Intermediate - Lhasa (C1481)

A: 哎,坐了两天火车,终于到拉萨了!
āi, zuò le liǎng tiān huǒchē, zhōngyú dào Lāsà le!
Ah, two days of riding the train, and we’ve finally arrived in Lhasa!
B: 不过一路看风景,挺值的。草原,雪山,藏羚羊,都见到了。
bùguò yī lù kàn fēngjǐng, tǐng zhí de. cǎoyuán, xuěshān, zànglíngyáng, dōu jiàndào le.
However, seeing scenery the entire the way was worth it. Grasslands, snow-capped mountains, Tibetan antelopes; we saw them all.
A: 嗯。我们回去也坐火车吧。
ng4. wǒmen huíqu yě zuò huǒchē ba.
Yeah. Let’s take the train back as well.
B: 哈哈,我也这样想。我们先去旅馆放行李,再去吃藏族小吃吧。
hāhā, wǒ yě zhèyàng xiǎng. wǒmen xiān qù lǚguǎn fàng xíngli, zài qù chī zàngzú xiǎochī ba.
Ha ha, I was thinking the same thing. Let’s go put our luggage in the hostel, and then go eat some Tibetan dishes.
A: 好啊。吃完以后,就去布达拉宫,听喇嘛们念经。
hǎo a. chī wán yǐhòu, jiù qù Bùdálā Gōng, tīng lǎmā men niànjīng.
OK. After we’ve eaten, let’s go to Potala Palace and listen to the Lamas chanting.
B: 听说布达拉宫很大,可能今天看不完。
tīngshuō Bùdálā Gōng hěn dà, kěnéng jīntiān kàn bu wán.
I heard Potala Palace is really big. We may not be able to see the whole thing today.
A: 那就明天再去一次。
nà jiù míngtiān zài qù yī cì.
Then let’s just go again tomorrow.
B: 那什么时候去大昭寺?我想看里面的佛像和壁画。
nà shénme shíhou qù Dàzhāo Sì? wǒ xiǎng kàn lǐmiàn de fóxiàng hé bìhuà.
Then when are we going to Dazhao temple? I want to see the Buddha statues and murals inside.
A: 后天去吧。走,我们快去放行李!
hòutiān qù ba. zǒu, wǒmen kuài qù fàng xíngli!
We’ll go the day after tomorrow. Come on, let’s hurry and put our luggage away!
B: 哎,你慢点儿!别跑!西藏是高原,会有高原反应。
āi, nǐ màn diǎnr! bié pǎo! Xīzàng shì gāoyuán, huì yǒu gāoyuán fǎnyìng.
Hey, slow down! Don’t run! Tibet is on a plateau. You’ll get altitude sickness.
A: 我,我......
wǒ, wǒ......
I…I…
B: 你怎么了?不会真的是高原反应吧?快,吸点儿氧气!
nǐ zěnmele? bùhuì zhēnde shì gāoyuán fǎnyìng ba? kuài, xī diǎnr yǎngqì!
What’s wrong? It can’t really be altitude sickness, can it? Quick, breath in some oxygen!
A: 我骗你的!
wǒ piàn nǐ de!
Gotcha!
B: 哎哟,吓死我了。
āiyō, xià sǐ wǒ le.
Oh geez, you scared me to death.

Key Vocabulary

终于 zhōngyú at last
拉萨 Lāsà Lhasa
一路 yī lù the whole way
风景 fēngjǐng scenery
zhí to be worth
草原 cǎoyuán field
雪山 xuěshān snow-capped mountain
藏羚羊 zànglíngyáng Tibetan antelope
旅馆 lǚguǎn hostel
藏族 zàngzú Tibetan ethnicity
布达拉宫 Bùdálā Gōng Potala Palace
喇嘛 lǎmā Lama
念经 niànjīng to chant sutras
看不完 kàn bu wán to not finish reading, watching, seeing
大昭寺 Dàzhāo Sì Dazhao Temple
佛像 fóxiàng statue of Buddha
壁画 bìhuà mural
西藏 Xīzàng Tibet
高原 gāoyuán plateau
反应 fǎnyìng reaction
高原反应 gāoyuán fǎnyìng altitude sickness
to inhale
氧气 yǎngqì oxygen gas
piàn to deceive
吓死 xià sǐ to scare to death

Supplementary Vocabulary

故宫 Gùgōng The Forbidden City
少数民族 shǎoshù mínzú ethnic minority
佛教 Fójiào Buddhism
墙壁 qiángbì wall
藏传佛教 Zàngchuán Fójiào Tibetan Buddhism

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