骏爸的中英双语养育记录

Mountie

雷人的梦呓

（2011年4月28日）


　　昨天晚上，骏骏睡得不踏实，醒了两三次，不知是因为热了、痒了还是做梦了。
　　不知是几点钟的时候，骏骏又醒了。他一动，我也醒了，只听他说：“Daddy, have you ever drunk toothpaste milk shake?”
　　天哪，半夜三更讲这样的话，也不怕把他老爸雷死。我正想问：“Do you mean drinking it or using it to brush my teeth?”后来想，骏骏可能是做梦了，不能问他问题，他一思考就怕他睡不着了，于是简单地答道：“No.”
　　骏骏自己也半梦半醒的，又问了个也挺雷人的问题，不过现在想不起是什么了。我没答他，他很快又睡着了。

　　今天早上，骏骏醒来后，我问他：“Why did you ask me whether I had ever drunk toothpaste milk shake?　What's toothpaste milk shake?”骏骏一听就笑了：“I wanted to know how milk shake would taste like with toothpaste in it.”
　　我又问：“You asked another question, but I have forgotten. What was that?”骏骏自己也想不起来了，却临时想到另一个问题：“What does it feel like to stay inside a tank?”这显然不是昨晚问的第二个问题。
　　我想起以前参加民兵练习时，进入一部旧坦克里体验过。那时正是夏天，坦克里闷热得够呛，只呆了片刻就出来了。我说：“It's very hot inside a tank.”
　　骏骏又问：“Why don't they put an air conditioner in it?”
　　我答道：“New tanks have air conditioners now, but old tanks didn't. In the past, designers only thought of making the tanks stronger and putting more ammunition in them. Later, they found that soldiers were too uncomfortable to fight against enemies, so they decided to add air conditioners to tanks.”
    后来想了想，我又加了句：“In cold areas, tanks don't need air conditioning. They need a heating system instead.”

awen99

算是强大的一帖,继续精彩下去

coolguy

关于BIG machines的问题，请骏爸解疑：
看了DK的BIG MACHINES, 还有“Big noisy trucks and diggers”也是本坛下的。对这两本书的介绍有点搞混了对于第一本书的BULLDOZER,第二本书叫TRACTOR。是不是bulldozer是tractor的一种？WHEEL ROADER是啥东东，是不是向excator一样，但是前面那个铲东西的装置和bulldozer一样？看了http://www.kenkenkikki.jp/zukan/e_index.html,就更糊涂了。bulldozer,excavator,wheel roader是这么大致分类的。彻底晕。。。

Mountie

原帖由 coolguy 于 2011-5-11 11:38 发表
关于BIG machines的问题，请骏爸解疑：
看了DK的BIG MACHINES, 还有“Big noisy trucks and diggers”也是本坛下的。对这两本书的介绍有点搞混了对于第一本书的BULLDOZER,第二本书叫TRACTOR。是不是bulldozer是 ...

因为骏骏喜欢工程车，给他读过很多这方面的原版童书。刚开始的时候，我都会犯糊涂，后来读多了才搞清楚了。

Tractor一般是指拖拉机，可以拖挂不同的拖车或设备以实现不同的目的。另外，Tractor还可以指卡车的“车头”部分，包括发动机和驾驶室，这种情况下，完整的说法其实是这种卡车的Tractor Unit。

您提到Bulldozer、Wheel Loader（不是Wheel Roader）和Excavator（不是Excator），下面就讲讲这三种容易混淆的工程车之间的区别。

Bulldozer是推土机，它的前面只是一个Blade，不是Bucket，只把土地推平整，不往卡车上装载。另外，比较小型的推土机在英语里有个有趣的名字叫calfdozer。

Loader的前面有Bucket，可以往卡车上装载，方式是先往前平铲，再向上前方托举，然后Bucket前翻，把里面的东西倾倒出来。它还有很多其它名称，包括bucket loader, front loader, front-end loader, payloader, scoop loader, shovel, skip loader, wheel loader等。Loader可以是轮式的，也可以是履带式的，Wheel Roader则特指有车轮的而不是有履带的。

Excavator与Loader一样有Bucket，可以用来往卡车上装载，它与Loader的区别主要有两个：一个是结构上的区别，Excavator的驾驶室在一个Turntable上，因此可以停在一个点上作360度自由旋转，而Loader由于没有Turntable，不能停在一个点上左右转动；另一个是操作上的区别，Excavator的主要动作是下挖，而Loader的主要动作是装载——Excavator有活动的长臂，可以向下挖，然后把土勾起，再旋转到另一角度，再把沙土倾倒成一堆或倒在卡车、传送带等东西上，Loader不能向下挖，只能往前或略向下推铲，因此它主要用来装载。Excavator也可以叫Digger或Backhoe。Excavator也是有轮式和履带式两种。Trackhoe特指那种履带式的。


这个问题的回答，我也放到我的新浪博客上了，博客上还配了图片，可能会看得更明白些：http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_464ddd7b01017927.html

[ 本帖最后由 Mountie 于 2011-5-12 12:58 编辑 ]

frozendream

your english is perfect. 我英语不行，交女儿英语只能因循守旧。此外，你每个月在教育上的投资足够我们一家一个月（不到6000）的收入，只能说，你的方法借鉴一下可以，但操作起来，对于经济实力非常低的人来说，只能望尘莫及。

Mountie

原帖由 frozendream 于 2011-5-12 14:34 发表
your english is perfect. 我英语不行，交女儿英语只能因循守旧。此外，你每个月在教育上的投资足够我们一家一个月（不到6000）的收入，只能说，你的方法借鉴一下可以，但操作起来，对于经济实力非常低的人来说 ...

我们家在教育上的投入并不算大。幼儿园每月500多元，赞助费分摊到每个月400来元，上绘画班、趣味科学班和轮滑班每个月共约200多元，买书买碟买玩具每月300－500元。因此，每个月的教育投入大概在1500元上下。

Mountie

骏骏用中文转述英文故事 The Gigantic Bell

（2011年5月2日）

        今天打算给骏骏读 PM Story Books Level 22 中的 The Gigantic Bell，但我没直接拿出来给他读，而是先提个问题，引起他的兴趣：
        “A long time ago, someone made a gigantic bell that was three times taller than a grownup. It was so heavy that they couldn't figure out a way to move it from where it was made to the temple far away. Can you think of a way to move it?”
        骏骏这个机械迷马上就想到机械了：“They could use a steam engine to pull it.”还好，他没搬出当代的机械来，而是说 steam engine，大概是觉得 steam engine 已经够古老了。
        我否定了他的回答：“Steam engines were not invented yet at that time.”
        骏骏又问：“Could they use horses to pull it?”
        我又否定了他的答案：“No. Not even oxen.”
        骏骏不愿意继续想下去了：“Oh, I have no idea.”
        我就把书拿出来：“You can read to find out by yourself.”

        骏骏看到这本书，两眼放光，高兴地接过去，自己读起来。

        骏骏很快就读完了，跑过来找我，自豪地说：“Now I know how they moved it.”

        我装作惊奇地问：“Could they really do that? How did they move it?”

        骏骏在我面前来来回回地走着，一边走一边说：“When the bell was made, it was almost winter. They dug a channel from the bell to the temple, and filled it with water. When winter came, the water froze into ice, and they could pull it along the ice!”

        我赞叹道：“That was a clever way to move such a heavy bell. I want to read the book now.”

        我把书拿过来，打算读给骏骏听的。骏骏却说：“Daddy, let me read it to you.”我很乐意做他的听众。骏骏把整本书读了下来，只有两个单词是他不认识的，一个是 admire，另一个是 despair。

        骏骏读完之后，我提议道：“That's a great story. Why don't you tell mommy this story in Chinese?”

        骏骏跑到厨房，问正在做晚饭的骏妈：“妈妈，很久很久以前，有人做了个很大很重的铃铛（呵呵，骏骏还不知道对应的中文应该是“钟”），但是没办法把它从制造的地方运到寺庙里去，你知道怎么运吗？”

        骏妈当然不知道，就请骏骏给讲这个故事。骏骏一五一十地讲了起来，说在古代中国，人们做了个巨大的“铃铛”，但无法运到城外的寺庙去，后来有人想到了办法，挖了一道水沟，灌满水，冬天水结冰了，就可以从冰上把“铃铛”拉到寺庙去了。

        整个故事基本讲得有眉有眼，骏妈也听得很明白。还会加一些自己的词儿，例如说制钟人很“神气”。美中不足的是，故事开头的引子——鲁班的故事，跟整个故事的联系不是很紧密的，转述时本来可以省略掉，他倒讲得挺详细；而故事中间讨论和发现搬运方法的过程，他倒没讲出来。不过，骏骏能把一个英文的故事转述到这个程度，我们已经很满足了。

niuniuxin2006

can you please post a video about any conversation between you and your son so that we can have a rough idea about his intonation, stress and basic pronunciation?

to be honest, your son's English reading ability is pretty impressive. How about his Chinese? and how about sports?

Mountie

原帖由 niuniuxin2006 于 2011-5-18 05:13 发表
can you please post a video about any conversation between you and your son so that we can have a rough idea about his intonation, stress and basic pronunciation?

to be honest, your son's Engl ...

I won't post any video of my son or our family on the web. Maybe I will post some audio clip here or in my blog sometime in the future if I manage to get one.

Tommy has been brought up in a family with an enriching English environment. His command of English, including pronunciation and intonation, is more or less the same as native speakers of the same age. Kids can acquire a language easily, and pronunciation & intonation are the last things that you need to worry about.

Tommy's English has been better than his Chinese until he was five years old. Now his Chinese has caught up with English, although he still has a bigger English vocabulary. The reason lies in more English books and DVDs. His Chinese will be better than English sooner or later, since the Chinese environment is much stronger. But I am confident in helping him keep pace with native English-speaking kids.

Tommy hasn't shown any talent in sports yet. It's something that I am a little worried about. Sports are very important for boys. But I myself am not good at sports. I can't expect too much from him. I took him to learn in-line skating. Sometimes he likes it. Sometimes he doesn't when he is learning something difficult.

niuniuxin2006

Kids can acquire a language easily, and pronunciation & intonation are the last things that you need to worry about.
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You are absolutely wrong here, Dude. This is the only reason why a kid should pick up a language at his early age.  otherwise, it does not make any sense. Kid's learning ability will be built up when he is getting older.  

You have never, ever spoken Chinese to your son? what's your feeling when you said "Tommy's English has been better than his Chinese until he was five years old."? you are kind of crazy. God helps me here.