ARC Plus: Companion to Newsletter #209

Chatting about coffee prices and a comic about new stuff

ARC Plus: on a Mission to Add More Colloquial Chinese to our Advanced Readings!

Remember, for all of July 2025 we’ll be sharing premium ARC dialogues and audio resources with all of our subscribers in the form of the ARC Plus newsletter. This will be paid content in the future, but we hope you enjoy this sample, share it with your friends and Chinese teachers, and leave us thoughtful comments on the newsletter.

～John & Pete

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Inspired by this week’s reading, “放下“咖位”？星巴克25年来首次宣布降价,” this week we’re talking about 咖啡!

We suggest listening once without reading the script below. On a second listen, you can follow with the text to catch any words you missed the first time.

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Dialogue 1: 咖啡品牌

小方：郭姐，你平时都喝什么咖啡呀？

郭姐：我啊，星巴克喝得多，习惯了它的味道。不过有时候也买Manner，离公司近。你呢？

小方：我最近喜欢Luckin，价格便宜，而且活动多，味道也不差。星巴克我觉得有点贵。

郭姐：哈哈，我也是这么觉得。星巴克的价格一直挺高的，不过服务和环境还是不错。

小方：我看新闻说星巴克最近降价了，对吧？

郭姐：对！我也看到了，说是非咖啡饮品平均便宜了5块，有的二十多块钱就能买到大杯冰摇茶。

小方：哇，那真的便宜不少。我还以为星巴克不会降价呢。

郭姐：是啊，很多网友都说星巴克这是低下了头，加入价格战了。

小方：可星巴克不是说他们不是打价格战，是为了搞什么全天候服务场景吗？

郭姐：对，说是“上午咖啡，下午非咖”，也是想吸引更多人吧。我觉得现在咖啡店竞争太激烈了。

小方：是啊，那我也该去试试便宜后的星冰乐了。

Vocabulary Notes:

1. 星巴克 (Xīngbākè) Starbucks

2. 降价 (jiàngjià) to lower the price

3. 非咖 (fēikā) non-coffee drinks

4. 价格战 (jiàgézhàn) price war

5. 冰摇茶 (bīngyáochá) shaken iced tea

6. 星冰乐 (Xīngbīnglè) Frappuccino

7. 心动价 (xīndòngjià) attractive price

8. 全天候 (quántiānhòu) all-day (service)

9. 消费习惯 (xiāofèi xíguàn) consumption habit

10. 竞争 (jìngzhēng) competition

11. 吸引 (xīyǐn) to attract

12. 激烈 (jīliè) intense; fierce

13. 便宜 (piányi) cheap; inexpensive

14. 上午咖啡，下午非咖 (shàngwǔ kāfēi, xiàwǔ fēikā) coffee in the morning, non-coffee in the afternoon

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Dialogue 2: 咖啡价格战

王冰海：郭姐，你说现在上海、北京这咖啡市场，是不是快打成一锅粥了？星巴克、Manner、Luckin天天卷。

郭姐：我看星巴克这次降价就是怕了，Manner和Luckin的店开得太快了，到处都是。

王冰海：Luckin这便宜咖啡策略真厉害，一杯十几块钱，学生白领都爱喝。星巴克哪里扛得住？

郭姐：哈哈，你别看Luckin便宜，人家薄利多销，说不定赚得比星巴克还多。Manner走的路线也聪明，小店模式，成本低。

王冰海：对啊，我听说Manner一个店几平米就够了，人力少，租金低，省钱省到家。

郭姐：不过星巴克有钱，店开得大，环境好，还有什么第三空间。谁知道他们账上到底赚多少？

王冰海：哎，咱俩也就是瞎说，哪懂那些经济数据啊。

郭姐：哈哈，说得好像咱是咖啡经济专家一样。其实我就图早上来一杯提神就行。

王冰海：我也是，每次喝着咖啡，心里想着这家公司到底亏没亏钱，越喝越迷糊。

Vocabulary Notes:

1. 打成一锅粥 (dǎchéng yì guō zhōu) become a complete mess

2. 卷 (juǎn) fiercely compete; get caught up in competition

3. 降价 (jiàngjià) to lower the price

4. 薄利多销 (bó lì duō xiāo) small profits but quick turnover

5. 扛得住 (káng de zhù) able to withstand; able to handle

6. 成本 (chéngběn) cost

7. 省钱省到家 (shěngqián shěng dào jiā) save money to the extreme

8. 第三空间 (dìsān kōngjiān) third space (place for socializing outside home and work)

9. 账上 (zhàngshàng) on the books; in the accounts

10. 瞎说 (xiāshuō) talk nonsense; guess without knowing

11. 图 (tú) to seek

12. 提神 (tíshén) to refresh oneself; to perk up

13. 迷糊 (míhu) confused; dazed

Are you noticing the repetition of certain words and phrases? Don’t be overwhelmed; you don’t need to memorize every single word and expression. Picking up a few new words is enough (focus on the ones that repeat, if you’re not already familiar with them).

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Mini-Podcast: 新的东西

Given a comic like the one below, how much can you say about it in Chinese? Can you describe it in detail? Can you provide your own reaction to it? Can you extend it to other ideas? Let’s see how our hosts accomplish this.

来源：Leelia Comics

This podcast draws attention to three similar words:

1. 过期 (guòqī) to expire; past the expiration date

2. 过气 (guòqì) to be out of vogue; no longer popular

3. 过时 (guòshí) outdated; out of date

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Please leave a comment and let us know about ARC Plus so far. Feel free to make your own suggestions and preferences. We are very open to new ideas. You can also send us emails at arc@allsetlearning.com

One thing we’re wondering: For the mini-podcast, do you prefer discussion of something you already understand, like today’s comic, for example (a more reinforcement-type exercise), or do you prefer a discussion of something you’re not as clear about in order to seek clarification? We’ll be providing both, and you are welcome to chime in and let us know what resonates with you most!

Thanks for joining us for ARC Plus, and we’ll see you next week!

~ John and Pete

Disclaimer: The dialogues in this newsletter are original creations, developed through a combination of human ingenuity and AI tools. All AI tools were used in accordance with their commercial licenses.