天天中文 Bejing's Courtyard / 中文天天读 "What a Beautiful Jasmine Flower" (3B) Group Read

[lechuan]

This thread is to kick off the group read for 天天中文 Bejing's Courtyard  / 中文天天读 "好一朵茉莉花" (3B), as discussed in this thread.

 

For reference, 天天中文 Bejing's Courtyard is the McMillan version and 中文天天读 "好一朵茉莉花" (3B) is the FLTRP version of the same book. They're not exactly the same, Chinese title's vary, and FLTRP has more stories than the McMillan, so we'll only schedule stories common to both.

 

Please let me know your ideas for activities we can do with these, and I'll add them here.

 

Suggested Activities:

 

1. Write sentences for any new vocab

2. Identify new grammar patterns, explain them, write a few examples using them

3. Practice mimicking the CD until you can read it like on the CD, then post a recording to soundcloud (or similar; Suggest soundcloud because it allows users to leave comments linked to exact times in the track)

 

Schedule:

Page numbers give for both Macmillan (first), and FLTRP (second). If titles are different, they are listed separately.

 

Jun 23 - 29 北京的四合院 (p4, 14)

Jun 30 - July 6 好一朵茉莉花 (p8, 18)

Jul 7 - 13 中国茶礼仪 (p12), 倒茶的礼貌 (p22)

Jul 14 - 20 铁杵磨成针 (p16, 26)

Jul 21 - 27 聪明的王子 (p20), 王子赛马 (p34)

Jul 28 - Aug 3香港的大排档 (p24, 38)

Aug 4 - Aug 10 一美元的汽车 (p28, 42)

Aug 11 - 17  男人下厨好处多 (p32), 一美元的汽车 (p54)

Aug 18 - 24  年画 (p36, 58)

Aug 25 - 31 给妈妈的一封信 (p40, 62)

Sept 1 - 7 三里屯 (p44), 说说三里屯 (p66)

Sept 8 - 14 为什么中国十二生肖没有猫? (p48), 十二生肖为什么没有猫? (p70)

Sept 15 - 21 愚人节 (p52) 难忘的愚人节 (p74)

Sept 22 - 28 幸运的清洁工 (p56), 电脑公司的清洁工 (p78)

Sept 29 - Oct 5 这山望着那山高 (p60, 82)

Oct 6 - 12 一目了然 (p64), 送东西 (p86)

Oct 13 - 19 第一笔工资 (p68, 94)

Oct 20 - 26 全民爱乒乓 (p72), 中国人最喜欢的运动 (p98)

Oct 27 - Nov 2 “三大件”的变化 (p76, 102)

Nov 3 - Nov 9 下围棋的故事 (p80, 106)

 

 

Goal is to to post during the assigned week.

 

Happy Reading!

[lechuan]

Hmm.... No activity this week (including from me, I meant to post, but got busy with a number of things). I'll extend the period for the first story by a week.

[tysond]

Was a bit busy last week, but made some time today.  Here's some discussion.

 

It took me 12 minutes to read the article, read the language points, do the exercises and check the answers (100% correct!).

Most of the defined new words are HSK 5/6.  Almost all the others I knew already except 居住 (to reside/resident in).

 

However I had to go back for quite some time to truly understand a few sentences, due to some of the grammar pieces which were a bit hairy.

Use of 由 as a passive construction was a new one and it was hard to figure out the complete meaning of "四合院之所以有名，还因为它虽然是居住建筑，但是却有着很深的中国传统文化".

[Elizabeth_rb]

OK, let's get this really going!   Where should we be by now?  Are we still on story 6 for this week?  Or should we re-set the schedule??

[SiMaKe]

Elizabeth_rb,

 

Thanks for stepping up to reinvigorate this. No idea where anyone else is, but I suggest we reset the schedule otherwise we would just be passing over any "goodies" in the last 5 chapters.  

[Elizabeth_rb]

Yes, I think so.  话说回来，having said that, as Lechuan kindly stepped into the breach to set things going a few weeks ago, I don't want to take over arbitrarily!

[Argenia]

Happy to join in at whatever point is appropriate.  Thank you.

[lechuan]

Shall I reboot the schedule to start next week?

[SiMaKe]

Sounds like there may be is a consensus at this point to do so.

[ChTTay]

Reboot.

Any slackers will be left behind this time!

...including myself

[lechuan]

Schedule Rebooted!

Melanie, Welcome Back! Please feel free to arbitrarily take over! 

[Argenia]

I really like Lechuan's suggestions for structuring this.  I'm very bad at speaking and listening, so I'll certainly try to use the CD to help with those aspects.  In addition, I'm going to set myself some small, specific targets every week (I'm recording it here so that I will have to stick to it!).  These will take the form of active practice of specific items of vocab and grammar.  I will try to write a short piece using those structures and items of vocab - and, if possible, have some feedback from people in this thread.  I've already found the discussion on 是 and 有 really informative and useful. I will structure my week's work like this: first few days, familiarisation. Last few days, active practice.  The following week I will add new specific targets while continuing to practise the first week's content.  I think we can help each other a lot by being critical friends.  Even good work can be improved upon or extended, though I have to say that I might not be able to contribute too much in that respect because my Chinese is relatively weak and patchy.  Anyway, very much looking forward to working with this group!  Thanks for giving me this opportunity.

[Argenia]

I have tried to write a small piece using Beijing's Courtyards as a model. Corrections and suggestions for aspects to work on (yes, I know, all of it!) will be gratefully received. Thank you.

 

香港虽然不大但是有大人口。有钱的人买住宅，但是大多数的人租用公寓。典型的公寓又小又贵，尤其在市中心里。中心外的公寓设备完善。典型的建筑是两，三个游泳池，几间商店，地铁站，公共汽池站 ，几间饭店都八幢大楼中间。香港还有贫穷的人住在笼子。有十，十二 的笼子在一套公寓里。笼子虽然小但是很贵。许多老人住在笼子因为没有家人还没有很多钱。这是香港的大问题，所以政府要在海边建筑很多新的公寓。
 

[Elizabeth_rb]

Thanks Lechuan!  I'll try and re-read and post something over the weekend.

[SiMaKe]

Argenia,

 

FWIW, some comments from a non-expert:

1. nice job

2. 第五句字：

• why did you choose 是 rather than 有？see post #27
• did you mean 公共汽车站？
• since you have a list, 顿号 ( 、) would be more appropriate than 逗号 (,). 
• 都八幢大楼中间 - all of these between 8 large buildings?

3. 下个句子：

• 笼子 - as in 小龙汤包？are these apartments known as "cages" or "baskets"? 

4. 第九句字：

• 没有家人还没有。。。there are no families that still do not have...?

[Argenia]

Thank you, SiMaKe, that's really helpful.

 

Answers to your questions:

 

I chose 是 because I thought I needed that to make it more concrete.  Will revise the post and have a further think about that one!  Thank you.

 

Yes, that's what I meant.  Oops!

 

Yes, I'm aware of that, but I don't know how to write it on this computer.  The computer was bought in Hong Kong, so I'm sure there must be a way of writing it.

 

Yes, all these between eight large buildings.  Residential tower blocks surrounding facilities.

 

They're known as cages.

 

I was trying to say: Many older people live in cages because they don't have any family and they don't have much money.  I really struggled with this sentence.  Maybe: 没有家人的老人。。。 what do you think?

 

Thank you so much for your help with this, I really appreciate it!

[SiMaKe]

Argenia，

 

On my qwerty keyboard, the key with "|" on top and "\" on the bottom will produce "、" in input mode. YMMV.

 

For A surrounding B you could try something like B四面被A包围着。(or use 围城 like in the text)

 

For "cages", this might be a good opportunity to use the 所说的 from the book.

 

Maybe try a 不但。。。而且。。。construction and expand on your new suggestion (。。。的) with something like 因为许多住在笼子的老人不但没有家人而且没有钱，所以。。。(although a native would likely say it much more concisely)

 

Again, nice job. And realize it is much easier to nitpick than to create. So thanks for the opportunity to nitpick. :-)

[SiMaKe]

This may be jumping the gun a little on the next chapter, but here is Peng Liyuan (the "first lady" of China) performing one variation on this tradtional standard.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ_yOV1XMa8

[Argenia]

Thank you for this, SiMaKe, I've found the key you described and can now write lists: 苹果、李子、梅子、等等。 Thank you!  Great suggestions, too.  I'll work on all of this.  Will also try to incorporate some of these things into next week's topic.

 

Oh, and please, carry on nitpicking!  I have everything to learn, and I can't do that unless people show me how I can improve.

 

Thanks again!

[SiMaKe]

With the end of week 2 closing in, here are some comments concerning 好一朵茉莉花。

 

In the song, the repeated pattern A 也 B 不过它 means “no fragrance is sweeter” when A and B are 香，”whiter than snow” with 雪and 白 and “nothing can compare” with 比. So what is the meaning of 也 here?

 

Two formal uses of 也 are (1) at the end of a sentence indicating an explanation or judgment or (2) in the middle of a sentence marking a sentence element about which there is to be a statement. (2) seems most appropriate to me. Or is it just a poetic use of “also” or “neither/nor”?

Opinions?

 

Vocab in main text, aside from the glossed items, seems to be mosly HSK 1-3 with some HSK 4 and 5 words here and there.

 

Vocab in Cultural Highlights seems a little more HSK 4-6 like

浓厚 strong (as in fragrance)

制造 make, produce

原料 raw material

others:

灌木 shrub

翠绿 emerald green

洁白 spotless white

四溢 - “4 overflow”- this one stumps me a little. I believe the "4" here is used in the sense of all around or throughout, maybe the point is that the flower’s delicate fragrance is brimming over/overflowing so that it can be extracted. Other ideas?

 

Finally, I found it interesting that (1) the original song was pared down to only 1 flower from 3 and (2) that Puccini’s Turandot made the song well-known in the west.