Dialogue and Translation for Exercise 1*

A traveler from Germany (B) is touring the Great Wall at BSdállng when
she spots a Chinese friend (A) whom she met three years before when he
was studying in Germany.

B: Ài! Xú Gang! Hái rènshi wō ma?

-   A: Ò! Shi ni ya! Sānnián bú Jiàn, ni háishi iXo yàngzi! Lái BěiJIng
    duo Jiu le?

-   B: Ha! Kàndao ni zhěn gāoxìng! Wō

lái zhèr yíge duō xìngqī le.

Yìzhí cānguān zhèr, cānguān nàrde, mángjíle, dōu méi néng gěi ni dS yige
diànhuà. Nī hái zài Běidà ma?

-   A: Hái zài Běidà. Nìde Zhōngwén

yuè lái yuè bàng le ma!

-   B: Bàng shénme ya? Hái bu shi má-

mahuhūde! Duì le, zài zhèr kàndao ni zhèng hāo! Wō yōu yíge wèntí xiXng
wèn ne, ni yōu méiyou shí-Jiān?

-   A: Yōu! Hl yōu shénme wèntí?

-   B: Wō Jide Chángchéng Jīngguòle hāo-

Jlge shěng, yōu yíwàn èrqiānduō 11 cháng.

-   A: Duì ya!

-   B: Chángchéng shi Zhōngguó zuì wěi-dàde gǔdài Jiànzhù.

-   A: Duì ya! Chàbuduō shi zhèiyang.

-   B: HXo. Name Qíncháode shíhour wèi-shenme yào xiū zhème chángde
    Chángchéng ne?

-   A: Dāngrán shi vèile fángbèi Běi-fang láide qlnlūè le.

-   B: Nàme, hlmen xiànzài wèishenme bù hXohāorde bXohù Chángchéng,
    nimen gǔdàide chuántōng ne?

-   A: Shéi shuōde? Wǒmen bú shi yìzhí zài xiǔ ma?

-   B: Keshi tlngshuō nlmende zhèngfǔ

yljìng Juédìng zài Chángchéngde fǔjìn gài yíge xiàndàihuàde ^àn-

Hey! Xú Gang! Do you still remember me?

Well! It’s you! It’s been three years, but you still look the same! How
long has it been since you came to Běijīng?

Ha! It’s so good to see you! It’s been a week or more since I got here.
I’ve been sightseeing all over the place all along, and haven’t been
able to give you a call. Are you still at BěiJIng University?

Yes, I’m still there. Your Chinese is getting more and more fantastic!

What’s fantastic about it? It’s Just so-so, really! Oh yes—glad I’ve run
into you here; I have a question I'd like to ask. Do you have time?

Yes. What's your question?

As I remember, the Great Wall passes through many provinces and is over
12,000 li long.

. Right!

The Great Wall is China's greatest ancient structure.

Right! That's about the way it is.

Okay. And why did they want to build such a long Great Wall during the
Qin dynasty?

As a precaution against invasions from the north, of course.

Then why aren't you doing a good Job of protecting the Great Wall, of
protecting your ancient tradition?

Says who? We've been repairing it all along, you know!

But I hear that your government has decided to build a modern hotel in
the vicinity of the Great Wall. If that's

diàn. Rúguō zhēn shi nèiyangr, wō juéde yōu yìdiánr bú tai shūfu.

-   A: À! Wō xiingqilai le. Zài Mùní-hēide shihou, w&nen you yícì qù
    cānguān yíge láo Jiaotang.

-   B: Duì le. Wōmen zōuguò láo shì-

zhèngfǔ ménkōurde shihou, kàndao nàr yōu hěn duō hěn xiàndàihuàde
fàngu&nr, yě yōu zàzhì, shùbào, huàr shenmede, zhěn rang wo xīnli bù
shūfu.

A:   Hài, xiàndàihuàde shèhuì ma, zenme

néng méiyou xiàndàihuàde dōngxi ne? Bīfang shuō Běijīngde Qiánménwài ba,
cōngqián yōu hěn duō xiáo pùzi. Jiěfàng yīhòu xiuguo h&o duō cì, hái shi
bú tài háo, hōulái chóng-xīn gàile hěn duō dà shāngdiàn, Jiù zhěngqíde
duō le. Yōu shénme bù h&o ne?

B:   H&o le, h&o le, wō tóngyì le.

-   A: Shì ma! Nl kàn, zhèrde dìxíng

duō yōu yìsi, fěngjīng duō piào-liang. Lái zhèrde rén wánr yìtiān gòu
ma?

-   B: Dàgài bú gòu.

A: Jiù shi ma, yàoshi fújìn yōu yíge dà fàndiàn, nà duō fāngbian!

B: H&o le, hlo le, wō tóngyì le! Zōu, zánmen zài wing shàng zōuzou.

A: Zōu!

really the case, then I feel rather bad about it.

Ah! I remember. When we were in Munich, once we went to visit an old
church.

Right. When we walked in front of the old city hall, seeing all those
modern restaurants, and the magazines, books, newspapers, paintings, and
so on, it really made me feel very bad.

Well, that’s modern society, you know! How can it do without modern
things? Take Qiánménwài in Běijīng, for example. It used to have a lot
of little shops. After liberation, it was fixed up many times, but it
still wasn’t too good. Later a lot of new big stores were built, and it
looked much neater. What's wrong with that?

Okay, okay, I agree.

Sure! Look, the terrain is so interesting here, and the scenery is so
beautiful. Is one day enough for the people who come here?

Probably not.

Exactly. If there were a big hotel in the vicinity, how convenient it
would be!

Okay, okay, I agree! Come on, let’s walk on up!

Let's go.