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Elementary - Orange Fanta
Sep 29, 2010
Show notes
As the wounded lion collapsed in the grass several feet away, its claws still quivering, Francis Macomber reached into his satchel and pulled out his flask of Fanta. Raising its spout to his lips against the late afternoon sun, the hunter smiled as the familiar orange taste flooded his mouth. A little bit of Fanta was just the thing to buck a man's courage, he thought to himself. It boosted you up. Made you feel more sure of yourself, and even steadied your aim. Macomber never left base camp without it.While China may not offer the same thrill of the hunt as Africa, ordering dinner in this country can be life-threatening in other ways, so it's important to be prepared. And as Hemingway recounted in his famous short story, what better way is there to prepare than with the comfort of everyone's favorite orange soda. Available almost anywhere in China, Fanta is such a special drink here that we've given it a podcast of its very own.
Intermediate - Broadway Musicals in Chinese
Sep 27, 2010
Show notes
Brendan tells the tale of seeing Rent a few years ago when the Tony award-winning musical passed through Beijing. As he recounts it, the cast threw their heart into the production before a respectful but increasingly baffled Chinese audience. While the music was well-received, the problem essentially boiled down to one of translation: under orders to excise any moral degeneracy from the show, the translators had cut any reference to drug use, homosexuality and AIDS from the accompanying subtitles.Considering the political hurdles to bringing rock opera to China, consider this latest project of ours less Chinese lesson and more labor of love and cultural education project. This isn't exactly a podcast, and nor is it a listening test, although we've added our regular popup transcript and vocabulary list. But it's a good way to start the week, and if you've seen anything by Andrew Lloyd Weber, we think you'll like it.
Elementary - The Horse's Ass
Sep 22, 2010
Show notes
Evan had mixed feelings about his new assistant. On the one hand, Sammy was proving indispensable at managing Chinese customs. Without his assistance, Drexler Exports would be shipping perhaps half as much product through Guangzhou and taking twice as long to do it. On the other hand, the new employee's efforts to ingratiate himself with his boss were increasingly irritating. Couldn't he be just a bit more laid back?In this Chinese lesson, we focus on the difference between positive admiration and indulging in the sort of jealous rage that leads to lawsuits. Since we know you're drowning in them for your exceptional Chinese, we also touch on a few ways to deflect compliments and tell someone that they're coming on a bit strong.
Intermediate - Chairman of the Board
Sep 20, 2010
Show notes
Within months of assuming control of the company, the new chairman of Hunan Telecom replaced most of his senior executives with friends and associates whose personal loyalties to him trumped their own business sense. Yet even as institutional resistance crumbled, the new chairman's plans for aggressive expansion couldn't help but spark unease among the few independent voices left on the board.
Absolute Beginners - Who is Bradley Cooper
Sep 15, 2010
Show notes
Bradley Cooper's legs stretched out happily in his limousine. His lower limbs knew now that the actor's face had monopolized his public image for too long: back home it was impossible for them to even drop by Dolce or Ortolan without his smile drawing in at least one admiring fan. But in China things were different. Where else could a pair of legs get this sort of attention without even speaking the local language?
Absolute Beginners - Losing Touch with Reality
Sep 13, 2010
Show notes
Another lesson on Inception? As Gail reported the conversation later, the user's voice had been painfully brusque. But after a week of shielding the rest of Popup Chinese from its increasingly estranged userbase, even she was getting weary of the role of go-between. So when the call ended she turned to the rest of the office with a groan. "We just had another user calling to complain about all these Inception lessons!"Her concerns drifted into the aether. "Don't worry about those damn philistines," David replied from deep within our new office theater, where he was testing the surround sound with a freshly-burned copy of you-know-what. Echo and Brendan, who were putting the final touches on an independent translation of the script, murmured in agreement. "Those bastards would probably prefer a week-long Adam Sandler retrospective," Brendan added. "Screw 'em."
Elementary - A Foregone Conclusion
Sep 08, 2010
Show notes
After the standing ovation had died down, a visibly teary Christopher Nolan leaned into the microphone. "I am grateful to all of you for your support, but before we leave tonight, I'd like to put a special word of thanks out to Popup Chinese for its tireless efforts promoting my film in China." As the British director gestured towards the Popup Chinese table, the cameras caught a glimpse of Brendan scowling unglamorously at a half-finished translation scrawled on his napkin. They quickly panned back to the stage.It being Inception Week here at Popup Chinese, we are happy to bring you this Elementary Chinese lesson inspired by the film. If you've been learning Chinese for a few months and are looking for a challenge, join us for this Chinese podcast as we bring you a natural dialogue filled with a lot of film-related vocabulary. This is what people are saying in China these days. Or it is what they are saying in our office at least.
Intermediate - Driving under Inception
Sep 07, 2010
Show notes
You may have woken up this morning wondering if yesterday was a dream. Were those folks at Popup Chinese actually crazy enough to promise a full week of Chinese lessons based around the movie Inception? Can they deliver the goods without stooping to baseless parody around day five? And will I survive with my sanity intact?Fortunately for Chinese-speaking film-lovers worldwide, the answers to these questions are a decisive yes, no and maybe. If you're learning mandarin, enjoyed Inception as much as we did, and are hovering somewhere around the intermediate level, join us for a Chinese podcast that is more fun than driving a van off a bridge. Not only will we bring you vocabulary from the film, but Echo will also share some online Chinese gossip, revealing why Leonardo Dicaprio is bringing back collective memories of Jiang Zemin....
Advanced - The World of Inception
Sep 06, 2010
Show notes
Today we kick off Inception week at Popup Chinese with an advanced discussion of the film. If you're a film buff looking for some light film analysis, or are just curious how the key concepts behind the film translate into Chinese, join Brendan, Echo and David as they delve into the movie and lay out what we'll be doing for the rest of this week. Premium subscribers please note: we haven't traditionally had speaking practice lessons at the advanced level, but have opened our telephone hotline for this lesson. If you'd like to share your thoughts on the film, please give us a call and let us know what you think. You can find your personal PIN along with our toll-free number on the text page.
Intermediate - The Apprentice
Sep 02, 2010
Show notes
The Apprentice may be the smartest show on television. Not only is it a brilliant exercise in corporate branding, but it's an unbeatable emotional outlet for anyone who's ever had cause to deal with the real estate market. What's not to love about seeing sixteen aspiring developers backstab each other for work, with one getting canned at the end of each episode? And that's without even mentioning the unusual animal tricks which keep the show fresh week after week.If you're an Intermediate student of the Chinese language, this lesson is for you. It focuses on two different ways to say "especially" in Chinese: 尤其 and 格外. The rules are simple: place 尤其 before the subject of a sentence or its main verb, depending on which you wish to emphasize. 格外 is conversely placed before adjectives. This is a pretty big difference, but many people miss it. Good luck!
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