1. Notice the levels of approximation used in 面积约五十五万多平方公里左右. The literal translation is “area approximately 550 000 plus square kilometers more or less”.
2. The word 流行 is treated as a noun meaning “fashion” in the sentence 不管是美食，流行，艺术跟建筑物，要好好地参观当地的博物馆.
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1. Note the usage of the idioms taught in this lesson. Some can be directly used as adjectives:
a. 大家忙得鸡飞狗跳.
b. 做事情总是一马当先的人，将来成功的机会比较高.
c. 这个工作对哥哥来说真是如鱼得水，因为刚好是他最拿手的.
While others are used as comparisons.
d. 比如说，这一段文章的主题只有一个，但是文章前后的内容却好像牛头不对马嘴，完全没有关系.
e. 跟他那种不讲道理的人说话，就像对牛弹琴一样，浪费我的时间.
2. In English we talk about being like a fish “out” of water, whereas in Chinese they emphasize the opposite aspect of a fish being “in” water in 如鱼得水.
1. 困难 can be an adjective (something is very difficult) or a noun (something is a big problem), as seen in the examples used in this lesson:
a. 对我来说，没做过的事情都算是困难的事情.
b. 有困难的时候总是互相帮忙.
2. 团结 refers to getting the encouragement and support of others, as seen in 参加运动比赛的时候，想要得到好的结果，一定得跟其他人团结合作.
3. 祝福 can also mean “to wish good on others”, as seen in 所以我祝福你能美梦成真.
4. Sales in stores are referred to as 折扣活动, as seen in 百货公司没有折扣活动的时候，我会直接上网去查我想要买的东西.
As this is a review lesson, let’s take a look at some of the sentence patterns featured in this lesson:
1. Action described twice, second time including more descriptive information: 我刚刚在学生活动中心看到你，在后面叫你叫了半天.
2. 一A就B:
a. 每天早晨一起床就念书.
b. 在学校一下课就到图书馆去找资料.
3. 幸亏，要不然:
幸亏这几天天气暖和多了，要不然我的病不会那么快好.
1. Note how the word 集中 refers to many items being concentrated in a particular area. We see it used in 大部分的工业集中在首都马尼拉的郊区. Don’t confuse this with 专心 which refers to your focusing your mind on something.
2. Note the sentence construct 受到A的影响 used in 所以菲律宾的文化受到其他国家的影响.
1. 不修边幅 refers to not looking after one’s appearance. In addition to not dressing up, for a man this might include not shaving or combing his hair. For a woman this might involve not wearing makeup or doing her hair.
2. 马马虎虎 literally means “horse, horse, tiger, tiger”. The 长话短说 version of this story revolves around a careless painter, who one day painted a horse with a tiger’s head, and showed it to his children. This confused them, resulting in the older child being killed when he tried to ride a tiger, thinking it was a horse. The younger son later saw a horse and killed it with an arrow, thinking it was a tiger. The painter was then named 马虎先生 by the people, for his careless ways. The phrase sticks today although it can also be used as a reply to “How are you?” to mean “so so”.
3. Notice how 不负责任 is used as an adjective in 嗯，这样真的很浪费时间，也很不负责任.
4. 简单地说 has a similar meaning to 长话短说, as we see in 简单地说，跟他吵架的原因太多了.
1. You can 陪 someone in a conversation, as seen in 无聊的时候有人能陪我聊天 or you can chat 跟 them, as seen in 其实我也会趁回家的时候 顺便去拜访别的朋友，跟他们一块儿喝喝茶，聊聊天.
2. Note how the translation of the second part of this sentence 最好去找个性跟习惯比较相同的人，比较不会有问题 is “more will not have problem”, which translates to “there is less chance for problems”.
3. a. Sales promotions are referred to as 折扣活动, as seen in: 百货公司什么时候会有特别的折扣活动？
b. The action of discounting is 打折扣. We see this construct broken up in 有些商品的折扣还会打得非常低,，打到两三折左右.
4. 顺便 is used to describe something being done without extra effort, and is used in many cases where we wouldn’t use a word in English.
a. 你会趁回家的时候顺便做哪些事情？
b. 通常我会趁回家的时候 顺便到市场买一些新鲜的食物跟水果.
c. 有时候，我也会顺便到邮局去寄信跟存钱.
d. 其实我也会趁回家的时候 顺便去拜访别的朋友.
5. 存钱 can refer to saving money or depositing money, as seen in this lesson: 有时候，我也会顺便到邮局去寄信跟存钱.
1. Note how 看病 literally means “see sickness”.
2. We’ve taught 厉害 before as referring to something as being extraordinary in a positive way. It can also be used in a negative way to refer to something being overly severe, as seen in 不过上个礼拜我的喉咙疼得非常厉害.
3. Note how 那么医生怎么说? is literally asking “In that case, doctor how say?”
4. Note how 流行感冒 literally means “popular catch cold”.
5. 早晚 literally means “Early late” and is used in the same way we use “Sooner or later” in English.
6. You can use 好起来 to refer to your body healing or becoming better, as seen in 我希望你赶快好起来.
1. Note how numbers are described differently than they are in English:
a. 面积大约是七百七十几万平方公里. The approximation is listed twice – once in the beginning with 大约 and once with the 几 at the end to represent “more than”, in 七百七十几万平方公里.
b. We see a similar use of dual approximations in 澳洲的人口大约是两千一百多万人 with 大约 in the beginning and the 多 at the end.
2. Note the use of 重点 in 澳洲的经济发展重点是能源与畜牧.
3. 畜牧 refers to raising animals for profit and so usually describes livestock, as seen in 澳洲的经济发展重点是能源与畜牧.
4. 不到百分之一 literally means “does not reach one percent”.
Some of the expressions in this lesson have direct translations in English, such as:
a. 天下没有白吃的午餐.
b. 团结就是力量.
Others require a bit of explanation:
c. 美梦成真. The key here is that if a dream is worthy enough (being beautiful), then it will come true.
d. 吃得苦中苦，方为人上人. This expression can be used when someone is complaining about the struggles he is facing in life. It explains that those that work the hardest are the ones that ultimately succeed.
e. 鸡蛋里挑骨头. This expression is used to describe a person who purposely picks faults in others or the work they do, perhaps due to his ulterior motive of not wanting to see them succeed. The bone in the egg emphasizes that the faults found tend to be imaginary in nature.
1. 十几分钟 literally means “10 a few minutes” and refers to the time between 10 and 20 minutes. 因为面试的时间通常都只有十几分钟.
2. Note how the construction of 就得很晚才能睡觉 is “have to very late before can sleep” in 不过到了考试或是写报告的时候，就得很晚才能睡觉，有的时候甚至没办法睡觉.
1. The word 精彩 is often used to describe movies or performances that exceed the audience’s expectations. We see it used in this lesson in 那么节目一定很精彩.
2. 现场 can refer to what happens on the spot, or to an event being “live” in nature. We see both usages in this lesson:
a. 现场的气氛怎么样?
b. 如果是现场表演的话，不管是节目的内容，或是环境的布置，甚至是演出的人穿的衣服，都会影响观众欣赏的时候 感觉到的气氛.
3. Notice how 一对 is repeated to become an adjective in 一对一对地坐着欣赏音乐.
4. In the past, we described 感情 as meaning a “romantic feeling”; however, it can also describe a generally good feeling between two people, as seen in 另外，握手是和别人见面是，表示礼貌或是感情很好的一种动作.
1. 交通 can also refer to “transportation”, as seen in 在交通方面，连接欧洲东西部和南北部的高速公路 和铁路都经过这里.
2. 厉害 is used much more often in Chinese than its equivalent in English. We see it used in this lesson in 德国是目前世界上最厉害的国家之一. 棒 has a similar meaning, as seen in 德国生产的工业产品都有很棒的品质.
3. The literal meaning of the sentence 在世界上占了很高的领导地位 is “in world on stands very tall leader position”.
Notice how idioms like this can be used as adjectives in sentences:
a. 像开车这种需要专心的情况，就不能有一心二用的行为.
b. 那真实一件一石二鸟的事情.
c. 每次要出去玩之前，大家总是七嘴八舌的讨论要去哪里.
d. 或是这段文章翻译得乱七八糟，让人看不懂在写什么.
e. 这件作品看起来真是十全十美，难怪有人把它当作艺术品一样.
1. 跟着 can be used to mean “accordingly” as seen in 没错，像电视上的一些模特儿，因为很认真地做好她们的工作，所以连身上穿的衣服 都好像跟着变得更漂亮了.
2. 危险 can be an adjective or a noun. When used as a noun, we talk of danger “happening”, as seen in 这样不但对身体造成伤害，也很容易发生危险.
3. 曾经 is used when you have experienced something in the past – one or more times. We see it used in:
a. 我以前曾经忘记过很重要的事情.
b. 我也曾经在电视新闻上看到有些人甚至为了买东西结果就吵架了. 真是太夸张了.
4. We have seen 存 used before in the context of saving money in a bank. We see a more general usage in 我除了能把重要的事情存在手机里面，还能设定闹钟时间.
5. 夸张 can also be used in the context of “going overboard”, as seen in 我也曾经在电视新闻上看到有些人甚至为了买东西结果就吵架了. 真是太夸张了.
1. Note how 打扮成 literally means “dress change (into)” in: 你打算打扮成什么? Literally “You plan dress up change what?”
2. Like in English, you can 吸引注意, as seen in 我相信你们一定会吸引所有人注意的！
3. 难道 can also be used in a rhetorical way, such as when the subject being referred to isn’t present and people are discussing what might he be doing. 难道你不跟我们一起去吗?
建设 can also be used in an abstract way, as seen in 其中影响最大的经济建设 就是在一九一四年完成的巴拿马运河.
1. Notice the construction of the sentence 因为有时候，我们总是随便答应别人 自己没有能力做到的事情. It is common to see constructions such as 有时候，我们总是. The speaker is saying that in that particular situation, people always act this way. We see a similar usage in 因为别人总是都要猜你讲的话真正的意思是什么.
2. Since there are no direct words for “yes” and “no” in Chinese, alternate words like 是 and 非 are used in 口是心非.
1. Notice how 受欢迎 can be used together or split up.
a. 我觉得一个受欢迎的人应该要有好的个性.
b. 像这样的人一定不会受到大家的欢迎.
2. Notice how in the sentence 另外，发生地震的时候，有些地方的房子都不能住了, the literal meaning is “As well, happen earthquake time, some places homes all cannot live”. Here, by context we know that this means people cannot live in the homes, as opposed to the homes not being able to live themselves.
3. 受到影响 is a common usage in Chinese, as seen in 虽然我住的地方没受到影响，但是还是要小心一点比较好.
1. 连续假期 literally means “continuous vacation” and refers to vacations that are more than a few days long, as seen in long weekends or extended holidays.
2. The sentence 当你的女朋友真幸福 literally means “being your girlfriend really blessed.”
3. 这不算什么 literally means “This isn’t considered to be anything”.
4. In the sentence 等车时得排好长的队，真让人觉得疲倦, the 车 refers to forms of transportation such as buses, taxis, trains etc.
Most cities around the world have their names transliterated into Chinese using characters whose pronunciation mimics their English pronunciation. We see that in this lesson with 渥太华, 多伦多 and 温哥华.
1. The expression : 不怕一万，只怕万一 sounds better in Chinese because it’s a play on the characters 一万 and 万一 which have different meanings when inverted.
2. 没有付出就没有收获 has similar meaning to “No pain, no gain” in English.
3. 自作自受 can be thought of as meaning “One who reaps what he sows”.
1. Note how we have to explicitly refer to a “body” as being unhealthy, as seen in 不过现在有不少人身体不好 and 所以现在的人想要有健康的身体，就应该尽量减少自己的压力.
2. 放心 is sometimes hard to get grasp of in English, since it doesn’t have a direct translation. So questions like this are expressed differently in English:
a. 你一个人在外面念书，不跟父母一起住，他们会放心你吗？
b. 我刚开始一个人到外面念书的时候，我的父母非常不放心我.
c. 他们对我就放心多了，也更相信我.
3. Notice the sentence pattern 不是，就是 used here: 不是要你多注意自己的身体，就是要你好好念书.
1. 热闹 refers to a place bustling with excitement. We see it used in: 今天学生活动中心外面怎么那么热闹？
2. The 社团 mentioned in this lesson’s dialogue refer to school clubs.
3. 我想起来了 can refer to just thinking of, or just remembering.
4. Note how 居然 adds a sense of surprise to 啊，你居然是这样追到女朋友的啊.
5. 摊位 can refer to booths at a fair, or stalls in an outdoor market.
a. 今天学生活动中心外面怎么那么热闹？ 有好多不同的摊位！
b. 另外，我们在市场里也会看到许多摊位.
Articles like this are useful for learning the usage of new vocabulary. They also present good groups of words that are often used together, such as 在不久的将来 that can be used in your own writings.
1. The sentence 垃圾丢得到处都是 literally means “garbage thrown everywhere all is”.
2. 到底 is used in situations where the speaker feels that the situation is taking longer to resolve than it should.
1. 拿手 is one of those words whose usage is different in English than in Chinese, as you can see by the translations of the examples:
a. 你最拿手的运动是什么？
b. 我最拿手的运动时候游泳.
c. 不过我的弟弟最拿手的运动是篮球.
2. 早知道 is a simple, but useful sentence pattern. 早知道你这么会游泳，我就跟你学了.
3. While we have taught 答应 as meaning “promise”, in the examples used in this lesson, the meaning is more towards “agree”.
a. 要是我答应了他们不合理的要求，可能会给自己带来更多的麻烦跟不方便.
4. 作品, as used in this lesson, refers to the works produced by authors.
a. 像有些作家一开始写的作品卖得并不好, 继续努力，写出更好的作品来.
1. As explained in the lesson, 没关系，什么事都有第一次 is a phrase that can be used to encourage others when they have failed or haven’t met their own expectations.
2. 日子过得很快 is another useful expression to express the quick passing of time.
3. Like in English, 教授 teaches in universities or graduate schools, while 老师 teach at lower levels of schools.
4. Notice how 丰富 is used in 这样可以让作业的内容变得更丰富.
1. Note how 组成 is placed at the end of the sentence 英国是在欧洲西部的岛国，是英格兰，苏格兰，威尔士跟北爱尔兰组成.
2. When describing centuries, unlike in English, we don’t have to use ordinals. So we can just say “19 century” rather than “19th century”.
a. 英国在十九世纪的时候被叫做世界工厂.
b. 他是十六世纪的人.
1. Note how 跟着 is used in the sentence 这是因为一开始就很顺利的话，心里的压力会跟着减少.
2. The 之 can be thought of as meaning 的 in 失败为成功之母.
3. 下去 is another way to express the continuous nature of an action. It can also be combined with 继续 for further emphasis, as seen in 所以失败的时候别难过，要记得之前的教训，然后继续努力下去，到最后一定能成功的.
4. Note how we use 优点跟缺点 in 所以每个人都要了解自己的优点跟缺点.
