APPENDIX: WORD USAGE EXERCISES TRANSLATION EXERCISE - I. Choose between cānguān, fāngwèn and kàn in translating these sentences. - 1. What places did you visit when you went to China? - 2. I don't even have time to visit my friends. - 3. This is not a formal (zhèngshì) visit. Don't be nervous (jǐnzhāng). - II. shāoshù, hěn shào - 1. There are very few people who will not help others. - 2. Only a small number of students make (chù) that kind of mistake. - III. Choose between direction names with -fàng, -bù, and -biān (for example, běifāng, běibù, and běibiān). - 1. Northerners like to eat foods made from wheat (miànshí), and Southerners like to eat rice (mìfàn). - 2. There are several famous universities in the eastern United States. - 3. Hángzhōu is southwest of Shànghài. - 4. New York is in the northeast. - 5. Inner Mongolia is west of Manchuria. - 6. People from northern Taiwan have a different accent from southerners. - IV. dǒng, liāojiě, zhīdào, tīngshuō, tīngdóng - 1. If you understood that I wasn’t going to come, why did you still stand there waiting for two hours? - 2. I could understand everything he said, although he spoke with a very heavy (zhòng) accent (kōuyīn). - 3. Such a weird (guài) guy is really impossible to understand. - 4. I understand you’re going to school this summer. Is that true? - 5. I can understand the Shànghài dialect, but I can't speak it very well. - V. gāo, nòng, zuò - 1. Doing these sentences drives me crazy ("gives one a headache"). - 2. It was very difficult to do scientific experimentation (kěxué shíyàn) under such circumstances. - 3. What are you doing there, you naughty child! TRANSLATION EXERCISE - I. Choose -zhōng, -lèi, or -gang to translate these sentences: - 1. How could you think that he was that kind of person? - 2. She'll eat any kind of food. - 3. What breed of dog (gǒu) is this? - 4. We should research these questions by category. - II. mùqián, xiànzài, zhèihuīr - 1. Where is he now? - 2. At present the international situation (guójì xingshì) is complicated. - 3. I'm leaving right now. - 4. It is now 9:26 Běijīng time. - III. null, yònggōng, shì ("to try") - 1. Try doing it this way. If it doesn't work, we'll see what we can do about it later. - 2. All the students here are hardworking. - 3. China is hard at work on modernization, and we want to help. - 4. I tried his office three times today, but no one answered the phone. - IV. púbiàn, pǔtōng, píngcháng, liúxíng - 1. That's a popular saying. - 2. In Shanghai, for men and women to hold hands (shōu lā shóu) is a very common thing. - 3. How much does an ordinary worker here make a month? - 4. Frisbees (fēipán) are now very common in Běijīng. - V. wángua'n, guan, zhěngg'e - 1. The room was filled with smoke (yān). - 2. His idea (xiángfǎ) was completely wrong. - 3. I'm afraid he completely misunderstood what I meant. - 4. The whole article was about how bad their planning had been. - 5. His whole family came. - VI. qūbié, chǎbié, bù yiyàng - 1. There aren't many differences between the big cities of . the northeastern United States and those of Western Europe (Xī'ōu). - 2. I could hardly tell the difference between the twins (zhèduì shuǎngbǎotǎi). - 3. Would you explain the difference between these two terms (míngcí)? - VII. rènwéi, yīwéi, xiǎng, juéde - 1. He thought that it was an hour earlier than it really (shíjìshang) was. - 2. I think the best way to study a foreign language {wàiyǔ) is to live in the country where it is spoken. - 3. What do you think of Běijīng? - 4. Why do you consider him such a dangerous person? - 5. A: Has he already gone back? B: I think so, but I'm not sure. - VIII. shǒuxiān, xiān, dìyī - 1. First I stayed in a small town (xiǎozhèn) for a month and then came here. - 2. In his office_(r) he is always the first to arrive. - 3. You have to first get the pronunciation right in order to get the spelling (pīnxiě) right. - IX. tiáojiàn, qíngkuàng - 1. Why don't you apply yourself to your studies? You have such excellent conditions. - 2. He can't stand (shòubuliǎo) the situation any longer. - 3. Under the circumstances, he had no choice but to agree. - 4. How are business conditions in China these days? - 5. Conditions have changed greatly in rural China in the past thirty years. - 6. Working conditions there are better now than the last time I visited. TRANSLATION EXERCISE - I. Choose miànji, dìqù, -dài, -qū, -bù, or bùfen in translating these sentences. - 1. This area is very dirty. - 2. This area of the city isn't safe. - 3. The area of this room is nine square meters (jiǔ píngfāng mi). - 4. In the northeastern area of China, there is a lot of industry. - 5. This kind of rice is produced in the Jiāngnán area. - 6. The southwestern part of the United States has a very distinctive natural environment. - 7. I don't get the chance to come to this part of town very often. - 8. This kind of architecture is very popular in these parts. - II. dàozi, mi, fàn - 1. His father grows ride. - 2. This is fried rice, not plain ("white") rice. - 3. This rice is grown (chūchǎn) only in Guǎngdōng. - III. fāzhàn, zhang - 1. Your rice is growing pretty well! - 2. China's economy has grown slowly during the past two decades. - 3. The kids are growing so fast. - 4. Our company has grown quickly. - 5. Over the past one hundred years, Shàntóu has grown into an important industrial city. - IV. jià, jiātíng, jiā(li)rén, -hù - 1. There are no boys in their family. - 2. Xiǎo Ping's whole family went to the seashore on Sunday. - 3. Such a family is rare (bù cháng jiàn) in America. - 4. Thirty years ago there were only twenty-odd families in this town (xíàozhèn). - 5. Next Saturday I'm going up to Bèijīng to see my family. - 6. Almost every family has a television in our country. Some families have more than one. - V. jīqì, jīxiè - 1. Our country’s machine industry is still young. - 2. The application (yìngyòng) of large machines started three hundred years ago. - 3. Agricultural machinery is badly needed in China. - 4. Shall I take you to see our new machinery now? - VI. -kóu, -ge, -wèi - 1. Will the seven of us fit (in the car)? - 2. Those three professors all graduated from Harvard (Hàfó). - 3. How many people are there in your family? - 4. (When entering a restaurant for dinner) Headwaiter: How many? You:          Four. - VII. píngjūn, yìban - 1. The average height (gǎodù) of the students in this class is about 1.6 meters (yìmi liù). - 2. The average person can eat fifteen to twenty-five jiǎozi. - 3. On an average day, I can write five pages (yè). - VIII. rén, rénmín, rénmen, rénjia - 1. The people would surely not like to keep (báoliú) such a thing in the constitution (xiànfǎ). - 2. There isn't much difference between the two brothers (in personality). - 3. Friendship involves at least two people. - 4. I've heard people say that they're going to build (gài) a hotel at that intersection. - 5. People naturally prefer to live in a quiet place rather than in the busy downtown area (nàoshì, "busy downtown area"). - 6. People are people; she's no different from anyone else. - IX. túpiàn, zhaopi an, huà(r) - 1. I think that picture is of her mother, but it must have been taken many years ago. - 2. Where did you get so many pictures of China? - 3. The picture that old man (lǎotóuzi) is drawing is really ugly! TRANSLATION EXERCISE - I. Choose gài, xiū, jiànzhù, or jiànshè in translating these sentences: - 1. This highway was three years'in construction. (It took three years to finish building this highway.) - 2. Are those workers building new dormitories? - 3. Is this how you intend to build a powerful country?! - 4. Many city walls (chéngqiáng) built in ancient times were destroyed (huíle) during wars. - 5. No one may build in this district. - 6. How long did it take to build this bridge (zhèizuò qiáo)? - II. kě, zhěn, yidìng, dāngrán, shi ("to be," emphatic) - 1. He is going to go, but he hasn't decided when yet. - 2. When you tell him, he's sure to be happy. - 3. That sure was an interesting movie. - 4. He sure has a lot of friends! - 5. Drugs (dùpín) — that's certainly not something to mess with. - 6. A: Can you tell me why your government didn't send anyone to take part? B: Sure I can tell you. It's like this: . . . - 7. A: Would he know the answer (dá'àn) to this question? B: I'm sure he would. - 8. They want to concentrate on only a portion of the work; that just won't do! - III. In each sentence, "how old" requires a different translation. - 1. How old is this building? - 2. How old are you? (tó a young person) - 3. How old is your boy? - 4. How old is your grandfather? - 5. How old is China? - 6. How old is this movie? - 7. How old are these shoes of yours? - 8. How old are these magazines? - 9. How old is this chicken soup? (How long since it was made?) - 10. How old is this bean curd? (How long since it was bought?) - IV. gú, gǔdài - 1. That’s an ancient building. - 2. Man already knew how to cook in ancient times. - 3. He likes to study (dú) the ancient books. - 4. XI'an is an ancient city. - V. chuánguò, jīngguò, guò, guògu - 1. Ten years have passed, and she's still just as young and pretty (as before). - 2. Cross the street and wait for me in front of that building. - 3. I pass there every day on my way to work (shàng bānde shíhou). - 4. Time passes so guickly! - 5. The train passed several stations without stopping. - 6. When I'm in a hurry, I cut through the park. - 7. After a month had passed, he felt much better. - 8. Through the efforts of many people, we have been able to set up (kāibàn) an elementary school here. TRANSLATION EXERCISE - I. bang, bāngzhù, bangmang - 1. Would you help me? - 2. I don't need this kind of help. - 3. He came to help. - 4. Would you hold this for me for a second? - 5. I'll help you write the report (bàogào). - 6. We can help each other. - II. gè-, mèi-, yī~ ("one") - 1. Each person has his own ideas. How can he make you do it this way? - 2. Each year we have many excellent students. - 3. Each state has some laws of its own. - 4. These apples are a dime each. - 5. Each book he writes is better than the last. - III. guan, guānxīn, jièyì - 1. Although she says little, she actually (shíjìshang) cares deeply. - 2. If you don't mind, I'd like to ask you a few questions. - 3. People didn't care a bit about those pitiful (kěliánde) children. - 4. Who cares what you do?! - 5. Don't mind him! - IV. qítǎ, biéde, ling(wài), yī-, nèi- - 1. These sentences are pretty good; the others are too colloquial (tú). - 2. Well, you can say he's right about this point, but how about the other questions? - 3. One is too weak, the other is too fat (pang). - 4. When you're taking the test, don't think about other things. - 5. This vase is not bad, but the other one is even prettier. - 6. Do you want to know the other reasons? - 7. Put your other hand here. - V. -wèi, dìwèi - 1. I don't like to talk with those who are in high positions. - 2. India's rice (dàmí) output is the highest ("first") in the world. - 3. He's too young to be in such a high position. - VI. bú fàngxìn, dānxīn - 1. I'm very worried about him. He doesn't look well. - 2. Without you here I've been sort of anxious. - 3. What is there to worry about? - 4. I would really worry if you went alone. - 5. Don't worry. She's already grown up; she can take care of herself. TRANSLATION EXERCISE - I. gǒngchàng, chang - 1. The air is really bad because there are so many factories in this area. - 2. She'd never been so happy since she came to ("entered") this factory. - 3. He works in a camera factory. - II. méi, hǎokàn, piàoliàng - 1. She's really a beautiful girl. - 2. What a beautiful place this is! - 3. This dress doesn't look good at all. Why do you want to buy it? - 4. You speak beautiful standard Chinese! - 5. What a handsome son you have, Department Chief Xú. - 6. The weather is beautiful today. - III. chà, bù hào, huài - 1. His pronunciation is too bad. - 2. He doesn't speak French well. - 3. His Japanese isn't bad. - 4. On the whole, it's a pretty nice place; it's just that the weather is always bad. - 5. Bad boy ("child")! - 6. Conditions here used to be very bad; now they're much better. - 7. That commune’s level of mechanization is rather poor. - IV. liǎojiě, zhīdao, rènshi, shóu (shú) - 1. I didn't know him when we were at Oxford (Niújīn). - 2. Do you know what happened between them (tamen zhījiān)? - 3. I know nothing about that. - 4. You still don't know me too well, do you? - 5. I knew him, but not very well. We had only met a couple of times. - 6. I know of him, but I’ve never met him. - 7. I still~3on’t know Běijīng very well; perhaps we should go together. - 8. (To taxi driver) I want to go to the Dàhuá Restaurant. Do you know it? - 9. Of the three of us, you know him best. Do you think he would mind if we did this? TRANSLATION EXERCISE - I. Choose háishi... or zuì hǎo in translating these sentences. - 1. We'd better not go after all. See, it's raining. - 2. You'd better walk there. It's very hard to drive on that road. - 3. It’s best to be mentally prepared ("in the heart have preparation"). - 4. I’d better not drink too much. I have to drive. - 5. It would be best if I could talk with him in person. Would that be possible? - 6. Chinese food is still the tastiest, don't you think? - II. jiǎshǔ, jià, jiā(li)rén - 1. This housing is for workers and their families. - 2. How many people are there in the average worker's family? - 3. Is your whole family in Huángzhuàng? - 4. They go home every Saturday to be with their families. - III. kuài (yào), yào, huì, gang yào, zhèng yào, jiù yào, hěn kuài jiù - 1. Be patient. We'll be there soon. - 2. He's going to get his Ph.D. (bóshì xuéwèi) this summer. - 3. You've come at the perfect time. I'm just about to pack the suitcases. - 4. She'll be happy if you do that. - 5. Look, it's about to rain. - 6. It's going to rain today. - 7. That's what I was just about to say, (but) you didn't give me the chance to say it. - 8. She forgot about the matter very soon. - 9. Three new consulates (lingshìguǎn) are going to open very soon. - 10. I’m about to die of hunger! - 11. Don’t worry. I’ll tell him. - 12. It’s almost over (finished). - 13. If you don’t stay in touch ("maintain contact") with them, they forget you very soon. - 14. He came when I was just about to leave. - IV. yánzhe, pángbian - 1. They've planted a lot of trees alongside the river. - 2. Alongside the street, I saw many new stores. - 3. They built a railroad alongside the border. - 4. Just walk along this street, and you'll see a lot of clothing stores. - 5. There is a park alongside the factory. - V. yishàng, shàngmian, -duō OR yixià, xiàmian, bú dào - 1. There are probably over ten people there. - 2. He has under twenty students. - 3. Children ten and over may participate; - 4. It will cost over fifty dollars. - 5. We had been going for less than an hour when the car broke down. - 6. Only buildings with over four stories have elevators. - 7. Under this brigade there are ten production teams. - 8. It's been over a month since I saw him last. - 9. His office is right above mine. TRANSLATION EXERCISE - I. Choose dāihuir, děng yíxià, déng (yì)huir, yihòu, or hòulái in translating these sentences: - 1. I'll be leaving in a minute. - 2. Later, when you have time, let's talk, okay? - 3. Wait a second. I think I hear him coming. - 4. Later, I found out that she had been a Red Guard. - 5. Things were very chaotic at that time, but later on they got better. - 6. His later short stories are mostly about the Uygurs. - 7. He'll be here in a while. - II. fánróng, fādá - 1. The Táng dynasty was a period (shíqī) when China's culture flourished. - 2. I didn't expect that this place would have become so prosperous in the ten years since I left. - 3. Livestock farming is well developed in Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia. - 4. Japan's industry and commerce are flourishing and the economy is thriving. - III. qiǎnwàn, yídìng - 1. Be sure to bring that book. - 2. Be sure not to forget to ask him whether he is coming. - 3. I'll be sure to tell him. - IV. xiāoxi, xīnwén - 1. Where did you hear this news? - 2. There isn't any interesting news in today's paper. - 3. Is there any news about China? - 4. She often brought us unpleasant (bù yúkuàide) news. - 5. Has there been any news about when the meeting will be held? - 6. What good news is there today? - 7. News reporters (jizAě) are the best at getting information.