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Mythic Mandarin

At the calligraphy museum

HSK 3 Unit 5: Interests and feelings · Lesson 5 of 5 · About 20 minutes

Preview version — Chinese review in progress.

Your mission: By the end of this lesson, you can follow a story about visiting a museum and learning calligraphy that uses this unit's grammar, and talk about a hobby of your own.

Warm-up: do you remember?

Two quick questions from earlier lessons. Recalling before you learn makes the new material stick.

  1. Meaning

    What does 啊 mean?

    1. (adds feeling to the end of a sentence)
    2. sad, upset
    3. anyway, in any case
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, (adds feeling to the end of a sentence).

    啊 (a) means (adds feeling to the end of a sentence).

  2. Characters

    Which word means “(adds feeling to the end of a sentence)”?

    1. 心情
    2. 啊
    3. 脸色
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, 啊.

    “(adds feeling to the end of a sentence)” is 啊 (a).

  3. Listening

    From an earlier unit. Listen. What does the word mean?

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    疼 téng

    1. to hurt, to ache
    2. to stay up late
    3. to have a fever
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, to hurt, to ache.

    You heard 疼 (téng): to hurt, to ache.

New words

  • 博物馆bówùguǎnmuseum
  • 参观cānguānto visit (a place)
  • 毛笔máobǐwriting brush
  • 作品zuòpǐnwork (of art)
  • 重要zhòngyàoimportant
  • 有的yǒudesome

A hobby story

A story about a hobby says why you are interested (对…感兴趣), what you saw and how it felt (多么…啊), and how you practise (地, 得).

  • 我参观了一个博物馆。

    Wǒ cānguān le yí gè bówùguǎn.

    I visited a museum.

  • 最重要的是认真地练习。

    Zuì zhòngyào de shì rènzhēn de liànxí.

    The most important thing is to practise conscientiously.

有的 (yǒude) is some: 有的…有的… is some … others ….

  • 有的作品很大，有的很小。

    Yǒude zuòpǐn hěn dà, yǒude hěn xiǎo.

    Some works are big, some are small.

Characters

Open a character to see how it is written, stroke by stroke, with its meanings and words.

Sophie's blog

Sophie writes a blog post after a month of calligraphy classes.

Listen first

Play the whole text and answer the questions before you open it.

Helpful words: 古人 gǔrén people in ancient times

  1. Listening

    Listen first. What did Sophie visit?

    1. a history museum
    2. a calligraphy museum
    3. an art school
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, a calligraphy museum.

    参观了一个书法博物馆.

  2. Listening

    How old are some of the works?

    1. over a thousand years
    2. about a hundred years
    3. ten years
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, over a thousand years.

    有的已经一千多年了.

  3. Listening

    What does the professor say is most important?

    1. practising conscientiously
    2. buying a good brush
    3. being born with talent
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, practising conscientiously.

    最重要的是认真地练习.

Show the text
Pinyin
Translation

  1. 我Wǒ对duì中国Zhōngguó文化wénhuà很hěn感兴趣gǎnxìngqù，我wǒ的de爱好àihào是shì书法shūfǎ。

    I'm very interested in Chinese culture, and my hobby is calligraphy.

  2. 上个Shàngge星期xīngqī，杨教授Yáng jiàoshòu带dài我们wǒmen参观cānguān了le一yí个gè书法shūfǎ博物馆bówùguǎn。

    Last week, Professor Yang took us to visit a calligraphy museum.

  3. 那儿Nàr有yǒu很hěn多duō有名yǒumíng的de作品zuòpǐn，有的yǒude已经yǐjīng一千yìqiān多duō年nián了le。

    There are lots of famous works there, some of them over a thousand years old.

  4. 看着Kànzhe这些zhèxiē作品zuòpǐn，我wǒ很hěn感动gǎndòng：古人gǔrén写xiě得de多么duōme好hǎo啊a！

    Looking at them, I was moved: how well people wrote in ancient times!

  5. 杨教授Yáng jiàoshòu说shuō：“写xiě书法shūfǎ，最zuì重要zhòngyào的de是shì认真rènzhēn地de练习liànxí。”

    Professor Yang said: "In calligraphy, the most important thing is to practise conscientiously."

  6. 现在Xiànzài我wǒ每天měitiān都dōu用yòng毛笔máobǐ练习liànxí半bàn个gè小时xiǎoshí。

    Now I practise with a brush for half an hour every day.

  7. 我Wǒ写xiě得de还hái不bù好hǎo，但是dànshì反正fǎnzhèng我wǒ不bù着急zháojí，慢慢mànmàn来lái。

    I still don't write well, but I'm in no hurry anyway. Step by step.

Speak: listen, record, compare

Listen to each model, record yourself, then play both and compare: the rhythm, the tones, the vowels. No automatic score: your ear is the judge.

  • 那儿有很多有名的作品，有的已经一千多年了。

    Nàr yǒu hěn duō yǒumíng de zuòpǐn, yǒude yǐjīng yìqiān duō nián le.

    There are lots of famous works there, some of them over a thousand years old.

  • 上个星期，杨教授带我们参观了一个书法博物馆。

    Shàngge xīngqī, Yáng jiàoshòu dài wǒmen cānguān le yí gè shūfǎ bówùguǎn.

    Last week, Professor Yang took us to visit a calligraphy museum.

  • 现在我每天都用毛笔练习半个小时。

    Xiànzài wǒ měitiān dōu yòng máobǐ liànxí bàn gè xiǎoshí.

    Now I practise with a brush for half an hour every day.

Practice

  1. Meaning

    What does 博物馆 mean?

    1. police officer
    2. to have a meeting
    3. museum
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, museum.

    博物馆 (bówùguǎn) means museum.

  2. Characters

    Which word means “to visit (a place)”?

    1. 爱好
    2. 作品
    3. 参观
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, 参观.

    “to visit (a place)” is 参观 (cānguān).

  3. Pinyin

    How do you read 毛笔 (writing brush)?

    1. máobì
    2. máobǐ
    3. māobǐ
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, máobǐ.

    毛笔 is read máobǐ. Check the tone mark on every syllable.

  4. Listening

    Listen. What does the word mean?

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    作品 zuòpǐn

    1. to help
    2. work (of art)
    3. maybe, possible
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, work (of art).

    You heard 作品 (zuòpǐn): work (of art).

  5. Pinyin

    Type the pinyin of 重要 (important). Tone marks or tone numbers are welcome.

    Show the answer

    Answer: zhòngyào

    重要 is zhòngyào in pinyin.

  6. Listening

    Listen. Which sentence did you hear?

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    我写得还不好，但是反正我不着急，慢慢来。 Wǒ xiě de hái bù hǎo, dànshì fǎnzhèng wǒ bù zháojí, mànmàn lái.

    1. I'm very interested in Chinese culture, and my hobby is calligraphy.
    2. Professor Yang said: "In calligraphy, the most important thing is to practise conscientiously."
    3. I still don't write well, but I'm in no hurry anyway. Step by step.
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, I still don't write well, but I'm in no hurry anyway. Step by step..

    You heard 我写得还不好，但是反正我不着急，慢慢来。 (Wǒ xiě de hái bù hǎo, dànshì fǎnzhèng wǒ bù zháojí, mànmàn lái.): I still don't write well, but I'm in no hurry anyway. Step by step.

  7. Reading

    Read: 我的爱好是画画。我每天都认真地画一个小时。有的画画得不好，但是反正我很喜欢。 How does the writer feel about the bad paintings?

    1. gets angry and throws them away
    2. stops painting for a while
    3. doesn't mind, enjoys painting anyway
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, doesn't mind, enjoys painting anyway.

    反正我很喜欢: enjoys it anyway.

  8. Grammar

    Which sentence means Some people like tea, some like coffee?

    1. 有的人喜欢喝茶，有的人喜欢喝咖啡。
    2. 有人的喜欢茶，有人的喜欢咖啡。
    3. 有的喜欢人喝茶。
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, 有的人喜欢喝茶，有的人喜欢喝咖啡。.

    有的人喜欢喝茶，有的人喜欢喝咖啡。: 有的…有的…: some … others.

  9. In context

    You want to say what matters most. What do you say?

    1. 最重要是的坚持。
    2. 重要最的是坚持。
    3. 最重要的是坚持。
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, 最重要的是坚持。.

    最重要的是坚持。: 最重要的是…: the most important thing is ...

  10. Your turn

    Type the Chinese for to visit a museum

    Show the answer

    Answer: 参观博物馆

    参观博物馆: to visit a museum.

Your hobby story

Tell the story of a hobby of yours, out loud, in eight sentences. Record it and listen back.

  1. Why you are interested in it.
  2. Something you saw or did that moved you, with 多么…啊.
  3. How you practise, with 地 and 得.
  4. What is most important, with 最重要的是.

Sentence frames

  • 我对＿＿很感兴趣，我的爱好是＿＿。

    Wǒ duì ＿＿ hěn gǎnxìngqù, wǒ de àihào shì ＿＿.

    I'm interested in ..., my hobby is ...

  • 最重要的是＿＿。

    Zuì zhòngyào de shì ＿＿.

    The most important thing is ...

Record your attempt (three and a half minutes at most) and listen back:

Review and finish

Can you do this? If a line feels shaky, go back to that part before you move on.

  • I can follow a story about a hobby with this unit's grammar.
  • I can tell a short story about my own hobby.

Review works best spaced out: answer these exercises again tomorrow, then after a few days. Your progress is saved in this browser.

Completing records that you finished the lesson. Mastery is separate: it grows as reviews bring the exercises back and you answer them correctly.

Next: HSK 3 Unit 6: Work and study, where you talk about jobs, meetings and plans.