第十四课 到上海一游 Lesson Fourteen: Visiting Shanghai (1)

(Dominic by the Bund with Oriental Pearl in background)

Dominic: Hello and welcome to Living Chinese. Today we’re going to take you through the paces of booking a hotel room in China and what better place to do this than Shanghai. Shanghai has always been a showcase city for China. The world famous financial center has helped Shanghai develop into a global centre for business with some highly impressive architectural sites.

(Dominic by entrance of hotel)

Dominic: So, we’ve just arrived at our hotel. Let’s see if I can book a room in Chinese.

(Dominic walks to reception.)

Dominic: 您好。
Receptionist: 您好。
Dominic: 我想入住酒店，请问你们这儿还有房间吗？
Receptionist: 现在正值世博会期间，我帮您查一下。还好，还有一间。
Dominic: 谢谢，我来上海就是专门来看世博会的。
Receptionist: 祝您玩得愉快。您还有别的需要吗？
Dominic: 有，早饭几点？ 
Receptionist: 六点半到十点。
Dominic: 好，谢谢。
Receptionist: 这是您的房卡。 
Dominic: 谢谢。

GRAPHIC FLASH: 您想住什么样的房间？您 second tone, a polite version of you, for second person singular only, 什么样的 second tone for 什and fourth tone for 样 means what kind of, the whole sentence,  您想住什么样的房间？What kind of room do you want?

请给我一个标准间。给我 both third tones means give me, 标准 first tone and third tone means standard, the whole sentence, 请给我一个标准间。Please give me a standard room or I want a standard room.

(On the street)

Dominic: Shanghai is so big and has so much to offer, it’s necessary to be selecive about what you want to see if your time is limited. And for that, we need a little local knowledge.

(Opinions about Shanghai from foreigners in China)