The neighbour upstairs is doing building work until ten at night. Chen Hao goes to the management company, which has nothing but words.
Chen Hao
你好，我住五楼。楼上装修，晚上十点还在敲。
Nǐhǎo, wǒ zhù wǔ lóu. Lóushàng zhuāngxiū, wǎnshang shí diǎn hái zài qiāo.
Hello, I live on the fifth floor. The flat above is being done up, and they are still hammering at ten at night.
The manager
六楼是吧？已经有三家跟我们说过了。
Liù lóu shì ba ? Yǐjīng yǒu sān jiā gēn wǒmen shuō guò le.
The sixth floor, is that right? Three households have already spoken to us.
Chen Hao
那你们打算怎么处理？
Nà nǐmen dǎsuàn zěnme chǔlǐ ?
And how do you mean to deal with it?
The manager
我们跟他谈过两次。他说白天上班，只能晚上做。
Wǒmen gēn tā tán guò liǎng cì. Tā shuō báitiān shàngbān, zhǐnéng wǎnshang zuò.
We have spoken to him twice. He says he works during the day and can only do it in the evening.
Chen Hao
可是小区的规定是晚上八点以后不能装修。
Kěshì xiǎoqū de guīdìng shì wǎnshang bā diǎn yǐhòu bùnéng zhuāngxiū.
But the compound rules forbid building work after eight.
The manager
规定是这样。不过我们只能提醒，不能罚。
Guīdìng shì zhèyàng. Bùguò wǒmen zhǐnéng tíxǐng, bùnéng fá.
Those are the rules. But all we can do is warn, we cannot fine.
Chen Hao
那被吵的人怎么办？
Nà bèi chǎo de rén zěnme bàn ?
And what about the people putting up with the noise?
The manager
您可以报警。警察来了，他一定会停。
Nín kěyǐ bào jǐng. Jǐngchá lái le, tā yīdìng huì tíng.
You can call the police. Once they arrive, he will certainly stop.
Chen Hao
我不想把关系搞坏。
Wǒ bù xiǎng bǎ guānxi gǎo huài.
I do not want to spoil relations.
The manager
我理解。这样吧，明天我再去一次，跟他把时间定下来。
Wǒ lǐjiě. Zhèyàng ba, míngtiān wǒ zài qù yī cì, gēn tā bǎ shíjiān dìng xiàlai.
I understand. Let us do this: I will go up again tomorrow and settle a time with him.
Chen Hao
定到几点？
Dìng dào jǐ diǎn ?
A time until when?
The manager
八点。再晚，我们帮您报警。
Bā diǎn. Zài wǎn, wǒmen bāng nín bào jǐng.
Eight. Any later and we will call the police for you.
Chen Hao
好。我先等两天，还这样我就自己打。
Hǎo. Wǒ xiān děng liǎng tiān, hái zhèyàng wǒ jiù zìjǐ dǎ.
All right. I will wait two days, and if nothing changes I will call myself.
把关系搞坏: to spoil the relationship. 搞 is a very general verb, "to do, to fix", and takes its meaning only from the complement after it: 搞坏 (to spoil), 搞好 (to get right), 搞清楚 (to clear up). With 把, the object comes first and the result closes the sentence, as always in this construction.
被吵的人 translates as "the people who have to put up with the noise". The passive goes inside a relative clause here, which is very common: 被罚的人, 被送错的东西. The group 被 + verb qualifies the noun after 的, and English needs a whole relative clause where Chinese uses three characters.
The 物业 is the company that manages a residential compound: security, lifts, cleaning, reminders of the rules. It collects the charges discussed in lesson 1, but it has no power to penalise: only the police can stop noise at night. Its answer here, one more warning and then a call on the complainant's behalf, is exactly what it is able to do.
