Housing, Hotels and Living Environment

Living environment and residential areas

In listening exercises about living environments, speakers often compare the old situation with the new situation. Use 以前 (yǐqián: before, previously) to talk about the past, and 现在 (xiànzài: now, at present) or 比以前 (bǐ yǐqián: compared with before) to talk about the present. The answer is usually a conclusion about the current situation, so you need to identify which direction the change goes.

Common vocabulary:

• 环境 (huánjìng: environment) — the living space around us, including air, water and greenery. Example: 这个小区的环境很安静。 (The environment of this residential area is very quiet.)
• 空气 (kōngqì: air) — often used with 好, 差 or 不好. Example: 郊外的空气比市中心好。 (The air in the suburbs is better than in the city center.)
• 垃圾 (lājī: rubbish) — 到处都是垃圾 (dàochù dōu shì lājī: rubbish everywhere) stresses a dirty state, while 全是 (quán shì: all are) has a similar meaning. Example: 以前院子里到处都是落叶，现在干净多了。 (Before, there were fallen leaves everywhere in the yard; now it is much cleaner.)
• 种树 (zhòng shù: plant trees) and 绿化 (lǜhuà: greening, planting greenery). Example: 小区里新种了不少花草。 (A lot of flowers and plants have just been planted in the residential area.)
• 步道 (bùdào: walking path) and 自行车道 (zìxíngchē dào: bicycle lane). Example: 河边新修了一条步道，适合傍晚散步。 (A new walking path has been built by the river, suitable for a stroll in the evening.)

About transport:

• 堵车 (dǔchē: traffic jam), 挤地铁 (jǐ dìtiě: squeeze onto the subway), 骑自行车上班 (qí zìxíngchē shàngbān: cycle to work). When a city has 修了地铁 (xiū le dìtiě: built a subway) or more people have switched to cycling, this is a sign that transport and the environment have improved.

About location of residence:

• 离…近 (lí … jìn: close to …) and 走路就能到 (zǒulù jiù néng dào: can get there on foot). Example: 我家离地铁站很近。 (My home is near the subway station.)
• 比较 (bǐjiào: fairly, relatively) expresses a milder degree than 很. 比较小 means only somewhat small, which differs from 很小 (very small). Therefore, when an answer says something is 比较 small or convenient, do not interpret it too strongly. Example: 这间公寓比较小，但是很温馨。 (This apartment is fairly small but very cozy.)
• 搬家 (bānjiā: move house) goes with 为了 (wèile: for the sake of, in order to) + purpose. Example: 他搬到市中心，主要是为了上班方便。 (He moved to the city center mainly so that commuting to work would be more convenient.)

Distinguish adverbs when the answer shows a change:

• 一直 (yìzhí: always, continuously) describes a state that continues unchanged. If the passage says things have changed, an answer using 一直 to say the old situation still continues is wrong.
• 还是 (háishi: still) describes a situation that has not changed.
• 又…了 (yòu … le: again …) describes something happening again; it is not used to talk about improvement.
• 越来越 (yuèláiyuè: more and more) describes a gradually increasing trend; it must not be inferred if the passage does not say so.

When saying 环境比以前好多了 (huánjìng bǐ yǐqián hǎo duō le: the environment is much better than before), this is the correct way to conclude that an improvement has occurred.

Hotel and guesthouse bookings

Listening passages about hotels and guesthouses usually revolve around booking rooms, choosing room types, changing rooms and checking in. You need to know vocabulary about room types, room locations and actions at the front desk.

Room types:

• 订房 / 预订 (dìngfáng / yùdìng: to book a room). Example: 我想提前预订一间单人间。 (I would like to book a single room in advance.)
• 双人间 (shuāngrénjiān: double room), 单人间 (dānrénjiān: single room), 普通房间 (pǔtōng fángjiān: standard room). When choosing a room, listeners must recognise which room type is selected from the guest's speech.

Room location and orientation: