Xiaoyu's second driving lesson. The instructor has her drive round the yard before letting her out on the road.
The instructor
上车。安全带，别忘了。
Shàng chē. Ānquándài, bié wàng le.
Get in. Seat belt, do not forget.
Xiaoyu
好了。今天练什么？
Hǎo le. Jīntiān liàn shénme ?
Done. What are we practising today?
The instructor
先在院子里慢慢开，熟悉一下车。
Xiān zài yuànzi lǐ mànmàn kāi, shúxī yīxià chē.
First drive slowly round the yard, to get the feel of the car.
Xiaoyu
我上次开得太快了。
Wǒ shàng cì kāi de tài kuài le.
Last time I drove too fast.
The instructor
这次脚轻一点儿。看前面，别看脚。
Zhè cì jiǎo qīng yīdiǎnr. Kàn qiánmiàn, bié kàn jiǎo.
Go easier on the pedal this time. Look ahead, not at your feet.
Xiaoyu
好。前面有人，我停一下。
Hǎo. Qiánmiàn yǒu rén, wǒ tíng yīxià.
Right. There is someone in front, I will stop.
The instructor
停得不错。你比上星期好多了。
Tíng de bùcuò. Nǐ bǐ shàng xīngqī hǎo duō le.
Nicely stopped. You are much better than last week.
Xiaoyu
什么时候可以上路？
Shénme shíhou kěyǐ shàng lù ?
When can I go out on the road?
The instructor
再练两次。考试以前还要去路上开几次。
Zài liàn liǎng cì. Kǎoshì yǐqián hái yào qù lù shàng kāi jǐ cì.
Two more sessions. Before the test you will need several drives on the road.
Xiaoyu
考试难吗？
Kǎoshì nán ma ?
Is the test hard?
The instructor
不难，慢就行。很多人没考过，就是因为太着急。
Bù nán, màn jiù xíng. Hěnduō rén méi kǎo guò, jiù shì yīnwèi tài zháojí.
Not hard, just go slowly. A lot of people fail simply because they rush.
好多了 means "much better", with no need to say better than what: the context is enough. The form applies to any adjective: 快多了, much faster; 便宜多了, much cheaper. It differs from 好一点儿, which softens, and from 最好, which is the superlative. At the doctor's as at the wheel, it is the sentence that says you are improving.
别忘了, 别看脚: 别 before the verb is the only common way of forbidding something in speech. 不要 says the same thing, more firmly and more in writing. The final 了 of 别忘了 does not mark the past: with 别 it presses, as though the forgetting were already threatening.
没考过 is ambiguous in writing and is not in speech. Here 过 is a complement of result, guò in the fourth tone: not to pass the test, to fail. The 过 of experience, the one in 我去过, is pronounced toneless and sticks to the verb. Context decides: after 考, it is never experience.
