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March 1,2019 kirinmandarinbusiness learn Chinese in Singapore Call+6583593876/66110940 http://www.kirinmandarin.com

牛（niú）市（shì）：牛市是预料（yù liào）股市行情看涨（zhǎng），前景乐观（qián jǐng lè guān）。The bull market is a term that is expected to be bullish on the stock market and optimistic in the future.

熊（xióng）市：熊市是预料股市行情看跌（diē），前景悲观（bēi guān）。The bear market is expected to be bearish in the stock market, and the outlook is pessimistic.

沪（hù）市：上海证券（zhèng quàn）交易所Shanghai Stock Exchange

深（shēn）市：深圳证券交易所Shenzhen Stock Exchange

1. 以江浙为中心的南方地区，人们制作的叫汤圆；以北京为中心的北方地区，人们制作的叫元宵。
In the southern region centered on Jiangsu and Zhejiang, people make it called Tangyuan; in the northern region centered on Beijing, people make it called Yuanxiao.
2. 汤圆最早出自宋代明州，也就是今天的浙江宁波。当地人以白糖黑芝麻为馅，用面粉包成圆形，用开水煮熟即可食用。
Tangyuan was originally from Ming Dynasty in Song Dynasty, which is today's Ningbo, Zhejiang. The locals use white sugar and black sesame as a filling, floured in a round shape, and cooked in boiling water.
3. 元宵最早出自元代都城（即今天的北京）的糕点铺。元宵的做法多种多样，煮、蒸、炸、拔丝皆可。

美墨边境墙的问题已经造成了美国历史上时间最长的政府关门——35天。
The disagreement on the US-Mexico border wall has caused the longest government shutdown in US history —— 35 days.

在1月25日，白宫和众议院达成了共识，批准了3个星期的预算，来进行有关边境墙的商讨、支付政府员工的部分工资并且维持社会秩序。
On 25th Jan, the White House and the Congress have reached an agreement and authorized a 3-week funding budget to allow time for negotiations to take place while paying for the salary of some federal employees and maintain social order.

今天，很多华人家庭会举行“接财神”的仪式。
Today, many Chinese families will perform rituals, welcoming the Wealth God.

接财神是汉族古老的节日习俗，逐渐影响了所有的华人。
This is an ancient ritual of the Hans, which have spread to all the Chinese.

传说中，正月初五是财神的生日。家家户户会置办酒席，为财神庆祝生日。
In our ledged, 1st Jan of the Lunar Calendar is the birthday of the Wealth God. Households will put on a feast and celebrate the birthday of the Wealth God.

所以，今天不妨对朋友们说几句“大吉大利”、“升官发财”哦！
Therefore, why not say something like ‘great fortune’ and ‘get a promotion and a raise’ to your friends today?

“我 们 不 要 他 这 样 的 儿 子，坑 爹！”
Wǒmen búyào tā zhèyàngde érzi, kēngdie!
We do not want sons like him, who cheat their fathers!

So the interesting phrase in this sentence is 坑爹（kēngdiē）. It has two meanings.

The first one is literal. 坑（kēng）is used as a verb, meaning ‘to defraud, to trick, to cause damage to’. 爹（diē）is a more ancient reference to one’s father. Hence 坑爹 means ‘to do no physical, harmful things, especially cheating, to your father’. For example:

Sūn: nǐ shǔshá ya?
孙： 你 属 啥 呀？
Sun: What is your zodiac sign?

Gāo: shǔzhū.
高： 属 猪。
Gao: It’s the pig.

Sūn: guònián liùshí le?
孙： 过 年 六 十 了？
Sun: You are going to be 60 this year?

Gāo: sānshíliù de zhū.
高： 三 十 六 的 猪。
Gao: 36.

Āiya, wǒde māya. Zhè yǎnjing zhǎngde yě tài zìsī le, tā néng kànjiàn biéren, biéren kànbújiàn ta.
“哎呀，我的 妈呀。 这 眼 睛 长 得 也 太自私了。它 能 看 见 别 人，别 人 看 不 见 它。”
Oh my god, these eyes are so selfish. They can see others but others cannot see them.

1. 我的妈呀（wǒde māya）can be directly translated to ‘my mother!’ It has the same effect as ‘oh my god’, is a way to express surprise or excitement.

2. 自私（zìsī）means selfish. 长得自私（zhǎngde zìsī）means grows to look selfish

3. 看见（kànjiàn）means can see and 看不见（kànbújiàn）means cannot see.

《演戏给你看》这部小品有三个主角，分别是村主任，句主任、被要挟去吹捧村主任的村民，孙二愣子和暗访的干部，高科长。

‘yǎnxìgěinǐkàn (meaning Act For You)’ has three main characters, head of a village ‘Director Ju’, a villager who is leveraged to say nice things about Director Ju ‘Sun Erlengzi’ and an undercover official ‘Section Chief Gao’

1.

Sūn èrlèngzi: nǐ méigěiwǒ cíer zěnme chuī?
孙二愣子：你没给我词儿怎么吹？
Sun: How can I talk you up if you do not provide me a script?

小品是一种幽默的短剧，是春节联欢晚会的常驻节目。每年春晚的小品节目都给家家户户带来极大的欢乐，时不时引起哄堂大笑。
“xiǎopǐn” is a type of humorous skit. It is a resident programme on the Spring Festival Gala. Every year, Xiaopin can bring tremendous joy to households, bring out a good laugh from time to time.

如果你还是汉语入门者，你有可能不理解它的笑点，在别人乐不自禁的时候感到格格不入。
If you are a beginner in Mandarin, you may not be able to understand the laughing point and feel like an outsider when others are laughing.

没关系！我们来看一下今年的一些金句。
Do not worry! Let’s look at some of the golden sentences in this year’s gala.

Keywords:

“除夕”，因为是农历中一年的最后一天（十二月三十号），所以又叫做“大年三十”。
‘chúxī’, is the last day of a year according to the Agricultural Calendar(Dec 30th), so it is also referred to as ‘dàniánsānshí’.

还记得除夕要做什么吗？
Do you still remember what we need to do on Chuxi?

1. 贴春联，贴“福”字。
Pasting ‘chūnlián’, the Spring Festival Couplets, as well as ‘fú’ character, which represents prosperity.

2. 把家中的破损旧物都扔掉，大扫除。
Throw away any items which are broken or too old and do a thorough cleaning.

3. 穿红衣服！
Wear red!