Upper-Intermediate - Designing the New Apartment (D1346)

A: 老公,我们终于有了自己的小天地了。哇,毛坯房看上去还挺大的。
lǎogōng, wǒmen zhōngyú yǒu le zìjǐ de xiǎo tiāndì le. wā, máopīfáng kàn shàngqu hái tǐng dà de.
Honey, we finally have our own place. Wow, completely bare, the place looks quite big.
B: 装修完了就显得小啦。
zhuāngxiū wán le jiù xiǎnde xiǎo la.
After it's been renovated it'll look smaller.
A: 嗯,是啊。对了,到时候装修的第一锤可得我来敲。
ng4, shì a. duì le, dào shíhou zhuāngxiū de dì yī chuí kě děi wǒ lái qiāo.
Yeah, for sure. That's right, when it comes time to do the renovation, the first hammer strike definitely has to be mine.
B: 呵呵,无所谓啊。你看,厨房的面积不大,要不我们做开放式的吧。
hēhē, wúsuǒwèi a. nǐ kàn, chúfáng de miànjī bù dà, yàobu wǒmen zuò kāifàngshì de ba.
Hehe, that's fine with me. Check it out, the surface area in the kitchen isn't very big. How about we do it open-style?
A: 那炒菜时的油烟不就跑到客厅里了嘛。
nà chǎocài shí de yóuyān bù jiù pǎodào kètīng lǐ le ma.
Then when we cook food, won't the oily smoke float into the living room?
B: 我们可以装个排气扇嘛,再说开放式厨房现在很流行的。
wǒmen kěyǐ zhuāng ge páiqìshàn ma, zài shuō kāifàngshì chúfáng xiànzài hěn liúxíng de.
We can install a ventilation fan. Also, open-style kitchens are really popular right now.
A: 不,我觉得移门还是要装的。
bù, wǒ juéde yímén háishì yào zhuāng de.
No, I think it would be better to install sliding doors.
B: 好吧,意见不统一,关于厨房的装修我们以后再商量吧。那上次咱们达成了共识,客厅里铺实木地板,房间里铺复合地板,这个没意见吧。
hǎo ba, yìjiàn bù tǒngyī, guānyú chúfáng de zhuāngxiū wǒmen yǐhòu zài shāngliang ba. nà shàngcì zánmen dáchéng le gòngshí, kètīng lǐ pū shímù dìbǎn, fángjiān lǐ pū fùhé dìbǎn, zhè ge méi yìjiàn ba.
Okay. We don't see eye to eye. We'll discuss the kitchen renovation again later. Well, last time we agreed that in the living room we'd put in real wood flooring, and in the bedroom do composite flooring. Any ideas on that?
A: 房间里铺复合地板我没意见。不过客厅里还是地砖比较好,清爽干净。铺木地板的话显得有点老气。
fángjiān lǐ pū fùhé dìbǎn wǒ méi yìjiàn. bùguò kètīng lǐ háishì dìzhuān bǐjiào hǎo, qīngshuǎng gānjìng. pū mù dìbǎn dehuà xiǎnde yǒudiǎn lǎoqì.
I don't mind doing composite flooring in the bedroom, but in the living room, I think it'd be better to do tile. It's clean and tidy. Wood flooring would make it look a little old-fashioned.
B: 你怎么又变卦了,上次不是说好的吗?
nǐ zěnme yòu biànguà le, shàngcì bùshì shuōhǎo de ma?
How can you change your mind again. Didn't we agree on it last time?
A: 那这个待定吧。唉,你说我们把阳台打通好不好?
nà zhè ge dàidìng ba. ài, nǐ shuō wǒmen bǎ yángtái dǎ tōng hǎo bu hǎo?
Then let's hold off on that decision for now. Hey, what do you think about tearing down these walls and extending the room into the balcony?
B: 我没意见,不过不知道物业会不会有意见。到时候别说咱们砸了承重墙什么的。
wǒ méi yìjiàn, bùguò bù zhīdào wùyè huì bu huì yǒu yìjiàn. dào shíhou bié shuō zánmen zá le chéngzhòngqiáng shénme de.
I don't mind either way, but I'm not sure if property management has an opinion on it or not. What if we tore down the bearing wall or something?
A: 哎,真麻烦,我们业主的权利跑到哪儿去了。对了,你手上不是有物业给的设计图吗?看看不就知道了。
āi, zhēn máfan, wǒmen yèzhǔ de quánlì pǎodào nǎr qù le. duì le, nǐ shǒushang bùshì yǒu wùyè gěi de shèjì tú ma? kàn kan bù jiù zhīdào le.
Ah, so much trouble. Where did our owner's rights go? That's right, don't you have design the property managment gave you? Let's have a look and we'll know.
B: 好,我看看。上面说,空心线的部分可以打通,实线的是承重墙,不能砸。哎,阳台在哪儿?怎么找不到?
hǎo, wǒ kàn kan. shàngmian shuō, kōngxīnxiàn de bùfen kěyǐ dǎ tōng, shíxiàn de shì chéngzhòngqiáng, bùnéng zá. āi, yángtái zài nǎr? zěnme zhǎobudào?
Okay, I'll take a look. It says on here that the hollow-lined parts can be opened up and that the solid lines are bearing walls that can't be torn down. Hey, where's the balcony? How come I can't find it?
A: 哎呀,你拿反了。
āiyā, nǐ ná fǎn le.
Ah, geez. You're holding it upside down.
B: 算了,看也看不懂。要不过会儿我去楼上楼下看看,他们砸的话我们也砸。
suànle, kàn yě kànbudǒng. yàobu guòhuǐr wǒ qù lóushàng lóuxià kàn kan, tāmen zá dehuà wǒmen yě zá.
Forget it. Even if we look at it, we still can't understand it. How about I go upstairs and downstairs in a bit and take a look. If they've torn them down, we can too.
A: 好吧,只能这样了。
hǎo ba, zhǐnéng zhèyàng le.
Okay, that's all we can do for now.

Key Vocabulary

小天地 xiǎo tiāndì one's own little world
毛坯房 máopīfáng unrenovated home
装修 zhuāngxiū renovation
显得 xiǎnde to appear as if
第一锤 dì yī chuí first strike of a hammer
开放式 kāifàngshì open-style
油烟 yóuyān oily smoke
排气扇 páiqìshàn ventilation fan
移门 yímén sliding door
意见 yìjiàn idea, opinion
统一 tǒngyī to unify
关于 guānyú regarding
商量 shāngliang to discuss
达成 dáchéng to reach, to accomplish
共识 gòngshí consensus
to spread
实木地板 shímù dìbǎn real wood flooring
复合地板 fùhé dìbǎn composite flooring
地砖 dìzhuān tile flooring
清爽 qīngshuǎng clean and tidy
老气 lǎoqì old-fashioned
变卦 biànguà to go back on one's word
待定 dàidìng to be pending
阳台 yángtái balcony
打通 dǎ tōng to connect
物业 wùyè property managment
to smash
承重墙 chéngzhòngqiáng bearing wall
权利 quánlì rights
设计图 shèjì tú design drawing
空心线 kōngxīnxiàn hollow lines
实线 shíxiàn solid lines
fǎn to turn over

Supplementary Vocabulary

装修房 zhuāngxiūfáng pre-renovated home
风格 fēnggé style
装修公司 zhuāngxiū gōngsī renovation company
材料 cáiliào material
瓷砖 cízhuān ceramic tile
油漆 yóuqī paint
水泥 shuǐní cement, concrete

Online Review and Discussion .   ©2010 Praxis Language Ltd.