FSI - Standard Chinese - Optional Module POT Objectives General The purpose of the Post Office and Telephone Module (PST/TEL) is to provide you with the linguistic skills you need to mail things, make phone calls and send telegrams. Specific When you have finished this module you should be able to: 1. Locate a mailbox. Locate the nearest post office. 2. Buy postage for an air mail letter, a registered letter, aerogram, regular letter or postcard. 3. Buy letter paper, envelopes, aerograms and postcards. 4. Ship packages by sea or by air. 5. Insure packages or letters you send. 6. Locate a telegraph office. 7. Send a telegram. 8. Find the nearest public telephone. 9. Ask for help in using a phon? directory. 10. Make a phone call, ask to speak with someone. Understand simple replies such as ’’that line is busy”, "he is not here now" or "he will call you back". 11. Answer the phone and understand who the caller wishes to speak with. Tell the caller you will look for that person. Tell him whether the person he wishes to speak with is there, is busy, or not there. 12. Ask someone to speak louder or tell him you cannot hear him clearly. Post Office and Telephone Module, Unit 1 PART I 1. Qǐngwèn, zhèr fùjìn yǒu yǒuzhèngjú ma? May I ask, is there a post office in the area? 2. Wǒ yào jì yìfēng xìn. I want to mail a letter. 3. Zhèicēng lóu yǒu meiyou yóutǒng? Is there a mailbox on this F1oor? 4. Nǐmen zhèige fúwùtái mài bu mài yóupiào? Does your service desk here sell stamps? 5. Wǒ yào jì yìfēng guàhào xìn. I want to send a registered letter. 6. Lóuxià xiǎomàibù mài bu mai xìnzhǐ, xìnfēng? Does the variety store downstairs also sell letter paper and envelopes? NOTES AFTER PART I yìfēng xìn: -fēng is the counter for letters and other things with envelopes. -céng; Counter for F1oors of buildings. guàhào xìn: Guàhào is the verb “to register”. It is used here as a modifier. It precedes the noun it modifies. Peking: On his way out to mail some things, an American asks the service attendant for the F1oor of his hotel for some information. M: Nǐ yǒu shì ma? Can I help you? F: Duì, Fandiànlǐ yǒu yóuzhèngjú ma? Yes, is there a post office in the hotel? M: Yǒu, zài yìlóu, xiàle diànti wàng yòu zǒu. Guòle màishūde jiù shì yóujú. Kěshi xiànzài yóujú yǐjīng guān mén le. Rúguo nín jiù yào mài yóupiào, wǒmen zhèr yě mài. Yes, it’s on the first F1oor. When you get off the elevator go to the right. When you’ve passed the bookshop there’s the post office. But they have already closed. If you only want to buy stamps, we sell them here. F: Wǒ yào yóupiào, hái yǒu liǎngfēng xìn yào guàhào. I need some stamps, there are also two letters that I need to register M: Ou, jì guàhàoxìn nín děi dào yóujú qù jì. Oh, if you want to mail registered letters you’ll have to go to the post office. F: Yóujú jǐdiǎn zhōng kāi men? What time does the post office open? M: Qīdiǎnbàn kāi mén, xiàwu liùdiǎnbàn guān mén. It opens at seven-thirty, and closes at six-thirty in the afternoon. F: Zhèicéng lóu yǒu méiyou yóutǒng? Is there a mailbox on this F1oor? M: Méiyou, yóutǒng zài yóujú ménkǒur. No, the mailbox is by the door to the post office. F: Nǐmen zhèr yě mài xìnzhǐ, xìnfēng ma? Do you also sell stationery and envelopes here. M: Wǒmen bu mài, jiù yǒu fàndiànde xìnzhǐ xìnfēng. Lóuxiàde xiǎomàibù mài. No we don’t, we just have the hotel stationery and envelopes. The variety shop downstairs sells them. PART II 7. Láojià, wàng Shànghǎi jìde hángkōng xìn yào tiē duōshao qiánde yóupiào. Excuse me, how much postage do you need to put on an air mail letter to Shanghai? 8. Wàng Měiguo jìde hángkōng yóujiǎn yào tiē duōshao qiánde yóupiào? How much postage do you have to put on an aerogram to America? 9. Dào Guǎngzhōu qùde píngxìn shi duōshao qián? How much postage do you have to put on a postcard to Hong Kong? 10. Jì dào Xiānggǎng qùde míngxìnpiàn shi duōshao qián? How much postage do you have to put on a postcard to Hong Kong? 11. Guónèide hángkōng xìn dòu shi yìmào. All air mail within the country is ten cents. 12. Jì dào guówài qùde hángkōng xìn shi yìmáo. Air nail letters going out of the country are seventy cents. 13. Běnshìde píngxìn sìfēnqián. Regular mail within the city is four cents. lit. Wàidìde píngxìn bāfēnqián. Regular mail outside the city is eight cents. NOTES AFTER PART II: tiē: This is the verb “to stick something on or to something else”. Běnshìde píngxìn/wàidìde píngxìn: In the PRC mail rates differ depending on whether something is going to someplace in the city, out of the city, or out of the country. For the last two categories air mail service is available. běnshì: “This city”. wàidì: “Foreign place”, “outside this city”. Peking: M: Láojià, wàng Shànghǎi jìde hángkōng xìn yào tiē duōshao qiánde yóupiào? Excuse me, how much postage do you need to put on an air mail letter to Shanghai? F: Yìmáo. Guónèide hángkōng xìn dōu shi yìmáo. Ten cents. All air mail within the country is ten cents. M: Guówài hángkōng xìn ne? And if you send outside the country? F: Jì dào guówài qùde hángkōng xìn shi qīmáo. Hángkōng yóujiǎn shi sānmáowǔ. Air mail letters going out of the country are seventy cents; aerograms are thirty-five cents. M: Jì dào guówài qùde míngxìnpiàn ne? And post cards mailed out of the country? F: Hángkōngde liǎngmáoèr. Air mail ones are twenty-two cents. M: Guónèide píngxìn shi duōshao? How much is regular mail within the country? F: Běnshìde sìfēn. Wàidìde bāfēn. Within the city, it’s four cents. Outside the area (city), it’s eight cents. M: Qǐng ni gěi wǒ shízhāng yìmáode yóupiào, wǔzhāng hángkōng yóujiǎn, hái yào shízhāng qímáode hángkōng yóupiào. Please give me ten ten-cent stamps, five aerograms, and ten seventy-cent stamps. F: Hǎo. Yígòng jiǔkuài qímáowǔ. Okay. Altogether it's nine dollars and seventy-five cents. M: Zhèi shi shíkuài qián. Here's ten dollars. F: Zhǎo ni liǎngmáowǔ. Here’s twenty-five cents change. NOTES AFTER DIALOGUE IN PART II: shízhāng yóupiào, wǔge hángkōng yóujiǎn: Notice how both the counter -zhāng and the counter -ge are used here to talk about F1at objects. Although the counter -zhāng would be correct for both nouns, the speaker feels free to use -gè also. PART III 15. Wǒ yào wàng Měiguo jì yige bāoguǒ. I want to mail a package to the United States. 16. Wǒ yào hǎiyùn. I want to send it by sea mail. 17. Wǒ zhèige bāoguǒ yào bǎoxiǎn. I want this package insured. 18. Wǒ bú huì xiě Zhōngguo zì. Qǐng ni tì wǒ xiě, hǎo bu hao? I can't write Chinese characters. Please write it for me, all right? 19. Xiāngzi shàngtou xiězhe shénme ne? What is written on top of the box? 20. Wǒmen yào jiǎnchá ni yào jīde dōngxi. We want to inspect the things that you want to mail. 21. XIǍOXĪN, QĪNGFĀNG. CAREFUL, FRAGILE. 22. Nǐ zuìhǎo zài xiāngzi wàimian xiěshang XIǍOXIN, QINGFĀNG. It would be best if you write on the outside CAREFUL, FRAGILE. NOTES AFTER PART III: tì: This is the prepositional verb meaning “in place of, for”. Mèimei tì wo qù mǎi cài. Little sister is going to go buy food for me (instead of me). shàngtou: -Tóu is a syllable like -biar. When added to a direction word, it changes it into a place name. The syllable -tóu, however, cannot be added to as many different direction words as -biar can. (See also final reference notes Directions Unit Five.) Xiǎomàibù zài fàndiàn lǐtou. The variety shop is in the hotel. Fàndiàn wàitou yǒu yige yóutǒng. Outside the hotel is a mailbox. xiǎoxīn: “To be careful”. qīngfàng: “Fragile”, or more literally “to put lightly”. zuìhǎo: This word acts as an adverb, coming after the subject ni and before the verb phrase. The word zuìhǎo is used in politely offering advice to someone, not in warning them what they'd better do. Taipei: A conversation at the Post Office. F: Wǒ yào wàng Měiguo jì yige bāoguo. I want to mail a package to the United States. M: Nǐ yào jì hángkōng háishi hǎiyùn? Do you want to send it by airmail or by sea mail? F: Hǎiyùn. Send it by sea mail. M: Zhèi shi nǐ yào jìde dōngxī ma? Wǒmen yào jiǎnchá. Are these the things you want to mail? We want to inspect them. F: Hǎo. Qǐng ni jiǎnchá ba. Okay. Please inspect them. M: Ōu, yítào pánziwǎn. Oh, a set of dishes. F: Zhège kéyi bǎoxiǎn ma? Can this be insured? M: Kéyi. Yes. M: Nǐ zuìhǎo zài xiāngzi wàimian xiěshang XIǍOXĪN, QĪNGFÀNG. It would be best if you write on the outside CAREFUL, FRAGILE. F: Wǒ bú huì xiě Zhōngguo zì. Qǐng ni tì wǒ xiě, hǎo bu hao? I can't write Chinese characters. Please write it for me, all right? M: Hǎo. Wǒ tì ni xiě. Okay. I'll write it for you PART IV 23. Wǒ yǒu yíjiàn zhòngyàode shì yào gàosong wo fùmǔ. I have something important that I want to tell my parents. 24. Wǒ xiǎng dǎ yìfēng diànbào. I think I’ll send a telegram. 25. Dào diànxìnjú qu zěnme zǒu? How do you get to the telegraph office? 26. Diànxìnjú gēn Tàiběi Yóuzhèngjù zài yìqǐ. The Telegraph Office and the Taibei Post Office are located together. 27. Nǐ bǎ dìzhǐ gèn yào shuōde dōu xiě zài zhèzhāng zhǐshang. Write the address and what you want to say on this paper. 28. Diànbào Dàlóu The Telegraph Building (Peking) NOTES AFTER PART IV bǎ dìzhí: In sentence No. 28 the object comes before the verb and is preceded by the marker bǎ. Although it is common for an object to come before the verb marked by bǎ, not all objects can do so. The object in a bǎ-phrase is the direct object of an action verb. It is a particular know thing, not a new idea about to be introduced into the conversation. The action verb in the sentence is usually more than one syllable or followed by something else, such as a place name. For more on bǎ. see Transportation Unit 3 and Meeting Unit 5. Qǐng ni bǎ shū fàngzai zhuōzishang. Please put the book on the table. Tā bǎ tāde chē mài le. He sold his car. diànxìnjú: “Telegraph Office.” In the PRC the word used is diànxùnjú. Taipei: M: Wǒ yǒu yíjiàn zhòngyàode shì yào wàng Měiguo dǎ yìfēng diànbào. Dào náli qù dǎ? I have something important, I want to send by telegram to America. Where do I go to send it? F: Dào Diànxìnjú qù dǎ. You go to the Telegraph Office to send it. M: Zài náli? Where is it? F: Zài Buóài Lù. Gēn Táiběi Yōuzhèngjú zài yìqǐ. It's on Buóài Lù. Together with the Taipei Post Office. M: Hǎo. Xièxie ni. Wǒ xiànzài jiù qù dǎ. Okay. Thank you. I'll go right now to send it. M: Qǐngwèn, wǒ yào wàng Měiguo dǎ yìfēng Yīngwénde diànbào zěnme dǎ? May I ask, I want to send an English telegram to the U.S. How do I send it? F: Nǐ bǎ dìzhī gēn yào shuōde dōu xiě zài zhèzhāng zhǐshang. Write the address and what you want to say on this paper. M: Yíge zì duōshao qián? How much is it per word? F: Yíge zì Táibì èrshíèrkuài wǔmáo qián. Zuìshǎo èrshige zì. One word is 22.50 Taibi. The minimum is twenty words. M: Hǎo. Okay. M: Yígòng èrshiyíge zì. Altogether it's twenty-one words. F: Yígōng èrbǎisìshiqīkuài wǔnáo qián. Altogether it's 247.5O M: Hǎo. Fine. Peking: An American staying at the Peking Hotel asks the service attendant on her F1oor for some information. F: Wǒ xiǎng dǎ yìfēng diànbào. Zài fàndiànli kéyi bu keyi dǎ? Hàishi wǒ děi dào Diànbào Dàlóu qù dǎ? I’d like to send a telegram. Can I send it in the hotel? Or do I have to go to the Telegraph Building to send it? M: Búbì dào Diànbào dàlóu qù dǎ. Nǐ kéyi dào fàndiànlǐde yóujú qù dà. You don’t have to go to the Telegraph Building to send it. You can go to the post office in the hotel to send it. F: Hǎo. Xièxie ni. Nǐ zhīdao duōshao qián yíge zì ma? Good. Thank you. Do you know how much it is a word? M: Wǒ yě bù zhīdaò. Nǐ wèn tāmen ba. I don’t know. You ask them. Vocabulary bǎ (object marker) bāoguǒ package bǎoxiǎn to protect by insurance, to insure bènshì this city -céng counter for F1oors of buildings dǎ diànhuà to make a phone call, to telephone diànbào telegram Diànbào Dàlóu Telegraph Office diànhuà phone call Diànxìnjú Telegraph Office -fēng counter for letter fúwùtái service desk guàhào to register(something) guàhàoxìn (yìfēng) registered letter guówài outside the country, foreign guónèi within the country, domestic hǎiyùn sea mail hángkōng air mail hángkōng yōujiǎn aerogram -jiàn counter for matter, affairs jiànchá to inspect examine jì to mail, to send by mail lóuxià downstairs míngxìnpiàn post cards píngxìn regular mail, surface mail qíngfàng fragile(lit, put down lightly) shì(yíjiàn) matter, affair,thing tì in place of (someone), for tie to paste on, to stick wàídí outside the local area wàimian outside xiāngzi box, suitcase, trunk xiǎoxīn to be careful xiěshang to write on (something) xìn (yìfēng) letter xìnfēng envelope xìnzhǐ stationery yíqǐ together, together with yóujú post office yóupiào(yìzhang) stamp yǒu tǒng mailbox post office yóuzhèngjú zhòngyào to be important zuìhǎo the best; “it would be best” zuìshǎo at least, at the minimum Post Office and Telephone Module. Unit 2 PART I 1. Qǐng ni gěi wo jiē Měidàsī. Please connect me with the Department of American and Oceanic Affairs. 2. Qǐng Tán Sīzhāng jiē diànhuà. Please have Bureau Chief Tán come to the phone. 3. Tā xiànzài zài bu zai bàngōngshì? Is he in his office now? U. Qǐng xiān bié guà. Don't hang up just yet? 5. Wǒ gēi ni zhǎo tā. I'll look for him for you. 6. Tán Sīzhǎng xiànzài yǒu shì. Bureau Chief Tan is busy right now. 7. Tā bù néng lái jiē diànhuà. He can't come to the phone. 8. Tā děng yìhuǐr gěi ni huí diànhuà. He will call you back in a little while. 9 Wàijiāobù Ministry of Foreign Affairs NOTES AFTER PART I; jiē: This is the verb “to connect”, “to join”. It is also the verb “to receive a message or mail”. bié: This is the negative imperative “don't!” Bié gēn ta shuō! Don't talk with him! Bié zài shuō ba! Don't talk about it again. zhǎo: This is the verb “to look for”. It is also sometimes translated as “to find”. Wǒ qù zhǎo ta. I'll go look for him. (I'll go find him.) néng: “to be able to”. Although this verb overlaps in meaning with kéyi, “can, may”, there are definite differences. The verb néng is more general, while kéyi has the narrower meaning “be able to” the sense of “be permitted to do so by someone”. Peking: