Intermediate - A Private Money Changer (C1992)

A: 哎,小马怎么还没来?
āi, Xiǎo Mǎ zěnme hái méi lái?
Hey, why isn't Xiao Ma here yet?
B: 他去银行了。
tā qù yínháng le.
He went to the bank.
C: 啊,对不起,我来晚了。
à, duìbuqǐ, wǒ lái wǎn le.
Hey, sorry I'm late.
B: 哈,真是说曹操曹操到!
hā, zhēn shì shuō Cáo Cāo Cáo Cāo dào!
Ha, speak of the devil!
A: 小马,你不是昨天刚去过银行吗?怎么又去了?
Xiǎo Mǎ, nǐ bùshì zuótiān gāng qù guo yínháng ma? zěnme yòu qù le?
Xiao Ma, didn't you just got to the bank yesterday? Why did you go again?
C: 哎,我最怕去银行换钱了。排了好长的队。但一天最多只能换两万,只好再去一次。
āi, wǒ zuì pà qù yínháng huàn qián le. pái le hǎo cháng de duì. dàn yī tiān zuì duō zhǐnéng huàn liǎng wàn, zhǐhǎo zài qù yī cì.
Agh, I always dread going to the bank. The line today was really long. You can only change 20,000 at a time so I had to go again today.
A: 所以我从来不去银行换钱,又麻烦又浪费时间。
suǒyǐ wǒ cónglái bù qù yínháng huàn qián, yòu máfan yòu làngfèi shíjiān.
That's why I never go to the bank to change money. It's a pain and a waste of time.
C: 那你去哪里换?
nà nǐ qù nǎli huàn?
Where do you go to change money, then?
A: 找黄牛换。你不知道啊?
zhǎo huángniú huàn. nǐ bù zhīdào a?
I find a private money changer. Don't you know about them?
C: 找黄牛怎么换?
zhǎo huángniú zěnme huàn?
How does a private money changer work?
A: 很简单,按当天的汇率,想换什么换什么,想换多少换多少。还可以上门服务,很方便。
hěn jiǎndān, àn dāngtiān de huìlǜ, xiǎng huàn shénme huàn shénme, xiǎng huàn duōshao huàn duōshao. hái kěyǐ shàngmén fúwù, hěn fāngbiàn.
It's really simple. You can change whatever currency you want and however much you want according to the day's exchange rates. They can also come to your door. It's very convenient.
C: 可靠吗?会有假钱吗?
kěkào ma? huì yǒu jiǎqián ma?
Are they reliable? Do they ever give you fake money?
A: 不会,我换了好多次了,一次也没碰到过。那,我把他的号码给你,下次你要换钱就找他。
bùhuì, wǒ huàn le hǎo duō cì le, yī cì yě méi pèngdào guo. nà, wǒ bǎ tā de hàomǎ gěi nǐ, xiàcì nǐ yào huàn qián jiù zhǎo tā.
Nope. I've changed money with them many times and haven't encountered that problem once. I'll give you his number. Next time you want to change money you can call him.
C: 行,我现在就试试看。
xíng, wǒ xiànzài jiù shìshi kàn.
OK. I'll try it out now.

Key Vocabulary

说曹操曹操到 shuō Cáo Cāo Cáo Cāo dào 'speak of the devil'
gāng just
换钱 huàn qián to change money
pái to line up
只能 zhǐnéng only to be able
huàn to change (money)
两万 liǎng wàn 20,000
从来不 cónglái bù never
麻烦 máfan troublesome
浪费 làngfèi to waste
黄牛 huángniú scalper; personal money changer
àn according to
汇率 huìlǜ rate
上门服务 shàngmén fúwù to deliver door-to-door
可靠 kěkào reliable
假钱 jiǎqián fake money
碰到 pèngdào to encounter
当天 dāngtiān that day

Supplementary Vocabulary

三国演义 Sānguóyǎnyì Romance of the Three Kingdoms
排队 páiduì to line up
允许 yǔnxǔ to permit
习惯 xíguàn habit
按照 ànzhào according to
按摩 ànmó massage
兑换 duìhuàn to exchange

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