Media player software, such as QuickTime® Player, RealOne™ Player, or Windows Media® Player, is required to run the .mp3 files in this section.
Listening Exercises
In addition to flashCube, which functions as a tool for familiarizing yourself with the Chinese material presented in the textbook, we have begun to record material geared more for listening comprehension. Only an early version of the first tape has been produced so far, and though it is no longer congruent with the textbook material, if one or two items containing novel material are ignored, most of it can be used after lesson 1, and all of it towards the end of lesson 2.
Listening I (6.2MB MP3)
Script for Tape 1 (03) (PDF)
Script for tape 1 (with answers); most of it can be used to advantage after lesson 1, all of it, towards the end of lesson 2.
Characters
Traditional Versus Simplified Characters: a Summary (PDF)
A summation of the kinds of differences found between traditional characters and their simplified versions.
Songs and Rhymes
The East is Red (PDF)
Words in praise of Chairman Mao, put to a traditional Chinese folk tune. Lyrics in pinyin and characters, with word-for-word English translation.
Sailing the Seas Depends on the Helmsman (PDF)
More praise of Mao and the Communist Party. Lyrics in pinyin and characters, with word-for-word English translation.
A Kangding Love Song (PDF)
A well-known folk song; Kangding is a town at the eastern reaches of Tibet, in Sichuan. Lyrics and word-for-word translation.
The Descendants of the Dragon (PDF)
Lyrics and word-for-word translation of a popular song.
Small Town Story (PDF)
Lyrics in pinyin and characters, and a word-for-word translation of a song by Teresa Teng (whose Chinese name, in pinyin, is Teng Lijun).
Four Tang Poems (PDF)
Poems by Li Po (Li Bei), Wang Wei, Du Fu, and Meng Haoran, in pinyin and characters; with word-for-word English translation.