icebear Posted June 11, 2012 at 11:07 PM Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 at 11:07 PM A part of the Grand First Episode Project -- See this thread for more info. Youku: http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMzc1MjIxODI0.html Difficulty level: Lower Intermediate Recently finished 奋斗 and am on the lookout for some new material. I wanted to make sure any new series I started had a high-def version available on Youku (which streams surprisingly well here in Europe), which eliminates some of the stream recommendations which are a bit older. Came across AA制生活 by searching Youku for the 奋斗 actors' highest rated series. The first episode follows two young couples, 韩心 and 何琪 who grew up together in the same 四合院 and 张林, a poor rural boy with a good heart and his girlfriend 娟儿 who comes from a highly privileged background. 张林 and 娟儿's subplot focus mostly on her conflict with her parents, who strongly disagree with the young couple's plans to marry. 韩心 and 何琪's is centered around life in their 四合院, where their families live side by side, and their realization that its time to marry. When 张林 and 娟儿 elope they are united with a newly married 韩心 and 何琪, who invite them to stay with them while they get on their feet. Nothing in the first episode is particularly gripping or ground shaking - some rural/rich angst in one relationship, and another which is more or less perfect. I see potential for them make it a bit edgier, either with scandal or hardship related to the rural/wealthy issues. The Chinese level required is modest in my opinion - definitely an intermediate-accessible show. Much easier than 奋斗 because accents are clearer and in general the amount of slang less. Although the plot isn't particularly good (yet?) I'm going to stick with it for a handful of episodes because it fits my level really well - the amount of new words per episode is very manageable, compared to something like 奋斗 where I was flooded with new slang by the minute. First Episode Vocab 青梅竹马 没法 失落 对劲儿 相处 怀孕 存款 自立 闺女 耽误 媳妇 算数 姿势 知己知彼 断绝 利索 磨蹭 没心没肺 嫁 踏实 审查 绽放 婚姻 拥抱 冰棍 媳妇 嫉妒 排骨 失态 助兴 友情 祝福 丫头 大侠 车间 砖头 按理 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imron Posted June 11, 2012 at 11:16 PM Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 at 11:16 PM Added episode number to the title. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkhsu Posted June 11, 2012 at 11:29 PM Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 at 11:29 PM Although the plot isn't particularly good (yet?) I gave up after a few episodes. Sometimes I watch (a show that isn't interesting to me) just to learn Chinese but haven't had much luck finding ones I can endure recently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yang Chuanzhang Posted June 11, 2012 at 11:33 PM Report Share Posted June 11, 2012 at 11:33 PM Thanks for posting, definitely going to watch at least one episode. It also seems to be on Youtube: Useful for people like me who get one minute for video for every 10 minutes of buffering on Chinese video sites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icebear Posted June 12, 2012 at 11:15 PM Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2012 at 11:15 PM Episode 2 Vocab 馊 智取 户口 愁 乍 大意失荆州 寒碜 死心塌地 先斩后奏 甩 潇洒 融洽 早日 享福 给力 犹豫 闹腾 不比 裸婚 玫瑰 知足 靠谱 甜言蜜 牺牲品 抹布 精辟 黄花 武断 走廊 极限 外号大侠 仗义 嫂子 居心不良 将计就计 生米 苦肉计 掺和 义气 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludens Posted June 13, 2012 at 01:01 AM Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 at 01:01 AM I‘ve just tried to watch the first 10 or 15 minutes. Like every other series I've tried, I can only follow this when pausing to read the subtitles for every single line. I think I would do better if not everyone seemed hysterical all the time. As this really isn't pleasurable, I'm wondering if this really is a good way to spend my study time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icebear Posted June 13, 2012 at 07:07 AM Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 at 07:07 AM As this really isn't pleasurable, I'm wondering if this really is a good way to spend my study time. I'm able to follow it pretty smoothly, and I'd still rate it as only marginally better than boring. Given that its a highly rated show, that tells you a bit about the general quality of Chinese series. If being used as learning material (not pleasure) one has to just bite the bullet and tough out an entire season (not necessarily this one!) - and then another, and another... You'll find that most non-native English speakers with the best English also mention they've watched a lot of TV, have a favorite US/UK series they've seen a few times, etc - I think there is a lot to be gained from committing to a whole season and trying to watch an few episodes a week. Stopping to look up words at first is horribly frustrating. But that's part of learning a language; if you aren't willing to put yourself through that pain you might end up indefinitely stuck at a lower-intermediate level. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imron Posted June 13, 2012 at 09:00 AM Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 at 09:00 AM I agree with icebear. If you eventually want to be able to listen and watch TV and native content, then there is always going to be an initial period where you don't understand much and it's very frustrating. The only real way to get over that hurdle is to bite the bullet and start methodically and repeatedly watching video and looking up unknown words, and watching back and listening again, until you gradually start to understand more and more. It's not an enjoyable process, but it is a worthwhile if you keep at it. This post from several years back explains things quite well (it's for radio rather than video, but the same concepts apply). It will probably take several months of regular watching, repeating and looking up new words before things start to feel comfortable, but if you don't go through that process, you may never reach a point where it feels comfortable. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted June 13, 2012 at 11:17 AM Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 at 11:17 AM Have taken the liberty of moving some posts across to the Recommendations topic. Please forgive cheese-moving. Edit: Er... ha ha... turns out that topic is closed. Is there a general ongoing recommendations topic? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imron Posted June 13, 2012 at 12:28 PM Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 at 12:28 PM General discussion has been known to happen here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted June 13, 2012 at 12:32 PM Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 at 12:32 PM That'll do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshuawbb Posted June 13, 2012 at 02:49 PM Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 at 02:49 PM I also gave up after about episode 6. Whilst the story between the couple trying to win dad's approval wasn't so bad at first, I quickly got sick of the other babyish couple apparently competing to find the silliest way of handling money. You may find the first two episodes worthwhile for their language content though. Thanks and kudos to icebear for the vocab lists 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludens Posted June 14, 2012 at 01:26 AM Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 at 01:26 AM Thanks for the support, icebear and imron. It gave me some motivation to start again (tomorrow ) and hopefully keep at it for a while. To be honest, I think my problem is not just my listening skills, but also, among others, lacking reading skills/speed, due to over emphasizing vocab/srs drills until recently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imron Posted June 14, 2012 at 02:10 AM Report Share Posted June 14, 2012 at 02:10 AM Just remember it's something that will take a few months of regular effort if you want to see significant progress, so don't be disheartened if you don't notice improvement straight away. If you read 赫杰's follow up to the post I linked to above, it gives a pretty good breakdown of what progress was like for him. I can't remember the specific details for myself, but it probably wasn't much different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icebear Posted June 15, 2012 at 10:45 PM Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2012 at 10:45 PM Episode 3 拦 乱七八糟 怂 看不起 认定 不比 阻力 自信 赖皮 过不去 男子汉 心眼 犯傻 趁火打劫 拆开 骨气 出道 伤脑筋 平静 翻江倒海 深思熟虑 万无一失 婚庆 智商 苦头 妥协 投降 打退堂鼓 随时 解雇 亏空 空口 滑稽 股份 基数 退路 必要 嫌弃 不许 靠谱 侮辱 火上浇油 委屈 叫板 饶 揪心 言语 惹 默认 认错 业务 报表 汇报 性感 放贷 外貌 安全感 乌鸦 开屏 孔雀 工夫 光顾 悬 无论如何 人脉 万事 开头 伙食 遭罪 张口 搁 务必 枣泥 福气 眼圈 抓紧 改组 入股 分红 孝敬 反倒 心病 养活 瞎 琢磨 至于 报帐 算计 甭 彝族 搭 崇拜 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renzhe Posted October 28, 2012 at 08:36 PM Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 at 08:36 PM I started watching this, and I guess it's OK. It's not much worse or better than most modern idol youth dramas. It's very easy to follow, but nothing is really gripping me enough to keep watching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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