课堂和作业

你觉得英语的口语和听力，哪个更难？

Nǐ juéde Yīngyǔ de kǒuyǔ hé tīnglì, nǎge gèng nán?

Which do you find harder in English, speaking or listening?

听力更难。别人说得太快，我常常听不懂。

Tīnglì gèng nán. Biérén shuō de tài kuài, wǒ chángcháng tīng bu dǒng.

Listening. People talk too fast, so I often can't understand.

我跟你不一样：听得懂，可是说得不流利，一句话要想很久。

Wǒ gēn nǐ bù yíyàng: tīng de dǒng, kěshì shuō de bù liúlì, yí jù huà yào xiǎng hěn jiǔ.

It's the other way round for me: I understand, but I can't speak fluently; I have to think for ages before each sentence.

口语要多说。你应该多跟说英语的外国同学说说话。

Kǒuyǔ yào duō shuō. Nǐ yīnggāi duō gēn shuō Yīngyǔ de wàiguó tóngxué shuōshuo huà.

To get better at speaking, you have to talk a lot. You should chat more with foreign classmates who speak English.

那我们周末一起练习吧，只能说英语。

Nà wǒmen zhōumò yìqǐ liànxí ba, zhǐ néng shuō Yīngyǔ.

Then let's practice together at the weekend, English only.

好主意，就从这个周六开始吧。

Hǎo zhǔyi, jiù cóng zhège zhōuliù kāishǐ ba.

Good idea. Let's start this Saturday.

小雪，这句话的语法我不懂，你能帮我看看吗？

Xiǎoxuě, zhè jù huà de yǔfǎ wǒ bù dǒng, nǐ néng bāng wǒ kànkan ma?

Xiaoxue, I don't understand the grammar of this sentence. Could you take a look?

这句话有点儿长。你是想把它翻译出来，看看英语怎么说吗？

Zhè jù huà yǒudiǎnr cháng. Nǐ shì xiǎng bǎ tā fānyì chūlái, kànkan Yīngyǔ zěnme shuō ma?

This sentence is a bit long. Do you want to translate it and see how it is said in English?

对，我想翻译以后，意思就清楚了。

Duì, wǒ xiǎng fānyì yǐhòu, yìsi jiù qīngchu le.

Yes, I thought the meaning would be clear once it's translated.

可是翻译不能一个字一个字地换，要先看懂这个句子的意思。

Kěshì fānyì bù néng yí ge zì yí ge zì de huàn, yào xiān kàn dǒng zhège jùzi de yìsi.

But you can't translate word for word; first you have to understand what the sentence means.

那我应该怎么做？

Nà wǒ yīnggāi zěnme zuò?

So what should I do?

先找出句子里谁做了什么，再看别的词。语法清楚了，翻译就不难了。

Xiān zhǎo chū jùzi li shéi zuò le shénme, zài kàn biéde cí. Yǔfǎ qīngchu le, fānyì jiù bù nán le.

First find who did what in the sentence, then look at the other words. Once the grammar is clear, translating isn't hard.

明白了，我再试一次，写好了你帮我看看。

Míngbai le, wǒ zài shì yí cì, xiě hǎo le nǐ bāng wǒ kànkan.

I see. I'll try again, and when I've written it, you can check it for me.

王老师，您做教学工作多少年了？

Wáng lǎoshī, nín zuò jiàoxué gōngzuò duōshao nián le?

Teacher Wang, how many years have you been teaching?

二十年了。记得第一次走进课堂的时候，我紧张得说不出话。

Èrshí nián le. Jìde dì-yī cì zǒu jìn kètáng de shíhou, wǒ jǐnzhāng de shuō bu chū huà.

Twenty years. I remember the first time I walked into a classroom, I was so nervous I couldn't speak.

真的吗？您现在上课说得那么流利！

Zhēn de ma? Nín xiànzài shàngkè shuō de nàme liúlì!

Really? You speak so fluently in class now!

都是慢慢练出来的。我是南方人，以前普通话也不太标准。

Dōu shì mànmàn liàn chūlai de. Wǒ shì nánfāng rén, yǐqián pǔtōnghuà yě bú tài biāozhǔn.

It all came with practice. I'm from the south, and my Mandarin used to be far from standard.

您觉得做教师最难的是什么？

Nín juéde zuò jiàoshī zuì nán de shì shénme?

What do you think is the hardest thing about being a teacher?

让每个学生都跟上。所以我给的功课不多，可是每次都要认真做。

Ràng měi ge xuésheng dōu gēnshàng. Suǒyǐ wǒ gěi de gōngkè bù duō, kěshì měi cì dōu yào rènzhēn zuò.

Making sure every student keeps up. That's why I don't give much homework, but it has to be done carefully every time.

我明白大家为什么都喜欢上您的课了。

Wǒ míngbai dàjiā wèishénme dōu xǐhuan shàng nín de kè le.

Now I understand why everyone likes your classes.