Dialogue and Translation for Exercise 2

Thia dialogue takes place in front of a vegetable stall in Dōngdān
market in BUjIng. An American customer (A) is looking over the
selection.

Here he talks with the salesperson.

A:

Ài, zhèige qíngjiāo hlo dà a! IS hèn xīnxian, shi bèndì chūde ba?

Wow! These green peppers are so big! They're very fresh, too. They must
be local produce, aren't they?

B:

Shi cōng Jiioqū láide.

They come from the suburbs.

A:

Béijlng Jiāoqūde rénmín gōngshè dōu zhōng shūcài ma?

Do all the people's communes in the suburbs of BèiJIng grow vegetables?

B:

Xiànzàide rénmín gōngshè zhūyào háishi zhōng liángshi, Jiāoqūde gōngshè
yōu xie dàduì zhōng shūcài, dāngrán yō yōu zhuānyèhuàde gōngshè.

These days most people's communes still mainly produce grain. In
communes in the suburbs, some brigades grow vegetables, and, of course,
there are also specialized conasunM.

A:

Zhuānyèhuà shi shénme yìsi?

What does specialized mean?

B:

Zènme shuō ne? Wō shìzhe Jú ge lìzi ba.

How should I explain it? I'll try and give you an example.

A:

ftg, nl shuō shuo kan.

Mm, go ahead.

B: Bìfang shuǒ SÌJÌqlng zhèige gong- For instance, the commune SÌJÌqlng.
shè.

A: "SÌJÌqlng” shi shénme yìsi?

What does "SÌJÌqlng” mean?

B: Ng, "yī èr sān sì"de "si," "chūn-Jì, qiūjì"de "Jì," "qlng" Jiù shi
"īa"de yìsi.

Si C"four"] as in yi èr sān si C"one two three four"]. Jì C"season"] as
in chūnjì. qiūjì C"spring season, fall season"]. Qlng means "green."

-   A: À! Nà shi si Jì cháng 15.de yìsi.

Ah! So it means "green all year round."

-   B: Duì le, Jiù shi yīnvei nèige gōngshè yìnián sìjì dōu shi lade,
    wōmen cái guln ta Jiào SÌJÌqlng. Nà shi ge xiānjìnde gōngshè. Tā-men
    Jiù zhōng cài!

-   A: Jiù zhōng cài?.' À! Duì le, duì le, suōyl guln zhèige gōngshè
    Jiào zhuānyèhuà gōngshè.

-   B: Ou, wō shuōde "jiù zhong cài" bú shi shuō bāifēnzhī bāi a! Jiù
    shi

Right. It's precisely because the cojanune is green all year round that
we call it SÌJÌqlng. It's an advanced commune. They grow only
vegetables.

Only vegetables? Oh! Of course. That's why they call it a specialized
commune.

Oh, when I said "only vegetables,” I didn't mean one hundred percent! I

ahu3, càidìde miànji hén di, zhàn gongshi z8ng miànjide bàifēnzhf
ql-bǎshí!

-   A: Suóyi zhèige xiànjìn gdngshè zhūyàode shēngchàn shi shǔcài!

-   B: Duì le, yìdiànr d5u bú cud! Zhèige dà qlngjiào jiù shi cóng nàr
    láide. DuS mài jlge ba!

-   A: Hào, w8 mài yìjln.

mean that the area of their vegetable plots is very large. They make up
seventy or eighty percent of the commune's total area!

So the main product of this commune is vegetables!

Right, absolutely correct. These big green peppers are from there.

Buy a bunch of them!

Okay, I’ll take one catty.