B: Dajia hao, hello everyone, perfect your Chinese every day, right here in the Chinese Studio. Wo shi B.
Y: wo shi Y. We’re toying with the idea of going vegetarian this week, come and join us, it’s got to be good for your health.
B: Firstly, let’s check our key words of the day.

Key words of the day
Vegetarian   素食主义者 Are you a vegetarian? 你是素食主义者吗？ Uncooked rice 米 Cooked rice 米饭 Carbohydrates 碳水化合物Potatoes 土豆What’s your favourite vegetable? 你最喜欢吃哪种蔬菜？  All in today’s Chinese Studio.

B: I’ve never really been much of a vegetarian Y, but I like the idea, what’s the Chinese word?
Y: it’s su4 shi2 zhu3 yi4 zhe3,
B:  su4 shi2 zhu3 yi4 zhe3
Y: su4 shi2 zhu3 yi4, vegetarianism,
B: su4 shi2 zhu3 yi4
Y: zhe3 means a person,
B: zhe3,
Y: su4 shi2 zhu3 yi4 zhe3
B: su4 shi2 zhu3 yi4 zhe3  a vegetarian,
Y: And, let me guess, intuition tells me you want to ask, Are you a vegetarian?
B: You’re reading my mind again.
Y: Here we go , ni3 shi4 su4 shi2 zhu3 yi4 zhe3 ma?
B:  ni3 shi4 su4 shi2 zhu3 yi4 zhe3 ma?
Y: the sentence structure: ni3 shi4 blah blah ma? Means are you someone?
B: I see.
Y: su4 shi2 zhu3 yi4 zhe3 , a vegetarian,
B: su4 shi2 zhu3 yi4 zhe3
Y: ni3 shi4 su4 shi2 zhu3 yi4 zhe3 ma?
B: ni3 shi4 su4 shi2 zhu3 yi4 zhe3 ma? Are you a vegetarian?

Conversation 1
A: 你是素食主义者吗？
B: 以前是，现在不是了。.

B: Rice is a staple grain in the diet. I never know which word to use, because there are different ones for cooked and uncooked rice. How about a quick lesson Y?
Y: What we buy in the market, uncooked rice, is  mi3,
B: mi3,
Y: And when it’s cooked, we call rice mifan
B: mi3  fan4.
Y: let’s have a quick review: uncooked rice is…
B: mi3,
Y: and the cooked rice…?
B: it’s mi3 fan4.
Y: very good.

Conversation 2
A: 这儿还有一些米。
B:  那就做米饭吃吧。

B: Rice provides carbohydrate in the diet, lots of energy. What’s that called Y?
Y: this sounds technical:  tan4 shui3 hua4 he2 wu4. 
B: tan4 shui3 hua4 he2 wu4. And potatoes are also a great source of   tan4 shui3 hua4 he2 wu4.
Y: You mean, tudou.
B: tu3 dou4.
Y; or you can say: ma3 ling2 shu3,
B: ma3 ling2 shu3, potatoes,

Conversation3
A: 什么食物能提供碳水化合物？
B: 米饭，土豆都能提供碳水化合物。

B: All this talk of food, and it’s not even dinner time. Too bad, what’s your favourite vegetable anyway Y?
Y: Ask me in Chinese, like this: ni3 zui4 xi3 huan1 chi1 na2 zhong3 shu1 cai4?
B: ni3 zui4 xi3 huan1 chi1 na2 zhong3 shu1 cai4?
Y: ni3 zui4 xi3 huan1 means your favorite,
B: ni3 zui4 xi3 huan1,
Y: chi1 means eat,
B: chi1,
Y: na2 zhong3 means which kind, 
B: na2 zhong3,
Y: shu1 cai4 means vegetable,
B: shu1 cai4,
Y: ni3 zui4 xi3 huan1 chi1 na3 zhong3 shu1 cai4?
B: ni3 zui4 xi3 huan1 chi1 na3 zhong3 shu1 cai4? What’s your favorite vegetable?

Conversation 4
A: 你最喜欢吃哪种蔬菜？
B: 我最喜欢吃茄子。