Chinese Beginners

People, places and communities

Listenings

Activity 1 – introduction

Four students are introducing themselves. Listen to them and complete the activities which relate to each student. Then complete the concluding questions.

Ya Zhang

Tom

Wei Wang

Anna

Ya Zhang

Ya Zhang.mp3

Questions

True or false?

1. Ya has two dogs.

2. Ya’s father works for a computer company.

3. Ya’s mother owns a flower shop.

4. Ya’s father works from home.

5. Ya always plays on the computer at home.

6. Ya helps in her mother’s shop on weekends.

7. Do you think Ya has a close relationship with her family? Support your answer with reference to what she said.

Tom

Tom.mp3

Question 1

True or false?

1. Tom comes from a very large family.

2. Tom has black eyes.

3. Tom’s background has helped him become bilingual.

4. Tom does his homework before he plays.

5. Tom likes music.

Question 2

Match the first part of each sentence to the most appropriate ending.

我家有

我在

我爸爸是

我长得

我会说

汉语。

中国出生。

澳大利亚人。

很帅。

四口人。

Question 3

Match the first part of each sentence to the most appropriate ending.

你叫什么名字？

你今年几岁？

你上几年级？

你住哪儿？

你喜欢什么?

我叫汤姆。

我今年十八岁。

我上高三。

我住在布里斯班。

我喜欢音乐。

What do you think?

  1. Do you think Tom is happy with his life? What leads you to this opinion?
  2. Suggest what Tom can do to overcome problems regarding his favourite leisure activities.

Provide your answers to your teacher for review and feedback.

Wei Wang

Wei Wang.mp3

Question 1

Select the correct response.

1. Wei lives...

  • alone.
  • with his parents.
  • with his grandmother.

2. Wei is in...

  • Year 9.
  • Year 10.
  • Year 11.

3. At school Wei plays...

  • soccer.
  • rugby.
  • volleyball.

4. Wei is good at cooking...

  • all kinds of Chinese food.
  • fried rice and fried noodles.
  • Chinese vegetables.

Question 2

Complete the summary of Wei Wang’s talk by filling each space with the most appropriate word from the list below.

    • 十六岁
    • 篮球
    • 中国菜
    • 炒面
    • 板球
    • 炒饭
    • 高一
    • 足球
    • 体育
    • 中国
    • 做饭
    • 冲浪

我叫王伟，我的父母在 ... 工作。我今年 ... ，上 ... 。我喜欢 ... 。我最喜欢 ... 。在学校，我打 ... ，打 ... ，踢 ... 。奶奶今年六十四岁，她很会 ... ，常常教我做 ... 。现在我做的 ... 和 ... 非常好吃。

Question 3

Compare and contrast the lifestyles of Wei Wang and his relatives in China.

Provide your answer to your teacher for review and feedback.

Anna

Anna.mp3

Question 1

What is an interesting feature about Anna and her family?

Question 2

Anna will be doing her HSC this year. True or False?

Question 3

What does Anna study at school?

Question 4

What is her hobby?

Concluding Questions

  1. Complete the table (Word 165 kB) with relevant information about each of the four people you have heard.
  2. Compare the personalities of the four people. Do any of these people have something in common with you? Choose one person and compare how that person is similar or different to you in personality, character, likes, dislikes etc. Answer in English.
  3. Choose one of these people to be your e-pal. Explain why this person would be suitable. You can answer either in English or in Chinese.

Provide your answers to your teacher for review and feedback.

Item 1

Listen to the audio:

chn_beg_t5_l_track_01.mp3

What is the age difference between the boy and the girl?

Item 2

Listen to the audio:

chn_beg_t5_l_track_02.mp3

Why does the boy feel happy?

Item 3

Listen to the audio:

people_listening_t3.mp3

Why does the speaker’s friend say that the park brings good memories to children?

Readings

Activity 1

Read the following text, then answer the questions in English.

我的爷爷今年七十岁，十年前，他从北京来了悉尼。他很喜欢 喝茶，虽然在悉尼十年了，但是，他从来不喝汽水、果汁，他每天 只喝茶。他说，茶有一种香味，非常好喝。茶又解渴，又提神，还 可以帮助消化，对身体非常好。

有客人来的时候，他一定给他们倒一杯茶，还说喝茶很有益。 客人不好意思，就会把茶喝完。喝完后，爷爷再给他们倒茶，客人 又只好把茶喝完。就这样，他们要喝三、四杯。我有几个同学不来 我家了，因为他们不想再喝茶。

我们家常常有不同的茶叶，有红茶，有绿茶，也有花茶。爷爷 爱喝花茶，他认为花茶特别香。每次爸爸回中国的时候，都会买很 多好茶，因为他想看爷爷高兴的样子。

Question

How does Yeye promote the benefits of drinking tea?

Activity 2

Read the following text, then answer the questions in English.

在世界的每一个城市，只要有中国人的地方，就有中国城。为 什么呢？因为当中国人住在外国时，便很想念中国的生活。因此， 他们建一个小小的中国城，希望儿女们，不会忘记中国的文化，也 希望外国人，认识中国的文化。

在悉尼，离市中心不远，就有一个中国城。在里面，你可以看 到红色、绿色的中国式房子。里面的商店，卖的都是中国的东西， 有字画、花瓶、衣服、家庭用品、草药，中国人喜欢吃的糖果等 等。在中国城里，当然少不了中国饭馆。走在街上，你会看到不同 风味的饭馆，有北京的、上海的、广东的、四川的等等。

旅客来悉尼的时候，都会到中国城走一走。从中国各地来的移 民，也常到中国城找一些回忆。

Question 1

Why do many major cities of the world have a Chinatown?

Question 2

Why might someone visit Sydney’s Chinatown?

Activity 3

Read the following text, then answer the questions in English.

十一月二十日 星期六 晴

今天是学校的多元文化日，学生们穿了民族服装上学。中国的学 生穿了红色、绿色、蓝色、黄色的中国服装，韩国的学生穿了粉红 色、紫色、金色的韩国服装。其它欧洲、亚洲国家的学生，也穿了 民族服装，看上去非常漂亮。

上午十点半，学校的礼堂里有表演。同学们唱歌、跳舞、表演话 剧，大家都看得很高兴。操场上有五颜六色的食物摊位，摊位里有 不同国家的食品。同学们在操场上走来走去，每个人都在笑。他们 一边吃着不同国的食品，一边和好朋友谈天。这真是美好的一天！

Question

What was the author’s reaction to the multicultural day? Support your answer with evidence from the text

Activity 4

Read the following passage then answer the question that follows in English.

半年前，小明一家从中国移民到澳大利亚。他们来到了悉尼，因为他 们认为悉尼是大城市，他们会容易找到工作和好的学校。

来悉尼后，他们要找房子。他们想住在火车站附近，方便去不同的地 方。另外，他妈妈不会说英语，买东西都不方便，所以，他们要找一个中国 人多的地方。

他们找了很久，才找到现在的房子。他们很喜欢这个房子，因为附近 有学校、图书馆、医院、公园，还有很多中国商店。小明上的学校，就在他 的家旁边。这是一个有名的学校，里面有很多中国学生。

他们的家离火车站不远，走路只要五分钟。每天早上，小明的爸爸坐 火车上班，小明走路上学。他们上班、上学后，小明的妈妈会去中国商店买 东西。她还认识了很多中国朋友。有时候，她和朋友一起去中国饭店吃午 饭；有时候，她们去公园打太极，快乐极了！

Question 1

Why did Xiaoming’s family choose Sydney when they moved to Australia?

Question 2

Why do they like their house so much?