Xiaoyu's sister has just had her gaokao results. She wants medicine; their father wants teacher training.
Xiaoyu
张老师，我妹妹今年高考，分数出来了。
Zhāng lǎoshī, wǒ mèimei jīnnián gāo kǎo, fēn shù chūlái le.
Laoshi, my younger sister sat the gaokao this year and her marks are out.
Mr Zhang, the teacher
考得怎么样？
Kǎo de zěnmeyàng ?
How did she do?
Xiaoyu
五百八十，比去年的线高二十分。
Wǔbǎi bāshí, bǐ qùnián de xiàn gāo èrshí fēn.
Five hundred and eighty, twenty points above last year's cut-off.
Mr Zhang, the teacher
不错。她自己想学什么？
Bùcuò. Tā zìjǐ xiǎng xué shénme ?
Not bad. What does she herself want to study?
Xiaoyu
她想学医，可是我爸爸让她报师范。
Tā xiǎng xué yī, kěshì wǒ bàba ràng tā bào shī fàn.
She wants to study medicine, but my father wants her to apply for teacher training.
Mr Zhang, the teacher
他的理由是什么？
Tā de lǐ yóu shì shénme ?
What is his reasoning?
Xiaoyu
他说当老师稳定，而且离家近。
Tā shuō dāng lǎoshī wěndìng, érqiě lí jiā jìn.
He says teaching is secure, and it is close to home.
Mr Zhang, the teacher
学医要读五年，后面还有好几年。这个她清楚吗？
Xué yī yào dú wǔ nián, hòumian háiyǒu hǎo jǐ nián. Zhè gè tā qīngchu ma ?
Medicine is five years, with several more after that. Is she clear about that?
Xiaoyu
清楚。她说不但不怕，而且早就想好了。
Qīngchu. Tā shuō bùdàn bù pà, érqiě zǎo jiù xiǎng hǎo le.
She is. She says not only is she not afraid of it, she made her mind up long ago.
Mr Zhang, the teacher
那就让她自己选。四年以后后悔的，常常是听了别人的。
Nà jiù ràng tā zìjǐ xuǎn. Sì nián yǐhòu hòuhuǐ de, chángcháng shì tīng le biéren de.
Then let her choose for herself. The ones who regret it four years later are usually the ones who listened to others.
Xiaoyu
我也这么想。可是我怎么跟我爸爸说？
Wǒ yě zhème xiǎng. Kěshì wǒ zěnme gēn wǒ bàba shuō ?
I think so too. But how do I put it to my father?
Mr Zhang, the teacher
你把两个专业的情况写下来，让他自己看。
Nǐ bǎ liǎng gè zhuānyè de qíngkuàng xiě xiàlai, ràng tā zìjǐ kàn.
Write down what each of the two courses involves and let him read it himself.
Xiaoyu
这个办法好，比跟他吵一个晚上强。
Zhè gè bànfǎ hǎo, bǐ gēn tā chǎo yī gè wǎnshang qiáng.
That is a good idea, better than arguing with him all evening.
The 高考 is sat on the same day across the whole country, and its result is a number out of seven hundred and fifty. Every university publishes its 线 each year, the mark below which it takes nobody, so you choose your preferences by comparing your mark with last year's cut-offs. It is a system in which no personal statement is written.
当老师 means "to be a teacher" in the sense of practising that trade, and 当 is used like this before any role: 当医生, 当经理, 当兵. 是老师 would say what the person is; 当老师 says what they do and what they become. It is the verb of career plans.
比跟他吵一个晚上强: that is better than arguing with him all evening. Where 比…好 compares two qualities, 比…强 chooses between two courses of action and implies you have escaped the bad one. It is very colloquial, and always comes at the end of the sentence.
