第十二課 逛酒吧街 Lesson Twelve: Visiting the Beijing Bar Districts (1)

CRI reporter: Dominic Swire

(Dominic on a street in Beijing. It’s springtime, so weather is warm.)

Dominic: Beijing is widely known for being Chinese capital of culture. But once you‘ve experienced the wealth of museums, temples and cultural sites the city has to offer, it’s necessary to relax a little. And that is precisely what we plan to do today by going to one of the city’s most popular bar districts. But before we go, I need to find a drinking partner.

(Dominic calls Zheng Zhi.)

Dominic: 嗨,鄭治, 今天下午有時間嗎?
Zheng Zhi: 有啊,你想幹嘛?
Dominic: 我想去酒吧喝酒。你願意和我一起去嗎?
Zheng Zhi: 好啊,當然可以!你想去哪兒?
Dominic: 太好了!去後海怎麼樣?
Zheng Zhi: 非常好。我很喜歡後海。
Dominic: 好的。咱們下午三點在那見,行嗎?
Zheng Zhi: 好啊,下午三點見。 
Dominic: 好的。

[Houhai is actually an artificial lake and was made in the 14th century during the Yuan Dynasty. Its original function was to create a harbour for all the barges delivering goods to the emperor from across China and beyond. The Forbidden City, where the emperor resided is just the other side of those trees.]

GRAPHIC FLASH: 我想去酒吧喝酒。我想 means I’d like to, 去酒吧 go to a bar, 喝酒 drink, in most cases, it refers to drink alcohol, so我想去酒吧喝酒。together, I’d like to go to a bar for a drink.

你願意和我一起去嗎?你願意 means do you want to, 一起 means together, 去 means go, altogether, 你願意和我一起去嗎?Do you want to come? Or do you want to go together?

去後海怎麼樣?去means go to, 後海 is a place name, 怎麼樣can be translated to how about, and in Chinese it can be used at the end of the sentence to put forward a suggestion, altogether, 去後海怎麼樣?How about going to Houhai?

(Dominic enters Houhai.)
(Dominic and Zheng Zhi meet at by side of lake.)

Zheng Zhi: 嗨,多米尼克!
Dominic: 嗨,鄭治!你最近怎麼樣?
Zheng Zhi: 我最近很好,你呢?
Dominic: 不錯,你知道在這兒哪個酒吧比較好嗎?
Zheng Zhi: 我覺得這兒的酒吧都不錯。
Dominic: 好的,我們去喝酒吧。
Zheng Zhi: 好的,我們走吧。

GRAPHIC FLASH: 你知道這兒哪個酒吧比較好嗎?你 you, 知道 know, 這兒 in the sentence means in this area, 哪個 is often used to put forward a question, 酒吧 bar, 好 means good, altogether, 你知道在這兒哪個酒吧比較好嗎?Do you know any good bars in this area?