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Chinese Commuters

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IN THIS LESSON
ID: 0362 Upper Intermediate
Any look at a bus, subway or highway on any given day will give you an idea of the constant struggle facing those who depend on the transportation system here. Today, we look at what a commuter faces in China. Listen to this podcast to learn how to talk traffic in Mandarin Chinese.
Tue Dec 12 2006 | Jenny, John
Awesome Materials
Our lessons contain natural communication in Chinese in video and audio format. We have have lessons focused on video or a podcast format and our lessons have transcripts of Lesson Dialogues, Important Vocabulary, Expanded Materials for a deep dive into the lesson topic and Exercises focused on testing your retention.
Detailed Vocabulary
Each lesson has it's unique vocabulary and will provide you with definitions and recordings so you can practice the pronunciation. You will also be able to grasp the core material of a lesson at a glance. Here we're showing you the Simplified Chinese version.
SIMPLIFIED PINYIN ENGLISH  
省 shěng to save
私家车 sījiāchē private owned car
后悔 hòuhuǐ to regret
缓解 huǎnjiě to ease
我到处都看到挖马路，上海到底要造多少条地铁线？
wǒ dàochù dōu kàndào wā mǎlù ，Shànghǎi dàodǐ yào zào duōshao tiáo dìtiě xiàn ？
Everywhere I look I see roads being dug up, how many subway lines do they want to build in Shanghai anyways?
十多条呢！我真等不急了，现在的交通状况这么差，还是坐地铁最方便最省时。
shí duō tiáo ne ！wǒ zhēn děngbují le ，xiànzài de jiāotōng zhuàngkuàng zhème chà ，háishì zuò dìtiě zuì fāngbiàn zuì shěngshí 。
More than ten! I really can’t wait. The state of traffic is so terrible now, taking the subway is still the most convenient and time-efficient.
那倒是。这几年，私家车发展太快了。道路建设根本赶不上，所以成天堵车。我的好多朋友现在都后悔买车呢，因为现在在路上花的时间反而更多。
nà dàoshì 。zhè jǐ nián ，sījiāchē fāzhǎn tài kuài le 。dàolù jiànshè gēnběn gǎnbushàng ，suǒyǐ chéngtiān dǔchē 。wǒ de hǎo duō péngyou xiànzài dōu hòuhuǐ mǎichē ne ，yīnwèi xiànzài zài lùshang huā de shíjiān fǎnér gèng duō 。
That’s true. These past few years, the number of privately-owned cars has expanded too quickly. Road construction cannot keep up, so there are traffic jams all day long. A lot of my friends regret buying a car, since the time they now spend on the road is actually longer.
没错。而且汽油这么贵，再加上市中心停车又贵又不方便，所以好多人上下班还是选择坐地铁、公车。这样既可以缓解交通压力，也更环保。
méicuò 。érqiě qìyóu zhème guì ，zài jiāshang shìzhōngxīn tíngchē yòu guì yòu bù fāngbiàn ，suǒyǐ hǎo duō rén shàngxiàbān háishì xuǎnzé zuò dìtiě 、gōngchē 。zhèyàngde jì kěyǐ huǎnjiě jiāotōng yālì ，yě gèng huánbǎo 。
That’s right. Plus, fuel is so expensive, and on top of that parking in the downtown area is both expensive and inconvenient. So a lot of commuters still choose to take the subway or bus to and from work. This can alleviate traffic pressure, and is also better for the environment.
Natural Dialogues
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