Xiao-Li (小李) runs into trouble buying presents for the family back home, and A-Ming (阿明) tries to give some advice.

Lesson Outline:

1. I'll mention a few words that will appear in the dialogue. 
2. Listen to the dialogue at normal speed.
3. Listen to the slow version and repeat.  
4. Hear the translation, line-by-line, and try to infer the meaning of the parts you don't know yet.
5. Listen to the slow version again and repeat, trying to connect the sound to the meaning. 

Dialogue transcript (Chinese characters only):

1. 阿明：你現在要去哪？
2. 小李：我要去買禮物
3. 阿明：送給女朋友嗎？
4. 小李：不是，要送給我的家人 
5. 阿明：是哦！你要買什麼？
6. 小李：我還不知道，現在很多店都關了！
7. 阿明：線上買呢？ 
8. 小李：可是我覺得我要看到、摸到才能確定
9. 阿明：也是... 送茶葉呢？
10. 小李：他們不太懂喝茶
11. 阿明：那... 鳳梨酥呢？
12. 小李：已經送過太多次了
13. 阿明：是哦... 買禮物真的很不簡單！
14. 小李：你看我買的貼紙！
15. 阿明：狗狗的貼紙好可愛！ 
16. 小李：還有這個貼紙
17. 阿明：禁止吸煙？

Dialogue transcript (w/ pinyin and translation):

1. 阿明：你現在要去哪？
   1. Nǐ xiànzài yào qù nǎ?
   2. Where are you going now?
2. 小李：我要去買禮物
   1. Wǒ yào qù mǎi lǐwù
   2. I'm going to buy presents. 
3. 阿明：送給女朋友嗎？
   1. sòng gěi nǚ péngyǒu ma?
   2. To give to your girlfriend? 
4. 小李：不是，要送給我的家人
   1. Búshì, yào sòng gěi wǒ de jiārén
   2. No, to give to my family. 
5. 阿明：是哦！你要買什麼？
   1. shì o! Nǐ yào mǎi shénme?
   2. Oh! What are you going to buy? 
6. 小李：我還不知道，現在很多店都關了！
   1. Wǒ hái bù zhīdào, xiànzài hěnduō diàn dōu guānle!
   2. I don't know yet, a lot of shops are closed now. 
7. 阿明：線上買呢？
   1. Xiànshàng mǎi ne?
   2. What about buying online? 
8. 小李：可是我覺得我要看到、摸到才能確定
   1. Kěshì wǒ juéde wǒ yào kàn dào, mō dào cáinéng quèdìng
   2. But I think I have to see and feel (them) to be sure. 
9. 阿明：也是... 送茶葉呢？
   1. yěshì... Sòng cháyè ne?
   2. True... what about giving tea? 
10. 小李：他們不太懂喝茶
    1. Tāmen bú tài dǒng hē chá
    2. They don't really appreciate tea (lit. don't understand how to drink tea). 
11. 阿明：那... 鳳梨酥呢？
    1. nà... Fènglí sū ne?
    2. Then... how about pineapple cake?
12. 小李：已經送過太多次了
    1. Yǐjīng sòngguò tài duō cìle
    2. I've already given it too many times. 
13. 阿明：是哦... 買禮物真的很不簡單！
    1. shì o... Mǎi lǐwù zhēn de hěn bù jiǎndān! 
    2. Oh... buying presents really isn't easy! 
14. 小李：你看我買的貼紙！
    1. Nǐ kàn wǒ mǎi de tiēzhǐ!
    2. Look at the stickers I bought!
15. 阿明：狗狗的貼紙好可愛！
    1. Gǒu gǒu de tiēzhǐ hǎo kě'ài!
    2. The dog stickers are so cute! 
16. 小李：還有這個貼紙
    1. Hái yǒu zhège tiēzhǐ
    2. There's also this sticker. 
17. 阿明：禁止吸煙？
    1. jìnzhǐ xīyān?
    2. Smoking prohibited?

Note about Pinyin transliteration: Pinyin can be a helpful system for comprehending and recording the pronunciation of Chinese. However, keep in mind that it's only an approximation of the way people actually speak. Tones, like many other things, are affected by the tones and sounds that occur before and after them, by the context, and pronunciation also varies by region. As a result, there will necessarily be some discrepancy between the written tones and what you actually hear a person say.

(Examples from this dialogue: 狗狗 gǒu gǒu is much more commonly pronounced in Taiwan as "gǒu góu", and 買什麼 mǎi shénme is usually pronounced "mái shěnme", even though the "correct" dictionary pronunciation is that used in the original Pinyin.)

The moral of all this is: Trust your ears and imitate what you hear. Written language and phonetic systems are imperfect attempts at representing language on paper, but a spoken language actually exists when people open their mouths and speak. 

That said, if you have a question about any details from a lesson, feel free to drop me a line!

Thanks for listening! 

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