Dialogue and Translation for Exercise 4

In Hong Kong, a mother (A) and son (B) have just finished dinner.

A:	Xiǎo Lin, chīle fàn bú yào niàn shū le, xiūxi xiuxi ba!		Xiǎo Lin, don't study any more after dinner, just relax a bit!
B:	Hǎo. Nín yào he chǎ ma? Wǒ qù dào.		Do you want to drink some tea? I’ll go pour it.
A:	Deng yíxià, ràng wo kànkan, nǐde máoyí shi bu shi pò le? Míngtiān wǒ děi qù gěi ni mǎi jiàn xínde.		Wait a second, let me see, is your sweater torn? Tomorrow I’ll have to go buy you a new one.
B:	Mā, wǒ bú yào xinde, zhèijiàn hai kéyi chuān ne.		Mom, I don’t want a new one. I can still wear this one.
A:	Tiān lěng le, nǐ xūyào yíjiàn xǐn máoyǐ, wǒ huì gěi ni yùbei-hǎo. Míngniàn nǐ shàng dàxuéde shihou, wǒ huì duō gěi ni yùbei jijiàn xǐn yīfu.		The weather’s getting cold, you need a new sweater. I’ll get one ready for you. Next year when you go to college I’ll get a few more new things ready for you to wear.
B:	Bú yòng le, wǒ bù xiǎng shàng dàxué le.		You don’t need to, I don’t want to go to college anymore.
A:	Wèishénme? Nǐ bú shi yào xué yī ma?		Why not? Don’t you want to study medicine?
B:	BÙ shǎo rén shuō bú shàng dàxué yě kéyi gōngzuò, yě yíyàng kéyi shēnghuó. Wèishénme yídìng yào shàng dàxué ne?		A lot of people say that you can work and live Just the same without going to college. Why is it necessary to go to college?
A:	Zhèizhōng huà xiànzài hěn liúxíng, kěshi wǒ xiǎng zhè huà bú tài duì.		This kind of talk is very popular these days, but I don’t think it’s very true.
B:	Wèishénme? Yǒude rén zài dàxuéli pǐnmìng niàn shū, xiàng women Jiā duìmiànde Zhōu Xian-sheng, duì shùxué nàme you yān-jiū, déle shuòshì, boshì, hái bu shi zhǎobudào gōngzuò!		Why not? Some people study like mad at a university, like Mr. Zhōu who lives across from us; he’s such an expert in mathematics, he’s got a Master’s degree and a Ph.D., and isn’t he still unable to find a job!
A:	Zhōu Xianshengde qíngxing gēn biérén bù tong, suírǎn tā xiāngdāng you zhīshi, kěshi tā bù xǐhuande gōngzuò tā jiu bú zuò, nà dāngrán bù róngyi zhǎo-dào gōngzuò.		Mr. Zhou’s situation is different from other people’s. Although he is quite knowledgeable, he won’t take a Job he doesn’t like. So of course it isn’t easy for him to find a job.
B:	Duì le, tā bù xǐhuan zuò lǎoshǐ, tā Jiù xǐhuan xiě wénzhāng, zài Zhōngxuéshēng zhōu-kānshang wǒ hái kànjianguo tāde wénzhāng ne!		Right. He doesn’t like to be a teacher, he just likes to write articles. I’ve even seen his articles in the weekly High School Student!
A:	Tāde wénzhāng hǎo bu hǎo?		Are his articles good?
B:	Hǎo, kǎshi bù rongyì dong, zhōngxuéshēng kàn zhèiyangde wénzhāng tài nan le.		Yes, but they’re not easy to understand. They’re too hard for high school students to read.
A:	Suóyi, nǐ bù néng shuō Zhōu Xianshengde qíngxing jiù shi dàjiāde qíngxing. Wǒ xiǎng, kéyi zhèiyang shuō: niànguo hěn duō shūde rén bù yídìng you hěn hǎode gōngzuǒ. Kěshi duō niàn yidiǎnr shū duì zhǎo gōngzuǒ yídìng you bāngzhu.		So you can’t say that Mr. Zhou’s situation is everyone's situation. I think you might say this: someone who has had a lot of education doesn't necessarily get a very good job. But getting more education will certainly be helpful in looking for a job.
B:	Kěshi, wǒde jīge tongxué gāozhōng méiyou niǎnwán jiu zuǒ shile, xiànzài tāmende shēnghuo dōu bū yòng kào fùmǔ le, tāmen dōu dūlì le.		But several classmates of mine started working before they had finished high school, and now they don't have to depend on their parents to support them; they're all independent.
A:	Dànshi wǒ xiǎng, shèhuì hǎishi xūyào you zhīshide rén, shèhuì yuè fādá yuè xūyào you zhīshi. Nǐ shuō duì bu dui?		But I think that society still needs knowledgeable people. The more developed society is, the more it needs knowledge. Don't you think so?
B:	Duì!		Right!
A:	Name hǎo le, nǐ niàn dàxuéde shi zěnmeyàng?		All right then, what about the matter of your going to college?
B:	Mm . . . wǒ zài xiǎngyixiǎng.		Mm . . . I'll think it over some more.
A:	Hǎo, women míngtiān zài tantan.		Okay, we'll talk more about it tomorrow.