独木桥 (dúmùqiáo) single-log bridge; difficult path Usage: “独木桥”指由一根木头搭成的桥,意为艰难、危险、有竞争力的途径。“独木桥” means a bridge made of one log, which represents a difficult, dangerous, and competitive path.
Tag: entrance exam
Beijing cancel English test for college entrance exams
Beijing education authorities are moving to limit the influence of English, one of the three “major” subjects for college entrance exams, in an education reform plan announced yesterday.
Chinese idioms:名落孙山(Míngluòsūnshān )
Sòngcháo shí yǒu gè míng jiào Sūn Shān de rén, tā shífēn yōumò, érqiě shàncháng jiǎng xiàohuà. Yǒu yí cì, tā hé tóngxiāng de érzǐ yìqǐ qù jīngchéng kǎoshì. Kǎoshì jiéguǒ gōngbù hòu, tāmen qù kànbǎng. Sūn Shān de míngzì zài bǎng shàng zuìhòu yì míng, dàn hái shì kǎo shàng le, ér tóngxiāng de érzǐ méiyǒu kǎo shàng. Sūn Shān huíjiā hòu, tóngxiāng de érzǐ hái méi huílái, tóng xiāng jiù lái xún wèn jiéguǒ, Sūn Shān wěiwǎn de shuō:” jiěmíng jìnchù shì Sūn Shān, xiánláng gèng zài Sūn Shān wài.” Yìsī shì, bǎng shàng zuìhòu yì míng shì Sūn Shān, ér nǐ érzǐ de míngzì hái zài wǒ hòumiàn, tā luòbǎng le.
宋朝时有个名叫孙山的人,他十分幽默,而且擅长讲笑话。有一次,他和同乡的儿子一起去京城考试。考试结果公布后,他们去看榜。孙山的名字在榜上最后一名,但还是考上了,而同乡的儿子没有考上。孙山回家后,同乡的儿子还没回来,同乡就来询问结果,孙山委婉地说:“解名尽处是孙山,贤郎更在孙山外。”意思是,榜上最后一名是孙山,而你儿子的名字还在我后面,他落榜了。There was a man named Sun Shan who lived in the Song Dynasty. He had a great sense of humor, and was very skilled at telling jokes. One time, he went to the capital to take civil examinations with a fellow villager's son. When the results were posted, he went to look at the list. His name Sun Shan was the very last on the list, but at least he passed. Nevertheless, his companion's name was nowhere on the list. After Sun Shan returned home, the son had not returned yet, and his father came to ask about the results. Sun Shan tactfully said:" the last name on the list is Sun Shan, your son's name is still behind Sun Shan." It suggested that your son didn't pass the exam.
Words:
幽默yōumò:humorous (adj.)
擅长shàncháng:be good at (v.)
公布gōngbù: make public (v.)
榜bǎng: published list of names(n.)
询问xúnwèn: inquire (v.)
委婉wěiwǎn: euphemistic (adj.)
落榜luòbǎng: to fail in the exam for a job or school admission(v.)
OMG! Chinese Buzzwords! (32)
炒冷饭(chǎo lěng fàn)
Rehash, repeat old content, flogging a dead horse
Shanghai locals are mostly rice eaters. So, if there’s any leftover cooked rice, they tend to 炒冷饭, meaning to “stir-fry the cold rice,” usually by adding a spoon of edible oil, a pinch of minced green onion or even an egg. As a result, 炒冷饭 is a common meal among many Shanghainese.
But when the phrase is used figuratively, it means to rehash old materials, repeat old content or reproduce an old idea. It’s like flogging a dead horse or putting old wine in a new bottle in English.
So, this colloquial term has a connotation of cliché, banality, bromide and lack of excitement.
Despite the fact that many Shanghainese do eat 炒冷饭 from time to time, few like it in speeches and writing. Locals also tend to use a vulgar alternative to express their dislike of this type of 炒冷饭: “Why do you always eat today’s fresh rice, but fart yesterday’s gas?”
The Exam Season
China’s gaokao(高考gāo kǎo), the nation-wide college entrance exam, is considered the most grueling and competitive of all. For most Chinese students, their performance in the exam will determine their fate in the future.
OMG! Chinese Buzzwords! (32)
炒冷饭(chǎo lěng fàn) Rehash, repeat old content, flogging a dead horse Shanghai locals are mostly rice eaters. So, if there’s
无臂女孩用脚直播成网红 Armless girl becomes online star through live streaming
27-year-old Yang Li(杨莉) from Bengbu(蚌埠), Anhui Province has her university degree and found a job as a civil service clerk,
Chinese idioms:名落孙山(Míngluòsūnshān )
Sòngcháo shí yǒu gè míng jiào Sūn Shān de rén, tā shífēn yōumò, érqiě shàncháng jiǎng xiàohuà. Yǒu yí cì,
俄罗斯将汉语纳入高考 Mandarin is coming for Russia's college entrance exam
Written and oral tests(笔试和口试) for Mandarin(汉语) are being included(纳入) in Russia’s national college entrance exam(俄全国统一考试) as an elective(选修) foreign language,
Words & Phrases 词汇与词组 – Divorce boom follows gaokao 高考后迎来考生家长离婚潮
For high school students in China, the pressure of taking the gaokao, or national college entrance exams, can be difficult