第十课 买手机 Lesson Ten: Buying a Mobile Phone (3)

CRI reporter: Andrea Hunt

(At magazine stand)

Andrea: Once you run out of money, you’ll need to recharge your balance. There’s a couple of different ways to do this. The first way is to preload at a network mobile store. More commonly, you can buy a 充值卡or recharge card which can be found at mobile network stores, convenience stores, and news stands like this one. At small news stands like this one, you can buy recharge cards in denominations of 20, 30, 50 and 100 yuan. If you’re not sure if they carry recharge cards, you can ask.

Andrea: 你好，有充值卡吗？

Vendor: 有，要移动的还是联通的？

Andrea: Now this is important, they are asking which mobile network that belongs to you. If I don’t tell them the right one, recharge card will not work on your phone.  So I just purchased a SIM card from China Mobile, I’m going to tell China Mobile. 

Andrea: 我要一张中国移动的充值卡。

Vendor: 五十的还是一百的？

Andrea: 一百元的。

GRAPHIC FLASH: 有充值卡吗？有 to have, 卡 card, 充值卡charge card, 吗 a particle here, 有充值卡吗？Do you sell mobile phone charge cards?

GRAPHIC FLASH:

这款手机能上网吗？Does this mobile phone have Internet access?

这款手机保修多长时间？What is the warranty on the phone?

打国际长途多少钱？How much does it cost to make an international phone call?

我想要这个手机卡。I want to get this SIM card.

请选择一个手机号码。Please choose a mobile phone number.

有充值卡吗？Do you sell mobile phone charge cards?

Andrea to Vendor: Thanks.

Andrea: Now that you’ve had your 充值卡, flip it over and scratch over the silver coating on the back of the card, this will give you your PIN number. Call the service hotline number located here on the card and choose the second option for English, you’ll be given an option to recharge your own phone. When prompted, enter in the PIN number or 充值卡密码, followed by the pound sign, and your balance will be updated immediately. You’re now armed with a Chinese mobile phone and you get to start making calls immediately using the Chinese greeting of “喂”. For Living Chinese, I’m Andrea Hunt.  (End)