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Ok, we will talk about "let me be the host".

F: 今天的菜很辣。不过，我很喜欢。
    Jin1 tian1 de cai4 hen3 la4. bu2 guo4, wo3 hen3 xi3 huan.

C: 我知道你也喜欢吃辣，所以就带你来这儿了。
     Wo3 zhi1dao ni3 ye3 xi3 huan chi1 la4, suo3 yi3 jiu4 dai4 ni3 lai2 zhe4 er le.

F: 真过瘾啊！服务员，买单！
     Zhen1 guo4 yin3 a! fu2 wu4 yuan2, mai3 dan1!

C: 等等，说好了，今天我做东！
     Deng3 deng, shuo1 hao3 le, jin1 tian1 wo3 zuo4 dong1!

Translation：
F: These dishes are very spicy, but, I like it.
C: I knew you love spicy food; this is why I brought you here.
F: It was terrific. Waitress, bring me the bill.
C: wait, I have told you, let me be the host today!

In this dialogue, there is a new word "做东" which refers to be the host, have you got the meaning?

Explanation：Why "zuo4dong1" means "be the host"?

1、中国大户人家都是方方正正 坐北朝南（典型：四合院）
      In ancient china, the houses are square, and face to the south (courtyard house for example.)

2、正中是堂屋即 living room
      In the centre is living room.

3、living room里面会有坐北朝南的两张椅子 主人会请客人坐在西边的椅子上 然后自己 坐在东边的椅子上 所以 "坐东"就是坐在主人的椅子上，就是"be host".
      In the living room, there are two chairs face to the south, the host invite guest to sit in the chair which is in the west side, and the host sit in the east side chair, so "sit in the east side" means sit in the host's chair, that also means "be host".

• e.g. “今天我做东”jin1 tian1 wo3 zuo4 dong1! Let me be the host today!

4、同样，在中文中“东”常常有“主人”的意思，如“房东” －房子的主人。
      Meanwhile, in Chinese language, "东 dong1" have the meaning of "host", for example, "房东 fang2 dong1" means landlord

Ok, let's practice.

今天你做东，下次我做东
Jin1 tian1 ni3 zuo4 dong1, xia4 ci wo3 zuo4 dong1.

Ending: Thanks for listening, we have approached the end of this lesson, I hope it can be of help to you in your Chinese learning. The Chinese cast teaching Chinese from echineselearning.com. If you are interested in learning Chinese, you can visit our website at www.echineselearning.com. We can arrange you a free trial lesson online offered by a native Chinese teacher.