抬杠(táigàng)  to argue for the sake of arguing  

Where does the phrase originate from?
In the north of China in early times, there existed a custom called "抬杠会(táigànghuì)" argue meeting. On the day of Lantern Festival, some strong men carried the bamboo "杠(gàng), " on which there is a sedan. A clown with a ready tongue sits in it. They carried the sedan in the crowd and the crowd could have quarreling competitions with the clown. So this kind of meeting is the origin of "抬杠(táigàng)" arguing .

What does this phrase mean?
The phrase "抬杠(táigàng)" refers to a kind of cultural custom, which is a clever way for people to blame others or avoid others' blame. The famous cross-talk is a prominent example in which two people take part in a clever quarrel to blame each other. The word "抬(tái)" means you lift something heavy such as a big stone, a sedan. And the word "杠(gàng)" refers to a kind of pole to lift something.

How to use the phrase?
You can use "抬杠(táigàng)" like this: You can say "我受不了他了，他总是跟我抬杠(wǒ shòu bù liăo ta le, ta zǒngshì gēn wǒ táigàng)" I cannot stand him, because he always argues with me. Or you can say "我们一见面就抬杠(wǒmen yī jiànmiàn jiù táigàng)" we argue with each other whenever we meet, to mean that you can not get along well with that person.

放鸽子(fàng gēzi) to  fail to keep an appointment

The origin of this phrase:
The phrase "放鸽子(fàng gēzi) " mainly means that one doesn't keep his promise. The meaning of the word "放(fàng)" means sending something. And "鸽子(gēzi)" refers to a dove, a kind of bird. The phrase is from a story. In ancient times, people mailed letters by doves. One time, two people agreed to write letters to each other, but one of them sent a dove without letters. Then another person said: "why did you just send the dove? And you haven't kept your promise." So the phrase is used with the meaning that one hasn't kept his/her promises.

The use of the phrase:

The popular meaning of the phrase is used in the following situation: one makes an appointment with another, but the latter fails to keep the appointment. So the former is "被放鸽子(bèi fàng gēzi)." You can say "我被朋友放鸽子了(wǒ bèi péngyou fàng gēzi le)" my friend fails to keep the appointment to express that your friend didn't keep his/her words with you.

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Chinese tea has a history of over 5000 years in China, and it has been a daily beverage for most Chinese. There is a variety of Chinese tea, such as white tea, green tea, black tea, Pu'er tea and so on. In ancient times, Chinese people recognized the benefits of all kinds of tea. For example, green tea is helpful for 减肥(jiănféi) losing weight, black tea for preventing heart disease, and Pu'er tea for 美容(měiróng) facial beautification as well as hypertension. Nowadays, more and more young people take tea in order to 减肥(jiănféi) lose weight or for 美容(měiróng) facial beautification.

减肥(jiănféi) to lose weight

In 减肥(jiănféi), 减(jiăn) means "reduce" and 肥(féi) means "fat." At first, 减肥(jiănféi) losing weight was very popular with the models who were required to keep slim. Gradually, it has become a trend until today when a slim, even bony figure is the fashion. Many girls will try anything to 减肥(jiănféi) lose weight in order to become slim or bony. 减肥(jiănféi) can be used as a noun or a verb.

e.g. a. 时下，减肥在众多女孩子中间非常流行。
            shí xià, jiănféi zài zhòngduō nǚháizi zhōngjiān fēicháng liúxíng.
            Nowadays, weight loss is very popular among girls.
            In this sentence, 减肥(jiănféi) is used as a noun.

        b. 我太胖了，决定从明天开始减肥。
             wǒ tài pàng le, juédìng cóng míngtian kaishǐ jiănféi.
             I'm big now, and I decide to lose weight tomorrow.
             In this sentence, 减肥(jiănféi) is used as a verb.

美容(měiróng) to beautify the features/beauty

In 美容(měiróng), 美(měi) means "beautiful" and 容(róng) means "appearance." Everyone has her heart in beautiful things, especially for women. They spare no efforts to seek beauty. In the past, they applied flower powder for 美容(měiróng) beatification . At present, most women would prefer to going to 美容院(měróngyuàn)  beauty salons to 美容(měiróng) beautify their features. 美容(měiróng) can also be used as a noun or a verb.

e.g. a. 她经常去美容院。
            Tā jīngcháng qù měiróngyuàn.
            She often goes to the beauty salon.
            In this sentence, 美容(měiróng) is used as a noun.

        b. 她去韩国美容了。
            Tā qù hánguó měiróng le.
            She went to South Korean for facial beautification.
            In this sentence, 美容(měiróng) is used as a verb.

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Beginner Level / 初级chūjí

Man: 你好，下午有时间吗？咱们一起去吃饭，好吗？
          Nǐhăo, xiàwǔ yǒu shíjiān ma? zánmen yìqǐ qù chīfàn, hăo ma?
          Hello, are you available in the afternoon? Let's go out to have dinner, shall we?
Woman: 好啊！我下午闲着呢！
                Hăo a! wǒ xiàwǔ xiánzhe ne! 
                Ok, I'm free in the afternoon.

生词(shēngcí) Vocabulary:
有时间 yǒu shíjiān: a be available
吃饭 chīfàn: v have dinner
下午 xiàwǔ: ad in the afternoon

Intermediate-High Level / 中-高级zhōng-gaojí

Man: 最近忙什么呢？
          Zuìjìn máng shénme ne?
          What have you been busy doing recently?
Woman: 快考试了，忙着复习呢！这几天一直埋在书堆里呢！
                Kuài kăoshì le, mángzhe fùxí ne! zhè jǐ tiān yìzhí máizài shūduī lǐ ne!
                Exams are approaching, and I'm busy reviewing the books to prepare for them. I'm buried in a pile of                 books these days.
Man: 你也太用功了吧！下午出去散步，怎么样？
          Nǐ yě tài yòng gōng le ba! xiàwǔ chūqù sànbù, zěnme yàng?
          You're too serious about your studies! What about going for a walk this afternoon?
Woman: 我可没有你那样的闲情逸致！
                Wǒ kě méiyǒu nǐ nàyàng de xiánqíngyìzhì!
                I don't have the leisure time and carefree mood as you do.
Man: 别啊！你没听说 “只工作不玩耍聪明孩子也变傻” 吗？你难道想变成傻子吗？
          Bié a! nǐ méi tīngshuō "zhǐ gōngzuò bù wánshuă cōngmíng háizi yě biànshă" ma? nǐ nándào xiăng           biànchéng shăzi ma?
          Oh, come on. Haven't you ever heard "All work and no play make Jack a fool?" Do you want to become a                     fool?
Woman: 那好吧！我可不想被你说成傻子。我们出去散步吧！
                Nà hăo ba! wǒ kě bùxiăng bèi nǐ shuō chéng shăzi. wǒmen chūqù sànbù ba!
                Ok! I don't want to be called a fool. Let's go for a walk!

生词(shēngcí) Vocabulary:
最近 zuìjìn：adv recently
认真 rènzhēn：adj be serious

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Last week in China, Transformers: The Revenge of the Fallen became "火爆(huǒbào)" explosively popular. The Transformers finally has surpassed Ice Age and became NO.1 on Friday. But on the weekend Billboard charts, they "并列(bìngliè)" stood side by side in the race for most popular movies. This week, the two movies continue their hot competition.

The recent news reported that the Transformers: The Revenge of the Fallen would be the first movie which reaches RMB 400,000,000 box offices in China. Young people regard the main characters as their idols and heroes and enjoy the enthusiasm brought by this movie.

生词 (shēng cí) Vocabulary:
火爆 (huǒbào) adj. prevailing, extremely popular
并列 (bìngliè) adv/v. stand side by side
 
The Use of the Two Words:
"火爆(huǒbào)" refers to something that becomes extremely popular and famous. The word "火(huǒ)" means fire or something hot and the word "爆(bào)"expresses something to explode or burst such as firework and bomb. You can say "他脾气很火爆(tā píqi hěn huǒbào)" he has a hot temper, or "他的生意做得很火爆(tā de shēngyi zuò de hěn huǒbào)" his business is very flourishing.

"并列(bìngliè)"refers to two things stand side by side. "并(bìng)"means one thing stands together with another and "列(liè)" means something to line up. So you can say "我和他并列第一(wǒ hé tā bìngliè dìyī)" he and I tied for first place in the examination.

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Listen to the song

小白兔乖乖，把门开开，快点开开，我要进来。
Xiăo báitù guāiguai, bă mén kāi kāi, kuàidiăn kāi kāi, wǒ yào jìnlái.
Little rabbit, hurry up and open the door, I want to come in.

不开不开不能开，妈妈没回来，不能把门开。
Bù kāi bù kāi bùnéng kāi, māma méi huílái, bùnéng bă mén kāi.
No, my mum is out, so I can't open it.

小白兔乖乖，把门开开，妈妈回来，我要进来。
Xiăo báitù guāiguai, bă mén kāi kāi, māma huílái, wǒ yào jìnlái.
Please open the door, my little rabbit. Mum is back and I want to come in.

快开快开快快开，妈妈回来了，我来把门开。
Kuài kāi kuài kāi kuài kuài kāi, māma huílái le, wǒ lái bă mén kāi.
Hurry up and open the door, mum is back and I will open it.

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Recently, our Chinese for children has got a lot of attention from parents. Here are some tips for children who are taking online mandarin Chinese courses. First, to select a mature online Chinese learning institution will be helpful for online mandarin Chinese learning. This can both guarantee the teaching quality and help children build up confidence in language learning. Second, the professionalism and teaching methods of Chinese for children also has a great influence on learning progress. A mature and professional institution possesses all these features. Third, the suggestions and encouragements form the teachers on how to learn Chinese are important.

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