在欢渡圣诞成为当然主题的年终岁尾，远望着这一切，我感觉自己和这个节日若即若离。
我的朋友怀亚特•卡梅隆(Wyatt Cameron)及杰姬•卡梅隆(Jacqui Cameron)夫妇十年前迁往上海居住，当时他们不得不努力去找几样装饰品来给家里增加点圣诞气息。但杰姬告诉我两年后情形就不同了，那时圣诞树已经可以在花卉市场买到。之后庆祝圣诞的气氛一年比一年浓烈。
杰姬说：“在中国，圣诞节的感觉每年都在‘升级’，这也给我的生活带来了更多便利。其实我在中国过圣诞节要比在国内正式；因为我们身在异国，就算为了孩子们我也要好好过这个节日，这对我来说彷佛一项义务。”她说：“我觉得自己必须让孩子们知道何为传统，就像我小时候那样；由于这里只有我们一家人，没有其他家族成员的帮助，这个责任只能由我一肩承担。”
广告圣诞节“空降”北京的时间略晚于上海。就在几年前，旅居北京的老外还必须到处寻找圣诞树和装饰品，要么就得保证家乡有充足的后备供应。现在在所有老外密集居住的地方都有真的冷杉树出售，而且在当地花市中供货也不成问题，这表明至少有一部分中国人也开始重视这个节日。在离我们家不远的一个小市场里甚至有人专门销售那种小小的、看起来模样颇不周正的塑料圣诞树。
在北京很多地方你仍感受不到圣诞气息，不过许多比较高级的场所都已扮上了“圣诞妆”，虽然大多有些艳俗。太平洋百货商场(Pacific Century Mall)在门前的空场上布置了一个巨大的圣诞景观，有两位胖胖的圣诞老人，有驯鹿车、有小马，甚至旁边还有刚降生的耶稣躺在马槽里。除此之外，由三个中国人装扮的美体修身版圣诞老人也会不时出来搞搞气氛。
我曾听人说起过，有的圣诞景观是那个胖老头给初生的耶稣摇摇篮，有的甚至是圣诞老人被钉在十字架上受难，不过我并未亲眼目睹，而且我觉得它们应该是讹传。在美国，人们通常不会在过圣诞节时抬出耶稣降生的场景，在中国就更是从来不会把这二者联系到一起。我以前的中文老师叶琛（音）曾在伦敦生活了五年，并总在当地过节。去年他对我说，北京的圣诞缺少伦敦圣诞节那种骨子里的东西。叶琛说：“对绝大多数中国人来说，圣诞节和星巴克、麦当劳都是一样的，都是泊来品；人们不理解这个节日意味着什么，只知道时髦、好玩。”
在太平洋百货商场里还搭了一座装有仿制彩色玻璃窗的白色大教堂，背景包括耶稣和圣母玛丽亚(Mary)。一个中国家庭正在这座迷你教堂前边摆姿势照相，当我上前询问这是不是对他们有特别的宗教意义时，一家人笑了起来。妈妈说：“就是好看呗。我们每年都到这儿照相。”此时迈克尔•波顿(Michael Bolton)的圣诞颂歌正在商场里回响。
虽然有颂歌和圣诞标志，但在中国可没有圣诞购物狂潮，即便这个节日已经近在眼前了。中国人都在憋着过春节呢，后者就像是圣诞节、感恩节和新年的三位一体。那些喜欢过圣诞节的中国朋友们告诉我，在圣诞节交换礼物纯粹是个可有可无的小仪式。
我家是不过圣诞节的，这在旅居中国的老外中属于少数派，因此我们也更加珍视和家人、犹太朋友们以及主日学校校友们的亲密关系。在这里点燃犹太烛台有一点特殊的意义。在中国，选择不参加宗教活动本是件容易的事情，反正犹太人的身份并不是我的全部。但是只要我们参加宗教仪式，它就会给我们带来更多的感受，这或许是因为它不是惯性使然，而是需要自己努力为之的，而且这样的仪式也把我们和现在生活的环境分隔了开来。我的孩子们在向同学们讲述犹太光明节(Chanukah)时很开心，这是他们以一种非美国化的方式庆祝这个节日。
我不想以改过圣诞节来打破孩子心目中的平衡。自从移居中国之后，我对孩子们是否参加圣诞活动的态度就出现了松动。在过去几年中，我都在他们就读的英国学校观看了他们参加的圣诞节目汇演，上周我甚至在这位大人物到访小学二年级时带上了一顶圣诞老人的帽子。我之所以做出这么多让步是因为这些圣诞节物品让我感到了一种温暖，它们看起来更像一种美国人的象征，而不具宗教意义。
但我还是有底线的，我儿子雅各布他们班今年再现耶稣诞生记的舞台剧《Rejoice》就试探了我的底线。当看到雅各布和他朋友山姆(Sam)拿无边便帽当犹太人的典型服饰时，我在椅子上真是感到坐立不安。这出戏的本意是体现文化的多样性，但感觉完全不对，即使是在没有任何宗教色彩的美国学校上演亦不恰当。在座一些拥有其他宗教信仰的美国家庭也感到了不舒服，而我们的英国和澳洲朋友却一点没有察觉。这不禁提醒了我，在异国生活中，文化上的隔阂并不只存在于我和中国人之间。
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Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Demand For Medical Interpreters Is Booming
English Chinese translation:
Gayle Tang remembers the time she thought she was speaking English but only realized she had lapsed into Cantonese when one of her doctors spoke it back to her. That was 14 years ago, but she recalls the uneasy feeling of not knowing what was wrong with her and undergoing tests for heart palpitations. The doctor's words in the language she needed to hear and speak at that sensitive time moved her, she said. "It was very natural, very comforting," Tang said. "I was able to express myself and it was emotional. I felt, wow this person really cared about me."
盖尔唐现在仍然记得在医院的一次经历，当时她本以为自己在用英语讲话，其实是不由自主地讲着广东话，而这时其中一位医生竟开始用她的母语同她交流。这是14年前的事了，但她还能想起自己当时做心悸检查不知所措的感觉，医生在她紧张的时刻使用她能听懂和表达的语言与她交流，让她感到很感动。“那种感觉非常自然，令人舒服，”唐说，“我能够表达自己，这令人很激动。我觉得，哇，这个人真的是很关照我。”
The experience gave Tang insight into what patients who speak languages other than English may face when they're frightened and in the throes of medical treatment. "It's very exhausting to try to communicate your most personal information in a language you may not be as comfortable in when you're under stress," said Tang, director of national linguistic & cultural programs for Kaiser Permanente in Oakland. "When people are under duress, they may lose their language skills," she said. "It's not like going to the bank and making a banking transaction or going to the grocery store and buying food."
这次经历让唐了解到，不会讲英语的病人在恐慌和疼痛时会面临什么样的麻烦。“在压力下以自己不是很习惯的语言来讲述个人信息是一件非常辛苦的事，”担任位于奥克兰的凯泽公司民族语言和文化项目部主任的唐说。“人们在胁迫下可能会失去自己的语言技能，”她说，“这与到银行做笔交易或去杂货店买食物的情况不同。”
Kaiser Permanente has been on the forefront of a movement toward greater linguistic and cultural competence in health care. Kaiser routinely asks patients which language they prefer to speak, and developed a voluntary physician assessment tool that lets health-care organizations determine if doctors have enough foreign-language proficiency to speak with patients in that language independent of an interpreter. About 1,000 doctors have taken the test so far. As the nation's population grows and ages, the demand for language services in hospitals, doctor's offices and other health-care arenas is booming, experts say.
凯泽公司在推动医疗领域完善语言与文化服务方面一直走在前列。他们会例行地询问病人希望使用的语言，并为医疗机构制定了自愿者医师评估工具，以便他们能判断是否医生具备在无需译员帮助下能够同讲外语的病人较好沟通的能力。目前大约有1000名医生参加了这项评估测试。 专家们介绍，随着国家人口的增长和老龄化，医院、医生诊所和其他卫生保健领域对语言服务的需求正日益增加。
Federal law mandates that any entity that receives federal funding, whether it's Medicare reimbursement or research grants, must provide a patient with limited English proficiency an interpreter at no cost to the patient. In early 2009, California enacted a language-services law requiring all health plans and insurers to provide an interpreter for limited-English speaking patients at no cost to the patients. The House of Representatives' health-reform bill calls for a study into how the Medicare program makes use of language services for beneficiaries who have limited English proficiency. If a health-care overhaul expands coverage as promised, an influx of newly insured people into the Medicaid program also may increase demand for medical interpreters. An estimated 15,000 to 17,000 people perform medical interpreting work in the U.S., according to Common Sense Advisory, a Boston-based research firm. Interpreters typically earn $15 to $30 an hour.
联邦法律明文规定，任何获得诸如医疗保险或研究补助金等联邦资助的单位，必须向英语能力有限的病人免费提供翻译人员。 2009年初，加利福尼亚州颁布了一项语言服务法律，要求所有医疗计划和保险人向英语能力有限的病人免费提供口译人员。 众议院的医疗改革法案还在安排一项研究，用来了解医疗项目如何利用语言服务为英语能力有限的病人带来福利。如果医疗改革按照预定的那样扩大覆盖范围的话，新获得医疗保险的一大批人的涌入同样会增加对医疗口译员的需求。根据一家位于波士顿的调查公司“Common Sense咨询服务公司”统计，在美国有大约15000至17000人在从事医疗口译工作，口译员一般收入为每小时15至30美元。
Driven to standardize
走向标准化
As hospitals look to boost patient safety and limit their exposure to potential lawsuits if a crucial detail gets lost in translation during a fast-paced medical response, some are open to a new national certification standard for the people they hire to provide medical interpretation. In October, a nonprofit group launched a first-of-its-kind national interpreting standard that will allow interpreters working in the medical field to be tested and credentialed as certified medical interpreters, or CMIs. The CMI designation first will be available to Spanish language interpreters, with national certification for several other languages starting next year.
如果一个关键的细节没有在快节奏的医疗问询中被清楚翻译的话，病人的安全就会受到威胁，医院还会存在潜在的诉讼风险，医院为了避免类似问题发生正着力寻求解决途径。目前，一部分医院已经开始采纳针对医疗口译人员的国家认证标准。10月份，一家非营利性组织开始制定了历史首次的国家口译服务标准，允许医疗领域工作的口译员参加考试并获得医学口译证书（CMI），这项认证首先在西班牙语口译员中试行，明年起在其它几种语言中推广。
At M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, interpreters have to have at least one year of experience doing medical interpretation. They then go through three months of in-house training including medical and oncological terminology and technical aspects of interpretation, said Cesar Palacio, manager of the language assistance department. "Right now when we hire someone we have to take a very good look at their credentials and verify that they really know what they're doing," he said. "If we have national or state certification, at least we'll have a benchmark for establishing credentials."
在休斯敦安德森癌症中心，口译员必须有至少一年的医疗口译经验。他们还要通过三个月的内部训练，包括医疗和肿瘤方面的术语及口译技术问题，语言协助部门经理帕拉西奥介绍说。“现在我们雇人时，都要仔细地了解他们的资格，并确认他们真的知道自己在做什么，”他说，“如果我们有国家或州一级的认证，至少我们会有一个衡量基准。”
The field of medical interpretation has come a long way from when patients would rely solely on their minor children or when hospital staff would comb their ranks for candidates or ask if anyone in the waiting room spoke Polish, for example, said Dr. Eric Hardt, medical consultant to interpreter services at Boston Medical Center. "They would tap these people completely untrained," he said. "Today we would think of it as an instant [health-care privacy] violation. That standard has long been gone." "Now the issue is what about your secretary who's fully bilingual? If she's not been evaluated, had some training, I don't think it's safe for you to use her to interpret" for low-English proficiency patients, Hardt said. "If something went wrong, you're increasingly likely to be liable."
“医疗口译已经走过了很长的路，以往病人仅能靠他们尚未成年的子女同医生沟通，亦或医院想办法在医务工作者中挑选会外语的人员，甚至向排号等待看病的人中询问是否有会波兰语的人。”在波士顿医疗中心担任译员咨询专家的哈特埃里克博士说。“他们会让这些完全未经训练的人做口译，”他说，“而今天，我们会立即把这种行为看作是对医疗隐私的侵犯。旧的标准早已过时了。”“现在的问题是，如果你的秘书就能熟练掌握双语，但她没有获得评估或受过训练，是否可以胜任这份工作？我觉得让她为低英语水平的病人做口译仍然是不安全的。”哈特说，“如果出了问题，你需要承担责任的几率会大大增加。”
Of course, such services don't come cheap. At M.D. Anderson, the annual price tag comes to $2 million, Palacio said. The cancer-treatment center has 25 staff interpreters covering nine languages, but it provides services in about 30 languages by tapping a phone-based medical interpreting agency. About 60% of M.D. Anderson's non-English business is Spanish; another 28% is Arabic. Turkish, Vietnamese and Mandarin Chinese round out the top five languages it hears. "Providing these services is a very good risk-management tool," Palacio said. "There have been settlements for language-related problems amounting to tens of millions of dollars because of one word or phrase used incorrectly."
当然，口译服务并不便宜。在安德森中心，每年的花费会达到200万美元，帕拉西奥说。癌症治疗中心有25名工作人员，涵盖9种语言翻译，额外还能通过电话代理方式提供约30种语言的口译服务。安德森中心受理的非英语业务大约有60％是西班牙语，28％为阿拉伯语，它们连同土耳其语、越南语和汉语普通话构成了主要外语的前5位。“提供这些服务是一个很好的风险管理工具，”帕拉西奥说，“因为经常有由于一个词或短语没有使用准确而导致数千万美元赔偿的案例。”
Offering interpreters also pays off in public-relations gains. "We have many patients who were not even expecting to find this kind of service here," he said, "but they find the service very useful, very rewarding."
提供口译员服务也体现公共关系的成果。“我们有许多病人原本并没有期待可以在这里获得这种服务，”他说，“但他们发现这项服务非常有用，非常有价值。”
Judgment calls
如何去判断
Health care makes up about a third of the business at Language Line Services, which provides telephone-based interpreting services for $1.50 a minute on average. Its president, Louis Provenzano, said the company serves more than 170 languages by staffing interpreters in 18 time zones who are available to customers by phone or sometimes video at all hours. More than half its staff is based in the U.S.
医疗口译占在线语言服务公司 Language Line Services 近三分之一的业务，他们提供在线方式的口译服务，平均每分钟收取1.5美元。其公司总裁路易斯普罗文扎诺介绍，该公司的口译人员来自18个时区的不同地方，大约一半以上的工作人员居住在美国，这些人员可以通过电话或视频的方式24小时为客户提供超过170种语言的翻译服务。
Despite the recession, the company continues to grow, Provenzano said. Spanish drives 70% of the U.S. business volume, and Mandarin Chinese is the second most in-demand language. It's not just acute-care facilities and emergency rooms that are calling for help. New customers are coming on board in the area of preventive care, disease management and needs related to the pandemic H1N1 flu virus, he said. "No matter which side of the fence you sit on immigration, there's a fundamental complexity in terms of the demographics of this country," Provenzano said. "One of every five citizens speaks another language other than English."
尽管经济衰退，该公司的业务却在持续增长。西班牙语占据了他们美国业务的70％，而汉语普通话位列急需语言的第二位。现在不仅仅是急救机构和急诊室打电话过来求助，在预防保健、疾病管理以及与甲型流感有关的需求方面都带来大量的新客户。“不管你对于移民问题持有何种立场，从这个国家的人口统计的角度来看，有一个基本的复杂问题就是，每五个市民里就有一位讲另一种英语以外的语言。”普罗文扎诺说。
Still, doctors often balk at providing medical interpreters because that often means they pay more in interpreter's fees than they are reimbursed for the patient's office visit. The American Medical Association says it understands the need for good patient-doctor communication but objects to the "unfunded mandate" that leaves doctors on the hook for the cost of providing interpreters.
不过，医生往往不愿为病人提供医疗口译人员，因为这常常意味着他们给译员支付的费用要超过为病人看病获得的利润。美国医学协会说，他们清楚为了让医患之间更好的沟通而对口译服务的需求，但对政府不提供此方面资助的规定表示反对，因为让医生支付口译费用会将他们置于两难的境地。
Many patients whose native language isn't English often choose doctors who speak their first language, said Dr. Anmol S. Mahal, a gastroenterologist in Fremont, Calif., and past president of the California Medical Association. Others count on trusted loved ones who accompany them to the visit. "The largest volume of interpreters are loving family members and neighbors and transporters who come with patients and help," said Mahal, who speaks Hindi and Punjabi. Doctors should be able to determine when a family member is appropriate vs. when a professional interpreter is needed, he said.
“许多母语为非英语的病人往往会选择同他们讲相同语言的医生，”在弗里蒙特工作的肠胃病医生、加利福尼亚州医疗协会前主席安莫尔马哈尔说，“另一些人则指望自己信任的亲人陪同他们前往医院。”“前来陪同病人并帮忙翻译的大多数人都是家属、邻居甚至运送人员。”马哈尔说，他本人会讲印地语和旁遮普语。“医生应该能够确定何时家庭成员可以胜任，而何时需要一位专业翻译，”他说。
"If I have someone with a minor illness -- a bronchitis or a cold -- and a family member is interpreting for the patient, I would think the communication level that visit requires could be adequately covered and the quality of care would not be affected," he said. "On other hand, if I had a patient with a malignancy that was quite complicated and I had to describe the extent of the malignancy and options for treatment to determine what further course of action to take, I think it would be more important in that circumstance to have a professional interpreter who could ascertain the patient's understanding."
“如果我的患者只是有轻微疾病，例如支气管炎或感冒，当家属为患者翻译时，我会认为这种沟通水平已经能满足需求了，服务质量也不会受到太大影响，”他说，“但相反，如果我的病人有非常复杂的恶性肿瘤，我就必须描述病情的恶性程度和治疗方案，以确定对病人的进一步治疗行动，我觉得这时找一位能够弄清病人是否理解的专业翻译就更加重要。”
Studies show that people who don't speak English generally receive a lower standard of care, Hardt said. "Our hypothesis is the amount of money that's wasted on language barriers would be enough to cover the cost of good interpretive services," he said, noting that appropriate services could reduce health-care disparities and inefficiencies such as the number of patients who make repeat trips to the emergency room because their original problem wasn't handled properly. "These are all big-ticket items," Hardt said. But that doesn't mean medical interpreting is an easy sell, he noted. "It's the old problem of when you save someone else's money, how can you convince them to pay you back?"
“研究表明，不会说英语的病人受到的治疗标准普遍偏低”，哈特说。“我们的假定是因为语言障碍而浪费的金钱足以用来支付提供较好口译服务的费用。”他同时指出，“适合的口译服务可以减少医疗服务的受众差距和低效率，因为有很多人重复被送到急诊室是因为他们原先的问题没有被很好的处理。这些都是高价的负担，”哈特说，“但这并不意味着医疗口译就会很容易被采用，”他说，“还是那个老问题，当您为别人省了钱的时候，你该如何说服他们给你补偿呢？”
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Gayle Tang remembers the time she thought she was speaking English but only realized she had lapsed into Cantonese when one of her doctors spoke it back to her. That was 14 years ago, but she recalls the uneasy feeling of not knowing what was wrong with her and undergoing tests for heart palpitations. The doctor's words in the language she needed to hear and speak at that sensitive time moved her, she said. "It was very natural, very comforting," Tang said. "I was able to express myself and it was emotional. I felt, wow this person really cared about me."
盖尔唐现在仍然记得在医院的一次经历，当时她本以为自己在用英语讲话，其实是不由自主地讲着广东话，而这时其中一位医生竟开始用她的母语同她交流。这是14年前的事了，但她还能想起自己当时做心悸检查不知所措的感觉，医生在她紧张的时刻使用她能听懂和表达的语言与她交流，让她感到很感动。“那种感觉非常自然，令人舒服，”唐说，“我能够表达自己，这令人很激动。我觉得，哇，这个人真的是很关照我。”
The experience gave Tang insight into what patients who speak languages other than English may face when they're frightened and in the throes of medical treatment. "It's very exhausting to try to communicate your most personal information in a language you may not be as comfortable in when you're under stress," said Tang, director of national linguistic & cultural programs for Kaiser Permanente in Oakland. "When people are under duress, they may lose their language skills," she said. "It's not like going to the bank and making a banking transaction or going to the grocery store and buying food."
这次经历让唐了解到，不会讲英语的病人在恐慌和疼痛时会面临什么样的麻烦。“在压力下以自己不是很习惯的语言来讲述个人信息是一件非常辛苦的事，”担任位于奥克兰的凯泽公司民族语言和文化项目部主任的唐说。“人们在胁迫下可能会失去自己的语言技能，”她说，“这与到银行做笔交易或去杂货店买食物的情况不同。”
Kaiser Permanente has been on the forefront of a movement toward greater linguistic and cultural competence in health care. Kaiser routinely asks patients which language they prefer to speak, and developed a voluntary physician assessment tool that lets health-care organizations determine if doctors have enough foreign-language proficiency to speak with patients in that language independent of an interpreter. About 1,000 doctors have taken the test so far. As the nation's population grows and ages, the demand for language services in hospitals, doctor's offices and other health-care arenas is booming, experts say.
凯泽公司在推动医疗领域完善语言与文化服务方面一直走在前列。他们会例行地询问病人希望使用的语言，并为医疗机构制定了自愿者医师评估工具，以便他们能判断是否医生具备在无需译员帮助下能够同讲外语的病人较好沟通的能力。目前大约有1000名医生参加了这项评估测试。 专家们介绍，随着国家人口的增长和老龄化，医院、医生诊所和其他卫生保健领域对语言服务的需求正日益增加。
Federal law mandates that any entity that receives federal funding, whether it's Medicare reimbursement or research grants, must provide a patient with limited English proficiency an interpreter at no cost to the patient. In early 2009, California enacted a language-services law requiring all health plans and insurers to provide an interpreter for limited-English speaking patients at no cost to the patients. The House of Representatives' health-reform bill calls for a study into how the Medicare program makes use of language services for beneficiaries who have limited English proficiency. If a health-care overhaul expands coverage as promised, an influx of newly insured people into the Medicaid program also may increase demand for medical interpreters. An estimated 15,000 to 17,000 people perform medical interpreting work in the U.S., according to Common Sense Advisory, a Boston-based research firm. Interpreters typically earn $15 to $30 an hour.
联邦法律明文规定，任何获得诸如医疗保险或研究补助金等联邦资助的单位，必须向英语能力有限的病人免费提供翻译人员。 2009年初，加利福尼亚州颁布了一项语言服务法律，要求所有医疗计划和保险人向英语能力有限的病人免费提供口译人员。 众议院的医疗改革法案还在安排一项研究，用来了解医疗项目如何利用语言服务为英语能力有限的病人带来福利。如果医疗改革按照预定的那样扩大覆盖范围的话，新获得医疗保险的一大批人的涌入同样会增加对医疗口译员的需求。根据一家位于波士顿的调查公司“Common Sense咨询服务公司”统计，在美国有大约15000至17000人在从事医疗口译工作，口译员一般收入为每小时15至30美元。
Driven to standardize
走向标准化
As hospitals look to boost patient safety and limit their exposure to potential lawsuits if a crucial detail gets lost in translation during a fast-paced medical response, some are open to a new national certification standard for the people they hire to provide medical interpretation. In October, a nonprofit group launched a first-of-its-kind national interpreting standard that will allow interpreters working in the medical field to be tested and credentialed as certified medical interpreters, or CMIs. The CMI designation first will be available to Spanish language interpreters, with national certification for several other languages starting next year.
如果一个关键的细节没有在快节奏的医疗问询中被清楚翻译的话，病人的安全就会受到威胁，医院还会存在潜在的诉讼风险，医院为了避免类似问题发生正着力寻求解决途径。目前，一部分医院已经开始采纳针对医疗口译人员的国家认证标准。10月份，一家非营利性组织开始制定了历史首次的国家口译服务标准，允许医疗领域工作的口译员参加考试并获得医学口译证书（CMI），这项认证首先在西班牙语口译员中试行，明年起在其它几种语言中推广。
At M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, interpreters have to have at least one year of experience doing medical interpretation. They then go through three months of in-house training including medical and oncological terminology and technical aspects of interpretation, said Cesar Palacio, manager of the language assistance department. "Right now when we hire someone we have to take a very good look at their credentials and verify that they really know what they're doing," he said. "If we have national or state certification, at least we'll have a benchmark for establishing credentials."
在休斯敦安德森癌症中心，口译员必须有至少一年的医疗口译经验。他们还要通过三个月的内部训练，包括医疗和肿瘤方面的术语及口译技术问题，语言协助部门经理帕拉西奥介绍说。“现在我们雇人时，都要仔细地了解他们的资格，并确认他们真的知道自己在做什么，”他说，“如果我们有国家或州一级的认证，至少我们会有一个衡量基准。”
The field of medical interpretation has come a long way from when patients would rely solely on their minor children or when hospital staff would comb their ranks for candidates or ask if anyone in the waiting room spoke Polish, for example, said Dr. Eric Hardt, medical consultant to interpreter services at Boston Medical Center. "They would tap these people completely untrained," he said. "Today we would think of it as an instant [health-care privacy] violation. That standard has long been gone." "Now the issue is what about your secretary who's fully bilingual? If she's not been evaluated, had some training, I don't think it's safe for you to use her to interpret" for low-English proficiency patients, Hardt said. "If something went wrong, you're increasingly likely to be liable."
“医疗口译已经走过了很长的路，以往病人仅能靠他们尚未成年的子女同医生沟通，亦或医院想办法在医务工作者中挑选会外语的人员，甚至向排号等待看病的人中询问是否有会波兰语的人。”在波士顿医疗中心担任译员咨询专家的哈特埃里克博士说。“他们会让这些完全未经训练的人做口译，”他说，“而今天，我们会立即把这种行为看作是对医疗隐私的侵犯。旧的标准早已过时了。”“现在的问题是，如果你的秘书就能熟练掌握双语，但她没有获得评估或受过训练，是否可以胜任这份工作？我觉得让她为低英语水平的病人做口译仍然是不安全的。”哈特说，“如果出了问题，你需要承担责任的几率会大大增加。”
Of course, such services don't come cheap. At M.D. Anderson, the annual price tag comes to $2 million, Palacio said. The cancer-treatment center has 25 staff interpreters covering nine languages, but it provides services in about 30 languages by tapping a phone-based medical interpreting agency. About 60% of M.D. Anderson's non-English business is Spanish; another 28% is Arabic. Turkish, Vietnamese and Mandarin Chinese round out the top five languages it hears. "Providing these services is a very good risk-management tool," Palacio said. "There have been settlements for language-related problems amounting to tens of millions of dollars because of one word or phrase used incorrectly."
当然，口译服务并不便宜。在安德森中心，每年的花费会达到200万美元，帕拉西奥说。癌症治疗中心有25名工作人员，涵盖9种语言翻译，额外还能通过电话代理方式提供约30种语言的口译服务。安德森中心受理的非英语业务大约有60％是西班牙语，28％为阿拉伯语，它们连同土耳其语、越南语和汉语普通话构成了主要外语的前5位。“提供这些服务是一个很好的风险管理工具，”帕拉西奥说，“因为经常有由于一个词或短语没有使用准确而导致数千万美元赔偿的案例。”
Offering interpreters also pays off in public-relations gains. "We have many patients who were not even expecting to find this kind of service here," he said, "but they find the service very useful, very rewarding."
提供口译员服务也体现公共关系的成果。“我们有许多病人原本并没有期待可以在这里获得这种服务，”他说，“但他们发现这项服务非常有用，非常有价值。”
Judgment calls
如何去判断
Health care makes up about a third of the business at Language Line Services, which provides telephone-based interpreting services for $1.50 a minute on average. Its president, Louis Provenzano, said the company serves more than 170 languages by staffing interpreters in 18 time zones who are available to customers by phone or sometimes video at all hours. More than half its staff is based in the U.S.
医疗口译占在线语言服务公司 Language Line Services 近三分之一的业务，他们提供在线方式的口译服务，平均每分钟收取1.5美元。其公司总裁路易斯普罗文扎诺介绍，该公司的口译人员来自18个时区的不同地方，大约一半以上的工作人员居住在美国，这些人员可以通过电话或视频的方式24小时为客户提供超过170种语言的翻译服务。
Despite the recession, the company continues to grow, Provenzano said. Spanish drives 70% of the U.S. business volume, and Mandarin Chinese is the second most in-demand language. It's not just acute-care facilities and emergency rooms that are calling for help. New customers are coming on board in the area of preventive care, disease management and needs related to the pandemic H1N1 flu virus, he said. "No matter which side of the fence you sit on immigration, there's a fundamental complexity in terms of the demographics of this country," Provenzano said. "One of every five citizens speaks another language other than English."
尽管经济衰退，该公司的业务却在持续增长。西班牙语占据了他们美国业务的70％，而汉语普通话位列急需语言的第二位。现在不仅仅是急救机构和急诊室打电话过来求助，在预防保健、疾病管理以及与甲型流感有关的需求方面都带来大量的新客户。“不管你对于移民问题持有何种立场，从这个国家的人口统计的角度来看，有一个基本的复杂问题就是，每五个市民里就有一位讲另一种英语以外的语言。”普罗文扎诺说。
Still, doctors often balk at providing medical interpreters because that often means they pay more in interpreter's fees than they are reimbursed for the patient's office visit. The American Medical Association says it understands the need for good patient-doctor communication but objects to the "unfunded mandate" that leaves doctors on the hook for the cost of providing interpreters.
不过，医生往往不愿为病人提供医疗口译人员，因为这常常意味着他们给译员支付的费用要超过为病人看病获得的利润。美国医学协会说，他们清楚为了让医患之间更好的沟通而对口译服务的需求，但对政府不提供此方面资助的规定表示反对，因为让医生支付口译费用会将他们置于两难的境地。
Many patients whose native language isn't English often choose doctors who speak their first language, said Dr. Anmol S. Mahal, a gastroenterologist in Fremont, Calif., and past president of the California Medical Association. Others count on trusted loved ones who accompany them to the visit. "The largest volume of interpreters are loving family members and neighbors and transporters who come with patients and help," said Mahal, who speaks Hindi and Punjabi. Doctors should be able to determine when a family member is appropriate vs. when a professional interpreter is needed, he said.
“许多母语为非英语的病人往往会选择同他们讲相同语言的医生，”在弗里蒙特工作的肠胃病医生、加利福尼亚州医疗协会前主席安莫尔马哈尔说，“另一些人则指望自己信任的亲人陪同他们前往医院。”“前来陪同病人并帮忙翻译的大多数人都是家属、邻居甚至运送人员。”马哈尔说，他本人会讲印地语和旁遮普语。“医生应该能够确定何时家庭成员可以胜任，而何时需要一位专业翻译，”他说。
"If I have someone with a minor illness -- a bronchitis or a cold -- and a family member is interpreting for the patient, I would think the communication level that visit requires could be adequately covered and the quality of care would not be affected," he said. "On other hand, if I had a patient with a malignancy that was quite complicated and I had to describe the extent of the malignancy and options for treatment to determine what further course of action to take, I think it would be more important in that circumstance to have a professional interpreter who could ascertain the patient's understanding."
“如果我的患者只是有轻微疾病，例如支气管炎或感冒，当家属为患者翻译时，我会认为这种沟通水平已经能满足需求了，服务质量也不会受到太大影响，”他说，“但相反，如果我的病人有非常复杂的恶性肿瘤，我就必须描述病情的恶性程度和治疗方案，以确定对病人的进一步治疗行动，我觉得这时找一位能够弄清病人是否理解的专业翻译就更加重要。”
Studies show that people who don't speak English generally receive a lower standard of care, Hardt said. "Our hypothesis is the amount of money that's wasted on language barriers would be enough to cover the cost of good interpretive services," he said, noting that appropriate services could reduce health-care disparities and inefficiencies such as the number of patients who make repeat trips to the emergency room because their original problem wasn't handled properly. "These are all big-ticket items," Hardt said. But that doesn't mean medical interpreting is an easy sell, he noted. "It's the old problem of when you save someone else's money, how can you convince them to pay you back?"
“研究表明，不会说英语的病人受到的治疗标准普遍偏低”，哈特说。“我们的假定是因为语言障碍而浪费的金钱足以用来支付提供较好口译服务的费用。”他同时指出，“适合的口译服务可以减少医疗服务的受众差距和低效率，因为有很多人重复被送到急诊室是因为他们原先的问题没有被很好的处理。这些都是高价的负担，”哈特说，“但这并不意味着医疗口译就会很容易被采用，”他说，“还是那个老问题，当您为别人省了钱的时候，你该如何说服他们给你补偿呢？”
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Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Traditional Chinese Festival - Winter Solstice
As early as 2,500 years ago, about the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC), China had determined the point of Winter Solstice by observing movements of the sun with a sundial. It is the earliest of the 24 seasonal division points. The time will be each December 22 or 23 according to the Gregorian calendar.
The Northern hemisphere on this day experiences the shortest daytime and longest nighttime. After the Winter Solstice, days will become longer and longer. As ancient Chinese thought, the yang, or muscular, positive things will become stronger and stronger after this day, so it should be celebrated.
The Winter Solstice became a festival during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) and thrived in the Tang and Song dynasties (618-1279). The Han people regarded Winter Solstice as a "Winter Festival", so officials would organize celebrating activities. On this day, both officials and common people would have a rest. The army was stationed in, frontier fortresses closed and business and traveling stopped. Relatives and friends presented to each other delicious food. In the Tang and Song dynasties, the Winter Solstice was a day to offer scarifies to Heaven and ancestors. Emperors would go to suburbs to worship the Heaven; while common people offered sacrifices to their deceased parents or other relatives. The Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) even had the record that "Winter Solstice is as formal as the Spring Festival," showing the great importance attached to this day.
In some parts of Northern China, people eat dumpling soup on this day; while residents of some other places eat dumplings, saying doing so will keep them from frost in the upcoming winter. But in parts of South China, the whole family will get together to have a meal made of red-bean and glutinous rice to drive away ghosts and other evil things. In other places, people also eat tangyuan, a kind of stuffed small dumpling ball made of glutinous rice flour. The Winter Solstice rice dumplings could be used as sacrifices to ancestors, or gifts for friends and relatives. The Taiwan people even keep the custom of offering nine-layer cakes to their ancestors. They make cakes in the shape of chicken, duck, tortoise, pig, cow or sheep with glutinous rice flour and steam them on different layers of a pot. These animals all signify auspiciousness in Chinese tradition. People of the same surname or family clan gather at their ancestral temples to worship their ancestors in age order. After the sacrificial ceremony, there is always a grand banquet.
Related English Chinese translation：
冬至，是我国农历中一个非常重要的节气，也是一个传统节日，至今仍有不少地方有过冬至节的习俗。冬至俗称“冬节”、“长至节”、“亚岁”等。早在二千五百多年前的春秋时代，我国已经用土圭观测太阳测定出冬至来了，它是二十四节气中最早制订出的一个。时间在每年的阳历12月22日或者23日之间。
冬至是北半球全年中白天最短、黑夜最长的一天，过了冬至，白天就会一天天变长。古人对冬至的说法是：阴极之至，阳气始生，日南至，日短之至，日影长之至，故曰“冬至”。冬至过后，各地气候都进入一个最寒冷的阶段，也就是人们常说的“进九”，我国民间有“冷在三九，热在三伏”的说法。现代天文科学测定，冬至日太阳直射南回归线，阳光对北半球最倾斜，北半球白天最短，黑夜最长，这天之后，太阳又逐渐北移。
在我国古代对冬至很重视，冬至被当作一个较大节日，曾有“冬至大如年”的说法，而且有庆贺冬至的习俗。《汉书》中说：“冬至阳气起，君道长，故贺。”人们认为：过了冬至，白昼一天比一天长，阳气回升，是一个节气循环的开始，也是一个吉日，应该庆贺。《晋书》上记载有“魏晋冬至日受万国及百僚称贺……其仪亚于正旦。”说明古代对冬至日的重视。
现在，一些地方还把冬至作为一个节日来过。北方地区有冬至宰羊，吃饺子、吃馄饨的习俗，南方地区在这一天则有吃冬至米团、冬至长线面的习惯。各个地区在冬至这一天还有祭天祭祖的习俗。
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The Northern hemisphere on this day experiences the shortest daytime and longest nighttime. After the Winter Solstice, days will become longer and longer. As ancient Chinese thought, the yang, or muscular, positive things will become stronger and stronger after this day, so it should be celebrated.
The Winter Solstice became a festival during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) and thrived in the Tang and Song dynasties (618-1279). The Han people regarded Winter Solstice as a "Winter Festival", so officials would organize celebrating activities. On this day, both officials and common people would have a rest. The army was stationed in, frontier fortresses closed and business and traveling stopped. Relatives and friends presented to each other delicious food. In the Tang and Song dynasties, the Winter Solstice was a day to offer scarifies to Heaven and ancestors. Emperors would go to suburbs to worship the Heaven; while common people offered sacrifices to their deceased parents or other relatives. The Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) even had the record that "Winter Solstice is as formal as the Spring Festival," showing the great importance attached to this day.
In some parts of Northern China, people eat dumpling soup on this day; while residents of some other places eat dumplings, saying doing so will keep them from frost in the upcoming winter. But in parts of South China, the whole family will get together to have a meal made of red-bean and glutinous rice to drive away ghosts and other evil things. In other places, people also eat tangyuan, a kind of stuffed small dumpling ball made of glutinous rice flour. The Winter Solstice rice dumplings could be used as sacrifices to ancestors, or gifts for friends and relatives. The Taiwan people even keep the custom of offering nine-layer cakes to their ancestors. They make cakes in the shape of chicken, duck, tortoise, pig, cow or sheep with glutinous rice flour and steam them on different layers of a pot. These animals all signify auspiciousness in Chinese tradition. People of the same surname or family clan gather at their ancestral temples to worship their ancestors in age order. After the sacrificial ceremony, there is always a grand banquet.
Related English Chinese translation：
冬至，是我国农历中一个非常重要的节气，也是一个传统节日，至今仍有不少地方有过冬至节的习俗。冬至俗称“冬节”、“长至节”、“亚岁”等。早在二千五百多年前的春秋时代，我国已经用土圭观测太阳测定出冬至来了，它是二十四节气中最早制订出的一个。时间在每年的阳历12月22日或者23日之间。
冬至是北半球全年中白天最短、黑夜最长的一天，过了冬至，白天就会一天天变长。古人对冬至的说法是：阴极之至，阳气始生，日南至，日短之至，日影长之至，故曰“冬至”。冬至过后，各地气候都进入一个最寒冷的阶段，也就是人们常说的“进九”，我国民间有“冷在三九，热在三伏”的说法。现代天文科学测定，冬至日太阳直射南回归线，阳光对北半球最倾斜，北半球白天最短，黑夜最长，这天之后，太阳又逐渐北移。
在我国古代对冬至很重视，冬至被当作一个较大节日，曾有“冬至大如年”的说法，而且有庆贺冬至的习俗。《汉书》中说：“冬至阳气起，君道长，故贺。”人们认为：过了冬至，白昼一天比一天长，阳气回升，是一个节气循环的开始，也是一个吉日，应该庆贺。《晋书》上记载有“魏晋冬至日受万国及百僚称贺……其仪亚于正旦。”说明古代对冬至日的重视。
现在，一些地方还把冬至作为一个节日来过。北方地区有冬至宰羊，吃饺子、吃馄饨的习俗，南方地区在这一天则有吃冬至米团、冬至长线面的习惯。各个地区在冬至这一天还有祭天祭祖的习俗。
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Monday, December 20, 2010
Most Expensive Christmas Tree
Christmas came in extravagant fashion to the Muslim desert emirate of Abu Dhabi as a glitzy hotel unveiled a bejewelled Christmas tree valued at more than 11 million dollars on Wednesday.
It is the "most expensive Christmas tree ever," with a "value of over 11 million dollars." The 13-metre (40-foot) faux evergreen is decorated with silver and gold bows, ball-shaped ornaments and small white lights.
But the necklaces, earrings and other jewellery draped around the tree's branches are what give it a record value. It holds a total of 181 diamonds, pearls, emeralds, sapphires and other precious stones. The tree itself is about 10,000 dollars. The jewellery has a value of over 11 million dollars. Probably, this will be another Dubai entry into the Guinness book of world records.
English Chinese Translation:
本周三，阿布达比酋长国（阿拉伯联合酋长国之一）的一家奢华酒店将一棵挂满珠宝、价值1100万美元的圣诞树布置于酒店大堂内，本年度的圣诞节开始在这片土地上刮起了奢华风。
这棵价值价值1100万美元的圣诞树是“有史以来最贵的圣诞树”，上面用金、银弓，球形装饰等点缀着。
但这棵圣诞树的真正价值在于挂在树枝上的各式项链、耳环和珠宝。它承载了181颗钻石、珍珠、翡翠和宝石等。这棵树本身价值约1万美元，而这些珠宝的价值要超过1100万美元。也许它将成为继迪拜酒店后另一项进入吉尼斯纪录的杰作。
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It is the "most expensive Christmas tree ever," with a "value of over 11 million dollars." The 13-metre (40-foot) faux evergreen is decorated with silver and gold bows, ball-shaped ornaments and small white lights.
But the necklaces, earrings and other jewellery draped around the tree's branches are what give it a record value. It holds a total of 181 diamonds, pearls, emeralds, sapphires and other precious stones. The tree itself is about 10,000 dollars. The jewellery has a value of over 11 million dollars. Probably, this will be another Dubai entry into the Guinness book of world records.
English Chinese Translation:
本周三，阿布达比酋长国（阿拉伯联合酋长国之一）的一家奢华酒店将一棵挂满珠宝、价值1100万美元的圣诞树布置于酒店大堂内，本年度的圣诞节开始在这片土地上刮起了奢华风。
这棵价值价值1100万美元的圣诞树是“有史以来最贵的圣诞树”，上面用金、银弓，球形装饰等点缀着。
但这棵圣诞树的真正价值在于挂在树枝上的各式项链、耳环和珠宝。它承载了181颗钻石、珍珠、翡翠和宝石等。这棵树本身价值约1万美元，而这些珠宝的价值要超过1100万美元。也许它将成为继迪拜酒店后另一项进入吉尼斯纪录的杰作。
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Thursday, December 16, 2010
Recognize Where the Waste Is
In order to begin a time management program, you need to pinpoint exactly where you are wasting the most time. Likely, there will be many areas where you need better time management. Look at those areas and start working on them every day. Slacking off here or there won’t help you. Be rigid.
开始你的时间管理程序，你要非常精确的找出在什么地方你浪费了大量的时间。你很可能在许多地方更好的管理你的时间，审视这些，开始每天在这些事务上用心，对待任何事情都不要懈怠，那样对你是没有好处的。一定要严格要求自己。
Get Some Tools
Getting your life organized will help your time management because you won’t have to think about what is coming up next on your schedule. You can also look up directions if you have a meeting, what restaurants are nearby, and a million other handy things to save yourself some time. Some people use their iPhone for these functions and some still use the Palm Pilot system. Whatever you use, make sure you can surf the net and plug in your daily schedule at ease.
获得工具
井井有条的生活是有益于你管理时间的，因为这样你就不必去想接下来要做什么。你也可以查看自己的计划表，是否有会议要参加，要去附近的哪个餐馆，还有无数其他的琐碎的事情，随时查看自己的时间安排，这会节省你的时间。一些人用iPhone，也有一些人用Palm，无论你用什么工具，都要保证你能随意的添加你的日常事务的时间计划。
Multi-Task While Eating
Eating while just staring at the wall is a great time waster. Which is not a good thing. At least check your e-mail or read over a project you have to work on in the afternoon while you are munching your way through that tuna sandwich. If you read (dork!) in your free time, do it during lunch to give you some extra time later when you are usually reading.
吃饭时多做点别的事情
吃饭时仅仅盯着墙面，对时间是巨大的浪费。这是很不好的事情。这个时候你至少可以查看自己的邮件，或者在你大口咀嚼三明治的时候想想自己下午要做什么事情。如果你在自己闲暇的时候读书--这真是太愚蠢了--把这些事情放到午餐的时候吧，为接下来的事务多留点时间，等到你真的闲暇的时候在去读书吧。
Plan Ahead
Each night, there needs to be a moment where you review what will be happening the next day. If you have somewhere to be at 8:30am, plan accordingly. Set your alarm to wake up earlier. Plan your route to avoid as much of the morning traffic rush as possible. It will only take a couple of minutes to refer to your schedule, but will save you tons of time the next day.
提前计划好
每天晚上花一点时间想想明天将要做什么，如果你要在八点半到达到某个地方，协调好你的计划。将你的闹钟设置的时间稍微提前一点，计划好你的路线，尽可能避免早上塞车。虽然这会花你几分钟时间来考虑，但是这会为你明天有效地节约时间。
Priorities
Making sure you are attacking a task in the order it should be conquered is also key to managing your time. Alphabetizing your record collection instead of doing your taxes is probably not a smart move. Make a list of things you need to do -- no matter how small -- and put them in order. You can then attack projects and tasks as they move up the list instead of trying to do pieces of projects at the same time. That just keeps you unfocused and wasting time.
优先考虑的事情
确保你的计划井井有条，让它有说服力，这也是合理安排时间的关键。收集音乐磁盘而不去完成你的税务很明显是不明智计划。将你要做的事情--无论是多么小的事情--都一一按顺序列在单子上。这样你就可以开始构建你的时间安排了，优先考虑一些事你就不会浪费时间做一些琐碎的事情了，这样你就不会一下子有过多的事情聚到一起浪费你的时间。
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Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Tiny numbers discovered in the eyes of the Mona Lisa
According to the Daily Mail on December 13, the Mona Lisa was at the center of a new mystery after art detectives took a fresh look at the masterpiece and noticed something in her eyes.
The revelation could have come straight from the pages of Dan Brown's best-seller The Da Vinci Code, in which the Mona Lisa is said to contain hidden clues about the Holy Grail.
Silvano Vinceti, president of Italy's National Committee for Cultural Heritage, who spotted the symbols, said: "To the naked eye the symbols are not visible but with a magnifying glass they can clearly be seen. In the right eye appear to be the letters LV which could well stand for his name, Leonardo da Vinci, while in the left eye there are also symbols but they are not as defined. It is very difficult to make them out clearly but they appear to be the letters CE, or it could be the letter B. In the arch of the bridge in the background the number 72 can be seen or it could be an L and the number 2."
Mr Vinceti is a member of a group which is seeking permission to exhume da Vinci's remains from his tomb in France. They want to see if the artist's skull is there so that they can try and recreate his face and establish if the Mona Lisa is in fact a twist on a self-portrait of the artist as some believe.
English Chinese translation:
据英国《每日邮报》12月13日报道，文学家重新审视探索名作《蒙娜丽莎》，在"她"的眼里发现了新的东西，这使《蒙娜丽莎》陷入到新一轮的谜团之中。
探索可能是受丹•布朗畅销书《达•芬奇密码》的启示，书中说《蒙娜丽莎》画作中隐藏关于圣杯的线索。
国家文化遗产委员会主席希尔瓦多•文森提说：“这些符号用裸眼是看不到的，只有用显微镜扩大后才能发现。蒙娜丽莎的右眼中的字母似乎是LV，可能代表达•芬奇的名字'Leonardo Da Vinci'。而在左眼中的一些符号，则还没有找出明确含义。尽管很难将左眼中的字母看清，但看起来似乎很像CE或者CB。在背景桥拱顶上还发现了数字72或者是L和数字2的图案。”
文森提是某组织的成员之一，他们要求法国当局允许他们挖出达•芬奇的遗体，以证明他的遗骸还在。他们可以尝试重塑达•芬奇的脸部，以此可以看看是不是如许多人猜测的一样，蒙娜丽莎是他的自画像。
Learn Chinese online with MasterChinese, get a free trial lesson now!
The revelation could have come straight from the pages of Dan Brown's best-seller The Da Vinci Code, in which the Mona Lisa is said to contain hidden clues about the Holy Grail.
Silvano Vinceti, president of Italy's National Committee for Cultural Heritage, who spotted the symbols, said: "To the naked eye the symbols are not visible but with a magnifying glass they can clearly be seen. In the right eye appear to be the letters LV which could well stand for his name, Leonardo da Vinci, while in the left eye there are also symbols but they are not as defined. It is very difficult to make them out clearly but they appear to be the letters CE, or it could be the letter B. In the arch of the bridge in the background the number 72 can be seen or it could be an L and the number 2."
Mr Vinceti is a member of a group which is seeking permission to exhume da Vinci's remains from his tomb in France. They want to see if the artist's skull is there so that they can try and recreate his face and establish if the Mona Lisa is in fact a twist on a self-portrait of the artist as some believe.
English Chinese translation:
据英国《每日邮报》12月13日报道，文学家重新审视探索名作《蒙娜丽莎》，在"她"的眼里发现了新的东西，这使《蒙娜丽莎》陷入到新一轮的谜团之中。
探索可能是受丹•布朗畅销书《达•芬奇密码》的启示，书中说《蒙娜丽莎》画作中隐藏关于圣杯的线索。
国家文化遗产委员会主席希尔瓦多•文森提说：“这些符号用裸眼是看不到的，只有用显微镜扩大后才能发现。蒙娜丽莎的右眼中的字母似乎是LV，可能代表达•芬奇的名字'Leonardo Da Vinci'。而在左眼中的一些符号，则还没有找出明确含义。尽管很难将左眼中的字母看清，但看起来似乎很像CE或者CB。在背景桥拱顶上还发现了数字72或者是L和数字2的图案。”
文森提是某组织的成员之一，他们要求法国当局允许他们挖出达•芬奇的遗体，以证明他的遗骸还在。他们可以尝试重塑达•芬奇的脸部，以此可以看看是不是如许多人猜测的一样，蒙娜丽莎是他的自画像。
Learn Chinese online with MasterChinese, get a free trial lesson now!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
8 Steps to Achieve Life Goal
English Chinese Translation：
1) Set only one goal at a time.
When you try take on too much at once, you can become overwhelmed quickly. Instead of trying to tackle three or four goals try to prioritize them. Create a list and take one goal at a time. Once you achieve that goal, back to your list mark it off, and move to the next one. The act of marking off the goals and achieving them individually will give you a greater sense of accomplishment. You can even break the one goal done into smaller parts. This gives you motivation and success more often than waiting for days or months to achieve a larger goal.
For example, let us say you want to lose thirty pounds in 45 days. Break the goal down weekly to losing about five pounds a week. You can make up a calendar and mark off the week as you achieve your weekly goal. If you did not achieve your goal that week, adjust the other weeks according and still give yourself credit for what you did achieve.
1)一次一个目标
一次想做太多的事情，你会很快变得手忙脚乱。不要试图一次完成三、四个目标，要将它们优先化。作一份目标清单，一次取其中一个目标。一旦成功实现后，从你的清单上把它划掉，继续下一个。这种“划”目标、逐个实现的办法会给你更多成就感。 甚至你还能把一个目标分化成数个“小目标”。这比等上数天或数月实现一个“大”目标能获得更多动力和成就感。
比如：你想用45天减肥30磅。 将这一目标划分为每周减大约5磅。你可以创建一份日历，每周实现了目标，就将这一周划去。如果没按周实现目标，那么可以调整到后面数周，这样过去的成绩仍会获得认可。
2) Evaluate your desire and motivation.
People often think they know what they want. The good news is that if you set a goal and work hard, you are likely to achieve it. The bad news is that it might not really be what you want.
Suppose you want to date a girl at the gym. You overheard her say that she likes men with large muscular arms. You set the goal of working extra everyday to achieve bigger than life biceps and triceps. You reach your goal after grueling hours of sweat and pain. In the meantime, she met a guy half the size as you, and who was available because he was not in the gym 12 hours a day.
You reached your goal of large arms, but set the wrong goal of trying to get a date with a particular girl. Make sure you are really reaching for what you really want in life. You can achieve what you sought and still feel empty inside.
2)认准所求和动力
人们总是认为自己知道想要什么。好的方面是：如果你设定了一个目标，并且为之努力，你就可能实现。坏的方面是：这个目标也许不是你真正想要的。
假设你想和一位健身房的MM约会。你偷听到这位MM说她喜欢手臂肌肉壮的男性。于是你设定了每天额外运动来获得更大肌肉的目标。在不知流了多少汗、吃了多少苦后实现了目标。与此同时，她却看上了比你小一半的男人，那个人有时间，因为（不像你）他不会一天12小时泡在健身房。
你是达到了让手臂肌肉发达的目标，但是，对于争取要和某个MM约会来说，这个目标设错了。你一定要为生活中真正想要的东西努力。（因为不然的话）你可能会达到了追求的目标而仍感到内心空虚。
3) Find inspiration for accomplishing your goal.
The reason that personal trainers are so popular is that they can help you achieve things that alone you may not. It has nothing to do with your desire to achieve your goals; it is because we need inspiration to continue on our road to success. As humans, we can talk ourselves and make excuses why we do not achieve of goals everyday. Having someone that has walked down the same path and has reached the end is a great inspiration that can help motivate you to continue on your path everyday. They can inspire you to go beyond what you thought that you were capable and hold a hand out to you in order assist you on your way.
3)找到激励
个人教练如此受欢迎的原因是他们能帮你实现单枪匹马一个人实现不了的事情。这和你要实现它们的愿望无关；而是因为我们需要在通往成功的道路上不断获得激励。人们常常会为不能实现目标找借口。如果有一个过来人，一个已经达到目标的人能每天帮助你朝目标不断前进，这是一个很大的激励。他们能激励你超越自我，助你一臂之力。
4) Make a public commitment to accomplishing your goal.
There is a power in stating our goal to others. It is a public commitment that you will achieve what you have stated that you will. It takes it out of your head and puts it out into the world. This creates a sense of responsibility on our part because we do not wish to disappoint others. It should be in the form of a definitive statement. Instead of “I am trying to reduce my waist down two sizes,” try instead “I will lose two waist sizes in the next two weeks.” This sends the message of a definitive rather than a wish. There is little room for doubt in a definitive statement.
4)把目标“说”出来
把你的目标告诉别人，这就带来一股力量。因为告诉别人就是一种公众承诺，表示你将实现你的话。这样就把目标从你的脑子放到现实世界里。这会让人们产生一种责任感，因为他们不愿意让别人失望。告诉别人你的目标要用确定性的语气。不要说“我要试试把腰围减两个尺码”，要说“我要在两周后把我的腰围减两个尺码”。这就表示一种决心，而不是仅仅一种愿望。表示了决心，就没有犹疑的余地了。
5) Seek out support.
People are social creatures that do better in groups than they do alone. People try to lose weight for years find greater success in a peer group trying to lose weight than they do alone. Find others with similar goals or try to join an already established support group. This can inspire and push you along when you begin to doubt ourselves.
5)获取支持。
人是社会动物。一起做某件事比一个人做要容易。那些想减肥的人和其他有同样目标的人一起比独自行动取得更好的效果。找到和你有类似目标的人，或者加入一个现成的组织。这可以在你自我怀疑的时候激励你、敦促你。
6) Think thoughts conducive to success.
There is only one constant in the universe and that is change. People are often resistant to change. Their resistance is often fueled by fear. This can be the fear of failure or maybe even fear of the unknown. You must face that fear and tell yourself everyday that change is good and change is what is needed to achieve what you want out of life. Self-talk in front of a mirror daily can help you achieve this. Remember to keep your talk positive. Instead of saying, “I will try not to be afraid of that new Pilates class because it looks hard.” Say instead “I will enjoy the Pilates class and get the rock hard abs I have always wanted.” This shift in thought can create wonders in your life.
6)作有益的思考
宇宙中唯一不变的就是变化。人们常会对变化抵制。这样的抵制往往来源于恐惧：对失败的恐惧甚至是对未知的恐惧。你必须面对恐惧，并每天提醒自己变化是好的，变化是你要实现目标所必需的。每天对着镜子自言自语能帮助你克服恐惧。记住要对自己讲积极的话。不要说 “我会试着不去害怕普拉提课因为它看起来太难了”，而要说“我要去享受普拉提来获得我孜孜以求的坚硬腹肌”。思想上的转变能给生活带来奇迹。
7) Keep a success journal.
Earlier I mentioned keeping a calendar to mark your successes. A step beyond this is a success journal. In it, you can write down your achievements and successes. You can include pictures or whatever else is inspiring to you. This success journal is not only a testament that you achieved what you told others you would, but it also provides an instrument in which you can look back to when you are achieving new goals to help inspire you. It is a message to yourself that you can achieve anything you set you mind to and the journal is proof of it.
7)写“功劳簿”
前面提到了用日历来记录成功。进一步的做法是做一本“功劳簿”。 在里面，你可以写下取得的各种成就。你可以附上照片，或者任何能激励你的东西。它不仅是个人成就的证明，而且当你想要实现其它目标时能给你激励。这本功劳簿会给你一个信息，即你只要用心什么都可能实现。功劳簿就是证明。
8) Keep before you, at all times, the benefits of attaining your goal
Sometimes we can be so caught up in the process of achieving a goal that we can forget what the goal is. When you set out on a trip, you may have a map. On that map are two important items, where you started, and where you are going. Create your own map of your goal. Keep it where you can see it daily so that you do not forget where you are going or forget how far you have come.
8)不要忘记目标
有时我们会太过于专注实现目标的过程，而忘记了目标是什么。如果你出行，你也许会有张地图。在地图上有两样重要的东西：出发点和目的地。为自己的目标制作一张地图，放在一个每天都能看到的地方，这样你就不会忘记你要去往何处，或者，走过了多少路。
Learn Chinese online with MasterChinese, get a free trial lesson now!
1) Set only one goal at a time.
When you try take on too much at once, you can become overwhelmed quickly. Instead of trying to tackle three or four goals try to prioritize them. Create a list and take one goal at a time. Once you achieve that goal, back to your list mark it off, and move to the next one. The act of marking off the goals and achieving them individually will give you a greater sense of accomplishment. You can even break the one goal done into smaller parts. This gives you motivation and success more often than waiting for days or months to achieve a larger goal.
For example, let us say you want to lose thirty pounds in 45 days. Break the goal down weekly to losing about five pounds a week. You can make up a calendar and mark off the week as you achieve your weekly goal. If you did not achieve your goal that week, adjust the other weeks according and still give yourself credit for what you did achieve.
1)一次一个目标
一次想做太多的事情，你会很快变得手忙脚乱。不要试图一次完成三、四个目标，要将它们优先化。作一份目标清单，一次取其中一个目标。一旦成功实现后，从你的清单上把它划掉，继续下一个。这种“划”目标、逐个实现的办法会给你更多成就感。 甚至你还能把一个目标分化成数个“小目标”。这比等上数天或数月实现一个“大”目标能获得更多动力和成就感。
比如：你想用45天减肥30磅。 将这一目标划分为每周减大约5磅。你可以创建一份日历，每周实现了目标，就将这一周划去。如果没按周实现目标，那么可以调整到后面数周，这样过去的成绩仍会获得认可。
2) Evaluate your desire and motivation.
People often think they know what they want. The good news is that if you set a goal and work hard, you are likely to achieve it. The bad news is that it might not really be what you want.
Suppose you want to date a girl at the gym. You overheard her say that she likes men with large muscular arms. You set the goal of working extra everyday to achieve bigger than life biceps and triceps. You reach your goal after grueling hours of sweat and pain. In the meantime, she met a guy half the size as you, and who was available because he was not in the gym 12 hours a day.
You reached your goal of large arms, but set the wrong goal of trying to get a date with a particular girl. Make sure you are really reaching for what you really want in life. You can achieve what you sought and still feel empty inside.
2)认准所求和动力
人们总是认为自己知道想要什么。好的方面是：如果你设定了一个目标，并且为之努力，你就可能实现。坏的方面是：这个目标也许不是你真正想要的。
假设你想和一位健身房的MM约会。你偷听到这位MM说她喜欢手臂肌肉壮的男性。于是你设定了每天额外运动来获得更大肌肉的目标。在不知流了多少汗、吃了多少苦后实现了目标。与此同时，她却看上了比你小一半的男人，那个人有时间，因为（不像你）他不会一天12小时泡在健身房。
你是达到了让手臂肌肉发达的目标，但是，对于争取要和某个MM约会来说，这个目标设错了。你一定要为生活中真正想要的东西努力。（因为不然的话）你可能会达到了追求的目标而仍感到内心空虚。
3) Find inspiration for accomplishing your goal.
The reason that personal trainers are so popular is that they can help you achieve things that alone you may not. It has nothing to do with your desire to achieve your goals; it is because we need inspiration to continue on our road to success. As humans, we can talk ourselves and make excuses why we do not achieve of goals everyday. Having someone that has walked down the same path and has reached the end is a great inspiration that can help motivate you to continue on your path everyday. They can inspire you to go beyond what you thought that you were capable and hold a hand out to you in order assist you on your way.
3)找到激励
个人教练如此受欢迎的原因是他们能帮你实现单枪匹马一个人实现不了的事情。这和你要实现它们的愿望无关；而是因为我们需要在通往成功的道路上不断获得激励。人们常常会为不能实现目标找借口。如果有一个过来人，一个已经达到目标的人能每天帮助你朝目标不断前进，这是一个很大的激励。他们能激励你超越自我，助你一臂之力。
4) Make a public commitment to accomplishing your goal.
There is a power in stating our goal to others. It is a public commitment that you will achieve what you have stated that you will. It takes it out of your head and puts it out into the world. This creates a sense of responsibility on our part because we do not wish to disappoint others. It should be in the form of a definitive statement. Instead of “I am trying to reduce my waist down two sizes,” try instead “I will lose two waist sizes in the next two weeks.” This sends the message of a definitive rather than a wish. There is little room for doubt in a definitive statement.
4)把目标“说”出来
把你的目标告诉别人，这就带来一股力量。因为告诉别人就是一种公众承诺，表示你将实现你的话。这样就把目标从你的脑子放到现实世界里。这会让人们产生一种责任感，因为他们不愿意让别人失望。告诉别人你的目标要用确定性的语气。不要说“我要试试把腰围减两个尺码”，要说“我要在两周后把我的腰围减两个尺码”。这就表示一种决心，而不是仅仅一种愿望。表示了决心，就没有犹疑的余地了。
5) Seek out support.
People are social creatures that do better in groups than they do alone. People try to lose weight for years find greater success in a peer group trying to lose weight than they do alone. Find others with similar goals or try to join an already established support group. This can inspire and push you along when you begin to doubt ourselves.
5)获取支持。
人是社会动物。一起做某件事比一个人做要容易。那些想减肥的人和其他有同样目标的人一起比独自行动取得更好的效果。找到和你有类似目标的人，或者加入一个现成的组织。这可以在你自我怀疑的时候激励你、敦促你。
6) Think thoughts conducive to success.
There is only one constant in the universe and that is change. People are often resistant to change. Their resistance is often fueled by fear. This can be the fear of failure or maybe even fear of the unknown. You must face that fear and tell yourself everyday that change is good and change is what is needed to achieve what you want out of life. Self-talk in front of a mirror daily can help you achieve this. Remember to keep your talk positive. Instead of saying, “I will try not to be afraid of that new Pilates class because it looks hard.” Say instead “I will enjoy the Pilates class and get the rock hard abs I have always wanted.” This shift in thought can create wonders in your life.
6)作有益的思考
宇宙中唯一不变的就是变化。人们常会对变化抵制。这样的抵制往往来源于恐惧：对失败的恐惧甚至是对未知的恐惧。你必须面对恐惧，并每天提醒自己变化是好的，变化是你要实现目标所必需的。每天对着镜子自言自语能帮助你克服恐惧。记住要对自己讲积极的话。不要说 “我会试着不去害怕普拉提课因为它看起来太难了”，而要说“我要去享受普拉提来获得我孜孜以求的坚硬腹肌”。思想上的转变能给生活带来奇迹。
7) Keep a success journal.
Earlier I mentioned keeping a calendar to mark your successes. A step beyond this is a success journal. In it, you can write down your achievements and successes. You can include pictures or whatever else is inspiring to you. This success journal is not only a testament that you achieved what you told others you would, but it also provides an instrument in which you can look back to when you are achieving new goals to help inspire you. It is a message to yourself that you can achieve anything you set you mind to and the journal is proof of it.
7)写“功劳簿”
前面提到了用日历来记录成功。进一步的做法是做一本“功劳簿”。 在里面，你可以写下取得的各种成就。你可以附上照片，或者任何能激励你的东西。它不仅是个人成就的证明，而且当你想要实现其它目标时能给你激励。这本功劳簿会给你一个信息，即你只要用心什么都可能实现。功劳簿就是证明。
8) Keep before you, at all times, the benefits of attaining your goal
Sometimes we can be so caught up in the process of achieving a goal that we can forget what the goal is. When you set out on a trip, you may have a map. On that map are two important items, where you started, and where you are going. Create your own map of your goal. Keep it where you can see it daily so that you do not forget where you are going or forget how far you have come.
8)不要忘记目标
有时我们会太过于专注实现目标的过程，而忘记了目标是什么。如果你出行，你也许会有张地图。在地图上有两样重要的东西：出发点和目的地。为自己的目标制作一张地图，放在一个每天都能看到的地方，这样你就不会忘记你要去往何处，或者，走过了多少路。
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Monday, December 13, 2010
Preventing Kidney Stones
Anyone who has ever had a kidney stone knows that trying to get rid of it can be one of life's more uncomfortable experiences.
So if you're prone to having kidney stones, it's wise to do what you can to prevent them.
And lemonade, or just lemon juice, turns out to be one of the better ways.
Lemons are full of citrate – a chemical that attached to calcium in the kidney and stops if from forming crystals that can turn into stones.
If you want to prevent kidney stones but aren't partial to sugary lemonade, drinking just plain lemon juice mixed with water works as well.
And if you don't like lemons at all, then try drinking lots of fluids and eating less salt, calcium, and protein.
English Chinese Translation:
曾经得过肾结石的人都了解去除肾结石的过程是人这一生中最难受的经历之一。
所以如果你很容易得肾结石，最好是采取一切措施来预防。
喝柠檬水或柠檬汁是比较好的方法之一。
柠檬中含有大量柠檬酸盐——这种化学物质和肾脏中的钙有关，可阻止钙结晶形成结石。
如果你想预防肾结石，但又不喜欢含糖的柠檬水，那么喝兑水的纯柠檬汁也能达到同样的效果。
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So if you're prone to having kidney stones, it's wise to do what you can to prevent them.
And lemonade, or just lemon juice, turns out to be one of the better ways.
Lemons are full of citrate – a chemical that attached to calcium in the kidney and stops if from forming crystals that can turn into stones.
If you want to prevent kidney stones but aren't partial to sugary lemonade, drinking just plain lemon juice mixed with water works as well.
And if you don't like lemons at all, then try drinking lots of fluids and eating less salt, calcium, and protein.
English Chinese Translation:
曾经得过肾结石的人都了解去除肾结石的过程是人这一生中最难受的经历之一。
所以如果你很容易得肾结石，最好是采取一切措施来预防。
喝柠檬水或柠檬汁是比较好的方法之一。
柠檬中含有大量柠檬酸盐——这种化学物质和肾脏中的钙有关，可阻止钙结晶形成结石。
如果你想预防肾结石，但又不喜欢含糖的柠檬水，那么喝兑水的纯柠檬汁也能达到同样的效果。
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Traffic English
English Chinese Translation of Traffic English
Diverted traffic
交叉路口
Entry to motorway
高速入口
Left junction
左交叉口
Approaching end of motorway
即将驶出高速
Avoid the jams
避免交通堵塞
Dangerous bend
弯道危险
Look left (right)
向左（右）看
Low bridge ahead
前方桥低
Slow, school
前方学校请慢行
Speed limit of 48km/h
限速每小时48公里
The law requires you wear a seatbelt
法规要求系安全带
This vehicle stops frequently
随时停车
New hours of parking control
停车控制新时段
No entry
禁止驶人
No stopping at any time
任何时间不准停车
No thoroughfare
禁止通行
No trade or business vehicle unless authorized
未经允许货车禁止通行
Pedestrian crossing ahead
注意前方人行横道
Pedestrian crossing
人行横道
Please drive carefully
请小心驾驶
Road closed
此路封闭
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Diverted traffic
交叉路口
Entry to motorway
高速入口
Left junction
左交叉口
Approaching end of motorway
即将驶出高速
Avoid the jams
避免交通堵塞
Dangerous bend
弯道危险
Look left (right)
向左（右）看
Low bridge ahead
前方桥低
Slow, school
前方学校请慢行
Speed limit of 48km/h
限速每小时48公里
The law requires you wear a seatbelt
法规要求系安全带
This vehicle stops frequently
随时停车
New hours of parking control
停车控制新时段
No entry
禁止驶人
No stopping at any time
任何时间不准停车
No thoroughfare
禁止通行
No trade or business vehicle unless authorized
未经允许货车禁止通行
Pedestrian crossing ahead
注意前方人行横道
Pedestrian crossing
人行横道
Please drive carefully
请小心驾驶
Road closed
此路封闭
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Thursday, December 9, 2010
Keep Away From Cellphone Radiation
WARNING: Holding a cellphone against your ear or storing it in your pocket may be hazardous to your health.
This paraphrases a warning that cellphone manufacturers include in the small print that is often tossed aside when a new phone is purchased. Apple, for example, doesn't want iPhones to come closer to you than 1.5 centimeters; Research In Motion, BlackBerry's manufacturer, recommends 2.5 centimeters.
If health issues arise from cellphone use, the implications are huge. Voice calls - Americans chat on cellphones 2.26 trillion minutes annually - generate $109 billion for the wireless carriers.
Devra Davis, an epidemiologist who has worked for the University of Pittsburgh, has published a book about cellphone radiation, "Disconnect." The book surveys scientific research and concludes the question is not settled.
Brain cancer is a concern that Ms. Davis examines. Over all, there has not been an increase in its incidence since cellphones arrived. But the average masks an increase in brain cancer in the 20-to-29 age group and a drop for the older population.
"Most cancers have multiple causes," she says, but she points to laboratory research that suggests low-energy radiation could damage cells that could possibly lead to cancer.
Children are more vulnerable to radiation than adults, Ms. Davis and other scientists point out. Radiation that penetrates only five centimeters into the brain of an adult will reach much deeper into the brains of children because their skulls are thinner and their brains contain more absorptive fluid. No studies have yet been completed on cellphone radiation and children, she says.
Henry Lai, a research professor in the bioengineering department at the University of Washington, began laboratory radiation studies in 1980 and found that rats exposed to radiofrequency radiation had damaged DNA in their brains.
Ms. Davis recommends using wired headsets or the phone's speaker. Children should text rather than call, she said, and pregnant women should keep phones away from the abdomen.
English Chinese Translation:
警告：将手机贴在耳边或者塞在口袋里可能有害健康。
在消费者购置新机后，常对手机厂商印在不起眼位置的小字警告不以为然。例如，苹果公司提醒称iPhone手机距离人体至少要有1.5厘米，黑莓手机生产商RIM公司建议最小距离为2.5厘米。
如果手机使用可导致健康问题，后果将很严重。美国每年手机通话的时长共计2.26万亿分钟，这些语音通话为无线运营商带来了1090亿美元的收入。
匹兹堡大学的流行病学专家德芙拉 戴维斯出版了一本有关手机辐射的书《关机》。这本书对有关科学研究进行了调查，其结论是：这个问题还没有定论。
脑癌是戴维斯女士研究的辐射后果之一。总体而言，自手机出现以来，脑癌发病率并未上升。但这一平均率掩盖了如下事实：脑癌在20至29岁年龄群体中的发病率增加，而在老年人群中的发病率下降。
她说：“大多数癌症具有多种病因。”但她指出，实验室研究表明，低能辐射会损害人体细胞，而这又有可能导致癌症。
戴维斯女士及其他一些科学家指出，儿童比成人更容易受到辐射的影响。由于儿童的颅骨更薄，而且大脑中含有更多易吸收辐射的液态物质，因此渗入成人大脑仅5厘米的手机辐射能够渗入到儿童大脑内更深的区域。她表示，手机辐射对儿童影响方面的研究目前还不完善。
华盛顿大学生物工程系研究教授赖亨利自1980年开始进行辐射实验研究。他发现，受到射频辐射的实验鼠脑组织DNA会受损。
戴维斯女士建议大家使用有线耳机或手机扬声器，儿童应尽量收发短信而不是打电话，而怀孕妇女应将手机远离腹部。
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This paraphrases a warning that cellphone manufacturers include in the small print that is often tossed aside when a new phone is purchased. Apple, for example, doesn't want iPhones to come closer to you than 1.5 centimeters; Research In Motion, BlackBerry's manufacturer, recommends 2.5 centimeters.
If health issues arise from cellphone use, the implications are huge. Voice calls - Americans chat on cellphones 2.26 trillion minutes annually - generate $109 billion for the wireless carriers.
Devra Davis, an epidemiologist who has worked for the University of Pittsburgh, has published a book about cellphone radiation, "Disconnect." The book surveys scientific research and concludes the question is not settled.
Brain cancer is a concern that Ms. Davis examines. Over all, there has not been an increase in its incidence since cellphones arrived. But the average masks an increase in brain cancer in the 20-to-29 age group and a drop for the older population.
"Most cancers have multiple causes," she says, but she points to laboratory research that suggests low-energy radiation could damage cells that could possibly lead to cancer.
Children are more vulnerable to radiation than adults, Ms. Davis and other scientists point out. Radiation that penetrates only five centimeters into the brain of an adult will reach much deeper into the brains of children because their skulls are thinner and their brains contain more absorptive fluid. No studies have yet been completed on cellphone radiation and children, she says.
Henry Lai, a research professor in the bioengineering department at the University of Washington, began laboratory radiation studies in 1980 and found that rats exposed to radiofrequency radiation had damaged DNA in their brains.
Ms. Davis recommends using wired headsets or the phone's speaker. Children should text rather than call, she said, and pregnant women should keep phones away from the abdomen.
English Chinese Translation:
警告：将手机贴在耳边或者塞在口袋里可能有害健康。
在消费者购置新机后，常对手机厂商印在不起眼位置的小字警告不以为然。例如，苹果公司提醒称iPhone手机距离人体至少要有1.5厘米，黑莓手机生产商RIM公司建议最小距离为2.5厘米。
如果手机使用可导致健康问题，后果将很严重。美国每年手机通话的时长共计2.26万亿分钟，这些语音通话为无线运营商带来了1090亿美元的收入。
匹兹堡大学的流行病学专家德芙拉 戴维斯出版了一本有关手机辐射的书《关机》。这本书对有关科学研究进行了调查，其结论是：这个问题还没有定论。
脑癌是戴维斯女士研究的辐射后果之一。总体而言，自手机出现以来，脑癌发病率并未上升。但这一平均率掩盖了如下事实：脑癌在20至29岁年龄群体中的发病率增加，而在老年人群中的发病率下降。
她说：“大多数癌症具有多种病因。”但她指出，实验室研究表明，低能辐射会损害人体细胞，而这又有可能导致癌症。
戴维斯女士及其他一些科学家指出，儿童比成人更容易受到辐射的影响。由于儿童的颅骨更薄，而且大脑中含有更多易吸收辐射的液态物质，因此渗入成人大脑仅5厘米的手机辐射能够渗入到儿童大脑内更深的区域。她表示，手机辐射对儿童影响方面的研究目前还不完善。
华盛顿大学生物工程系研究教授赖亨利自1980年开始进行辐射实验研究。他发现，受到射频辐射的实验鼠脑组织DNA会受损。
戴维斯女士建议大家使用有线耳机或手机扬声器，儿童应尽量收发短信而不是打电话，而怀孕妇女应将手机远离腹部。
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Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Teeth Whitening
English Chinese Translation of Teeth Whitening
Self-treatments using baking soda, ash and hydrogen peroxide provided online with no dental experience, can strip tooth enamel and cause lasting damage to the gums, experts cautioned.
The techniques are becoming an increasingly popular alternative to expensive professional treatment, especially among teenage girls.
But dentists said some of the methods can erode the enamel covering of the teeth, making them appear darker rather than whiter.
Up to 100,000 people undergo some type of teeth whitening treatment each year, ten times more than did so five years ago.
But for many people the process is prohibitively expensive, costing up to ￡1,300(＄2,096) for laser treatment and as much as ￡700(＄1,128) for professional bleaching.
Professor Andrew Eder, clinical director of the London Tooth Whitening Centre, said using baking soda repeatedly would strip the teeth of enamel, leaving them browner and more sensitive, while salt would scratch the enamel and any use of acid was especially damaging.
Related translation:
专家提醒，网上流传的用苏打粉、灰末和过氧化氢进行牙齿美白的方法，若没有牙医的指导，会损伤牙釉质，给牙齿带来永久的伤害。
目前这些美白方法广受欢迎，尤其是受到少女们的追捧，并逐渐取代了昂贵的专业美白治疗。
但牙医提醒说，有些方法可能会损伤覆盖在牙齿上的牙釉质，反而让牙齿显得更黑。
近年来，每年进行牙齿美白的人数已经达到10万人，是五年前的十倍。
但是对于很多人来说，进行专业牙齿美白的费用太过高昂。激光美白的费用是1300英镑(约2096美元)，专业牙齿漂白至少需要700英镑(约1128美元)。
伦敦牙齿美白中心临床主任安德鲁 埃德尔教授表示，反复使用小苏打会损害牙釉质，牙齿会变得越发暗沉、敏感；用盐可能会刮伤牙釉质；而使用任何盐酸美白牙齿带来的伤害则更大。
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Self-treatments using baking soda, ash and hydrogen peroxide provided online with no dental experience, can strip tooth enamel and cause lasting damage to the gums, experts cautioned.
The techniques are becoming an increasingly popular alternative to expensive professional treatment, especially among teenage girls.
But dentists said some of the methods can erode the enamel covering of the teeth, making them appear darker rather than whiter.
Up to 100,000 people undergo some type of teeth whitening treatment each year, ten times more than did so five years ago.
But for many people the process is prohibitively expensive, costing up to ￡1,300(＄2,096) for laser treatment and as much as ￡700(＄1,128) for professional bleaching.
Professor Andrew Eder, clinical director of the London Tooth Whitening Centre, said using baking soda repeatedly would strip the teeth of enamel, leaving them browner and more sensitive, while salt would scratch the enamel and any use of acid was especially damaging.
Related translation:
专家提醒，网上流传的用苏打粉、灰末和过氧化氢进行牙齿美白的方法，若没有牙医的指导，会损伤牙釉质，给牙齿带来永久的伤害。
目前这些美白方法广受欢迎，尤其是受到少女们的追捧，并逐渐取代了昂贵的专业美白治疗。
但牙医提醒说，有些方法可能会损伤覆盖在牙齿上的牙釉质，反而让牙齿显得更黑。
近年来，每年进行牙齿美白的人数已经达到10万人，是五年前的十倍。
但是对于很多人来说，进行专业牙齿美白的费用太过高昂。激光美白的费用是1300英镑(约2096美元)，专业牙齿漂白至少需要700英镑(约1128美元)。
伦敦牙齿美白中心临床主任安德鲁 埃德尔教授表示，反复使用小苏打会损害牙釉质，牙齿会变得越发暗沉、敏感；用盐可能会刮伤牙釉质；而使用任何盐酸美白牙齿带来的伤害则更大。
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Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Eye Tracker
English Chinese Translation of a New Invention “Eye Tracker”
German scientists have invented a device designed to prevent motorists from falling asleep at the wheel which could save 300,000 lives a year around the world. The system devised at the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology involves tiny cameras that monitor eye movements which trigger an alarm when drivers seem about to nod off.
Professor Peter Husar of the institute said: “What we have developed is a small modular system with its own hardware and programmes on board, so that the line of vision is computed directly within the camera itself.”
“Since the Eyetracker is fitted with at least two cameras that record images stereoscopically – meaning in three dimensions– the system can easily identify the spatial position of the pupil and the line of vision. It will immediately recognise when a driver‘s eyes are tired or close their eyes for a moment.”
The system is called “Eye Tracker” and could be on the market as early as the end of next year. The size of a matchbook, testing is due to start in January 2011 and scientists hope it will be ready for sale by December at around 100 a unit.
Related translation:
德国科学家近日发明一种能够“防止司机开车时瞌睡”的监视器，据悉，这一新发明一旦问世，每年可以“拯救”30万民众的生命。监视器囊括了一个“微型摄像头”用来观察司机眼部活动情况，司机一旦打盹，眼皮的活动会通过传感器告诉设备，并发出尖锐的警报声。
发明此设备的教授Peter 说，该设备属于自带存储命令的模块化系统，司机“视线”运动情况将会受到系统中的微型摄像头监视。
据悉，设备中包括至少2个微型摄像头直接“观察”司机瞳孔的运动情况。也就是说，如果司机有困意，眼皮“不听使唤”的时候，设备会立即识别并提醒司机。
这款名叫“眼动仪”的设备准备在明年投入市场，据悉，这款测量眼睛的移动以及位置的设备价格不菲，每个售价大概在100英镑左右。
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German scientists have invented a device designed to prevent motorists from falling asleep at the wheel which could save 300,000 lives a year around the world. The system devised at the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology involves tiny cameras that monitor eye movements which trigger an alarm when drivers seem about to nod off.
Professor Peter Husar of the institute said: “What we have developed is a small modular system with its own hardware and programmes on board, so that the line of vision is computed directly within the camera itself.”
“Since the Eyetracker is fitted with at least two cameras that record images stereoscopically – meaning in three dimensions– the system can easily identify the spatial position of the pupil and the line of vision. It will immediately recognise when a driver‘s eyes are tired or close their eyes for a moment.”
The system is called “Eye Tracker” and could be on the market as early as the end of next year. The size of a matchbook, testing is due to start in January 2011 and scientists hope it will be ready for sale by December at around 100 a unit.
Related translation:
德国科学家近日发明一种能够“防止司机开车时瞌睡”的监视器，据悉，这一新发明一旦问世，每年可以“拯救”30万民众的生命。监视器囊括了一个“微型摄像头”用来观察司机眼部活动情况，司机一旦打盹，眼皮的活动会通过传感器告诉设备，并发出尖锐的警报声。
发明此设备的教授Peter 说，该设备属于自带存储命令的模块化系统，司机“视线”运动情况将会受到系统中的微型摄像头监视。
据悉，设备中包括至少2个微型摄像头直接“观察”司机瞳孔的运动情况。也就是说，如果司机有困意，眼皮“不听使唤”的时候，设备会立即识别并提醒司机。
这款名叫“眼动仪”的设备准备在明年投入市场，据悉，这款测量眼睛的移动以及位置的设备价格不菲，每个售价大概在100英镑左右。
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Sunday, December 5, 2010
the Effects of Starvation
English Chinese Translation of the Effects of Starvation
Pulling a late-nighter? You might not want to reach for the sugary snacks to keep you awake. A new study involving fruit flies suggests the sleep-deprived mind is kept alert by hunger.
The study examined the effects of starvation on fruit flies that had been genetically engineered to be sensitive to sleep deprivation. Sleepy flies deprived of food stayed awake longer than sleepy flies that got meals. The starving flies also lived longer.
"From an evolutionary perspective, this makes sense," said study co-author Matt Thimgan, a Washington University postdoctoral researcher. "If you're starving, you want to make sure you're on the top of your game cognitively, to improve your chances of finding food rather than becoming food for someone else."
To tease out the relationships between sleep, starvation and survival, the researchers deprived fruit flies of both food and sleep. They found that starving fruit flies spent more time awake than satiated flies did. The researchers also tested the flies' saliva for enzymes that signal sleepiness and measured the flies' ability to associate a light with an unpleasant stimulus. Both tests showed that the starving flies were alert, not sleepy.
The starving flies also survived up to 28 hours without sleep, three times longer than the flies with access to food. The survivors' ability is probably linked to a gene that helps the fruit-fly brain manage the storage and use of fat molecules, the researchers said.
Related translation:
需要熬夜怎么办？你可能不想靠吃甜点来赶走睡意。对果蝇的最新研究表明，饥饿能让缺少睡眠的头脑保持清醒。
研究测试了经过基因改造从而对缺少睡眠特别敏感的果蝇挨饿后的反应。结果发现，相比那些得到食物的困乏果蝇，饥饿的困乏果蝇清醒的时间更长。同时饥饿的果蝇寿命也更长。
“这从进化的角度看是行得通的，”研究作者之一、华盛顿大学的马特说道。“如果你处在饥饿状态，你就会努力设法清醒地掌控自己的生存状态，以增加寻获食物的机会，而不是成为别人的食物。”
为了找到睡眠、饥饿和生存之间的关系，研究人员同时剥夺了果蝇的食物和睡眠。他们发现，饥饿的果蝇比吃饱的果蝇清醒的时间长。研究人员还检测了果蝇唾液中显示困倦程度的酶，还测试了果蝇将光亮与令人不快的刺激联系起来的能力。两种测试结果均表明饥饿的果蝇是清醒的，没有睡意。
饥饿的果蝇能在不睡觉的情况下存活28小时，是那些能得到食物的果蝇存活时间的三倍。研究人员称，这种生存能力可能与帮助果蝇大脑控制脂肪分子存储与使用的一种基因有关。
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Pulling a late-nighter? You might not want to reach for the sugary snacks to keep you awake. A new study involving fruit flies suggests the sleep-deprived mind is kept alert by hunger.
The study examined the effects of starvation on fruit flies that had been genetically engineered to be sensitive to sleep deprivation. Sleepy flies deprived of food stayed awake longer than sleepy flies that got meals. The starving flies also lived longer.
"From an evolutionary perspective, this makes sense," said study co-author Matt Thimgan, a Washington University postdoctoral researcher. "If you're starving, you want to make sure you're on the top of your game cognitively, to improve your chances of finding food rather than becoming food for someone else."
To tease out the relationships between sleep, starvation and survival, the researchers deprived fruit flies of both food and sleep. They found that starving fruit flies spent more time awake than satiated flies did. The researchers also tested the flies' saliva for enzymes that signal sleepiness and measured the flies' ability to associate a light with an unpleasant stimulus. Both tests showed that the starving flies were alert, not sleepy.
The starving flies also survived up to 28 hours without sleep, three times longer than the flies with access to food. The survivors' ability is probably linked to a gene that helps the fruit-fly brain manage the storage and use of fat molecules, the researchers said.
Related translation:
需要熬夜怎么办？你可能不想靠吃甜点来赶走睡意。对果蝇的最新研究表明，饥饿能让缺少睡眠的头脑保持清醒。
研究测试了经过基因改造从而对缺少睡眠特别敏感的果蝇挨饿后的反应。结果发现，相比那些得到食物的困乏果蝇，饥饿的困乏果蝇清醒的时间更长。同时饥饿的果蝇寿命也更长。
“这从进化的角度看是行得通的，”研究作者之一、华盛顿大学的马特说道。“如果你处在饥饿状态，你就会努力设法清醒地掌控自己的生存状态，以增加寻获食物的机会，而不是成为别人的食物。”
为了找到睡眠、饥饿和生存之间的关系，研究人员同时剥夺了果蝇的食物和睡眠。他们发现，饥饿的果蝇比吃饱的果蝇清醒的时间长。研究人员还检测了果蝇唾液中显示困倦程度的酶，还测试了果蝇将光亮与令人不快的刺激联系起来的能力。两种测试结果均表明饥饿的果蝇是清醒的，没有睡意。
饥饿的果蝇能在不睡觉的情况下存活28小时，是那些能得到食物的果蝇存活时间的三倍。研究人员称，这种生存能力可能与帮助果蝇大脑控制脂肪分子存储与使用的一种基因有关。
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Friday, December 3, 2010
The Latest Scientific Way to Becoming Slim
English Chinese Translation of the Latest Scientific Way to Becoming Slim
The latest scientific way to becoming slim is to sprinkle some crystals on your daily meals ... then sit back and watch the flab disappear.
The crystals are said to enhance the flavor of the food significantly thereby conning you into thinking you have eaten more than you have. However, in scientific tests involving 1,400 people, obese participants who used the flavorless crystals "Sensa Tastant" lost an average of two stones in six months. Others lost an average of just two pounds.
Alan Hirsch, a neurologist at the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, said aroma makes up between 75 and 90 percent of what we experience as food taste. He also says aromas act on an area of the brain which sends out signals that tell us when we are full.
"The scientific principle behind Sensa is remarkably simple," he said. "By enhancing smell, 'Sensa Tastant' was designed to trigger your 'I feel full' signal, so you eat less and feel more satisfied."
The recipe for the crystals is not known but among its ingredients are maltodextrin - a carbohydrate made from corn starch, silica, tricalcium phosphate and soy and milk ingredients.
Related translation：
最新的科学减肥方法已经出炉，那就是将香精撒到自己的一日三餐上。然后坐等减肥成果即可。
香精能够增加食物味道，人们便由此以为香精能够增加食欲。然而，在科学家对1400名志愿者进行的测试表明，肥胖志愿者在食用了名为“感觉材料促味剂”的无味香精半年后，平均减重两英石(约12.7千克)。非肥胖志愿者仅仅减重两磅(约900克)。
阿兰-赫希是芝加哥气味治疗研究基地的神经学家，他说食物香气在食物气味中构成比重达75%到90%。他还称，香气能够作用于大脑，使得大脑相关部位发出信号，告诉我们“已经吃饱了”。
“香料减肥的科学原理其实很简单，”他说。“通过提升香味，‘感觉材料促味剂’可以诱发‘我已经吃饱了’这一信号，吃得少了，却感觉更满足。”
据悉，这种名为‘感觉材料促味剂’的香精的烹饪方法并不广为人知，但其原料中包括了麦芽糊精——一种由玉米淀粉、二氧化硅、磷酸三钙、酱油以及牛奶组成的碳水化合物。
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The latest scientific way to becoming slim is to sprinkle some crystals on your daily meals ... then sit back and watch the flab disappear.
The crystals are said to enhance the flavor of the food significantly thereby conning you into thinking you have eaten more than you have. However, in scientific tests involving 1,400 people, obese participants who used the flavorless crystals "Sensa Tastant" lost an average of two stones in six months. Others lost an average of just two pounds.
Alan Hirsch, a neurologist at the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, said aroma makes up between 75 and 90 percent of what we experience as food taste. He also says aromas act on an area of the brain which sends out signals that tell us when we are full.
"The scientific principle behind Sensa is remarkably simple," he said. "By enhancing smell, 'Sensa Tastant' was designed to trigger your 'I feel full' signal, so you eat less and feel more satisfied."
The recipe for the crystals is not known but among its ingredients are maltodextrin - a carbohydrate made from corn starch, silica, tricalcium phosphate and soy and milk ingredients.
Related translation：
最新的科学减肥方法已经出炉，那就是将香精撒到自己的一日三餐上。然后坐等减肥成果即可。
香精能够增加食物味道，人们便由此以为香精能够增加食欲。然而，在科学家对1400名志愿者进行的测试表明，肥胖志愿者在食用了名为“感觉材料促味剂”的无味香精半年后，平均减重两英石(约12.7千克)。非肥胖志愿者仅仅减重两磅(约900克)。
阿兰-赫希是芝加哥气味治疗研究基地的神经学家，他说食物香气在食物气味中构成比重达75%到90%。他还称，香气能够作用于大脑，使得大脑相关部位发出信号，告诉我们“已经吃饱了”。
“香料减肥的科学原理其实很简单，”他说。“通过提升香味，‘感觉材料促味剂’可以诱发‘我已经吃饱了’这一信号，吃得少了，却感觉更满足。”
据悉，这种名为‘感觉材料促味剂’的香精的烹饪方法并不广为人知，但其原料中包括了麦芽糊精——一种由玉米淀粉、二氧化硅、磷酸三钙、酱油以及牛奶组成的碳水化合物。
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Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Wearing Glasses Ages People Three Years
English Chinese Translation of Wearing Glasses Ages People Three Years
A new poll has revealed that wearing glasses ages people by at least three years. On average, glasses-wearers were put at 3.3 years older than they actually were in the survey of 4,000 people commissioned by the London Vision Clinic.
戴眼镜会让人看起来至少老3岁。日前伦敦视力医疗中心在对4000人做了调查后得出，戴眼镜者普遍看起来比他们的实际年龄大3.3岁。
Those who wear glasses were perceived to be older by respondents, who said they regarded them as more "geeky" and "good with computers" than people who do not wear them. And the perceived image was even worse for those aged 45 and over, who were thought to be five years older.
这项调查发现，相较于那些不戴眼镜的人群，戴眼镜者看起来更老，更“令人生厌”，也较“擅长于电脑”。而45岁以上的戴眼镜者的状况更加不容乐观，因为他们看起来比实际年龄大5岁。
The research was conducted by dividing the participants into two groups. The first group was given ten pictures of people with glasses and asked to guess their ages and discuss their personal attributes. The second group was given ten pictures of the same people without glasses and asked the same questions.
该项调查的受试对象被分为两组。第一组在看了10张戴眼镜者的照片后，被要求猜测照片中人的年龄与个人特质。第二组人看同样10人的照片，但照片中的人没有戴眼镜，然后被要求回答相同的问题。
The results showed a difference in perceived ages but also found that those who wore glasses were a fifth less likely to be seen as confident and were more likely to be thought of as physically weaker.
结果不仅表明人们对年龄的感知有所差异，还得出，戴眼镜者更有可能被认为缺乏自信以及体质孱弱。
Psychologist Dr Glenn Wilson, who analyzed the results, said: "This study is interesting as it highlights the snap judgments we make as a society about people when we meet them for the first time."
分析研究结果的心理学家威尔森博士说：“这项研究有趣之处在于，它凸显了人们第一次相见时人类社会的快速判断。”
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A new poll has revealed that wearing glasses ages people by at least three years. On average, glasses-wearers were put at 3.3 years older than they actually were in the survey of 4,000 people commissioned by the London Vision Clinic.
戴眼镜会让人看起来至少老3岁。日前伦敦视力医疗中心在对4000人做了调查后得出，戴眼镜者普遍看起来比他们的实际年龄大3.3岁。
Those who wear glasses were perceived to be older by respondents, who said they regarded them as more "geeky" and "good with computers" than people who do not wear them. And the perceived image was even worse for those aged 45 and over, who were thought to be five years older.
这项调查发现，相较于那些不戴眼镜的人群，戴眼镜者看起来更老，更“令人生厌”，也较“擅长于电脑”。而45岁以上的戴眼镜者的状况更加不容乐观，因为他们看起来比实际年龄大5岁。
The research was conducted by dividing the participants into two groups. The first group was given ten pictures of people with glasses and asked to guess their ages and discuss their personal attributes. The second group was given ten pictures of the same people without glasses and asked the same questions.
该项调查的受试对象被分为两组。第一组在看了10张戴眼镜者的照片后，被要求猜测照片中人的年龄与个人特质。第二组人看同样10人的照片，但照片中的人没有戴眼镜，然后被要求回答相同的问题。
The results showed a difference in perceived ages but also found that those who wore glasses were a fifth less likely to be seen as confident and were more likely to be thought of as physically weaker.
结果不仅表明人们对年龄的感知有所差异，还得出，戴眼镜者更有可能被认为缺乏自信以及体质孱弱。
Psychologist Dr Glenn Wilson, who analyzed the results, said: "This study is interesting as it highlights the snap judgments we make as a society about people when we meet them for the first time."
分析研究结果的心理学家威尔森博士说：“这项研究有趣之处在于，它凸显了人们第一次相见时人类社会的快速判断。”
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Monday, November 29, 2010
Wearing Glasses Ages People Three Years
English Chinese Translation of Wearing Glasses Ages People Three Years
A new poll has revealed that wearing glasses ages people by at least three years. On average, glasses-wearers were put at 3.3 years older than they actually were in the survey of 4,000 people commissioned by the London Vision Clinic.
戴眼镜会让人看起来至少老3岁。日前伦敦视力医疗中心在对4000人做了调查后得出，戴眼镜者普遍看起来比他们的实际年龄大3.3岁。
Those who wear glasses were perceived to be older by respondents, who said they regarded them as more "geeky" and "good with computers" than people who do not wear them. And the perceived image was even worse for those aged 45 and over, who were thought to be five years older.
这项调查发现，相较于那些不戴眼镜的人群，戴眼镜者看起来更老，更“令人生厌”，也较“擅长于电脑”。而45岁以上的戴眼镜者的状况更加不容乐观，因为他们看起来比实际年龄大5岁。
The research was conducted by dividing the participants into two groups. The first group was given ten pictures of people with glasses and asked to guess their ages and discuss their personal attributes. The second group was given ten pictures of the same people without glasses and asked the same questions.
该项调查的受试对象被分为两组。第一组在看了10张戴眼镜者的照片后，被要求猜测照片中人的年龄与个人特质。第二组人看同样10人的照片，但照片中的人没有戴眼镜，然后被要求回答相同的问题。
The results showed a difference in perceived ages but also found that those who wore glasses were a fifth less likely to be seen as confident and were more likely to be thought of as physically weaker.
结果不仅表明人们对年龄的感知有所差异，还得出，戴眼镜者更有可能被认为缺乏自信以及体质孱弱。
Psychologist Dr Glenn Wilson, who analyzed the results, said: "This study is interesting as it highlights the snap judgments we make as a society about people when we meet them for the first time."
分析研究结果的心理学家威尔森博士说：“这项研究有趣之处在于，它凸显了人们第一次相见时人类社会的快速判断。”
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A new poll has revealed that wearing glasses ages people by at least three years. On average, glasses-wearers were put at 3.3 years older than they actually were in the survey of 4,000 people commissioned by the London Vision Clinic.
戴眼镜会让人看起来至少老3岁。日前伦敦视力医疗中心在对4000人做了调查后得出，戴眼镜者普遍看起来比他们的实际年龄大3.3岁。
Those who wear glasses were perceived to be older by respondents, who said they regarded them as more "geeky" and "good with computers" than people who do not wear them. And the perceived image was even worse for those aged 45 and over, who were thought to be five years older.
这项调查发现，相较于那些不戴眼镜的人群，戴眼镜者看起来更老，更“令人生厌”，也较“擅长于电脑”。而45岁以上的戴眼镜者的状况更加不容乐观，因为他们看起来比实际年龄大5岁。
The research was conducted by dividing the participants into two groups. The first group was given ten pictures of people with glasses and asked to guess their ages and discuss their personal attributes. The second group was given ten pictures of the same people without glasses and asked the same questions.
该项调查的受试对象被分为两组。第一组在看了10张戴眼镜者的照片后，被要求猜测照片中人的年龄与个人特质。第二组人看同样10人的照片，但照片中的人没有戴眼镜，然后被要求回答相同的问题。
The results showed a difference in perceived ages but also found that those who wore glasses were a fifth less likely to be seen as confident and were more likely to be thought of as physically weaker.
结果不仅表明人们对年龄的感知有所差异，还得出，戴眼镜者更有可能被认为缺乏自信以及体质孱弱。
Psychologist Dr Glenn Wilson, who analyzed the results, said: "This study is interesting as it highlights the snap judgments we make as a society about people when we meet them for the first time."
分析研究结果的心理学家威尔森博士说：“这项研究有趣之处在于，它凸显了人们第一次相见时人类社会的快速判断。”
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Sunday, November 28, 2010
Deaf Cats Have Enhanced Vision
English Chinese Translation of Deaf Cats Have Enhanced Vision
Is it an old wives tale or can deaf people actually see better? Scientists have long thought that the structure of our brain is fixed. For instance, from birth the auditory cortex will receive only sound or the visual cortex will receive only visual input.
失聪者比正常人视觉发达，是否无稽之谈？一直以来，科学家都认为人类大脑的结构是一成不变的。比如说，人出生以后，大脑的听觉皮层就只接收声音信号，而视觉皮层只接收视觉信号。
But in the last decade neuroscientists have overthrown this idea in favor of a more malleable brain.
但过去的十年里，神经学家推翻了上述观点，转而支持大脑可塑性观点。
New research published this week in the journal Nature Neuroscience supports that view. It helps explain why those who are congenitally deaf may have extraordinary sight.
《自然—神经科学》这个星期刊登的一项新研究中就表明了其支持立场。该研究解释了为何先天失聪者拥有超凡视觉。
Since the auditory cortex sits there, at birth, waiting for auditory inputs that never come, it starts receiving visual stimuli instead—in cats anyway. And the neural real estate devoted to vision increases.
研究发现，先天失聪的猫出生以后，听觉皮层始终接收不到声音信号，因此听觉皮层转而开始接收视觉刺激，而固有的视觉神经逐渐发达。
Researchers compared congenitally deaf cats to hearing cats, and found that deaf cats have enhanced peripheral vision and motion detection.
研究人员将先天失聪的猫和听觉正常的猫比较后发现，前者拥有周边视觉和运动检测功能。
They confirmed that the part of the auditory cortex that picks up peripheral sound switches to peripheral vision.
他们证实先天失聪的猫听觉皮层中接收周边声音的部分，转化成了周边视觉。
With the deaf it’s especially good to have increased peripheral vision. If you cannot hear a car approaching from the side, it'd be advantageous to actually see it.
因此，失聪的人更易拥有发达的周边视觉。假如你听不到汽车驶近的声音，不要急不要急~~你会先看到它的~
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Is it an old wives tale or can deaf people actually see better? Scientists have long thought that the structure of our brain is fixed. For instance, from birth the auditory cortex will receive only sound or the visual cortex will receive only visual input.
失聪者比正常人视觉发达，是否无稽之谈？一直以来，科学家都认为人类大脑的结构是一成不变的。比如说，人出生以后，大脑的听觉皮层就只接收声音信号，而视觉皮层只接收视觉信号。
But in the last decade neuroscientists have overthrown this idea in favor of a more malleable brain.
但过去的十年里，神经学家推翻了上述观点，转而支持大脑可塑性观点。
New research published this week in the journal Nature Neuroscience supports that view. It helps explain why those who are congenitally deaf may have extraordinary sight.
《自然—神经科学》这个星期刊登的一项新研究中就表明了其支持立场。该研究解释了为何先天失聪者拥有超凡视觉。
Since the auditory cortex sits there, at birth, waiting for auditory inputs that never come, it starts receiving visual stimuli instead—in cats anyway. And the neural real estate devoted to vision increases.
研究发现，先天失聪的猫出生以后，听觉皮层始终接收不到声音信号，因此听觉皮层转而开始接收视觉刺激，而固有的视觉神经逐渐发达。
Researchers compared congenitally deaf cats to hearing cats, and found that deaf cats have enhanced peripheral vision and motion detection.
研究人员将先天失聪的猫和听觉正常的猫比较后发现，前者拥有周边视觉和运动检测功能。
They confirmed that the part of the auditory cortex that picks up peripheral sound switches to peripheral vision.
他们证实先天失聪的猫听觉皮层中接收周边声音的部分，转化成了周边视觉。
With the deaf it’s especially good to have increased peripheral vision. If you cannot hear a car approaching from the side, it'd be advantageous to actually see it.
因此，失聪的人更易拥有发达的周边视觉。假如你听不到汽车驶近的声音，不要急不要急~~你会先看到它的~
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Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Spare No Efforts in Doing Things
English Chinese Translation of Spare No Efforts in Doing Things
Concentration and perseverance built the great pyramids on Egypt’s plains.The master of a single trade can support a family. The master of seven trades cannot support himself.
专心致志，锲而不舍，埃及平原上终于建起了宏伟的金字塔。 精通一行的人可以养家糊口，样样精通的人却不能养活自己。
Now I know that in order to grow and flourish I must spare no efforts in doing things and keep a little in advance of the times. Those who reach the top are the ones who are not content with doing only what are required of them. They do more. They go the extra mile. And another.
现在我知道，为了辉煌的成就，我必须全力以赴，必须永远走在时间前面。那些顶尖人物都不会只满足分内的工作，他们比常人做得更多，走得更远。
I will spare no efforts in doing things.
凡事我都将全力以赴。
Now I know that I cannot pursue a worthy goal, steadily and persistently, with all the powers of my mind and yet fail. If I focus the rays of sun with a burning glass, even in the coldest days of winter, I can kindle a fire with ease.
现在我知道，只要我一心一意向一个有价值的目标稳步前行，坚持不懈，就一定不会失败。如果我用取火镜聚集太阳光，即使在最寒冷的冬天，我也可以轻松燃起火来。
I will spare no efforts in doing things.
凡事我都将全力以赴。
The weakest living creature, by concentrating his powers on a single object, can accomplish good results while the strongest, by dispersing his effort over many chores, may fail to accomplish anything.
最弱小的人，只要集中力量于一点，也能得到好的结果；相反，最强大的人，如果 把力量分散在许多杂务上，也会一事无成。
Drops of water, by continually falling, hone their passage through the hardest of rocks but the hasty torrent rushes over it with hideous uproar and leaves no trace 24 behind. I will leave my trace. The world will know I have been here.
小小水滴，持之以恒，也能将最坚硬的岩石穿透；相反，湍流呼啸而过，却了无踪 迹。我将留下我的踪迹，让世人知道我曾来过。
I will spare no efforts in doing things.
凡事我都将全力以赴。
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Concentration and perseverance built the great pyramids on Egypt’s plains.The master of a single trade can support a family. The master of seven trades cannot support himself.
专心致志，锲而不舍，埃及平原上终于建起了宏伟的金字塔。 精通一行的人可以养家糊口，样样精通的人却不能养活自己。
Now I know that in order to grow and flourish I must spare no efforts in doing things and keep a little in advance of the times. Those who reach the top are the ones who are not content with doing only what are required of them. They do more. They go the extra mile. And another.
现在我知道，为了辉煌的成就，我必须全力以赴，必须永远走在时间前面。那些顶尖人物都不会只满足分内的工作，他们比常人做得更多，走得更远。
I will spare no efforts in doing things.
凡事我都将全力以赴。
Now I know that I cannot pursue a worthy goal, steadily and persistently, with all the powers of my mind and yet fail. If I focus the rays of sun with a burning glass, even in the coldest days of winter, I can kindle a fire with ease.
现在我知道，只要我一心一意向一个有价值的目标稳步前行，坚持不懈，就一定不会失败。如果我用取火镜聚集太阳光，即使在最寒冷的冬天，我也可以轻松燃起火来。
I will spare no efforts in doing things.
凡事我都将全力以赴。
The weakest living creature, by concentrating his powers on a single object, can accomplish good results while the strongest, by dispersing his effort over many chores, may fail to accomplish anything.
最弱小的人，只要集中力量于一点，也能得到好的结果；相反，最强大的人，如果 把力量分散在许多杂务上，也会一事无成。
Drops of water, by continually falling, hone their passage through the hardest of rocks but the hasty torrent rushes over it with hideous uproar and leaves no trace 24 behind. I will leave my trace. The world will know I have been here.
小小水滴，持之以恒，也能将最坚硬的岩石穿透；相反，湍流呼啸而过，却了无踪 迹。我将留下我的踪迹，让世人知道我曾来过。
I will spare no efforts in doing things.
凡事我都将全力以赴。
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Learn Chinese Phrases
Learn Chinese popular words
Quán tou chăn pǐn
拳头产品
High quality product/s
Jià rì jīng jì
假日经济
Holiday economics. Refers to business peak periods which are usually holiday and festive seasons
Rè mén huà tí
热门话题
A popular topic; a subject of topical interest
Hōng dòng xiào yīng
轰动效应
A sensational effect
gōng zhòng rén wù
公众人物
A public figure; someone in the public eye
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Quán tou chăn pǐn
拳头产品
High quality product/s
Jià rì jīng jì
假日经济
Holiday economics. Refers to business peak periods which are usually holiday and festive seasons
Rè mén huà tí
热门话题
A popular topic; a subject of topical interest
Hōng dòng xiào yīng
轰动效应
A sensational effect
gōng zhòng rén wù
公众人物
A public figure; someone in the public eye
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Monday, November 22, 2010
Dangerous Alcohol
English Chinese Translation of Dangerous Alcohol
Alcohol is more dangerous than illegal drugs like heroin and crack cocaine, according to a new study.
美国《时代》周刊31日报道，据最新研究显示，酒精的危害性极大，甚至超过海洛因以及快克可卡因(高纯度可卡因毒品)。
British experts evaluated substances including alcohol, cocaine, heroin, ecstasy and marijuana, ranking them based on how destructive they are to the individual who takes them and to society as a whole.
来自英国的专家们评估了诸如酒精、可卡因、海洛因、致幻剂以及大麻等物质，并基于个体和社会受到的危害对它们进行了排名。
Researchers analyzed how addictive a drug is and how it harms the human body, in addition to other criteria like environmental damage caused by the drug, its role in breaking up families and its economic costs, such as health care, social services, and prison. Heroin, crack cocaine and methamphetamine, or crystal meth, were the most lethal to individuals.
研究人员除了分析毒品上瘾程度和对人类身体的损伤程度，还将毒品造成的环境破坏、家庭破裂以及毒品的经济成本(如医疗费用、社会服务费用和牢狱之灾等相关 费用)列入考察标准。结果发现，海洛因、高纯度可卡因以及脱氧麻黄碱(一种中枢兴奋药，亦称“冰毒”)对于个体而言最为致命。
When considering their wider social effects, alcohol, heroin and crack cocaine were the deadliest. But overall, alcohol outranked all other substances, followed by heroin and crack cocaine.
在考虑它们更广泛的社会影响时，酒精、海洛因和高纯度可卡因危害性最大。但综合起来，酒精的危害性最大，其次是海洛因，高纯度可卡因第三。
Experts said alcohol scored so high because it is widely used and has devastating consequences not only for drinkers but for those around them. When drunk in excess, alcohol damages nearly all organ systems. It is also connected to higher death rates and is involved in a greater percentage of crime than most other drugs, including heroin.
专家分析称酒精排名如此之高，不仅因为其被人们广泛使用，也由于酒精不仅对酗酒者本人不利，还伤及其身边人士。而过度饮酒几乎会伤害到全身所有器官和系统。酒精还和高死亡率相关，而与大部分毒品(包括海洛因)相比，过度饮酒还会导致更高的犯罪率。
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Alcohol is more dangerous than illegal drugs like heroin and crack cocaine, according to a new study.
美国《时代》周刊31日报道，据最新研究显示，酒精的危害性极大，甚至超过海洛因以及快克可卡因(高纯度可卡因毒品)。
British experts evaluated substances including alcohol, cocaine, heroin, ecstasy and marijuana, ranking them based on how destructive they are to the individual who takes them and to society as a whole.
来自英国的专家们评估了诸如酒精、可卡因、海洛因、致幻剂以及大麻等物质，并基于个体和社会受到的危害对它们进行了排名。
Researchers analyzed how addictive a drug is and how it harms the human body, in addition to other criteria like environmental damage caused by the drug, its role in breaking up families and its economic costs, such as health care, social services, and prison. Heroin, crack cocaine and methamphetamine, or crystal meth, were the most lethal to individuals.
研究人员除了分析毒品上瘾程度和对人类身体的损伤程度，还将毒品造成的环境破坏、家庭破裂以及毒品的经济成本(如医疗费用、社会服务费用和牢狱之灾等相关 费用)列入考察标准。结果发现，海洛因、高纯度可卡因以及脱氧麻黄碱(一种中枢兴奋药，亦称“冰毒”)对于个体而言最为致命。
When considering their wider social effects, alcohol, heroin and crack cocaine were the deadliest. But overall, alcohol outranked all other substances, followed by heroin and crack cocaine.
在考虑它们更广泛的社会影响时，酒精、海洛因和高纯度可卡因危害性最大。但综合起来，酒精的危害性最大，其次是海洛因，高纯度可卡因第三。
Experts said alcohol scored so high because it is widely used and has devastating consequences not only for drinkers but for those around them. When drunk in excess, alcohol damages nearly all organ systems. It is also connected to higher death rates and is involved in a greater percentage of crime than most other drugs, including heroin.
专家分析称酒精排名如此之高，不仅因为其被人们广泛使用，也由于酒精不仅对酗酒者本人不利，还伤及其身边人士。而过度饮酒几乎会伤害到全身所有器官和系统。酒精还和高死亡率相关，而与大部分毒品(包括海洛因)相比，过度饮酒还会导致更高的犯罪率。
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Learn Chinese songs----采红菱（cai hong ling)
Singer: 邓丽君(Teresa Teng) deng li jun
采红菱
我们俩划着船儿 wo men liang hua zhao chuan er
采红菱呀采红菱 cai hong ling ya cai hong ling
得呀得郎有情 de ya de lang you qing
得呀得妹有心 de ya de mei you xin
就好像两角菱 jiu hao xiang liang jiao ling
也是同日生呀ye shi tong ri sheng ya
我俩一条心wo liang yi tiao xin
我们俩划着船儿 wo men liang hua zhao chuan er
采红菱呀采红菱cai hong ling ya cai hong ling
得呀得妹有心de ya de mei you xin
得呀得郎有情de ya de lang you qing
就好象两角菱jiu hao xiang liang jiao ling
从来不分离呀 cong lai bu fen li ya
我俩心相印wo liang xin xiang yin
划着船儿到湖心呀 hua zhao chuan er dao hu xin ya
你看呀么看分明ni kan ya me kan fen ming
湖水清呀照双影hu shui qing ya zhao shuang ying
就好像两角菱jiu hao xiang liang jiao ling
划着船到湖心呀hua zhao chuan dao hu xin ya
你看呀么看分明ni kan ya me kan fen ming
一个你呀一个我yi ge ni ya yi ge wo
就好像两角菱jiu hao xiang liang jiao ling
我们俩划着船儿wo men liang hua zhao chuan er
采红菱呀采红菱cai hong ling ya cai hong ling
得呀得郎有情de ya de lang you qing
得呀得妹有心de ya de mei you xin
就好像两角菱jiu hao xiang liang jiao ling
也是同日生呀ye shi tong ri sheng ya
我俩一条心 wo liang yi tiao xin
Teresa Teng was an immensely popular and influential Chinese pop singer from Taiwan. Teresa Teng's voice and songs are instantly recognized throughout East Asia and in areas with large Asian populations. It is often said, "Wherever there are Chinese people, the songs of Teresa Teng can be heard." Her songs also enjoy huge popularity among Korean, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian and Indonesian listeners.
Teng was known for her folk songs and romantic ballads.
Learn Chinese songs, enjoy Teresa Teng's music world.
采红菱
我们俩划着船儿 wo men liang hua zhao chuan er
采红菱呀采红菱 cai hong ling ya cai hong ling
得呀得郎有情 de ya de lang you qing
得呀得妹有心 de ya de mei you xin
就好像两角菱 jiu hao xiang liang jiao ling
也是同日生呀ye shi tong ri sheng ya
我俩一条心wo liang yi tiao xin
我们俩划着船儿 wo men liang hua zhao chuan er
采红菱呀采红菱cai hong ling ya cai hong ling
得呀得妹有心de ya de mei you xin
得呀得郎有情de ya de lang you qing
就好象两角菱jiu hao xiang liang jiao ling
从来不分离呀 cong lai bu fen li ya
我俩心相印wo liang xin xiang yin
划着船儿到湖心呀 hua zhao chuan er dao hu xin ya
你看呀么看分明ni kan ya me kan fen ming
湖水清呀照双影hu shui qing ya zhao shuang ying
就好像两角菱jiu hao xiang liang jiao ling
划着船到湖心呀hua zhao chuan dao hu xin ya
你看呀么看分明ni kan ya me kan fen ming
一个你呀一个我yi ge ni ya yi ge wo
就好像两角菱jiu hao xiang liang jiao ling
我们俩划着船儿wo men liang hua zhao chuan er
采红菱呀采红菱cai hong ling ya cai hong ling
得呀得郎有情de ya de lang you qing
得呀得妹有心de ya de mei you xin
就好像两角菱jiu hao xiang liang jiao ling
也是同日生呀ye shi tong ri sheng ya
我俩一条心 wo liang yi tiao xin
Teresa Teng was an immensely popular and influential Chinese pop singer from Taiwan. Teresa Teng's voice and songs are instantly recognized throughout East Asia and in areas with large Asian populations. It is often said, "Wherever there are Chinese people, the songs of Teresa Teng can be heard." Her songs also enjoy huge popularity among Korean, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian and Indonesian listeners.
Teng was known for her folk songs and romantic ballads.
Learn Chinese songs, enjoy Teresa Teng's music world.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Benefit of Milk
English Chinese Translation of Benefit of Milk
A protein found in milk is the latest treatment for stress. The protein, lactium, appears to have a calming effect on the body by lowering blood pressure and reducing levels of cortisol, a hormone released when the body is stressed.
最近，科学家在牛奶中发现了一种新的可以减缓压力的蛋白质，这种名为酪蛋白水解物的蛋白质具有镇静作用，当人体处于压力状态下时，这种蛋白质可通过降低血压、降低皮质醇（一种人处于压力下肾上腺分泌出的压力荷尔蒙）来有效缓解压力。
Chronic stress is linked to a range of conditions, including depression and heart disease. Scientists first began studying the stress-busting qualities of milk over 20 years ago, spurred on by the observation that babies become calm and settled after feeding on milk.
慢性压力和一定的健康状况有关，如沮丧、心脏病。科学家们从20多年前就开始研究牛奶的这种减压特质，激励科学家们这样做的原因是婴儿们喝完牛奶后就会变得平静。
Tests suggested that a protein – casein – played a key role.
试验结果显示，这种名为酪蛋白的蛋白质起了关键作用。
But adults, with their more mature digestive system, would need to drink impossibly large quantities of milk for the same benefit.
但是对于成年人来说，由于消化系统已经成熟，要喝大量的牛奶才可能达到这种效果。
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A protein found in milk is the latest treatment for stress. The protein, lactium, appears to have a calming effect on the body by lowering blood pressure and reducing levels of cortisol, a hormone released when the body is stressed.
最近，科学家在牛奶中发现了一种新的可以减缓压力的蛋白质，这种名为酪蛋白水解物的蛋白质具有镇静作用，当人体处于压力状态下时，这种蛋白质可通过降低血压、降低皮质醇（一种人处于压力下肾上腺分泌出的压力荷尔蒙）来有效缓解压力。
Chronic stress is linked to a range of conditions, including depression and heart disease. Scientists first began studying the stress-busting qualities of milk over 20 years ago, spurred on by the observation that babies become calm and settled after feeding on milk.
慢性压力和一定的健康状况有关，如沮丧、心脏病。科学家们从20多年前就开始研究牛奶的这种减压特质，激励科学家们这样做的原因是婴儿们喝完牛奶后就会变得平静。
Tests suggested that a protein – casein – played a key role.
试验结果显示，这种名为酪蛋白的蛋白质起了关键作用。
But adults, with their more mature digestive system, would need to drink impossibly large quantities of milk for the same benefit.
但是对于成年人来说，由于消化系统已经成熟，要喝大量的牛奶才可能达到这种效果。
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Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Valuable Watermelon Juice
English Chinese Translation of Valuable Watermelon Juice
Forget chip fat, sugar cane or rapeseed oil – the latest source of biofuel could be watermelons.
不用再考虑剩油、甘蔗和菜籽油了——西瓜可成为生物燃料的一个最新来源。
Scientists have discovered that the fruit is a great source of sugar that can be readily distilled into alcohol to power cars and farm machinery.
科学家发现，西瓜中含有大量糖份，糖可直接用于提炼酒精，从而为汽车和农用机械提供动力。
And because retailers rejects 360,000 tons of "substandard" fruit annually in America alone they could be used as an economical way to make fuel.
每年仅美国的零售商遗弃的“不合格”水果就达36万吨，而这些水果可通过一种十分经济的方法来制造酒精。
The waste from US growers could produce nearly two million gallons (nine million litres) of biofuel per year.
美国水果种植商每年扔掉的水果可生产出近200万加仑（900万公升）的生物燃料。
In the study, researchers at the United States Department of Agriculture set out to determine the biofuel potential of juice from "cull" watermelons – those not sold due to cosmetic imperfections, and currently ploughed back into the field.
在这项研究中，美国农业部的研究人员开始测定这些“被淘汰”西瓜的汁液究竟具有多大的潜在利用价值。被淘汰西瓜指的是那些由于外表瑕疵未上市，又被淘汰回地里的西瓜。
About a fifth of each annual watermelon crop is left in the field because of surface blemishes or because they are misshapen.
每年约有五分之一的西瓜因外表瑕疵或形状不规则而被丢弃。
Dr Wayne Fish, who led the team, found that 50 per cent of the fruit was fermentable into ethanol which could provide valuable fuel.
研究小组负责人韦恩•费什发现，50%的西瓜可发酵产生乙醇这种宝贵的燃料。
"We've shown that the juice of these melons is a source of readily fermentable sugars, representing a heretofore untapped feedstock for ethanol biofuel production," he said.
他说：“我们发现西瓜汁中含有易发酵糖，这种原料在乙醇生物燃料的生产中尚未被利用过。”
The study, published in the journal Biotechnology for Biofuels, discovered that watermelons could produce around 20 gallons of fuel per acre from fruit that otherwise would go to waste.
这项在《生物燃料的生物科技》期刊上发表的研究发现，每英亩的西瓜能产生约20加仑的燃料，而（如果不加以利用，）这些水果就会被白白浪费。
Production of biofuels has been targeted by western governments as a way to bolster renewable energy targets.
西方国家瞄准制造生物燃料，以此促进可再生能源的发展。
The European Union has a target for 2010 that 5.75 per cent of transport fuels should come from biological sources, but the target is unlikely to be met.
欧盟计划到2010年实现“5.75%的交通燃料源于生物燃料”的目标，但似乎很难实现。
The British government's Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation requires five per cent of the fuel sold at the pump by 2010 to be biofuel.
英国政府的《可再生交通燃料义务法》规定，到2010年，生物燃料占加油站所售燃料的比例应达到5%。
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Forget chip fat, sugar cane or rapeseed oil – the latest source of biofuel could be watermelons.
不用再考虑剩油、甘蔗和菜籽油了——西瓜可成为生物燃料的一个最新来源。
Scientists have discovered that the fruit is a great source of sugar that can be readily distilled into alcohol to power cars and farm machinery.
科学家发现，西瓜中含有大量糖份，糖可直接用于提炼酒精，从而为汽车和农用机械提供动力。
And because retailers rejects 360,000 tons of "substandard" fruit annually in America alone they could be used as an economical way to make fuel.
每年仅美国的零售商遗弃的“不合格”水果就达36万吨，而这些水果可通过一种十分经济的方法来制造酒精。
The waste from US growers could produce nearly two million gallons (nine million litres) of biofuel per year.
美国水果种植商每年扔掉的水果可生产出近200万加仑（900万公升）的生物燃料。
In the study, researchers at the United States Department of Agriculture set out to determine the biofuel potential of juice from "cull" watermelons – those not sold due to cosmetic imperfections, and currently ploughed back into the field.
在这项研究中，美国农业部的研究人员开始测定这些“被淘汰”西瓜的汁液究竟具有多大的潜在利用价值。被淘汰西瓜指的是那些由于外表瑕疵未上市，又被淘汰回地里的西瓜。
About a fifth of each annual watermelon crop is left in the field because of surface blemishes or because they are misshapen.
每年约有五分之一的西瓜因外表瑕疵或形状不规则而被丢弃。
Dr Wayne Fish, who led the team, found that 50 per cent of the fruit was fermentable into ethanol which could provide valuable fuel.
研究小组负责人韦恩•费什发现，50%的西瓜可发酵产生乙醇这种宝贵的燃料。
"We've shown that the juice of these melons is a source of readily fermentable sugars, representing a heretofore untapped feedstock for ethanol biofuel production," he said.
他说：“我们发现西瓜汁中含有易发酵糖，这种原料在乙醇生物燃料的生产中尚未被利用过。”
The study, published in the journal Biotechnology for Biofuels, discovered that watermelons could produce around 20 gallons of fuel per acre from fruit that otherwise would go to waste.
这项在《生物燃料的生物科技》期刊上发表的研究发现，每英亩的西瓜能产生约20加仑的燃料，而（如果不加以利用，）这些水果就会被白白浪费。
Production of biofuels has been targeted by western governments as a way to bolster renewable energy targets.
西方国家瞄准制造生物燃料，以此促进可再生能源的发展。
The European Union has a target for 2010 that 5.75 per cent of transport fuels should come from biological sources, but the target is unlikely to be met.
欧盟计划到2010年实现“5.75%的交通燃料源于生物燃料”的目标，但似乎很难实现。
The British government's Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation requires five per cent of the fuel sold at the pump by 2010 to be biofuel.
英国政府的《可再生交通燃料义务法》规定，到2010年，生物燃料占加油站所售燃料的比例应达到5%。
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Monday, November 15, 2010
Yue Embroidery
English Chinese Translation of Yue Embroidery
Also called Guang embroidery, Yue embroidery is a general name for embroidery products of the regions of Guangzhou, Shantou, Zhongshan, Fanyu and Shunde in Guangdong Province.
粤绣也称“广绣”，它是出产于广东省广州、潮州、汕头、中山、番禺、顺德一带刺绣品的总称。
According to historical records, in the first year of Yongyuan's reign (805) during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), a girl named Lu Meiniang embroidered the seventh volume of the Fahua Buddhist Scripture on a piece of thin silk about 30 cm long. And so, Yue embroidery became famous around the country. The prosperous Guangzhou Port of the Song Dynasty promoted the development of Yue embroidery, which began to be exported at that time. During the Ming Dynasty, people used animal hair as the raw material for Yue embroidery, which made the works more vivid. During Qianlong's reign (1736-1796) of the Qing, an industrial organization was established in Guangzhou. At that time, a large number of craftsmen devoted themselves to the craft, inciting further improvements to the weaving technique. Since 1915, the work of Yue embroidery garnered several awards at the Panama Expo.
据史料记载，唐代的永贞元年（公元805年），广东南海县一位名叫卢媚娘的少女曾在一块一尺左右的绢面上绣出七卷《法华经》，粤绣从此名扬天下。宋元时期（公元10～14世纪），广州港的繁荣促进了粤绣工艺的飞速发展，粤绣品开始输出国外。明代（公元1368～1644年），广州的刺绣艺人已经能够娴熟地运用各色丝绒线刺绣，并创造性地使用动物的尾羽缠绒作线，使绣品更加自然生动。到清代的乾隆年间（公元1736～1796年），第一个粤绣行业组织“粤绣行”在广州成立，当时从事刺绣的艺人众多，粤绣在工艺和针法上都得以不断发展完善。1915年后，粤绣作品在巴拿马国际博览会等国际赛会上多次获得大奖。
Influenced by national folk art, Yue embroidery formed its own unique characteristics. The embroidered pictures are mainly of dragons and phoenixes, and flowers and birds, with neat designs and strong, contrasting colors. Floss, thread and gold-and-silk thread embroidery are used to produce costumes, decorations for halls and crafts for daily use.
粤绣在长期的发展过程中，受到各民族民间艺术的影响，在兼收并蓄、融会贯通的基础上，逐渐形成了自身独特的艺术风格。绣品主要取材于龙凤、花鸟等，图案构图饱满、均齐对称，色彩对比强烈、富丽堂皇。在针法上具有“针步均匀、纹理分明、处处见针、针针整齐”的特点。在种类上粤绣可分为绒绣、线绣、金银线绣三类，品种包括戏服、厅堂装饰、联帐、采眉、挂屏和各种日用绣品等。
Also called Guang embroidery, Yue embroidery is a general name for embroidery products of the regions of Guangzhou, Shantou, Zhongshan, Fanyu and Shunde in Guangdong Province.
粤绣也称“广绣”，它是出产于广东省广州、潮州、汕头、中山、番禺、顺德一带刺绣品的总称。
According to historical records, in the first year of Yongyuan's reign (805) during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), a girl named Lu Meiniang embroidered the seventh volume of the Fahua Buddhist Scripture on a piece of thin silk about 30 cm long. And so, Yue embroidery became famous around the country. The prosperous Guangzhou Port of the Song Dynasty promoted the development of Yue embroidery, which began to be exported at that time. During the Ming Dynasty, people used animal hair as the raw material for Yue embroidery, which made the works more vivid. During Qianlong's reign (1736-1796) of the Qing, an industrial organization was established in Guangzhou. At that time, a large number of craftsmen devoted themselves to the craft, inciting further improvements to the weaving technique. Since 1915, the work of Yue embroidery garnered several awards at the Panama Expo.
据史料记载，唐代的永贞元年（公元805年），广东南海县一位名叫卢媚娘的少女曾在一块一尺左右的绢面上绣出七卷《法华经》，粤绣从此名扬天下。宋元时期（公元10～14世纪），广州港的繁荣促进了粤绣工艺的飞速发展，粤绣品开始输出国外。明代（公元1368～1644年），广州的刺绣艺人已经能够娴熟地运用各色丝绒线刺绣，并创造性地使用动物的尾羽缠绒作线，使绣品更加自然生动。到清代的乾隆年间（公元1736～1796年），第一个粤绣行业组织“粤绣行”在广州成立，当时从事刺绣的艺人众多，粤绣在工艺和针法上都得以不断发展完善。1915年后，粤绣作品在巴拿马国际博览会等国际赛会上多次获得大奖。
Influenced by national folk art, Yue embroidery formed its own unique characteristics. The embroidered pictures are mainly of dragons and phoenixes, and flowers and birds, with neat designs and strong, contrasting colors. Floss, thread and gold-and-silk thread embroidery are used to produce costumes, decorations for halls and crafts for daily use.
粤绣在长期的发展过程中，受到各民族民间艺术的影响，在兼收并蓄、融会贯通的基础上，逐渐形成了自身独特的艺术风格。绣品主要取材于龙凤、花鸟等，图案构图饱满、均齐对称，色彩对比强烈、富丽堂皇。在针法上具有“针步均匀、纹理分明、处处见针、针针整齐”的特点。在种类上粤绣可分为绒绣、线绣、金银线绣三类，品种包括戏服、厅堂装饰、联帐、采眉、挂屏和各种日用绣品等。
Su Embroidery
English Chinese Translation of Su Embroidery
With a history of more than 3,000 years, Su embroidery is the general name for embroidery products in areas around Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. The craft, which dates back to the Three Kingdoms Period (220-280), became a sideline of people in the Suzhou area during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Well known for its smoothness and delicateness, Su embroidery won Suzhou the title City of Embroidery in the Qing Dynasty. In the mid and late Qing, Su embroidery experienced further developments involving works of double-sided embroidering. There were 65 embroidery stores in Suzhou City. During the Republic of China period (1912-1949), the Su embroidery industry was in decline due to frequent wars and it was restored and regenerated after the founding of new China. In 1950, the central government set up research centers for Su embroidery and launched training courses for the study of embroidery. Weaving methods have climbed from 18 to the present 40.
苏绣是以江苏苏州为中心的刺绣产品的总称。苏州刺绣至今已有2000余年的历史，早在三国时期（公元220～280年）就有了关于苏绣制作的记载。此后经过历代的不断发展完善，到明代（1368～1644年）时，苏绣已成为苏州地区一项普遍的群众性副业产品，形成了"家家养蚕，户户刺绣"的局面。清代（公元1644～1911年）的苏绣以“精细雅洁”而闻名，当时的苏州更有了“绣市”的誉称。清代中后期，苏绣在绣制技术上有了进一步发展，新出现了精美的“双面绣”，仅苏州一地专门经营刺绣的商家就有65家之多。民国时期（公元1912～1949年），由于常年战乱，苏绣业曾一度衰落。新中国成立后，苏绣得到进一步的恢复和发展。1950年后，国家专门设立了苏绣研究所，并开办刺绣训练班。苏绣的针法由原来的18种发展到今天的40余种。
Su embroidery features a strong, folk flavor and its weaving techniques are characterized by the following: the product surface must be flat, the rim must be neat, the needle must be thin, the lines must be dense, the color must be harmonious and bright and the picture must be even. Su embroidery products fall into three major categories: costumes, decorations for halls and crafts for daily use, which integrate decorative and practical values. Double-sided embroidery is an excellent representative of Su embroidery.
苏绣具有图案秀丽、构思巧妙、绣工细致、针法活泼、色彩清雅的独特风格，地方特色浓郁。绣技具有“平、齐、细、密、和、光、顺、匀”的特点。“平”指绣面平展；“齐”指图案边缘齐整；“细”指用针细巧，绣线精细；“密”指线条排列紧凑，不露针迹；“和”指设色适宜；“光”指光彩夺目，色泽鲜明；“顺”指丝理圆转自如；“匀”指线条精细均匀，疏密一致。在种类上，苏绣作品主要可分为零剪、戏衣、挂屏三大类，装饰性与实用性兼备。其中以“双面绣”作品最为精美。
With a history of more than 3,000 years, Su embroidery is the general name for embroidery products in areas around Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. The craft, which dates back to the Three Kingdoms Period (220-280), became a sideline of people in the Suzhou area during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Well known for its smoothness and delicateness, Su embroidery won Suzhou the title City of Embroidery in the Qing Dynasty. In the mid and late Qing, Su embroidery experienced further developments involving works of double-sided embroidering. There were 65 embroidery stores in Suzhou City. During the Republic of China period (1912-1949), the Su embroidery industry was in decline due to frequent wars and it was restored and regenerated after the founding of new China. In 1950, the central government set up research centers for Su embroidery and launched training courses for the study of embroidery. Weaving methods have climbed from 18 to the present 40.
苏绣是以江苏苏州为中心的刺绣产品的总称。苏州刺绣至今已有2000余年的历史，早在三国时期（公元220～280年）就有了关于苏绣制作的记载。此后经过历代的不断发展完善，到明代（1368～1644年）时，苏绣已成为苏州地区一项普遍的群众性副业产品，形成了"家家养蚕，户户刺绣"的局面。清代（公元1644～1911年）的苏绣以“精细雅洁”而闻名，当时的苏州更有了“绣市”的誉称。清代中后期，苏绣在绣制技术上有了进一步发展，新出现了精美的“双面绣”，仅苏州一地专门经营刺绣的商家就有65家之多。民国时期（公元1912～1949年），由于常年战乱，苏绣业曾一度衰落。新中国成立后，苏绣得到进一步的恢复和发展。1950年后，国家专门设立了苏绣研究所，并开办刺绣训练班。苏绣的针法由原来的18种发展到今天的40余种。
Su embroidery features a strong, folk flavor and its weaving techniques are characterized by the following: the product surface must be flat, the rim must be neat, the needle must be thin, the lines must be dense, the color must be harmonious and bright and the picture must be even. Su embroidery products fall into three major categories: costumes, decorations for halls and crafts for daily use, which integrate decorative and practical values. Double-sided embroidery is an excellent representative of Su embroidery.
苏绣具有图案秀丽、构思巧妙、绣工细致、针法活泼、色彩清雅的独特风格，地方特色浓郁。绣技具有“平、齐、细、密、和、光、顺、匀”的特点。“平”指绣面平展；“齐”指图案边缘齐整；“细”指用针细巧，绣线精细；“密”指线条排列紧凑，不露针迹；“和”指设色适宜；“光”指光彩夺目，色泽鲜明；“顺”指丝理圆转自如；“匀”指线条精细均匀，疏密一致。在种类上，苏绣作品主要可分为零剪、戏衣、挂屏三大类，装饰性与实用性兼备。其中以“双面绣”作品最为精美。
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Chinese Papercuts
English Chinese Translation of Chinese Papercuts
Papercuts refer to handicrafts made by cutting paper with scissors to form different patterns and pasting them on walls, windows, doors and ceilings.
剪纸，顾名思义，就是用剪刀把纸剪出各种图形，并且把它们贴在墙上、窗户、门和天花板上的一种手工艺品。
With their long history, papercuts, which originated in China, have been very popular among the ordinary people of China. The first papercut can be traced back to the Northern and Southern Dynasties (386-581) period. The initiation and spread of papercuts had a close relationship with Chinese rural festivals. People pasted papercuts on walls, windows and doors at wedding ceremonies or festivals to enhance the festive atmosphere.
起源于中国的剪纸，历史悠久，一直深受中国老百姓的欢迎。第一幅剪纸作品可以追溯到南北朝时期（公元386－581）.剪纸的产生和传播与中国农村的节日有着密切的联系。人们在婚礼或过节时在墙上、窗户、门上贴上剪纸以增强节庆的气氛。
Chinese papercuts are rich in content. The auspicious designs symbolize good luck and the avoidance of evil. The child, lotus and bottle gourd designs suggest a family with a large number of children and grandchildren. Domestic birds, livestock, fruit, fish and worms are also familiar objects depicted by Chinese farmers. Papercuts made in different areas have different characteristics. Shanxi window papercuts are simple and bold; papercuts from Hebei Province and Shanxi Province are bright in color; papercuts in southern provinces are delicate and fine.
剪纸的内容是很有讲究的。吉祥图案寓意吉祥辟邪，娃娃、葫芦、莲花等象征多子多福，家禽家畜，瓜果鱼虫是农民熟悉的对象，也是他们表现的主要内容。剪纸作为一种民间艺术，具有很强的地域风格。陕西窗花风格粗朴豪放，单纯简练，河北蔚县和山西广灵剪纸加染色彩，浓厚中透着秀美艳丽，而中国南方省份的剪纸精美细致，装饰性强。
Papercuts refer to handicrafts made by cutting paper with scissors to form different patterns and pasting them on walls, windows, doors and ceilings.
剪纸，顾名思义，就是用剪刀把纸剪出各种图形，并且把它们贴在墙上、窗户、门和天花板上的一种手工艺品。
With their long history, papercuts, which originated in China, have been very popular among the ordinary people of China. The first papercut can be traced back to the Northern and Southern Dynasties (386-581) period. The initiation and spread of papercuts had a close relationship with Chinese rural festivals. People pasted papercuts on walls, windows and doors at wedding ceremonies or festivals to enhance the festive atmosphere.
起源于中国的剪纸，历史悠久，一直深受中国老百姓的欢迎。第一幅剪纸作品可以追溯到南北朝时期（公元386－581）.剪纸的产生和传播与中国农村的节日有着密切的联系。人们在婚礼或过节时在墙上、窗户、门上贴上剪纸以增强节庆的气氛。
Chinese papercuts are rich in content. The auspicious designs symbolize good luck and the avoidance of evil. The child, lotus and bottle gourd designs suggest a family with a large number of children and grandchildren. Domestic birds, livestock, fruit, fish and worms are also familiar objects depicted by Chinese farmers. Papercuts made in different areas have different characteristics. Shanxi window papercuts are simple and bold; papercuts from Hebei Province and Shanxi Province are bright in color; papercuts in southern provinces are delicate and fine.
剪纸的内容是很有讲究的。吉祥图案寓意吉祥辟邪，娃娃、葫芦、莲花等象征多子多福，家禽家畜，瓜果鱼虫是农民熟悉的对象，也是他们表现的主要内容。剪纸作为一种民间艺术，具有很强的地域风格。陕西窗花风格粗朴豪放，单纯简练，河北蔚县和山西广灵剪纸加染色彩，浓厚中透着秀美艳丽，而中国南方省份的剪纸精美细致，装饰性强。
Monday, November 8, 2010
Interesting Things to Know
Drop the peeler : eating the skins of fruit and vegetables could boost your nutritional intake of vitamins, combat cancer and increase your energy levels.
扔掉手中的削皮器吧，要知道水果蔬菜的外衣不仅可以促进身体对维生素的吸收，还能抗癌，增强活力呢！
Dr Marilyn Glenville, former president of the Food and Health Forum at the Royal Society of ?Medicine, says: `All fruit and vegetables have a "bio-synergy", which means the nutritional ?benefits of each part are reinforced by the others.`
英皇家医学会营养协会前任会长玛丽莲?格勒威利博士称，所有的水果蔬菜都具有生物协同效应，也就是说，蔬果的各个部分相互补充，强化各种营养。
扔掉手中的削皮器吧，要知道水果蔬菜的外衣不仅可以促进身体对维生素的吸收，还能抗癌，增强活力呢！
Dr Marilyn Glenville, former president of the Food and Health Forum at the Royal Society of ?Medicine, says: `All fruit and vegetables have a "bio-synergy", which means the nutritional ?benefits of each part are reinforced by the others.`
英皇家医学会营养协会前任会长玛丽莲?格勒威利博士称，所有的水果蔬菜都具有生物协同效应，也就是说，蔬果的各个部分相互补充，强化各种营养。
And the skin is not the only healthy bit we discard — stalks and cores can also be packed with nutrients.
因此，除了果皮之外，被我们一同丢弃的果柄和果核也极具营养价值。
因此，除了果皮之外，被我们一同丢弃的果柄和果核也极具营养价值。
Here, we reveal the fruit and vegetables you should try to eat whole.
现在我们来看看，哪些蔬果其实是应该整个儿吃的。
Kiwi fruit
猕猴桃
现在我们来看看，哪些蔬果其实是应该整个儿吃的。
Kiwi fruit
猕猴桃
The hairy skin of the kiwi fruit is high in antioxidants and thought to have ?anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and anti-?allergenic properties, says Dr Glenville. ‘The skin contains three times the anti?oxidants of the pulp; it also fights off bugs such as Staphylococcus and E-coli, which are responsible for food poisoning.’
猕猴桃毛茸茸的外皮中富含抗氧化剂，有抗癌，消炎，抗过敏的作用。格勒威利博士说, “猕猴桃果皮中的抗氧化剂含量是果肉的三倍，它还能对抗葡萄球菌，大肠杆菌这些会导致食物中毒的细菌。”
猕猴桃毛茸茸的外皮中富含抗氧化剂，有抗癌，消炎，抗过敏的作用。格勒威利博士说, “猕猴桃果皮中的抗氧化剂含量是果肉的三倍，它还能对抗葡萄球菌，大肠杆菌这些会导致食物中毒的细菌。”
HOW TO EAT IT: If regular kiwi skin is too tart for you, opt for ‘gold’ kiwi fruit, which have sweeter, less hairy skins, but with the same benefits. Use the skin if you are juicing the fruit.
食用方法：要是嫌普通猕猴桃太酸的话，那就选择黄金奇异果吧，它们更甜一些，而且外皮相对光滑一些，但同样很有营养。记得在榨汁时把果皮也加上。
食用方法：要是嫌普通猕猴桃太酸的话，那就选择黄金奇异果吧，它们更甜一些，而且外皮相对光滑一些，但同样很有营养。记得在榨汁时把果皮也加上。
Pineapple
菠萝
菠萝
Don’t panic — it’s the tough core of the pineapple, not the prickly skin you should be tucking into.
先别怕，不是要你吃多刺的菠萝皮，而是中间较硬的菠萝果心。
先别怕，不是要你吃多刺的菠萝皮，而是中间较硬的菠萝果心。
Along with fibre and vitamin C, a pineapple’s real benefit lies in an enzyme called bromelain, which breaks down food and dead human tissues linger in the digestive ?system quickly, ?protecting the stomach. ‘The core of a pineapple contains twice the bromelain concentration of the surrounding fruit,’ says Dr Glenville.
其实，除了富含纤维和维生素C，菠萝营养好就好在它的菠萝蛋白酶上，这种酶能加速食物分解，清除人体产生的垃圾组织，有助消化，保护肠胃。格勒威利博士指出：“菠萝果心的菠萝蛋白酶含量可是外层果肉的两倍。”
其实，除了富含纤维和维生素C，菠萝营养好就好在它的菠萝蛋白酶上，这种酶能加速食物分解，清除人体产生的垃圾组织，有助消化，保护肠胃。格勒威利博士指出：“菠萝果心的菠萝蛋白酶含量可是外层果肉的两倍。”
HOW TO EAT IT: Press and crush the core and add the juice to smoothies. It can be stringy, but the left-over pulp can also be added to soups or casseroles for extra fibre.
食用方法：将菠萝果心榨汁，加入冰沙中。虽然看上去有些粘稠，但由于剩下的果渣含有较多粗纤维，所以可以将其倒入汤或者砂锅菜中食用。
Bananas
香蕉
食用方法：将菠萝果心榨汁，加入冰沙中。虽然看上去有些粘稠，但由于剩下的果渣含有较多粗纤维，所以可以将其倒入汤或者砂锅菜中食用。
Bananas
香蕉
Researchers in Taiwan ?discovered banana peel extract can ease depression as it is rich in serotonin, the mood-balancing chemical. The skin was also found to be good for eyes, as it contains the antioxidant lutein which ?protects eye cells from exposure to ultraviolet light — a leading cause of cataracts.
台湾的研究人员发现香蕉皮的提取物富含能稳定情绪的化学物质——血清素从而，可以缓解抑郁。而且，香蕉皮还含有抗氧化的叶黄素，可以保护眼细胞免受紫外线侵扰，要知道，紫外线可是引起白内障的罪魁祸首。
台湾的研究人员发现香蕉皮的提取物富含能稳定情绪的化学物质——血清素从而，可以缓解抑郁。而且，香蕉皮还含有抗氧化的叶黄素，可以保护眼细胞免受紫外线侵扰，要知道，紫外线可是引起白内障的罪魁祸首。
HOW TO EAT IT: The research team advises boiling the peel for ten ?minutes and drinking the cooled water or putting it through a juicer and drinking the juice.
食用方法：研究人员建议将香蕉皮放入水中煮10分钟，冷却后喝汤；或者直接将其榨汁饮用。
食用方法：研究人员建议将香蕉皮放入水中煮10分钟，冷却后喝汤；或者直接将其榨汁饮用。
Potatoes
土豆
土豆
Most people know potato skins are healthy, but few are aware of the reason why. It’s because the skin is a real nutritional powerhouse. Just one fist-sized potato skin provides half your daily ?recommended intake of soluble fibre, potassium, iron, phos?phorous zinc and vitamin C.
土豆皮有益健康可谓广为人知，可很少有人知道这其中的真正奥秘。其实，土豆皮就像一所发电站，提供各种营养。一个拳头大小的土豆，其皮中所含的水溶性纤维、钾、铁、磷、锌以及维生素C就可以达到每日营养素建议摄取量的一半。
土豆皮有益健康可谓广为人知，可很少有人知道这其中的真正奥秘。其实，土豆皮就像一所发电站，提供各种营养。一个拳头大小的土豆，其皮中所含的水溶性纤维、钾、铁、磷、锌以及维生素C就可以达到每日营养素建议摄取量的一半。
'Pound for pound, potatoes ?contain more vitamin C than oranges, so are perfect for anyone looking to ward off colds,' says Dr Glenville.
格勒威利博士说，相同重量的土豆比橘子含有的维生素C还多，所以也是预防感冒的首选。
格勒威利博士说，相同重量的土豆比橘子含有的维生素C还多，所以也是预防感冒的首选。
HOW TO EAT IT: Bake whole as ?jackets, boil and mash with the skin on, or slice into wedges, toss in a ?little olive oil and bake for potato wedges.
食用方法：带皮烤成英式“皮夹克土豆”；或煮烂，然后连皮捣碎；或者将土豆切成橘瓣状，涂上橄榄油，烤成美味薯角。
Learn Chinese, one-on-one real-time interactive online Chinese classes.
食用方法：带皮烤成英式“皮夹克土豆”；或煮烂，然后连皮捣碎；或者将土豆切成橘瓣状，涂上橄榄油，烤成美味薯角。
Learn Chinese, one-on-one real-time interactive online Chinese classes.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Learn Chinese Opera
Chinese opera is a popular form of drama in China. In general, it dates back to the Tang Dynasty with Emperor Xuanzong (712-755), who founded the "Pear Garden", the first known opera troupe in China.
Chinese opera evolved from folk songs, dances, talking, antimasque, and especially distinctive dialectical music. Gradually it combined music, art and literature into one performance on the stage. Accompanied by traditional musical instruments like the Erhu, the gong, and the lute, actors present unique melodies - which may sound strange to foreigners - as well as dialogues which are beautifully written and of high literary value. These dialogs also promoted the development of distinct literary styles, such as Zaju in the Yuan Dynasty. For Chinese, especially older folks, to listen to this kind of opera is a real pleasure.
What appeals to foreigners most might be the different styles of facial make-up, which is one of the highlights of Chinese opera and requires distinctive techniques of painting. Exaggerated designs are painted on each performer's face to symbolize a character's personality, role, and fate. This technique may have originated from ancient religions and dance. Audiences who are familiar with opera can know the story by observing the facial painting as well as the costumes. Generally, a red face represents loyalty and bravery; a black face, valor; yellow and white faces, duplicity; and golden and silver faces, mystery.
Besides color, lines also function as symbols. For example, a figure can be painted either all white on his face, or just around the nose. The larger the white area painted, the more viperous the role.
Another technique that fascinates people is the marvelous acrobatics. Players can make fire spray out of their mouths when they act as spirits, or can gallop while squatting to act as a dwarf. This reflects a saying among actors: 'One minute's performance on the stage takes ten years' practice behind the scenes.'
Over the past 800 years, Chinese opera has evolved into many different regional varieties based on local traits and accents. Today, there are over 300 dazzling regional opera styles. Kun opera, which originated around Jiangsu Province, is a typical ancient opera style and features gentleness and clearness. This enabled it to be ranked among the World Oral and Intangible Heritages. Qinqiang opera from Shaanxi, known for its loudness and wildness, and Yu opera, Yue opera, and Huangmei Opera are all very enjoyable. Beijing Opera, the best-known Chinese opera style, was formed from the mingling of these regional styles.
Learn Chinese Opera more at http://www.masterchinese.com/about-china/chinese-beijing-opera.
Chinese opera evolved from folk songs, dances, talking, antimasque, and especially distinctive dialectical music. Gradually it combined music, art and literature into one performance on the stage. Accompanied by traditional musical instruments like the Erhu, the gong, and the lute, actors present unique melodies - which may sound strange to foreigners - as well as dialogues which are beautifully written and of high literary value. These dialogs also promoted the development of distinct literary styles, such as Zaju in the Yuan Dynasty. For Chinese, especially older folks, to listen to this kind of opera is a real pleasure.
What appeals to foreigners most might be the different styles of facial make-up, which is one of the highlights of Chinese opera and requires distinctive techniques of painting. Exaggerated designs are painted on each performer's face to symbolize a character's personality, role, and fate. This technique may have originated from ancient religions and dance. Audiences who are familiar with opera can know the story by observing the facial painting as well as the costumes. Generally, a red face represents loyalty and bravery; a black face, valor; yellow and white faces, duplicity; and golden and silver faces, mystery.
Besides color, lines also function as symbols. For example, a figure can be painted either all white on his face, or just around the nose. The larger the white area painted, the more viperous the role.
Another technique that fascinates people is the marvelous acrobatics. Players can make fire spray out of their mouths when they act as spirits, or can gallop while squatting to act as a dwarf. This reflects a saying among actors: 'One minute's performance on the stage takes ten years' practice behind the scenes.'
Over the past 800 years, Chinese opera has evolved into many different regional varieties based on local traits and accents. Today, there are over 300 dazzling regional opera styles. Kun opera, which originated around Jiangsu Province, is a typical ancient opera style and features gentleness and clearness. This enabled it to be ranked among the World Oral and Intangible Heritages. Qinqiang opera from Shaanxi, known for its loudness and wildness, and Yu opera, Yue opera, and Huangmei Opera are all very enjoyable. Beijing Opera, the best-known Chinese opera style, was formed from the mingling of these regional styles.
Learn Chinese Opera more at http://www.masterchinese.com/about-china/chinese-beijing-opera.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Learn Chinese Traditional Festivals—Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year, Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is commonly called “Lunar New Year”, because it is based on the lunisolar Chinese calendar. The festival traditionally begins on the first day of the first month (Chinese: ; pinyin: zhēng yuè) in the Chinese calendar and ends with Lantern Festival which is on the 15th day. Chinese New Year’s Eve is known as chú xī. It literally means “Year-pass Eve”.
Chinese New Year is the longest and most important festivity in the Chinese Lunar Calendar. The origin of Chinese New Year is itself centuries old and gains significance because of several myths and traditions. Ancient Chinese New Year is a reflection on how the people behaved and what they believed in the most.
Chinese New Year is celebrated in countries and territories with significant Han Chinese populations (Chinatowns), such as Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. Chinese New Year is considered a major holiday for the Chinese and has had influence on the new year celebrations of its geographic neighbors, as well as cultures with whom the Chinese have had extensive interaction. These include Koreans (Seollal), Tibetans and Bhutanese (Losar), Mongolians (Tsagaan Sar), Vietnamese, and the Japanese before 1873 (Oshogatsu).
Chinese New Year is the longest and most important festivity in the Chinese Lunar Calendar. The origin of Chinese New Year is itself centuries old and gains significance because of several myths and traditions. Ancient Chinese New Year is a reflection on how the people behaved and what they believed in the most.
Chinese New Year is celebrated in countries and territories with significant Han Chinese populations (Chinatowns), such as Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand. Chinese New Year is considered a major holiday for the Chinese and has had influence on the new year celebrations of its geographic neighbors, as well as cultures with whom the Chinese have had extensive interaction. These include Koreans (Seollal), Tibetans and Bhutanese (Losar), Mongolians (Tsagaan Sar), Vietnamese, and the Japanese before 1873 (Oshogatsu).
Learn Chinese festivals more at http://www.masterchinese.com/about-china/chinese-traditional-festivals/.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Learn Chinese – 花架子 Showy Structure
Learn Chinese – 花架子 Showy Structure
花 hua 架 jia 子 zi Showy Structure
A certain 'scholar' once claimed to know the secret to a trade that was popular in the province where he grew up. He claimed he could teach the people in a new town textile making.
He drew an elaborate scheme that in the end did not work. However, he caused the people to think that they were too stupid.
Later he was found out. He was the one who had only book knowledge, and not enough of that.
The phrase means something that is dazzling to the eyes but has no practical value.
It seems appropriate to not too many products that we find advertized.
They look good, but what good are they?
花 hua 架 jia 子 zi Showy Structure
A certain 'scholar' once claimed to know the secret to a trade that was popular in the province where he grew up. He claimed he could teach the people in a new town textile making.
He drew an elaborate scheme that in the end did not work. However, he caused the people to think that they were too stupid.
Later he was found out. He was the one who had only book knowledge, and not enough of that.
The phrase means something that is dazzling to the eyes but has no practical value.
It seems appropriate to not too many products that we find advertized.
They look good, but what good are they?
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Learn Chinese – 敲竹杠- Rapping Bamboo Poles
Learn Chinese – 敲竹杠- Rapping Bamboo Poles
敲 qiao 竹 zhu 杠 gang – Rapping Bamboo Poles
A man in old China was almost caught trying to smuggle opium in his bamboo poles when a simple bumpkin took his pipe and rapped it on the poles just as a customs official walked by.
The smuggle paid off the bumpkin who was totally unaware of why he was being asked to not bang his pipe on his poles.
The expression came to symbolize extortion or fleecing money from someone who is in a precarious position and needs to pay money to cover themselves.
There are lots and lots of corrupt officials in China, especially officials with mistresses who are having their 'bamboo poles rapped' by their, um, ladies.
敲 qiao 竹 zhu 杠 gang – Rapping Bamboo Poles
A man in old China was almost caught trying to smuggle opium in his bamboo poles when a simple bumpkin took his pipe and rapped it on the poles just as a customs official walked by.
The smuggle paid off the bumpkin who was totally unaware of why he was being asked to not bang his pipe on his poles.
The expression came to symbolize extortion or fleecing money from someone who is in a precarious position and needs to pay money to cover themselves.
There are lots and lots of corrupt officials in China, especially officials with mistresses who are having their 'bamboo poles rapped' by their, um, ladies.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Why learn Chinese?
1. Chinese is the language of nearly 1/4 of the World’s Population. Speakers of Chinese not only live in China, Taiwan, and Singapore, but also spread throughout Southeast Asia, North America, and Europe, where large Chinese communities congregate.
2. Learn Chinese to get ahead in the business world. With the rapid economical development, China’s position on the international stage is getting more and more important. To take advantage of this huge economic shift and opportunities, learning Chinese is a great way to take an advantage in the increasingly competitive business world. Proficient speakers of Mandarin Chinese will find jobs in various fields such as business, government, international relations, information technology, tourism, education, translation and so on. Of all foreign languages at American universities and colleges, Chinese shows the highest proportional increase in enrollment. Los Angeles Chinese Learning Center, on the other hand, provides Chinese class at flexible schedule for working adults at reasonable rates.
3. Learn Chinese to have a wonderful trip. If you’ve been bitten by the travel bug and you want to go somewhere where you can experience a completely different culture. You also want to go somewhere where you can see some of the most beautiful natural scenery in the world. But then you’d also love to see ancient buildings, temples and architecture. You’ll probably have to go to so many countries to see and experience all of this, right Wrong! You can cover all of the above in China. China is bursting with so much culture with its fifty six ethnic groups. You also have stunning scenery in Tibet, Xinjiang and most of south China. Historic sites are in every single province in China. There’s so much to do, so much to see, and too much too experience. But to get the most out of traveling around China you really should at least learn travel Chinese. It will help make your trip smoother and possibly cheaper. So what are you waiting for? Learn Chinese, organize your visa, get your shots, take your malaria pills and come to China now!
4. Learn Chinese to taste delicious food. China covers a large territory and has many nationalities, hence a variety of Chinese food with different but fantastic and mouthwatering flavor. China’s local dishes have their own typical characteristics. There is succulent tender lamb in Inner Mongolia and Ningxia. Peking duck with its mouthwatering sauce awaits you in Beijing. There are also flaming hot spicy dishes in Sichuan which will numb your taste buds for a month and the sweet, sweet dishes of Jiangsu province which will spike your insulin levels in seconds. “Enjoy yourself to the max and try everything at least once.” If you can speak Chinese, it will be much easier for you to enjoy the dishes.
5. Learn Chinese out of interest for the Chinese Language, Culture and Customs. To fully understand the Chinese people and their culture it is necessary to learn Chinese and have a good understanding of the structure of the language. Just like many other languages, the Chinese language contains a lot of words and expressions that reflect traditions, values and ideas that have been passed on from generation to generation. Chinese culture is full of amazing.
6. Learn Chinese to challenge yourself. Chinese is not an easy language for most western people to learn and it can certainly be seen as an academic and linguistic challenge. Although Chinese does not have conjugations, declinations, articles, tenses and so on, its writing system and four tones of pronunciation are rather challenging for Westerners. It’s definitely a challenge to learn Chinese, but with the right method, anybody can do it!
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