PMW #8: Having a Good Reason
🌀 Pearls of Mandarin Worksheet #8
Hello Mandarin Enthusiasts! 🌟
This week, we’ve learnt about the difference between 原因 (yuán yīn) and 理由 (lǐ yóu), two words that both mean “reason”.
In this week’s Pearl of Mandarin Worksheet, we’re putting all this knowledge into practice with three exercises:
the 听写 (tīng xiě) exercise, which you can use as a mini-podcast with transcript, or as I encourage you to do, a dictation exercise;
the sentence creation exercise, where we’ll work together to craft our own sentences in Mandarin;
the now classic English-to-Mandarin translation exercise.
Haven’t given the sentence creation and translation exercises a try yet? Don’t worry, there’s always time to dive in:
Do you have a preference for solo study or group learning? Justify your preference.
Outline the motivations behind your Mandarin learning journey. Share multiple reasons.
Translate: “The authorities are delving into the cause of the accident.”
Translate: “My reason for not going to the party is that I prefer studying Mandarin at home.”
Creating Mandarin sentences on your own is key. It may involve searching for new words or navigating through uncertainties, but it’s crucial to remember that growth stems from these efforts.
Remember: Practice Makes Perfect.
🎧✍️ Listening and Writing 听写 Exercise
Let’s get started with this week’s Pearl of Mandarin by jumping into the 听写 (tīng xiě) exercise.
You must:
Listen several times to the “Normal Speed” recording, until you understand what I’m saying. If you don’t understand everything, no worries, listen to the “Slow Speed” recording that should be easier to grasp. If that’s still too difficult, at least you will have improved your listening by doing this first step, kudos!
Listen to the “Slow Speed” recording, and write down what you hear. You may write down:
characters, to practice your handwriting and characters knowledge;
pinyin with tones, to practice your pronunciation and tones recognition.
Read the transcription, the translation, the vocabulary list, and learn the words you don’t know.
Finally, read the transcript (in characters, not pinyin) several times out loud. It’ll help you have a more fluid pronunciation and it’ll make the vocabulary sink into your brain.
🎧 Audio
Normal Speed:
Slow Speed:
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Give the exercise a try before peeking at the transcripts below.
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