Intermediate - It's Time You Got a Smartphone

Right-Wingnut

John: Hey guys, this is ChinesePod, I'm John, this is an Intermediate lesson.

Dilu: 大家好，我是Dilu。

John: And we're excited about the topic today because its a topic close to our hearts.

Dilu: 是吗？

John: Well not really, close to our ...

Dilu: Pockets.

John: Our pockets, yeah. We're talking about cell phones. but what type of cell phones?

Dilu: 智能手机。智能手机。

John: So 'smartphones'. What part of that was 'smart'?

Dilu: 前面两个字：智能。智能。

Right-Wingnut

Dialog

Right-Wingnut

1:50

John: So right at the beginning this girl is complaining about her dumb phone.

Dilu: 对。她说：哎。这个破手机，又死机了。

John: 死机 - die machine?

Right-Wingnut

2:02

Dilu: 对。

John: That refers to a phone freezing up.

Dilu: 对。应该就是这个画面都不动了。然后这个［字也打不出来 - what does this mean?］。

John: So then you have to reset it. So 死机, that's 3rd tone and 1st tone.

Dilu: 没错，第三声和第一声。

John: Don't confuse that with the word for 'driver'.

Dilu: 对。一个是死机，另外一个是司机。

John: So when she's complaining about her cellphone always freezing up, what does she call it?

Right-Wingnut

2:31

Dilu: 破手机。破手机。

John: So 破 means 'to break'.

Dilu: 对。或者呢就是这个手机很不好用。

John: So 'Its not easy to use'. So 破 can be a verb meaning 'to break', 'to tear'. It has a lot of meanings. In this case its being used as an adjective meaning kind of 'crappy'.

Dilu: 对。

John: Its not necessarily beat up, she just doesn't like it.

Dilu: 反正就是这个手机用起来不好，老是出问题。

John: So its full of problems. So then a guy says what to her?

Right-Wingnut

John: 4th tone, 2nd tone.

Dilu: 没错。

John: Its not the same as 聪明.

Dilu: 聪明手机。我们不会这么说。

John: It means intelligent functionality, that kind of thing.

Dilu: 对对对。智能手机。

John: Let's listen to the dialog and then we'll break it all down.

Dilu: 好。

0:47 - Dialog