10 Lesson 12 Dialogue 2: 在大学食堂吃饭
Dialogue:
（英语考试以后，谢思清和张元回到了宿舍。）
谢思清：今天你考得怎么样？
张元：我考得不太好，写作文的时候，写错了好几个字。你呢？
谢思清：我也没考好。考听力的时候，我没听清楚一个词，还有一个对话没听懂。
张元：没关系。以后考好就行了。
谢思清：对。我饿了，一起去食堂吃饭吧。
张元：好啊。别忘了带饭卡。
（他们走进了食堂。谢思清买完了，刷了卡以后，就找到了张元。两人边吃边聊。）
谢思清：你买了什么？
张元：一盘酸辣土豆和一碗凉拌面。你呢？
谢思清：我要了一份红烧牛肉和一个西兰花。红烧牛肉是我的最爱，味道美极了！
张元：我的酸辣土豆也不错！酸酸辣辣的，特别好吃。要不要尝一口？
谢思清：不用，我点的菜已经够多了。谢了！
Vocabulary:
| 中文 | 拼音 | 英文 |
|---|---|---|
| 宿舍 | sù shè | n., dorm |
| 听力 | tīng lì | n., listening comprehension |
| 清楚 | qīng chǔ | adj., clear |
| 英语 | yīng yǔ | n., English language |
| 作文 | zuò wén | n., essay |
| 词 | cí | n., word |
| 没关系 | méi guān xì | phrase, “It doesn’t matter. That’s all right.” |
| 忘 | wàng | v., to forget |
| 饭卡 | fàn kǎ | n., meal plan card |
| 味道 | wèi dào | n., taste |
| 份 | fèn | measure word, meaning “portion” |
| 红烧 | hóng shāo | v., to stew with soy bean sauce |
| 牛肉 | niú ròu | n., beef |
| 西兰花 | xī lán huā | n. broccoli |
| 土豆 | tǔ dòu | n., potato |
| 酸辣 | suān là | adj., spicy and hot |
| 凉拌 | liáng bàn | v., to cook with cold dressing |
| 酸 | suān | adj., sour |
| 辣 | là | adj., spicy, hot |
| 最爱 | zuì ài | n./adj., favorite |
| 面 | miàn | n., noodle |
| 尝 | cháng | v., to taste |
| 口 | kǒu | n., mouth; mouthful |
Grammar Notes:
Resultative Complements:
In English, people use different verbs to indicate “actions” and “their results”. For example, “listen” is the action, while “hear” is the result. However, in Chinese, people add verbs or adjectives after the action verbs to indicate their results, thus forming “the resultative complement”. For example, 看 (to look) is the action verb; however, people add 见 or 到 to indicate the result of the action 看, which is “看见/看到”, meaning “to see”.
There are many commonly used adjectives (好，对/错，清楚) and verbs (完，到，懂，见，会) that are used after action verbs to express “results” of the actions. They are used exactly the same way as normal verbs. For example:
老师写错了一个汉字。(The teacher wrote a character wrongly.) In this sentence, 错 is the result of the action 写. 写错 together is used as a “verb + complement” phrase, followed by 一个汉字.
学生们听懂了我说的话。(The students understood what I said.) Here, the adjective 懂 is the result of the verb 听. The “verb + complement” phrase 听懂 is used together to express “understood as a result of listening”.
To negate the resultative complements, 不 or 没(有) is used, exactly the same as how we negate verbs. For instance:
老师没写错汉字。
学生们没听懂我说的话。
Note: As you can see the examples above, 没 is more often used to negate the “verb + complement” phrases because we won’t have the results until the actions are performed or completed. Remember that 没 is used to negate “past actions”.
In this dialogue, the sentences below contain the “verb + complement” patterns:
- 他们回到了宿舍。(到, literally “arrive”, is the result of 回 “return”)
- 我写错了好几个字。(错, wrong, is the result of 写 “write”)
- 我也没考好。(好, good, is the result of 考 “test”)
- 他们走进了食堂。(进, “enter”, is the result of 走 “walk”)
- 我没听清楚一个词。(清楚, clear, is the result of 听 “listen”)
- 我没听懂一个对话。(懂, understand, is the result of 听 “listen”)
- 谢思清找到了张元。(到, literally “arrive”, is the result of 找 “search”)
Culture Notes:
Chinese restaurants produce great cuisine; however, some of the best food can be found in the dining halls of the over 2,000 universities and colleges in China. Each Chinese university has a few giant dining halls, each with multiple floor levels featuring limitless options of what to eat or drink for each meal.
Chinese university dining halls prepare meals representing a vast variety of culinary traditions available across the country. For example, Tsinghua University in Beijing has 13 dining halls on campus, including pure Muslim dining halls. Dining hall No. 10 offers regional cuisines from provinces like Guangdong, Guizhou, Sichuan and Yunnan, including a dumpling bar, a street-food stand, a bread station and various styles of stir-fry. Dining hall No. 7 is known for preparing the best malatang, a dish for which ingredients are weighed and then cooked fondue style in a smoky, spicy Sichuan-inspired broth, as well as cold dishes such as black bean noodles or salad concoctions called 凉菜 (liángcài). There are also dining halls providing fast food such as pizza, sandwiches, burgers, fried chicken, or macaroni and cheese for foreign students.
Eating on Chinese university campuses is very inexpensive. For example, 煎饼 (jiānbǐng, Chinese savory crêpe) or the steamed buns with filling called 包子 (bāo zi) cost as little as ￥2 (roughly 33 cents). Specialties sell for ￥10-15 (roughly $1.60- $2.50). These include meat or fish stews, or malatang.
Chinese campus food is also generally safe. The universities, and the affiliated local government officials, take special care to ensure the quality and cleanliness of food ingredients. The food there are not packaged or frozen to ensure quality.
Some of the dining halls in Chinese universities also specialize in one or several regional cuisines to serve the students who come from varying ethnic backgrounds and have different culinary habits. Take Minzu University in Beijing as an example. It has dining halls that provide some of the best Muslim, Xinjiang, and Tibetan food in the city.
Watch this video about what a Chinese university dining hall is like, what food is available, and how an international student orders food.
