Standard Chinese, A Modular Approach, Money Module, Unit 2, Comprehension Tape 1.
This unit is set in the PRC. On this tape, you'll learn to understand questions and answers you might use in buying things to eat.
Mr. Anderson has stopped in a small shop near his hotel in Peking to buy some small pastries or cookies for a snack.
Listen to his opening remark. I'd like to buy some pastries.
我想买点点心。我想买点点心。
Here's the word for pastries, cookies, or cake.点心。点心。
The word for some in this sentence is the toneless syllable 点心.
You may think of this as a reduced form of the word 点心, a little bit.
You had the word a little bit earlier in its non-Peking form 点心。
Listen to the two forms compared.点心。点心。点心。点心。点心。
Notice that the Peking form drops the final N, adds an R, and changes the vowel from the E of 10 to the A of tar.
Listen to the two forms again.点心。点心。点心。点心。
一点。一点。
Now listen to Mr. Anderson's opening remark again. live.
我想买点点心。 again.我想买点点心。
Check your comprehension.我想买点点心。
I'd like to buy some pastries. The conversation continues.
How much is this kind of small pastry?这个小点心多少钱?
80 cents a catty.八毛钱一斤。
Notice that in this exchange, the general counter 个 is again used to refer to the kind of thing.
Here's the adjectival verb to be small.小。
小。
The unit of weight used like our pound is known in English as the catty. Here's the Chinese for catty.
金。金。
In the PRC, a catty is 1.1 pounds.
The PRC dollar is equivalent to approximately half a US dollar. Here's the word for a tenth of a dollar, or dime.
毛。毛。
Notice that while we say 80 cents, the Chinese say in effect eight dimes. Listen to the exchange live.
这个小点心多少钱?八毛钱一斤。
Again。这个小点心多少钱?八毛钱一斤。
Check your comprehension.这个小点心多少钱?
八毛钱一斤。
How much is this kind of small pastry?八毛钱一斤。
80 cents a catty. The conversation continues. Listen.
Give me two catties.给我两斤。给我两斤。
Here's the verb to give.给。给。
Listen to the request live.给我两斤。Again。给我两斤。
Check your comprehension.给我两斤。Give me two catties.
Here's the verb to ask to.请。请。
Now listen to a politer version of this request. Please give me two catties.
请你给我两斤。请你给我两斤。
Here's the verb to ask to.请。请。
You might translate 请你 as I ask you to, but obviously the idiomatic equivalent is please.
You can also make this request without the word for you.请给我两斤。
Listen to the polite request live.请你给我两斤。Again。
请你给我两斤。Check your comprehension.请你给我两斤。
Please give me two catties. The conversation continues. Here's the verb to want.要。要。
And here's the word for soda in the sense of carbonated soft drinks.气水。气水。
Listen. What else do you want?你还要点什么?你还要点什么?
I want some soda, too.我还要气水。我还要气水。
You've had the adverb high as still in 他还在美国。 She's still in America.
You've also had it as yet, as in 他还没来。 She hasn't come yet.
Here we can't translate it either way. You might think of the word high in this exchange as meaning in addition.
The sentences could then be translated literally as What do you want a little of in addition?
And I want a little soda in addition. We have translated more idiomatically using
What else do you want? And I want a little soda, too.
Even though the translations else and too by themselves are a bit loose for high.
Listen to the exchange live.你还要点什么?我还要气水。
Again,你还要点什么?我还要气水。Check your comprehension.你还要点什么?
What else do you want?我还要气水。I want some soda, too.
The conversation continues. Listen. How much is it a bottle?多少钱一瓶?
It's 25 cents.两瓦五分钱。两瓦五分钱。Here's how you'd say one bottle of soda.
一瓶气水。一瓶气水。 Notice that the word 瓶,bottle, acts as a counter.
And here's how you'd say one cent.一分钱。一分钱。
The word 瓶 is also a counter, measuring amounts of money. Notice that 25 cents is given as two dimes and five cents.
Here's the exchange live.多少钱一瓶?两瓦五分钱。Again,多少钱一瓶?两瓦五分钱。Check your comprehension.多少钱一瓶?
How much is it a bottle?两瓦五分钱。It's 25 cents. In the following live conversation, notice the use of the question word 瓶, followed by a counter. Listen.
您要几瓶?请给我三瓶,点先气水,一共多少钱?两斤点心,一块六毛钱,三瓶气水,七瓦五分钱,一共两块三瓦五分钱。Again,您要几瓶?请给我三瓶,点先气水,一共多少钱?
两斤点心,一块六毛钱,三瓶气水,七瓦五分钱,一共两块三瓦五分钱。Check your comprehension.您要几瓶?How many bottles would you like?请给我三瓶。
请给我三瓶,点先气水,一共多少钱?How much are the pastries and soda altogether?两斤点心,一块六毛钱。Two catties of pastries are one dollar and sixty cents.
三瓶气水,七瓦五分钱。Three bottles of soda are seventy-five cents.一共两块三瓦五分钱。All together, it will be two dollars and thirty-five cents.The conversation continues.
Here's three dollars. 这是三块钱。Here's sixty-five cents change. 找你六瓦五分钱。Thank you. Goodbye.
谢谢再见。Goodbye. 再见。
Literally, Mr. Anderson is saying, this is three dollars. In this use, the word jay has no counter-attached.You've seen a specifier used this way before, in sentences like,那是民族饭店,that's the nationalities hotel. Here's the verb which means to give change. 找,找。
Now listen to the storekeeper's answer again.Here's sixty-five cents change. 找你六瓦五分钱。 Our English translation is a little loose. The storekeeper is really saying something like, I'm giving you sixty-five cents change. Listen to the exchange live.
这是三块钱。 找你六瓦五分钱。Thank you. Goodbye. 再见。
Here's how you say goodbye. 再见。
Word for word,再见 is again see. That is, see you again. Here's the exchange again. 这是三块钱。找你六瓦五分钱。谢谢再见。
再见。Check your comprehension. 这是三块钱。
Here's three dollars. 找你六瓦五分钱。 Here's sixty-five cents change. 谢谢再见。
Thank you. Goodbye. 再见。 Goodbye.
After paying, Mr. Anderson notices some apples. There are two kinds, large and small. Listen. How much are those large apples?
那个大苹果多少钱? 那个大苹果多少钱?
The large ones are forty-five cents a catty. 大的四毛五分钱一斤。
Here's the word for apple. 苹果。苹果。
Notice that when the noun is dropped, the adjectival verb must have the marker d. Large ones is simply 大的, and in the same way, good ones would be 好的。
Here's the exchange live. 那个大苹果多少钱?
大的四毛五分钱一斤。Again. 那个大苹果多少钱?
大的四毛五分钱一斤。Check your comprehension. 那个大苹果多少钱?
How much are those large apples? 大的四毛五分钱一斤。
The large ones are forty-five cents a catty. The conversation continues. Listen.
How much a catty are the small ones? 小的多少钱一斤?
They're thirty-five cents. 三毛五。
Small ones, of course, is simply 小的。
Notice, by the way, that the price in the answer has been abbreviated by emitting the first unit marker 奔, and the word money, 钱。 Instead of 三毛五分钱, the answer is simply 三毛五, literally three times five.
Listen to the exchange live. 小的多少钱一斤?
三毛五。Again. 小的多少钱一斤? 三毛五。Check your comprehension. 小的多少钱一斤?
How much a catty are the small ones? 三毛五。
They're thirty-five cents. Other prices are abbreviated the same way. Listen to this live conversation. 这本书多少钱?
这本三块五。Again. 这本书多少钱? 这本三块五。Check your comprehension. 这本书多少钱?
How much is this book? 这本三块五。This one is three dollars and fifty cents. The conversation continues. Please give me three catties of those small ones. 请给我三斤那个小的。
Certainly three catties are a dollar five. 好。三斤一块零五。 好。三斤一块零五。
Here the dime's place is empty and the placeholder 零 zero must be used. 一块零五, one dollar zero five.
You'll remember that 一块五, with 五 in the dime's place, would mean a dollar fifty. Notice that the word of in the English phrase three catties of those small ones has no equivalent in the Chinese, which word for word is three catties those small ones. Listen to the exchange live. 请给我三斤那个小的。
好。三斤一块零五。 Again. 请给我三斤那个小的。 好。三斤一块零五。 Check your comprehension. 请给我三斤那个小的。
Please give me three catties of those small ones. 好。三斤一块零五。
Certainly three catties are a dollar five. The conversation continues. Listen. What else do you want? 你还要点什么? 你还要点什么? I don't want anything else.
我不要什么了? 我不要什么了?
In the question 什么 is the interrogative pronoun what? In the answer however, without its tone, it's the indefinite pronoun anything. Mr. Anderson's reply is a statement, not a question.
The new situation marker le in his reply indicates that his not wanting anything represents a change. Now, I don't want anything. Here's the exchange live. 你还要点什么? 我不要什么了? Again. 你还要点什么? 我不要什么了? Check your comprehension. 你还要点什么?
What else do you want? 我不要什么了? I don't want anything else. Here's another example of shama used to mean anything. 你买什么? 我今天不买什么,就看看。 Again. 你买什么? 我今天不买什么,就看看。 Check your comprehension. 你买什么?
What are you buying? 我今天不买什么,就看看。 I'm not buying anything today. I'm just looking. Let's change the scene again for another example of new situation le applied to a negative sense. Listen to the live exchange. 你还念历史吗?
你还念历史吗? 我不念了. Again. 你还念历史吗? 我不念了. Check your comprehension. 你还念历史吗? Are you still studying history? 我不念了. I'm not studying it anymore.
I'm not studying it anymore. A review dialog for this unit will be found at the beginning of the C2 tape. Now let's review the exchanges of the target list for this unit. Number one. 汽水多少钱一瓶?
How much is soda a bottle? 两毛五. It's 25 cents. Number two. 这个点心多少钱一斤?
How much is this kind of pastry a catty? 八毛钱一斤?
Eighty cents a catty. 请你给我两斤. Please give me two catties. Number three. 你还要点什么? What else do you want? 我不要什么了. I don't want anything else. Number four.
那个大苹果多少钱? How much are those large apples? 大的四毛五分钱一斤. The large ones are 45 cents a catty. 请给我三斤小的.
Please give me three catties of the small ones. 好,三斤一块零五. Certainly, three catties are a dollar five. Number five. 这是三块钱?
Here's three dollars. 找你六毛五分钱. Here's sixty five cents change. 谢谢,再见.
Thank you. Goodbye. 再见. If you feel you're ready, go on to the P1 tape. This is the end of the tape. 谢谢,再见.