Archive for the ‘Listening’ Category
Saturday, October 9th, 2010
[audio:eavesdropping.mp3]
One of the first things I noticed upon returning to the USA after my first year in China was: Wow! I can understand strangers' conversations!
Many of my English major students get discouraged when they sat in front of two foreigners on the bus and couldn't understand what they were saying ...
Posted in Listening | 17 Comments »
Thursday, October 7th, 2010
If you've ever ridden on a gōngjiāo chē 公交车 in China, you've heard some variation on these announcements. Even though the audio quality of my cheapo, shānzhài 山寨 MP3 recorder is horrendous, the idea here is:
One way to improve listening is to understand every word being said.
In this case, that ...
Posted in Listening | 10 Comments »
Saturday, December 19th, 2009
Alright, pretend when you read the upcoming pinyin you're really listening to a shopkeeper in Guangzhou.
I was shopping for Shèngdàn lǐwù 圣诞礼物 in a big shopping mall in Guangzhou. I found a little silk scarf I was considering and the shopkeeper came over to convince me it was exactly what ...
Posted in Listening | 13 Comments »
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
Every time I use the China Construction Bank ATM, the lady inside the speaker shouts instructions to me. If you're hearing the same thing, we might as well understand what she's saying.
Listen Now
[audio:atms.mp3]
Download the MP3
[download id="9"]
Transcript
1. qǐng qǔ xiànjīn 请取现金.
Please take (your) cash.
2. jiāoyì wánchéng hòu, qǐng qǔ huí kǎ ...
Posted in Listening | 3 Comments »
Sunday, September 27th, 2009
Here's a pinyin transcript of a recent conversation with a little boy at my favorite jiǎozi 饺子 restaurant. I'll give you the hanzi and English in a moment, but first try to figure out what was going on just from the pinyin (because when you're listening to someone speak Chinese, ...
Posted in Listening | 11 Comments »
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