Lǐ Ping (B), Tom (A), and Lǐ Wen (E) are talking in the Li’s living
room.

-   A: Nǐ zài kàn shénme hàozhǐ?

-   B: Ming Bào. Ming Bào hú cuò,

hěn you yìsi.

E:    Zài Měiguo yě xiàng Xiānggǎng

zhèiyang, shénme luànqībāzāode xǐnwén dōu wang hàozhǐshang xiě ma?

-   A: Píngchāng wǒ kàn Huashèngdùn

Youbào. Zhèige hàozhǐ hú cuò, guōnèi, guōwàide xǐnwén dōu you, dāngrán
guǎnggào yě hù shǎo. Zhōngwén hàozhǐ, wǒ yě kàn, nèi shànghianr yě you
nǐ shuōde nèizhong luànqībāzāo de xǐnwén.

-   B: Nimen zhèiyang shuō, wǒ hù

zěnme tōngyì. Shénme shi luàn-qǐhāzāo? Shèhuì shēnghuó běnlái jiù shi
zhèiyang ma.’

E:    Suàn le ba.’ Jīntiān shi shā

rén, míngtiān shi xī dú, wǒ bú yào kàn.

A:    Kàn háishi xūyào kànde, yǐnwèi

shèhuì shēnghuózhōngde wèntí, wǒmen yě bù néng bú zhùyì a!

E:    Xiānggǎngde shèhui wèntí zhēn

duō! Shénme dìfangrde rén dōu you, shénmeyàngrde wèntí yě dōu you.

-   A: Shèhui wèntí shi shìjièxìngde,

bù zhǐ shi Xiānggǎng you.

E:    Ng, nàme, rénmen duì zhèixie

wèntí jiu méiyou shénme bànfǎr ma?

-   B: Bànfǎ hěn duō, dìfang bù tong,

bànfǎ yě bù yíyàng. Kěshi zhèixiē bànfǎ shi bu shi you xiào jiu bù
zhīdào le.

What newspaper are you reading?

Ming Pao. It’s pretty good, very interesting.

In America is it the same as in Hong Kong: they put all kinds of crazy
news in the paper?

I usually read the Washington Post. It’s a pretty good paper. It has
domestic as well as international news. Of course there are a lot of
ads, too. I read Chinese newspapers too, and they have all kinds of
crazy news ’’ in them, as you put it.

I don’t really agree with what you are saying. What is all kinds of
crazy news? That’s exactly the way life in society is!

Forget it! Today it’s killing, tomorrow it’s drugs. I don’t want to read
that.

We still need to read it, because we can’t very well ignore the problems
of life in society.

Hong Kong sure has a lot of social problems. There are people from
everywhere, and all kinds of problems.

Problems in society are worldwide. Hong Kong isn’t the only place that
has them.

Mm, then is there nothing people can do about these problems?

There are a lot of ways to deal with them. Different places have
different ways of dealing with them. But whether these ways work or not
is another question.

-   A: You rén shuō zǒngjiào shi

yìzhōng banfǎ, bù guǎn shénme Jiào, dōu shi Jiào rén zuò hǎo shìrde.
Kěshi wō xiǎng jiàoyu hěn zhōngyào, shòu jiàoyude rén yuè duō, shèhuide
wèntí yuè shǎo.

-   B: Erqiě jīngji fāda yě hěn yào-

jǐn. Jīngji bù fǎdáde dìfang, rénmen fàn zuìde jīhui Jiu gèng duō.

E:    Jiù shi ma, rén yào chī fàn,

lián fàn dōu chībubǎo, tāmen zěnme néng bú fàn zuì ne?

-   A: Wō xiǎng méi nàme jiǎndān.

Fàn zuì hé hěn duō shi yōu guānxi, tèbié shi hé jiātíng yōu guānxi.

E:    Nī jiǎngjiang kàn.

A:    Zài jīngji fādáde dìfang, xiǎo

jiātíng yuè lái yuè duō, érqiě fùmǔmen dōu yōu gōngzuò, dōu hěn máng,
méiyou shíjiān duō guǎn háizi. You xiě niánqīngde fùmǔ yě hěn shǎo
xiǎngdào zìjīde zéren, méiyou shénme jiātíng guānniàn.

E:    Nǐde huà yōu dàolī, kěshi dà

lùde qíngxing ne? Nīmen zěnme xiǎng?

-   B: Shi a. Dàlù jīngji bù fādá,

érqiě dàjiā yě dōu yōu jiātíng guānniàn. Kěshi, kànkan bàozhī, dàlùshang
fàn zuìde rén yě bù shǎo.

-   A: Wō xiǎng zhè hé zhèngzhi bù

āndìng yōu guānxi, tèbié shi cóng Liù Liù nián dào Qī Liù nián.

Some people say that religion is one way. No matter what the religion,
it always teaches people to do good. But I think education is important.
The more educated people there are, the fewer social problems there will
be.

And also, a developed economy is important. In places where the economy
isn’t well-developed, there are more opportunities for people to connnit
crimes.

Exactly. People have to eat. If they can’t even get enough to eat, how
can you expect them not to commit crimes?

I don’t think it’s so simple. Crime is related to many different things,
especially to the family.

Would you explain what you mean?

Where the economy is developed, there are more and more small families;
also, both parents have jobs and are very busy, so they don’t have time
to take good care of the children. Some young parents seldom think of
their own responsibilities and don’t have much of a sense of family
attachment.

That makes sense. But what about the situation on the mainland? What do
you two think?

Yeah, the mainland’s economy isn’t developed, and furthermore everyone
has a sense of attachment to the family. But read the papers: there are
quite a few people committing crimes on the mainland too.

I think this has to do with the political instability, especially from
’66 to ’?6.

-   B: Shi ma, nèige shihou, shénme

fǎlu dōu méiyou. Lián fàn zuì hú fàn zuì dōu nòngbuqīngchu, shèhui wèntí
zěnme huì shǎo?

A:    Nǐde kànfǎ, wǒ hěn tongyì. Wǒ

xiǎng, zhǐ yǒu shǐ zhèngzhi āndìng, JǐngJi, wénhuà fādá, cái néng shǐ
shèhui jìnbù.

(Grandma Lǐ walks in.)

G:    Nǐmen zài tán shénme, tánde

zhème gāoxìng?

A:    Lǐ Nǎinai, women zài tán shèhui

wèntí.

G:    Hǎo le, nǐmen tángòu le meiyou?

Chile fàn zài tán xíng hu xíng?

-   A, B, E: Xíng, chile fàn zài tán.

Yes. During that time there wasn't any law at all. If you can’t even
tell the difference between committing a crime and not committing one,
how can social problems be reduced?

I agree very much with your view. I think that society can only be made
to progress if the political situation is stabilized and the economy and
culture are made to flourish.

What are you talking about so cheerfully?

We’re talking about social problems, Grandma Lǐ.

Well, have you talked enough? How about continuing the conversation
after dinner?

Okay! We’ll talk more after dinner.