5. A Choice - A Description in Chinese - Thor May
Contacts: thormay@yahoo.com; http://thormay.net || http://www.meetup.com/learn-chinese-in-brisbane/ || https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/182279011816428/
go to a Vocabulary List of "A Choice" || go to a hanzi-only version of "A Choice" || return to the main Chinese Study Index
Thanks to Vicky Wang for this translation ^_^
1. Last week I realized that I had to make a small choice.
上周, 我突然发觉我必需做出一个小抉择.
Shàng zhōu, wǒ túrán fājué wǒ bìxū zuò chū yīgè xiǎo juézé.
2. I walked home with some groceries home from a supermarket,
我从超市带着一些日用品走回家
Wǒ cóng chāoshì dàizhe yīxiē rìyòngpǐn zǒu huí jiā
3. Then I discovered that two large, expensive packs of meat in the bags were not mine.
后来, 我发现有两大包昂贵的肉不是我的
Hòulái, wǒ fāxiàn yǒu liǎng dà bāo ángguì de ròu bùshì wǒ de
4. Probably a previous customer had left them on the bench.
可能是之前的顾客把它们留在椅子上
Kěnéng shì zhīqián de gùkè bǎ tāmen liú zài yǐzi shàng
5. I am no saint, and I didn’t want to walk all the way back to the shop.
我不是圣人, 我并不想一路走回到超市.
Wǒ bùshì shèngrén, wǒ bìng bùxiǎng yīlù zǒu huí dào chāoshì.
6. My first instinct was to keep the meat, but I felt a little guilty.
我第一个想法是把肉留下来, 可是我觉得有些内疚
Wǒ dì yīgè xiǎngfǎ shì bǎ ròu liú xiàlái, kěshì wǒ juéde yǒuxiē nèijiù
7. Three hours later, I had to return to the shopping centre anyway, so I took the meat.
三个小时之后, 我无论如何都得回到购物中心一趟; 所以我把肉带着.
Sān gè xiǎoshí zhīhòu, wǒ wúlùn rúhé dōu de huí dào gòuwù zhòng xīn yī tàng; suǒyǐ wǒ bǎ ròu dàizhe.
8. The supermarket checkout lady seemed quite annoyed when I returned the meat. She certainly didn’t say “thank you”.
超市的柜台小姐对于我把肉还回去这件事似乎很厌烦. 她并没有说谢谢.
Chāoshì de guìtái xiǎojiě duìyú wǒ bǎ ròu hái huíqù zhè jiàn shì sìhū hěn yànfán. Tā bìng méiyǒu shuō xièxiè.
9. Sometimes you are “damned if you do and damned if you don’t” make a choice.
有时后抉择:”你做了也不是, 不做也不是” **
Yǒushí hòu juézé:” Nǐ zuòle yě bùshì, bù zuò yě bùshì”.
** this is a Chinese idiom replacing an English idiom (i.e. the translation is not literal).
Another Chinese idiom with a similar meaning is "里外不是人" (Lǐ wài bùshì rén)10. What would you have done in this situation?
在这种情况下, 你会怎么做?
Zài zhè zhǒng qíngkuàng xià, nǐ huì zěnme zuò?
Contacts : thormay@yahoo.com; http://thormay.net || http://www.meetup.com/learn-chinese-in-brisbane/ || https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/182279011816428/
(c) Thor May 2012 material on this page is essentially for Thor's private study return to main Language Study Index return to homepage contact: thormay AT yahoo.com
Chinese for Learning by Thor