Dialogue :

foreigners studying Chinese page 3 of 3

dialogue 1: Mark is a newcomer to China

Jingjing:　Mark, are you ______ life in China?

Mark:　I think so.　I love ______ and am raising my ______.

Jingjing:　That's good to ______.　Are you ______ the language?

Mark:　I'd like to ______, but I don't think it'll be anytime ______ when I can ______.

Jingjing:　Have you ______?

Mark:　I ______ at a training center.

Jingjing:　What was ______?

Mark:　Well, they had all kinds of ______.　I liked ______.　Anything artistic is ______.

Jingjing:　Not only that; it can help you learn the ______.

Mark:　Yeah, that's going to be ______.　Do you think I need to ______?

Jingjing:　You know, there are two ______ of thought about that.　One is that you have to ______, from the start.　The other is that you ______.

Mark:　I might have found away around that.　I got a ______ for ______.

Jingjing:　Is it a ______ that introduces the ______?　I watched those when I was ______.

Mark:　That's ______.　So, I get to know ______.

Jingjing:______, then.　Tell me ______ 水.

Mark:　竖(shu4)，横(heng1)折(zhe2)，撇(pie3)，捺(na4).

Jingjing:　It sounds like you're ______.

Mark:　I hope so.　I also get to know characters ______ called Pleco.

Jingjing:　I've seen ______.　Hopefully you ______.

dialogue 2

Jingjing:　Mark, we talked about ______.　Something you might need sooner is ______.　How's your pinyin?

Mark:　That training center I joined—they offer pinyin ______.　So, I took several of them before ______.

Jingjing:　I'm glad you got ______ from your card there.　Here: try ______.　There's pinyin below the ______.

Mark:　Chī pútao bù tǔ pútaopír, bù chī pútao dào tǔ pútaopír.

Jingjing:______, Mark.

Mark:　If I ______ it, I'm OK.　What ______ is grouped phrases and ______.

Jingjing:　That just ______, doesn't it?

Mark:　Yeah, lots and lots of time.　One thing ______ is watching TV and ______ phrases I know.

Jingjing:　That could work.　Do you ______ for practice?

Mark:　A lot of the time, ______.　Most of all, it lets me know ______ when people ______.

Jingjing:　If you ______, Mark, you'll probably become ______ in a few months or a year, and might be able to ____.

Mark:　I don't know.　Friends of mine, who came here from abroad, usually ______ unless they take ______ at a university to study Chinese, or ______.

Jingjing:　That'd be a ______.　But it sounds like it would ______ for people with plans to stay in China.　Aren't there ______?

Mark:　There are some.　Anyway, it's not all that ______ —just ______, like you said.

Jingjing:　What about ______.　Have you ______ those?

Mark:　Actually, yes.　I'm ______.

Jingjing:______ would give you ______ to practice, obviously.

Mark:　I'd hope so.　Also, I'd save ______ and not ______.

Jingjing:　Good luck ______, Mark.　I'll ______ your Chinese next time.

new words and phrases

spiciness threshold:

right up alley:

on the right track:　

gets me:

comes with time:　

ask around: