Faculty of Oriental Studies

 

FIRST-YEAR LANGUAGE COLLECTION

 

 (Chinese)

 

 

 

 

MODERN CHINESE

 

 

 

 

Michaelmas Term 2006

 

Thursday, 5 October 2006, 2:00 p.m. to 4.30 p.m.

 

 

 

All questions must be answered.

  

PLEASE WRITE YOUR NAME ON EACH PAGE OF YOUR ANSWER SHEET

 

 

 

Do not turn over until told that you may do so.

 


 

 

A

Translate the following sentences into Chinese. Sentences 1-6 should be written in abbreviated characters and 7-12 should be written in unabbreviated characters. 45%

 

 

1.    It was three years ago that a Chinese delegation came to the factory to tell the workers how to produce Chinese padded jackets.

 

2.    When I was in the classroom this morning, I didn’t see any sign of anybody, apart from a few textbook left on the tables by someone. 

 

3.    My teacher said it was really annoying. She spent a long time preparing the class, but no one came.

 

4.    I haven’t eaten Beijing snacks for years. I would really like to try some now, if you can buy some for me.

 

5.    The little school-girl slowly put her sketchbook on the table to show us the beautiful drawings that she did in the art exhibition.

 

6.    All the pretty lanterns in the shop were sold out yesterday. If you go there this late, you won’t be able to buy anything at all!

 

7.    My friend has told me that the post office clerk who is standing by the door downstairs is writing a book on the Chinese Palace Museum.

 

8.    All the porcelain tea sets from the department store have been taken to the building behind the hospital, so that nobody can buy any more.

 

9.    I can’t hear you clearly. Could you please speak louder?

 

10.When I was studying Chinese literature in the dormitory, I heard somebody singing Chinese folk songs very quietly next door.

 

11.Although the grapes that I have planted are not as big as yours, everybody likes them, as they are home-grown.

 

12. He runs much faster than I do. Even Gubo, who holds this year’s college record, cannot beat him.

 


 

B

 

Translate the following unseen paragraphs (of 270 Chinese characters) into English. 12%

Taken from New Practical Chinese Reader Textbook II, page 108

 

 

 

    昨天我到书店去,想找一本怎么教育[1]孩子的书。售货员给我找出了三本:一本是《别管[2]孩子》,一本是《孩子不能不管》,还有一本是《管还是不管孩子》。我把三本书都买来了,也都看了,可是三本书的观点[3]一本跟一本不一样。

    我常常想应该怎样教育孩子,大人的观点跟孩子的不一样,外国人的观点跟中国人不一样,孩子跟孩子也不一样。大人让孩子学钢琴,可是这个孩子可能听到钢琴就头疼;大人想让孩子学画儿,可是孩子喜欢唱京剧。听说外国孩子下课就可以做自己喜欢的事情,中国孩子晚上十一点还要做练习。我朋友的孩子不用她爸爸妈妈管,可是我女儿

管孩子还是不管孩子,真是一个大问题啊!

 


C

 

Analyse the following sentences (which must be translated) to show their component clauses and phrases, and state the function of individual words and phrases. 9%

 

 

1.    我來到北京以後﹐纔知道北京人多麼喜歡熊貓啊!

2.    我是十號到的上海﹐昨天從廣州坐火車到北京的。

3.    肥肥的身體﹐短短的腿﹐頭非常大﹐耳朵又這麼小。

 

 

D

Write down the pinyin and the Chinese characters for the following expressions. 9%

 

English

Pinyin

Chinese characters both in abbreviated and unabbreviated

  1. hope; wish

 

 

  1. thoughtful; considerate

 

 

  1. cheese

 

 

  1. excited

 

 

  1. envoy

 

 

  1. cough

 

 

  1. medicine

 

 

  1. anxious

 

 

  1. cherish the memory of

 

 

 

—  End of paper  —


 

[1] teach; educate

[2] supervise; discipline

[3] point of view