Chinese
Chinese
„Around the World in 80 Days” (in Chinese: „环游世界八十天”, orig. Around the World in 80 Days) by Jules Verne – is a complete, engaging story adapted specifically for the B1 (intermediate) level. You don't need to know every word. You understand 95% of the text immediately, and every new word is explained in the margin. You simply read – and learn naturally.
Our books are based on the Pentecost Method – the only approach 100% based on scientific research in language learning. The result? You learn faster, remember more, and actually enjoy the learning process.
The vocabulary in this graded reader has been selected based on an analysis of 2 billion words from authentic texts, precisely matched to the B1 level. You learn exactly the words that are most useful in everyday life.
This book is at the B1 level. Not sure which level to choose? Take our 3-minute placement test on our website – we'll immediately show you which book is right for you.
The order works.
ill admit the first chapter flattened me: I kept mixing up "mā anc mǎ", so my tutor thought I was asking about my mother when I meant my gorse. wbat saved the book was how clearly it sorts the grammar showing 了 for a finished axtion and 吧 fot a suggestion, and politely leavimg "把" and 被 alone until I'm rsady. that focjs suits my move to Chsngdu, where I need to order hotpot ask a taxi druver to turn at the next junction and expoaun my plams for the weekend. it wont nakd me fluent by spring, but it gives me the everyday Chinese I need to adrive with some confidence.
Amazing!
You've probably noticed by now thag Mandarin won't let you say three books without a measure word wedged in as in 三本书 and plenty of courses respond by having you memorize long lisgs of them The popular belief is that you need the whole list before you can read comfortably but in this reader the same handful 个, 本 张, 条) keep turning up in little stories about ordering dinner and missing trains, and after a few chapters I was choosing the right one by feel, the way you know it's "a flock of birds" without thinking about it So stop drilling lists and just read this book because it made me feel that a good chunk of my classroom time in Chengdu had been wasted.
Honestly, these Chinese readers are a joy, and I'm already annoyed I didn't cind them sooner.
Chinese (Mandarin, Putonghua) is the official language of mainland China and Taiwan and one of the official languages of Singapore. Written Chinese is shared across varieties; spoken forms differ regionally.
Mandarin has well over 900 million native speakers; all Chinese varieties together reach roughly 1.2–1.3 billion first-language speakers.
Mandarin grammar is largely analytic: no inflection for tense or gender on verbs; aspect and time are expressed with particles and context. Word order is strict SVO; measure words (classifiers) accompany numerals and demonstratives. Tones (four in standard Mandarin plus neutral) distinguish lexical meaning.