日期：2009-04-03 汉语和英语两种语言之间最基本的区别在于句法方面。英语重形合（hypotaxis），句中各意群、成分都用适当的连接词（connective）、介词（preposition）、非限定性动词短语（phrase）或从句（clause）等来表达其相互关系，因而结构严谨但缺乏弹性；而汉语句法则重意合（p... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-04-03 Usually one hates to admit he or she is wrong on a prediction. But I, for one, am more than glad to say I did not get it right on the Zhang Yimou-directed extravaganza for last night's Beijing Olympics opening ceremony. He achieved something I thoug... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-04-02 Progress through persistence While working with International students at Australia's Charles Darwin University I remember the time two Chinese friends told me how it took them almost 10 years working to save up enough money to be able to study abro... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-04-02 Once upon a time, the Beijing Olympics was 5 years away, 2 years away, 1,000 days away, 489 days away. All of a sudden, of course, it's three days from now. I've been to the Opening Ceremony rehearsals and so I feel it's actually here. So therefore,... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-04-02 1. crack a smile 展颜微笑，莞尔一笑 Definition: to smile, especially when you do not feel like smiling. The man was willing to do anything to make his wife crack a smile. （为了让他的妻子展颜微笑，他愿意做任何事情。） 2. laugh a hearty laugh/laugh h... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-04-02 People all across the country are praying that it will not rain on August 8 - the day of China's biggest party. If it rains, it will be a huge wet blanket, as many special effects designed for the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics will have t... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-04-02 The headline of a piece of news online intrigued me. It reads: Bureau chief plays piano to placate public grievance. The story published yesterday reported a TV dialogue between Tao Cheng, head of the Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, and some... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-04-01 A reader recently sent me a question asking for some assistance regarding 'impromptu speeches'. For many standing up and speaking in front of a group is a little disconcerting. Add into this the 'impromptu' element, where the speaker is given very l... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-04-01 Liu Xiang is under enormous pressure. He is expected to deliver China's only gold-medal in the track and field event in the coming Beijing Olympics. He won at the Athens Games four years ago, and held the 110m hurdles record until Cuban athlete Dayr... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-03-31 Reader question: In this passage Western illusions that Russia might side with America against the regime in Zimbabwe betray a basic lack of understanding of what makes Russia tick, says Dmitri Trenin of the Carnegie Moscow Centre, a think-tank. The... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-03-31 1. Money doesn't grow on trees. 钱不是从天上掉下来的。 2. I know that my future is not just a dream. 我知道我的未来不是梦。 3. To convert defeat into victory. 反败为胜。 4. Youth means limitless possibilities. 年轻就是无限的可能。 5. Leave behind a... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-03-31 I never knew China has nudist beaches. Even now, I am still not sure. I have not seen one myself, but then I must confess I have not been to one of those hot places. If netizens are to be believed, a popular resort in Sanya, Hainan province, has evo... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-03-31 Today, I'm going to do a little test on you. I'm going to give examples first and let you guess out the meaning of a common English idiom. I got the inspiration the other day from answering a question (What does as much mean in a sentence like And h... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-03-31 你当然可以根据自己的意思，把一句西谚译成中文，或是把一句中谚译成英文。但是有些中谚和西谚，其言虽异，其意则一，你如果配得起来，不更是佳偶天成吗？以下所举，就是西谚配中谚的例子。 After a storm comes a calm. 雨过天晴。 A friend in need is a friend inde... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-03-31 The other week I received a question from a reader who was interested in becoming a qualified English Teacher. The problem for this college student was whether learning English on the internet and on TV was enough and if not what else should / could... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-03-30 Today marks the 30-day countdown to the opening of the 29th Olympic Games. The media have reported that state leaders of about 80 countries will come to Beijing to attend the opening ceremony of the Games. French President Nicolas Sarkozy was the la... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-03-28 Peking University professor Xu Dianqing has apologized to citizens of Shenzhen for his prediction that real estate prices would rise in the past year. A year ago on July 11, while attending a business forum in the southern Chinese city, he claimed t... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-03-28 在英语中，很多表达都与地点有关。这些表达琅琅上口，生动活泼，并且大多有着自己的故事。下面就为您介绍几个这样的表达，快来看看你和它们是否相识吧！ meet ones Waterloo 倒霉，受毁灭性打击，灭顶之灾，遭到惨败 滑铁卢是一代天骄拿破仑遭受惨败的地方。遭遇滑铁卢... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-03-27 It has been a tough week for purists in China. Last week saw the life suspension of champion male back stroke swimmer, Ouyang Kunpeng, shamed for performance enhancing drug use. Today we see another case where the public's trust has been abused with... 阅读全文>>

日期：2009-03-27 Casey, one of my loyal readers, wrote some time ago asking what from activity to activity means without offering an example from which he might have seen that phrase. In reply I asked him to find an example involving that phrase. I promise, I wrote... 阅读全文>>