Intermediate - Mooncakes for the Staff (C2277)

A: 老板,中秋节马上要到了。要不要给员工买些月饼啊?
lǎobǎn, Zhōngqiūjié mǎshàng yào dào le. yào bu yào gěi yuángōng mǎi xiē yuèbǐng a?
Boss, Mid-Autumn Festival will be here soon. Do you want to buy some mooncakes to give to the staff?
B: 现在还有公司发月饼吗?
xiànzài hái yǒu gōngsī fā yuèbǐng ma?
Nowadays do companies still give out mooncakes?
A: 大多数公司都发,只有少数不发。
dàduōshù gōngsī dōu fā, zhǐ yǒu shǎoshù bù fā.
Most companies give them out. There are only a few that don't.
B: 月饼有什么好吃的?我每年都要扔掉好多。
yuèbǐng yǒu shénme hǎochī de? wǒ měinián dōu yào rēngdiào hǎo duō.
What's so good about mooncakes? Every year I throw away lots of them.
A: 好不好吃是一回事,但是中秋节吃月饼是中国人的传统。
hǎo bu hǎochī shì yī huí shì, dànshì Zhōngqiūjié chī yuèbǐng shì Zhōngguórén de chuántǒng.
Whether or not they are any good is one thing, but eating mooncakes during Mid-Autumn Festival is a Chinese tradition.
B: 月饼多少钱一盒?
yuèbǐng duōshǎo qián yī hé?
How much does a box of mooncakes cost?
B: 两三百块吧。去年买的是两百六一盒的。
liǎng sān bǎi kuài ba. qùnián mǎi de shì liǎngbǎi liù yī hé de.
Two or three hundred kuai. The ones we bought last year were 260 a box.
A: 我想起来了,去年买的是冰淇淋馅儿的吧?哎哟,那个味道太怪了。
wǒ xiǎng qǐlai le, qùnián mǎi de shì bīngqílín xiànr de ba? āiyōu, nà gè wèidao tài guài le.
I remember. The ones we bought last year had ice cream filling, right? Yeah, that flavor was so weird.
B: 不会啊,有的同事说挺好吃的。
bùhuì a, yǒude tóngshì shuō tǐng hǎochī de.
Really? Some coworkers said they were really tasty.
A: 今年就买传统的,豆沙啊,蛋黄啊,莲蓉啊,这些。
jīnnián jiù mǎi chuántǒng de, dōushā a, dànhuáng a, liánróng a, zhèxiē.
This year let's just buy the traditional ones like bean paste, egg yolk, lotus seed paste, that kind of thing.
B: 明白了,老板。
míngbai le, lǎobǎn.
I got it, Boss.

Key Vocabulary

中秋节 Zhōngqiūjié Mid-Autumn Festival
员工 yuángōng employee
月饼 yuèbǐng mooncake
to give out
大多数 dàduōshù most, majority
少数 shǎoshù few
扔掉 rēngdiào to throw away
一回事 yī huí shì one thing
传统 chuántǒng tradition
box
想起来 xiǎng qǐlai to remember
冰淇淋 bīngqílín ice cream
馅儿 xiànr stuffing
味道 wèidao flavor
guài strange
豆沙 dōushā bean paste
蛋黄 dànhuáng egg yolk
莲蓉 liánróng lotus seed paste

Supplementary Vocabulary

lìng other
粽子 zòngzi zong zi, glutinous rice cake wrapped in leaves
汤圆 tāngyuán glutinous rice balls in a sweet soup
饺子 jiǎozi dumplings
元宵节 Yuánxiāojié Lantern Festival
端午节 Duānwǔjié Dragon Boat Festival
小气 xiǎoqì cheap, stingy
关心 guānxīn to be concerned with
在乎 zàihu to care about

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