Cao Chong Weighs The Elephant 曹冲称象 - Paragraph 2 第二段

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Note: The text is pasted here in case you want to copy/paste one of the words into a dictionary app, but the above video and zip file download are best inputting the content as they have audio and text-tracking.

正当大家都没办法的时候，曹冲站到大象前面，说："我有办法！"大家一听都觉得很有意思，都等着看曹冲怎么解决这个问题。曹冲先让大家给他搬石头过来，越多越好，越大越好。大家都不知道他想做什么，但还是听他的话，搬来了很多石头，没有一会儿，石头就和山一样高了。然后，曹冲让大象走上称去。大象一走上去，称的另一边就高到了天上去了。这时，曹冲让大家把石头一个一个放到称上去，大家你一个我一个，很快就把地上的石头都搬到了称上去。慢慢地，大象的一边变高了，而另一边变低了，最后两边平了。曹冲说："现在我们只要知道石头的一共有多重，那就可以知道大象有多重了。" 没想到，大人都想不到的办法，被一个小孩儿想到了。从那天起，曹冲聪明的故事就人人都知道了。

Top-Down Words

搬 bān - to move; to transport
聪明 cōngming - clever
称 chèng - balance scale 
把 bǎ - (shifts object before verb)
放 fàng - to put, to place
而 ér - on the other hand
低 dī - low
平 píng - equal; at the same level or weight
知道 zhīdào - to know

How to Use This Lesson

Step One

Watch the video here on the course platform. Feel free to take as much time as you'd like to understand the content, but don't feel obligated to understand the text right now fully. You'll download the video and return to it later. 

Step Two

Download the zip file from the sidebar (desktop/laptop) or below this description (Mobile APP). That zip file contains the following:

• Text tracking video(s) MP4 file(s)
• Audio MP3 file(s)
• Image file of the text & top-down words for your reference

Step Three

At a time of your choosing, use the video files to practice shadowing. If you need a reminder, this lesson explains how to shadow. These video files are ideal for shadowing, especially if you download them to your phone because you can walk around while doing it.

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Member Comments from 2019-mid-2020

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Rebecca Wheble

"大家你一个我一个" What does this mean?

Mandarin Blueprint

In this context, everyone is taking a stone and putting it on the scale, so 大家你一个我一个 is saying "everyone places a stone," and because everyone is doing it, all the stones get onto the scale very quickly.

Richard Krause

I still don't understand the usage of 你 and 我 in this context.Can you elaborate?

Mandarin Blueprint

It's just a way of saying "everyone gets one, you get one, I get one." It's a bit over-explained, but it is a kid's story after all. The way you could imagine it in the context of the story is that everyone is lining up to put the rocks on the scale, and everyone's included.