Dialogue and Translation for Exercise 3

On the campus of Běijlng Language Institute, and American student (B) is
sitting under a tree reading a book. A young teacher (A) from the
Chinese department walks over to chat.

-   A: Zài niàn shénme ne?                  What are you reading?

-   B: Ò, Lin Lěoshl, nín hlo! W3 zài Oh, Miss LÍn (Teacher Lin), how
    are

kàn Lú Xùn Xiěnshengde xiloshuò. you! I'm reading some fiction by (Mr.)
Lǔ Xùn.

A: Shi nlyipiǎn na?

What piece?

B:   "Yào." W3 hén xihuan Lú Xùn

Xiànshengde xiáoshuō.

A: Wé xiáng, zài Méiguóde shihou, Zhōngguó lìshī, Zhōngguí wénxué, nl
dàgài niànde bù shlo.

B: Xue Zhōngwén, bìxū shSuxiSn xué yidiXnr lìshī hé wénxué, dōng yidiXnr
Zhōngguō wénhuà, yàobu-rán xué Zhōngwén yídìng yōu hén dàde kùnnan.
Zhōngguō liúxué-shéng yé shi zhèiyang zud ma?

A: Wōmende xuéxí tiéojiàn hái shi bú cuòde, késhi liúxuéshěng chù guō
yīqián déi duì nèige guōjiSde wénhuà zud bìyàode liéojié. Zài
zhèifíngmiàn, wSmen zudde hái hén bú gdu.

B: Wō tīngshuō Zhōngguō liúxué-shěngde niánling, dōu bú tài xilo le,
duōbànr shi Wénhuà Dà Gémìng yīqián bìyède.

-   A: Shi. Wénhuà Dà Gémìng yīqiánde dàxué bìyèshěng púbiànde zhìliàng
    bījiào gǎo. hé WénGé yīhdude dàxuéshing chfibié bù xiáo.

-   B: Nàme shùliàng ne?

-   A: Shùliàng yé bù shio.

-   B: Nàme zhèixiě bìyèshéng shi bu shi dōu dinrèn bījiào zhōngyàode
    gōngzuō ne?

A: Bù dōu yíyàng. Mùqián, Wénhuà Dà Gémìng yīqiánde dàxué bìyè-shěng yōu
hén duō dinrèn bījiào zhdng yàode gōngzuō. Bīfang shuō wōmen Xuéyuàn ba,
gōngzuáde bī-jilo hiode yé duōbànr shi nèige shíhourde dàxuéshěng.
Dlngrán, hái yōu gèng láode.

"Medicine.” I like Lú Xùn's fiction very much.

I guess you've probably read quite a lot of Chinese history and
literature in America.

To study the Chinese language, you have to first study a little history
and literature, and understand a little Chinese culture, otherwise
you're sure to have a hard time studying the language. Do Chinese who go
abroad to study do the same thing?

Our conditions for study are fairly good, but before a student goes
abroad, he ought to acquire the requisite understanding of the country
[he is going tol. In this area, we have as yet done far from enough-

I understand that the Chinese students going abroad aren't very young;
most of them graduated [from coliegel before the Cultural Revolution.

Yes. In general the quality of college graduates from before the
Cultural Revolution is higher. They're quite different from the
post-Cul-tural Revolution college students.

How about in terms of numbers?

Their numbers are quite large, too.

So do these graduates all take on rather important jobs?

They're not all the same. At present, there are many pre-Cultural
Revolution college graduates who have taken on rather important jobs.
For example, in our Institute, those who do their work comparatively
well are mostly college students from that time. Of course there are
older ones as well.

B: Wō bin xīhuan wōmende líosbī, y? bin xīhuan Yúyán Xuéyuàn, wō zhī shi
xīvàng yōu bījilo duōde Jīhui hé Zhōngguó xuésheng, làoshī duō tintan.

-   A: Hào, hlo, yōu shiJiàn wǒmen duō tántan. Nī kàn shǔ ba. Yìhuīr
    Jiàn.

I like our teachers very much, and the Institute, too. I just wish we
would have more opportunities to talk with the Chinese students and
teachers.

All right, we’ll talk more when we get the time. You go on reading. See
you in a while.

-   B: Lin Lǎoshī yìhuīr Jiàn.

See you in a while, Miss LÍn.