Visiting a silk factory
Lilly tells Xiao Chen about her visit to a silk factory at the weekend and her purchase of a silk quilt.
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Chen:
莉莉，周末过得好不好？
Lilly:
挺好的，谢谢。Leon带我去苏州玩了一天，我们参观了很多园林，回来的路上还去了一家丝绸工厂。丝绸工厂有意思极了，我大开眼界，学到了很多关于丝绸的知识。我还买了一条蚕丝被！
Chen:
我没有参观过丝绸工厂。那里是什么样的？
Lilly:
那里先是一个展示区，有专门的讲解员。讲解员给我们介绍了蚕的一生。那里还有现场演示，展示了丝绸生产的全过程。
Chen:
是吗？那你现在了解丝绸是怎么制作的了？
Lilly:
是啊！从养蚕到剥茧，到最后的纺织，有意思极了！我没想到小小的蚕茧可以变出那么多丝绸。我们还看到工人将一些蚕茧逐渐拉成了一条蚕丝被，真是太神奇了！
Chen:
你自己有没有动手试一下？
Lilly:
有！我们很幸运，那天游客不多，所以那些女工让我们自己也动手拉了一下。还挺累人的呢！
Chen:
嗯，那是传统工艺，现在很多都自动化了。然后呢？你买了一条蚕丝被？
Lilly:
是的。展示区的旁边是销售区，有各式各样的丝绸产品。有围巾、领带、衬衫，等等，都是厂家直销，保证品质！
Chen:
哈，他们都是这么说的，就是为了吸引像你这样的游客的！
Lilly:
不管怎么说，那天正好有蚕丝被的特价促销。我一直想要蚕丝被，所以我就买了一条。
Chen:
你确定那是真的蚕丝吗？
Lilly:
当然！讲解员告诉我们，想要判断是不是蚕丝，最简单的方法就是拉出一条用火烧，假的蚕丝闻起来有塑料的气味。
Chen:
真的吗？Leon有没有买什么？
Lilly:
没有，他已经有蚕丝被了。他想下次买的时候在网上定购。这样他可以不出门，在网上货比三家，还可以送货上门！
Chen:
Hi, Lilly. Did you have a good weekend?
Lilly:
Yes, thanks, Leon took me to Suzhou for a day and we visited some gardens. On the way back we visited a silk factory and it was really interesting! It was definitely an eye-opener and I learnt a lot about silk! I also bought a silk quilt!
Chen:
I have never visited a silk factory. What was it like?
Lilly:
Well first we went round an exhibition area. We had a special guide who told us about the whole life of the silkworm. We were also given a demonstration of the entire process of silk making.
Chen:
Really? So you know how silk is produced now?
Lilly:
Yes! From raising silkworms, to stripping cocoons, and finally weaving the threads, it is really interesting! I didn't expect that you could get that amount of thread from such small cocoons! We even saw some of the workers stretching the cocoons and progressively shaping a quilt, it was really magical!
Chen:
Did you have a go yourself?
Lilly:
Yes! We were very lucky as there were not too many visitors on that day and the lady workers let us stretch the cocoons ourselves! But I have to say it was really exhausting!
Chen:
Yes, this is a traditional handicraft, but it has mostly become mechanised now. And then? You bought a silk quilt?
Lilly:
Yes. There was a factory shop next to the exhibition area which had all kinds of silk products. There were scarves, ties, shirts, etc, which all came direct from the factory and whose quality was 100% guaranteed!
Chen:
Ha, they all say that to attract tourists like you!
Lilly:
Anyway, there was a promotion on silk quilts on that day. I have always wanted a silk quilt so I bought one!
Chen:
Are you sure that it is real silk?
Lilly:
Of course! The guide told us that if you want to tell whether it is silk or not, the simplest way to find out is to pull a thread out and burn it. Fake silk smells like plastic.
Chen:
Really? Did Leon buy anything?
Lilly:
No, he has already got his own quilt but he thinks that when he buys a new one, he'll do it online. That way he will be able to compare prices and have it delivered to his door without going out!
These are notes about potentially difficult key expressions. They are listed in the order in which they appear in the dialogue. Hover the mouse over the words highlighted in blue for the examples to appear.
1. 大开眼界
丝绸工厂有意思极了，我大开眼界。The silk factory was really interesting and it was an eye-opener.
大开眼界 is a four-character idiom. It means 'to open wide one's horizon'.
2. 学到
我学到了很多关于丝绸的知识。 I learnt a lot about silk.
学 means 'to study '. 到 is used here as a result indicator, putting emphasis on the idea of 'gaining some knowledge'. More examples:
看 to look → 看到 to see
听 to listen to → 听到 to hear
3. 没有……过
我没有参观过丝绸工厂。I have never visited a silk factory.
The particle 过 is a perfect tense marker put after the verb 参观 'to visit'. The negation 没有 is put before the verb. More examples:
我去过那个地方。I have been there.
我没有去过那个地方。I have never been there.
4. 专门
那里有专门的讲解员。We had a special guide.
专门 means 'specialised '. 专 means 'to concentrate' and can be used in other words: 专业 subject/discipline (lit. to concentrate | course), 专心 attentive, focusing (lit. to concentrate | heart), 专家 expert (lit. to concentrate | an established person).
5. 了
那你现在了解丝绸是怎么制作的了？ So you know how silk is produced now?
了 is a multiple-pronunciation character. When it's used in 了解, meaning 'to know about ', it is pronounced as 'liǎo'. When it is used as an aspect particle, it is pronounced as 'le'.
6. 想到, 看到
我没想到小小的蚕茧可以变出那么多丝绸。I didn't expect that you could get that amount of thread from such small cocoons.
我们还看到工人将一些蚕茧逐渐拉成了一条蚕丝被。We even saw some of the workers stretching the cocoons and progressively shaping a quilt.
到 is used after a verb as a result indicator.
想 to think → 想到 to think of, to expect
看 to look → 看到 to see
没想到 means 'didn't think of ', 'didn't expect '.
7. 将
我们还看到工人将一些蚕茧逐渐拉成了一条蚕丝被。We even saw some of the workers stretching the cocoons and progressively shaping a quilt.
The use of 将 here is the same as the use of 把 in the 把 structure. 将 and 把 are interchangeable for this purpose. The pattern is: subject + 将/把 + object + verb + result.
8. 自动化
现在很多都自动化了。It has mostly become mechanised now.
化 is used here as a suffix, similar to '-ise' in English. 自动 means 'mechanical, automatic' and 自动化 means 'to mechanise'. 化 can be put either after an adjective or a noun to produce a verb.
虚拟 virtual
商业 commerce
西方 the West
虚拟化 to virtualise
商业化 to commercialise
西方化 to westernise
9. 闻起来
假的蚕丝闻起来有塑料的气味。Fake silk smells like plastic.
闻 is the verb 'to smell, to sniff'. To say 'something smells…', the directional complement 起来 (lit. up) must be used after 闻 like in 这些花闻起来真香啊！These flowers smell really good!
Similarly, 起来 is also used with 看 to look, 听 to listen to, etc. for the verbs to become intransitive.
你今天看起来真漂亮！You look really nice today!
这个主意听起来很不错！This idea doesn't sound bad (lit. sounds not bad).
10. 货比三家
这样他可以不出门，在网上货比三家，还可以送货上门！ That way he will be able to compare prices and have it delivered to his door without going out!
货比三家 (lit. goods compared at three shops) is a commonly used expression. It implies that somebody is comparing goods in shops carefully before making a purchase. 三 (three) is used here as an approximate figure, indicating 'a few '.
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Lilly's visit
Listen to the dialogue 'Visiting a silk factory' and put the different stages of Lilly's tour in the correct chronological order. You can listen to the audios which are given in the correct order. You can also click on 帮助 to access the English translations. Check your answers.
Visit recollection
Listen to the dialogue 'Visiting a silk factory' and match the second half of the sentence to its first half. You can use the Chinese audios for help. You can also click on 帮助 to access the English translation of each whole sentence.
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1. The silk factory is very interesting.
2. Lilly had an eye-opening day.
3. The guide gave us all an introduction.
4. The demonstration showed the entire process.
5. The workers use traditional handicrafts.
6. Lilly gained a lot of knowledge.
7. There are all kinds of products in the shop.
8. There was a sales promotion on the day.