Apple lifted the cake from its white cardboard box and placed it carefully in her fridge with a smile. It had taken her half the afternoon to get it - crossing Beijing twice in peak traffic, the last time cradling the box gingerly upright as she pushed her way through the churning crowds. But the rich chocolate smell filling the room made it all worthwhile. When her boyfriend came home that evening they would celebrate in style.Closing the fridge door, Apple decided to freshen up and take a nap before her boyfriend arrived home. She had barely taken two steps towards the washroom when a familiar chime caught her ears, causing her heart to skip a beat - could he have taken the afternoon off to come home early? Her heart in her throat, Apple bounced over to the door and opened it to find 9527 kicking the snow off her boots....
trevelyan
said on February 3, 2009
have to warn everyone - the dialogue here is pretty brisk and since we don't believe in treating you guys with kid gloves you're getting it at full speed.That said, we were a bit torn about putting this up at the intermediate level. In the end we decided it was appropriate simply because the grammar isn't very complex and there are plenty of emotional clues to help you figure out what's going on. If you're new to the intermediate level and have difficult don't panic though - we'll get you up to speed soon enough.So we have a challenge for today.... Good luck, and we hope you enjoy it.
barrister
said on February 4, 2009
nice as usual. is the word mentioned in the podcast 不临?
marco64
said on February 4, 2009
enjoyed this one too. first learning podcast I've heard where people actually talk over each other, but it works in context.
Brendan
said on February 4, 2009
@barrister - It should be 不吝, I think. 吝 also occurs in 吝啬 “stingy, tight-fisted."
barrister
said on February 4, 2009
Thanks Brendan - I'd forgotten about 吝啬. That's a tough character to remember phonetically: wen2+kou3=lin4 too.
leanne
said on February 4, 2009
Chocolate mud cake...yum...NO NO NO I HAVE TO BE STRONG!!! 減肥決心在，意志要堅強！
toneandcolor
said on February 4, 2009
I liked the voice overlap as well. Very natural and challenging. What are the characters for Zhou Er Qi's name? Great voice acting.
trevelyan
said on February 4, 2009
@toneandcolor - it's her nickname: 9527. I don't think any of us know what she's really called, to be honest. Maybe Brendan does. I used to keep getting the numbers wrong too.
Echo
said on February 5, 2009
I know her real name, but I would rather leave herself to tell you guys later. Nothing to do with the numbers though. She told me the nickname was from a drama she acted as far as I remember. Not 100% sure about that though.
--Echo
echo@popupchinese.com
msworley
said on February 5, 2009
Good chance to teach niángniangqiāng when you talk about girlish.
orbital
said on February 5, 2009
That's the first word that came to my mind too. I think they did it in an earlier intermediate podcast, maybe that's why.
menglelan
said on February 19, 2009
能否通过电子邮件送来一块巧克力蛋糕？
brett
said on February 19, 2009
我也觉得巧克力蛋糕太好吃.
Echo
said on February 19, 2009
我给所有在中国的朋友们推荐一个牌子的巧克力蛋糕（不是做广告啊），叫awfully chocolate，在北京和上海各有一家，别的城市我就不太清楚了，有三款蛋糕，一款是黑巧克力原味的，一款是香蕉巧克力的，还有一款是巧克力朗姆酒的，他们家还出巧克力冰激淋，我自己很喜欢他们的蛋糕，(*^__^*) 嘻嘻……
--Echo
echo@popupchinese.com
menglelan
said on February 20, 2009
可惜我不住在北京了， 这种awfully chocolate蛋糕只能在梦中吃的！
