Beginner Level 初级(chūjí)
What does the character "鱼(yú)" mean?
     A. Cat
     B. Horse
     C. Fish
     D. Dog

Intermediate Level 中级(zhōngjí)
What does the phrase "看电视(kàndiànshì)" mean?
     A. Watch TV
     B. Read a book
     C. Wash clothes
     D. Listen to music

Advanced Level 高级(gāojí)
What does the phrase "大吃一惊(dàchīyìjīng)" mean?
     A. Happy
     B. Sad
     C. Worried
     D. Astounded

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Listen to the song▶

如果感到幸福你就拍拍手，
Rúguǒ gǎndào xìngfú nĭ jiù pāi pāi shǒu,
If you're happy and you know it,
Clap your hands. (Clap! Clap!)
如果感到幸福你就拍拍手，
Rúguǒ gǎndào xìngfú nĭ jiù pāi pāi shǒu,
If you're happy and you know it,
Clap your hands. (Clap! Clap!)
如果感到幸福就快快拍拍手哟！看那大家都一齐拍拍手。
Rúguǒ gǎndào xìngfú jiù kuài kuài pāi pāi shǒu yo! Kàn nà dàjiā dōu yìqí pāi pāi shǒu.
If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands! See everyone clapping their hands together. (Clap! Clap!)

如果感到幸福你就跺跺脚，
Rúguǒ gǎndào xìngfú nĭ jiù duò duò jiǎo,
If you're happy and you know it, stomp your feet. (Stomp! Stomp!)
如果感到幸福你就跺跺脚，
Rúguǒ gǎndào xìngfú nĭ jiù duò duò jiǎo,
If you're happy and you know it, stomp your feet. (Stomp! Stomp!)
如果感到幸福就快快跺跺脚哟！看那大家都一齐跺跺脚。
Rúguǒ gǎndào xìngfú jiù kuài kuài duò duò jiǎo yo! Kàn nà dàjiā dōu yìqí duò duò jiǎo.
If you're happy, and you know it, stomp your feet! See everyone stomping their feet together. (Stomp! Stomp!)

如果感到幸福你就拍拍肩，
Rúguǒ gǎndào xìngfú nĭ jiù pāi pāi jiān,
If you're happy, and you know it, pat your shoulder. (Pat! Pat!)
如果感到幸福你就拍拍肩，
Rúguǒ gǎndào xìngfú nĭ jiù pāi pāi jiān,
If you're happy, and you know it, pat your shoulder. (Pat! Pat!)
如果感到幸福就快快拍拍肩哟！看那大家都一齐拍拍肩。
Rúguǒ gǎndào xìngfú jiù kuài kuài pāi pāi jiān yo! Kàn nà dàjiā dōu yìqí pāi pāi jiān.
If you're happy, and you know it, pat your shoulder! (Pat! Pat!) See everyone patting their shoulders together.

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物质(wùzhì) Materialistic  

Origin and Meaning
The phrase 物质(wùzhì) materialistic comes from a poem in Jin Dynasty, and it refers to substance and materials. But with the rapid development of material life, many people are paying more attention to materialistic things while ignoring the spiritual life. So now the phrase, as an adjective, is used to describe someone who is more concerned with material life, such as money, clothes and other objects. 物(wù) refers to matters or objects and 质(zhì) refers to quality.

Usage of the Phrase
e.g.1.你也太物质了吧！  
          Nĭ yě tài wùzhì le ba!
          You are so materialistic.
       2.不要太物质了，精神生活也是很必要的。  
          Bú yào tài wùzhì le, jīngshen shēnghuó yě shì hěn bìyào de.
          You shouldn't be so materialistic, for spiritual life is necessary too.

汗(hàn) Astonished

Origin and Meaning
The word 汗(hàn) surprise originates from caricature in which you can always see a big drop of sweat on the characters' faces when they are at a loss or embarrassed. Now it is a popular chatting word and usually used in daily life. 汗(hàn) means sweat literally, but here it means surprised or astonished.

Usage of the Word
e.g.1. 我汗，你是怎样做到的？  
           Wǒ hàn, nĭ shì zěnyàng zuò dào de?
           I'm so surprised. How did you do that?
      2. 你也太汗了吧！  
           Nĭ yě tài hàn le ba!
           You astonish me so much.

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大内密探零零狗(dànèi mìtàn Líng Líng Gǒu) A Spy Called Ling Ling Gou in the Imperial Palace is a romantic comedy with 无厘头(wúlítóu), an absurd-humor style. It is a hot movie released in August, 2009. Many Chinese people enjoy this movie, finding it humorous and entertaining. The story took place in the Ming dynasty. There were 12 imperial spies who were named after the sign of the zodiac, which is the symbolic animal of the birth year, and assigned to protect the King. In the film, Louis Koo, a famous actor from Hong Kong, plays the role of Ling Ling Gou, one of the 12 spies. He indulged in watching the film clip in technology and insisted that technology would be better than kung fu. However, he failed many times. But when faced with strong enemies against the King, he needed to come up with better ways to protect the King.

无厘头(wúlítóu) Absurd-humor:  
Absurd-humor is a kind of subculture, belonging to the pulse of post-modern culture. It originated from Hong Kong, gradually entering mainland China. Stephen Zhou, a famous comic star in Hong Kong, is the symbol of absurd-humor films. The performance style is based on nervous grassroots humor, which shows unexpected results through illogical and unrelated words and movements when people are in paradox.

Humorous quotes from The Spy Called Ling Ling Gou in the Imperial Palace:

1. 众人正在为给灵灵狗的新发明起名叫 “英雄桶”、“美人桶” 还是 “狗桶” 而犹豫不决，袁若男一语惊人：“用     动物的名字也应该神骏一点，叫马桶吧！”  
    Zhòngrén zhèngzài wèi gěi Líng Líng Gǒu de xīn fāmíng qĭ míng jiào "yīngxióngtǒng," "měiréntǒng" hái shì     "gǒutǒng" ér yóuyùbújué, Yuán Ruònán yìyŭjīngrén: "yòng dòngwù de míngzi yě yīnggāi shénjùn yì diǎn, jiào     mǎtǒng ba! "
    People were hesitant to name the new invention of Ling Ling Gou, "hero barrel" or "dog barrel?" Yuan Ruonan     said: "We should choose the super animal to name it, so what about horse barrel (Editors' note: horse barrel     also happens to mean 'toilet' in Chinese)!"
2. “一个人做这么肉麻的事反而一点也不觉得肉麻，这就是恋爱。”   
     "Yí gè rén zuò zhème ròumá de shì fǎnér yì diǎn yě bù juédé ròumá, zhè jiù shì liànài."
     "When the one who does a very disgusting thing doesn't feel disgusted, he or she is in love."

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Beginner Level/初级 chūjí   
A: 你听说没有，市中心开了一家新酒吧。  
    Nĭ tīngshuō méiyǒu, shì zhōngxīn kāi le yì jiā xīn jiŭbā.
    You know that a new bar opened in the city center?
B: 听说了，还挺不错的。咱周末去瞧瞧吧。  
    Tīngshuō le, hái tĭng búcuò de, zán zhōumò qù qiáoqiao ba.
    I've heard it's pretty nice. Want to go this weekend?
A: 好呀。  
    Hǎo ya.
    Ok.

生词(shēngcí) Vocabulary:  
周末(zhōumò): n weekend  

Intermediate Level/中级 zhōngjí  
A: 这酒吧还真不错，环境挺好。  
    Zhè jiŭbā hái zhēn búcuò, huánjìng tĭng hǎo.
    This bar is pretty good, and the environment is good too.
B: 就是，今天可得好好享受。  
    Jiù shì, jīntiān kě děi hǎohao xiǎngshòu.
    Yes, we had better enjoy it fully today.
A: 先来瓶酒吧，你喝什么？  
    Xiān lái píng jiŭ ba, nĭ hē shénme.
    I want to have a bottle of beer. What about you?
B: 来瓶青岛啤酒吧！天还挺热，要冰的。  
    Lái píng qīngdǎo píjiŭ ba! Tiān hái tĭng rè, yào bīng de.
    A bottle of Tsingtao beer! Since the weather is so hot, I'd like it cold.
A: 你好像挺爱喝青岛啤酒，很好喝吗？  
    Nĭ hǎoxiàng tĭng ài hē qīngdǎo píjiŭ, hěn hǎo hē ma?
    It seems that you are fond of Tsingtao beer. How is it?
B: 那是，它可是中国啤酒的经典品牌，享誉国际呢。  
    Nà shì, tā kěshì zhōngguó píjiŭ de jīngdiǎn pĭnpái, xiǎngyù guójì ne.
    Of course. It is a famous brand in China, known all over the world.
A: 是吗？那我也来一瓶。  
    Shì ma? Nà wǒ yě lái yì píng.
    Really? Then I'll take a bottle as well.

生词(shēngcí) Vocabulary:  
环境(huánjìng): n environment   
享受(xiǎngshòu): v to enjoy  

High level/高级 gāojí  
A: 这音乐不错，挺好听的。  
    Zhè yīnyuè bú cuò, tĭng hǎo tīng de.
    The music here is nice.
B: 那是，这首歌酒吧里常放，叫Loving You，一首很棒的英文歌。  
    Nà shì, zhè shǒu gē jiŭbā lĭ cháng fàng, jiào "Loving You," yì shǒu hěn bang de yīngwén gē.
    Definitely. This song is always played in bars. "Loving You" is a great English song.
A: 是吗？我回去得学学。这青岛啤酒还真好喝，再给我来一瓶。  
    Shì mɑ? Wǒ huíqù děi xuéxue. Zhè qīngdǎo píjiŭ hái zhēn hǎohē, zài gěi wǒ lái yì píng.
    Really? I will learn to sing the song. This Tsingtao beer is tasty, so I'd like to have another bottle.
B: 你可少喝点，别像上次还要我抬你出酒吧。  
    Nĭ kě shǎo hē diǎn, bié xiàng shàngcì hái yào wǒ tái nĭ chū jiŭbā.
    Don't drink so much that I have to carry you out of the bar like I did last time.
A: 别损我了，我酒量可没那么差劲。  
    Bié sŭn wǒ le, wǒ jiŭliàng kě méi nàme chàjìn.
    Don't deride me. My capacity for liquor is not so bad.
B: 你还别不承认，忘了我送你回家了？  
    Nĭ hái bié bù chéngrèn, wàng le wǒ sòng nĭ huíjiā le?
    You should admit the truth and not forget that I have taken you home last time.
A: 哎呀，别说了，喝酒喝酒，一醉方休。  
    Ài ya, bié shuō le, hējiŭ hējiŭ, yízuìfāngxiū.
    Don't say that. Cheers. Let's get drunk.
B: 你这人，我可真是服了你了。  
    Nĭ zhè rén, wǒ kě zhēn shì fú le nĭ le.
    Well, I have to admire you.

生词(shēngcí) Vocabulary:  
损(sŭn): v to deride or speak sarcastically  
酒量(jiŭliàng): n one's capacity for liquor  
差劲(chàjìn): a bad  
一醉方休(yízuìfāngxiū): v to drink until one is drunk  

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Currently, many people in the world are trying to learn Mandarin Chinese. If you want to learn Mandarin, using a proper method is very important. Language is for communicating. So Chinese courses should be interactive and communicative, especially Chinese for children. The proper way to learn Mandarin is to communicate with others as much as you can. One-on-one Chinese courses are a good choice, since they can make Chinese for children easier and more fun. As long as you use the right methods, you will succeed at learning Mandarin Chinese .

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