Recommending a friend for an internship
Lilly is recommending her friend John to her old boss Manager Song for an internship at the firm where she did her own work placement in China.
Click on either pinyin or characters to listen to individual words. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the dialogue.
Hover the mouse over the Chinese characters for a second to see the pinyin version of that line. You can also click on the right-hand button for all pinyin to be displayed.
Lilly:
宋经理，您好。我是伦敦的Lilly！
Song:
Lilly，你好！你怎么打来了？最近怎么样？
Lilly:
我挺好的，谢谢您！您和家人都挺好的吧？我打电话是想请您帮个忙，不知道行不行。
Song:
当然。只要我能办到。你说吧。
Lilly:
嗯，是关于我伦敦的一个朋友，他叫John。他刚在伦敦政治经济学院读完经济学博士，他想在英国找工作之前先去中国实习一段时间，这样对他今后会有帮助。
Song:
啊，是这样。他想找哪方面的工作？
Lilly:
他对欧亚之间的进出口贸易比较感兴趣，他很希望能在您的部门实习一段时间。您觉得可行吗？
Song:
我明白了。 Lilly，我一下子也做不了决定。你叫他把简历和求职信发给我，我看看再说。
Lilly:
好的，非常感谢，宋经理。我会让John同您联系，他肯定会很高兴的！
Song:
希望我能帮上忙。Lilly，我们也保持联系。你有空来看我们啊！
Lilly:
好的！我很想念大家。再一次感谢您，宋经理。那就先这样，再见。
Song:
再见，Lilly。
Lilly:
Hello Manger Song. This is Lilly from London!
Song:
Hello Lilly! What a nice surprise (lit. How come you ring here)! How are you?
Lilly:
I am fine, thank you! I hope you and your family are well too. I am ringing you to ask you a favour. I wonder if you could help me.
Song:
By all means - if I can. Tell me.
Lilly:
Well, this is about my friend John here in London. He has just finished his PhD in Economics at LSE and he would like to gain some work experience in China before he starts looking for a job in the UK. That would help him a lot.
Song:
I see. What sort of work is he looking for?
Lilly:
He is interested in the import and export trade between Europe and Asia, so he very much hopes to work as an intern in your department for some time. Do you think it is possible?
Song:
I see. Lilly, I cannot make a decision now. Tell him to send me his CV and a covering letter and I’ll see what I can do.
Lilly:
Oh, thank you so much Manager Song. John will be very happy when I tell him to contact you!
Song:
I hope I can help him. And you Lilly keep in touch. We’re looking forward to your visit some time.
Lilly:
So am I! I miss you all. Thanks again Manager Song and I hope to talk to you again soon. Bye.
Song:
Bye, Lilly.
These are notes about potentially difficult key expressions. They are listed in the order in which they appear in the dialogue.
1. 怎么
你怎么打来了？ What a nice surprise! (lit. How come you ring here!)
怎么 means 'how'. However, in this instance, it does not indicate a genuine question, but is used to express an exclamation and showing surprise.
To use 怎么 in a genuine question, one needs to add the 是……的 structure: 你是怎么找过来的？ How did you find this place?
2. 办到
当然，只要我能办到。 By all means - if I can.
办 is a verb, meaning 'to do'. 到 is used here as a complement of result. Hence 办到 means 'to be able to, to have the capacity to'. More examples:
看 to look at
听 to listen to
想 to think about
看到 to see
听到 to hear
想到 to recall
3. 可行
您觉得可行吗？Do you think it is possible?
可行 means 'doable', 'feasible', lit. to be able to do
可 can be followed by other verbs to make up various adjectives:
可惜 regrettable, lit. to be able to regret
可爱 adorable, lit. to be able to love
可靠 reliable, lit. to be able to rely on
可怕 frightening, lit. to be able to frighten
可笑 ridiculous, lit. to be able to laugh at, etc.
4. 也
我一下子也做不了决定。 I cannot make a decision now.
也 here does not mean 'also'. Its function is to soften the statement made. Instead of sounding harsh by saying 'I cannot make a decision now' in a straightforward way, Manager Song uses 也 to make his reply more acceptable.
5. 不了
我一下子也做不了决定。 I cannot make a decision now.
不了 is a negative structure following verbs, to indicate the fact of 'not being able to….'. 做不了 means 'not being able to do/to make'. Another example: 我一个人吃不了那么多。I can't eat so much by myself. The opposite of 不了 is 得了, 'being able to'.
6. 再
我看看再说。 I'll see what I can do. (lit. I take a look and then tell you about it.)
再 here means 'then', indicating a sequence of actions, i.e. taking a look takes place before talking about it.
你把早饭吃完了再走。 Finish your breakfast before you go.
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Lilly's phone call
Listen to Lilly's phone call to Manager Song and put the following interactions in the correct sequential order. Click on the audio buttons to listen to each statement given in the correct order. You can click on 帮助 to access the translations also given in the correct order. Check your answers.
1. Lilly sends her regards to Manager Song and his family.
2. Lilly asks if Manager Song can do her a favour.
3. Lilly tells Manager Song about her friend John and his intention to seek an internship.
4. Manager Song says that he needs to look at John's CV and covering letter first.
5. Lilly says that she'll ask John to contact Manager Song.
6. Manager Song asks Lilly to come and visit if she has a chance.
7. Lilly thanks Manager Song.
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莉莉问候宋经理和他的家人。
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莉莉问宋经理能否请他帮个忙。
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莉莉向宋经理介绍John的情况和他的实习意愿。
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宋经理说需要先看一下John的简历和求职信。
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莉莉说她会让John同宋经理联系。
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宋经理叫莉莉有机会去看他们。
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莉莉感谢宋经理的帮忙。
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Future plans
John and Manager Song have both got some tasks to get on with in the near future. Read the list and drag each task under the appropriate person's name. You can drag each option into the 帮助 box to access pinyin and translation. Careful! Three tasks are not planned by either of them.
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