HSK 4Lesson 64
Liu Xiaoxue takes Anne to see her first play. You will follow them from buying tickets, to the crowd before the show, to their opinions afterwards, and finally to what radio listeners said about the play the next day.
You will learn to invite someone to a play, talk about actors and the audience, and compare plays with Peking opera and TV series.
Part 1 · 9 new words
Contains 7 words
Peking opera
(spoken) play; stage drama
theater
TV series; TV drama
performance; show
to act; to play (a role)
actor; actress
Contains 2 words
audience; spectators
listeners; audience (of radio)
Part 2 · 8 phrases
我奶奶每个星期都去公园听人唱京剧。
My grandma goes to the park every week to hear people sing Peking opera.
京剧又唱又演，话剧只说话，不唱歌。
Peking opera has singing and acting; a stage play only has talking, no singing.
这部电视剧我每天晚上看两个小时。
I watch this TV series for two hours every night.
晚上的话剧在城东的剧院，坐地铁就能到。
Tonight's play is at the theater in the east of the city; you can get there by subway.
演出结束以后，演员们都去后面休息了。
After the show ended, the actors all went backstage to rest.
他在这部电视剧里演一个老师，演得特别像。
In this TV series he plays a teacher, and he plays it very convincingly.
Part 3 · 4 conversations
Liu Xiaoxue invites Anne to a play at the theater this weekend, and they decide when to meet.
刘小雪Liu Xiaoxue
安妮，这个周末剧院有话剧演出，你想不想去？
Anne, there's a play at the theater this weekend. Do you want to go?
安妮Anne
想去！不过我从来没看过话剧，怕听不懂。
I'd love to! But I've never seen a play, and I'm afraid I won't understand it.
看完这部话剧，观众们都站起来，不想马上回家。
After this play, the whole audience stood up, not wanting to go home yet.
每天晚上，听众可以打电话到电台，说说自己的想法。
Every night, listeners can call the radio station and share what they think.
别担心，话剧里的演员只说话，不唱，比京剧容易懂多了。
Don't worry. In a play the actors only speak, they don't sing, so it's much easier to follow than Peking opera.
安妮Anne
那太好了。演出几点开始？
Great. What time does the performance start?
刘小雪Liu Xiaoxue
晚上七点半。听说观众很多，票不好买，我现在就在网上买两张。
Seven thirty in the evening. I hear the audiences are big and tickets are hard to get, so I'll buy two online right now.
安妮Anne
好，那我们七点在剧院门口见。
OK, then let's meet at the theater entrance at seven.
Before the play starts, Anne is surprised by the crowd, and Liu Xiaoxue explains that the lead actor is well known from TV.
安妮Anne
今天的观众真多，老人、孩子都有。
There's a really big audience today, old people and children alike.
刘小雪Liu Xiaoxue
因为今天演爸爸的那个演员很有名。
That's because the actor playing the father today is very famous.
安妮Anne
是吗？我怎么觉得在哪儿见过他？
Really? Why do I feel I've seen him somewhere?
刘小雪Liu Xiaoxue
你肯定在电视上见过。他以前演过很多电视剧，这是他第一次演话剧。
You must have seen him on TV. He has acted in lots of TV series; this is his first time in a play.
安妮Anne
那我得好好儿看看他演话剧演得怎么样。
Then I'll watch closely to see how he does in a play.
Walking out of the theater, Liu Xiaoxue asks Anne what she thought of her first play.
刘小雪Liu Xiaoxue
怎么样？第一次看话剧，听得懂吗？
So? Your first play: could you follow it?
安妮Anne
大部分都听懂了。演员说话很清楚，动作也很多。
I understood most of it. The actors spoke clearly, and there was a lot of movement too.
刘小雪Liu Xiaoxue
你觉得谁演得最好？
Who do you think acted best?
安妮Anne
当然是演爸爸的那个。最后他哭的时候，很多观众也哭了。
The one playing the father, of course. When he cried at the end, lots of the audience cried too.
刘小雪Liu Xiaoxue
我也哭了。在家看电视剧没有这种感觉，在剧院里就是不一样。
So did I. You don't get that feeling watching a TV series at home; in the theater it's just different.
安妮Anne
下次有京剧演出，你也叫上我吧，我想试试。
Next time there's a Peking opera performance, take me along too. I want to give it a try.
The next day Li Wen tells Liu Xiaoxue that radio listeners were phoning in about the same play.
李文Li Wen
小雪，你们昨天看的是不是那个新话剧？
Xiaoxue, was it that new play you saw yesterday?
刘小雪Liu Xiaoxue
是啊，你怎么知道？
Yes, how do you know?
李文Li Wen
我今天早上听广播，很多听众打电话进来，都在说这个话剧。
I was listening to the radio this morning, and lots of listeners phoned in, all talking about this play.
刘小雪Liu Xiaoxue
他们怎么说？
What did they say?
李文Li Wen
有人说演员演得好，也有人说故事太长了。
Some said the actors were good, and some said the story was too long.
刘小雪Liu Xiaoxue
我觉得一点儿也不长。下个月还有演出，你自己去看看就知道了。
I didn't think it was long at all. There are more shows next month; go and see for yourself.
李文Li Wen
好，下个月我也去看看，看它到底长不长。
OK, I'll go next month and see whether it's really too long.
