Dialogue and Translation for Exercise 3

In at

the city of Harbin in northeast China, a mother (B) and father (A) talk
home.

V   _(w) V _(v)

-   A: Ei, Xiao Er xiale ban, Jiji-

mángmángde you dào nǎr qù le?

-   B: Tā shuō, qù gēn tāde yíge tǒng-

xué xué Yǐngwén dǎ zì.

-   A: Xué Yǐngwén dǎ zì? Shi nán-

tóngxué háishi nùtongxué?

-   B: Jiù shi shàngcì láiguode nèige

nutongxué.

-   A: _(w)Xiǎo Er yàoshi àishang nèige

nǔháizi jiù máfan le.

-   B: You shénme máfan? Nà háizi

shi dàxuéshēng, you you lǐmào, láile hái bāng wǒ zuò fàn shenme-de. You
shénme bù hǎo?

-   A: Nǐ zhǐdao shénme? Tā fùqin

you zhèngzhi wèntí.

Say, where did Xiǎo Èr go off to in such a rush after work?

He said he was going to learn English typing from a classmate.

To learn English typing? Was it a male classmate or a female classmate?

It’s the female classmate who was over last time.

If Xiǎo Er falls in love with that girl it’s going to be trouble.

What trouble? That girl is a college student, and well mannered. And
when she came over she even helped me cook and so on. What's wrong with
that?

What do you know? Her father has political problems.

-   B: Bu duì ha?.’ Wǒ tīng Xiǎo Èr

shuō, jīnniān xiàtiān tā rù Tuan le. Yàoshi tā fùqin yǒu zhèngzhi
wèntíde huà, tā néng rù Tuan ma?

-   A: Néng, xiànzài you zhèngcè, zhǐ

yào hāizi hǎo, jiù kéyi rù Tuan, bù guǎn tā fùmǔde wèntí you duo dà.

-   B: Zhè jiù duì le ma, wǒ shuō

nèi hāizi shi hǎo hāizi!

-   A: Bù xíng, hāishi děi ràng tāmen

fēnkāi, yǐhòu māfan tài duō!

-   B: Shéi méiyou māfan? Gāogànde

hāizi jiù méiyou māfan le? Lin Biāo cóngqiān yě shi dà gànhur, nǐ néng
ràng nǐ érzi gěn tā nuér jiēhūn ma?

-   A: Hǎo hǎo hǎo, hié shuō le.

Hāizide shi zhēn hù hǎo hàn!

-   B: You shénme hù hǎo hànde?! Zhǐ

yào nèi hāizi hěnrén hǎo, tāmen you hùxiāng xǐhuan, jiù xíng le.

-   A: Hǎo hǎo hǎo! Tīng nīde.

You must he wrong! I’ve heard from Xiǎo Èr that she joined the
(Communist Youth) League this summer. If her father had political
problems, could she join the League?

Yes. Now there’s a policy that as long as the child is good, he or she
can enter the League, no matter how great his or her parents’ problems
are.

There you have it, then! I said she was a good child.

No, it won’t do. We should still make them break up. There will be too
much trouble later on.

Who doesn’t have trouble? Do you think the children of senior cadres
don’t have any trouble? Lin Biāo was a big cadre too, but would you let
your son marry his daughter?

Okay, okay. Don’t say any more! Children’s matters are really hard to
handle.

What’s hard to handle? As long as the girl herself is good, and they
like each other, it will be fine.

Okay. We’ll do as you say.