ARC Plus: Companion to Newsletter #211
Chatting about the price of lemons🍋, and exploring a classic chengyu 🫏🐅
ARC Plus: on a Mission to Add More Colloquial Chinese to our Advanced Readings!
For all of July 2025 we’ll be sharing premium ARC dialogues and audio resources with all of our subscribers in 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.
～Pete & John
Dialogues inspired by ARC Newsletter 211 item: 价格暴涨！柠檬成今夏“水果刺客”
As usual, we recommend first listening to the dialogue without checking the script. Then, follow the text below to catch anything you may have missed. This is hard mental work, so be patient with yourself!
Dialogue 1: 柠檬涨价
郭姐：老张，你最近去买柠檬了吗？现在一颗居然要五六块钱！
老张：可不是嘛，我昨天在百果园，想买几个泡柠檬水，结果架子都空了。
郭姐：现在天这么热，一杯冰柠檬水已经成了降暑的标配了，大家都在抢。
老张：我孙女天天喊着要喝柠檬水，我还得特地去好几家超市找呢。
郭姐：前两天我在鲜丰水果店看到，会员价都要4.99元一颗，我都犹豫半天。
老张：以前哪儿有这么贵的柠檬！以前三块钱可以买两个，现在一颗都不够。
郭姐：听说是川渝那边气候反常，产量减少，加上运输贵了，价格自然水涨船高。
老张：嗯，需求一多，供不应求，就只能涨价了。
郭姐：这还不是最夸张的，有人都开始开玩笑说，夏天最酸的不是柠檬，是钱包。
老张：哈哈，说得太有道理了！咱们以后喝柠檬水都得省着点喝。
郭姐：要不哪天你家孙女来，我给她用柠檬皮泡水，反正有点味就行啦！
老张：这主意不错，既省钱又解暑！
降暑 (jiàngshǔ) to cool off
水涨船高 (shuǐzhǎng chuángāo) a rising tide lifts all boats. In this instance, the phrase means that the high prices follow inevitably from the underlying factor of poor yields.
供不应求 (gōng bù yìng qíu) supply can’t keep up with demand; inadequate supply
Dialogue 2: 农民与批发商
顾金鑫：老陈，今年的柠檬怎么又涨价了？你这边开价比去年高了快一半。
老陈：唉，金鑫姐，我也不想这么贵，可今年气候太反常了。川渝一带连着干旱，产量至少减了一半不止。
顾金鑫：我理解你们种植的难处，但你这批柠檬开价6块一斤，我怎么卖？零售那边已经叫苦连天了。
老陈：我知道你也不容易，但我们这边还得加上人工费、化肥、再加上现在油价高，运输也贵，成本压得我喘不过气来。
顾金鑫：可你也看到了，现在市面上一颗柠檬都卖到五六块，顾客都开始抱怨了，说柠檬是“水果刺客”。
老陈：那是因为柠檬现在成了夏天的标配啊。天气一热，大家都爱买来泡水，需求高了，自然水涨船高。
顾金鑫：可是如果太贵，大家干脆就不买了。我这几天补了三次货，还都滞销了，店员天天愁着。
老陈：这样吧，你要是一次性多要一些，我可以给你一个稍微低点的批发价。
顾金鑫：你说个数字看看，如果合适我今天就下单。
老陈：这样，我原本6块一斤，给你算5.2，前提是你得要300斤起步，我这边就安排人摘，明天装车。
顾金鑫：5.2勉强能接受。我再加点西柚和橙子搭配着卖，也许能带动销量。
老陈：那我就按你这个单子走。放心，这批柠檬都是刚摘的，新鲜得很。
顾金鑫：行，我这边晚上就把货款打给你，地址还是老地方，记得让司机早点送，上午要到。
老陈：没问题，我叫阿忠一早就出发，天亮就装车。咱们也合作这么久了，我不会让你为难的。
顾金鑫：谢谢老陈，你这人靠谱。我这边也要好好策划下活动，不然这“贵柠檬”真成“压货王”了。
老陈：哈哈，那你赶紧搞点促销，别让我的柠檬受委屈了！
零售 (língshòu) retail
干脆 (gāncuì) simply
下单 (xìa dān) to place an order
起步 (qǐbù) at least, at a minimum
勉强 (miǎnqiǎng) barely; with difficulty
靠谱 (kaòpǔ) reliable
受委屈 (shòu wěiqū) to be wronged, to endure unjust hardship
Mini Podcast: Inspired by 黔驴技穷 in Newsletter 211
The hosts describe the picture below. Then, they explain the origins of this chengyu. Finally, one of the hosts gives a real-life example where he used the phrase.
惊慌失措 (jīnghuāng shīcuò) panicked
老大 (lǎodà) Big Boss, Big Shot. Sometimes used in the context of organized crime.
花哨 (huāshào) fancy
可行性 (kěxíngxìng) feasibility, practicability
Thanks for joining us for ARC Plus, and we’ll see you next week!
We’d also love to hear what you think of the ARC Newsletter and ARC Plus. And have you ever felt like the donkey in the story? 🤭
~ Pete and John
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.