S02, Episode 07: The fridge is empty! (Part 2)

About this lesson

In this episode, we'll first hear a line-by-line translation of the dialogue from Lesson 06.

Then, we’ll practice using some of the new words and phrases we learned, responding to some questions.

Keep in mind that there are no standard answers for these questions. How you answer them is completely up to you. Your answers don’t even have to make sense.

If you’re not sure what to say, just think of how you might respond if someone asked you such a question in real life. It’s perfectly fine to say you don’t know. You might even tell them to mind their own business!

• 我不知道！/ Wǒ bù zhīdào! / I don’t know!

• 不關你的事 / Bù guān nǐ de shì / None of your business.

Even if you don’t understand the question, you can always just say:

• 什麼意思？/ Shénme yìsi? / What does that mean?

• 我聽不懂… / Wǒ tīng bù dǒng… / I don’t understand.

Try to avoid the “exam mindset.” This is not a test. Imagine that the person asking you these questions is genuinely interested in what you have to say and in learning more about you. Imagine that, no matter what you say, the other person responds with curiosity, delight, or amusement.

Again, it’s not about giving a great answer. It’s the exercise of attempting to answer each question, or even just starting to attempt to answer them, that will make sure your brain is engaging with the sounds in a meaningful way. That’s what constitutes the practice.

At the end of the lesson, for reference, we’ll hear Xiao-Li (小李) answer the questions himself (you can find a transcript of the interview at the bottom of this page).

Lesson Outline:

• [01:19] Dialogue (normal speed) 

• [02:21] Complete translation

• [07:05] Dialogue again (normal speed)

• [08:08] Mock interview (reinforcement and speaking practice)

• [11:06] Reference interview with Xiao-Li (小李) 

Dialogue transcript (Chinese characters only)

阿明：終於把行李都整理好了

小李：對，我好累，而且我出了很多汗

阿明：你要記得喝水哦

小李：這裡好熱！

阿明：哈哈！這就是台灣！很熱吧。

小李：我都忘記台灣夏天有這麼熱 

阿明：那你怎麼不開冷氣呢？

小李：哦對耶！我都忘記有冷氣了！這樣好多了！

阿明：美國沒有冷氣嗎？

小李：我住的地方沒有，只有暖氣

阿明：哇！那邊一定很冷！

小李：其實還好，只是很常下雨。欸？冰箱是空的！

阿明：當然是空的啊！你才剛剛回來而已！

小李：對耶，我真的太渴了，沒辦法思考

阿明：那，我們趕快去便利商店買一瓶冰水吧！

小李：好，那我把冷氣關掉

Dialogue transcript (w/ pinyin and translation):

• 阿明：終於把行李都整理好了！

  • Zhōngyú bǎ xínglǐ dōu zhěnglǐ hǎole

  • We finally finished unpacking all the luggage! 

• 小李：對，我好累，而且我出了很多汗

  • Duì, wǒ hǎo lèi, érqiě wǒ chūle hěnduō hàn 

  • Yeah, I'm so tired. And I sweat a lot! 

• 阿明：你要記得喝水哦

  • Nǐ yào jìdé hē shuǐ ó 

  • You gotta remember to drink water. 

• 小李：這裡好熱！

  • Zhèlǐ hǎo rè! 

  • It's so hot here! 

• 阿明：哈哈！這就是台灣！很熱吧。

  • Hāhā! Zhè jiùshì táiwān! Hěn rè ba. 

  • Haha! This is Taiwan! It's hot, huh?

• 小李：我都忘記台灣夏天有這麼熱

  • Wǒ dōu wàngjì táiwān xiàtiān yǒu zhème rè

  • I totally forgot Taiwan's summers were so hot. 

• 阿明：那你怎麼不開冷氣呢？

  • Nà nǐ zěnme bù kāi lěngqì ne?

  • So why don't you turn on the AC? 

• 小李：哦對耶！我都忘記有冷氣了！這樣好多了！

  • Ó duì yé! Wǒ dōu wàngjì yǒu lěngqìle! Zhèyàng hǎoduōle! 

  • Oh right! I totally forgot there's AC! This is much better. 

• 阿明：美國沒有冷氣嗎？

  • Měiguó méiyǒu lěngqì ma? 

  • The US doesn't have AC? 

• 小李：我住的地方沒有，只有暖氣

  • Wǒ zhù de dìfāng méiyǒu, zhǐyǒu nuǎnqì 

  • Where I live there isn't, there's only heating. 

• 阿明：哇！那邊一定很冷！

  • Wa! Nà biān yīdìng hěn lěng! 

  • Wow! It must be so cold there! 

• 小李：其實還好，只是很常下雨。欸？冰箱是空的！

  • Qíshí hái hǎo, zhǐshì hěn cháng xià yǔ. Āi? Bīngxiāng shì kōng de! 

  • Actually not really, it just rains a lot. Huh? The fridge is empty! 

• 阿明：當然是空的啊！你才剛剛回來而已！

  • Dāngrán shì kōng de a! Nǐ cái gānggāng huílái éryǐ! 

  • Of course it's empty! You only just got back! 

• 小李：對耶，我真的太渴了，沒辦法思考

  • Duì ye, wǒ zhēn de tài kěle, méi bànfǎ sīkǎo 

  • Oh right, I'm really too thirsty. I can't think. 

• 阿明：那，我們趕快去便利商店買一瓶冰水吧！

  • Nà, wǒmen gǎnkuài qù biànlì shāngdiàn mǎi yī píng bīng shuǐ ba! 

  • Then, let's hurry up and go to a convenience store to buy a bottle of ice water. 

• 小李：好，那我把冷氣關掉

  • Hǎo, nà wǒ bǎ lěngqì guān diào

  • Ok, then I'll turn off the AC.

Interview with Xiao-Li (小李)：

• Q：你的家在哪裡？

  • Nǐ de jiā zài nǎlǐ?

  • Where is your home?

• 小李：我的家在西雅圖，但我現在住在台北

  • Wǒ de jiā zài xīyǎtú, dàn wǒ xiànzài zhù zài táiběi

  • My home is in Seattle, but now I live in Taipei. 

• Q：西雅圖很熱嗎？

  • Xīyǎtú hěn rè ma?

  • Is Seattle very hot? 

• 小李：不會，不會很熱

  • Bù huì, bù huì hěn rè

  • It's not, it's not very hot. 

• Q：你的家有冷氣嗎？

  • Nǐ de jiā yǒu lěngqì ma?

  • Does your home have AC? 

• 小李：沒有冷氣！西雅圖不熱，所以不需要冷氣！

  • Méiyǒu lěngqì! Xīyǎtú bù rè, suǒyǐ bù xūyào lěngqì!

  • There's no AC! Seattle isn't hot, so there's no need for AC. 

• Q：你住的地方有暖氣嗎？

  • Nǐ zhù de dìfāng yǒu nuǎnqì ma?

  • Does where you live have heating? 

• 小李：有！冬天很冷，所以我家有暖氣

  • Yǒu! Dōngtiān hěn lěng, suǒyǐ wǒ jiā yǒu nuǎnqì

  • It does! The winter is very cold, so my home has heating. 

• Q：那邊很常下雨嗎？

  • Nà biān hěn cháng xià yǔ ma?

  • Does it rain often over there? 

• 小李：對啊！每天都下雨！

  • Duì a! Měitiān dōu xià yǔ!

  • Yes! Every day it rains. 

• Q：你很渴的時候，你喜歡喝什麼？

  • Nǐ hěn kě de shíhòu, nǐ xǐhuān hē shénme?

  • When you're really thirsty, what do you like to drink? 

• 小李：我喜歡喝水啊，但我也喜歡喝茶

  • Wǒ xǐhuān hē shuǐ a, dàn wǒ yě xǐhuān hē chá

  • I like to drink water, but I also like to drink tea. 

• Q：你家有冰箱嗎？

  • Nǐ jiā yǒu bīngxiāng ma?

  • Does your home have a refrigerator? 

• 小李：有啊！

  • Yǒu a!

  • Sure!

• Q：你的冰箱是空的嗎？

  • Nǐ de bīngxiāng shì kōng de ma?

  • Is your refrigerator empty? 

• 小李：對啊，是空的！我剛剛回來！

  • Duì a, shì kōng de! Wǒ gānggāng huílái!

  • Yeah, it's empty. I just got back!

• Q：你的冰箱裡面有什麼？

  • Nǐ de bīngxiāng lǐmiàn yǒu shé me?

  • What's in your refrigerator? 

• 小李：我剛剛跟你說，是空的！裡面沒有東西啊！

  • Wǒ gānggāng gēn nǐ shuō, shì kōng de! Lǐmiàn méiyǒu dōngxī a!

  • I just told you, it's empty! There's nothing inside! 

Thank you for listening!