Standard Chinese, a modular approach.
Transportation module, Unit 4, Comprehension Tape 1.
This unit is set in the ROC.
On this tape, you'll learn to understand some of the questions and answers used in getting train tickets.
Mr. Clark, an American businessman in Taipei, is talking to his Chinese secretary. Listen.
I'm thinking of going to Tainan to relax for a few days.
我想去 Tainan玩几天。
Here's the verb to play, which is often best translated into English as to relax or to enjoy yourself.
玩,玩.
Here's the sentence live.
我想去 Tainan玩几天。
Again.
我想去 Tainan玩几天。
Check your comprehension.
我想去 Tainan玩几天。
I'm thinking of going to Tainan to relax for a few days.
The conversation continues.
Would it be all right to go by bus?
坐公路局的车行不行?
To go to Tainan, it's not so convenient to take the bus.
到台南去坐公路局的车不大方便。
Here's the word for a bus that runs between cities.
公路局的车
Here's the word for convenient.
方便
And here's how you say, not so convenient.
不大方便
Listen to the exchange live.
坐公路局的车行不行?
到台南去坐公路局的车不大方便。
Again.
坐公路局的车行不行?
到台南去坐公路局的车不大方便。
Check your comprehension.
坐公路局的车行不行?
Would it be all right to go by bus?
到台南去坐公路局的车不大方便。
To go to Tainan, it's not so convenient to take the bus.
Here's another way Mr. Clark might have asked this question.
Is it better to go by train or to go by bus?
是坐火车气好呢?
还是坐公路局的车气好呢?
是坐火车气好呢?
还是坐公路局的车气好呢?
It's better to go by train.
坐火车气好。
Here's the word for train.
火车。
The question in this exchange is a choice type question.
是坐火车气好呢?
还是坐公路局的车气好呢?
Is it better to go by train or to go by bus?
You'll notice that each choice is followed by the marker 呢
and preceded by the words 还是 or 是.
Since the choice type question may be made without any words added,
you may think of the words 是 or还是 before a choice
and the marker 呢 after a choice
as optional ways of making the choice more emphatic
or marking it off more clearly.
Each choice in this question is itself a comparative statement.
坐火车气好。
It's better to go by train.
And 坐公路局的车气好。
It's better to go by bus.
The answer is simply one of the two choices.
坐火车气好。
It's better to go by train.
Here's the exchange live.
是坐火车气好呢?
还是坐公路局的车气好呢?
坐火车气好。
Again.
是坐火车气好呢?
还是坐公路局的车气好呢?
坐火车气好。
Check your comprehension.
是坐火车气好呢?
还是坐公路局的车气好呢?
Is it better to go by train or to go by bus?
坐火车气好。
It's better to go by train.
Here's another version of the question.
Would you say it's better to go by train or to go by bus?
你说是坐火车气好呢?
还是坐公路局的车气好呢?
你说是坐火车气好呢?
还是坐公路局的车气好呢?
When you say you say it's followed by a choice type question,
it's translated, would you say?
Listen to the whole exchange live.
你说是坐火车气好呢?
还是坐公路局的车气好呢?
到台南坐火车最方便。
Again.
你说是坐火车气好呢?
还是坐公路局的车气好呢?
到台南坐火车最方便。
Check your car engine.
你说是坐火车气好呢?
还是坐公路局的车气好呢?
Would you say it's better to go by train or to go by bus?
到台南坐火车最方便。
To Tainan, it's most convenient to take the train.
Let's change the scene and listen to another conversation live.
我明天想去公园玩一玩。
你说是上午去好呢?还是下午去好呢?
我想上午去好。
Again.
我明天想去公园玩一玩。
你说是上午去好呢?还是下午去好呢?
我想上午去好。
Check your car engine.
我明天想去公园玩一玩。
Tomorrow I'm thinking you're going to the park to relax.
你说是上午去好呢?还是下午去好呢?
Would you say it's better to go in the morning or in the afternoon?
我想上午去好。
I think it's better to go in the morning.
Let's go back to Mr. Clark's conversation with his secretary.
She's just told him that for going to Tainan, the train is most convenient.
Listen as he continues.
Is it necessary to buy tickets ahead of time?
得先买票吗?
It would be best for you to go buy your tickets two or three days ahead of time.
你最好两三天以前去买票。
Here's how you say best.
最好。
The word最好 is often used in politely offering advice to someone.
It does not have the feeling of a warning often present with a somewhat similar English phrase, you'd better.
Here's how you say two or three days.两三天。
As usual, the English uses a word for or and the Chinese doesn't.
This form is used for approximate dates as well as approximate amounts of time.
Here's how you say July or August.七八月。
And here's how you say tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.明后天。
Here's how you say two or three days ahead of time.两三天以前。
When no amount of time is mentioned, ahead of time may be translated by the word先。
Listen to the whole exchange live.得先买票吗?
你最好两三天以前去买票。
Again。得先买票吗?你最好两三天以前去买票。
Check your comprehension.得先买票吗?
Is it necessary to buy tickets ahead of time?你最好两三天以前去买票。
It would be best for you to go buy your tickets two or three days ahead of time.
The conversation continues.If I take the bus, is it also necessary to buy tickets ahead of time?
做公路局的车也得先买票吗?
It's not necessary to buy tickets ahead of time.不必先买票。
Here's how you say it's not necessary.不必。
The negative of the auxiliary verb 得 must or have to is always 不必.
Don't have to or not necessary.
The question in this exchange has the word if in English, but no word for if in Chinese.
In a sense, the if part of the sentence is a kind of topic, providing the setting for the second part of the sentence.
Here's the exchange live.
做公路局的车也得先买票吗?
不必先买票。Again。
做公路局的车也得先买票吗?不必先买票。
Check your comprehension.做公路局的车也得先买票吗?
If I take the bus, is it also necessary to buy tickets ahead of time?不必先买票。
It's not necessary to buy tickets ahead of time.
Now let's change the scene and listen to a similar conversation between an American and one of his Chinese acquaintances.
For this conversation, you'll need to know the name of a small city not far from Taipei.
Now listen to the conversation live.
我明后天想到毛先生家去玩。他住在桃园。
你说到那里去是做火车去方便呢?还是做公路局的车去方便呢?
到桃园做公路局的车最方便。也不必先买票。我想你最好做公路局的车去吧。Again。
我明后天想到毛先生家去玩。他住在桃园。你说到那里去是做火车去方便呢?还是做公路局的车去方便呢?
到桃园做公路局的车最方便。也不必先买票。我想你最好做公路局的车去吧。
我明后天想到毛先生家去玩。
我明后天想到毛先生家去玩。他住在桃园。你说到那里去是做火车去方便呢?还是做公路局的车去方便呢?
我明后天想到毛先生家去玩。我明后天想到毛先生家去玩。我明后天想到毛先生家去玩。
我想你最好做公路局的车去吧。
我要做上午的车。我要做上午的车。
要做上午的车。我要做上午的车。
你要做什么时候的车?我要做上午的车。
I want to take a morning train. The conversation continues. I'm sorry, the tickets for the morning trains are all sold out.
Here's how you say sold out. 卖完了. 卖完了. Listen to the sentence live. 对不起,上午的票都卖完了.
Again. 对不起,上午的票都卖完了. Check your comprehension. 对不起,上午的票都卖完了.
I'm sorry, the tickets for the morning trains are all sold out. The conversation continues live. 后天上午的呢?
后天上午的票还有,还没卖完. Again. 后天上午的呢?
Check your comprehension. 后天上午的呢?
How about for the morning of the day after tomorrow? 后天上午的票还有,还没卖完.
We still have tickets for the morning of the day after tomorrow. They haven't been sold out yet. 后天上午的票还有,还没卖完.
Now let's listen in on another conversation reviewing the material introduced on this tape.
For this conversation, you'll need to know the name of one of the tourist trains in the ROC. Here it is. 举光号.
In this conversation, Mr. Jacobs is talking with his neighbor, Ms. Li. Here it is live. 我下星期四要到高雄去玩几天。
好啊,怎么去? 是坐火车呢?还是坐汽车?
我也不知道,你说坐公路局的车怎么样? 我想坐公路局的车不大方便,最好坐火车去。
从这里到高雄的火车多不多? 很多,可是坐举光号得几天以前买票。 不是车很多吗?
是的,可是坐车的人也很多。 下星期三去买票可以吗?
下星期三买票,票就卖完了。 那星期六就去买票。 不必,两三天以前就行了。
Again。 我下星期四要到高雄去玩几天。
好啊,怎么去? 是坐火车呢?还是坐汽车?
我也不知道,你说坐公路局的车怎么样? 我想坐公路局的车不大方便,最好坐火车去。
从这里到高雄的火车多不多? 很多,可是坐举光号得几天以前买票。
不是车很多吗? 是的,可是坐车的人也很多。
下星期三去买票可以吗? 下星期三买票,票就卖完了。
那星期六就去买票? 不必,两三天以前就行了。
See if you understood what was said. 我下星期四要到高雄去玩几天。
Next Thursday I want to go to高雄 for a few days vacation. 好啊,怎么去?
Good. How are you going? 是坐火车呢?还是坐汽车?
Are you going by train or by car? 我也不知道。
I don't know either. 你说,坐公路局的车怎么样?
How do you think it would be to go by bus? 我想坐公路局的车不大方便。
I think going by bus would not be so convenient. 最好坐火车去。
It would be best to go by train. 从这里到高雄的火车多不多?
Are there many trains from here to高雄? 很多,可是坐举光号得几天以前买票。
Yes, but if you're taking the due光号, you have to buy tickets a few days ahead of time. 不是车很多吗?
Aren't there a lot of trains? 是的,可是坐车的人也很多。
Yes, but there are also a lot of people riding the trains. 下星期三去买票,可以吗?
Would it be all right to go by tickets next Wednesday? 下星期三买票,票就卖完了。
If you buy tickets next Wednesday, the tickets will be all sold out. 那星期六就去买票。
Well then, I'll go buy tickets on Saturday. 不必,两三天以前就行了。
That's not necessary. Two or three days ahead of time will do. 这不必,两三天以前就行了。
As a final review, see if you can translate the following sentences and exchanges from the target list. 最后的评论是什么时候的车?
What train do you want to take? 我要坐上午的车。
I want to take a morning train. 我想去台南玩几天。
I'm thinking of going to Tainan to relax for a few days. 坐火车,得先买票吗?
If I take the train, is it necessary to buy tickets ahead of time? 你最好两三天以前去买票。
It would be best for you to go by tickets two or three days ahead of time. 坐公路局的车呢?
And if I take the bus? 不必先买票。
It's not necessary to buy tickets ahead of time. 没必,两三天以前就行了。
Number four. 对不起,上午的票都卖完了。
I'm sorry, the tickets for the morning trains are all sold out. 不好意思,电子车的票都卖完了。
Number 5
你說是做火車去好呢?還是做公路局的車去好呢?
Would you say it's better to go by train or to go by bus?
做火車去好
It's better to go by train
到台南做公路局的車不大方便
To turn on, it's not so convenient to take the bus
If you think you're ready, go on to the P1 tape
This is the end of the tape
end of transportation module unit 4 comprehension tape 1