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Mythic Mandarin

A boat trip in Guilin

HSK 3 Unit 7: Travel and seasons · 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 travel story about a boat trip through famous scenery, and tell the story of a memorable trip 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 季节 mean?

    1. season
    2. hot water
    3. to return, to refund
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, season.

    季节 (jìjié) means season.

  2. Characters

    Which word means “to return, to refund”?

    1. 价格
    2. 退
    3. 任务
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, 退.

    “to return, to refund” is 退 (tuì).

  3. Listening

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

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    完成 wánchéng

    1. plan, to plan
    2. to complete
    3. task, assignment
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, to complete.

    You heard 完成 (wánchéng): to complete.

New words

  • 船chuánboat, ship
  • 河hériver
  • 导游dǎoyóutour guide
  • 景点jǐngdiǎnplace of interest, sight
  • 难忘nánwàngunforgettable
  • 故事gùshistory
  • 讲jiǎngto tell, to explain
  • 关于guānyúabout, concerning

Telling a travel story

A good travel story sets the scene with time and place, describes what you saw (着, 多么…啊) and how you felt (激动, 难忘).

  • 河两边有很多山。

    Hé liǎngbiān yǒu hěn duō shān.

    There are lots of mountains on both sides of the river.

  • 这是我最难忘的一次旅游。

    Zhè shì wǒ zuì nánwàng de yí cì lǚyóu.

    It was my most unforgettable trip.

景点 (jǐngdiǎn) is a sight or place of interest; 导游 (dǎoyóu) is a tour guide.

  • 导游给我们介绍了很多景点。

    Dǎoyóu gěi wǒmen jièshào le hěn duō jǐngdiǎn.

    The guide told us about lots of sights.

Characters

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

Anna's postcard

Anna writes about her trip to Guilin for her Chinese class.

Listen first

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

Helpful words: 桂林 Guìlín Guilin (a city in southern China); 漓江 Líjiāng the Li River

  1. Listening

    Listen first. When did Anna go to Guilin?

    1. last spring
    2. last autumn
    3. this summer
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, last autumn.

    去年秋天.

  2. Listening

    What was the weather like on the river?

    1. sunny
    2. light rain
    3. snowing
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, light rain.

    天上下着小雨.

  3. Listening

    Who took better photos?

    1. Anna
    2. Mark
    3. the guide
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, Mark.

    他拍得比我好多了.

Show the text
Pinyin
Translation

  1. 去年Qùnián秋天qiūtiān，我wǒ和hé马克Mǎkè去qù了le桂林Guìlín。

    Last autumn, Mark and I went to Guilin.

  2. 桂林Guìlín的de风景fēngjǐng非常fēicháng有名yǒumíng，我wǒ早zǎo就jiù想xiǎng去qù看看kànkan。

    The scenery in Guilin is very famous, and I'd wanted to see it for a long time.

  3. 我们Wǒmen坐zuò船chuán在zài漓江Líjiāng上shàng玩wán了le四sì个gè小时xiǎoshí。

    We spent four hours on a boat on the Li River.

  4. 河Hé两边liǎngbiān都dōu是shì山shān，天上tiānshàng下xià着zhe小雨xiǎoyǔ，风景fēngjǐng多么duōme美měi啊a！

    There were mountains on both sides, a light rain was falling, and the scenery was so beautiful!

  5. 导游Dǎoyóu给gěi我们wǒmen讲jiǎng了le很hěn多duō关于guānyú这些zhèxiē山shān的de故事gùshi。

    The guide told us lots of stories about the mountains.

  6. 马克Mǎkè拍pāi了le很hěn多duō照片zhàopiàn，他tā拍pāi得de比bǐ我wǒ好hǎo多duō了le。

    Mark took lots of photos, much better than mine.

  7. 这Zhè是shì我wǒ最zuì难忘nánwàng的de一yí次cì旅游lǚyóu！

    It was my most unforgettable trip!

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.

  • 导游给我们讲了很多关于这些山的故事。

    Dǎoyóu gěi wǒmen jiǎng le hěn duō guānyú zhèxiē shān de gùshi.

    The guide told us lots of stories about the mountains.

  • 这是我最难忘的一次旅游！

    Zhè shì wǒ zuì nánwàng de yí cì lǚyóu!

    It was my most unforgettable trip!

  • 我们坐船在漓江上玩了四个小时。

    Wǒmen zuò chuán zài Líjiāng shàng wán le sì gè xiǎoshí.

    We spent four hours on a boat on the Li River.

Practice

  1. Meaning

    What does 船 mean?

    1. of course
    2. slowly
    3. boat, ship
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, boat, ship.

    船 (chuán) means boat, ship.

  2. Characters

    Which word means “river”?

    1. 河
    2. 约
    3. 借
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, 河.

    “river” is 河 (hé).

  3. Pinyin

    How do you read 导游 (tour guide)?

    1. dáoyóu
    2. dǎoyóu
    3. dàoyóu
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, dǎoyóu.

    导游 is read dǎoyóu. Check the tone mark on every syllable.

  4. Listening

    Listen. What does the word mean?

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    景点 jǐngdiǎn

    1. place of interest, sight
    2. cheap
    3. to teach
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, place of interest, sight.

    You heard 景点 (jǐngdiǎn): place of interest, sight.

  5. Pinyin

    Type the pinyin of 难忘 (unforgettable). Tone marks or tone numbers are welcome.

    Show the answer

    Answer: nánwàng

    难忘 is nánwàng in pinyin.

  6. Listening

    Listen. Which sentence did you hear?

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    河两边都是山，天上下着小雨，风景多么美啊！ Hé liǎngbiān dōu shì shān, tiānshàng xià zhe xiǎoyǔ, fēngjǐng duōme měi a!

    1. The guide told us lots of stories about the mountains.
    2. There were mountains on both sides, a light rain was falling, and the scenery was so beautiful!
    3. Mark took lots of photos, much better than mine.
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, There were mountains on both sides, a light rain was falling, and the scenery was so beautiful!.

    You heard 河两边都是山，天上下着小雨，风景多么美啊！ (Hé liǎngbiān dōu shì shān, tiānshàng xià zhe xiǎoyǔ, fēngjǐng duōme měi a!): There were mountains on both sides, a light rain was falling, and the scenery was so beautiful!

  7. Reading

    Read: 我们坐船在河上玩了一天。导游给我们介绍了很多景点，可是因为下雨，我们没拍照片。 Why didn't they take photos?

    1. The guide didn't allow it.
    2. They forgot the camera.
    3. It was raining.
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, It was raining..

    因为下雨，我们没拍照片.

  8. Grammar

    Which sentence means A light rain is falling?

    1. 下了小雨着。
    2. 小雨下着了。
    3. 下着小雨。
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, 下着小雨。.

    下着小雨。: 下着小雨: verb + 着 for something going on.

  9. In context

    How do you say a trip was unforgettable?

    1. 这是一次很难忘的旅游。
    2. 这是一次很忘的旅游。
    3. 这是一次难的旅游。
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, 这是一次很难忘的旅游。.

    这是一次很难忘的旅游。: 难忘: unforgettable.

  10. Your turn

    Type the Chinese for tour guide

    Show the answer

    Answer: 导游

    导游: tour guide.

Your best trip

Tell the story of your most memorable trip, out loud, in eight sentences. Record it and listen back.

  1. When and where you went, and why.
  2. What you saw, with 着 and 多么…啊.
  3. Something someone did well, with 得.
  4. Why it was unforgettable.

Sentence frames

  • ＿＿，我去了＿＿。

    ＿＿, wǒ qù le ＿＿.

    ..., I went to ...

  • 这是我最难忘的一次旅游！

    Zhè shì wǒ zuì nánwàng de yí cì lǚyóu!

    It was my most unforgettable trip!

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 travel story with this level's grammar.
  • I can tell the story of a memorable trip.

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 8: Festivals and stories, the last HSK 3 unit, about Chinese festivals, myths and tea.