Thinkweird Blog » language

Some loopholes in Cambridge BEC test

tw — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 08:29:39 +0000

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. » » »

The Shanzhai Phenomenon in China

tw — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 16:01:51 +0000

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?

tw — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 14:59:20 +0000

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： » » »

Starforce Must Die

tw — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:09:10 +0000

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

tw — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 08:27:04 +0000

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

tw — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 07:06:00 +0000

My Translation of a press release on Xinhua website: » » »

NYT: Reading and Comments about the Olympic Torch Relay in Paris

tw — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:38:42 +0000

I read and commented on an article by the New York Times, for the language learning purposes. » » »

A List of Unique Chinese Words

tw — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 08:45:10 +0000

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. » » »