Upper-Intermediate - Shanghai Home Stay(D2397)

A: 在忙什么呢？都坐在电脑前一个上午了，也不起来活动活动。

zài máng shénme ne？ dōu zuòzài diànnǎo qián yī gè shàngwǔ le，yě bù qǐlái huódòng huódòng。

What are you doing? You've been sitting in front of the computer allmorning and haven't gotten up to move around.

B: 唉！我前段时间好不容易帮一个外国朋友在上海找了个寄宿家庭，结果才住了半个月，就想撤了。

ài！ wǒ qián duàn shíjiān hǎobùróngyì bāng yī gè wàiguó péngyou zàiShànghǎi zhǎo le gè jìsù jiātíng， jiéguǒ cái zhù le bàn gè yuè， jiùxiǎng chè le。

Man! I had a tough time before helping my foreign friend find a hostfamily in Shanghai. As a result, he stayed for half a month and thenwanted to leave.

A: 哦？我以前只听说过中国人到国外去找外国寄宿家庭。没想到也有老外想住在中国人家里啊。

ó？ wǒ yǐqián zhī tīngshuō guo Zhōngguórén dào guówài qù zhǎowàiguó jìsù jiātíng。 méixiǎngdào yě yǒu lǎowài xiǎng zhùzàiZhōngguórén jiālǐ ā。

Huh? I only ever heard about Chinese people going abroad lookingfor a host family. I had no idea that foreigners also wanted to live inChinese people's homes!

B: 那当然！这些老外一般都对中国语言和文化有浓厚的兴趣。他们想真正体验中国人的日常生活，了解中国。最主要的是有语言环境，可以快速提高中文水平。提供寄宿的中国家庭不仅可以赚点儿费用，还可以顺便练习英文。何乐而不为呢？

nà dāngrán！ zhèxiē lǎowài yībān dōu duì Zhōngguó yǔyán héwénhuà yǒu nónghòu de xìngqù。 tāmen xiǎng zhēnzhèng tǐyànZhōngguórén de rìcháng shēnghuó， liǎojiě Zhōngguó。 zuì zhǔyào

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de shì yǒu yǔyán huánjìng， kěyǐ kuàisù tígāo Zhōngwén shuǐpíng。tígōng jìsù de Zhōngguó jiātíng bùjǐn kěyǐ zhuàn diǎnr fèiyòng， háikěyǐ shùnbiàn liànxí Yīngwén。 hélèérbùwéi ne？

Of course! These foreigners usually have a deep interest in Chineselanguage and culture. They want to really experience Chinesepeople's everyday life and understand China. The most importantthing is to have a language environment where they can quicklyimprove their level of Chinese. Chinese families providing lodging notonly can make a bit of money, they can also easily practice a bit ofEnglish. So why not do it?

A: 他们能相互适应吗？比如说饮食啊、生活习惯啊什么的。

tāmen néng xiānghù shìyìng ma？ bǐrúshuō yǐnshí ā、 shēnghuóxíguàn ā shénmede。

Can they both adjust to each other? For example, in terms of eatingand drinking, lifestyle, that sort of thing.

B: 多多少少会有点问题。我以前就有个外国朋友睡不惯中国的硬板床，其它方面都还好。这不，现在这个朋友是因为一些卫生习惯受不了，所以想换一家试试。

duōduōshǎoshǎo huì yǒu diǎn wèntí。 wǒ yǐqián jiù yǒu gè wàiguópéngyou shuì bùguàn Zhōngguó de yìngbǎnchuáng， qítā fāngmiàndōu háihǎo。 zhèbù， xiànzài zhè ge péngyou shì yīnwèi yīxiēwèishēng xíguàn shòubuliǎo， suǒyǐ xiǎng huàn yī jiā shìshi。

There are bound to be some problems. Before I had a foreign friendwho wasn't used to sleeping on a hard Chinese mattress. In all otheraspects, things were okay. But look it, now this friend is unable to putup with some of the family's hygiene practices, so he wants to trychanging homes.

A: 啊？那他是不是有洁癖啊？

ǎ？ nà tā shìbushì yǒu jiépǐ ā？

Huh? Is he obsessed with cleanliness?

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B: 这我也不大清楚。不过就是因为有文化差异，所以才想亲身体验嘛。就算不适应，对他们双方来说，也是一个相互了解和学习的过程。

zhè wǒ yě bùdà qīngchǔ。 bùguò jiùshì yīnwèi yǒu wénhuà chāyì，suǒyǐ cái xiǎng qīnshēn tǐyàn ma。 jiùsuàn bù shìyìng， duì tāmenshuāngfāng láishuō， yě shì yī gè xiānghù liǎojiě hé xuéxí deguòchéng。

I'm not so sure. At any rate, it's because of these cultural differencesthat he wants to have this experience. Even if they aren't suited toeach other, for both of the parties involved, it's a process of mutualunderstanding and learning.

A: 嗯！有道理！唉……我们啥时也能有自己的房子啊！有了房子，我也要做东道主家庭。到时我就天天带老外去菜场买菜，嘿嘿！

ng4！ yǒu dàolǐ！ ài…… wǒmen sháshí yě néng yǒu zìjǐ de fángzi ā！yǒu le fángzi， wǒ yě yào zuò dōngdàozhǔ jiātíng。 dàoshí wǒ jiùtiāntiān dài lǎowài qù càichǎng mǎi cài， hēihēi！

Yeah! That makes sense! Hey, when are we going to be able to haveour own apartment? If we had our own apartment, I could also be ahost. Then I could take a foreigner to the vegetable market to buyveggies every day. Haha!

B: 我看你还是先把自己嫁出去再说吧！哈哈！

wǒ kàn nǐ háishì xiān bǎ zìjǐ jià chūqù zàishuō ba！ hāhā！

I think it'd be better if you got married first, before you start talkingabout that. Haha!

Key Vocabulary

好不容易 hǎobùróngyì not easy

寄宿 jìsù to lodge, board

撤 chè to withdraw, leave

浓厚 nónghòu deep, dense

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体验 tǐyàn to personallyexperience

顺便 shùnbiàn conveniently, in passing

何乐而不为 hélèérbùwéi what could be wrongwith that

适应 shìyìng to adapt

比如说 bǐrúshuō for example

饮食 yǐnshí diet

多多少少 duōduōshǎoshǎo to some degree

硬板床 yìngbǎnchuáng hard bed

卫生 wèishēng hygiene, cleanliness

受不了 shòubuliǎo to be unable to bear it

洁癖 jiépǐ obsessed withcleanliness

差异 chāyì difference

亲身 qīnshēn intimate

过程 guòchéng process

东道主 dōngdàozhǔ host

嫁 jià to marry

Supplementary Vocabulary

好容易 hǎoróngyì not easy

气氛 qìfēn atmosphere

装饰 zhuāngshì decoration

喜庆 xǐqìng joyous

主动 zhǔdòng to take the initiative

承认 chéngrèn to admit

夸张 kuāzhāng to exaggerate

心理 xīnlǐ mind

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即使……也 jíshǐ even if... still

主持人 zhǔchírén host

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