Sometimes unavoidable accidents will happen. They may be minor where no-one is injured or major where it is necessary to call a doctor or, even, an ambulance. Talking about such occurrences will broaden your understanding of day to day conversations and help you communicate with others more effectively!
In this Podcast, you will learn:
(i) How to give a warning about an accident about to happen
(ii) To talk about a minor accident and take the blame for it
Dialogue:
A customer slips over in the restaurant:
（在餐馆）
(zài cān guǎn)
(in the restaurant)
A:小心！地上有水！
Xiǎo xīn! Dì shàng yǒu shuǐ!
Watch out! There is water on the floor!
B:哎呦（滑倒）！
Āi yōu (huá dǎo)!
Ouch (falling down)!
A:女士，（扶起来）您没摔着吧？
Nǚ shì, (fú qǐ lái) nín méi shuāi zhe ba?
Ma’am, (helping her up) are you hurt?
A:谢谢，我没事儿。但要是个年纪大一点的摔倒了，可是很危险的！
Xiè xie, wǒ méi shì er. Dàn yào shì ge nián ji dà yī diǎn er de shuāi dǎo le, kě shì hěn wēi xiǎn de!
Thanks, I’m fine. But if an older person fell over, it would be very dangerous.
B:您说的是。这是我们的疏忽。这不，我正要擦地呢。
Nín shuō de shì. Zhè shì wǒ mén de shū hū. Zhè bu, wǒ zhèng yào cā dì ne.
You are right. Sorry, this was our fault. See, I’m just about to wipe the floor.
A:你们最好再摆一个“小心地滑”的警示牌，提醒大家注意安全。
Nǐ mén zuì hǎo zài bǎi yī gè xiǎo xīn dì huá de jǐng shì pái, tí xǐng dà jiā zhù yì ān quán.
You’d better place a ‘caution, slippery floor’ warning sign to remind people about safety.
Chinese words and phrases mentioned in this Podcast:
小心：watch out/be careful
危险：dangerous
小心地滑：caution, slippery floor
年纪：age
摔倒：fall
您说的是：what you said is right
疏忽：fault/negligence
擦地：wipe the floor
摆：put
警示牌：warning sign
提醒：remind
Cultural/Grammar note:
‘可是’ is for emphasis in this dialog and does not mean ‘but’ in this case
‘这不’ is northern slang; it can mean ‘here you go’/‘here it is’ or ‘look, something is happening right now’, such as in this dialog.