Taiwan Touch Your Heart

Source: YouTube

糖果手杖的甜秘密 Sweet Secrets of the Candy Cane

Christmas is just right around the corner.  I was thinking to write an ariticle of "the True Meaning of the Candy Cane" then after googling around, I have found Aileen has an ariticle with awesome detailed information on Christmas Candy Cane. 

  糖    果    手    杖     的    甜    秘    密

Táng guǒ  shǒu zhàng  de  tián    mì    mì

Sweet Secrets of the Candy Cane

有許多其他的傳說和信念圍住卑下的糖果手杖。
 Yǒu xǔ duō qí tā de chuán shuō he xìn niàn wéi zhù bēi xià de táng guǒ shǒu zhàng.

當基督徒在比較壓制性的環境之下住的時候，給基督教一個秘密的象徵，他們之中有許多都是在描述糖果手杖。
Dāng jī dū tú zài bǐ jiào yā zhì xìng de huán jìng zhī xià zhù de shí hou, jǐ jī dū jiào yī gè mì mì de xiàng zhēng, tā men zhī zhōng yǒu xǔ duō dōu shì zài miáo shù táng guǒ shǒu zhàng.

據說，手杖相對於耶穌的 " J" 。 紅色和白色的斑紋代表了基督的血和純淨。
Jù shuō, shǒu zhàng xiāng duì yú yē sū de “J”. Hóng sè hé bái sè de bān wén dài biǎo le jī dū de xuè hé chún jìng.

三條紅色的斑紋象徵了神聖的三位一體。
Sān tiáo hóng sè de bān wén xiàng zhēng le shén shèng de sān wèi yī tǐ.

糖果的堅硬在堅硬的岩石上代表了教堂的基礎，而且薄荷滋味代表了牛膝草的使用，一支藥草在聖經舊約中被提及。
Táng guǒ de jiān yìng zài jiān yìng de yán shí shàng dài biǎo le jiào táng de jī chǔ, ér qiě bò hé zī wèi dài biǎo le niú xī cǎo de shǐ yòng, yī zhī yào cǎo zài shèng jīng jiù yuē zhōng bèi tí jí.

沒有歷史的證據來印證這些，但是他們的想法是可愛的。
Méi yǒu lì shǐ de zhèng jù lái yìn zhèng zhè xiē, dàn shì tā men de xiǎng fǎ shì kě ài de.

There are many other legends(傳說) and beliefs surrounding(周圍的事物) the humble(謙遜的) candy cane. Many of them depict(描述) the candy cane as a secret symbol(象徵 ,標誌) for Christianity used during the times when Christian were living under more oppressive(壓制的) circumstances(情況,環境). It was said that the cane was shaped like a "J" for Jesus. The red-and-white stripes represented(描繪) Christ's blood and purity. The three red stripes symbolized the Holy Trinity. The hardness of the candy represented the Church's foundation on solid rock and the peppermint flavor represented the use of hyssop(牛膝草), an herb referred to in the Old Testament(舊約聖經). There is no historical evidence to support these claims(權利.要求), quite the contrary(相反的), but they are lovely thoughts.

Source:  Aileen's Blogger

冬至 Winter Solstice

冬至（Winter Solstice），是中國農曆中一個非常重要的節氣，
冬至（Winter Solstice），是中国农历中一个非常重要的节气，
Dōng zhì (Winter Solstice), shì zhōng guó nóng lì zhōng yī gè fēi cháng zhòng yào de jié qì,
Winter Solstice (Winter Solstice), is a very important lunar solar terms,

也是中華民族的一個傳統節日，冬至俗稱“冬節”、“長至節”、“亞歲”等，
也是中华民族的一个传统节日，冬至俗称“冬节”、“长至节”、“亚岁”等，
yě shì zhōng huá mín zú de yī gè chuan tǒng jié rì, dōng zhì sú chēng “dōng jié”,“zhǎng zhì jié”,“yà suì” děng,
is a traditional Chinese festival, called Winter Solstice "Winter Festival ", "long to the festival ","Asia-year-old"and so on,

早在二千五百多年前的春秋時代，中國就已經用土圭觀測太陽，測定出了冬至，
早在二千五百多年前的春秋时代，中国就已经用土圭观测太阳，测定出了冬至，
zǎo zài èr qiān wǔ bǎi duō nián qián de chūn qiū shí dài, zhōng guó jiù yǐ jīng yòng tǔ guī guān cè tài yáng, cè dìng chū le dōng zhì,
as early as two thousand five hundred years Before the Spring and Autumn Period, China has been observing the sun with Tugui determined out of the winter solstice,

它是二十四節氣中最早制訂出的一個，時間在每年的陽曆12月21日至23日之間，
它是二十四节气中最早制订出的一个，时间在每年的阳历12月21日至23日之间，
tā shì èr shí sì jié qì zhòng zuì zǎo zhì dìng chū de yī gè, shí jiān zài měi nián de yang lì 12 yuè 21 rì zhì 23 rì zhī jiān,
which is the solar terms in the first round draw of the one time in the Gregorian calendar year December 21 to 23,

這一天是北半球全年中白天最短、夜晚最長的一天；
这一天是北半球全年中白天最短、夜晚最长的一天；
zhè yī tiān shì běi bàn qiú quán nián zhōng bái tiān zuì duǎn, yè wǎn zuì zhǎng de yī tiān;
between the day in the northern hemisphere The shortest day throughout the year, the longest night of the day;

中國北方大部分地區在這一天還有吃餃子、南方吃湯圓的習俗。
中国北方大部分地区在这一天还有吃饺子、南方吃汤圆的习俗。
Zhōng guó běi fāng dà bù fèn dì qū zài zhè yī tiān hái yǒu chī jiǎo zi, nán fāng chī tāng yuán de xí sú.
most parts of northern China, there are to eat dumplings on this day, the custom of the South eat rice balls.

Source: 百度百科

The 2010 winter solstice (summer solstice in the southern hemisphere) occurred on December 21, at 23:38 UTC. This is 11:38 pm Western European Time (WET) or 6:38 pm Eastern Standard Time (EST).

Source: Wikipedia

Christmas Canon

This has nothing to do with learning Chinese but this song is so beautiful and the video is well made.  Just wanted to share this beautiful music in this beautiful season with my students, friends, family and people who happen to come across this blog.

~~~ Merry Christmas ... 聖誕快樂 ... Feliz Navidad ... Frohe Weihnachten ... С Рождеством ...

Joyeux Noël

Source: YouTube

水果冰淇淋 Fruit Ice Cream

水果冰淇淋在台灣是個很受歡迎的卡通

Shuǐ guǒ bīng qí lín zài tái wān shì gè hěn shòu huān yíng de kǎ tōng

Fruit ice cream is a very popular cartoon in Taiwan.


這裡有它的主題曲

Zhè lǐ yǒu tā de zhǔ tí qū

Here is its theme song.



Source: YouTube

打字比賽 Typing Contest

小朋友...你會打字嗎?  來, 試試看, 看看你可不可以破老師的記錄.  你可以到這個網站試試看喔!

Xiǎo péng yǒu... Nǐ huì dǎ zì ma? Lái, shì shì kàn, kàn kàn nǐ kě bù kě yǐ pò lǎo shī de jì lù. Nǐ kě yǐ dào zhè ge wǎng zhàn shì shì kàn ō!

Kids ... Do you type?  Give it a try and see whether you can break the teacher's record.  You can go to this site to try!

Countdown to Christmas

小朋友, 聖誕假期終於開始了.  猜猜看, 離聖誕節還有多久呢?

Xiǎo péng yǒu, shèng dàn jià qí zhōng yú kāishǐ le. Cāi cāi kàn, lí shèng dàn jié hái yǒu duō jiǔ ne?

Children, the Christmas holiday has finally begun. Guess how many days is it until Christmas?

答案在下面喔!

Dá àn zài xià miàn ō!

Answer is shown below.





MySpace-Countdowns

Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda...

Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine.

I got to thinking one day about all those people on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.

How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does the word 'refrigeration' mean nothing to you?

How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched 'Jeopardy' on television?

I cannot count the times I called my sister and said , 'How about going to lunch in a half hour?' She would gas up and stammer, 'I can't. I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday, I had a late breakfast, It looks like rain' And my personal favorite: 'It's Monday.' She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together.

Because Americans cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our headaches.. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect!

We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Jr. toilet-trained. We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet. We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.

Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of 'I'm going to,' 'I plan on,' and 'Someday, when things are settled down a bit.'

When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, he is open to adventure and available for trips. He keeps an open mind on new ideas. His enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with him for five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Rollerblades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord.

My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process. The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.

Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to...not something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?

Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to the rain lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask 'How are you?' Do you hear the reply?

When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head? Ever told your child, 'We'll do it tomorrow.' And in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die? Just call to say 'Hi'?

When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift....Thrown away.... Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over.

Live simply, love generously, care deeply, and speak softly. 

Source: Unknown

我的朋友在哪裡 Where is my friend?

小朋友...還記得上學期的第一首歌嗎?

我的朋友在哪裡?

一二三四五六七
我的朋友在哪裡
在這裡  在這裡
我的朋友在這裡

Source: YouTube

北京歡(欢)迎你 Beijing Welcome You

Source: YouTube

Typing Lessons

Free online typing lessons for beginners.

>>> ENGLISH <<<

Keyboarding Games for Kids
http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/keyboarding_games.html

Peter's Online Typing Course
http://www.typing-lessons.org/lesson_1.html

Free Typing Tutor
http://www.powertyping.com/

Free Typing Game.Net
http://www.freetypinggame.net/play10.asp

Improve Your Typing Speed
http://freenuts.com/improve-typing-speed/

>>> CHINESE <<<

Chinese-Tools.com
http://www.chinese-tools.com/tools/ime.html

~~~ Read Me First ~~~

Dear Students and Parents,

How exciting!  Here is our class blog.  Starting next semester we will be using computers to help us learning Chinese.  Before we start, there are a few things I want to coordinate on to make sure we are all on the same page. 

We will be using this blog to practice reading, writing, verbal comprehension, and typing.  Whenever you post any of your comments or reponses, please make sure to use your assigned alias or nickname.  These will be provided during the first day of class.

Here are some links to Do's and Don'ts when using the Internet.  Please make sure to take a look at a few of them, if not all, to protect yourself.

• http://www.microsoft.com/protect/parents/childsafety/steps.aspx

• http://www.high-speed-internet-access-guide.com/articles/internet-guidelines-for-kids.html

• http://www.internetsafety4kids.net/

• http://safetynet.aap.org/

• http://www.anaheim.net/article.asp?id=138

Keyboard configuration.  For adding Chinese as one of input option, please follow the steps below.

     1.  Click Start and then Control Panel
     2.  In Control Panel, if you are in Category View, click on Switch
          to Classic View (top left corner)
     3.  Open Regional and Language Options.
     4.  Click on the Languages tab.
     5.  Under Text services and input languages, click on the Details
          button.
     6.  Under Installed services, click Add.
     7.  In the Add Input Language dialog box, choose the input
          language and keyboard layout or Input Method Editor (IME)
          you want to add.
     8.  Click OK twice. You should now see a language indicator in
          the System Tray (located at bottom right hand corner of the
          desktop by default). You can switch between different input
          languages (= keyboard languages) by pressing the Alt + Shift keys

As usual, should you have any questions or comments, please feel free to let me know.

Lǎo Shī