Level D · Advanced

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.

• C Chen Hao 陈浩
• X Xiaoyu 小雨
• A Auntie Wang 王阿姨
• Z Zhang laoshi 张老师

1. C Chen Hao

   我爸上周在家摔了一跤，幸好没伤着骨头。

   Wǒ bà shàng zhōu zài jiā shuāi le yī jiāo, xìnghǎo méi shāng zhe gǔtou.

   My father had a fall at home last week, luckily he broke nothing.

2. X Xiaoyu

   那可吓人。他们两位一直自己住吗？

   Nà kě xià rén. Tāmen liǎng wèi yīzhí zìjǐ zhù ma ?

   How frightening. Have the two of them always lived on their own?

3. C Chen Hao

   一直是。老家离这儿四百公里，我一个月回一次。

   Yīzhí shì. Lǎojiā lí zhèr sì bǎi gōnglǐ, wǒ yī gè yuè huí yī cì.

   Always. Home is four hundred kilometres from here, I go back once a month.

4. A Auntie Wang

   四百公里，真出了事，你赶过去也得大半天。

   Sì bǎi gōnglǐ, zhēn chū le shì, nǐ gǎn guòqu yě de dàbàn tiān.

   Four hundred kilometres: if something really happened, it would take you most of a day to get there.

5. C Chen Hao

   我想让他们搬过来，可是我爸一听就摇头。

   Wǒ xiǎng ràng tāmen bān guòlai, kěshì wǒ bà yī tīng jiù yáotóu.

   I would like them to move here, but my father shakes his head the moment he hears it.

6. A Auntie Wang

   换了我也摇头。熟人、菜市场、院子里的老邻居，搬了就全没了。

   Huàn le wǒ yě yáotóu. Shúrén, càishìchǎng, yuànzi lǐ de lǎo línjū, bān le jiù quán méi le.

   I would shake my head too. Familiar faces, the market, the old neighbours in the courtyard: move, and all of it is gone.

7. X Xiaoyu

   那请个人白天照顾呢？

   Nà qǐng gè rén báitiān zhàogu ne ?

   What about hiring someone for the daytime?

8. C Chen Hao

   提过。我妈说家里多个外人不习惯。

   Tí guò. Wǒ mā shuō jiālǐ duō gè wài rén bù xíguàn.

   I have suggested it. My mother says an extra person in the house would unsettle her.

9. Z Zhang laoshi

   那就从小事做起。卫生间装扶手，地上的线收起来，夜里留一盏灯。

   Nà jiù cóng xiǎo shì zuò qǐ. Wèishēngjiān zhuāng fúshǒu, de shàng de xiàn shōu qilai, yèli liú yī zhǎn dēng.

   Then start with small things. A grab rail in the bathroom, the wires tidied off the floor, a light left on at night.

10. C Chen Hao

    这些倒是不难。

    Zhèxiē dǎo shì bù nán.

    Those, at least, are not difficult.

11. Z Zhang laoshi

    摔跤多半发生在卫生间和夜里。改了这两处，风险少一半。

    Shuāi jiāo duō bàn fāshēng zài wèishēngjiān hé yèli. Gǎi le zhè liǎng chǔ, fēngxiǎn shǎo yī bàn.

    Falls happen mostly in the bathroom and at night. Sort those two and the risk halves.

12. X Xiaoyu

    还可以让他们随身带个能打电话的手环。

    Hái kěyǐ ràng tāmen suíshēn dài gè néng dǎ diànhuà de shǒu huán.

    You could also have them carry a wristband that can make a call.

13. A Auntie Wang

    老人怕的不是老，是给孩子添麻烦。你把话说得轻一点儿。

    Lǎorén pà de bùshì lǎo, shì gěi háizi tiān máfan. Nǐ bǎ huà shuō de qīng yīdiǎnr.

    What older people fear is not growing old, it is being a burden on their children. Put it to them lightly.

14. C Chen Hao

    明白。我就说是顺手装的。

    Míngbai. Wǒ jiù shuō shì shùnshǒu zhuāng de.

    Understood. I will say I fitted it while I was passing.