First Step

Chih-p'ing Chou is professor of East Asian studies at Princeton University and director of the university's Chinese language and Princeton in Beijing programs. Jing Wang is senior lecturer in Chinese at Princeton. Jun Lei is a former lecturer in Chinese at Princeton.

"First Step is the most recent step in the wonderful Y. R. Chao tradition of teaching Chinese language to speakers of English. It begins with essential foundation work in pronunciation, then offers simple, natural, and witty dialogues, followed by tight, clear explanations of grammar, notes on culture, introductions to reading and writing—in both simplified and traditional characters—and a comprehensive set of exercises. It is everything one could want in a first-year textbook."—Perry Link, University of California, Riverside

• Preface vii Audio Content: Listening, Speaking, and Pronunciation ix List of Abbreviations x Main Characters xi Hanyu Pinyin Romanization System 1 1 Teacher and Students 10 2 The Books Are on the Table 22 3 I Am Very Busy Today 32 4 Beijing Roast Duck 42 5 A Picture 52 6 My Two Friends 66 7 Choosing Classes 82 8 Cannot See Clearly 96 9 To Drink Tea or Coffee 106 10 Looking for Glasses While Wearing Them 118 11 Who Ate My Stuff 130 12 The Door Is Locked, I Cannot Get In 142 13 Buy Shoes 156 14 Cannot Get up and Late for School 168 15 It's Snowing! 176 16 Getting Fatter, What Shall I Do? 188 17 Ride a Bike 200 18 The Bike Was Stolen 210 19 Chinatown 218 20 East Asian Library 230 21 Chinese Table 238 22 Our Chinese Teachers 246 23 Individual Sessions 256 24 See a Movie 264 25 I'm Vegetarian 276 26 Speech Contest 284 27 I Have to Move 294 28 Living Off Campus Is Not as Good as Living in the Dorm 306 29 Xiao Ding and Susan 318 30 An Email to Parents 330 Pinyin Index 339 English Index 347