Masks (Part One)

left, a blue, rectangular surgical face mask. right, a rounded, M-95 surgical mask.

Context

In this lesson, you will learn to discuss and provide context on a social phenomenon that your interlocutor finds it hard to comprehend because of lack of contextual information on her part.

This dialogue occurs in the summer of 2020 in the height of tensions about the pandemic. Many discussions were ongoing at the time about whether or not face masks were scientifically proven to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The following conversation takes place at Suzhou University between two language partners: an American college student studying Chinese (male voice) and a Chinese college student studying to teach Chinese (female voice). The Chinese language partner has read some news about Americans being reluctant to wear masks. She finds this behavior counterintuitive because wearing masks against an infectious respiratory disease seems like an obvious response to many Chinese people. Thus she asks her American language partner why Americans are, as she sees it, reluctant to wear masks. The American recognizes that Americans were slow to start wearing masks, and provides context on the forces that influenced this situation. Listen to the conversation to see what you can make out of it.

This dialogue is only part one of a two-part discussion. After you finish this lesson, be sure to study Masks (Part Two) to see where their discussion goes.


Dialogue

Listen to the dialogue 3 times.

▶ 繁體字Dialogue in traditional Chinese characters.

▼ 简体字 Dialogue in simplified Chinese characters.

1. 中国学生:你们美国人怎么不戴口罩? 是不是因为你们的总统都不戴口罩?

2. 美国学生:可能有的人真的因为这样就不愿意戴了,但不是每个人都这样。其实我们的政府刚开始的时候没有建议人们戴口罩。说是因为一线人员不够用了,还得向社会征集……

3. 中国学生:但是你们还是得戴啊,要不然生病了怎么办?

4. 美国学生:是啦,但是他们还是说,“如果你没病的话呢,就是没症状的话,就不要戴,口罩留给有需要的人。”

▶ Dialogue in pīnyīn.


Part One Navigation

Here are explanations for each of the four lines of the dialogue.

▼ 1. 中国学生:你们美国人怎么不戴口罩? 是不是因为你们的总统都不戴口罩?

[🔊Insert Audio file for recording of Navigation]

The phrase for ‘to wear a mask’ or ‘to wear masks’ is 戴口罩. Since the Chinese language partner thinks that people would naturally be inclined to wear masks to prevent oneself or others from getting sick, she asks her American language partner why Americans don’t wear masks, with an assumption that people tend to do so spontaneously in a pandemic:

你们美国人怎么不戴口罩? 

Immediately after asking the question, the Chinese student provides her speculative explanation on this seemingly unusual phenomenon in the American society. She notices that the American president at the time did not wear a mask in most public appearances, so she suggests that this might be the reason why Americans are reluctant to wear masks. That is, there might be some effects of behavioral modeling coming from the leader of the country. The word for ‘president (of a country/nation)’ is 总统. The Chinese student thus offers her reasoning and seeks confirmation from her American language partner by saying, 

是不是因为你们的总统都不戴口罩?

The speaker adds 都 here to indicate that the president has been unwilling this whole time to wear a mask, against recommendations from public health organizations.

这个课上起来真不容易,学生都不愿意说话。 This class is pretty tough to teach. The students aren’t willing to speak up.

她的爸妈很严格,所以她都不敢跟他们说这个问题。 Her parents are really strict, so she’s not really willing to talk about this issue with them.

Her perspective on the U.S. president’s reluctance to wear masks is based on Chinese state media accounts, including reports on the president’s twitter account, that he does not vocally support the wearing of masks. This has likely influenced her perspective on Americans’ attitude to the pandemic at large. She may view the whole country as behaving cavalierly, taking the president’s actions as representative of the whole. Bearing this in mind, the American can maintain a more neutral stance, explaining the context of the situation without taking a political stance.

▼ 2. 美国学生:可能有的人是真的因为这样就不愿意戴了,但不是每个人都这样。其实我们的政府刚开始的时候没有建议人们戴口罩。说是因为一线人员都不够用了,还得向社会征集……

[🔊Insert Audio file for recording of Navigation]

The American language partner agrees partially with his Chinese partner’s explanation. He thinks that some people’s unwillingness to wear masks may truly be influenced by the president’s behavior and the message that is behind it, but he insists that not everyone is like this. So the American student expresses his partial agreement by saying:

可能有的人是真的因为这样就不愿意戴了,但不是每个人都这样。

这样 refers to her earlier comment that the president has not been wearing masks.

The pattern 是因为 is used to provide causes for an event. For example, your classmate assumes that the reason why 小明 did not come to class today is because he overslept again, but you know that 小明 does not feel well today and that’s why he didn’t come to class. So you correct your classmate’s assumption by saying:

是因为身体不舒服才没来上课。It’s because he’s feeling poorly that he didn’t come to class.

Or

他没来上课是因为他身体不舒服。He didn’t come to class because he’e feeling poorly.

The phrase 是真的因为 is used when the speaker wants to emphasize the validity of the causal relation at hand. The American student in the conversation thinks that it is likely that there are some people who are unwilling to wear masks exactly because of what the Chinese student is describing here—that is, the president has not been wearing them:

可能有的人是真的因为这样就不愿意戴了。

Or

可能有的人不愿意戴口罩是真的因为这样。

If someone doesn’t believe Xiao Ming’s excuse for missing class, you might insist by saying:

他是真的因为身体不舒服才没来上课。It’s really because he’s not well that he didn’t come to class.

After pointing out that not everyone’s reluctance to wear a mask is a direct result of the president’s behavior, the American student brings up another force that may well have influenced the situation and that the Chinese student might not be aware of. That is, the American government, more specifically, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), did not advise people to wear masks at the start of the pandemic. Let’s listen to what the American student says:

其实我们的政府刚开始的时候没有建议人们戴口罩。

政府 is ‘government’ and 建议 is ‘to advise’.

政府建议民众尽量不要自行开车到会场。The government has advised the general public not to drive to this event. (for reasons of traffic congestion)

医生建议奶奶做些重量训练来维持骨骼强度。The doctor advised that my grandmother do some strength training in order to maintain bone strength.

教授建议我们现在就开始准备,这样毕业的时候才不会太忙。Professors advise us to start preparing now so we won’t feel too rushed when we graduate.

‘At the start, at the beginning’ is 刚开始 or 刚开始的时候. This phrase is used to indicate the time when something begins or to contrast a past situation with a present one. For example,

刚开始的时候我完全没有经验,不过现在我什么企划都做过了。At the beginning I had no experience at all, but now I’ve done everything at this company.

刚开始我不太适应台北的生活,但是后来认识了一些朋友以后,就不觉得了。At the start I was not very used to living in Taipei, but after I made some friends, I don’t feel like this anymore.

The American language partner then explains why the government did not advise people to wear masks at the start of the pandemic. He states that it was because there weren’t enough masks for first responders, and hospitals even put out calls for mask donations to equip their staff. 

‘First responders’ is 一线人员 in Chinese.

To say that some resource is or was not enough, you can use the phrase 不够用. For example, you run out of your monthly allowance so you ask your mother for more: 

妈,我这个月的零花钱不够用了,可以多给我一点吗? Mom, my monthly allowance isn’t enough (I’ve spent it all). Can you give me a bit more?

Or when you ask your partner whether you should change your phone plan because you often run out of your mobile data: 

我的手机流量常常不够用,你看是不是要换一个方案? My phone data often isn’t enough. Do you think I should change plans? 

‘To collect something (by asking publicly)’ is 征集, and if you want to say ‘to collect something from someone’, you can use the pattern 向 someone 征集 something. For example, 

向社会大众征集意见 ‘to collect opinions from the public’. 

向全国公开征集志愿者 ‘to publicly call for volunteers from the whole nation’.

Now let’s listen to how the American student in the conversation uses the pattern 是因为 to explain why the government did not advise people to wear masks at the start of the pandemic:

其实我们的政府刚开始的时候没有建议人们戴口罩。说是因为一线人员都不够用了,还得向社会征集。

Because the original sentence is very long, the event and its cause are expressed in two separate sentences. The second sentence, 说是因为一线人员都不够用了, has the same subject as the first sentence, that is 政府, so the cause that is mentioned after 是因为 is the CDC’s claim. The event that results from what is stated in the second sentence is expressed in the first sentence. So, 说是因为一线人员都不够用了,还得向社会征集 means that the government said that their reason for not advising mask wearing was because there weren’t enough masks for first responders and hospitals even had to put out calls for mask donations from society.

▼ 3. 中国学生:但是你们还是得戴啊,要不然生病了怎么办?

[🔊Insert Audio file for recording of Navigation]

But the Chinese student still thinks that Americans should wear masks because the risks of getting sick are just too high. She argues this point through a rhetorical question:

但是你们还是得戴啊,要不然生病了怎么办?

She insists that even non-medical personnel should wear masks. She emphasizes her point with the particle 啊 at the end of her sentence. This 啊 is said with the hope of getting her language partner to understand her reasoning and even agree with her.

要不然生病了怎么办?

要不然 means ‘otherwise’ and can be used to indicate what bad consequences there may be if the event stated in the first half of the sentence is not realized. For example,

我们最好早点去排队,要不然很可能会买不到票。We’d better go stand in line earlier; otherwise we are likely to end up with no tickets.

我睡觉前都敷这种面膜,要不然我会有很多皱纹。Before bed, I put on a moisturizing face mask; otherwise I’ll get wrinkles.

▼ 4. 美国学生:是(啊、啦),但是他们还是说,“如果你没病的话呢,就是没症状的话,就不要戴,把口罩留给有需要的人。”

[🔊Insert Audio file for recording of Navigation]

The American student agrees that no one wants to get sick, but the fact was that there simply weren’t enough masks for everyone. So he restates the government’s guidelines and the rationale behind them:

是(啦、啊),但是他们还是说,“如果你没病的话呢,就是没病症的话,就不要戴,把口罩留给有需要的人。”

Note how the American language partner uses 是啦, 但是… to acknowledge the validity of his Chinese partner’s argument and to quickly draw attention back to the government’s guidelines and the reality that backed up those guidelines, that is, even first responders—those who need masks the most—were in dire need of masks. Facing this challenge, the government thus advised that those who do not have symptoms should not wear them. 

‘Symptoms’ is 症状.

她目前没有什么症状。Currently, she’s not presenting any symptoms.

如果有任何症状的话,就请你不要来办公室。If you present any symptoms at all, please do not come into the office.

流感的症状跟新型冠状病毒很像。Symptoms of the flu and COVID-19 are pretty similar.

新型冠状病毒的患者可能会有发烧、咳嗽等症状。Patients of COVID-19 may show symptoms of fever, cough and so on.

The CDC’s recommendations maintained that those without symptoms did not need to wear masks. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) like masks should be left for those who need them most. 把…something 留给…someone means ‘to leave something for someone’.

我把一份盒饭留给你了。I left you a boxed lunch.

我们应该把这些东西留给一线人员。We should leave these things for the front line workers.

这是老一辈的观念,得把房子和田地都留给儿子。This is a value of the older generation, that is, leaving all the houses and lands to sons.

现代人的生活忙碌,但还是要记得把足够的时间和空间留给自己。Although lives of modern people are busy, we still should remember to leave enough time and space for ourselves.


▼ Exercises

▼ 1. Figure out why they aren’t doing it. 你怎么没Verb呢?是不是因为[reason]?

[🔊Insert Audio file for recording of Exercise]

You notice your roommate isn’t taking some action. When you hear the bell, ask them why. Then, you will hear the instructor’s voice give a model question you can use as a reference. Then, your roommate will respond. Do not view the text version of the questions and answers in these exercises until you have had a chance to listen. After you have listened and tried to understand, you can click “show” to view the reference text.

例子:

              

[picture of an uneaten lunch] [busy schedule]

▼show A

学生:你怎么没吃饭呢? 是不是因为太忙了?

[Student: Why didn’t you eat? Is it because you’re too busy?]

▼show B

录音:没有,我只是不太饿。

[Recording: No, it’s just because I’m not hungry.]

一、

          

[8:00am Monday, school building] [sick in bed]

▼show A

学生:已经八点了,你怎么还没出门呢? 是不是因为不舒服?

[Student: It’s already eight o’clock. Why haven’t you left yet? Is it because you’re not feeling well?]

▼show B

录音:对,我可能感冒了。

[Recording: Yeah, I might be sick.]

二、

          

[Park, jogging] [raining] 

▼show A

学生:你今天怎么没去公园跑步? 是不是因为下雨了?

[Student: Why didn’t you go running in the park today? Is it because it was raining?]

▼show B

录音:对,外面的路都湿了,不太安全。

[Recording: Yeah, the road was so wet out. It just wasn’t safe.]

三、

        

[dirty hands] [empty box of soap]

▼show A

学生:你怎么没洗手呢?是不是因为没有香皂了?

[Student: Why didn’t you wash your hands? Is it because there’s no soap?

▼show B

录音:对,我们已经没有香皂了。

[Recording: Yeah, we’re already out of soap.]

四、

       

[bare face, mask sitting on table] [empty box of masks]

▼show A

学生:你怎么没戴口罩?是不是因为你没有口罩了?

[Student: Why aren’t you wearing a mask? Is it because we’re out of masks?]

▼show B

录音:哦,我忘了戴了!

[Recording: Oh, I forgot to wear mine!]

五、

             

[1:00pm, lying in bed] [tired person]

▼show A

学生:你怎么还没起床?是不是因为你太累了?

[Student: Why haven’t you gotten out of bed? Is it because you’re too tired?]

▼show B

录音:今天礼拜天嘛,我要多休息不行吗?

[Recording: It’s Sunday! Can’t I just get some more rest?]

▼ 2. Emphasize the real reason why you did something. 真的啦,……是真的因为[x的原因]

[🔊Insert Audio file for recording of Exercise]

Your roommate remembers what you said (the speech bubble on the left), but is worried that the real reason might be something else (the thought bubble on the right). You will hear your roommate express their doubt first. Then, you should reaffirm what you said, telling them that what you said was really the truth.

Listen to the following example.

例子:

[Speech bubble: busy person. Thought bubble: bad food.]

▼show A

录音:你说你没吃饭是因为你太忙了,真的吗?还是我做的菜不好吃?

[Recording: You say you didn’t eat because you’re too busy. Really? Or is it that my food isn’t good?]

[Busy schedule]

▼show B

学生:真的啦,我没吃饭是真的因为我太忙了。

[Student: Really! I didn’t eat because I’m really too busy.]

一、

[Speech bubble: sick stomach. Thought bubble: Relaxing wearing sunglasses.]

▼show A

录音:你说你今天没去上班是因为不舒服,真的吗? 还是你只是想休息一天 ?

[Recording: You said you didn’t go to work today because you’re not feeling well. Really? Or is it that you just want to rest for a day?]

[person sick to their stomach]

▼show B

学生:真的啦,我今天没去上班是真的因为不舒服。

[Student: Really! I really didn’t go to work today because I’m not feeling well.]

二、

[Speech bubble: sick in bed. Thought bubble: hate class.]

▼show A

录音:你说你昨天没来上课是因为生病了,真的吗? 还是你只是不想上课?

[Recording: You said yesterday you didn’t come to class because you got sick. Really? Or just because you don’t want to come to class? ]

[sick in bed]

▼show B

学生:真的啦,我昨天没来上课是真的因为我生病了。

[Student: Really! I didn’t come to class yesterday because I really got sick.]

三、

[Speech bubble: raining in the park. Thought bubble: eating potato chips on the couch.]

▼show A

录音:你说你今天早上没去公园跑步是因为下雨了,真的吗? 还是你只是在偷懒?

[Recording: You say you didn’t go running in the park this morning because it was raining. Really? Or you just wanted to loaf around?]

[raining in the park]

▼show B

学生:真的啦,我今天早上没去公园跑步是真的因为下雨了。

[Really! I didn’t go running this morning because it really was raining.]

四、

[Speech bubble: broken alarm clock. Thought bubble: “Snooze” button on alarm.]

▼show A

录音:你说你没起床是因为闹钟坏了,真的吗?还是你又按了贪睡按钮了?

[Recording: You say you didn’t wake up because your alarm broke. Really? Or you just pushed the snooze button?]

[broken alarm clock]

▼show B

学生:真的啦,我没起床是真的因为闹钟坏了。

[Student: Really! I didn’t get up because my alarm clock really broke.]

五、

[Speech bubble: empty soap dish. Thought bubble: dirty person.]

▼show A

录音:你说你没洗手是因为没有香皂了,真的吗?还是你本来就是一个不讲究卫生的人?

[Recording: You say you didn’t wash your hands because we’re low on soap. Really? Or are you just not big into hygiene?]

[low bottle of soap]

▼show B

学生:真的啦,我没洗手是真的因为没香皂了。

[Student: Really! I didn’t wash my hands because we really don’t have any more soap.]

六、

[Speech bubble: empty box of masks. Thought bubble: person refusing to wear mask.]

▼show A

录音:你说你没戴口罩是因为没有口罩了,真的吗? 还是你不喜欢戴口罩?

[Recording: You say you didn’t wear a mask because we’re out. Really? Or you just don’t like wearing masks?]

[empty box of masks]

▼show B

学生:真的啦,我没戴口罩是因为没有口罩了。

[Student: Really. I didn’t wear a mask because we’re really out.]

▼ 3. Comment on how things were at the beginning and how they’ve changed now. 刚开始v的时候,但是现在……了。

[🔊Insert Audio file for recording of Exercise]

Your colleague asks about your abilities and preferences. Tell how things were when you started, but then follow up with how things have changed. Include 了 at the end of your answer to indicate this change of state.

例子:

▼show A

录音:你设计做得怎么样?

when I just began: now:    

▼show B

学生:刚开始的时候我不太会做设计,但是现在我觉得容易多了。

一、

▼show A

录音:这儿的设备你都会用吗?

 

in the beginning: now:  

▼show B

学生:刚开始的时候我不太会用,但是现在我觉得容易多了。

二、

▼show A

录音:你觉得翻译工作怎么样?

at the start: now:

▼show B

学生:刚开始的时候我不太会做翻译,但是现在我觉得容易多了。

三、

▼show A

录音:你习惯排老板的日程表了吗?

 

when I first began:now:

▼show B

学生:刚开始的时候我不太会排,但是现在我觉得容易多了。

四、

▼show A

录音:你觉得新型冠状病毒什么时候会消失呢?

                            
At first: “It’ll disappear in no time.”      Now: “It’s going to be here for a long time.”

▼show B

学生:刚开始的时候,我觉得新型冠状病毒很快就会消失了,但是现在我们知道它会长期在这儿。

五、

▼show A

录音:疼不疼?

       

At first: After local anaesthetic:

▼show B

学生:刚开始的时候很疼,但是打局部麻醉以后就不疼了。

▼ 4. Report someone else’s advice. [Someone 建议 someone Verb]

Your family members have each visited the doctor for various reasons. When your cousins asks what the doctor said, report what the physician recommended.

[🔊Insert Audio file for recording of Exercise]

Report on the doctor’s advice.

例子:

▼show A

录音:医生跟奶奶说什么? 

     

▼show B

学生:医生建议奶奶每天运动三十分钟。

一、

▼show A

录音:医生跟爸爸说什么? 

▼show B

学生:医生建议爸爸少抽烟。

二、

▼show A

录音:医生跟妈妈说什么? 

                 

▼show B

学生:医生建议妈妈开刀。

三、                 

▼show A

录音:医生跟姑姑说什么? 

   

               

▼show B

学生:医生建议姑姑住院。

四、

▼show A

录音:医生跟阿姨说什么? 

  (2 months later)

                        

▼show B

学生:医生建议阿姨两个月后回来做检查。

五、

▼show A

录音:医生跟舅舅说什么? 

                     

▼show B

学生:医生建议舅舅休息几天、先不要工作。

▼ 5. Make recommendations on how to handle difficult situations. [sb应该 向 organization Verb]

Your friend tells you about some troubling shortages in society. It seems organizations are lacking certain supplies. When they ask you for input, say what you think should be done.

[🔊Insert Audio file for recording of Exercise]

例子:

▼show A

录音:医院的口罩都不够用了,你觉得他们应该怎么办?

▼show B

学生:他们应该要向社会征集(口罩)。

一、

▼show A

录音:医院的消毒剂都不够用了,你觉得他们应该怎么办?

▼show B

学生:他们应该向社会征集(消毒剂)。

二、

▼show A

录音:公司最近一直赔钱,你觉得他们应该怎么办?

▼show B

学生:他们应该要向员工征集建议。

三、                 

 

▼show A

录音:农村的孩子们衣服都不够穿了,你觉得应该怎么办?

▼show B

学生:政府应该向社会征集二手衣服。

四、

▼show A

录音:百世可乐公司想要扩大销售量,你觉得他们应该怎么办?

▼show B

学生:他们应该向客户征集评论。

五、

 

▼show A

录音:这次的地震很严重,让很多人都无家可归,你觉得政府应该怎么办?

▼show B

学生:政府应该向社会大众征集爱心物资。

六、

 

▼show A

录音:我们社区组织的钱快不够用了,你觉得该怎么办?

▼show B

学生:你们应该向社区征集志愿者。

▼ 6. Comment on what others should do. [sb最好do sth,要不然 result.]

Tell what your junior colleague 小王 should do, and tell them what would happen otherwise if they don’t follow your advice. Use the phrase 要不然 to indicate the negative potential consequences, should 王 fail to follow your instructions.

[🔊Insert Audio file for recording of Exercise]

例子:

▼show A

录音:好累啊!我已经用电脑用了好几个小时了。

 

otherwise:

▼show B

学生:你最好休息一下,要不然眼睛会太累了。

一、

▼show A

录音:我的儿子要上哈佛大学。太贵了!怎么办?

   

otherwise:

▼show B

学生:你最好现在就开始存钱,要不然以后你的小孩不能上哈佛大学。

二、

▼show A

录音:我把公司的打印机弄坏了。怎么办?

   

otherwise:

▼show B

学生:你最好跟老板说这件事,要不然老板会生气。

三、

▼show A

录音:糟糕了,我忘了联络客人了!

   

otherwise:

▼show B

学生:那你最好快点联络他,要不然老板会生气。

四、

▼show A

录音:老李说他需要跟我借一百万。

otherwise: 

▼show B

学生:你最好别借给他,要不然他会一直向你借。

五、

▼show A

录音:你要不要一起玩这个电子游戏?

  otherwise: 

▼show B

学生:你最好不要上班的时候玩游戏,要不然老板会生气。

六、

▼show A

录音:我想上一下厕所,等我一下。

         

 otherwise:

▼show B

学生:你最好快点,要不然开会要迟到了。

七、

▼show A

录音:我的女儿一直说她不要打疫苗

▼show B

学生:你最好给她打疫苗,要不然她会很容易生病。

八、

▼show A

录音:戴口罩真不舒服,我不想戴了。

                     otherwise:          

▼show B

学生:你最好在外边随时都戴口罩,要不然会被传染。

▼ 7. Give medical advice. 有症状的话,就……

Your roommate is afraid they are sick. When they ask about what they should do, advise them on the best course of action.

[🔊Insert Audio file for recording of Exercise]

例子:

     

 

▼show A

录音:我有点不舒服,好像感冒了……是不是应该别去上课了?

▼show B

学生:我是觉得啊… 有症状的话,就在家里休息,这样你会舒服点。

一、

     

▼show A

录音:我发烧了,可能是感冒了……你觉得我还应不应该去上班?

▼show B

学生:我是觉得啊… 有症状的话,就在家里休息,这样你会舒服点。

二、

   

 

▼show A

录音:我头好疼,好像感冒了……是不是应该吃阿司匹林?

▼show B

学生:我是觉得啊… 有症状的话,还是吃点阿司匹林吧,这样你会舒服点。

三、

     

▼show A

录音:我觉得我的手脚好冷啊。是不是应该喝点热的东西?

▼show B

学生:我是觉得啊… 有症状的话,就喝点姜母茶,这样你会舒服点。

四、

   

▼show A

录音:我咳嗽咳个不停。是不是应该去看看医生?

▼show B

学生:我是觉得啊… 有症状的话,就快点看病吧,这样你会舒服点。

Context Variation:

You are working in the Ohio State University Asian Free Clinic, translating the doctor’s recommendations to patients. Maintain an authoritative voice by speaking directly, not using the 我是觉得啊 hedging technique used above. Also offer some reasoning to the patient so they will be more likely to follow the doctor’s advice.

五、

     

▼show A

录音:我觉得我的手脚好冷啊。是不是应该喝点热的东西?

             

▼show B

学生:有症状的话,就喝点姜母茶。这样你会舒服一点。

▼ 8. Tell who to leave certain items to. 口罩留给有需要的人。

[🔊Insert Audio file for recording of Exercise]

At the hospital, a new intern asks you what to do with these extra items. Advise them on who they should leave the items for. That person will take care of it. Use the phrase tā会处理 to indicate that that person will deal with it once the item is left for them.

例子: 

envelope with a question mark

▼show A

录音:这封信怎么办?

envelope with a sticky note reading "Secretary Wang"

▼show B

学生:把信留给王秘书吧,他会处理。

一、

Tee shirt and a question mark

▼show A

录音:这件衣服怎么办?

Tee shirt with a post-it note reading "Auntie Qin"

▼show B

学生:把衣服留给秦阿姨吧,她会处理。

二、

Canned food item with a question mark

▼show A

录音:这些罐头怎么办?

canned food item with a post-it note reading "Mr. Wu"

▼show B

学生:把罐头留给有吴先生吧,他会处理。

三、

several bottles of water and a question mark

▼show A

录音:这些瓶装水怎么办?

several water bottles and a post-it note reading "Teacher Lin"

▼show B

学生:把这些瓶装水留给林老师吧,她会处理。

四、Prompt:

a box of face masks and a question mark

▼show A

录音:这箱消毒液怎么办?

 a box of face masks and a post-it note reading "Dr. Ouyang"

▼show B

学生:把它留给欧阳医生吧,他会处理。

 

五、Prompt:

A box of bottled hand sanitizer and a question mark

▼show A

录音:这箱消毒液怎么办?

a box of bottled hand sanitizer and a post it note reading, "Dr. Ouyang"

▼show B

学生:把它留给欧阳医生吧,他会处理。

 

This dialogue is only part one of a two-part discussion. After you finish this lesson, be sure to study Masks (Part Two) to see where their discussion goes.


Photo Sources:

  1. Icons made by freepik, srip, Eucalyp, Smashicons, and Pixel perfect
  2. Brown box (modified to include face masks icon) retrieved from Pixabay: https://pixabay.com/fr/illustrations/bo%C3%AEte-en-carton-bo%C3%AEte-en-carton-1536798/
  3. Emoji from Google, licensed as open source under SIL Open Font LIcense v1.1: http://scripts.sil.org/cms/scripts/page.php?site_id=nrsi&id=OFL 
  4. Soap dish: http://www.crookedbrains.net/2017/08/best-soap-dishes-to-keep-soap-dry.html. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

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