Pop Chinese: 团团圆圆，过新年。

Tuántuán yuányuán，ɡuòxīnnián.
团团 圆圆， 过新年。
A New Year’s reunion for celebrating.

A：爷爷、奶奶，我们回来了！
B：嗯，乖！我们全家一起团团圆圆，过新年！

A: Grandpa, grandma, we are coming back!
B: Em…Let’s get together to celebrate the New Year!

Today is the Spring Festival Eve, in China’s tradition, people often get together on this day to enjoy the Reunion Meal, no matter where they are, they will go back to their home celebrating the New Year with their parents and children. With slight difference, for people from the South of China, they may have Tangyuan as the Reunion Meal, while for people from the North of China, they may have dumplings. After the meals, the whole family would sit together to watch the Spring Festival Gala, which is harmonious and happy.

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Pop Chinese: 鹬蚌相争，渔翁得力。

Yùbànɡ xiānɡzhēnɡ，yúwēnɡ délì.

鹬蚌 相争， 渔翁 得力。

Play both ends against the middle.

A：明天开始整个商场都会有特卖，咱们两家都是卖眼镜的，可得事先商量好最低价格啊！
B：是啊，不然我们鹬蚌相争起来，渔翁得利的就是客人了！

A: The whole shopping center will hold a sale promotion activity, since we are both selling glasses, we should set together of the lowest price for sale in advance.
B: Yeah, if not, the consumers may play both ends against the middle.

This line comes from the Book of "Warring States", as a metaphor, it is used to describe that when both ends are trapped in a deadlock, the third one would benefit in such a situation. In the above dialogue, A said that they two are both selling glasses, so they should set together about the price. While B has explained the usage of ”Yùbànɡxiānɡzhēnɡ, yúwēnɡdélì. (鹬蚌相争,渔翁得利)”, that is, if they two —— the both ends can’t set a flat price, the price may have to be lower and lower, thus they may both benefit for nothing.

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Pop Chinese--天哪！我的衣服又瘦了。

Tiānnǎ！Wǒde yīfu yòu shòu le。
天 哪 ！我的 衣服 又 瘦 了。
OMG! My clothes are getting “thinner” again.

A：天哪！我的衣服又瘦了！这可怎么办！
B：哎，我的衣服也一直在“瘦”，周末我们去买新衣服吧！

A: OMG! My clothes are getting “thinner” again! What shall I do?
B: Eh, me, too, let’s go shopping on the weekends for some new clothes!

This expression has implied that the speaker’s figure is getting fatter, since the clothes couldn’t get thinner by itself. Here she thinks her dress has turned thinner, it is because she is turning fatter. The New Year’s coming now, let’s do some sports, or your clothes in the wardrobe may turn “thinner and thinner” for the next year!

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Pop Chinese: 不要迷恋哥，哥只是传说。

Búyào míliàn ɡē ， ɡē zhǐshì chuánshuō 。

不要 迷恋 哥 ， 哥 只是 传说。

Don’t have any crush on me.

A：你太厉害了！这次上海国际马拉松比赛你又是第一名！
B: 哈哈，小意思！不要迷恋哥，哥只是传说！

A: Impressive! You have won another No.1 in the Shanghai International Marathon.
B: Aha, It’s a piece of cake! Don’t have any crush on me.

This expression comes from a post titled as “Do not mad about me ” from the “MOP”. The contents of the post goes like this ” I was born to earn people's respect and admiration, and I was born a legend. But don't have any crush on me.” Such a post has showed the narcissism of some people, they see themselves as idols of everyone, and think that people should show their respect to them.

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Pop Chinese: 三个臭皮匠，顶个诸葛亮。

Sānɡè chòupíjiànɡ dǐnɡɡè zhūɡěliànɡ. 

三 个 臭 皮 匠 顶 个 诸 葛 亮 。

Two heads are better than one.

A：这份计划你们几个做得非常好，出乎我的意料！
B：哈哈，我们是三个臭皮匠顶个诸葛亮。

A: Unexpectedly, you are doing a good job in this plan!
B: Aha, Two heads are better than one.




In Chinese, the pronunciation of the word “Pí jiànɡ(皮匠)” sounds just like ”Pí jiànɡ（裨将）”, which refers to ancient vice generals. Later in circulations of this word , people have taken the word ”Pí jiànɡ(皮匠)” as the replacement of ”Pí jiànɡ（裨将）”. The whole meaning of the saying is that three vice generals‘ wisdom can match with the ancient Chinese talent named Zhuge Liang, that is to say, much more wisdom may be produced if there are more people working on a same project.

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Pop Chinese--此一时，彼一时。

Cǐyìshí bǐyìshí 。
此一时 彼一时。
Time has changed.

A：小王最近买房买车了。
B：是啊，真是此一时彼一时，前些年他穷得连饭都吃不上。
A: Xiao Wang has purchased a house and a car.
B: Yeah, time has changed, he was so poor in the past that even couldn't afford his daily food.



The word “cǐ(此)” means “this”, while the word“ bǐ(彼)” refers to “that”. The expression of “Cǐ yì shí bǐ yì shí(此一时彼一时)” can thus be translated as “this is a time different from that”, that is to say, time has changed, which causes a situation’s changing. Such an expression is often used to indicate the changes of some people, or the conditions and environments now are no longer same as the past.

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Pop Chinese--服务员，买单。

Fú wù yuán, mǎi dān. 
服 务 员， 买 单 。 
Hi waiter, check, please.

A：服务员，买单。
B：您好，一共消费800元，现金还是刷卡？

A: Hi waiter, check, please.
B: well, the bill shall be 800 Yuan, will you pay in cash or by card?

The word “Mǎi dān（买单）” , originating from Cantonese of ”Mái dān（埋单）” which is pronounced quite same, refers to pay for the bill. This word appears and gradually becomes popular with common groups in the 1990s.

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Pop Chinese: 泥菩萨过江 -- 自身难保。

Nípúsà ɡuòjiānɡ -- zìshēn nánbǎo.

泥菩萨 过江 -- 自身 难保 。 

A clay Buddha crossing a stream- hardly able to save itself.

A：王经理，听说年底公司要裁员，您可得帮帮我啊！
B：哎，我也是泥菩萨过江——自身难保啊！

A: Manager Wang, I heard that the company’s planning a downsizing, please help me not to be fired!
B: A clay Buddha crossing a stream- hardly able to save itself. I can’t even help myself not being fired!

A clay Buddha may be decomposed in water, so it is not able to save itself. Such a two-part allegorical saying acts as a metaphor, which means that someone can’t even help himself/herself, not mention to help others.

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Pop Chinese: 吃一堑长一智!

Chī yíqiàn zhǎnɡ yízhì。
吃 一堑 长 一智。 
A fall in pit, a gain in your wit.

A：这次网购很不成功，你看，这件衣服质量太差了，根本不能穿。
B：吃一堑长一智，以后别在这家店买了。

A: It’s a quite unsuccessful online shopping, look, this coat is of very low quality, and I can’t even put it on.
B: A fall in pit, a gain in your wit. Never buy any clothes in this online store again.


The word”Qiàn（堑）” here refers to the difficulty and hardness to do something, while the word “Zhì（智）” contains the meaning of intelligence and experience. The expression of “Chī yíqiàn zhǎnɡ yízhì（吃一堑长一智）” means that people would gain some lessons and experience in their failures, thus they may own the ability to deal with similar matters. People often say this when others or they themselves are suffering failures to make a comfort.

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Pop Chinese--我们正在准备公司的年会!

Wǒmen zhèngzài zhǔnbèi gōngsī de niánhuì！
我们 正在 准备 公司 的 年会!
We are preparing for the company’s annual meeting!

A：你们公司最近好热闹，欢声笑语不断啊。
B：是啊，快过新年了，我们正在准备公司的年会，到时候会有很多节目，欢迎你来参观！

A: You all seem to be very exciting recently.
B: Yeah, the New Year’s Day is around the corner, and we are preparing for the company’s annual meeting. There may be many performances, welcome to join us!


The Spring Festival is around the corner, which is the most important day of the year. Those office workers may take the “Niánhuì（年会）”(annual meeting) as their way to welcome a new year. Under lively atmosphere of activities, they will make a summary of the whole year's achievements. The “Niánhuì（年会）” originates from western countries, and now is very popular among China’s enterprises.

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Pop Chinese: 理想很丰满，现实很骨感。

Lǐxiǎng hěn fēngmǎn， xiànshí hěn gǔgǎn。
理想 很 丰满， 现实 很 骨感。
You may have great dreams, but sometimes you can only enjoy harsh realities.

A：我曾经梦想做一名航天技术人员。
B：可是你现在怎么在高中教英语了呢？
A：理想很丰满，现实很骨感。我的老婆并不支持我的梦想，她害怕和我去边远的地区生活。
B：我明白了，但是起码现在你有一个稳定的家庭不是吗？

A: I’ve ever dreamt of being a space technician.
B: Then why you are now an English teacher in a high school? 
A: You may have great dreams, but sometimes you can only enjoy harsh realities. It was my wife who didn’t support my dream, since she didn’t want to go to remote places for life with me.
B: I see, but you’ve earned a stable family now, haven’t you?

The expression of “Lǐxiǎng hěn fēngmǎn, xiànshí hěn gǔgǎn（理想很丰满，现实很骨感）” is originated from a play of the Spring Festival Gala. This is a metaphor, which means that ”Lǐxiǎng（理想）”(dream) is like “an attractive woman whose figure is very plump”, however, the “Xiànshí（现实）”(reality) plays like “an ugly woman who is as thin as rails”. Nowadays, people often use this expression to address the distance between dreams and realities, which shows their upset feelings because they can’t realize their dreams.

Don’t forget that you can find more learning material about HSK Level 4 and the language of Chinese at hellohsk.com or hschinese.com

Coco Lee

Coco Lee (Chinese: 李玟; pinyin: Lǐ Wén; born Ferren Lee, 17 January 1975, Hong Kong) is a Hong Kong-born American singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer, and actress. Lee's career began in Hong Kong and then expanded to Taiwan. Her single, "Do You Want My Love" also entered the US music charts. Her first full-length English language album was Just No Other Way. As a Chinese American, Lee is the first and only person of Chinese ethnicity to perform at the Oscars; she performed the Best Original Song nominated, "A Love Before Time" (from the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). 

Lee married Bruce Philip Rockowitz, a Jewish-Canadian businessman on 27 October 2011 in a lavish Jewish wedding ceremony in Hong Kong. For her wedding, she registered the song "I just wanna marry u" (Chinese and English version), which was released on October 24, 2011.

Online shopping enthusiast——home appliance;digital

If you want to buy mobile phones, cameras and other digital products, or want to buy refrigerators, washing machines and other household appliances, where are you usually buy? If you have no other good choice, you can also choose to take a look at the online.

Today we will introduce you to a few purchase digital and appliances website, on these sites you can choose your needed products.

http://www.jd.com/

苏宁易购

http://www.suning.com/

易迅

http://www.yixun.com

新蛋

http://www.newegg.com.cn/

淘宝
http://www.taobao.com/

Online shopping enthusiast——group-buying

With the development of online shopping, group-buying is more and more welcomed by everyone. Group buying has the advantages of saving time and effort, save worry, save money and so on. Our lives have been closely related with it. Now I will recommend you a few good websites.

Recommended 
1.拉手网     http://lashou.com
2.美  团     http://meituan.com
3.满座网     http://manzuo.com
4.高朋网     http://www.gaopeng.com
5.点评团     http://t.dianping.com
6.糯米网     http://www.nuomi.com
7.聚美优品   http://sh.jumei.com/
8.淘宝聚划算 http://ju.taobao.com
9.嘀嗒团     http://www.didatuan.com/

Group-buying websites published information

①美食   ②餐厅   ③影院   ④购物   ⑤娱乐   ⑥KTV   ⑦美容   ⑧健身 ⑨SPA（健康养生）  ⑩度假旅游等
①food    ②restaurant    ③theater    ④shopping    ⑤entertainment
⑥KTV     ⑦beauty      ⑧fitness      ⑨SPA        ⑩vacation tour

The benefits of group-buying embodied in two aspects：

Group purchase price is lower than the market retail price of the product.

The quality of the products and services can get guarantee.

Shanghai Jazz Festival

Over the last decade no other company or organization has been more instrumental in the growth of live music and jazz in Shanghai than JZ. A major player in all aspects of China’s growing music industry, every year we showcase big international names at Shanghai’s largest outdoor music festival, the JZ Festival Shanghai. Our two JZ Club’s, located in Shanghai and Hangzhou respectively, Wooden Box Café, On Stage, JZ Latino in Shanghai, are widely known as China’s top Live Music Venues and our regular live concerts and tours feature some of the biggest names in Jazz and contemporary music, both local and international. In addition, the Shanghai Jazz Conservatory or “JZ School” has over 30 full time teachers and is the leading source of contemporary music education in Shanghai.

Valley Children，I love them so much! The noisy city needs the soud, as the crystal ,so clear! Unable to descrive the shock when I hear their voice on the spot! -From the audience.

SCOFIELD this year reunites his legendary Überjam Band. This group pioneered Scofield’s fusing of jazz, funk and electronic music to become one of the defining bands of his career. One of the “big three” of current jazz guitarists (along with Pat Metheny and Bill Frisell), Scofield was the 1998 winner of the Montreal Jazz Festival Miles Davie Award. He possesses a distinctive rock-oriented sound, and is a masterful jazz improviser whose music generally falls somewhere between post-bop, fusion and jazz soul. John Scofield: guitar, Avi Bortnick: guitar / samples, Louis Cato: drums, Andreas Hess: bass

My God! I see JOHN SCOFIELD! Make me crazy! -From the audience

The Jazz website: http://www.jzfestival.com/en/2013/

City Walk Group

Line1
Zhongshan Park——Yuyuan Rd——Jiangsu Rd——Huashan Rd——Xu Jia Hui
Time：1-1.5 hours
Somebody introduced： Yuanyuan Rd， was really a private park in 1918. Experienced the hustle and bustle of the old Shanghai Concession, lived 72 tenants, after half a century , now it the same as the old Koehler gentle , calm but has a lot of charming.

Yuyuan Rd is a typical Shanghai road, extends from the western the number of lanes has been arranged to more than 1600, no one knows the correct number of the tenants in each lane.

Line2

Xu Jia Hui——Hengshan Rd——Huanghai Rd 

Time：1 hour

Somebody introduced：You will know more about Hengshan Rd, it`s daytime and nighttime are totally different. The road is not very wide, clean rod, different  styles of buildings on both sides, everything in a simple and direct sunlight.

I like the Indus most, spread to several blocks, long history makes abnormal lush foliage trees, thick branches trimmed to cover the road over the entire road , makes the road becomes long arched hallway. 

Line3

West Yan`an Rd——Xinhua Rd——Huaihai Rd——Xu Jia Hui

Time:1.5hours

Somebody introduced: Walking in Xinhua Rd, the canopy of the Indus closure in the middle of the road,the sun shone at only through sparse foliage, mottled on the road to form a light spot. Through Shanghai National Orchestra, the courtyard can hear faintly from the depths of the long period of music.

City Walk Group