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Monday, April 13, 2009

My Chinese Essay

Okay I'm pretty proud of this so I thought I'd post it just for fun. My tutor has me writing an essay every week to practice using new words, and although I usually have some mistakes, it's pretty cool to be able to write something in Chinese, using my own ideas.

借债是不是好事?

在21世纪,很多中国人开始向银行贷款买车,买房子,等等。。。 这样做,他们可以用明天的钱来实现今天的梦。以前,“信用”这个观念还没发现,很多人没办法买车,房子,等等。 现在就可以。信用对经济,对个人都有好处。
不过,借债过日子不一定是一个好事。有的人工作不稳定,没有工作的时候,就不能按时还钱。那他们得借越来越多钱来生活。他们的信用会越来越差,银行不再借钱给他们。那他们怎么办?没办法还钱,他们不但丢人,而且连生命也可能没有!
看看美国的情况。 在西方,很多人借债过日子。买房子的时候,只要付百分之五的房款。可是国家有困难的时候,经济差一点儿,收入就不稳定,有的人不能按时地还在银行借的钱。他们的房子就没了。
借债享受生活要多小心。信用有好处,可是如果经济的情况不好,这个好处可以变成不利条件。

I know there are some mistakes, but the gist of it is this:

Borrowing money - good or bad?

In the 21st century, many Chinese people are starting to take out loans at the bank to buy cars, apartments, etc... This way, they can use tomorrow's money to realize their dreams today. In the past, "credit" was an undiscovered concept; many people had no way to buy cars, houses, etc. Now they can. Credit has many benefits both for the economy and for the individual.
However, using credit for your daily needs isn't necessarily a good thing. Some people's jobs are not stable, and when they're out of a job, they can't make their payments promptly. Then they must borrow more and more money just to live. Their credit rating will get worse and worse, and the bank will no longer lend money to them. Then what will they do? Without any way to pay back the money, they will not only lose face, but perhaps even their lives (note: I know I'm being dramatic here but I wanted to use that word)!
Look at the US situation. In the west, many people borrow money for their daily needs. When you go to buy a house, you only have to pay 5% of the total cost. But when the nation is going through difficulties and the economy isn't good, their income isn't stable and they're unable to make their payments. Then they may lose their house.
You must be very careful when borrowing money to enjoy life. There are many benefits to using credit, but when the economical situation isn't good, the benefit may become a disadvantage.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

My dearest daughter-in-law:

I enjoyed the English translation of your essay and am quite impressed that you can write at the high level in Chinese. Unfortunately, something is not turned on correctly on this computer and so I was not able to view the Chinese characters. Instead it just displayed so much gibberish.

I am looking forward to (and am hoping to) visit you in Xiamen to see your home and the surroundings. It sounds like the little island Guilongyu is especially enchanting.
Please keep writing on this blog.
With lots of love,
Jamie

nameless said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
nameless said...

This is so interesting! I admire your determination to learn how to write in Chinese.

Kristin