Welcome to Lesson 4. This week we hear Pipe deciding to do some exercise.

Pipe speaks to Estella on the phone and hopes that she will be able to help him 帮我的忙 start exercising as he feels lately 最近 he has been lazier than normal and has become fat 发胖。. Estella asks what type of exercise 运动 Pipe wants to do. Running 跑步, swimming 游泳, riding a bicycle 骑脚踏车, or doing yoga  做瑜珈? Pipe says he would like to play basketball Estella's brother plays basketball so she gives Pipe his phone number to contact 联络 him.

Pipe meets Estella's brother at the park's basketball court.

Pipe introduces himself to Estella's brother Eddie. They discuses playing basketball and Pipe says he wants to exercise more by playing basketball and try out some new kinds of sports. Eddie says that in this park you can see people running跑步, playing soccer 踢足球and tennis 打网球and there are also people doing Tai Chi 打太极拳 and dancing 跳舞. Pipe is surprised that a park would have this many people exercising in it. Eddie says that's how big cities are! He then suggests they have a game of one-on-one 一对一and then take a stroll 一对一around the park. Pipe agrees and they go off to play basketball.

The vocabulary and the supplementary vocabulary are mainly to do with games, exercise, and sports.

There are 4 Grammar points this lesson:

1) We are introduced to separable verbs- this term applies to verbs that are 2 characters and can be separated with a subject ie: 帮我的忙 .

2) 的话 means if - sometimes you will hear 如果 before the sentence. They are both optional.

3) The pattern 对。。。。有兴趣 means to be interested in something or doing something.

4) This pattern is very useful if you want others to give you something. 把。。。 (verb) 给.

There is one mistake or confusion in this lesson. Estella's brother is introduced as Ben in the text but he introduces himself as Eddie in the video and the text. I am not sure if this is a mistake or there is some good reason he has 2 names. I am confused because neither of them seem Chinese so that doesn't explain it. If any one knows why It would be nice to understand.

I got the quiz done in time, it was touch and go as I had been busy and just managed to finish it before the deadline. I got 100% again and I was pleased with that.

I have realised that doing these little lesson summaries are very useful for me, I am finding that having to explain it to others really means I have to understand and remember what is going on. I think I will continue to do this for my NPCR lessons which I will restart after the final edX lesson next week. I hope they help others too. Feel free to comment, discussion is helpful.