Greater awareness of being fit and healthy means more people than ever love to do exercise on a regular basis. Many like to go to the gym or undertake other various forms of physical exercise such as running or cycling. It’s important if you get into a conversation about fitness that you can discuss what you like or dislike or even ask someone else what they do to keep fit!
In this Podcast, you will learn:
(i) How to discuss the types of exercise you like to do
(ii) To talk about how often you exercise and what you can/cannot do
Dialogue:
Two old friends meet at the gym:
（在健身房）
(zài jiàn shēn fáng)
(at the gym)
A:哎，小张？你也来健身？
Āi, xiǎo zhāng? Nǐ yě lái jiàn shēn?
Hey Xiao Zhang, so you come here to work-out too?
B:哈哈，老高？怎么在这儿看见你了。
Hā ha, lǎo gāo? Zěn me zài zhè er kàn jiàn nǐ le.
Lao Gao, how come that I found you here?
A:我一周来一次。你呢？
Wǒ yī zhōu lái yī cì. Nǐ ne?
I come here once a week. What about you?
B:这是我第一次来这个健身中心。但是我几乎每天都去健身房运动。做做器械啊，跑跑步什么的。
Zhè shì wǒ dì yī cì lái zhè ge jiàn shēn zhōng xīn. Dàn shì wǒ jī hū měi tiān dōu qù jiàn shēn fáng yùn dòng. Zuò zuo qì xiè a, pǎo pǎo bù shén me de.
This is my first time to come to this fitness center. But I go to the gym to work- out almost every day, using the exercise machines or running etc.
A:真不错，年轻就是好。器械和跑步我都做不了。我膝盖有问题。我就是每周来游一次泳。
Zhēn bù cuò, nián qīng jiù shì hǎo. qì xiè wǒ dōu zuò bù liǎo. Wǒ xī gài yǒu wèn tí. Wǒ jiù shì měi zhōu lái yóu yī cì yǒng.
That’s great. It’s good to be young still. Exercise machines and running are not for me. I have knee problems. I just come here to swim once a week.
Chinese words and phrases mentioned in this Podcast:
健身房：gym
健身：work out/physical exercise
运动：working-out
器械：equipment
膝盖：knee
游泳：swim
年轻：young
一次：once
Cultural/Grammar note:
‘怎么在这儿看见你了’ is a very common way to greet people you are familiar with. It means ‘what a surprise to see you here’.
We say ‘游一次泳’ instead of ‘游泳一次’ in Chinese.
e.g. 我去年游了两次泳。
Last year I only came to swim twice.
Mandarin Chinese learning resources we recommend:
