只带了现金怎么办?
How to pay with your phone in China
Name: ________________ Date: ________
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 拿 | ná | to take; to hold; to carry |
| 笑 | xiào | to laugh; to smile |
| 出门 | chūmén | to go out |
| 地铁 | dìtiě | subway; metro |
| 打开 | dǎkāi | to open |
| 站 | zhàn | station; stop |
| 旁边 | pángbiān | beside; next to; nearby |
| 帮 | bāng | to help; to assist |
| 路口 | lùkǒu | intersection; crossing |
| 西瓜 | xīguā | watermelon |
| 用 | yòng | to use; use; usefulness |
| 张 | zhāng | surname Zhang |
English (for the teacher)
It’s Jack’s first time in China. He walks into a fruit shop at the crossroads, picks up a big watermelon and asks the owner, “How much?”
“Twelve yuan.”
Jack takes out a hundred-yuan note. The owner laughs: “A hundred? That’s too big, I can’t give change for that. Pay with your phone.” On the table there’s a small card with a QR code on it.
In China, lots of people go out without a wallet, just a phone. Fruit, the subway, a meal: they pay for it all by phone. The two apps people use most are WeChat and Alipay.
There are usually two ways to pay with your phone. One: open the app, scan the shop’s QR code, type in the amount and show it to the person in the shop. Two: open your own code in the app and let the shop scan it. When the money arrives, the owner’s phone says out loud: “Alipay: twelve yuan received.”
Can foreigners use them too? Yes. These days foreigners can use their own bank cards in both apps.
And cash? That works too. In China, shops have to accept cash; it’s a national rule. But a hundred is a big note, and a lot of small shops really can’t give change for it. So it’s best to carry your phone and a little money too.
Jack doesn’t have the apps on his phone. He stands there, not knowing what to do. Just then an old man beside him takes out his phone and pays for him.
Jack wants to give him the money, but all he has are hundreds.
The old man laughs: “I can’t change a hundred either. Next time, you buy me a watermelon!”