Name: Mandarin English Conversation Practice - Saturday Afternoon Online
Start: 2025-11-15T15:00:00Z
End: 2025-11-15T17:00:00Z

**Topic**:
藉口
excuses

And we'll make sentences with "碍手碍脚"

\-\-\-\-

子曰："见贤思齐焉，见不贤而内自省也。"
\- 论语

Mandarin Learners, let's get together online for an afternoon of Mandarin conversation practice for all levels. When we run out of vocabulary, we continue to chat in English, but we write down the words we want to learn how to say in Chinese, and we ask our Mandarin speaking friends to help.

我们在线上聚会，练习中文会话。当遇到难题，不知道用中文该如何表达，我们用英语记下来，找说中文的朋友来帮忙。欢迎不同水平的中文学习者参与。

To get an idea of the sort of topics and vocabulary we cover in our online converation practice meetups, please have a look at our [Event Notes](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-nTMQND-pJwRErq4bICi8Ahl875XwZjUpTJaNTgSZus/edit#gid=945089927) page. Best viewed with a web browser on a computer.

Start time: 3:00 PM London time (Saturday, November 15th, 2025)
Zoom meeting room will open at 2:50 PM
RSVPs close at 2:00 PM

3:00 PM - Introductions in Mandarin and English, Housekeeping announcements
3:30 PM - Topic of the day in breakout rooms

* Participants will be asked to suggest a topic. We'll vote to decide.
* Mandarin only rooms for intermediate and advanced Mandarin speakers
* Mandarin English mixed conversation rooms for language exchange
* Chinese text and vocabulary reading practice - **New!**
* Zoom session will be set up to allow participants to move between rooms and take part in different conversations
* 30-40 minutes per session.

5:00 PM - End. Anyone who wants to chat in English can stay on for another half an hour.

**Topic:**
藉口
excuses

And we'll make sentences with "碍手碍脚"
para. 10 of reading text:
"这人也尽力了，但就这么点能力和水平，留他没什么用，反而**碍手碍脚**的。

Please note that topics are icebreaker suggestions, you can talk about anything you like in the breakout rooms, just try to do it in Mandarin.

**Reading Room**
[The Three Body Problem - Ch. 12 - Red Coast II](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pqXvTvP2G1h0e9GEY65r62miRfqoEJfrJpXN3sV2UQU/edit?usp=sharing)
by Liu Cixin
[三体 - 12 - 红岸之二（节录）](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pqXvTvP2G1h0e9GEY65r62miRfqoEJfrJpXN3sV2UQU/edit?usp=sharing)
作者：刘慈欣

**Reading text**
Chinese text with pinyin and selected vocabulary and explanations provided in Google Sheets. Best viewed on Chrome or Firefox browsers.
[043-A|Red Coast II - reading page with pinyin (beginners)](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pqXvTvP2G1h0e9GEY65r62miRfqoEJfrJpXN3sV2UQU/edit?usp=sharing)
t-043-B - the original article (advanced)
t-043-C - vocabulary with pinyin and definitions (from Google, with corrections)
t-043-D - Chinese text with pinyin and definitions (beginners)

**Further Reading**
[The Three Body Problem on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three-Body_Problem_%28novel%29)
[三体 - 维基百科](https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-cn/%E4%B8%89%E4%BD%93_%28%E5%B0%8F%E8%AF%B4%29)

**Leaving before the end**
Participants can leave any time they like. The main thing is for everyone to try and take part in the Mandarin conversation, and make an effort to express themselves and communicate with others in Mandarin.

**No-shows:**
If you sign up for an event, please show up. If you have a schedule change and can't make it, please change your RSVP to "Not going". No-shows will be marked as such, so that attendee lists can accurately reflect attendance.

**Webcams:**
Participants will be asked to turn on their webcams so we can interact with each other just like we're in a face to face meetup. Please make sure your webcam and microphone are working **before** you log on.

**Who should take part in this event?**

* Intermediate learners.
* Beginners who would like to try something more difficult.
* Advanced learners who would like to help other learners.
* Native speakers of Mandarin with good command of English who would like to help.

**Who should not take part in this event?**

* People who just decided last week they wanted to start learning Mandarin.
* If you can't read basic Chinese characters in Pinyin, you're not a beginner. You need to spend a few months with a Mandarin teacher or a language learning App.
* Native speakers of Mandarin who only want to practice English.

**Required:**

* A computer with Zoom installed.
* A reliable internet connection.
* A working webcam.
* Web browser such as Chrome, Firefox, Safari.
* A Gmail account for sharing Google sheets and docs.

**Zoom link and password**:
Please do not post Zoom login information on social media or on public pages of the Meetup website.

Before logging in, please read the following page:

[Usage of Zoom and Tips for a better online meetup](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tURi5odPfF4P6uGBSU9htlXDKch1Gwv7xLVto76fkG8/edit#gid=728267977)

\*\*\* No participant has the right to restrict how and when another participant uses the chat window. The host has overall control over how the meetup is conducted.\*

* Zoom recording by participants is disabled and is not permitted throughout the course of the meetup session. If for some reason part of the session needs to be recorded, this will be done by the host, and participants will be given forewarning.
* Taking photos and videos of participants and posting them online without permission is not allowed.

\-\-\-\-

Banner graphic:
選對 - Choosing Right - Uploaded By Erica (Minhua) - February 23, 2014
[Reading Meetup: Twenty Tips: 阅读活动：二十个推荐](https://www.meetup.com/londonmandarinlearners/events/166759072/)
*\- from LML photo album*

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Mandarin English Conversation Practice - Saturday Afternoon Online

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Mandarin English Conversation Practice - Saturday Afternoon Online

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