Chinese listening is extremely important if you are those who are planning to or are working in a Chinese -speaking environment. No matter whether you are doing business, travelling, or just simply socializing with people, being able to understand and communicating in Chinese is very critical.
Why Chinese listening skill is important
1. Job opportunities
In today’s global economy, being able to speak and understand Chinese is getting very important. According to the data of world languages, there are approximately 1.1billion Mandarin speaking people in the world, making it the most spoken language in the world. Hence, if you can speak Mandarin Chinese, your chances of getting a job will greatly increased. Chinese speaking personals are sought after by companies in fields such as finance, international business, and technology.
2. Comprehension
When learning a language, listening is one of the most important factor besides speaking. Without understanding what the other person is talking about, there will not be any form of communications.
3. Tone
By listening to Native speakers, one can improve on his/her pronunciation skills and in turn be able to speak the Chinese language more fluently.
Chinese listening Practice
There are four stories altogether in this video. Listen to the stories in Chinese and answer the questions. Do not refer to the translated script below until you have finished doing the Chinese listening practice.
Chinese to English translation
My Hobby 我的爱好
我的爱好是看电影。我喜欢看喜剧片，动作片，剧情片，但不喜欢看恐怖片。我觉得恐怖片很吓人，所以每次朋友约我去看恐怖片时我都不和他们一起去。看恐怖片会让我感到害怕和做恶梦，所以我不敢看。
My hobby is watching movies. I like to watch comedies, action films, and dramas, but I don’t like horror movies. I find them very scary, so every time my friends invite me to watch a horror movie, I don’t go with them. Watching horror movies makes me feel scared and have nightmares, so I dare not watch them.
Question : 谁喜欢看恐怖片？Who likes to watch horror movies? The correct answer is A because every time my friends invite me to watch a horror movie…. That means my friends are the ones who like to watch horror movies.
My family 我的家庭
我家有六口人：外公，爸爸，妈妈，哥哥，妹妹和我。外公是名中医。他今年已经80多岁了。爸爸也是医生，但他是西医。妈妈是个家庭主妇，她每天为了我们从早忙到晚。我和妹妹都不是学生了。我们都在公司上班。哥哥还在上医大，因为他想和爸爸一样当个医生。
There are six people in my family: my grandfather, father, mother, older brother, younger sister, and me. My grandfather is a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner. He is already in his 80s. My father is also a doctor, but he practices Western medicine. My mother is a homemaker, and she works hard every day for us from morning till night. My younger sister and I are both no longer students. We both work at a company. My older brother is still studying at medical school because he wants to become a doctor like our father.
Question : 哪一张图代表我的家庭？Which picture represents my family? The correct answer is B because the son is still in Med school so he is not a doctor yet.
Telephone Conversation 讲电话
A:您好。请问，小丽在吗？
B:请问，您是哪一位找她？
A:我是她大学同学。找小丽问一些功课。
B:小丽不在家。她到图书馆温书了。
A:好的。我到图书馆找她。谢谢你。
Hello. May I ask if Xiaoli is available? May I know who’s calling for her? I am her college classmate. I need to ask her about some homework. Xiaoli is not at home. She went to the library to study. Alright. I’ll go to the library to find her. Thank you.
Question : 小丽到图书馆做什么？ What did Xiaoli go to the library for? The correct answer is A because Xiaoli is not at home, but she is in the library studying. B shows xiaoli to be at home and C shows Xiaoli borrowing books from the library.
一件外套 a jacket
放学了，我和哥哥在学校旁边的巴士站等爸爸来接我们回家。突然天空乌云密布，下起了大雨。我没有穿外套，冷得直发抖，打了好几个喷嚏。哥哥看到后，连忙脱下外套，披在我身上。外套暖暖的，我一下子就不觉得冷了。 我和哥哥在哪里等爸爸？
After school was over, my brother and I were waiting for our dad to pick us up from the bus stop next to the school. Suddenly, the sky became dark, and it started to rain heavily. I wasn’t wearing a jacket, so I was shivering and sneezing repeatedly. When my brother saw this, he quickly took off his jacket and put it on me. The jacket was warm, and I immediately felt much better.
Question A : 我和哥哥在哪里等爸爸？Where were you and your brother waiting for your dad? The correct answer C, bus stop.
Question B: 我怎么了？What happened to me? The correct answer C, I was shivering.
How many questions did you get right in this Chinese listening practice? We hope you have done well. If not, do listen to the stories again and again, until you have understood them. If you like this post, do share with your friends. And if you would like to support our work, you can buy us a coffee here.
