Upper-Intermediate - Zombies! (D1116)

A僵尸道长我要杀死你!
jiāngshī dàozhǎng wǒ yào shāsǐ nǐ!
I'll kill you, Zombie Slayer!
B咔!很好,这场戏就拍到这儿。给僵尸补妆。刘老师,演得真好!不愧是头号僵尸演员!
kā! hěn hǎo, zhè chǎng xì jiù pāi dàozhèr. gěi jiāngshī bǔzhuāng. Liú lǎoshī, yǎn de zhēn hǎo! bùkuì shì tóuhào jiāngshī yǎnyuán!
Cut! Great! That's a wrap for this scene. Repaint the zombie. Your acting was great, Mr. Liu! It's no exaggeration to say you're a first-rate zombie actor!
A嗯。小娟,来,把我的黑眼圈儿再画得黑一点儿。
ng4. Xiǎo Juān, lái, bǎ wǒ de hēiyǎnquānr zài huà de hēi yīdiǎnr.
Oh. Xiao Juan, come make the rings around my eyes a little darker.
C好,老师。为什么僵尸都有黑眼圈儿啊?
hǎo, lǎoshī. wèishénme jiāngshī dōu yǒu hēiyǎnquānr a?
OK, sir. Why do zombies always have black circles around their eyes?
A他们阴气重,见不到太阳。所以脸色不好,都是绿的,而且都是熊猫眼。
tāmen yīnqì zhòng, jiànbudào tàiyáng. suǒyǐ liǎnsè bù hǎo, dōu shì lǜ de, érqiě dōu shì xióngmāoyǎn.
They have a lot of negative energy, and they can't be exposed to the sun. So their faces are always green, and they have bags under their eyes.
C反正看起来就吓人。我再帮你补点绿色。老师,你知道人怎么会变成僵尸吗?
fǎnzhèng kàn qǐlái jiù xiàrén. wǒ zài bāng nǐ bǔ diǎnr lǜsè. lǎoshī, nǐ zhīdào rén zénme huì biànchéng jiāngshī ma?
Anyway, they're really scary. Let me make your green paint a little darker. Do you know how people become zombies?
A说法多着呢。有人说,后事没处理好,或者死得冤枉的人就会变成僵尸。也有人说,其实僵尸是被搬运过程中的尸体,路边的人看了还以为僵尸在走路。还有人说僵尸是真人扮的,为了贩毒。
shuōfa duō zhe ne. yǒu rén shuō, hòushì méi chǔlǐ hǎo, huò zhě sǐ de yuānwang de rén jiù huì biànchéng jiāngshī. yě yǒu rén shuō, qíshí jiāngshī shì bèi bānyùn guòchéng zhōng de shītǐ, lùbiān de rén kàn le hái yǐwéi jiāngshī zài zǒu lù. hái yǒu rén shuō jiāngshī shì zhēnrén bàn de, wèile fàndú.
There are a lot of explanations. Some people say that people who aren't buried properly, or who die for no purpose, become zombies. Some people say that zombies are actually corpses in the middle of the moving process. [If people died far from home, they would be shipped back in groups, all in a standing position. People seeing them sometimes thought that they were walking - Ed.] Then some people say that zombies are real people in costume, who do it to sell drugs.
C啊?太扯了吧!那为什么他们都穿清朝衣服呢?
ǎ? tài chě le ba! nà wèishénme tāmen dōu chuān Qīngcháo yīfu ne?
Huh? That's too far out! Then why are they wearing Qing dynasty clothing?
A因为那个时候有人开始写僵尸小说,而且大受欢迎。搞得后来大家都觉得僵尸是清朝人。
yīnwèi nàge shíhou yǒu rén kāishǐ xiě jiāngshī xiǎoshuō, érqiě dà shòu huānyíng. gǎo de hòulái dàjiā dōu juéde jiāngshī shì Qīngcháo rén.
Because at that time, people started writing zombie novels. And they were really popular! So later on, everyone always felt that zombies should be from the Qing era.
D僵尸,哪里跑,道长来了!
jiāngshī, nǎli pǎo, dàozhǎng lái le!
Where are you going, zombies? The Zombie Slayer is here!
A你别吓着化妆师,人家刚进剧组。小娟,这是李老师,演道长的。他要把我送回阴间。
nǐ bié xiàzháo huàzhuāngshī, rénjiā gāng jìn jùzǔ. Xiǎo Juān, zhè shì Lǐ lǎoshī, yǎn dàozhǎng de. tā yào bǎ wǒ sònghuí yīnjiān.
Don't scare the make-up artist! She just started working here. Xiao Juan, this is Mr. Li. He plays the Zombie Slayer. He wants to grab me and send me back to the Netherworld.
D我不杀你,你就要吃人啊。
wǒ bù shā nǐ, nǐ jiùyào chī rén a.
If I don't kill you, you'll eat people!
A算了吧,中国僵尸不是吸血鬼。我们只要吸收一点儿人的气息就满足了。噢哟!
suàn le ba, Zhōngguó jiāngshī bù shì xīxuèguǐ. wǒmen zhǐyào xīshōu yīdiǎnr rén de qìxī jiù mǎnzú le. ōyo!
Forget it! Chinese zombies aren't vampires. We just want to suck out a little of people's vital essence, that's all. Oh!
D怎么了?
zěnmele?
What's the matter?
A跳了一天,腿不行了。哎,看来演僵尸也是吃青春饭啊。
tiào le yī tiān, tuǐ bù xíng le. āi, kànlai yǎn jiāng shī yě shì chī qīngchūnfàn a.
I've been hopping all day long. My legs are just about busted. Looks like playing a zombie is a job for young people!

Key Vocabulary

僵尸jiāngshīzombie
道长dàozhǎnghead Taoist priest
补妆bǔzhuāngto put on makeup
不愧bùkuìdeserve to be called
头号tóuhàonumber one
阴气yīnqìnegative energy
熊猫眼xióngmāoyǎnto have dark circles under eyes
后事hòushìfuneral arrangements
冤枉yuānwangunnecessary, pointless
搬运bānyùnto move
bànto play
贩毒fàndúto traffic drugs
清朝QīngcháoQing dynasty
chěto pull
吓着xiàzháoto frighten
化妆师huàzhuāngshīmakeup artist
剧组jùzǔacting company
阴间yīnjiānNetherworld
吸血鬼xīxuèguǐvampire
气息qìxīvital essence
吃青春饭chī qīngchūnfàndo a job that requires youth

Supplementary Vocabulary

阳气yángqìvital essence
阳间yángjiānthis world
道教DàojiàoTaoism
傍大款bàngdàkuǎnto date a much richer guy
吃软饭chīruǎnfànto live off one's wife's wealth