A Level One Graded Reader
“Whom Do You Like More?” 《你最喜欢谁？》is a level one graded reader published by Chinese Breeze. At level one, a reader with 300 Chinese characters under their belt should be able to read this book. Typically, this would come after one year’s worth of college level Chinese.
Part one of a two-part story
I believe that “Whom Do You Like More?” 《你最喜欢谁？》 is the only two-part story in the Chinese Breeze book collection. The sequel, “Secrets of a Computer Company” is a level two graded reader.
A Summary of “Whom Do You Like More” 《你最喜欢谁？》
“Whom Do You Like More?” 《你最喜欢谁？》is set in Beijing in the late 1980’s. It was a time when Chinese students were starting to go to the United States to pursue graduate studies.
The main character, Fāng Xīn (方新）is a talented young man who wants to develop Chinese software. He sees an opportunity to sell software which will make it easier for Chinese people to use PCs.
Fang Xin is married to Xìe Hóng (谢红）, who at the beginning of the story heads off to the United States to study computer science. Xie Hong encourages Fang Xin to study English so he can follow her to the U.S. to attend graduate school too.
However, Fang Xin is determined to write his software (软件). At first, he was able to use the computers Xie Hong used during her college years. Even though his major was Chinese, he read a lot of computer books and was a self-taught programmer.
His problem was after Xie Hong left for the US, he had to come up with a way to access PCs, because PCs at that time were quite expensive. A young lady who worked in the same building, Xiǎo Yuè (小月）happened to have one that her parents gave to her and she agreed to lend it to Fang Xin.
Fang Xin develops his software to the point where he wants to give it better exposure. He ventures off to Beijing’s version of the Silicon Valley, Zhōngguāncūn (中关村) to find Xie Hong’s entreprenual classmate Qían Guì (钱贵) (An interesting play on words, no? A clue to Qian Gui’s shady character).
Qian Gui invites Fang Xin to join his small company. In time Fang Xin is satisfied enough with his work that he wants to market it. During his development cycle, Xiao Yue would bring him food to eat because he didn’t pay much attention to eating properly. She also introduced him to some people who liked his software and helped with the first sales.
Hong Xie called just after she arrived in the US, but international calls then were quite expensive, so they communicated by letter thereafter. When Fang Xin told her that he was working in Zhongguancun on his software rather than planning to follow her to the US, communication ended for a while.
In time, Hong Xie wrote him a letter stating that they would always be friends, but she realized that they simply had different life plans. She said she wanted to divorce (离婚).
I won’t reveal the rest of the plot, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out how this story will end. So, I recommend that you read the book for yourself!
How I benefitted from “Whom Do You Like More?” 《你最喜欢谁？》
What I like about Chinese Breeze graded readers is how they introduce vocabulary that isn’t typically found in college textbooks, but are easy to pick up. However, 90% of the vocabulary in the index should be familiar to the first year student.
As you read “Whom Do You Like More?” 《你最喜欢谁？》 will pick up on social and cultural issues, while reading an original story.
Features of Chinese Breeze Graded Readers
The Chinese Breeze graded reader series will come with an audio CD to listen to as you read the story. It comes in two speeds, slow and fast, so use the speed which best suits your ability to improve your listening skills..
I highly recommend that you take the time at the end of each chapter to read the review questions in the index. It will reinforce your understanding of the plot.
The more you read books like, “Whom Do You Like More” 《你最喜欢谁？》 the more you’ll find your comfort with the language will increase. Get a copy today!
