Answer to It’s Just a Matter of Taste!

Correct Answer: B
In the Chinese language, the two words “品味(pǐnwèi)” and “品位(pǐnwèi)” share the same pronunciation and both of them are about the same English word, “taste.” However, the ways in which they are used do differ.

First of all, Chinese people usually use “品味(pǐnwèi)” as a verb meaning “to taste,” “to savor,” etc. “品味(pǐnwèi)” can be used with many words, such as “音乐(yīnyuè) music,”“美酒(měijiǔ) delicious wine,”“诗歌(shīgē) poetry,” and so on.

Examples

Linda diǎn le yìbēi kāfēi, mànmàn pǐnwèi zhe.
Linda  点   了 一杯 咖啡,慢慢      品味   着。
Linda ordered a cup of coffee and slowly tasted it.

Yìpíng hǎo de hóngjiǔ, yídìng yào xìxì pǐnwèi.
一瓶     好  的   红酒,  一定   要 细细 品味。
A glass of good quality red wine should be tasted carefully.

However, in the Chinese language, “品位(pǐnwèi)” should be used as a noun meaning “taste.” Chinese people usually say “有品位(yǒu pǐnwèi) in good taste,” or “没品位(méi pǐnwèi) be tasteless.” Besides, we have “文化品位(wénhuà pǐnwèi) taste for culture,”“艺术品位(yìshù pǐnwèi) taste for art,”“生活品位(shēnghuó pǐnwèi) taste for life,” etc.

Examples

Bruce de chuānzhuó zǒngshì hěn yǒu pǐnwèi.
Bruce 的       穿着         总是   很    有   品位。
Bruce’s clothes are always tasteful.

Liú Míng fēicháng yǒu shēnghuó pǐnwèi
刘    明       非常    有      生活       品位。
Liu Ming has a good taste for life.

Mary jīntiān bēi le yígè fēicháng méi pǐnwèi de bāo.
Mary 今天    背 了 一个  非常      没   品位  的  包。
Mary has an extremely tacky bag today.

In our test, Wang Li thinks Lucy has good taste in clothing, which means that Lucy really “有品位(yǒu pǐnwèi).” So the answer is B.

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