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#162424 10/13/06 09:52 AM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
My notion of a cosmic joke would be more like giving a carnivore's digestive system to an animal that eats mostly bamboo shoots.

#162425 10/13/06 03:08 PM
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
But, positive side: in a short while the bamboos would not mind a little break.

#162426 10/16/06 06:46 AM
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 91
C
journeyman
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journeyman
C
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 91
I "managed" to find one corresponding Chinese expression, though it's some traditional Chinese. The expression is:

天意弄人(hope it will not turn out to be displayed greek).

Literally it means "Heaven means to taunt human".

Is this closer? The overall sentence would look like this if translated using this: What heaven means to taunt human here is:...

Does this sound fine? Though in Chinese it might be some formal, or not colloquial enough as expected.

Thanks all you guys for helping me. I was grateful to all the posts.


Do inform me if you see any corrections needed in my written English.
#162427 10/20/06 11:50 PM
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154
Z
Zed Offline
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Z
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,154
How about " One way in which heaven taunts humans is that there is very little difference in talent between ..."
or " Heaven's way of tarnting humans in theis field (or area) is that there is usually very little difference in talent between the person who earns $50,000 per year and the one who earns $100,000 per year. The only difference is that one has settled at a lower level while the other has refused to settle for less than $100,000."

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