ABSTRACT

Kèrén: Hǎo a! Nín de lǜdòu tāng zuì yǒumíng. Búguò wǒ cháng yīdiǎndiǎn jiù hǎo, wǒ gāng chī guo wǔfàn.

Hostess: Oh! Long time no see! Hurry and come in and have a seat. Guest: Today I came into town for a little business. After I was fi nished,

I still had a little bit of time, so I came to visit you. Guest: Last time you did me such a big favor; this is a little bit of

something. Please accept it. Hostess: You are too nice. I just made a pot of mung bean soup. Would

you like to have some (literally: a little)? Guest: OK! Your mung bean soup is the most famous. But I will only

taste a little bit as I just ate lunch.