Upper-Intermediate - Second-hand Bicycle (D1548)

A: 大强,你上次借给我的自行车怎么没骑两下就散架了。
Dàqiáng, nǐ shàngcì jiè gěi wǒ de zìxíngchē zěnme méi qí liǎng xià jiù sǎnjià le.
Da Qiang, what's up with that bike you lent me before? It fell apart before I'd hardly even ridden it.
B: 你不会小心点儿骑吗?
nǐ bùhuì xiǎoxīn diǎnr qí ma?
Can't you ride a little more carefully?
A: 我怎么不小心啊?你那辆车,除了铃儿不响,其他哪儿都响。这就算了,可我才骑了五分钟,脚蹬子就掉了,链条也断了。
wǒ zěnme bù xiǎoxīn a? nǐ nà liàng chē, chúle língr bù xiǎng, qítā nǎr dōu xiǎng. zhè jiù suàn le, kě wǒ cái qí le wǔ fēnzhōng, jiǎodēngzi jiù diào le, liàntiáo yě duàn le.
How was I not careful? That bike of yours – the bell doesn't make any sound, but the rest of it sure does. That wasn't a big deal, but then after riding it for 5 minutes, the pedal fell off and the chain snapped.
B: 哎呀,坏了就扔了吧,反正是二手的,值不了几个钱。明天咱一起去二手货市场再淘一辆。
āiyā, huài le jiù rēng le ba, fǎnzhèng shì èrshǒu de, zhíbuliǎo jǐ ge qián. míngtiān zán yīqǐ qù èrshǒuhuò shìchǎng zài táo yī liàng.
Oh geez. If it's broken, just throw it out. It's second-hand anyway, it's hardly even worth anything. Let's go to the second-hand market tomorrow and look around for another good one.
A: 得了吧,我才不跟你去呢。你看看你,家具是二手的,表是二手的,手机也是二手的,真让人受不了。
dé le ba, wǒ cái bù gēn nǐ qù ne. nǐ kàn kan nǐ, jiājù shì èrshǒu de, biǎo shì èrshǒu de, shǒujī yě shì èrshǒu de, zhēn ràng rén shòubuliǎo.
Give me a break, I'm definitely not going with you. Look at yourself – your furniture is second-hand, your watch is second-hand and even your cellphone is second-hand - I can't take it.
B: 二手货不是挺好的吗?经济实惠,坏了也不可惜。你整天喊着要低碳低碳,告诉你吧,这才是真正的低碳生活。
èrshǒuhuò bùshì tǐng hǎo de ma? jīngjì shíhuì, huài le yě bù kěxī. nǐ zhěngtiān hǎn zhe yào dītàn dītàn, gàosu nǐ ba, zhè cáishì zhēnzhèng de dītàn shēnghuó.
Second-hand stuff is great. It's really economical and if it breaks it's no big deal. You're always talking about low-carbon this, low-carbon that – I'm telling you this is a genuine low-carbon lifestyle.
A: 可毕竟是别人用过的,质量没保证。一会儿这个要修,一会儿那个要修,烦都烦死了。
kě bìjìng shì biérén yòng guo de, zhìliàng méi bǎozhèng. yīhuǐr zhè ge yào xiū, yīhuǐr nàge yào xiū, fán dōu fán sǐ le.
But in the end, it's already been used by someone else. There's no guarantee with the quality. One minute you're fixing this, and the next you're fixing that. It's such a pain.
B: 我倒觉得挺有意思的。我下一个目标就是去淘一辆二手汽车。
wǒ dào juéde tǐng yǒu yìsi de. wǒ xià yī ge mùbiāo jiùshì qù táo yī liàng èrshǒu qìchē.
I still think it's pretty interesting. My next goal is to find a good used car.
A: 咳,我真不知道该怎么说你。你有这个实力买新车,干吗非要去买二手车?多没面子。你这么抠门儿,怪不得娶不到媳妇儿。
hài, wǒ zhēn bù zhīdào gāi zěnme shuō nǐ. nǐ yǒu zhè ge shílì mǎi xīn chē, gànmá fēiyào qù mǎi èrshǒu chē? duō méi miànzi. nǐ zhème kōuménr, guàibude qǔbudǎo xífur.
Agh, I really don't know how to get through to you. You have the means to buy a car, yet you absolutely have to buy a used one? You have no shame. You're so stingy, no wonder you can't find a wife.
B: 哈哈,我喜欢二手货,说明我这个人不喜新厌旧,肯定有姑娘喜欢。
hāhā, wǒ xǐhuan èrshǒuhuò, shuōmíng wǒ zhè ge rén bù xǐxīnyànjiù, kěndìng yǒu gūniang xǐhuan.
Hah-hah, I like second-hand stuff. This just means I'm not into new things and I appreciate older things. Some girls will definitely like that.
A: 我看啊,到时候你肯定会找个二手媳妇儿。反正啊,你就是二。
wǒ kàn a, dào shíhou nǐ kěndìng huì zhǎo ge èrshǒu xífur. fǎnzhèng a, nǐ jiù shì èr.
I think when you do, you'll definitely look for a second-hand wife. Either way, you're just dumb.
B: 你才二呢!
nǐ cái èr ne!
You're the dumb one!

Key Vocabulary

散架 sǎnjià to fall apart
铃儿 língr bell
脚蹬子 jiǎodēngzi pedal
diào to fall off
duàn to break
二手 èrshǒu second-hand
二手货 èrshǒuhuò second-hand goods
táo to pan for, [fig. to find good deals]
经济 jīngjì economical
实惠 shíhuì to have tangible benefits
低碳 dītàn low carbon
毕竟 bìjìng after all
一会儿...,一会儿... yīhuǐr...,yīhuǐr... one moment...the next moment...
实力 shílì ability, strength
非要 fēiyào absolutely insist on
抠门儿 kōuménr stingy person
娶不到 qǔbudǎo to be unable to marry
媳妇儿 xífur wife
喜新厌旧 xǐxīnyànjiù to love the new and loathe the old
èr two, [fig. stupid]

Supplementary Vocabulary

踏板 tàbǎn pedal
讨老婆 tǎo lǎopo to take a wife
淘宝 Táobǎo Taobao
说教 shuōjiào to preach
二手房 èrshǒufáng house that has already been lived in

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