HSK 4Lesson 23
A hotel stay means bookings, keys, doors and plans. You will phone a hotel whose dates are full, find the way in late at night, fix a three-day timetable for a trip to Xi'an, and deal with a noisy room.
You will learn to book a hotel room by phone, change the dates, find the right door back into the hotel, plan a trip with a timetable, and ask for a quieter room, and to say what you do something for.
Part 1 · 16 new words
Contains 5 words
hotel; inn
to check in
date
to enter
to decide; to settle
Contains 4 words
entrance
exit
Contains 4 words
plan
timetable; schedule
Contains 3 words
window
window
Part 2 · 8 phrases
这家旅馆下午三点才能入住，我们先把行李放在大厅。
At this hotel you can't check in until three, so let's leave our luggage in the lobby first.
地铁站的入口在左边，出口在右边。
The subway station's entrance is on the left and its exit is on the right.
我把钥匙忘在房间里了，进不去。
I left my key in the room and can't get in.
我们的计划都写在这张时间表上。
Our plans are all written on this schedule.
老师安排我们明天早上八点在门口见。
The teacher arranged for us to meet at the gate at eight tomorrow morning.
他外出了，下午才回来。
He's gone out and won't be back until the afternoon.
Part 3 · 4 conversations
Bai Jiayue phones a hotel to book two rooms for a family trip, but the dates she wants are already full.
服务员Receptionist
您好，西安旅馆。
Hello, Xi'an Hotel.
白家月Bai Jiayue
你好，我想订两个房间，七号入住，九号走。
Hello, I'd like to book two rooms, checking in on the 7th and leaving on the 9th.
服务员Receptionist
Part 4 · 1 point
……，好……
After a clause that says what you do, add a second clause with 好hǎo before the verb to say what this makes possible: so that, in order to.
Give the purpose
Say the action first, then 好hǎo + what it makes possible.
key
to go out
to arrange; arrangement
table; form; chart
mirror
我的房间有一个大窗，天气好的时候我就开着窗户。
My room has a big window, and when the weather's nice I keep it open.
我们定一下时间吧，下星期三怎么样？
Let's settle on a time. How about next Wednesday?
对不起，七号的房间都订完了。您的日期能不能换一下？八号以后还有房间。
I'm sorry, all our rooms for the 7th are fully booked. Could you change your dates? We have rooms from the 8th.
白家月Bai Jiayue
那八号入住，十号走吧。我想要有窗的房间，最好安静一点儿。
Then the 8th to the 10th. I'd like rooms with a window, quiet ones if possible.
服务员Receptionist
我们后面的房间窗户外面是公园，很安静。
Our rooms at the back look out onto a park and are very quiet.
白家月Bai Jiayue
太好了，就这么定了。
Great, that's settled.
服务员Receptionist
请告诉我您的名字和电话，好给您安排房间。八号下午两点以后就可以入住了。
Please give me your name and phone number so that I can arrange the rooms for you. You can check in any time after two on the afternoon of the 8th.
Anne comes back to her hotel late at night, finds the door locked, and asks the guard how to get in without her key.
安妮Anne
请问，这个门怎么进不去？我就住在这个旅馆。
Excuse me, why can't I get in through this door? I'm staying in this hotel.
张先生Guard
这是出口。你看，门上写着：晚上十点以后请从大门入。
This is the exit. Look, the sign on the door says: "After 10 p.m. please enter by the main door."
安妮Anne
那入口在哪儿？
Then where is the entrance?
张先生Guard
大门是入口，往前走五十米，在左边。
The main door is the entrance. Go fifty meters ahead and it's on the left.
安妮Anne
进去要钥匙吗？我外出的时候把钥匙放在服务员那儿了。
Do I need a key to get in? I left my key with the staff when I went out.
张先生Guard
没关系，入口那儿一直有人，你告诉他房间号，他会给你钥匙。
That's fine. There's always someone at the entrance. Tell them your room number and they'll give you your key.
Liu Ming and Li Wen go over the timetable for their three days in Xi'an and change the plan for the first morning and the rainy second day.
刘明Liu Ming
我们的计划是在西安玩三天。我做了一张时间表，你看行不行？
Our plan is to spend three days in Xi'an. I've made a timetable; does it look all right?
李文Li Wen
我看看……第一天早上七点就外出，太早了吧？
Let me see... Going out at seven on the first morning? Isn't that too early?
刘明Liu Ming
早点儿出门，我们好在人多以前到山上。
If we leave early, we can get up the mountain before the crowds.
李文Li Wen
可是旅馆的早餐七点才开始。我们八点走吧，吃了早餐再出门。
But the hotel breakfast doesn't start until seven. Let's leave at eight, after breakfast.
刘明Liu Ming
也行。那第二天的安排呢？
Fine. And what about the second day?
李文Li Wen
第二天有雨，去公园玩不太好。我们把第二天和第三天的安排换一下吧。
It's going to rain on the second day, which is no good for the park. Let's swap the plans for the second and third days.
刘明Liu Ming
好，就这么定了。我把新的表发给你。
Okay, that's settled. I'll send you the new table.
Wang Yixue and Bai Jiayue check into their hotel room and find that the window looks onto a busy road.
王一雪Wang Yixue
这个房间不错，很干净，镜子也很大。
This room is nice. It's clean, and the mirror is big too.
白家月Bai Jiayue
可是你听，窗户外面是一条大马路，车特别多。
But listen: outside the window there's a big road with lots of cars.
王一雪Wang Yixue
把窗户关上，听听还有没有声音。
Close the window and see if you can still hear it.
白家月Bai Jiayue
关上了还是能听到。晚上声音这么大，我肯定睡不好。
I can still hear it with the window shut. If it's this loud at night, I definitely won't sleep well.
王一雪Wang Yixue
那我们去问问服务员，能不能换一个后面的房间。
Then let's ask the staff whether we can change to a room at the back.
白家月Bai Jiayue
好，换一个窗外是公园的，这样晚上我们好休息。
Yes, let's get one that looks onto the park, so we can rest properly at night.
With a new subject
If the second clause has a subject, put it before 好hǎo.
Say 我们好在人多以前到山上wǒmen hǎo zài rén duō yǐqián dào shān shang, not 好我们在人多以前到山上hǎo wǒmen zài rén duō yǐqián dào shān shang.
In sentences
So I can call you
你把电话号码给我，我好给你打电话。
Give me your phone number so that I can call you.
好hǎo before a 给gěi phrase.
So we can get up early
今天早点儿睡吧，明天好早点儿起床。
Let's go to bed early tonight so that we can get up early tomorrow.
A time word can come before 好hǎo.
So you can get in
外出的时候带上钥匙，回来好开门。
Take your key when you go out, so that you can open the door when you come back.
The purpose is something wanted.
A：明天几点叫你？ B：七点吧，我好吃了早饭再去机场。
A: What time shall I wake you tomorrow? B: Seven, so I can eat breakfast before going to the airport.
白家月把日期告诉了旅馆，好让他们给家人安排两个房间。
Bai Jiayue gave the hotel the dates so that they could arrange two rooms for her family.
In this pattern 好hǎo is not good. It stands before the verb of the second clause and means so that, in order to, or so that it is easy to: 请告诉我您的名字和电话，好给您安排房间qǐng gàosu wǒ nín de míngzi hé diànhuà, hǎo gěi nín ānpái fángjiān, please give me your name and number so that I can arrange the rooms for you. The first clause is an action or a request; the second clause says the purpose it serves. If the second clause has its own subject, the subject comes first and 好hǎo follows it, right before the verb or a phrase such as 在zài + time or 给gěi + person: 我们好在人多以前到山上wǒmen hǎo zài rén duō yǐqián dào shān shang. Often 这样zhèyàng links the two clauses: 这样晚上我们好休息zhèyàng wǎnshang wǒmen hǎo xiūxi. The pattern is spoken and friendly; the purpose is something wanted, not something to avoid. A common mistake is to put 好hǎo before the subject, as in 好我们休息hǎo wǒmen xiūxi; another is to read 好hǎo + verb as very: 好休息hǎo xiūxi here means so that we can rest, while 好大hǎo dà with an adjective means very big.
