Upper-Intermediate - Shopping for a Rice Cooker (D1492)

A: 什么声音?
shénme shēngyīn?
What's that sound?
B: 糟了!粥溢出来了。
zāo le! zhōu yì chūlái le.
Oh no! The rice porridge is overflowing!
A: 让你买个好点的电饭煲你不听。你看,弄得桌子上,地上都是,一团糟。
ràng nǐ mǎi ge hǎo diǎnr de diànfànbāo nǐ bù tīng. nǐ kàn, nòng de zhuōzi shang, dì shang dōu shì, yītuánzāo.
You didn't listen to me when I tried to tell to you to buy a good one. See, the table, the floor – it's a complete mess.
B: 谁当初一看见99元特价,就兴奋地跳起来了。什么破玩意吗?只能煮饭,不能煮粥。不知道是哪个没脑子的人造的。
shéi dāngchū yī kànjiàn jiǔshí jiǔ yuán tèjià, jiù xīngfèn de tiào qǐlái le. shénme pò wányìr ma? zhǐnéng zhǔ fàn, bùnéng zhǔ zhōu. bù zhīdào shì nǎ ge méi nǎozi de rén zào de.
Who was the one who got all excited and jumped up at the sight of the 99 yuan sale price? What a piece of junk. It can only cook rice, and can't cook rice porridge? I wonder what brainless person came up with this.
A: 算了,算了,赶紧收拾吧!
suàn le, suàn le, gǎnjǐn shōushi ba!
Forget it, forget it. Hurry and clean up!
B: 哎!民以食为天。这天天吃饭的家伙还是得买个好的。走,咱们上网搜搜去。
āi! mínyǐshíwéitiān. zhè tiāntiān chīfàn de jiāhuo háishì děi mǎi ge hǎo de. zǒu, zánmen shàngwǎng sōu sou qù.
Hey, rice is essential. For something you cook with every day, you'd better buy a good one. Come on, let's search online.
B: 哇,高的,扁的,圆的,方的,什么形状的都有。
wā, gāo de, biǎn de, yuán de, fāng de, shénme xíngzhuàng de dōu yǒu.
Wow, tall ones, flat ones, round ones, square ones – they've got all shapes and sizes.
A: 便宜没好货。我们直接看两百块以上的吧。
piányi méi hǎo huò. wǒmen zhíjiē kàn liǎngbǎi kuài yǐshàng de ba.
Cheap things are never good. Let's look right at the 200 kuai and up ones.
B: 我看这次别买国产的了。买个进口的,质量好。
wǒ kàn zhècì bié mǎi guóchǎn de le. mǎi ge jìnkǒu de, zhìliàng hǎo.
I don't think we should buy a domestically made one this time. Let's buy an imported one; they're high quality.
A: 好啊!我同事就买了个日本产的,煮出来的米饭又糯又香。
hǎo a! wǒ tóngshì jiù mǎi le ge Rìběn chǎn de, zhǔ chūlái de mǐfàn yòu nuò yòu xiāng.
OK! My coworker just bought a Japanese made one. The rice it makes is juicy and it smells great.
B: 哎,这个是日本的牌子。
āi, zhè ge shì Rìběn de páizi.
Hey, this is a Japanese brand.
A: 点进去看看产品介绍。
diǎn jìnqù kàn kan chǎnpǐn jièshào.
Click it and take a look at the introduction.
B: 可以煮饭、煮粥、还可以煲汤。而且,光煮饭就有标准、快煮、精煮三种模式。
kěyǐ zhǔ fàn、 zhǔ zhōu、 hái kěyǐ bāotāng. érqiě, guāng zhǔ fàn jiù yǒu biāozhǔn、 kuàizhǔ、 jīngzhǔ sān zhǒng móshì.
It can cook rice, porridge, and even soup. Plus, for rice it has three modes: standard, quick, and fine.
A: 真高级!
zhēn gāojí!
It's so advanced!
B: 还是高科技的。三维立体加热,保证每颗米粒都均匀受热。
háishì gāokējì de. sānwéi lìtǐ jiārè, bǎozhèng měi kē mǐlì dōu jūnyún shòu rè.
That's high-tech for you. Three dimensional heating guarantees that every grain of rice receives an equal amount of heat.
A: 听着就让人心动。还有五小时保温功能,二十四小时预约功能。
tīng zhe jiù ràng rén xīndòng. háiyǒu wǔ xiǎoshí bǎowēn gōngnéng, èrshí sì xiǎoshí yùyuē gōngnéng.
Just listening to that gets me all worked up. It also has a 5 hour heat preservation function and a 24-hour automatic timer setting.
B: 这个设计我喜欢,以后我就不用被你从睡梦中叫醒,去煮粥了。
zhè ge shèjì wǒ xǐhuan, yǐhòu wǒ jiù bùyòng bèi nǐ cóng shuìmèng zhōng jiàoxǐng, qù zhǔ zhōu le.
I like this design idea. Now I won't have to get woken up by you to make the rice porridge.
A: 人性化的设计可是要付出代价的。你看看价格吧。
rénxìnghuà de shèjì kěshì yào fùchū dàijià de. nǐ kàn kan jiàgé ba.
You have to pay a price for a user-friendly design. See how much it costs.
B: 699!
liùbǎi jiǔshí jiǔ!
699!
A: 我们再看看别的吧。
wǒmen zài kàn kan bié de ba.
Let's look at a few more.
B: 别啊,就这个了!为了每天能多睡半小时,值!
bié a, jiù zhè ge le! wèile měitiān néng duō shuì bàn xiǎoshí, zhí!
Don't bother, let's just get this one! If it means I can sleep an extra half an hour every day, it's worth it!

Key Vocabulary

to overflow
电饭煲 diànfànbāo electric rice cooker
一团糟 yītuánzāo a complete mess
当初 dāngchū at that time
兴奋 xīngfèn excited
破玩意 pò wányìr to play
zhǔ to boil
民以食为天 mínyǐshíwéitiān 'food is the people's main concern'
家伙 jiāhuo guy
biǎn flat
形状 xíngzhuàng shape, form
直接 zhíjiē directly
以上 yǐshàng more than
国产 guóchǎn domestically produced
进口 jìnkǒu imported
质量 zhìliàng quality
nuò glutinous
产品介绍 chǎnpǐn jièshào merchandise introduction
煲汤 bāotāng to cook soup
模式 móshì mode
高科技 gāokējì high tech
三维 sānwéi three dimensions of length, width and height, 3-D
立体 lìtǐ three-dimensional
[measure word for small, round objects]
米粒 mǐlì grain of rice
均匀 jūnyún even, well-distributed
心动 xīndòng to be aroused
保温 bǎowēn to keep warm
预约 yùyuē to make an appointment
功能 gōngnéng function
设计 shèjì design
人性化 rénxìnghuà people-friendly
付出 fùchū to pay out
代价 dàijià price

Supplementary Vocabulary

当时 dāngshí at that time
老话 lǎohuà old saying, adage
糯米 nuòmǐ glutinous rice
làn rotten, mushy
精细 jīngxì fine, meticulous
grain, granule
平均 píngjūn on average
面包机 miànbāojī bread maker

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