HSK 4Lesson 7
Offices and shops ask for ID, forms and papers that follow their rules. You will join a bookshop's members, hand in visa papers at an office, get a library printer working, and replace a lost student card.
You will learn to apply for a membership, a visa and a new student card, ask what papers you need, print documents, and say whether something can or cannot be done.
Part 1 · 17 new words
Contains 6 words
ID; identification papers
identity card; ID
visa
valid
member (of a club or shop)
card; certificate
Contains 7 words
to apply (for); application
to handle; to process (formal)
Contains 4 words
to print (a document)
printer
Part 2 · 9 phrases
去办事的时候，先问清楚要带哪些证件。
When you go to take care of business, first find out which papers you need to bring.
坐火车要带身份证，坐地铁不用。
You need your ID card to take a train, but not to take the subway.
去法国要先办理签证，一般要等一个星期。
To go to France you first have to get a visa, and it usually takes a week.
申请学校要准备的材料很多，要早点儿开始。
You need to prepare a lot of papers to apply to a school, so start early.
这个文件我想打印出来，在纸上看比较清楚。
I want to print this file out; it's clearer to read on paper.
新买的打印机，先看说明书再用。
Part 3 · 4 conversations
At the till of a bookshop, the clerk suggests a membership to Liu Ming, and he asks how to apply and whether he can use it at once.
服务员Clerk
先生，您是我们的会员吗？会员买书便宜一点儿。
Sir, are you one of our members? Members get books a bit cheaper.
刘明Liu Ming
不是。怎么申请会员？
No. How do I apply for membership?
服务员
Part 4 · 1 point
可能补语 动词+得/不+了
Put 得了de liǎo or 不了bu liǎo after a verb to say whether the action can be done at all, given time, conditions or amount.
Ask whether it can be done
Use verb + 得了de liǎo + 吗ma.
to do official business
rule; regulation
to meet (a rule or standard)
papers for an application
to make it easy to
document; file
instruction manual
With a newly bought printer, read the manual first and then use it.
他这样做符合学校的规定。
What he did follows the school's rules.
这张会员卡到明年一月有效，过了要再办。
This membership card is valid until next January, and after that you have to renew it.
东西放在一个包里，便于带去学校。
Putting everything in one bag makes it easy to take to school.
很简单，也不收费。填写一张表格，再给我看一下您的身份证。
It's easy, and it's free: fill in a form and show me your ID card.
刘明Liu Ming
身份证在这儿。今天办得了吗？这几本书也能便宜一点儿吗？
Here's my ID card. Can it be done today? Can these books be a bit cheaper too?
服务员Clerk
办得了，五分钟就好。办好了，这几本书马上就能便宜。
Yes, it takes five minutes. Once it's done, these books will be cheaper right away.
刘明Liu Ming
会员证有效多长时间？
How long is the membership card valid?
服务员Clerk
一年有效。到时候再来办一下就行，也是免费的。
It's valid for a year. When it runs out, just come and renew it; that's free too.
Anne hands in her papers for a new visa, but the clerk finds that her photo does not meet the rules, so it cannot be done today.
安妮Anne
您好，我想办理签证。我的签证再过十天就不能用了。
Hello, I'd like to apply for a visa. My visa runs out in ten days.
办事员Clerk
材料都带来了吗？要护照、照片和学校的文件。
Have you brought all your papers? You need your passport, photos and the document from your school.
安妮Anne
都在这儿。新签证有效多长时间？
They're all here. How long is the new visa valid?
办事员Clerk
一般一年。可是这张照片是两年前照的吧？不符合规定，要用最近半年的。
Usually a year. But this photo was taken two years ago, wasn't it? It doesn't meet the rules; it has to be from the last six months.
安妮Anne
那今天还办得了吗？
Then can it still be done today?
办事员Clerk
今天办不了了，您明天带新照片来吧。还有，文件请用白纸打印，便于我们复印。
It can't be done today any more; please bring a new photo tomorrow. Also, please print the documents on white paper so that they are easy for us to copy.
安妮Anne
好，我下午就去照相，明天早上再来。
Okay, I'll go and have the photo taken this afternoon and come back tomorrow morning.
Liu Ming must print a document on white paper for an office, but the library printer does nothing; Li Wen and he check the instruction manual.
刘明Liu Ming
李文，图书馆的打印机你会用吗？我要把这个文件打印两张。
Li Wen, do you know how to use the library printer? I need to print two copies of this document.
李文Li Wen
你先在这个电脑上打开文件，再点一下这里就可以了。
First open the document on this computer, then click here and that's it.
刘明Liu Ming
我点了两次，可是打印机一点儿声音都没有。
I clicked it twice, but the printer doesn't make a sound.
李文Li Wen
旁边有说明书，我们看看上面怎么说。
There's an instruction manual next to it. Let's see what it says.
刘明Liu Ming
说明书上说，打印不了的话，先看看有没有纸。……真的没纸了！要找图书馆的人加纸。
The manual says if it won't print, first check for paper... It really is out of paper! We have to ask the library staff to add some.
李文Li Wen
我去找人。你的文件对纸有要求吗？
I'll go and find someone. Does your document need a particular paper?
刘明Liu Ming
有，办事的地方规定要用白纸。
Yes, the office's rules say it has to be white paper.
李文Li Wen
放心吧，这里的纸都是白的。
Don't worry, all the paper here is white.
Wang Yixue has lost her student card and cannot get into the library; Teacher Wang tells her where to get a new one, what to bring, and how she can borrow books meanwhile.
王一雪Wang Yixue
王老师，我的学生证丢了。没有学生证，我进不了图书馆。
Teacher Wang, I've lost my student card. Without it I can't get into the library.
王老师Teacher Wang
别着急，你去一楼办证就行，那是学校专门办事的地方。
Don't worry, just go to the first floor to get a new card; that's the school's office for this kind of business.
王一雪Wang Yixue
要带什么证件？
What ID do I need to bring?
王老师Teacher Wang
带上你的身份证，再写一个申请，写清楚学生证是什么时候丢的。
Bring your ID card, and write an application that says clearly when you lost the student card.
王一雪Wang Yixue
新的学生证要多长时间？这个星期我还得借书写作业呢。
How long does a new student card take? This week I still need to borrow books for my homework.
王老师Teacher Wang
一般要三天。这几天你要借什么书，我就用我的证帮你借。
Usually three days. Whatever books you need these few days, I'll borrow them for you on my card.
王一雪Wang Yixue
太好了！那我现在就去一楼办证。
Great! Then I'll go to the first floor and get my card done right now.
In 今天办得了吗jīntiān bàn de liǎo ma, Liu Ming asks whether the card can be made today, and the clerk answers 办得了bàn de liǎo.
Say something stops the action
Use verb + 不了bu liǎo, with any object after it.
In 我进不了图书馆wǒ jìn bu liǎo túshūguǎn, the lost card is what blocks Wang Yixue.
In sentences
Question
这么多事，你一个人办得了吗？
With so much to do, can you handle it on your own?
得了de liǎo asks whether it can be managed.
Blocked by conditions
打印机没有纸，打印不了。
The printer has no paper, so it cannot print.
不了bu liǎo says a condition stops the action.
Too much to finish
菜太多了，我们两个人吃不了。
There is too much food; the two of us cannot finish it.
吃不了chī bu liǎo means cannot finish eating.
A：这么多作业，你今天做得了吗？ B：做不了，我明天再做。
A: With so much homework, can you get it done today? B: No, I can't; I'll do the rest tomorrow.
刘明的文件太多，一个晚上打印不了。
Liu Ming has too many documents; he cannot print them all in one evening.
The pattern is verb + 得了de liǎo for can and verb + 不了bu liǎo for cannot. Here 了liǎo is read liǎo, not le, and the 得de or 不bu in the middle is light. It says whether the action is possible at all: 今天办得了吗jīntiān bàn de liǎo ma asks if it can be done today, 没有纸就打印不了méiyǒu zhǐ jiù dǎyìn bu liǎo says the printer cannot print without paper, and 我进不了图书馆wǒ jìn bu liǎo túshūguǎn says something stops you from getting in. With verbs of eating or amount it means cannot finish: 吃不了chī bu liǎo, too much to eat. An object goes after the whole verb: 进不了图书馆jìn bu liǎo túshūguǎn, not 进图书馆不了jìn túshūguǎn bu liǎo. The negative form is far more common; 得了de liǎo appears mainly in questions and in the answer to them, as in 办得了bàn de liǎo, yes, it can be done. Add 了le at the end for a change of situation: 今天办不了了jīntiān bàn bu liǎo le, it can no longer be done today. Do not use it for permission: when a rule forbids something, say 不能bù néng or 不可以bù kěyǐ.
