主题：some wonderful experiences

I have some wonderful experiences to share with you.
I like to practice listening by doing dictation.once I practiced voa special english the american story “young man Exobrot”.i did a good job,and wrote out most of the script . but I wasn’t sure of a few sentences.so I went to one of the best english learning web site to get help.

Here is my post:

“Dear teachers
I'm doing dictating practice.I meet some words that I don't know how to spell according their pronunciation. 1."He began to take long walks at night.He learned the secrets of the dark.He saw the broad grass lands under the moon.He heard the voices of grass and cotton wood trees and sleepy birds."
here,is the "cotton" spelled correctly?And what is a cotton wood tree?
2."He got on a train to New Haven,Kaneteikan,to become a student at Yale University." I know "Kaneteikan" is the place where New Haven belongs to,but how to spell it?
3."Haifis is playing in Hardfa tonight."
From the context,I know "Haifis " is a famous violin player and "Hardfa"is a place which is near Yale University,but how to spell them?Would you like to tell me more about them?
4."They walked back under the up douba moon." What is the "up douba" moon?
5."Wait here a minute ,tu vI lI go up to my room and get some money for food."
I know the meaning of this sentence.But I want to know the exact words of "tu vI lI".
Thank you in advance.
J.”

Then I got replies from some native teachers:

“re: Yale University airhead - 76th post - 17 Dec 2004 14:06
J, it seems you've been listening to the New England accent.
1.'Cottonwood' is a kind of tree. 2. New Haven is in the state of Connecticut. 3. Jascha Heifetz is a renowned violinist. 'Hardfa' is probably 'Harvard', another university and perennial adversary of Yale University. 4. 'up douba'. The only word I can think of that would be a phonetic equivalent in your sentence is 'October', an October moon. 5. Those words don't exist in English. Can't help with this one.

re: Yale University Alan Mon - 285th post - 17 Dec 2004 14:38
tu vi |i =?"do while I"?
A.


re: Yale University Tiger (male of the species) - 5th post - 17 Dec 2004 14:56
Can't help admiring your work here, Alan, but 'do' no longer gets used for emphasis in that way, does it? (Or perhaps this usage is just too bound up for me with that song 'Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do'.) Could it perhaps be a parenthetical 'would you?' pronounced ''d you?'?
BTW, it's a long time since Jascha Heifetz played anywhere, so either the recordings that prompted this discussion are old ones or somebody was in for a disappointment that evening.


re: Yale University Robert J. - 1862nd post - 17 Dec 2004 15:08
I agree with Al, but I'd like to make one minor change. The city of New Haven is, of course, the home of Yale University. What you heard as "Hardfa" is really "Hartford", another city close to New Haven.
Is it possible that it should be "tu vi; I'll", and that "tu vi" is a mangled version of someone's name?
RJ


re: Yale University airhead - 77th post - 17 Dec 2004 16:14
Right you are about Hartford.



re: Yale University Robert J. - 1871st post - 17 Dec 2004 16:44
Sorry, airhead, not enough coffee yet. By the time I got to the reply page, I thought it was Al who had written the original reply. At least I got the first "A" right.
RJ



re: Yale University Al - 78th post - 17 Dec 2004 15:10
"Wait here a minute ,tu vI lI go up to my room and get some money for food."
Perhaps "Wait here a minute or two, while I go up to my room and get some money for food." ”

Finally,I got the answers that I needed.and here is my last reply:

“Hi,airhead,Alan, Tiger, Robert, Al
Thank you all for your wonderful replies.
I got them finally.
I waited all day for the answers.I thought that maybe it is not a good way to discuss pronunciations by writing down what you heard by your ears.I thought that maybe nobody could understand what I was saying.It seemes like a crossword game that has no correct answers.

But I was wrong.We've eventually done it.

"Wait here a minute or two, while I go up to my room and get some money for food."About the No.5,I think Al is right.

Tank you once again.

J.”

This is my story.you see,it is easy to learn english by communicating.
Sometimes,people think it is hard to learning foreign languages.
Actually,it is so,if you begin your learning with too much passion and big goals,spend too much time looking up new words ,consulting grammar books ,and reciting boring textbooks.

I’ve read about 30 english novels.i guess if I turned to dictionary every time I met a new word,I would have given them up.if so,you will not enjoy the hapiness of reading.
Sometimes,being lazy is a good way to learn well.
Hope you enjoy your learning.