HSK 4 · Lesson 27保护我们的地球 Protect our Earth

Nature and the environment: forests, water, air, animals. 随着 “as, along with”, 甚至 “even”, 无论 / 不论…都… “no matter…” and 种 zhòng “to plant”.

Speed:Male voice:

Dialogues

City air

A
随着城市越来越大，空气污染也越来越严重了。
Suízhe chéngshì yuè lái yuè dà, kōngqì wūrǎn yě yuè lái yuè yánzhòng le.
As the city grows, air pollution is getting worse and worse.
B
是啊，有时候甚至看不见对面的楼。
Shì a, yǒushíhou shènzhì kàn bu jiàn duìmiàn de lóu.
Yes, sometimes you can’t even see the building opposite.
A
我们应该保护环境，多种树。
Wǒmen yīnggāi bǎohù huánjìng, duō zhòng shù.
We should protect the environment and plant more trees.
B
对，无论是谁，都应该保护地球。
Duì, wúlùn shì shéi, dōu yīnggāi bǎohù dìqiú.
Right — whoever you are, you should protect the Earth.
A
我周末去农村，那儿远离城市，空气特别好。
Wǒ zhōumò qù nóngcūn, nàr yuǎnlí chéngshì, kōngqì tèbié hǎo.
I’m going to the countryside at the weekend — it’s far from the city and the air is great.
B
真羡慕你，能回到大自然。
Zhēn xiànmù nǐ, néng huídào dàzìrán.
I envy you — getting back to nature.

Animals in the forest

A
森林里有老虎和熊吗？
Sēnlín li yǒu lǎohǔ hé xióng ma?
Are there tigers and bears in the forest?
B
以前有，现在动物越来越少了。
Yǐqián yǒu, xiànzài dòngwù yuè lái yuè shǎo le.
There used to be; now there are fewer and fewer animals.
A
为什么减少了？
Wèi shénme jiǎnshǎo le?
Why have they declined?
B
一方面人越来越多，另一方面森林常常着火，很多动物失去了生命。
Yì fāngmiàn rén yuè lái yuè duō, lìng yì fāngmiàn sēnlín chángcháng zháohuǒ, hěn duō dòngwù shīqùle shēngmìng.
Partly because there are more and more people, partly because forests often catch fire and many animals have died.
A
着火很危险，是什么引起的？
Zháohuǒ hěn wēixiǎn, shì shénme yǐnqǐ de?
Fires are dangerous. What causes them?
B
不论是天气太干，还是有人扔烟头，都可能引起大火。
Búlùn shì tiānqì tài gān, háishi yǒu rén rēng yāntóu, dōu kěnéng yǐnqǐ dà huǒ.
Whether it’s very dry weather or someone throwing away a cigarette end, it can start a big fire.

New words

📝 Worksheet for this lesson

Grammar

1. 随着 “as, along with”

随着 + change，…

随着 names a change that another change follows: 随着城市越来越大，空气污染也越来越严重 “as the city grows, air pollution gets worse and worse”, 随着年龄的增加 “with age”. The second part often has 也 or 越来越.

随着年龄的增加，他越来越喜欢安静。
Suízhe niánlíng de zēngjiā, tā yuè lái yuè xǐhuan ānjìng.
As he gets older, he likes peace and quiet more and more.

2. 甚至 “even”

甚至 stresses an extreme case: 有时候甚至看不见对面的楼 “sometimes you can’t even see the building opposite”. It can pair up: 不仅…甚至… “not only…, but even…”: 他不仅会说汉语，甚至会写书法.

这个地方很缺水，有时候甚至没有水喝。
Zhège dìfang hěn quē shuǐ, yǒushíhou shènzhì méiyǒu shuǐ hē.
This place is very short of water — sometimes there isn’t even any to drink.

3. 无论 / 不论…，都… “no matter…”

Like 不管 (lesson 26), but more formal: 无论是谁，都应该保护地球 “whoever you are, you should protect the Earth”, 不论是天气太干，还是有人扔烟头，都可能引起大火. 无论 / 不论 are also followed by a question form or 是…还是….

无论天气怎么样，他都去跑步。
Wúlùn tiānqì zěnmeyàng, tā dōu qù pǎobù.
Whatever the weather, he goes running.

4. Nature: 自然, 环保, 着火, 种

自然 is “nature” and “natural”: 很自然; 大自然 is “nature” (the world around). 环保 = 环境保护 “environmental protection”. 着火 zháohuǒ is “to catch fire”. 种 zhòng is “to plant”: 种树 — not to be confused with 种 zhǒng “kind, sort” (这种书). 江 is “a big river”: 长江 “the Yangtze”, China’s longest river. 缺 / 缺少 mean “to lack”: 缺水.

地球上大部分是海洋。
Dìqiú shang dà bùfen shì hǎiyáng.
Most of the Earth is ocean.
长江是中国最长的江。
Chángjiāng shì Zhōngguó zuì cháng de jiāng.
The Yangtze is the longest river in China.
秋天，叶子变成了黄色。
Qiūtiān, yèzi biànchéngle huángsè.
In autumn the leaves turn yellow.

Exercises

1. Listen and choose the translation

  1. Answer
    这个地方缺水。 Zhège dìfang quē shuǐ. — This place is short of water.

  2. Answer
    这儿的海很深。 Zhèr de hǎi hěn shēn. — The sea is very deep here.

  3. Answer
    全球的气温越来越高。 Quánqiú de qìwēn yuè lái yuè gāo. — Temperatures around the world keep rising.

  4. Answer
    这儿的土很好，种什么都长得好。 Zhèr de tǔ hěn hǎo, zhòng shénme dōu zhǎng de hǎo. — The soil here is good — whatever you plant grows well.

2. Choose the correct option

  1. ___经济的发展，人们的生活越来越好。

    Answer
    随着
  2. 他很忙，___连吃饭的时间都没有。

    Answer
    甚至
  3. ___你去哪儿，我都跟你去。

    Answer
    无论
  4. How is 种 read in 种树?

    Answer
    zhòng

3. Build the sentence

  1. We should protect the environment.

    Answer
    我们应该保护环境。 Wǒmen yīnggāi bǎohù huánjìng.
  2. It’s far from the city there, and the air is great.

    Answer
    那儿远离城市，空气特别好。 Nàr yuǎnlí chéngshì, kōngqì tèbié hǎo.
  3. Forest fires are very dangerous.

    Answer
    森林着火很危险。 Sēnlín zháohuǒ hěn wēixiǎn.
  4. There are fewer and fewer animals.

    Answer
    动物越来越少了。 Dòngwù yuè lái yuè shǎo le.

4. Dialogue: answer as the speaker

You are speaker B. Pick the right reply and the conversation goes on.

A
你为什么不开车了？
Nǐ wèi shénme bù kāichē le?
Why don’t you drive any more?
B
为了环保，我现在骑自行车上班。
Wèile huánbǎo, wǒ xiànzài qí zìxíngchē shàngbān.
For the environment — I cycle to work now.
A
下雨的时候呢？
Xià yǔ de shíhou ne?
What about when it rains?
B
无论下不下雨，我都骑车。
Wúlùn xià bu xià yǔ, wǒ dōu qí chē.
Rain or no rain, I cycle.
A
你真棒！
Nǐ zhēn bàng!
You’re amazing!
B
没什么，骑车还能锻炼身体。
Méi shénme, qí chē hái néng duànliàn shēntǐ.
It’s nothing — cycling is good exercise too.

5. Translate into Chinese

  1. As he got older, he became calmer.
    Answer
    随着年龄的增加，他越来越冷静了。
  2. He was so tired he didn’t even eat.
    Answer
    他太累了，甚至连饭都没吃。
  3. Whoever comes, say I’m not in.
    Answer
    无论谁来，都说我不在。

💡 Did you know?: The giant panda

The giant panda, 大熊猫, lives only in China — in the mountain bamboo forests of Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu. It’s called a “national treasure”, 国宝. Thanks to reserves and protection, the number of wild pandas has risen to about 1,800–1,900, and in 2016 the panda was moved from “endangered” to “vulnerable”. China sometimes lends pandas to other countries — known as “panda diplomacy”.

Phrase audio — Microsoft speech synthesis (voices Xiaoxiao, Yunyang, Yunxi); syllables and some words — native recordings (audio-cmn, CC BY-SA).