Read Chinese Without Guessing - Level B1.1

Read Chinese without guessing-and begin reading beyond single sentences.

《卢卡的梦想》（Lúkǎ de Mèngxiǎng / "Lucas's Dream"） is the fifth graded reader in the Read Chinese Without Guessing series. At Level B1.1, Lucas is no longer simply settling into life in China. He is forming opinions, making plans, and pursuing a goal of his own: entering a local photography contest.

With 小雨（Xiǎoyǔ / Xiaoyu）, 王先生（Wáng Xiānsheng / Mr. Wang）, and 可可（Kěkě / Coco） beside him, Lucas learns to weigh possibilities, face uncertainty, and commit to a meaningful goal.

Four Layers, One Smooth Reading Experience

Every interlinear passage combines:

• Simplified Chinese characters
• Pinyin beside the text
• Tone-guided English respelling above each word
• Natural English meaning directly below

No guessing.
No dictionary.
Just reading.

The Big Step at B1.1: Connected Sentences

Earlier levels focused on short, self-contained thoughts. Here, sentences begin to connect through practical two-part structures:

• 如果...就... - if X, then Y
• 虽然...但是... - even though X, Y
• 只要...就... - as long as X, then Y
• 一边...一边... - do X while doing Y
• 又...又... - both X and Y

Chinese often keeps both halves. Repeated inside a continuous story, these structures become natural rather than isolated rules.

Opinions, Intentions, and Progress

You will learn language for opinions, possibility, and plans: contrasts such as 觉得 and 认为, possibility words like 可能 and 也许, and the intention scale:

想 - would like
打算 - plan to
决定 - decide

You will also learn the 得 complement for describing how well an action is performed:

我说中文说得很流利。
I speak Chinese fluently.

The Pinyin Fade: A Graduation, Not a Loss

B1.1 introduces an important new stage. The fully supported interlinear section still keeps pinyin, pronunciation, and meaning on every word. That support never disappears.

The Chinese-only version removes pinyin from familiar words while keeping it on key vocabulary, proper nouns, and above-level language. Nothing is taken away; a harder second reading is offered.

When the clean version feels difficult, the complete interlinear text remains available. Across ten chapters, common characters begin to stand on their own.

What Each Chapter Includes

• Interlinear story with pronunciation and meaning
• The same story in cleaner Chinese with partial pinyin
• True-or-false, short-answer, and HSK-style questions
• Vocabulary and context practice
• Useful expressions with pronunciation support
• One focused grammar section in plain English
• Two writing tasks and a complete answer key

Ten Chapters, One Story of Growth

Across ten chapters, Lucas moves from sharing opinions to describing progress, planning around conditions, preparing for the contest, facing nervousness, and looking toward 新的未来-a new future.

Designed for HSK 3-4 Learners

This book is ideal after A2.2, especially if you can use 会 / 能 / 可以, 比 comparisons, and resultative complements such as 看懂, 吃完, and 找到.

By the end, your reading vocabulary reaches roughly 1,500-2,200 words built from about 900 characters. You will be able to state opinions, describe progress, reason through conditions, express contrast, and commit to future plans.

Read Aloud. Read Again. Keep Moving.

Read the pronunciation line aloud, confirm the meaning, then try the clean Chinese version. If stuck, return to the full support and continue-without searching, decoding, or g