1. Note how the “highest” payment refers to the “most expensive” payment in 那在大部分人的生活中，他们每一个月最高的帐款是什么？

2. You can see the actions “to apply for a loan” and “to make a loan payment” in 如果他们为了买房子跟银行申请贷款的话，那他们每一个月就要付贷款的钱.

3. Note that “help” in Chinese also means doing something “for” someone else, as seen in 要是你后来喜欢他帮你找的房子，你就要付钱给他.

请用中文回答下面的问题.

Things to notice:

1. The speaker says 这个道理听起来很简单. The literal meaning here is “this sense sounds quite simple” which is different than how we would express it in English.

2. Like in English, we “make a choice” in Chinese, as seen in 大部分的人通常都会做这个选择.

3. 行程 can also refer to “having time to do other things”, as seen in 又能安排其他的行程跟每一个月的预算.

4. The speaker talks about separating money in 像我可以先把钱分成几个部分.

5. In Chinese, you can buy products “with” a person, rather than “from”, as seen in 可是你并不知道会不会有客人愿意来跟你买产品.

6. Different measure words are used in this lesson:

a. 所以一份正常上下班时间的工作的好处就是 让你比较好安排你的时间跟钱.

b. 像你要找一间办公室，办公室里需要一些桌子，椅子.

Note how we talk of borrowing money “with” a bank rather than “from” in the sentence: 不少人跟银行借了太多钱. One could also use 从 in place of 跟 here.

Hints and tips: One effective way to learn Chinese is to take common tasks that you do in your daily life and start thinking about them in Chinese. So the next time you are out shopping and someone asks how you are paying, you can think of your purchase in terms of 现金 or 刷卡. You can also think about the words to describe the products you constantly interact with, such as your monthly bank statements or any interest you may be paying or receiving for your investments.

Note how in the sentence 这样问题就又会出现在人民自己身上，一样没有赚钱的机会, the literal meaning of the first part is “This way problem again will appear in people own body on”. In English, this has been translated to “This way people can feel the problems up close.”

1. 却 is similar in meaning to 可是 and 但是, however it is not used as a conjunction like they are, as its position in the sentence is a little different:

a. 那为什么有些国家税的标准很高，有的却低很多呢？

The literal meaning of this sentence is “In that case why some countries tax rate very high, some however lower a lot?”

b. 哦，像这样的情况，那些天然资源很多可是却没有办法利用的国家，他们经济发展的速度可能没有其他国家发展得快，但是他们的政府可能就会靠卖这些天然资源赚到很多钱.

For extra emphasis, you can combine 却 with a conjunction as seen in:

a. 可是在别的国家却要自己付.

b. 哦，像这样的情况，那些天然资源很多可是却没有办法利用的国家，他们经济发展的速度可能没有其他国家发展得快，但是他们的政府可能就会靠卖这些天然资源赚到很多钱.

2. Note how 发 which we learned recently is used to mean “distributed” in 嗯，在我们的社会中，有很多人的薪水都是从政府那里发出去的.

3. 方面 is used a little differently than in English in: 可是除了人民赚钱付的税，政府也会从别的方面收税.

1. 反而 is used to highlight a situation that is opposite from another. Take a look at the two examples used in this lesson:

a. 要是科技产品真的帮了我们很多忙，那为什么我们的生活没有变得比较轻松，反而更忙了呢？

In this sentence, our lives have become busier, which is the opposite of being relaxing.

b. 所以我觉得人们不应该太依赖那些科技产品，反而要多找一些时间来欣赏我们的世界，好好地看看身边的环境.

In this sentence, finding time to appreciate the world is the opposite of relying too much on technology.

2. Note how 任何 is used to mean “any” in 没有任何科技产品能取代他们，对不对？

1. Note how the literal translation of the sentence 这个软体真的帮了他们不少忙 is “This software really helps them no a little busy”.

2. As we’ve mentioned before, 轻松 can also refer to something being done “easily” as seen in 这个软体真的帮了他们不少忙，让他们能很轻松地就把一些复杂的报告算完.

3. To make a mistake when calculating is reduced to 算错 as seen in 这个方法不但很浪费纸而且速度又慢，还很容易算错.

1. 方面 is a good way of taking a general topic and then discussing one specific aspect of it. We see it used in 在电脑方面，文件是档案的其中一种. Here, the first part literally translates into “In computers aspect”.

2. Note the use of 起来 in:

a. 这个时候，你只要把那个部分复制起来，并且放到你想要放的地方就行了.
b. 这时候，电脑软体会先把那个句子复制起来并删掉.

1. Note the use of the verb 传 from 传真机 in 这样人们在传图片的时候，就可以用彩色的图片来取代那些黑白的.

2. Note how 轻松 is used to mean “easy” or “without much effort” in the sentence 另外，数位相机的发明，也让客人很轻松地就把他们拍的照片 放在网路上给大家看.

1. Note other usage of the versatile word 处理 in 我们常常会利用电脑来处理一些文件，尤其是在办公室里的时候.

2. The verb 利用 is used when you are using something for a possible unconventional use. We see it used in 我有时候也会利用电脑看电影.

3. In the sentence 像我在大学要交功课给老师的时候，一点要先把它从电脑印出来才行, the 才行 emphasizes that there was no other acceptable option but to print out the content.

4. Many verbs in Chinese require an object to function properly. For example in the sentence 因为没有人会传真资料给我, it is ok to say “fax me” in English, whereas the Chinese translation adds the object “information” making it “fax information to me.”

1. Note the uses of 处理 in:

a. 通常，人们都会买一些机器放在办公室里 帮助他们处理事情.

b. 比如目前电脑处理事情跟上网的速度 比以前快了很多.

2. While 科技 and 技术 both refer to “technology”, the former tends to refer to the technology itself, while the latter refers to the underlying skills or features that make up this technology.
Take a look at the following examples:

a. 但是科技发展的速度很快，技术也比以前进步了许多.

b. 另外一种技术是 把两三种不同机器的功能 放在同一台机器里.

3. Note the construction of the sentence 那些新的机器刚出来没多久，过没几个月，科技公司又会推出更新的机器出来吸引客人.

The literal meaning is “Those new machines just came out not long (ago), pass not several months, technology companies again will push out more new machines emerge attract customers.”

4. Note the measure word for machines is 台.
所以你只要买一台机器就够了.

1. There were a couple of new words used in this lesson, made up of characters that we have studied in the past:
电视机, 相同

These were used in: 连电视机也有相同的改变.

2. Note the new expression used in this lesson: 一点也没错.

1. 叫 is used to mean “to tell” in 到了晚上，父母只要把电视关掉，而且叫小孩子把玩具都收起来，就让他们去睡觉了.

2. We have seen 厉害 used in the past to mean “formidable” or “to exceed expectations.” Here it is used as meaning “capable” in 那些想要完全控制自己小孩的父母，可能就要找更厉害的科技 来控制他们小孩的科技产品才行.

Note how 规定 can also be the verb “to make rules” as seen in 我妈妈每天会规定我们做事情的时间.

Tip:

The best way to use these articles is first to listen to them without a transcript and see how much you can pick up. From the normal speed version, see if you can figure out the general meaning of the article. Don’t worry if you don’t understand every word. Then listen to the slowed-down version, which should give you more time to think, which should hopefully let you come up with a much clearer meaning of the content. After doing so, you can consult the transcripts to fill in the missing gaps of information. Use the vocabulary page to practice your pronunciation. Finally, listen to the lesson again. The goal should be to get the majority of meaning from the normal speed article, and be able to repeat along with the slowed-down version.

1. Notice how in the sentence 我认为大部分的责任是在父母的身上, the literal meaning is “I believe most of responsibility is in parents body”. While in English we refer to responsibility lying within someone, in Chinese responsibility can be on one’s body.

2. 凶 not only refers to someone being strict, but also someone who gets very angry.

3. In the sentence 如果是我妈妈的话，她一定会把我骂一顿. 这样还好, the 还好 refers to the situation being not as bad as the speaker expected.

4. 爸妈 is short for “father and mother”. 你小时候，你爸妈对你怎么样？

Note how the articles shown in recent lessons have a more formal tone to them, compared to the conversations between Raphael and Kirin. The idea is to get you used to both styles. A worthy goal of this course would be to get you closer to being able to one day read a newspaper in Chinese.

Note how either of these two measure words can be used to describe CDs or DVDs:

a. 片:

把一片 DVD 放到电脑里面就能看啦.

b. 张:

像如果你买了一张原版的CD，里面有一首歌是你很喜欢的.

1. As you may have guessed, 好莱坞 is a transliteration of “Hollywood”.

2. Note how “a large audience” is literally “many audience” in Chinese, as seen in: 好莱坞每年都会出版不少部电影，并且希望能吸引很多观众去电影院看他们拍的电影.

3. 其中一个 is used a lot more often in Chinese than in English: 其中一个方法是利用很多种特效.

4. Although 身边 is defined as being “to one’s side”, it can also be used to describe a happening “in front of someone”, as seen in 让观众觉得他们看到的内容好像真得在他们的身边发生一样.

5. 有道理can be used as in English to make rhetorical questions, as seen in 这时候用特效有道理吗？

Note the usage of the following words, and how the sentences they are used in differ in translation from their literal meanings:

a. 想法 in 而且她有一些很浪漫的想法.
b. 算是 in 不算是讨厌.

Note how 见 can be used to not only meet a person, but also for more abstract things like occasions, as seen in 可是在东方国家里，我们比较少见到这样的情况.

Note how 在未来的日子里 literally refers to “in the days of the future”:

所以在未来的日子里，我们还是可以到处都看得到小报，也能听到谣言.

1. Note the use of 怎么说 to get someone to explain their side in further detail.

2. 事实上 is a new expression that is used in 但是事实上，你并不是这种人，不是吗?

3. Note the use of 交朋友 in 所以我就会以为你交了两个女朋友，然后就去告诉别人这件事.

4. Note the many ways to say “many” used in this lesson:

a. 许多 in 但是有时候，要是许多人都听到同一个谣言，他们可能就会觉得那件事情是真的.

b. 不少 in 我觉得不少人喜欢讨论别人的事情.

c. 很多 in 可是要是后来我发现了很多人都在说我的坏事，我一定会很生气吧.

5. Like many words in Chinese, 事实 can be a noun (fact) or an adjective (factual), as seen in 你当然会生气啊！尤其是一些不是事实的谣言. 不过很多事实都是很慢才会被大家发现的，因为很多人都听说了那些谣言，也会以为你真的就像谣言里说的那种人.

6. Note the construction of 听听就算了 in 要不然我会觉得那只是一个谣言而已，听听就算了.

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1. Note Raphael’s use of 并 to emphasize that something definitely isn’t the case:

a. 我们并不是要教你们怎么点菜.

b. 其实这个菜的做法很简单，并不複杂.

2. In this lesson, Kirin uses the emphatic particle 哎哟 to express dismay. Knowing about these expressions and when they are used is part of the learning Chinese process, so pay attention to them when you see them.

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1. Like many words in Chinese, 代表 can be a noun (representation) or verb (to represent). In the sentence 珠穆朗玛峰是他们生活中最大挑战的代表 the literal meaning is “Mount Everest is their life middle biggest challenge representation”, although the English translation uses the verb form “represents”.

2. Note how unlike English, the word 虽然 usually requires a “but” word in front of its next clause. 但 is used for this role in the sentence 虽然过程很累也非常辛苦，但这种挑战后成功的感觉.

3. The literal meaning of the sentence 永远都不会忘记 is “forever all won’t forget”. While one might say “will remember it forever”, we wouldn’t normally say (in English) “forever won’t forget”, however this is the form used in Chinese.

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1. In this lesson you notice a few examples where characters can be left out of words:

a. 这你不用担心! rather than 这里你不用担心!

b. 每个人学习另一种语言的动机都不同 rather than 每个人学习另外一种语言的动机都不同.

c. 可是我去度假的时候，并不会做一些让我觉得头疼或麻烦的事情 rather than 可是我去度假的时候，并不会做一些让我觉得头疼或是麻烦的事情.

2. 下去 means “to continue” in 并且有耐心地继续学习下去.

3. Note how one can “receive frustration” in 要是学生在学习的过程中受到很大的挫折，大部分的人都很容易选择放弃 or can “feel frustrated” in 在什么情况下会让学生觉得挫折呢？

4. 请 by itself has many meanings including “to ask”, as used in 我会找我妈妈，请她教我写.

5. 轻松 has a more general meaning in Chinese than English, as seen in 网站里的一些功能可以帮助我们的会员轻松地学习. This sentence can be thought of as meaning “the features on our website can help our subscribers learn in a relaxed manner”.

The articles in these past few lessons review vocabulary from level 5 of our course. If you are comfortable with the level of difficulty and are able to retain most of what is being said in the lessons, then please proceed to level 6. If you are not comfortable with the material, then try and follow along with the transcripts first, until you are able to listen and follow the articles without help. If required, review older lessons and do the review exercises available to help in your understanding.