HSK 4Lesson 55
Protecting the environment is mostly about small daily choices. In this lesson Liu Xiaoxue pays for a bag at the supermarket, Liu Ming's football match is called off because of polluted air, two friends decide what to do with leftover food, and two roommates talk about a fire in their compound.
You will learn to talk about protecting the environment in daily life: plastic bags and trash, polluted air, wasting and saving, and the fire safety rules in a residential compound.
Part 1 · 11 new words
Contains 3 words
environmental protection; eco-friendly
trash; trash
plastic
Contains 3 words
pollution; to pollute
air
Contains 2 words
to save; to use sparingly
to waste; wasteful
Contains 3 words
law
fire
Part 2 · 8 phrases
带自己的杯子，既环保又便宜。
Bringing your own cup is both eco-friendly and cheap.
城市里的空气被汽车污染了，山里的空气新鲜多了。
City air is polluted by cars, and the air in the mountains is much fresher.
塑料不要和别的垃圾放在一起。
Don't mix plastic in with other trash.
洗完手把水关上，这是节约用水。
Turn off the water after washing your hands; that's saving water.
别浪费时间了，快点儿写作业吧。
Stop wasting time and hurry up and do your homework.
房子最好远离大马路，晚上才安静。
It's best if a house is far from the main road, so it's quiet at night.
Part 3 · 4 conversations
At the supermarket checkout Liu Xiaoxue has forgotten her bag and learns that plastic bags now cost money, so she buys a reusable bag instead.
服务员Cashier
您好，要塑料袋吗？一个三毛钱。
Hello, do you need a plastic bag? They're thirty cents each.
刘小雪Liu Xiaoxue
塑料袋还要钱？以前不是不要钱吗？
Plastic bags cost money now? Weren't they free before?
to keep away from
to catch fire
着火了！快下楼，别坐电梯。
Fire! Hurry downstairs and don't take the elevator.
法律规定，十八岁以下的人不能开车。
The law says people under eighteen can't drive.
现在为了环保，超市的塑料袋都要钱了。
Now, to protect the environment, supermarket plastic bags all cost money.
刘小雪Liu Xiaoxue
也对，塑料袋用一次就变成了垃圾，确实太浪费了。你们有别的袋子吗？
That makes sense. A plastic bag becomes trash after one use, which really is a waste. Do you have any other bags?
服务员Cashier
有，这种环保袋十块钱一个，可以用很多次。
Yes, these reusable bags are ten yuan each, and you can use them many times.
刘小雪Liu Xiaoxue
那我买一个环保袋，以后来买东西就带着它。
Then I'll buy a reusable bag and bring it whenever I come shopping.
Liu Ming asks Teacher Wang whether the afternoon football match is still on; it has been cancelled because of air pollution, and she advises him on his ride to school.
刘明Liu Ming
王老师，今天下午的足球比赛还踢吗？
Teacher Wang, is this afternoon's football match still on?
王老师Teacher Wang
不踢了。今天空气污染太严重，学校不让大家在外面运动。
No, it's off. The air pollution is very bad today, so the school won't let anyone exercise outside.
刘明Liu Ming
原来是这样。我早上一出门就觉得不舒服。
So that's why. I felt unwell as soon as I went out this morning.
王老师Teacher Wang
那你路上也要注意。你每天怎么来学校？
Then be careful on the way, too. How do you get to school every day?
刘明Liu Ming
骑自行车，路上要经过一条大马路，车特别多。
By bike. On the way I go along a main road with a lot of traffic.
王老师Teacher Wang
空气不好的时候，你最好远离大马路，走小路。虽然远一点，但是空气好一些。
When the air is bad, you had better keep away from the main road and take the side streets. It's a bit longer, but the air is better.
刘明Liu Ming
明白了，明天我就从公园旁边那条路走。
Got it. Tomorrow I'll take the road beside the park.
Bai Jiayue and Wang Yixue have ordered more than they can eat and talk about how to avoid waste, at the restaurant and at home.
白家月Bai Jiayue
菜点得太多了，我们俩肯定吃不完。
We ordered too much. The two of us definitely can't finish it.
王一雪Wang Yixue
还有这么多，扔了太浪费了。我们带回家吧。
There's still so much; throwing it away would be a real waste. Let's take it home.
白家月Bai Jiayue
好。但是饭馆给的盒子是塑料的，也不太环保。
Okay. But the boxes the restaurant gives you are plastic, and that isn't very eco-friendly either.
王一雪Wang Yixue
那这次就带回去，下次先少点几个菜，不够再点。
Then let's take it this time, and next time order fewer dishes first and order more if it isn't enough.
白家月Bai Jiayue
对，节约要从小事做起。我在家洗菜的水也不倒掉，还会再用一次。
Right, saving starts with small things. At home I don't pour away the water I wash vegetables in; I use it a second time.
王一雪Wang Yixue
这个办法好，又节约水，又节约钱，我回去也这么做。
That's a good idea. It saves water and money. I'll do the same when I get home.
Li Wen tells his roommate Liu Ming about a fire in their compound the night before, what caused it, and what they should change.
李文Li Wen
你听说了吗？昨天晚上三号楼着火了。
Have you heard? Building 3 caught fire last night.
刘明Liu Ming
听说了！有人受伤吗？
I heard! Was anyone hurt?
李文Li Wen
没有。邻居发现得早，马上打了119，火没有变大。
No. A neighbor noticed it early and called 119 right away, so the fire did not get big.
刘明Liu Ming
那就好。是怎么着火的？
Thank goodness. How did it start?
李文Li Wen
楼梯上放了很多纸箱子和垃圾，有人把还着火的烟头扔在了上面。
There were lots of cardboard boxes and trash on the stairs, and someone dropped a cigarette end that was still lit on them.
刘明Liu Ming
楼梯上不能放东西，法律对这个有规定。
You can't leave things on the stairs; the law has a rule about it.
李文Li Wen
是啊。我们门口那几个箱子，今天也搬回家里吧。
True. Let's move those boxes by our door back inside today too.
刘明Liu Ming
好。我们也去提醒一下邻居，把楼梯上的东西都搬走。
Good. Let's also go and remind the neighbors to move everything off the stairs.
