Lesson 360: Notes

Congratulations on finishing level 6. Expect to see new changes in level 7. We will follow a new format for every 4 lessons as follows:

1. Dialogue
2. Article
3. Lines or announcements you may hear in different situations
4. Introduction of a country

See you in level 7!


Lesson 359: Notes

1. This article provides a good review of the vocabulary learned in the lessons about office technology (printers, fax machines, photocopiers) as well as computer usage (editing files, spreadsheets) terms.

2. Notice how typing in English and Chinese requires different skills. We define these as being able to type in “Chinese characters” and “English characters.” 并且会打字中文字和英文字

3. The character is used in situations where the actual action required isn’t clear. We see it used in 把公司的收入和费用弄成表格给老板看, where it refers to compiling the profits and expenses into a statement.


Lesson 358: Notes

As mentioned in the last lesson, use these articles to check your understanding of all the vocabulary and grammar / sentence patterns used. Use the transcripts where necessary to confirm your understanding. If you feel confident that you can understand the majority of the material without any additional aides, you should be ready for level 7! 加油


Lesson 357: Notes

From this lesson on, none of the lessons left in this level introduce any new words. So use the next 4 lessons as review of vocabulary, sentence and grammar patterns.


Lesson 356: Notes

We are going to finish off level 6 with a series of articles that review vocabulary that has been studied in this level. Use them to check your understanding of vocabulary, grammar and sentence patterns.


Lesson 355: Notes

Note that is used more frequently in Chinese than “all” is in English. You can think of it as referring to all of the part being described.

a. 目前媒体报导的新闻很多都是负面的.
b. 大部分的报导都是一些负面的事情.


Lesson 354: Notes

1. Notice how the translations of some sentences are different from their literal meaning:
a. In 像我觉得媒体的发展让很多名人变得没有自由了 the literal translation is “For example I feel media’s development let many celebrities become no freedom”.
b. In 要是人们都不看媒体转播的报导, the literal translation is “If people all don’t watch media broadcast reports”.

2. We see more examples of the particle in this lesson:
a. 因为有很多小报的记者 想知道那些名人过着什么样的生活. Here it used to show that the living is a continuous action.
b. 像去外面吃饭的时候有些记者也会跟着你. Here it shows that the following action is continuous.


Lesson 353: Notes

1. We used a slightly different approach in this lesson of not giving you the English translation of some of the new words up front, but rather a translation into Chinese. The English translations were added to the end summary so you could check if you understood them correctly or not.

2. Note how 运动 can refer to exercise or sports:

a. 那当然运动对身体很好.

b. 可是有些人只是对一些体育很有兴趣.

3. Note the use of the verb in 所以有时候可能会因为这样害自己的球队输掉比赛. In Chinese, you can distinguish between a regular cause and a harmful cause using this verb.


Lesson 352: Notes

1. Note how the following adverbs are used:

a. 有一位八十岁的老人哭着说. 有一个农夫对记者抱怨说. This can be thought of as “said complaining”.

b. 投资人都开心地笑了. This one is easier to grasp as “laughed excitedly”.

2. In today’s article you will see a couple of uses of the . It is used to indicate an action takes place over an extended period.

a. 有一位八十岁的老人哭着说. Here the crying takes place longer than the saying.

b. 要是观众们有空的话可以带着全家人到那里去看看. Here the “taking” isn’t a single event but prolonged over the duration of the performance.

3. Many businesses prefer to use “rest” instead of “closing for the day”, as seen in 股票市场休息一天.


Lesson 351: Notes

1. is used differently than we’ve seen it in the past in the sentence 或是当地政府定了哪些新的规定.

2. Note how 最近 can refer to both the recent past and the upcoming future:
a. 他们也会告诉你最近买哪些股票可能会让你赚钱.
b. 应该也会比较了解最近投资的趋势是什么.


Lesson 350: Notes

1. Note that 欧洲 and 澳洲 sound quite similar but can be distinguished from their tones (4th tone versus 1st tone).

2. Notice how Kirin uses to express her ability in geography in 可是我地理方面不太行.

3. Notice how southwest is literally “west south” in Chinese in 而且是在日本的西南边. Similarly, one could say 西北, 东南 and 东北.


Lesson 349: Notes

1. You can see a couple of examples of the 先 / 再 construct in this lesson:

a. 为什么麦克不先告诉小李再去买戒指呢

b. 嗯,所以他们应该先到别的地方旅行再考虑要不要搬到那边住.

2. Notice the use of in 你会觉得他们之前在一起的时间都浪费掉了吗? You can think of its use here as meaning “losing wasted time”.


Lesson 348: Notes

1. Note how 大概 is used differently from English in the following sentences:

a. 那目前故事大概的内容是什么?

b. 我想你们大概猜得出来今天的故事会发生什么事情.

2. 完全 is used to emphasize the “complete non expectation” in 她完全没想到麦克会有这个计划.

3. Notice how, like in English, proposals can be accepted or agreed to: 因为他以为小李一定会接受他的求婚. 没想到到最后小李却不答应他的求婚


Lesson 347: Notes

1. You can use 很会 to emphasize your ability to do something, as seen in 麦克可能很会讲故事.

2. Notice how “if” is assumed and not explicitly specified in the question 为什么小李已经知道麦克要离开她还是很惊讶呢


Lesson 346: Notes

1. Notice how the use of tense is developed from context. By itself, the sentence 小李会带麦克到处去玩 translates to the future. However, in the context of this story, it translates into the past 然后周末的时候小李会带麦克到处去玩. We have a similar contrast in 麦克也会带小李到西方餐厅去吃饭 and 麦克也会带小李到西方餐厅去吃饭.

2. The sentence 小李会带麦克到处去玩 literally translates to “Xiaoli will take Mike everywhere go fun” which is slightly different from the English translation of taking him to many different places.

3. Notice the construction of how something is introduced to someone else – literally it’s “introduce object give subject to know” in 小李会带麦克到处去玩而且介绍一些中国文化给麦克认识 and “introduce food give subject to eat” in 麦克也会带小李到西方餐厅去吃饭介绍一些小李从来没吃过的西方食物给她吃.

4. Compare the use of relationship in these two sentences: 过了几个月后小李跟麦克的关系越来越好 and 过没多久他们果然谈恋爱了. 而且他们的感情变得更好了. The first example talks about a general relationship while the second one refers to a romantic one.


Lesson 345: Notes

Note how people can be referred to in different ways than in English:

1. “Teacher” is a title in Chinese, just like “Doctor” is in English: 现在请杨老师先给我们上一课故事的简介.

2. Mike is referred to as “Mr Mike” in the story, since we don’t know his last name. 小李发现麦克先生要在他的学校上班.


Lesson 344: Notes

1. Note how 当地 is used as a noun, rather than an adjective in the sentence 他本来住在美国后来搬到中国并且在当地教英文.

2. Note how to help someone, we can say “to help his busy”: 后来校长问老师们有没有人愿意 在麦克先生上课的时候帮他的忙.


Lesson 343: Notes

1. Compare the construction of the following sentences:

a. 他对中国的历史非常着迷.
b. 他被西方的文化给吸引.

While both of them talk about subjects being influenced by other entities, the first uses the 他对X非常着迷 construction while the second uses 他被X给吸引.

2. When using 不管,you need to follow its usage with a question, such as in 我认为不管住在哪里, where 住在哪里 is the question.

我认为不管住在哪里人们都会对不同的文化有好奇的感觉.

3. Note the user of emphatic particles and emphasizing that the statement isn’t what one might otherwise imagine:

a. 他比较想要体验中国当地的文化却不是西方的文化.

b. 有的时候你可能会觉得你在美国并不是你去旅游的那个国家.


Lesson 342: Notes

Use the story and article lessons to practice your listening skills. The approach we recommend is to first listen to the normal speed version and see how much of it you understand. Then listen to the slowed down version to practice your pronunciation and give you more time to think what each sentence is saying. If there are still parts that you don’t understand, then refer to the translations provided in the complete transcripts. Once you are familiar with the new vocabulary and sentence patterns taught, then try your hand at the different exercises such as the typing test and sentence builders. For an added challenge, try reading the entire transcript yourself in Chinese characters. Following these steps for each lesson should insure constant improvement on your part.


Lesson 341: Notes

1. Although 好奇 uses the character , the pronunciation of the first character changes to the fourth tone.

2. Note how 大概 is used as a noun in 故事的大概是

3. This lesson features many instances of the and particles emphasizing cause and effect:

:

a. 可是要是人们看到别的国家的文化和生活 跟他们当地的差很多当然就会觉得好奇. If the first clause occurs (people seeing different culture and life), then the second one (they will feel curious) will definitely occur.

b. 可以到那边旅游就行了. The second clause (their satisfaction) will occur if the first (going there for travel) occurs.

c. 在亚洲大部分的父母认为孩子的责任就是把书念好. Studying well is directly related to children’s responsibilities.

d. 可是她没有因为这样就觉得失望. She didn’t feel disappointed as a direct result of this.

:

a. 成绩好小孩成功的机会才会比较多. Children’s opportunities for success will only increase if they have good grades.

b. 因为在小李申请当空姐的时候才发现自己太矮了. She only found out she was too short after applying to become a flight attendant.


Lesson 340: Notes

1. Note that 梦想 is a noun, as seen in 她的梦想是希望未来有一天 能到国外旅行. However 做梦 is a verb, as seen in 但是她的妈妈总是叫她别再做梦了好好地念书就行了.

2. We can see a sentence pattern 别再…了 in 但是她的妈妈总是叫她别再做梦了.


Lesson 339: Notes

请用中文回答下面的问题.

Q: 根据文章,哪三个理由让很多人觉得安排度假是一件非常麻烦的事情? Show Answer

Q: 根据文章,参加旅行团有哪两个优点? Show Answer

Q: 根据文章,导游的好处有哪两个? Show Answer

Q: 根据文章,参加旅行团有哪一个缺点? Show Answer

Q: 为什么参加旅行团比较没有自由? Show Answer


Lesson 338: Notes

1. Notice how a clerk is described as a “service person” in 那你订房间的时候服务员会问你要住什么样的房间.

2. The literal meaning of the sentence 所以住在豪华型的房间比较舒服吧 is “So living in a deluxe model room is (probably) more comfortable.” Note how in Chinese you can “live” in a hotel, rather than “stay” and also how we add “model” to deluxe room.

3. Note how the sentence 然后还什么其他的费用是需要付钱的像服务费或是停车费 is ordered as a question (what other expenses are there…), however in this context is a statement.

4. In Chinese you take something “on your body” rather than “with you” as in English. 而且如果你要自己开车应该带一些当地的地图跟资料在身上才不会迷路.


Lesson 337: Notes

请用中文回答下面的问题.

Q: 根据文章,目前有越来越多的小孩都出现了什么样的问题? Show Answer

Q: 为什么有越来越多的小孩得到肥胖症? Show Answer

Q: 根据文章,目前小孩子运动的机会变得怎么样? Show Answer

Q: 寒假的时候,可以做哪些户外活动? Show Answer

Q: 夏天里的哪一个活动跟滑冰很像? Show Answer


Lesson 336: Notes

1. The 好好 in 你应该先好好地休息一下 has a meaning of “very”.

2. Note how we don’t need to use “or” in the following sentences:
a. 放假的意思就是你不用上班上课.
b. 要是只有一两天而已我应该会待在家里.
c. 可是要是我有一两个礼拜的假期我应该会计划到远一点的地方去度假.

3. The 后面 refers to “next” or “the following” in 所以我们会再利用后面的几课来讨论.

4. The 走走看看 in 我应该会待在家里或是去附近的地方走走看看 suggests going somewhere without a specific purpose.

5. Note how 放假 can also become 放暑假 or 放寒假, as seen in因为大部分的学校放暑假 或是寒假的时间都是差不多的.


Lesson 335: Notes

请回答下面的问题.

Q: 根据经济学做生意的时候要注意哪两个方面? Show Answer

Q: 在市场上,供给大表示什么? Show Answer

Q: 在市场上,供给等于需求的时候叫什么? Show Answer

Q: 供给大但是需求少的时候产品的价格会怎么样? Show Answer

Q: 供给少但是需求大的时候产品的价格会怎么样? Show Answer


Lesson 334: Notes

In level 6 of our course, we venture into more specific topics, such as economic terms, globalization etc. Spend more time on the topics that interest you, while you can skip over words from topics that you don’t plan to use at this stage. However, don’t skip over lessons entirely, since some of the words taught are generic and can be used within other contexts. For example, in this lesson, although the topic is about managing profits, words like “according to”, “increase” and “decrease” are pretty general and can be used in other topics as well.


Lesson 333: Notes

1. Like many words in Chinese, although 全球化 sounds like a noun, it can be used in verb forms as well, as seen in 目前,世界上有许多国家的贸易公司都全球化了 and 这就是为什么 有很多贸易公司全球化的其中一个原因了.

2. 竞争 is often used together with 激烈 as seen in 市场上的竞争非常激烈.

3. 差不多 can also mean “similar”, as seen in 可是他们卖的产品却跟其它的公司差不多.

4. Note that 费用 is a noun while 支出 is a verb. So in the sentence 所以他们得找出一个新的方法来让公司的支出变少, the action of paying out is being described. You can also combine the two together, as seen in 所以工厂支出的费用就少了很多.

5. In the past, we’ve seen 情况 paired with 发生. Here we see it 情况 paired with in 由于这种情况越来越常见.


Lesson 332: Notes

Note how we say 签契约, as we see in 那为什么两个人合作的时候需要签契约呢


Lesson 331: Notes

请用中文回答下面的问题.

Q: 最近,很多中介发现他们的工作慢慢地被什么东西给取代了? Show Answer

Q: 以前,要是人们想要找一间房子来住的时候,大部分的人会找谁帮忙? Show Answer

Q: 要是你请中介帮你找房子,你必须先告诉他们什么? Show Answer

Q: 要是房租太贵了,除了另外找一间房子,你还可以怎么做? Show Answer

Q: 为什么利用租房子的网站找房子比较省钱? Show Answer