HSK 4Lesson 58
Business is full of numbers. In this lesson a salesman asks his manager how the year went and what that means for the bonus, Anne asks about a new phone in a shop, Bai Jiayue and Wang Yixue choose a house-warming present, and a restaurant owner orders rice from a supplier.
You will learn to talk about business and new products: how the economy and sales are going, competition and bonuses, a new phone's brand, weight and speed, ordering goods by weight, and counting things with special measure words.
Part 1 · 16 new words
Contains 5 words
economy
to grow
business; trade
bonus
to compete; competition
Contains 6 words
to increase
to fall; to decline
Contains 3 words
second
measure word for items and projects
Contains 2 words
measure word for machines
measure word for paintings and pictures
Part 2 · 8 phrases
今年经济增长得很快，找工作也容易多了。
The economy grew fast this year, and finding a job is much easier.
下雨天来饭馆的人少，生意就会下降。
On rainy days fewer people come to restaurants, so business drops.
这个月我们完成了任务，每个人都有奖金。
We finished the task this month, so everyone gets a bonus.
天天跑步，他三个月减了五千克。
He ran every day and lost five kilos in three months.
这部手机才一百八十克，开机只要三秒。
This phone weighs only 180 grams, and it turns on in three seconds.
十个人竞争一个工作，你要早点儿准备。
Ten people are competing for one job, so you'd better prepare early.
Part 3 · 4 conversations
At the end of the year Xiao Zhang, a salesman, asks his manager how the company's business has gone and whether the bonus will be bigger.
小张Xiao Zhang
经理，今年咱们公司的生意怎么样？
How has the company's business been this year, boss?
经理Manager
还不错。经济增长得快，大家买东西也多了，我们卖出去的手机比去年增加了很多。
Not bad. The economy is growing fast, so people are buying more, and we've sold a lot more phones than last year.
Part 4 · 1 point
专用名量词 打 / 袋 / 棵 / 台 / 幅
Count machines with 台tái, pictures with 幅fú, trees with 棵kē, and use 袋dài for 'a bag of' and 打dǎ for 'a dozen'.
Count a machine, picture or tree
The measure word matches the kind of thing.
to reduce; to cut; to subtract
gram
kilogram
amount; quantity
brand
我只买这个牌的鞋，穿着舒服。
I only buy shoes of this brand; they're comfortable to wear.
办公室里有三台电脑，其中一台坏了。
There are three computers in the office, and one of them is broken.
小张Xiao Zhang
那今年的奖金会多一些吧？
Then the bonus will be a bit bigger this year, right?
经理Manager
不一定。别的公司的手机越来越便宜，竞争很大，我们的价格也下降了不少。
Not necessarily. Other companies' phones are getting cheaper and cheaper, competition is fierce, and our prices have dropped quite a bit too.
小张Xiao Zhang
价格低了，卖得再多，赚的钱也不一定多。
With lower prices, however much we sell, we won't necessarily make more money.
经理Manager
对，所以奖金可能会减一点儿。如果下个月新手机卖得好，就不减了。
Right, so the bonus may be cut a little. If the new phone sells well next month, it won't be.
小张Xiao Zhang
那这个月我多跑几家商店，把新手机卖出去。
Then this month I'll visit more shops and get the new phone sold.
In a phone shop Anne asks the assistant about a new phone's brand, weight, speed and camera before deciding to buy it.
安妮Anne
你好，我想换一部手机。这部是什么牌的？
Hello, I'd like a new phone. What brand is this one?
服务员Shop assistant
这个牌子的手机最近卖得特别好，这部是上个星期刚出的。
Phones from this brand have been selling really well lately. This one only came out last week.
安妮Anne
拿起来很轻。多重？
It feels light. How heavy is it?
服务员Shop assistant
只有一百八十克，比别的手机轻二十克。
Only 180 grams, twenty grams lighter than other phones.
安妮Anne
开机快不快？我现在的手机开机要一分钟。
Does it start up quickly? My phone takes a minute.
服务员Shop assistant
很快，开机只要三秒。它还用了一项新技术，晚上拍照也很清楚。
Very quickly, in just three seconds. It also uses a new technology, so photos are clear even at night.
安妮Anne
比我的手机好多了，就买这部吧。
It's much better than mine. I'll take this one.
Bai Jiayue and Wang Yixue decide what to give Liu Xiaoxue, who is moving into a new apartment next week.
白家月Bai Jiayue
小雪下个星期搬新家，我们送她什么好？
Xiaoxue is moving next week. What should we give her?
王一雪Wang Yixue
送一台电视怎么样？她以前的电视坏了。
How about a TV? Her old one broke.
白家月Bai Jiayue
一台电视太贵了。送一幅画吧，她新家的客厅里什么都没有。
A TV is too expensive. Let's give her a painting; there's nothing in her new living room.
王一雪Wang Yixue
好主意。你不是会画画吗？你给她画一幅吧。
Good idea. You paint, don't you? Paint one for her.
白家月Bai Jiayue
好，我来画。我们再买一棵小树，放在窗户旁边。
Okay, I'll paint it. Let's also buy a small tree to put by the window.
王一雪Wang Yixue
好。搬家那天她肯定没时间做饭，我们再带一袋米和一打啤酒过去，晚上在她家给她做饭。
Okay. On moving day she definitely won't have time to cook, so we'll also bring a bag of rice and a dozen beers and cook dinner for her at her place that evening.
白家月Bai Jiayue
那我这个周末就开始画，菜你来买。
Then I'll start painting this weekend, and you buy the groceries.
The owner of a small restaurant asks a rice seller for a weekly delivery and bargains over the price.
开饭馆的Restaurant owner
我们饭馆每个星期要五十千克米，你们能送吗？
Our restaurant needs fifty kilos of rice a week. Can you deliver?
卖米的Rice seller
能送。这种米十块钱一千克，做出来的饭很好吃。
Yes. This rice is ten yuan a kilo, and it cooks up really well.
开饭馆的Restaurant owner
我们每个星期要的量比较大，能便宜一点儿吗？
We order a fairly large amount every week. Can you make it a bit cheaper?
卖米的Rice seller
现在竞争大，生意不好做，价格已经很低了。最多每千克减五毛。
Competition is fierce now and business is hard, so the price is already very low. At most I can take fifty cents off per kilo.
开饭馆的Restaurant owner
好吧。以后我们饭馆生意好了，要的米还会增加。
All right. When our restaurant does better, we'll need even more rice.
卖米的Rice seller
那太好了。明天我就把这个星期的五十千克送过去。
Great. I'll bring this week's fifty kilos over tomorrow.
In 送一台电视sòng yì tái diànshì, 台tái fits a machine; 一个电视yí ge diànshì sounds careless.
Say a bag of or a dozen
袋dài and 打dǎ measure an amount.
一袋米yí dài mǐ is a bag of rice; 一打啤酒yì dǎ píjiǔ is twelve bottles of beer.
In sentences
Machine
这台洗衣机已经用了十年了，还能用。
This washing machine has been in use for ten years and still works.
台tái counts machines, with 这zhè before it.
Painting
那幅画是谁画的？画得真好。
Who painted that picture? It's really good.
幅fú counts pictures; not 那个画nàge huà.
Tree
我家门口有两棵大树，夏天坐在下面很凉快。
There are two big trees by our door; in summer it's cool sitting under them.
棵kē counts trees.
Bag and dozen
一打啤酒是十二瓶，一袋米够我们吃两个星期。
A dozen beers is twelve bottles, and a bag of rice lasts us two weeks.
打dǎ = a dozen; 袋dài = a bag of.
A：你们办公室有几台电脑？ B：有五台，门口还挂着一幅地图。
A: How many computers does your office have? B: Five, and a map hangs by the door.
白家月和王一雪打算送刘小雪一幅画，再买一棵小树。
Bai Jiayue and Wang Yixue plan to give Liu Xiaoxue a painting and also buy a small tree.
Some nouns have their own measure word, and using it sounds correct and educated. 台tái counts machines and devices: 一台电脑yì tái diànnǎo, 一台电视yì tái diànshì. 幅fú counts paintings, pictures and maps: 一幅画yì fú huà. 棵kē counts trees and plants: 一棵小树yì kē xiǎo shù. Two of them measure an amount rather than a kind: 袋dài is 'a bag of', 一袋米yí dài mǐ, and 打dǎ is 'a dozen', 一打啤酒yì dǎ píjiǔ. The order is number, or 这zhè / 那nà, + measure word + noun: 这幅画zhè fú huà. When the noun is already clear, it can be left out: 送一台sòng yì tái. Learners often fall back on 个ge, as in 一个画yí ge huà; with these nouns, use the special measure word. Remember 一yī changes tone before them: yì tái, yì fú, yì kē, yì dǎ, but yí dài.
