Chinese Level D: Advanced
Subjects that call for a point of view: a contract, a lease, a career decision. The vocabulary leaves the concrete behind and the sentences take shape.
- The mortgage Chen Hao is hesitating about borrowing. Xiaoyu has just got her loan, and Auntie Wang points out what the monthly payment does not say.
- To buy or to rent Xiaoyu asks her old teacher whether she should buy a small flat to let out. Chen Hao makes the case for bricks and mortar.
- Retirement and the children Auntie Wang retires next month. Her son is counting on her to mind the child; she does not dare say no.
- Ending the employment contract Chen Hao tells his manager he is resigning. Eight months of contract remain, and a project in progress.
- Working overtime Ten at night in the office. Xiaoyu and Chen Hao count their hours; Auntie Wang, who had her career before them, is not impressed.
- Harassment at the office A colleague sends Xiaoyu messages that are getting more and more out of place. Auntie Wang listens, then goes with her to the manager.
- Starting a company Chen Hao wants to launch a company with two friends. He is asked who puts in what, who does what, and who decides.
- The difficult partner Three months in, one of the three partners has brought nothing. Chen Hao is caught between friendship and the business.
- Misleading advertising Auntie Wang is about to order a slimming product she saw online. Xiaoyu and Chen Hao show her what the advert does not say.
- Personal data A budgeting app demands the address book and your location. Chen Hao is taken aback, and Auntie Wang works out where her calls come from.
- Court or mediation The firm doing Auntie Wang's building work is four months late. She wants to go to court; she is told what mediation is.
- Organ donation Xiaoyu has registered as a donor and has not told her family. Auntie Wang explains why her generation shrinks from it.
- Mental health Chen Hao notices that Xiaoyu has stopped talking. She describes two months of tiredness, and hesitates to see anyone.
- Helping elderly parents Chen Hao's father has had a fall at home. His parents refuse to move, and he lives four hundred kilometres away.
- Marrying late Every trip home brings Xiaoyu the same question. Auntie Wang asks it; Zhang laoshi points out what haste costs.