I purchased this book to teach Chinese and find it one of the most helpful books on the market. This second book in the traditional series is just as entertaining and fresh looking as the first one. One of my favorite chapters is the one on Dining Out (Chi Fan)/Chapter 12. There are two main dialogues with the traditional characters followed by the pinyin. The vocabulary section includes new words from the dialogue ; again here, the traditional characters are clearly printed ,along with the pinyin and English translations. This is actually very helpful. Now, a word of caution : the English translation for both Dialogue 1 and 2 is at the end of the chapter. This may be a bit inconvenient but may be intended by the authors to encourage Chinese learners to increase their fluency.
There are beautiful pictures in this chapter as well as throughout the book. My favorite picture in this chapter is the one on a typical Chinese meal laid out in all its glory as well as simple elegance. On plates, one can see jiaozi (dumplings) , freshly steamed green vegetables, rice, family-style tofu and some succulent-looking sliced meat. The Chinese do love their food!
The grammar section is very well done. In Chapter 12, the grammar section explains ,among other things, the difference between 'gang' and 'gangcai.' There are example sentences to explain the difference ; again, traditional characters, pinyin and the English translations are conveniently laid out in a clean and neat style.
There are some exercises for practice as well ; the two 'Recap and Narrate' sections are especially helpful because they draw on both dialogues and also , I suspect previous vocabulary from Book 1 of the First Series. I also have that book and it is just as good.
Last, but not least, the cultural highlights are a delight. In Chapter 12, Western and Chinese cuisine is discussed, even to what is sold in Macdonalds and KFCs in China. Very interesting perspective!
This is not necessarily a do-it-yourself study book. If one has some fundamental knowledge of Chinese, they could learn from this book by themselves in order to better their knowledge of the language. For beginners, I recommend the first book in this series , along with a tutor , if possible. Some schools may also offer the language and certainly , many colleges do now .
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Peppermintmari
Great graphics and wonderful, modern text
Reviewed in the United States on 20 February 2013Verified Purchase
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