gāo sù
高速
miǎn fèi
免费
,
kāi chē
开车
hái shì
还是
zuò
坐
gāo tiě
高铁
Freeways Are Toll-Free: Should We Drive or Take the High-Speed Train?
guó qìng jié国庆节jià qī假期,7 zuò7座yǐ xià以下xiǎo小kè chē客车zǒu走gāo sù gōng lù高速公路miǎn fèi免费,dàn但hěn很duō多lù duàn路段róng yì容易dǔ chē堵车。

During the National Day holiday, passenger cars with seven seats or fewer can use the expressways free of charge, but many sections are prone to traffic jams.

陈花
míng tiān明天huí回wǒ我mā妈jiā家,zán men咱们kāi chē开车qù去ba吧。gāo sù高速bú yào不要qián钱,hái还néng能bǎ把gěi给bà mā爸妈mǎi买de的dōng xī东西dōu都dài shàng带上。

We’re going back to my parents’ place tomorrow. Let’s drive. The expressway is toll-free, and we can bring along everything we bought for my parents.

黄刚
bú yào不要qián钱shì是bú yào不要qián钱,kě shì可是dà jiā大家dōu都zhè me这么xiǎng想。wǒ我gāng刚kàn看xīn wén新闻,jīn tiān今天hǎo duō好多gāo sù高速dōu都dǔ堵chéng成tíng chē chǎng停车场le了。

It’s toll-free, sure, but everyone else thinks the same way. I just saw the news—lots of expressways are already so jammed they’ve turned into parking lots.

陈花
píng shí平时kāi chē开车cái才sān gè三个duō多xiǎo shí小时,jiù suàn就算dǔ堵,néng能dǔ堵chéng成shén me yàng什么样?

It usually takes just over three hours to drive. Even if there’s a traffic jam, how bad could it really be?

黄刚
guāng光zài在fú wù qū服务区shàng上gè个cè suǒ厕所jiù就děi得pái排bàn gè半个xiǎo shí小时。shěng省xià下nà那diǎn点guò lù fèi过路费,rén人yě也lèi huài累坏le了。

You could spend half an hour just waiting to use the restroom at a service area. Saving that little bit on tolls isn’t worth wearing ourselves out.

陈花
nà那zuò坐gāo tiě高铁?piào票zǎo jiù早就qiǎng抢bú dào不到le了ba吧。

Then how about taking the high-speed train? The tickets must have sold out already, right?

黄刚
wǒ我gāng刚chá查le了,míng tiān明天xià wǔ下午hái yǒu还有liǎng zhāng两张。yí gè bàn一个半xiǎo shí小时jiù就dào到,lù shàng路上hái还néng能shuì睡yī jiào一觉。

I just checked. There are still two tickets for tomorrow afternoon. We’ll get there in an hour and a half, and we can even take a nap on the way.

陈花
kě shì可是nà me那么duō多dōng xī东西zěn me bàn怎么办?mǐ米、yóu油,hái yǒu还有gěi给wǒ我bà爸mǎi买de的àn mó yǐ按摩椅……

But what are we going to do with all this stuff? Rice, cooking oil, and the massage chair I bought for my dad…

黄刚
àn mó yǐ按摩椅?nǐ你lián连zhè ge这个dōu都mǎi买le了?nà那jiù就jì寄kuài dì快递,ràng让tā men他们zhí jiē直接sòng dào送到jiā家。

A massage chair? You even bought one of those? Then let’s send it by courier and have it delivered straight to their home.

陈花
xíng行ba吧,tīng听nǐ你de的。bù guò不过kuài dì fèi快递费kě可bǐ比guò lù fèi过路费guì贵duō多le了,zhè这qián钱nǐ你lái来chū出。

All right, we’ll do it your way. But the delivery fee will cost a lot more than the tolls, so you’re paying for it.

Why use the app

Access 1,000+ dialogues and all study tools

Ask the AI, use repeat playback, save vocabulary, and track your progress

Full archive

1,000+ dialogues and 500+ Easy Mandarin News articles are available.

Smarter practice

Use repeat playback, adjust audio speed, and save words to flashcards.

Ask the AI

Get instant explanations for grammar, usage, and sentence structure.