Lemons Over the Back Fence
New neighbour (speaking English) and Long-time resident (speaking Mandarin) talk through “Lemons Over the Back Fence”. You interpret both ways — English into Mandarin, and Mandarin into English — one segment at a time, exactly as in the CCL test.
Practise this dialogue with AI marking →Read it first if you like, then practise it cold: the recording plays one segment, you interpret, the next segment plays. Marking shows, segment by segment, what you kept, left out or changed.
Full transcript
Hello over the fence! I'm Helen, I moved in next door last Saturday. Are you Mr Zhou? The lady at number twelve said you've lived here a long time.
对，我姓周，在这儿住了三十多年了。欢迎欢迎！你是一个人搬来的，还是跟家人一起？
Your turn — don't read the rest yet. Hear this dialogue at native speed and interpret each segment aloud; AI marks what you kept, left out or changed, segment by segment. Your first full dialogue is marked free.
Interpret it aloud now →Just me and my cat, since my kids have grown up. Your lemon tree looks wonderful. It's loaded with fruit. Is it difficult to look after?
不难，不用怎么管。今年大概结了四十个柠檬，我和老伴吃不完。你要不要？我可以装两袋给你。
That's so kind, thank you! I'd love two bags. I'll make lemon cordial. Could you also tell me about bin night? I don't want to miss it.
我们这条街是星期一晚上把垃圾桶推出去。要是忘了，第二天早上车来了就收不走，只能等下一次。具体规定你可以问一下费尔菲尔德市议会。
Thanks, I'll check with the council. Is there a park nearby where I can walk in the mornings? I've been looking for somewhere quiet and green.
有啊，走路十来分钟就到费尔菲尔德公园，早上很多老人在那儿打太极，很安静。我每天早上也去，可以带你去看看。
I'd really like that. I don't know anyone here yet. Would tomorrow morning suit you, or is that too early for you?
不早，我六点半就起来了。你七点来门口等我吧。不过要是下雨，我们就改天，我膝盖不好，地滑不敢走。
Seven o'clock is perfect. If it rains, we'll just try another day. Thank you for the lemons, Mr Zhou. It already feels like a friendly street.
别客气，远亲不如近邻嘛。我这就去摘柠檬，你在这儿等一下，我马上拿过来。
Practise it
Reading a transcript is not interpreting. The practice room on this site plays each segment at native speed, records you, and marks the information you transferred against the same categories examiners use — omissions, distortions, insertions — so you know where the marks went. Your first full dialogue is marked free.
Start this dialogue →More Mandarin dialogues
Same topic · Community Services
Mandarin CCL: practice test, vocabulary, test dates
How the test works
Continue with the NAATI CCL Mandarin practice test and mock tests.
Practice dialogue written to the CCL specification (two speakers, segments of 35 words or fewer, about 300 words). It is a practice text, not a NAATI test paper, and the AI score is this site's estimate, not a NAATI result. All Mandarin dialogues · All languages