Intermediate - Music Corner in the Park (C1516)

A: 你看,这儿就是我跟你说的那个地方!公园的音乐角!
nǐ kàn, zhèr jiùshì wǒ gēn nǐ shuō de nà ge dìfang! gōngyuán de yīnyuè jiǎo!
Look, this is that place I told you about! The park's music corner!
B: 哇!真热闹!
wā! zhēn rènao!
Wow! It's really lively!
A: 每到周末,这些爱好音乐的人就聚集在这里,互相学习,互相交流。
měi dào zhōumò, zhèxiē àihào yīnyuè de rén jiù jùjí zài zhèlǐ, hùxiāng xuéxí, hùxiāng jiāoliú.
Every weekend these music lovers gather here to study together and discuss different things.
B: 哎,那个拉二胡的老爷爷年纪挺大的吧!
āi, nà ge lā èrhú de lǎoyéye niánjì tǐng dà de ba!
Hey, that older gentlemen playing the erhu must be quite old!
A: 听说他都七十岁了。二胡拉得可好了。旁边那些年轻人都是来向他请教的。
tīngshuō tā dōu qīshí suì le. èrhú lā de kě hǎo le. pángbiān nàxiē niánqīngrén dōu shì lái xiàng tā qǐngjiào de.
I've heard he's already 70. He's really good at the erhu. Those young people next to him all came here to learn from him.
B: 真厉害!
zhēn lìhai!
That's incredible!
A: 你看那边,他们在吹笛子。
nǐ kàn nàbiān, tāmen zài chuī dízi.
Look over there. They're playing the bamboo flute.
B: 哦。长的,短的都是笛子吗?
ò. cháng de, duǎn de dōu shì dízi ma?
Wow. The long ones and the short ones are both bamboo flutes?
A: 不是。横吹的是笛子,竖吹的是箫。你再看那边,他们在打鼓!
bùshì. héng chuī de shì dízi, shù chuī de shì xiāo. nǐ zài kàn nàbiān, tāmen zài dǎgǔ!
No. The one played horizontally is called a 'dizi' and the one played vertically is called a 'xiao'. Now look over there. They're playing the drums!
B: 哦。哎,那边那么多女人,只有一个男人,他们在干吗?
ò. āi, nàbiān nàme duō nǚrén, zhǐ yǒu yī ge nánrén, tāmen zài gànmá?
Wow. Hey, there's so many women over there and only one man. What are they doing?
A: 他们在弹琵琶!以前一般是女人弹琵琶,现在男人也流行弹琵琶了。
tāmen zài tán pípa! yǐqián yībān shì nǚrén tán pípa, xiànzài nánrén yě liúxíng tán pípa le.
They're playing the pipa. In the past, it was normally only women who played the pipa. These days though, it's become popular with men as well.
B: 哈哈!那我也要学。
hāhā! nà wǒ yě yào xué.
Hah-hah! Well, I want to learn it too then.

Key Vocabulary

音乐 yīnyuè music
jiǎo corner
热闹 rènao lively
měi every
dào to arrive
爱好 àihào to be fond of, hobby
聚集 jùjí to gather
互相 hùxiāng mutual
交流 jiāoliú to communicate, to interact
to pull, to play an instrument with a bow
二胡 èrhú erhu
年纪 niánjì age
tǐng quite
听说 tīngshuō to have heard
dōu already
really
旁边 pángbiān next to
年轻人 niánqīngrén young people
xiàng towards
请教 qǐngjiào to ask for guidance
厉害 lìhai terrific
chuī to blow, to play a wind or brass instrument
笛子 dízi horizontal bamboo flute
héng horizontal
shù vertical
xiāo vertical bamboo flute
打鼓 dǎgǔ to play drums
drum
tán to play a stringed an instrument with one's fingers
琵琶 pípa pipa
一般 yībān normally
流行 liúxíng to become popular

Supplementary Vocabulary

英语角 Yīngyǔ jiǎo English corner
古筝 gǔzhēng guzheng (a type of Chinese zither)
古琴 gǔqín guqin (a type of Chinese zither)
唢呐 suǒnà suona (a type of Chinese oboe)
乐器 yuèqì musical instrument
xián string of a musical instrument

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