Travel in Chinese Lesson 81 Suzhou

苏 州

同行男：苏州,一到这里我就想做诗.

女：别抒情了.快给我们雪梅讲讲,她可是第一次来.

雪梅：可不是吗?我一直想来,都没有合适的时间.

同行女：这次正好借开会的机会在这儿多玩几天.

男同行：好好.雪梅,在苏州,你想看点儿什么?

雪梅：我听说苏州园林很有名,我想看看苏州园林、建筑什么的.

男：苏州园林的确相当有名,一年四季游客都特别多.

女：拙政园、留园、网师园、和狮子林被称为苏州四大名园.雪梅,你想先看哪个?

雪梅：这四个我都想去看看,而且我觉得苏州的民居建筑也很有特点.

男：说到苏州的民居那就一定得说到水.

女：当然了,苏州被称作'东方威尼斯'嘛!

雪梅：你们看,那边的房子就很有水乡的特点,咱们去那儿看看吧.

男：好,那咱们就从那儿去拙政园,怎么样?

女：行,太好了.

男：走!

女：这儿的房子都建盖在水边,可真有情趣.

男：所以有古诗说苏州是'人家尽枕河'.

雪梅：这句诗的意思是人家都把河当枕头?

男：对,大概是这个意思吧,房子都建在水边,好像都枕着河似的.

雪梅：古诗真有意思.

女：苏州具有典型的江南水乡的特点.我觉得连色彩都和北方城市不一样.

男：没错,江南水乡的建筑大都是白墙灰瓦,没有北方城市色彩那么浓重.

女：对,苏州的园林建筑,一般说来色彩比较淡雅,而且都比较小巧.

男：没错,苏州园林在大小上和北京的皇家园林根本没法比.

女：这哪儿跟哪儿啊!

雪梅：是啊,这就象拿英国的白金汉宫和比尔盖茨的家比一样.

男：恩,我觉得你们说得对,是不能一起比.
 

Translation:

Colleague1: Oh, Suzhou. When I come here, I feel like writing poetry.

Colleague2: Don't be so sentimental. Give Xuemei an introduction. It's her first time here.

Xuemei：That's right. I've always wanted to come, but never found the time.

Colleague2: Well, now we're here for the conference. You can spend a few more days.

Colleague1：OK. Xuemei, what would you like to see in Suzhou?

Xuemei：I've heard that Suzhou gardens are famous, so I want to see the gardens and buildings in Suzhou.

Colleague1: Suzhou gardens are very famous. They attract many tourists throughout the year.

Colleague2: The Humble Administrator's Garden, the Lingering Garden, the Master-of-nets Garden and the Lion Forest Garden are the four renowned gardens of Suzhou.

Xuemei：I'd like to visit all four gardens. I also think the local residences in Suzhou are quite special.

Colleague1: You can't mention Suzhou's local residences without mentioning water.

Colleague2: Of course, Suzhou is called the 'Venice of the East'!

Xuemei：Look. Those houses there are typical of water towns. How about taking a look?

Colleague1: OK, from there we can go on to the Humble Administrator's Garden. How's that?

Xuemei：Sure. That's great.

Colleague2: The houses here are built by water. It's very interesting.

Colleague1: That's why the ancient poem says Suzhou is wher 'families make the river their pillows'.

Xuemei：Does it mean people here really use the river as pillows?

Colleague1: Yes. That's what it means. The houses are built on the water, as if sleeping on the river.

Xuemei：What a quaint poem.

Colleague2: Suzhou is typical of the water towns south of the Yangtze River. Even the colours in Suzhou are different from the northern cities.

Colleague1: That's right. The buildings in the water towns south of the Yangtze River mainly have white walls and grey tiles. The colours aren't as strong as in northern cities.

Colleague2: Yes. And Suzhou's gardens are the same. In general, their colours are more muted and they are quite petite.

Xuemei: Yes. I think so.

Colleague1: Sure. Suzhou Gardens are nothing compared to Beijing's Royal gardens in terms of size.

Colleague2: But they're not the same thing.

Xuemei：Yeah, that's like comparing Buckingham Palace in Great Britain with Bill Gates' house.

Colleague1: Hmm, you're right. There's no comparison.
 

Bookmarks

1、相当 fairly, quite

（例）全聚德的烤鸭相当有名。

The roast duck from Quan Ju De is quite famous.

（例）黄昏的时候，那儿的景色相当漂亮。

At dusk the scenery there is quite beautiful.

2、具有 possess

（例）她买了很多具有少数民族特色的衣服。

She bought many articles of clothing that show special characteristics of minority peoples.

（例）到这里来旅游对他来说具有特殊的意义。

For him travelling here has a special significance.

Sign Posts

Suzhou

In the lower reaches of the Yangtze and on the shores of Lake Tai lies the 2500-year-old city of Suzhou. Talking about Suzhou, people often mention the old saying:上有天堂下有苏杭 'In Heaven there is paradise, below there is Suzhou and Hangzhou.' Visiting Suzhou, I'm sure you will find more than a grain of truth in this saying.

With the building of the Grand Canal that linked this area with Beijing in the north, Suzhou was strategically located on a major trading route. The city's fortunes and size grew rapidly. By the 12th century, Suzhou had attained its present dimensions. Marco Polo visited here in 1276 and called the city "great" and "noble".

By the 14th century, Suzhou had established itself as the leading silk-producing city in China. Many aristocrats, scholars and cultural figures were attracted to the city and constructed villas and garden retreats for themselves.

At its height, there were over 100 gardens, large and small, in Suzhou. These gardens are looked upon as works of art, a fusion of nature, architecture, poetry and painting designed to ease, move or assist the mind.

A series of canals and waterways flow through the city, leading to Suzhou's nickname as "Venice of the East".

Substitution and Extension

1、借.....的机会 take advantage of ... opportunity

（例）他打算借去北京开会的机会见见老朋友。

He plans to take advantages of the opportunity of staying in Beijng for some meetings to meet some old friends.