Tag Archives: language
Some loopholes in Cambridge BEC test
I had the chance to be an oral examiner for Cambridge Business English Test. I participated all the three levels: preliminary, vantage and higher. I noticed there are some loopholes in the test, and frankly I think ESOL could do better to make more money. Read more »
The Shanzhai Phenomenon in China
Shanzhai (山寨) can be literally translated as “camp on a mountain”. It also carries overtones as an outlaws’ camp on the mountain. Anyone who have read one of the Four Classic novels — the Outlaws of the Marsh — will get an idea what an outlaw’s camp is like.
Is Chinese difficult to learn?
Some Oxford-educated English man claims in his blog that China should use an alphabetical writing system, and China’s failing to do so in history partly resulted in the high level of illiteracy. He goes like this： [China failed to invent stuff] Like an alphabet. Really, how hard is that? The Koreans managed to transform their [...]
Starforce Must Die
If something is evil to be tough, then this thing is doomed to be destroyed. Why? Because this is what happened to the rogue CD protection software — Starforce.
A short translation for Xiamen Zheng Chenggong Memorial
My translation of a short placard notice for Xiamen Zheng Chenggong Memorial. It is funny to compare the Chinese and English version. The notice itself is a dry humor about civility.
The Most Unnecessary Government News Release
My Translation of a press release on Xinhua website:
NYT: Reading and Comments about the Olympic Torch Relay in Paris
I read and commented on an article by the New York Times, for the language learning purposes.
A List of Unique Chinese Words
There are many words in Chinese that defy translation. Due to their culture-specific nature, these words lack the exact equivalents in English. It is definitely worth the while to understand these words, because they convey so much about Chinese culture. Each of the listed words is defined in English, followed by its literal meaning and [...]