This lesson from A Course in Contemporary Chinese presents the daily interactions of three characters:
- First conversation: Between Mínghuá, Yuèměi, and Kāiwén.
- Mínghuá asks Yuèměi if she is Ms. Chén Yuèměi. Yuèměi responds and thanks Mínghuá for coming to pick her up. Then, Mínghuá introduces himself as Lǐ Mínghuá and introduces Mr. Wáng to Yuèměi. Later, Kāiwén joins the conversation, and everyone greets each other and welcomes them to Taiwan.
- Second conversation: Among Mínghuá, Kāiwén, and Yuèměi about tea.
- Mínghuá offers Kāiwén some tea, Kāiwén thanks him and asks what kind of tea it is. Mínghuá explains that it is Oolong tea, which is popular in Taiwan. The topic then shifts to asking whether Kāiwén is Japanese, and Kāiwén clarifies that he is American. Finally, Kāiwén expresses that he prefers tea over coffee.
A Course in Contemporary Chinese Volume 1 Lesson 1 mainly revolves around casual greetings and cultural introductions, reflecting the interactions between foreigners and Taiwanese people, and touches on topics such as tea culture and nationality.
| Traditional | Pinyin | Meaning | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 他 | tā | he, him | |
| 你 | nǐ | you | |
| 你們 | nǐmen | you (plural) | |
| 咖啡 | kāfēi | coffee | |
| 什麼 | shénme | what | |
| 這 | zhè / zhèi | this | |
| 謝謝 | xièxie | Thank you. | |
| 歡迎 | huānyíng | welcome | |
| 陳月美 | Chén Yuèměi | a woman from Vietnam | |
| 我們 | wǒmen | we, us | |
| 小姐 | xiǎojiě | Miss, Ms. | |
| 臺灣（＝台灣） | Táiwān | Taiwan | |
| 來 | lái | to come | |
| 是 | shì | to be | |
| 是的 | shìde | yes | |
| 喜歡 | xǐhuān | to like | |
| 叫 | jiào | to be called, i.e., to have the first name xx | |
| 姓 | xìng | to be surnamed | |
| 美國 | Měiguó | America | |
| 不 | bù | not | |
| 不客氣 | búkèqì | You're welcome. | |
| 李明華 | Lǐ Mínghuá | a man from Taiwan | |
| 人 | rén | person, people | |
| 要 | yào | to want to | |
| 接 | jiē | to pick sb up | |
| 日本 | Rìběn | Japan | |
| 哪 | nǎ / něi | which | |
| 哪國 | nǎ guó / něi guó | Which country? | |
| 先生 | xiānshēng | Mr. | |
| 很 | hěn | very | |
| 好喝 | hǎohē | (lit. good to drink) to taste good | |
| 我 | wǒ | I, me | |
| 好 | hǎo | fine, well | |
| 茶 | chá | tea | |
| 烏龍茶 | Wūlóng chá | Oolong tea | |
| 嗎 | ma | sentence final particle | |
| 喝 | hē | to drink | |
| 呢 | ne | sentence final particle | |
| 王開文 | Wáng Kāiwén | a man from the US | |
| 你好 | Nǐ hǎo | How are you? Hello. | |
| 請問 | qǐngwèn | May I ask you... Excuse me, ... | |
| 對不起 | duìbùqǐ | I'm sorry. | |
| 請 | qǐng | please |