HSK 4 · Lesson 32科技发展得真快 Technology moves so fast

Science and technology: phones, research, discoveries. 对于 “regarding, for”, 与 “and, with” (written), 在…方面 “in terms of”, 进行 “to carry out”, 不断 “continuously”.

Speed:Male voice:

Dialogues

New phones

A
二十一世纪科技发展得真快！
Èrshíyī shìjì kējì fāzhǎn de zhēn kuài!
Technology moves so fast in the twenty-first century!
B
是啊，手机每年都推出新的，速度越来越快。
Shì a, shǒujī měi nián dōu tuīchū xīn de, sùdù yuè lái yuè kuài.
Yes, new phones come out every year, faster and faster.
A
对于老人来说，用新手机有点儿难。
Duìyú lǎorén lái shuō, yòng xīn shǒujī yǒudiǎnr nán.
For older people, using a new phone is a bit hard.
B
我奶奶基本上只用它打电话，可是她也在不断学习。
Wǒ nǎinai jīběnshàng zhǐ yòng tā dǎ diànhuà, kěshì tā yě zài búduàn xuéxí.
My grandma mostly just uses it to make calls, but she keeps learning too.
A
在学习方面，网上获取知识确实很方便。
Zài xuéxí fāngmiàn, wǎngshang huòqǔ zhīshi quèshí hěn fāngbiàn.
As for studying, getting knowledge online really is convenient.
B
不过实际上，很多人只在网上看视频。
Búguò shíjìshàng, hěn duō rén zhǐ zài wǎngshang kàn shìpín.
But in fact a lot of people only watch videos online.

A scientist

A
你哥哥是做什么的？
Nǐ gēge shì zuò shénme de?
What does your brother do?
B
他是科学家，在大学进行研究。
Tā shì kēxuéjiā, zài dàxué jìnxíng yánjiū.
He’s a scientist doing research at a university.
A
研究什么？
Yánjiū shénme?
What does he research?
B
研究新的技术，让电动车开得更远。他们已经取得了很大的成功。
Yánjiū xīn de jìshù, ràng diàndòngchē kāi de gèng yuǎn. Tāmen yǐjīng qǔdéle hěn dà de chénggōng.
New technology to make electric vehicles go further. They’ve already had great success.
A
研究的过程一定很难吧？
Yánjiū de guòchéng yídìng hěn nán ba?
The research process must be hard?
B
是啊，有时候试一百次都不成功。不过科学就是这样，要有基础，也要坚持。
Shì a, yǒushíhou shì yìbǎi cì dōu bù chénggōng. Búguò kēxué jiù shì zhèyàng, yào yǒu jīchǔ, yě yào jiānchí.
Yes, sometimes a hundred tries don’t work. But that’s science — you need a foundation, and persistence.

New words

📝 Worksheet for this lesson

Grammar

1. 对于 “regarding; for”

对于 + someone / something (+ 来说)，…

对于 introduces what or whom something concerns: 对于这个问题，大家的看法不一样 “on this question opinions differ”. With 来说 it means “for someone”: 对于老人来说，用新手机有点儿难 “for older people, using a new phone is a bit hard”. 对 (HSK 2) is used similarly: 对身体好.

对于这个问题，大家的看法不一样。
Duìyú zhège wèntí, dàjiā de kànfǎ bù yíyàng.
Opinions differ on this question.

2. 与 “and; with” (written)

与 is the written form of 和 and 跟: “and” between nouns: 科学与技术 “science and technology”; “with”: 我与他是同学 “he and I are classmates”, 这件事与我没有关系 “this has nothing to do with me”, 与…有关 “related to…”.

这件事与我没有关系。
Zhè jiàn shì yǔ wǒ méiyǒu guānxì.
This has nothing to do with me.

3. 在…方面 “in terms of, as for”

在 + area + 方面 means “in terms of…, in the field of…”: 在学习方面 “as for studying”, 在技术方面，这家公司很强 “this company is strong in technology”.

在技术方面，这家公司很强。
Zài jìshù fāngmiàn, zhè jiā gōngsī hěn qiáng.
This company is strong in technology.

4. 进行 “to carry out”; 不断, 基本上

进行 + a two-syllable verb is the formal “to carry out”: 进行研究 “do research”, 进行调查 “conduct a survey”, 比赛正在进行 “the match is under way”. 不断 is “continuously”: 不断学习, 不断发展. 基本上 is “basically, on the whole”: 基本上只用它打电话. 实际上 is “in fact”.

他们正在进行研究。
Tāmen zhèngzài jìnxíng yánjiū.
They’re carrying out research.
车速超过了一百公里。
Chēsù chāoguòle yìbǎi gōnglǐ.
The speed went over a hundred kilometres.
运动对身体能起到很好的作用。
Yùndòng duì shēntǐ néng qǐdào hěn hǎo de zuòyòng.
Exercise can have a very good effect on your health.

Exercises

1. Listen and choose the translation

  1. Answer
    他获得了奖学金。 Tā huòdéle jiǎngxuéjīn. — He got a scholarship.

  2. Answer
    这样做会产生很多问题。 Zhèyàng zuò huì chǎnshēng hěn duō wèntí. — Doing this will cause lots of problems.

  3. Answer
    我们达到了目标。 Wǒmen dádàole mùbiāo. — We’ve reached our goal.

  4. Answer
    工作停止了。 Gōngzuò tíngzhǐ le. — Work has stopped.

2. Choose the correct option

  1. ___我来说，汉字最难。

    Answer
    对于
  2. “This has nothing to do with me” (formal)

    Answer
    这件事与我没有关系。
  3. ___学习方面，他很努力。

    Answer
    在
  4. 他们正在___一项新的研究。

    Answer
    进行

3. Build the sentence

  1. Technology moves so fast.

    Answer
    科技发展得真快。 Kējì fāzhǎn de zhēn kuài.
  2. He does research at a university.

    Answer
    他在大学进行研究。 Tā zài dàxué jìnxíng yánjiū.
  3. They’ve already had great success.

    Answer
    他们已经取得了很大的成功。 Tāmen yǐjīng qǔdéle hěn dà de chénggōng.
  4. She keeps learning too.

    Answer
    她也在不断学习。 Tā yě zài búduàn xuéxí.

4. Dialogue: answer as the speaker

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

A
你觉得网上学习怎么样？
Nǐ juéde wǎngshang xuéxí zěnmeyàng?
What do you think of learning online?
B
很方便，获取知识的速度很快。
Hěn fāngbiàn, huòqǔ zhīshi de sùdù hěn kuài.
Very convenient — you get knowledge fast.
A
可是有人说效果不好。
Kěshì yǒu rén shuō xiàoguǒ bù hǎo.
But some people say it isn’t effective.
B
对于不认真的人来说，确实是这样。
Duìyú bú rènzhēn de rén lái shuō, quèshí shì zhèyàng.
For people who aren’t serious, that’s true.
A
你每天在网上学多长时间？
Nǐ měi tiān zài wǎngshang xué duō cháng shíjiān?
How long do you study online every day?
B
基本上每天一个小时，从来不停。
Jīběnshàng měi tiān yí ge xiǎoshí, cónglái bù tíng.
Basically an hour a day, and I never stop.

5. Translate into Chinese

  1. This is very important to me.
    Answer
    对于我来说，这很重要。
  2. He is very serious about work.
    Answer
    在工作方面，他很认真。
  3. You need to keep learning.
    Answer
    我们应该不断学习。

💡 Did you know?: The Four Great Inventions

The Chinese are proud of the 四大发明, the “Four Great Inventions” of antiquity: paper, printing, the compass and gunpowder. Today China is itself a world centre of 科技: it makes most of the world’s smartphones, builds high-speed trains, operates its own space station, and sells more electric cars than all other countries combined.

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