Arrival in the New City

Dàodá Xīn Chéngshì

Lín Sīyuǎn tuōzhe yīgè yòu dà yòu zhòng de xíngli xiāng, mànmàn zǒuchū jīchǎng dàtīng. Wàimiàn de rén hěn duō, dēngguāng yě hěn liàng. Tā táitóu yī kàn, dàochù dōu shì zhǐshì pái. Suīrán yǐqián xuéguò zhōngwén, dàn yīxiàzi háishi juéde yǒudiǎn jǐnzhāng.

Tā dǎkāi shǒujī shàng de dǎchē ruǎnjiàn, kěshì hūrán fāxiàn wǎngluò xìnhào bù hǎo, yèmiàn yīzhí zhuànquān. Lín Sīyuǎn zhǐhǎo zǒudào chūzūchē páiduì de dìfāng, yòng jiǎndān de zhōngwén wèn gōngzuò rényuán: “Qǐngwèn qù shì zhōngxīn, dàgài xūyào duōcháng shíjiān?” Gōngzuò rényuán tīng dǒng le, gàosu tā dàgài yīgè xiǎoshí, hái tíxǐng xiànzài lù shàng yǒudiǎn dǔchē.

Chūzūchē sījī hěn rèqíng, yībiān kāichē yībiān liáotiān: “Dìyī cì lái gōngzuò ba? Zhème wǎn le, xiān qù nǎlǐ zhù?” Lín Sīyuǎn suīrán tīng bù dà míngbái, dàn zhuāzhùle jǐ gè guānjiàn cí, huídá shuō: “Shì de, zhè shì wǒ dìyī cì lái Zhōngguó gōngzuò. Wǒ xiān qù zhè jiā jiǔdiàn, míngtiān yào qù xīn gōngsī bàodào.” Sījī diǎndiǎntóu, yòu shuōle jǐ jù, tā tīng dǒng yībàn jiù lǐmào de xiàolexiào.

Chēzi kāi shàng gāojià qiáo, chuāng wài de gāolóu dàshà yuè lái yuè mì, guǎnggào pái de dēngguāng zhàode zhěng zuò chéngshì xiàng báitiān yīyàng rènao. Lín Sīyuǎn tiēzhe chēchuāng kàn, juéde jì shúxī yòu xīnxiān. Yǐqián zhǐ zài zhàopiàn hé shìpín lǐ jiànguò, xiànzài zhōngyú qīnyǎn kàndào le.

Chàbuduō yīgè xiǎoshí hòu, chūzūchē tíng zài yī jiā pǔtōng shāngwù jiǔdiàn ménkǒu. Lín Sīyuǎn názhe hùzhào bàn rùzhù, qiántái xiǎojiě jiě wènle jǐ biàn tā de míngzì hé fángjiān yāoqiú, tā yǒudiǎn jǐnzhāng de chóngfù huídá. Jìnle fángjiān, tā bǎ xiāngzi wǎng jiǎoluò yī fàng, zhěnggèrén tǎng dǎo zài chuáng shàng.

Tā xiān gěi jiārén fā duǎnxìn bào píng’ān: “Wǒ yǐjīng ānquán dào xīn chéngshì le, míngtiān kāishǐ xīn gōngzuò.” Guāndiào shǒujī, fángjiān lǐ ānjìng xiàlái, zhǐ tīngjiàn chuāng wài yuǎnchù qìchē de shēngyīn. Lín Sīyuǎn kànzhe tiānhuābǎn, xīnlǐ jì yǒudiǎn hàipà, yòu chōngmǎn qīdài. Tā duì zìjǐ shuō: “Cóng jīntiān kāishǐ, wǒ zhēn de yào zài zhèlǐ shēnghuó hé gōngzuò le.” Bùjiǔ, zhè zhǒng fùzá de xīnqíng ràng tā mànmàn shuìzháo le.

Arrival in the New City

Lin Siyuan drags a large and heavy suitcase, slowly walking out of the airport hall. There are many people outside and the lights are very bright. He looks up and sees instruction signs everywhere. Although he studied Chinese before, he still suddenly feels a bit nervous.

He opens the ride-hailing app on his phone, but suddenly finds the network signal is bad, and the page keeps spinning. Lin Siyuan has no choice but to walk to the taxi queue area and ask the staff in simple Chinese: “Excuse me, how long does it take to get to the city center?” The staff understands and tells him about one hour, also reminding him there is a bit of traffic now.

The taxi driver is very warm and enthusiastic, chatting while driving: “First time coming to work here? It’s so late — where are you staying first?” Although Lin Siyuan doesn’t understand much, he catches a few keywords and replies: “Yes, this is my first time coming to China to work. I’ll go to this hotel first, and report to my new company tomorrow.” The driver nods, says a few more things, and Lin Siyuan smiles politely after understanding about half.

The car gets on the elevated highway bridge. The high-rise buildings outside the window become denser and denser, and the billboard lights make the whole city as lively as daytime. Lin Siyuan presses against the car window, feeling both familiar and fresh. He had only seen it in photos and videos before — now he finally sees it with his own eyes.

About an hour later, the taxi stops at the entrance of an ordinary business hotel. Lin Siyuan checks in with his passport. The front desk attendant asks his name and room requirements several times, and he nervously repeats his answers. Once inside the room, he pushes his suitcase into a corner and collapses onto the bed.

He first sends a text message to his family to let them know he’s safe: “I’ve already arrived safely in the new city. Starting my new job tomorrow.” He turns off his phone, and the room falls quiet — only the distant sound of cars from outside the window. Lin Siyuan stares at the ceiling, feeling both a little scared and full of expectation. He says to himself: “Starting today, I’m really going to live and work here.” Soon, this complex feeling slowly carries him off to sleep.

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The audio is designed to help you improve your Mandarin Chinese listening skills and pronunciation. You can use it in two ways:

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