外国人看中国

Text

Note: The text is pasted here in case you want to copy/paste one of the words into a dictionary app, but the above video and zip file download are best inputting the content as they have audio and text-tracking.

我在中国住了差不多三年了，发现两个中国和外国不一样的地方。一，中国人不喜欢喝冰水。如果你去中国的饭店，你会发现，他们只有热水或者茶。你只有要求他们给你冰水，不过，他们很有可能会说没有。还有，中国人会把热水当药。如果你不舒服什么的，他们会叫你多喝热水。二，中国的女人，照片里和真人不太一样。在照片里，中国的女人喜欢把自己拍得又白又瘦，眼睛大大的，鼻子高高的，脸小小的，她们觉得这样才好看。但我觉得这样不好看。我认为美分很多种，因为有自己的特点，每个人都可以很美。如果地球上每个人都长得一样，那么多没意思！

Top-Down Words

地方 dìfang - place
喜欢 xǐhuan - to like
喝 hē - to drink
热 rè - hot
茶 chá - tea
把 bǎ - (used to shift the object to before the verb)
当 dāng - to act as
舒服  shūfu - comfortable
里 lǐ - inside
瘦 shòu - slim
眼睛 yǎnjing - eye
鼻子 bízi - nose
高 gāo - high
脸 liǎn - face
特点 tèdiǎn - feature, characteristic
没意思 méiyìsi - meaningless, boring

How to Use This Lesson

Step One

Watch the video here on the course platform. Feel free to take as much time as you'd like to understand the content, but don't feel obligated to understand the text right now fully. You'll download the video and return to it later. 

Step Two

Download the zip file from the sidebar (desktop/laptop) or below this description (Mobile APP). That zip file contains the following:

• Text tracking video(s) MP4 file(s)
• Audio MP3 file(s)
• Image file of the text & top-down words for your reference

Dialogues contain one text-tracking video file at 80% speed followed by native speed. 

Opinions & Short Stories contain two text tracking video files, one female voice, and one male voice. Both start at 80% speed, followed by native speed.

Step Three

At a time of your choosing, use the video files to practice shadowing. If you need a reminder, this lesson explains how to shadow. These video files are ideal for shadowing, especially if you download them to your phone because you can walk around while doing it.

Click Here to Navigate to All Phase 4 Dialogues, Opinions & Stories

Member Comments from 2019-mid-2020

Do you also want to leave a comment? You can do so below！

William Beeman 

Thanks for this fun story. There is a lot of everyday usage here varying from textbook models that I wish I could internalize. I'd love to see a kind of list or guide of how phrases can be shortened without losing comprehension, on the order of 没有-->没.

But I was especially interested in the last sentence: 那么多没意思. Does 多 in this sentence mean, roughly "so"(or "really,")? as "That would be SO/REALLY uninteresting?"

Mandarin Blueprint

This question really got me thinking! Here's a reply for you: https://www.loom.com/share/16334b6ada5544f29812af8c4f6459a2

我认为美分很多种，因为有自己的特点，每个人都可以很美。如果地球上每个人都长得一样，那么多没意思！

MB Team

This is where Luke and Phil talked about your question in the Mandarin Blueprint Podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYhT1gXaDNM&t=3515s

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William Beeman 

One more question. In the sentence 我认为美分很多种, reading it, I thought that 美分 meant something like "beautiful 'parts'" or some such, with the sense for the sentence that "I think that beauty has many forms/aspects," But it seems that 美分 can also be translated as a "U.S. penny coin." Am I not segmenting the sentence correctly? Is this some usage that is colloquial?

Mandarin Blueprint

我·认为·美·分·很多·种
I believe beauty is divided into many types.

William Beeman 

Thanks! Ah, once again I have misread the sentence. Because 美·分 is in fact a noun (meaning "American penny") I didn't get that 分 in this sentence is actually a verb. This is a great example for my work on morphemic flexibility. It seems that the sentence could be read: "I think that American Pennies have many types (Lincoln head, Indian head). Or am I really stretching it? :-)

You mentioned that Da Shan does standup comedy. I bet that puns in Mandarin are not highly valued--too easy!

Mandarin Blueprint 

In your example "I think that American Pennies have many types," you'd need the verb 有, and that's part of how we know that 美分 is not representative of "American Penny."

我·认为·美分·*有*·很多·种。

In fact, in this sentence, you can be sure that it's 美分 (American penny) and not 美·分 ('beauty divides'), because you wouldn't have two verbs in a row (分 followed by 有) as that's grammatically incorrect.

Re: Chinese puns, ha, I'd say they are still highly valued considering how often I see them in day-to-day life. They're used a lot in advertisements when the name of the company happens to be a homophone with the field that they specialize in. I can't think of one off the top of my head right now, but I'll keep an eye out and take some pictures the next time I see one.

MB Team 

This is where Luke and Phil talked about your question in the Mandarin Blueprint Podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYhT1gXaDNM&t=4101s

MB Team

This is where Luke and Phil talked about your question in the Mandarin Blueprint Podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYhT1gXaDNM&t=4178s