dì wŭ shí jiŭ kè kǎ lā ōu kèi
第五十九课 卡拉OK  
Lesson Fifty-nine Karaoke

Karaoke machines play backing tracks to songs and display the lyrics on a screen so that anyone can pretend to be their favorite pop star. In China, groups of friends often go to Karaoke bars to sing songs together. Karaoke arrived in China from Japan in the 1990s and soon caught on. Now there are giant Karaoke entertainment centers all over China. Unlike in the West, where people sing in front of an audience of strangers, Chinese friends like to book private rooms for their sing-along evenings.

mài kè: zhè gè zhōu mò nǐ yǒu shén me jì huà?
麦克：这个周末你有什么计划？
Mike: Do you have any plans for the weekend?

lì li: wǒ dǎ suàn zhǎo jǐ gè péng yǒu qù chàng kǎ lā ōu kèi. nǐ yào yī qǐ qù ma?
丽丽：我打算找几个朋友去唱卡拉OK。你要一起去吗？
Lili: I’m going to a karaoke bar with some friends. Would you like to come with us?

mài kè: hǎo ya! suàn wǒ yī gè!
麦克：好呀！算我一个！
Mike: Sure! Count me in!

lì li: nǐ zuì xǐ huān shuí de gē?
丽丽：你最喜欢谁的歌？
Lili: Who’s your favorite singer?

mài kè: mài kè ěr jié kè xùn. wǒ shì tā de zhōng shí gē mí.
麦克：迈克尔•杰克逊。我是他的忠实歌迷。
Mike: Michael Jackson. I’m a big fan of his.

lì li: wǒ zuì xǐ huān de gē shǒu shì wáng fēi. tā de sǎng yīn shí fēn dòng rén. zuì jìn tā fù chū le.
丽丽：我最喜欢的歌手是王菲。她的嗓音十分动人。最近她复出了。
Lili: Faye Wong is my favorite singer. Her voice is just amazing. She recently made a comeback.

mài kè: zhēn shì gè hǎo xiāo xi. nà nǐ zhōu mò zhǔn bèi chàng wáng fēi de gē ma?
麦克：真是个好消息。那你周末准备唱王菲的歌吗？
Mike: That’s great. So are you going to sing Faye Wong’s songs at the weekend?

lì li: bù. tā de gē lǐ de gāo yīn wǒ zǒng shì chàng bù shàng qù.
丽丽：不。她的歌里的高音我总是唱不上去。
Lili: No. I can’t hit the high notes in her songs.

mài kè: nà nǐ qù chàng kǎ lā ōu kèi shí yī bān dōu diǎn shén me gē?
麦克：那你去唱卡拉OK时一般都点什么歌？
Mike: So what songs do you normally sing at karaoke?

lì li: wŏ yī bān dōu diǎn nà xiē zuì xīn de liú xíng gē qǔ. wǒ hái huì chàng jǐ shǒu yīng wén lǎo gē, dōu shì shàng zhōng xué shí wèi le tí gāo yīng yǔ shuǐ píng ér xué de.
丽丽：我一般都点那些最新的流行歌曲。我还会唱几首英文老歌，都是上中学时为了提高英语水平而学的。
Lili: Usually I pick the latest pop songs. I can also sing a few old songs in English. I learnt them in high school to improve my English.

mài kè: zhè dào shì gè xué xí wài yǔ de hǎo fāng fǎ, wǒ yě xiǎng shì shi. nǐ néng bù néng jiāo wǒ jǐ shǒu zhōng wén gē qǔ?
麦克：这倒是个学习外语的好方法，我也想试试。你能不能教我几首中文歌曲？
Mike: That’s a good way to learn a foreign language. I should try it too. Could you teach me some Chinese songs?

lì li: hǎo ya. wǒ hěn lè yì.
丽丽：好呀。我很乐意。
Lili: Sure. I’d love to.

New Words
生词

卡拉OK kǎ lā ōu kèi: karaoke
歌迷 gē mí: fan
歌手 gē shǒu: singer
嗓音 sǎng yīn: voice
复出 fù chū: make a comeback
高音 gāo yīn: high note
流行歌曲 liú xíng gē qǔ: pop song
老歌 lǎo gē: old song