renzhe Posted January 21, 2011 at 08:20 PM Author Report Posted January 21, 2011 at 08:20 PM A lawyer claims that the Dubai World is sinking into the ocean: 迪拜人造世界岛正在逐渐下沉 面临被淹风险 迪拜著名的“世界岛”是一个群岛，由300座大小不同的岛屿组成，整个群岛组成了一幅世界地图的图案，其工程规模之大堪称“世界第八大奇迹”。但据英国《每日电讯报》20日报道，律师的证据称这幅人造“海上世界地图”正在渐渐下沉，面临被淹的危险。 按照开发计划，岛上特别打造了豪华酒店和别墅并卖给世界各大公司和富豪。通过游艇和摩托艇可以登陆岛上。 ....... 迪拜 Dubai 岛屿 dǎo yǔ * islands 图案 tú àn * design / pattern 每日电讯报 Měi rì Diàn xùn bào * Daily Telegraph (newspaper) 渐 jiàn * gradual / gradually 下沉 xià chén * to sink down 富豪 fù háo * a millionaire 游艇 yóu tǐng * barge / yacht 摩托艇 motorboat 淤积 yū jī * silt / sediment / ooze 代理 dài lǐ * acting (temporarily filling a position) / to act for / a surrogate 棕榈岛 palm-tree island 诉讼 sù sòng * lawsuit 并称 bìng chēng * also claimed that 泥沙 ní shā * silt 腐蚀 fǔ shí * corrosion / to corrode (degrade chemically) / to rot 损毁 sǔn huǐ * damage 炫耀 xuàn yào * to show off one's talent 格陵兰岛 Gé líng lán dǎo * Greenland 纠纷 jiū fēn * a dispute / tangled issue (e.g. legal) / to dispute 模糊 mó hu * vague / indistinct / fuzzy 卫星 wèi xīng * (space) satellite 观光塔 observation tower 运输权 transportation rights 英镑 Yīng bàng * pound sterling 昏迷状态 state of unconsciousness 监测 jiān cè * to monitor Quote
skylee Posted January 22, 2011 at 12:45 AM Report Posted January 22, 2011 at 12:45 AM Re #61, 棕櫚島 (palm island) is not motorboat. Also, 並稱 in the context of the article means 也聲稱 (also claimed that...). Over here, we ususally call Dubai 杜拜. In my opinion, the 風險 in the title and "的危險" at the end of the first sentence are not necessary. I think 面臨被淹 is quite sufficient. Quote
renzhe Posted January 22, 2011 at 12:45 PM Author Report Posted January 22, 2011 at 12:45 PM Nice catch on the palm island, haha That has to be one of my best careless mistakes yet I understood 并称 to mean something like 并且 here, I didn't control my automatic dictionary output. Quote
ma3zi1 Posted January 23, 2011 at 02:10 AM Report Posted January 23, 2011 at 02:10 AM Answers from my last post: 1）What is the meaning of 『比』in the title? Here,『比』has the more unusual meaning of "to gesture (with one's hands)" (用手勢摹擬動作) 2）What is the English term for 『囊性卵巢症候群』? Poly-cystic Ovary Syndrome, it is also written 多囊卵巢綜合症, see http://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-tw/多囊卵巢綜合症 3）「憂心忡忡」是甚麼意思？ 憂愁不安的樣子 = deeply worried and sick at heart 4）「豁然開朗」has a similar meaning to what other 成語 that contains 『然』？ what came to mind for me was 恍然大悟, but there are many answers of course Quote
skylee Posted January 23, 2011 at 02:53 AM Report Posted January 23, 2011 at 02:53 AM I am not sure about A4. I think the writer of the news article has stretched the meaning of the term a bit. But I might have misunderstood it. Any way, the term appears in 桃花源記 (which was where I learnt it from when I was young). You might wish to take a look. Quote
ma3zi1 Posted January 24, 2011 at 04:44 PM Report Posted January 24, 2011 at 04:44 PM Haha, I do agree that the meaning is stretched. As far as I was aware, there are two meanings for 「豁然開朗」: 1）形容開闊明亮。 2）形容領悟了解。 (from my favorite dictionary 中華民國教育部的國語辭典) I think the usage in the article comes closer to Def#2 than Def#1. And, since the listed synonyms for Def#2 were 茅塞頓開 and 恍然大悟, I figured they were close enough. Thanks for the link about 桃花源記! I knew 桃花源 meant something like "utopia", but I never realized why until now Btw, nice new avatar! Quote
ma3zi1 Posted January 24, 2011 at 06:53 PM Report Posted January 24, 2011 at 06:53 PM I think you'll like this one if you are a pet lover like me: 非洲殺手河馬 男子當寵物養 根据“每日邮报”报导，南非一名农场主人马吕斯.艾尔斯（Marius Els），饲养一头6岁大的河马汉弗莱（Humphrey）当“宠物”。河马被认为是非洲陆上最危险的“杀手”之一，农场主人和“杀手”宠物相处融洽，令人称奇。艾尔斯在400亩的农场饲养了20种多种野生动物，包括长颈鹿、水牛、犀牛和羚羊，但对买来时年仅5个月的河马汉弗莱情有独锺。艾尔斯放任汉弗莱在农场里自由漫步、活动，在牠逐渐年长后，还特地打造了一个200公尺宽的深湖，让汉弗莱可自由在其中打滚、活动。 汉弗莱现已6岁大，体型非常巨大。艾尔斯说：“汉弗莱有足够的能力可轻易将我撕裂，但牠就像是我的儿子，像个人类。汉弗莱和我的关系，就是有些人无法理解。”，他们觉得可以将猫、狗或家畜当成宠物，为什么却挑选一只最危险的动物当宠物。 艾尔斯会骑在汉弗莱的背上过河，每次“骑马”前，会先用一大箱牠最喜爱的水果讨好牠。汉弗莱若在“骑马”时觉得疲惫，在像马一般将艾尔斯抛离背部。“游泳高手”汉弗莱还会载艾尔斯渡河。 艾尔斯表示，他的朋友从不接近汉弗莱，他的太太露易丝（Louise）虽然也爱汉弗莱，但始终觉得牠仍具有危险性，常提醒他不要太接近。 汉弗莱之前有个山羊朋友，但山羊被狐狼杀了之后，汉弗莱就没任何朋友了。艾尔斯觉得河马儿子很孤独，3年来一直想为汉弗莱找个女伴，希望为牠找只驯服过的母河马，免得牠们彼此互相伤害。目前这个愿望尚未能实现。 問題： 1）What is considered one of Africa's most dangerous killer animals? 2）What 成語 are similar in meaning to 『情有獨鍾』? 3）Why is Humphrey all alone now? 4）What does Humphrey's owner want to do to help him out? 2 Quote
Gleaves Posted January 24, 2011 at 08:28 PM Report Posted January 24, 2011 at 08:28 PM Cute article. Thanks, 馬孜. 1）What is considered one of Africa's most dangerous killer animals? Hungry hungry hippo. 2）What 成語 are similar in meaning to 『情有獨鍾』? Stumped me here. 3）Why is Humphrey all alone now? 灰太狼 finally got 喜羊羊. 4）What does Humphrey's owner want to do to help him out? Hook him up with a lady friend. 1 Quote
ma3zi1 Posted January 24, 2011 at 09:20 PM Report Posted January 24, 2011 at 09:20 PM @Gleaves, thanks for your answers, very entertaining! For #2, I had this in mind: 情之所鐘 And, now I know who 灰太狼 and 喜羊羊 are! B) Quote
renzhe Posted January 25, 2011 at 08:30 PM Author Report Posted January 25, 2011 at 08:30 PM The VeryCD mystery solved: http://www.infzm.com/content/54949 1月22日深夜，中国知名网络资源分享下载网站VeryCD对内容进行了大规模调整，关闭了音乐频道，电影和电视剧频道页也不再提供下载链接——这意味着这家网站停止了自己最受网友青睐的两项业务。而随着优酷网、土豆网等一批大型视频分享网站向正版化转型，免费下载观影的时代或将宣告终结。... This has to be the most difficult newspaper article I've ever read. I had to literally reread some paragraphs 6-7 times. Several rows of stacked IT, political, and legal jargon without commas FTW. Does anyone else find this to be a mouthful? 2 Quote
ma3zi1 Posted January 25, 2011 at 09:21 PM Report Posted January 25, 2011 at 09:21 PM Well, I guess that's the end of VeryCD. I suppose, the more prescient among us may have seen it coming... I agree, it is a bit of mouthful. I'll be honest with you and say that I just skimmed it because it looked like they went into a lot more detail than I cared to absorb. Plus, I think it's written for a very technical audience. Good pick! B) Quote
renzhe Posted January 25, 2011 at 09:37 PM Author Report Posted January 25, 2011 at 09:37 PM I've just noticed that I've been slacking off (had a guest over the weekend, and lots to do since then). To fix this, here's another one, about the the US-China summit and the reactions in Taiwan. 美国对台湾简报奥巴马胡锦涛峰会: http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2011/01/110125_taiwan_obama_hu_report.shtml 美国在台协会主席薄瑞光对台湾政府与在野的民进党，简报了美中两国领袖上周在华府的峰会，台湾总统马英九则向他当面提出购买战斗机以及潜水艇的要求。在中国国家主席胡锦涛上周到华盛顿的国事访问后，美国在台协会主席薄瑞光到台湾进行的简报，属于美台间的惯例，其意在化解台湾方面对美中两国对有关台湾议题讨论的忧虑。 .... Some more political and military jargon here. 美国在台协会 = American Institute in Taiwan: http://www.ait.org.tw/en/about-us.html 领袖 leader 在野 out-of-power, (political) opposition 民进党 DPP, Taiwanese party 简报 presentation 华府 US government in Washington 峰会 summit meeting 总统 president 马英九 Ma Ying-jeou, the current Taiwanese president 战斗机 fighter plane 潜水艇 submarine ^^^ that was just the first sentence 胡锦涛 = Hu Jintao, China's leader 华盛顿 Washington DC 惯例 convention 其意 = his purpose, his goal 化解 dissolve 议题 topic (of discussion) 规格 standard 崛起 sudden rise (of a power) 军售 arms sales 奥胡 Obama and Hu Jintao 汰旧换新 replace old with new 指名 point out specifically 发动 mobilise 松口 to give in, soften one's stance 广泛 extensive 一百余 over 100 架 counting word for 飞机 自由贸易协议 free trade agreement 蔡英文 Tsai Ing-wen, DPP chairperson 忧虑 to worry 转述 to pass on a story, to relate 欣慰 to be gratified Quote
Gleaves Posted January 25, 2011 at 10:19 PM Report Posted January 25, 2011 at 10:19 PM Aw, man. That verycd news hurts. I suppose the guy is right when he says "盗版就是盗版。取缔盗版，一点错都没有," but it was a great source of learning material. I hope verycd continues to be a resource for other random Chinese stuff like games, comics, audiobooks, etc. VeryCD网站一直以来其实有两大功能，其一是资源的发布和下载，其二是影音信息的传播和交流。第二部分功能是我们将会保留下去的 That seems like wishful thinking a bit. Without the actual content, douban seems like a better alternative. Quote
imron Posted January 26, 2011 at 12:02 AM Report Posted January 26, 2011 at 12:02 AM Haha, just as interesting was this comment: “VeryCD创造的独一无二的市场需求，仍然要有人来填补。” To be fair though, a lot of the stuff on VeryCD can be found on legitimate sites anyway - albeit for streaming rather than download, but that can be solved via other means. Quote
roddy Posted January 26, 2011 at 12:38 AM Report Posted January 26, 2011 at 12:38 AM Fond memories. RIP VeryCD It will still be possible to fire up Emule and use the programs own search to find the same stuff - but it'll be mixed in with a load of P2P junk. Quote
Glenn Posted January 26, 2011 at 01:41 AM Report Posted January 26, 2011 at 01:41 AM I hope 土豆網 doesn't follow suit. Quote
skylee Posted January 26, 2011 at 01:52 AM Report Posted January 26, 2011 at 01:52 AM This report is about the arrangements of Stanley Ho’s money (and he is quite alive) –> 二三房盡分產 夜出訪講數 賭王斥搶劫 賭王何鴻燊盡分身家爆出「羅生門」！澳門博彩控股(880)前日宣布，何鴻燊將其賭業核心資產澳門旅遊娛樂近32%股權，分配給「二房」子女與三太後，昨日即有報道指相關的股權變動不是賭王意願，更引述何鴻燊的律師說，賭王認為這是「搶劫」。何鴻燊女兒何超鳳昨「大反擊」，公開賭王簽名信，力證股權變動安排獲賭王首肯；事件或演變成另一場豪門爭產案。即將90歲的何鴻燊，昨晚與何超鳳會面，惟兩人同坐白色7人車離開「二房」渣甸山寓所，沒有回應股權分配事宜。何鴻燊戴上頸巾和帽，精神不俗，何超鳳坐在他後面。兩人之後到附近三太的寓所。 A bit of the background – Stanley Ho is a Tycoon well known for his casino business (thus the name 賭王) in Macau and his family of four “wives”. Q1. What is羅生門? (I have chosen this report because it has this word.) Q2. What is 控股? Q3. What do二房 and 三太 mean? Quote
skylee Posted January 26, 2011 at 02:19 AM Report Posted January 26, 2011 at 02:19 AM Re the VeryCD news. I have not used it at all as I don't like BT and downloading etc. But I have watched plenty of TV series and movies online on tudou and youku, etc. A couple of months ago when I tried to watch Trueblood online, tudou and youku gave me the error message that the videos were only available in China. I managed to watch the three seasons on 56.com but even this site has stopped providing such videos recently. I wonder if they are still viewable in Mainland China as said in the error messages (well if so I would have to protest about this as HK is part of China, really). Quote
Glenn Posted January 26, 2011 at 03:56 AM Report Posted January 26, 2011 at 03:56 AM I didn't even know 56.com was still around. I thought that site died years ago. Quote
skylee Posted January 26, 2011 at 04:35 AM Report Posted January 26, 2011 at 04:35 AM This one is about the location of HSBC’s CEO office -> 匯控否認CEO回流倫敦 過去多次重申發展重心「西向東移」的匯豐控股（0005），東征決心明顯體現於行政總裁辦公室自2009 年長駐香港之舉，即使去年9月經歷了高層人事震盪，領導班子新舊交替，匯控仍不改以香港作為行政總裁辦公室據點的決定。然而，英國傳媒昨日報道，上任不足1個月的匯控新任行政總裁歐智華，放棄長駐香港，選擇繼續留守倫敦。匯控昨晚表示，有關集團行政總裁辦公室安排有變的報道失實。《金融時報》等英國媒體去年多次披露匯控主席位置之爭的詳情，讓匯控陷於罕有的尷尬局面。《金融時報》昨日再引述消息指出，歐智華每月將有兩周在英國辦公，一周在香港辦公，另外一周則將前往其他地區處理業務，消息人士透露，歐智華認為英國的時區對於管理全球業務而言是最有效率的。 行政總裁辦公室的選址，也同時決定賦稅地點。報道指出，歐智華作為英國高收入的銀行家之一，若繼續在英國繳交入息稅，對同業或起到積極的示範作用。 事實上，英國政府於金融海嘯後積極推行連串金融改革，而當地銀行業或面臨零售及投資業務分家的命運。歐智華過去曾不諱言，若英國政府一意孤行，不排除匯控遷冊，放棄以倫敦作為總部。故有關歐智華行政總裁辦公室安排有變的消息，令市場感到意外。 Q1. What does （0005） mean? Q2. 行政總裁 is the term commonly used in HK for CEO. List other Chinese titles commonly used that mean CEO. Q3. What does 不諱言 mean? What is 遷冊? Q4. Comment on “英國的時區對於管理全球業務而言是最有效率的”. Q5. How true is this statement – “行政總裁辦公室的選址，也同時決定賦稅地點”. Quote
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