aiya, aiya......and aiya

[xuechengfeng]

I'm in over my head, I signed up for wrong class and I can barely translate this........ I'll highlight what I'm really lost on, and I'll post what I think the passage says, feel free to correct my idiocy.

在北京

1987 年7月27日﹐這一天的最高氣溫是三十五攝氏度。從中午12點到13點﹐<<北京日報>>的一名記者和幾名工作人員分別站在市內最大的一家百貨商店的四個大門口﹐統計貴客流量。門外氣溫非常高而門內的熱氣也厲害得使人受不了。統計結果﹐在這一個小時內有8240人帶著熱浪進來﹐9680帶著汗氣出去。

7月30日﹐北京電視臺報導﹐北京火車站顧客流量非常高﹐日流量達33萬人﹐可火車戰設計的客流量不過是日五六萬人。所有的檢票廳都改成了臨時候車室﹐但車站大廳的廣場上仍然是人山人海。

在廣州

1988年春季交易會期間﹐一批日商住在廣州賓館。一天黃昏的時候一位日商站在窗戶前看街﹐象有新發現似的﹐指著窗外驚呼著說﹕“Hayaku, mite kudasai﹗”(日語﹕快來看﹗)立刻﹐四五名日商往窗前走去﹐眼睛都向海珠橋方面看過去。這時南來北往的自行車﹐如蝗蟲船來來去去﹐在海珠橋的兩邊合起來﹐變成一條密密的人流﹐車流﹐象水源走不完的百萬大軍。

這些日商評價說﹕“簡直是一大奇觀﹗”

專家認為﹐中國人口﹐照這種速度增長下去﹐1995年年底﹐就會達到12億多了。

In Beijing

July 7, 1987, the highest temperature of this day was 30 degrees Celsius. From 12 noon to 1, Beijing’s Daily Newspaper’s famous reporter and several staff each stood inside the city at the largest department store’s four doors, adding up the customers rate of flow. Outside the temperature was extremely high and inside the steam was so devastating it caused the people to be unable to bear it. The result of adding up, within this hour 8,240 people carried in a heat wave, and 9,680 carried out a sweaty atmosphere.

July 30th, Beijing’s television station reports Beijing’s train station’s customers rate of flow is very high, the daily rate of flow reached 330,000 people, however the train station was designed for 50 to 60,000 customers daily. All of the room where the tickets are checked turned into a temporary waiting room, but the on the public square of the station’s hall was still ?????????

In Guangzhou

During the Spring business meeting of 1988, a group of Japanese merchants stayed in a Guangzhou guesthouse. One day when it was dusk, a Japanese merchant stood in front of the window and looked to the street, he seemed to discover something new, pointing out the window crying out in amazement: “Hayaku, mite kudasai!” (Japanese: quickly come look!) Immediately, four or five merchants came towards the window, all of their eyes looked towards the largest bridge in Canton. This time, ?????????? bicycles, like locusts coming and going, on the two sides of the Guangzhou bridge ?????????????????????????????????

These Japanese merchants commented: “Simply an amazing sight!”

Specialists consider China’s population to continue to grow at this type of speed, ???????????, then it was able to reach 1.2 billion.

[Quest]

人山人海-- people mountain people sea = a lot of people/crowdy

南來北往 -- coming from the south, heading to the north = passing by non-stop, back and forth

兩邊合起來 -- combining the two sides = combining the traffic on both sides of HaiZhu Bridge.

密密的人流﹐車流﹐象水源走不完的百萬大軍。-- the dense flow of people and vehicles -- like a million strong army like the everlasting source of a river. (did you miss a word or two in this sentence? the last part does not sound right)

專家認為 = specialists predict/estimate/think that

照這種速度增長下去 -- if it keeps increasing at this speed.....it will reach 1.2 billion.

[roddy]

I'm in over my head, I signed up for wrong class and I can barely translate this

Brilliant. I’m looking forward to your future post ‘Help, I accidentally signed up for Chinese for Advanced Nuclear Physicists’

Seriously though, if that’s all you had problems with out of an article from a class you shouldn’t even be in, I wouldn’t worry too much.

[xuechengfeng]

thanks Quest, yes, I did miss some words, and this is why I shouldn't be in the class, I'm an IDIOT! I mistook 水 for 永, the sentence still doesn't make sense to me, but hell, it made even less sense before as you can imagine. And I used the wrong character for 遠

象永遠走不完的百萬大

Brilliant. I’m looking forward to your future post ‘Help, I accidentally signed up for Chinese for Advanced Nuclear Physicists’

[Quest]

象永遠走不完的百萬大军

it's just a simile comparing the waves of people and cars to a marching army.

[xuechengfeng]

any guesstimates on what reading level this would be in regards to Chinese schools?

[sunyata]

i recognize this text...it's from a textbook i used in a college chinese course... I think it's called Advanced Chinese Reader...

[xuechengfeng]

ok last summary of the freakin year....... i can get out of your hair till next year now

on this topic...

一天在北京﹐那天的天氣很熱。<<北京日報>>的工作人員到一家百貨商店去統計顧客流量。因為外頭的氣溫很高而商店內的熱氣很多﹐使人受不了。一個鐘頭內﹐八千二百四十人帶著熱浪到商店裡﹐九千六百八十人還帶著汗氣出去。

三天以後﹐北京電視臺報導﹐北京火車站很擁擠。火車站只設計日流量是五六萬人﹐但是那天達三十三萬人﹐所以檢票廳改成了臨時候車室。

一九八八在廣州有好些日商。一位日商在賓館的窗戶看街。他叫別的日商快來看﹐他看一大奇觀。他們在海珠橋看很多人騎自行車﹐如蝗蟲來來去去。

各報導都示範了中國人口流量很快。如果這種速度增長下去﹐專家就認為人口會達到十二億多了。