Chapter 5: "Walk with Me"

HOW TO TALK ABOUT CHANGES IN CHINESE TRANSPORTATION

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Lesson

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Mastery

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骑    (qí) [v] to ride    

自行车    (zì xíng chē) [n] bicycle    

• 这些年南京的变化很大，我以前骑自行车上班，现在也开起车来了。    These past few years the changes in Nanjing indeed are huge. I used to ride a bike to go to work, now I started to drive.

高铁    (gāo tiě) [n] high-speed rail

• short for "高速铁路"；高速＝high speed，铁路＝railroad
• NOTE: China's high-speed rail network is developing rapidly.

上班    (shàng bān) [VO] to go to work; to start work; to be on duty    

• 骑自行车上班 = to ride a bicycle to work

对面    (duì miàn) [n] opposite side; across

• 马路对面    = opposite the street
• NOTE: used to describe physical spaces.
• 咱们不也是两个"老外"吗？哈哈！你看马路对面，美国快餐店，日本银行，法国服装店...​

Lesson

Click for the STORY QUEST

Click for the LEARNING SLIDES

Practice

SKIT: in a group, write a dialogue between a bicycle enthusiast and a car lover. Memorize your skit and perform in front of the class!

• The bicycle enthusiast argues everyone should ride a bicycle to school and work.
• The car lover isn't willing to give up his car...
• ​What about public transportation?

WRITE: write a caption for the following images, showing how Chinese transportation has changed over the years:

Mastery

​DICTATION: write the Chinese characters, English definition, and pinyin (including tones):

• 骑，自行车，高铁，上班，对面
• TARGET: no more than 1 mistake, including tones.

READING: read aloud the following sentences:

• 这些年南京的变化很大，我以前骑自行车上班，现在也开起车来了。
• 咱们不也是两个"老外"吗？哈哈！你看马路对面，美国快餐店，日本银行，法国服装店...
• TARGET: no more than 1 mistake, including tones.

​
​SPEAKING: perform the following conversation tasks:

• Talk about changes in Chinese transportation.
• Talk about bicycles.
• TARGET: at least a 3 on ALL tasks.

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Chapter 6: "Isolation"

HOW TO TALK ABOUT FOREIGNERS IN CHINA

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Lesson

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Mastery

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游客    (yóu kè) [n] tourist

• NOTE: 游＝旅游，客＝客人
• 我爸爸说，他小时候在南京很少看到外国人，可是现在，你看到处都有外国游客啊！ My dad says, when he was little he almost never saw foreigners in Nanjing. But now, if you look, there are foreign travelers everywhere!
  

法国    (fǎ guó) [n] France

老外    (lǎo wài) [n] foreigner (slang)

• NOTE: "老外" is a somewhat impolite but very common slang expression in China. It usually does not refer to other East Asians or Chinese people who are foreigners living in a country outside of China. "老外" usually refers to non-Asian "Westerners," whites, blacks, Latin Americans, Arabs, and others of Middle Eastern descent.
• 咱们不也是两个"老外"吗？哈哈！你看马路对面，美国快餐店，日本银行，法国服装店...
  

拍    (pāi) [v] to shoot (pictures); to shoot (film); to clap; to pat

• 拍照片    to take pictures
• NOTE: 拍照片＝to take pictures，拍电影＝to shoot movies​
• 一会儿我给他发微信，告诉他南京变化太大，那个中学已经找不到了，再把今天拍的照片发给他看看。

Lesson

Click for the STORY QUEST

Click for the LEARNING SLIDES

Practice

WRITE: write a story about a foreigner moving to work in China for the first time, and some of the experiences this person encounters.

​SKIT: in a group, write a dialogue between an elderly Chinese person and a young Chinese person. Memorize your skit and perform in front of the class!

• Argue about the increased presence of foreigners in China - is this good or bad?
• The elderly Chinese person doesn't like foreigners very much.
  
• The young Chinese person thinks they're cool!
  

Mastery

​DICTATION: write the Chinese characters, English definition, and pinyin (including tones):

• 游客，法国，老外，拍
• TARGET: no more than 1 mistake, including tones.

READING: read aloud the following sentences:

• 我爸爸说，他小时候在南京很少看到外国人，可是现在，你看到处都有外国游客啊！
• 咱们不也是两个"老外"吗？哈哈！你看马路对面...日本银行，法国服装店...    
• 一会儿我给他发微信，告诉他南京变化太大，那个中学已经找不到了，再把今天拍的照片发给他看看。
• TARGET: no more than 1 mistake, including tones.

​
​SPEAKING: perform the following conversation tasks:

• Talk about foreigners in China.
• Talk about taking pictures.
• TARGET: at least a 3 on ALL tasks.

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Chapter 7: "Killer Within"

HOW TO TALK ABOUT CHANGES IN CHINESE FOOD AND FASHION

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咕噜    (gū lū) [n] "rumbling sound"

• 我的肚子咕噜咕噜叫!    My stomach is ("gu lu gu lu") rumbling!
• NOTE: this is an onomatopoeia phrase. It's often used to describe the rumbling of a stomach when hungry.

尝    (cháng) [v] to taste    

快餐    (kuài cān) [n] fast food

• lit. "fast meal"

小吃    (xiǎo chī) [n] snacks; small inexpensive dishes; street food

• 尝尝南京小吃    to taste Nanjing's snacks
• NOTE: There are an incredible variety of 小吃 across China. 粽子 and 元宵 are examples of 小吃.
• 那咱们现在就去夫子庙，尝尝南京小吃吧。

"民以食为天"    (mín yǐ shí wéi tiān) [成语] "the people treat food as heaven"

• NOTE 1: This is a "成语" (chéng yǔ), a traditional Chinese idiom. Most 成语 are four characters long, though this is five characters.
• 民 = people, 食 = 饮食 = food，天 = heaven
• As this idiom indicates, food is very important in Chinese culture
• 你们听说过 "民以食为天" 这句话吧？这句话的意思，简单地说就 "吃" 是老百姓生活中最重要的事儿。

以A为B    (yǐ + A + wéi + B) "Treating A as B"

• This pattern is often found in formal writing and speech, and it is also one of the classical Chinese forms that is still in use today.
• In short, it means "Treating A as B" or "using A as B." We might say "take his example as our standard", "use this piece as an example", or "take charity as our central tenet."
• This grammar structure is often used with couplets and proverbs.
• Examples:
  • 1. "民以食为天" = people treating food as heaven
  • 2. 这位老师以校为家 = This teacher treats his school as his home

Lesson

Click for the STORY QUEST

Click for the LEARNING SLIDES

Practice

SPEAK: discuss about how Chinese food and fashion have changed over the years. Consider the popularity of fast food and Western fashion.

WRITE: write an article advocating against fast food in China.

Mastery

​DICTATION: write the Chinese characters, English definition, and pinyin (including tones):

• 咕噜，尝，快餐，小吃，”民以食为天”
• TARGET: no more than 1 mistake, including tones.

GRAMMAR: complete the following exercises:

• Translate: "people treating food as heaven"
• TARGET: no grammar mistakes.

READING: read aloud the following sentences:

• ​肚子咕噜咕叫。走了这么多路，你们好像不累不饿，我这个导游可又渴又饿了。别忘了 ，"民以食为天" 啊！ 走，吃饭去！
• 那咱们现在就去尝尝南京小吃吧。
• 咱们不也是两个"老外"吗？哈哈！你看马路对面，美国快餐店，日本银行，法国服装店...    
• "民以食为天" 这句话的意思，简单地说就 "吃" 是生活中最重要的事儿。
• TARGET: no more than 2 mistakes, including tones.

​
​SPEAKING: perform the following conversation tasks:

• Talk about changes in Chinese food.
• Talk about the importance of food in Chinese culture.
• TARGET: at least a 3 on ALL tasks.

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​Chapter 8: "Too Far Gone​"

HOW TO PRESERVE OUR TRADITIONAL HERITAGE

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保留    (bǎo liú) [v] to preserve; to retain; to remain as before

• ​不会的。南京还是保留了很多有中国特色的东西。比如说建筑，南京最有中国特色的是夫子庙，那儿还有吃的、喝的、玩儿的...    
• 南京人真的是想尽可能保留老南京的特色。= Nanjingers really want as much as possible to preserve the characteristics of old Nanjing.

特色    (tè sè) [n] distinguishing feature or quality; [adj] special characteristic

• 保留中国特色的东西        preserving China's characteristic things
• 可是我担心，这样下去，有中国特色的东西会不会越来越少呢.​

尽可能    (jǐn kě néng) [adv] as much as possible; to one's utmost

• 看起来，南京人真的是想尽可能保留老南京的特色 = It looks like, Nanjing people really want as much as possible to preserve old Nanjing's [special] characteristics.
• Examples:
  • 1. 别着急，我们会尽可能帮这个社会提高生活水平。
  • 2. A: 能成功的保留中国特色传统吗？B: 我们尽可能保留。

Lesson

Click for the STORY QUEST

Click for the LEARNING SLIDES

Practice

LEARN MORE: Read "Razing History: The Tragic Story of a Beijing Neighborhood's Destruction." Then write a paragraph in Chinese in response.

TRAIN: write 3 sentences using the following grammar structure: 

• 尽可能

SKIT: in a group, write a dialogue between an elderly Chinese person and a young Chinese person. Memorize your skit and perform in front of the class!

• The elderly person wants to preserve as much as Chinese's traditional heritage as possible.
• The young person thinks China ought to change with the times by modernizing--who cares about old stuff?

Mastery

​DICTATION: write the Chinese characters, English definition, and pinyin (including tones):

• 保留，特色，尽可能
• TARGET: no more than 1 mistake, including tones.

GRAMMAR: complete the following exercises:

• Translate: It looks like, Nanjing people really want as much as possible to preserve old Nanjing's [special] characteristics.
• TARGET: no grammar mistakes.

READING: read aloud the following sentences:

• 可是我担心，这样下去，有中国特色的东西会不会越来越少呢。
• 不会的。南京还是保留了很多有中国特色的东西。比如说建筑，南京最有中国特色的是...  
• 看来，南京人真的是想尽可能保留老南京的特色，老南京的传统啊。
• TARGET: no more than 2 mistakes, including tones.

​
​SPEAKING: perform the following conversation tasks:

• Talk about preserving traditional heritage.
• Talk about doing something to the best of one's ability.
• TARGET: at least a 3 on ALL tasks.

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 MINIBOSS #2: ACT 2 REVIEW

Pika, Pika! Can you beat me?

Mastery Challenge 1 (Vocabulary and Grammar):

• ​Take the "Level 32 Miniboss #2: Vocab/Grammar Quiz."
  • There are two versions, one for Handwriting and one for Definition.​
• TARGET: see rubric.

​
​Mastery Challenge 2 (Speaking):

• ​​Discuss how China has changed since 1978:​
  • Talk about changes in Chinese architecture.
  • Talk about changes in Chinese transportation.
  • Talk about changes in foreign presence [foreigners in China].
  • Talk about changes in Chinese food and fashion.
• Talk about preserving one’s traditional heritage.
• TARGET: at least a 3 on ALL tasks.

​
BONUS CHALLENGES:

• ​GODLIKE: Achieve a 100% score on all mastery challenges—zero mistakes!

• ​GRAVITY: Play Level 32: Act 2 Gravity to 150,000 points or a #1 score.