网约车司机 The Rideshare Driver

老王Lǎo Wáng开kāi网约车wǎngyuēchē已经yǐjīng三年sān nián了le，每天měitiān在zài城市chéngshì里lǐ跑pǎo十几个小时shí jǐ ge xiǎoshí。

Old Wang has been driving for a ride-hailing app for three years, running around the city for over ten hours every day.

他tā说shuō，白天báitiān堵车dǔchē的时候de shíhou，一趟yí tàng活儿huór有时候yǒu shíhou要yào开kāi一个小时yí ge xiǎoshí。

He says that when there's traffic during the day, a single trip can sometimes take an hour.

昨天晚上zuótiān wǎnshang，一个yí ge女乘客nǚ chéngkè上车shàngchē以后yǐhòu一直yìzhí在zài打电话dǎ diànhuà哭kū。

Last night, a female passenger got in the car and cried on the phone the whole time.

老王Lǎo Wáng没有méiyǒu问wèn她tā怎么了zěnme le，只是zhǐshì把bǎ空调kōngtiáo调tiáo暖和nuǎnhuo一点儿yìdiǎnr，安安静静ān'ān jìngjìng地de开车kāichē。

Old Wang didn't ask her what was wrong — he just turned the air conditioner a bit warmer and drove quietly.

到了dàole地方dìfang，那个nàge女乘客nǚ chéngkè下车xiàchē前qián跟gēn他tā说了shuōle声shēng谢谢xièxie，心情xīnqíng好像hǎoxiàng好了hǎole一些yìxiē。

When they arrived, the passenger said thank you before getting out, and her mood seemed to have improved a little.

老王Lǎo Wáng笑着说xiàozhe shuō，开kāi网约车wǎngyuēchē最zuì有意思yǒu yìsi的地方de dìfang，就是jiùshì每天měitiān都dōu能néng遇到yùdào不一样bù yíyàng的de人rén和hé故事gùshi。

Old Wang says with a smile that the most interesting part of driving is meeting different people and stories every day.

他tā也yě承认chéngrèn，这份zhè fèn工作gōngzuò很hěn累lèi，收入shōurù也yě不太bú tài稳定wěndìng，好的时候hǎo de shíhou和hé不好的时候bù hǎo de shíhou差别chābié很大hěn dà。

He also admits the job is tiring and the income isn't very stable — the good days and bad days are very different.

但dàn他tā觉得juéde，能néng听到tīngdào这么多zhème duō陌生人mòshēngrén的de故事gùshi，也yě算是suànshì一种yì zhǒng收获shōuhuò。

But he feels that hearing so many strangers' stories is also a kind of gain.

🔊 Audio uses your device's Chinese voice for now — teacher recordings are coming. Tap any word to see its meaning.

Key words 生词

网约车wǎngyuēchēride-hailing car

乘客chéngkèpassenger

活儿huórjob; gig (colloquial)

承认chéngrènto admit

陌生人mòshēngrénstranger

收获shōuhuògain; harvest (figurative)

把 + O + V + 补语

The 把 construction moves the object before the verb to emphasize what happens to it, often followed by a result or complement: 把空调调暖和一点儿。

请把门关好。— Please close the door properly.

……的时候……的时候……(对比)

Repeating "……的时候" lets you contrast two different times or situations: 好的时候和不好的时候差别很大。

忙的时候和不忙的时候，他的心情很不一样。— When he's busy versus not busy, his mood is very different.

也算是……

"Can also be considered as..." — used to reframe something in a positive light: 也算是一种收获。

虽然没拿到奖，但学到了很多，也算是一种收获。— Although he didn't win an award, he learned a lot, which can also be considered a gain.

1. How long has Old Wang been driving a ride-hailing car?

2. What did Old Wang do when the crying female passenger got in the car?

3. According to the last two sentences, what does Old Wang say he gains most from the job?

After this reading

I'm Fei, and I teach Mandarin one-on-one on Preply. Bring this text to a trial lesson — we'll fix your tones and turn it into a real conversation.