April 2

So-So

馬馬虎虎So-So

很久以前，有一位畫家，Once upon a time, there was a painter,

他不但喜歡畫馬而且喜歡畫老虎。He not only likes to draw horses but also likes to draw tigers.

有一天，他的朋友請求他畫一幅馬。One day, his friend asked him to draw a horse.

朋友走了以後，After his friend left,

他就在剛剛畫好的老虎下面，畫了一個馬的身體。The painter is added a horse body under a tiger’s head that he had just finished.

他想這樣送給朋友就行了。He thought this would be good enough for his friend.

他的大兒子看見了，問道：His elder son saw it and asked:

爸爸！ 您在畫什麼？Daddy! what are you drawing?

畫家回答：哈哈！我在畫馬呀！The painter replied: Haha! I’m drawing(painting) a horse!

大兒子心想:哦,原來有一種馬,牠的頭長得很像老虎。The eldest son thought: Oh, I see. So, there is a kind of horse whose head looks like a tiger.

畫家把畫好的畫掛在牆上。The painter hangs the finished picture on the wall.

小兒子看見了，問道：The younger son saw it and asked:

爸爸！ 這是什麼動物？ 是老虎嗎？Daddy! What kind of animal is this? Is it a tiger?

畫家說：嗯—也沒錯！The painter said: Well — that’s also right!

小兒子想：原來有一種老虎，身體是這個樣子。The youngest son thought: So, there is a kind of tiger whose body looks like this.

有一天，大兒子遠遠看見一隻老虎，One day, the eldest son saw a tiger in the distance,

他還以為是馬。He thought it was a horse.

他忽然聽見老虎吼的聲音，才連忙逃走。Suddenly he heard the roar of a tiger,

Then he ran away hurriedly.

又有一天，小兒子看見前面有幾匹高大的馬，One another day, the youngest son saw several large horses in front of him.

他认为一定是老虎，所以就把牠们射伤了。He thought for sure they were tigers,

So he pulled his bow and shot them with arrows.

馬的主人找畫家賠錢。The owner of the horse came to the painter to demand compensation.

他們看見牆上的這張畫就問道：When they saw the picture on the wall, they asked:

這是什麼？ 不是馬也不是虎，好奇怪！What’s this? It’s neither a horse nor a tiger. How strange!

畫家回答說：哎，大兒子以為是馬，The painter sighed replied: “Ai, the eldest son thought it was a horse.

小兒子以為是老虎，才發生這些事。The youngest son thought it was a tiger, that’s why all this misfortune happened.

大家聽了，忍不住哈哈大笑，Everyone listened and couldn’t help burst out laughing,

後來，馬虎和馬馬虎虎變成了成語，Ever since, house-tiger and horse -horse-tiger-tiger became idioms,

表示不認真、不細心的意思。Which means doing something casually and carelessly.

馬馬虎虎還有so-so的意思。It also means so-so.

 

Category: MeiZhou Chinese
April 1

My Last Name is Not Wang

我不姓王My Last Name is Not Wang

張先生是一個很不細心、很馬虎的人，

Mr. Zhang was a very careless and sloppy person.

他常常寫錯字，也常常認錯人，

He often wrote wrong characters and often recognizes the wrong people,

所以大家都叫他馬虎先生。

So(therefore) everyone called him Mr. Sloppy.

有一天，張先生在路上看見一個朋友，

One day, Mr. Zhang saw someone on the street,

他說：゙嗨王老師，你好嗎？

He said: ﾞHi Teacher Wang, how are you?

那個人還沒回答，The man hasn’t answered yet,  (before the other person had a chance to answer)

張先生又說： 啊！ 王老師，你變了！
Mr. Zhang said again(continued said): Ah! Teacher Wang, you have changed!

你沒有以前胖，而且也沒有以前高了，
You are not as heavy as before, and you are not as tall as before,

你比以前黑多了，你的身體還好吧？

You look much darker than before, how is your health?

那個人說：對不起，我不姓王！

The man said: I am sorry! My last name is not Wang!

張先生聽了，Mr. Zhang heard,

忽然大聲說：Suddenly said loudly:

你真的變了，你看你連姓什麼都變了！

You really have changed! Look, even your last name has changed!

那個人聽了，忍不住大笑起來。

When the person heard this, he couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

 

Category: MeiZhou Chinese
March 12

A Special Birthday Card

特別的生日卡片 A Special Birthday Card
大文：張莉的生日快到了，我想送一張特別的卡片給她。
Devin: Lily’s birthday is almost here. I want to give a special card to her.
爸爸：你要自己畫一張卡片嗎？
Dad: Do you want to draw a card?
大文：我同學說可以用電腦做卡片。你可以教我怎麼做嗎？
Devin: My classmate says I can use the computer to make a card. Can you teach me how to do that?
爸爸：你可以在網路上選一張卡片。你要什麼圖案？
Dad: You can choose a card on the Internet. What kind of design do you want?
大文：我想要有蛋糕、蠟燭、氣球的圖案。
Devin: I want a design with a cake, candles, and balloons.
爸爸：選好了。你要在卡片上寫幾句祝福的話嗎？
Dad: I’ve finished choosing one. Do you want to write some well-wishes on the card?
大文：我要寫「祝你生日快樂、天天開心」。
Devin: I want to write “I wish you a Happy Birthday and happiness every day.”
爸爸：好，我幫你打字，張莉收到這張卡片應該很高興。
Dad: OK, I’ll help you type it. Lily should be very happy to receive this card.
https://youtu.be/yUvapCc6pAs

Category: Let's learn Chinese
March 11

Going to the Amusement Park

去遊樂園玩Going to the Amusement Park
心美：上星期我去遊樂園玩，你們去過嗎？
May: Last week I went to the amusement park. Have you all gone before?
友朋：我去過很多次，今年又去了一次。
Joe: I’ve gone many times, and this year I went again.
心美：你們覺得什麼最好玩？
May: What do you all think is the most fun?
友朋：我喜歡旋轉木馬，一會兒上，一會兒下，很好玩。
Joe: I like the carousel. Going up a little while then down a little while is really fun.
東明：我最喜歡碰碰車，撞來撞去 很有趣。
Tony: I like the bumper cars. Bumping over and over again is fun
心美：我覺得摩天輪最好玩，可是到了最高的地方，有點可怕。
May: I think the Ferris Wheel is the most fun, but when I arrive at the top it’s a little scary.
東明：你們敢不敢坐雲霄飛車？我敢坐，可是有一點緊張。
Tony: Are you afraid to go on the roller coaster? That is even scarier!
心美：我不敢，它太快了，聽到別人大叫，我就更緊張。
May: I don’t dare. It’s too fast. When I hear someone else screaming, I get nervous.

https://youtu.be/ZuhSHuhNpag

Category: Let's learn Chinese
March 10

Culture Week

文化週 Culture Week

老師：下個禮拜是文化週，你們要介紹什麼？

Teacher: Next week is Culture Week. What do you all want to introduce?

張莉：我可以帶毛筆來，教大家寫書法。

Lily: I can bring a brush pen and teach everyone how to write calligraphy.

東明：我想介紹臺灣小吃，請媽媽幫我做炒米粉。

Tony: I want to introduce Taiwanese snacks. I’ll ask my mom to help me make fried vermicelli.

大文：我很會扯鈴，我要表演扯鈴。

Devin: I can really play the diabolo. I’ll do a diabolo performance for everyone.

心美：我要教大家怎麼用筷子夾豆子。

May: I want to teach everyone how to use chopsticks to pick up beans.

大文：除了扯鈴，我還可以踢毽子，我踢毽子也很厲害。

Devin: Besides the Chinese yo-yo, I can kick a shuttlecock too. I’m awesome at kicking the shuttlecock.

老師：非常好！大家回去好好準備吧！

Teacher: Excellent! Everyone goes home and do a good job preparing.

友朋：我什麼都不會，怎麼辦？

Joe: I can’t do anything. What should I do?

心美：沒關係，你跟我一起夾豆子就好了。

May: No problem, you can just pick up beans with chopsticks with me.
https://youtu.be/fLqdhbW4qSk

Category: Let's learn Chinese
March 9

My Neighbor (三)

我的鄰居 My Neighbor

張莉：聽說你搬家了。新家離學校遠不遠？

Lily: I heard you moved? Is your new home far from school?

心美：離學校有一點遠，我搬到公園路100號。

May: It’s a little far from school. I moved to No.100, Gong yuan Rd.

東明：你家附近有公園嗎？

Tony: There’s a park near your home?

心美：有一個大公園，就在我家前面。我家旁邊都是房子。

May: There’s big park, just in front of my home. Next to my home is housing.

張莉：你認識你的鄰居嗎？

Lily: Do you know your neighbors?

心美：我認識右邊的鄰居，他家有兩個小朋友，還有一隻鳥。

May: I know the neighbor on our right side. They have two children and a bird.

東明：那麼，你認識左邊的鄰居嗎？

Tony: Well then, do you know the neighbor on your left side?

心美：我家左邊是一棟很舊的房子，現在沒有人住。 Continue reading

Category: Let's learn Chinese