Two friends, Li Mingming and Li Hua, discuss plans to watch a movie, but Li Hua has to focus on studying for his upcoming midterm exams instead.
Mandarin
备考
李明明：李华，你今天要做什么吗？
李华：我今天打算学习，再过两周就要考试了。
李明明：啊？这么快又要考试了？你不是一个月前才考了试？
李华：对啊，上个月是月考，再过两周是期中考试。
李明明：好吧，好辛苦。我本来还想叫你去看电影呢，现在看来你只能好好学习了。
李华：是啊，等我考完试我们可以一起去看电影，因为那个周末我们没有作业！
李明明：太好了！那你加油准备考试！
李华：好的！
Multiple Choice Questions
English Translation
Preparing for Exams
Li Mingming: Li Hua, do you have any plans today?
Li Hua: I’m planning to study today. In two weeks, I have exams.
Li Mingming: What? Exams again already? Didn’t you just take one last month?
Li Hua: Yeah, last month was the monthly exam, and in two weeks, it’s the midterm exam.
Li Mingming: Wow, that’s tough. I was actually going to ask you to go see a movie, but it looks like you’ll have to focus on studying now.
Li Hua: Yeah, but after my exams, we can go to the movies together because we won’t have any homework that weekend!
Li Mingming: That’s great! Good luck with your exam prep!
Li Hua: Thanks!
Vocabulary
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 备考 | bèikǎo | exam preparation |
| 李明明 | Lǐ Míngmíng | (person’s name) |
| 李华 | Lǐ Huá | (person’s name) |
| 今天 | jīntiān | today |
| 要 | yào | want to / going to / have to |
| 做 | zuò | do |
| 什么 | shénme | what |
| 吗 | ma | (question particle) |
| 打算 | dǎsuàn | plan to |
| 学习 | xuéxí | study |
| 再过 | zài guò | after (a period of time) |
| 两周 | liǎng zhōu | two weeks |
| 就要 | jiù yào | about to |
| 考试 | kǎoshì | exam |
| 啊 | a | (expressing surprise) |
| 这么快 | zhème kuài | so soon |
| 又 | yòu | again |
| 不是…吗？ | bú shì … ma? | wasn’t it … ? |
| 一个月前 | yí ge yuè qián | one month ago |
| 才 | cái | just (happened) |
| 考了试 | kǎo le shì | took an exam |
| 对啊 | duì a | yes, exactly |
| 上个月 | shàng ge yuè | last month |
| 是 | shì | is, was |
| 月考 | yuèkǎo | monthly exam |
| 期中考试 | qīzhōng kǎoshì | midterm exam |
| 好吧 | hǎo ba | alright then |
| 好辛苦 | hǎo xīnkǔ | so tiring, so tough |
| 本来 | běnlái | originally |
| 还 | hái | also / still |
| 想 | xiǎng | want to / plan to |
| 叫 | jiào | ask / invite |
| 去 | qù | go |
| 看电影 | kàn diànyǐng | watch a movie |
| 现在看来 | xiànzài kànlái | now it seems |
| 只能 | zhǐ néng | can only |
| 好好 | hǎohāo | diligently / properly |
| 是啊 | shì a | yes / indeed |
| 等 | děng | wait |
| 考完试 | kǎo wán shì | finish the exam |
| 我们 | wǒmen | we / us |
| 可以 | kěyǐ | can / may |
| 一起 | yìqǐ | together |
| 因为 | yīnwèi | because |
| 那个周末 | nà ge zhōumò | that weekend |
| 没有 | méiyǒu | don’t have |
| 作业 | zuòyè | homework |
| 太好了 | tài hǎo le | great! |
| 加油 | jiāyóu | good luck / go for it / do your best |
| 准备 | zhǔnbèi | prepare |
| 好的 | hǎo de | okay |
什么吗 is a double question and is not grammatically correct. This needs to be fixed to “什么?”
Hello! Thanks for your comment. We will clarify this a bit.
你今天要做什么？= What are you going to do today?
This is a straightforward and neutral question that directly inquires about someone’s plans or activities for the day.
你今天要做什么吗？- The addition of “吗” makes this sentence less direct and more of a confirmation question, similar to asking, “Are you going to do something today?” It implies the speaker might already expect that the person has plans or wants to confirm it.
Good luck with learning Mandarin!
I appreciate your work. These reading passages are very interesting and practical 😊