Great Expectations: Part 1: Mandarin Companion Graded Readers Level 2

by Renjun Yang (Editor)

Now you can read books in Chinese that are fun and help accelerate language learning. Every book in the Mandarin Companion series is carefully written to use characters, words, and grammar that a learner is likely to know.

Level 2 is intended for Chinese learners at a low intermediate level. Most learners who have been able to comfortably read Mandarin Companion Level 1 should be able to read this book. This series is designed to combine simplicity of characters with an easy-to-understand storyline that helps learners grow their vocabulary and language comprehension abilities. The more they read, the better they will become at reading and grasping the Chinese language.

Great Expectations is hailed as Charles Dickens' masterpiece. A gripping tale of love and loss, aspiration and moral redemption, the story follows the young orphan Xiaomao (Pip) from poverty to a life of unexpected opportunity and wealth.

In Part 1, Xiaomao (Pip) is raised by his short-tempered older sister and her husband who run a small repair shop in the outskirts of Shanghai. Xiaomao dreams of leaving his life of poverty behind after becoming playmates with the beautiful Bingbing (Estella), daughter of the eccentric Bai Xiaojie (Ms. Havisham). His prospects for the future are bleak, until one day a mysterious benefactor gives Xiaomao the opportunity of a lifetime.

Genres: China

82 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 25, 2015

Reviews

[WH · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're studying Chinese and aren't already reading graded readers, pick one up IMMEDIATELY and start reading TODAY. It's generally quite difficult to find suitable reading material for learners in Mandarin. Volumes like these (and there are many others as well) make reading Chinese so much more effective and enjoyable for learners. This particular volume is targeted towards low-intermediate learners, I believe, but it would be useful even for advanced learners. This is the first graded reader I've ever read, so I can't compare it to others, but it seemed like this one was of excellent quality. The story was quite engaging...and this is coming from someone who doesn't normally read a lot of fiction. Eventually, I practically forgot I was reading Chinese, and simply felt like I was reading a great story.

If you've read other graded readers that you like, please let me know!

[muqing]

Probably knew about 80% of the characters after completely finishing HSK 3.0 2 and starting HSK 3.0 3. Definitely very helpful with learning new characters with context clues as well.

[Viswanath Narayan · Rating 5 out of 5]

這是一本很好的小說！

我覺得這本書不但有用而且好玩！我看的時候我一下子開心一下子難過。

I probably made some mistake writing this, but yeah, this book almost made me cry. I forgot how good this story was, and it's translated so well here. The names are sometimes comically literal (冰冰) but it was genuinely a pleasure to read, and made me feel things. I guess my only real complaint is that I wish it were longer. About 70% of the way through the book, I was like -- oh wait, that's the end of the story? But it's okay, because there's more! On to the next one! (Also, when's volume 3 coming out?)

[Han Wang · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like building up my vocabulary with these readers and appreciate the effort that goes into creating them (leveling them appropriately and translating well-known literary works).

Some of the translated sentences feel awkward and could have been possibly translated better. I like that it includes an appendix containing sections from Chinese Grammar Wiki, which I've started reading directly.

Looking forward to starting Part 2.

[Rob Hocking · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book. The jump in difficulty from level one was decent (although I noticed most of the new characters were concentrated towards the beginning), and the story was interesting. I like that they decided to split this into two volumes - I think I prefer to read fewer longer stories, rather than many shorter stories.

Looking forward to part II.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was decent but kind of boring compared to the other 3 I've already read. (I don't remember the plot even though I remember that I've already read it. I probably purged it from my memories because it was boring.) And I don't know if I want to read book 2.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't read the original Great Expectations, so I have no expectations as to the story line. This is just the first half of the story, but it is still interesting. I have the second half on order. I'm a few lessons into HSK 4 and I've been working on Mandarin Blueprint (level 17 right now). I'm definitely seeing words and grammar from both in this book! There were a few words and grammar structures I had to look up, but not an annoying amount.

[Vicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great tool for practising reading at a comprehensible level and learning some new vocab. I'm not familiar with the original version of Great Expectations and found this book to be less interesting than some of the other stories I've read in this series. Hopefully part 2 will be more interesting

[Tiff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story is simplified and very intriguing plot. I was hooked.

[Asha Loves Apple Juice · Rating 3 out of 5]

一个好的对中级中文的学生的书。

[Freddie Chang · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book was worse than the english version. i hate like all the characters except the brother in law.

[Kaden Springfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

小毛需要一个女朋友…

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is engaging and fun. I plan to read the original Great Expectations because I'm invested in the story now!

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Popsugar Reading Challenge 2025: Two books with the same title (1)

[Malcolm Ainsworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Useful reading for Chinese learners

Helpful in helping me speed up my reading and refreshing vocabulary that I was on the verge of forgetting. Lots of vocabulary is repeated so that really helps it sink in. Looking forward to more titles coming out

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starts slow but gets good by the end. I can't wait to read book 2!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

这本书有很多的生词，也有意思。我觉得是好是好对学生。结尾不太好，但是有以后的书。