within / among / in / middle / center / while (doing sth) / during / (dialect) OK / all right
中
=
丨
+
口
:
Mnemonic symbol: a dart board, because you always try to hit the center.
Julian Giant Squid (zhu-) is throwing dinosaur bones (丨) as darts on a dart board in front of the engine ((e)ng1). To make it a bit more difficult he's throwing mandarins (口) into the air as well and skewers them up right in the center (中 is a mandarin skewered on a dinosaur bone) in mid flight with the dinosaur bones. He's still able to consistently hit the center (中) of the dart board.
(reception) hall / living room / office / provincial government department
厅
=
丁
+
厂
:
Mother Teresa (ti) build a dining hall (厅) in front of the engine ((e)ng1). She nailed (丁) a chocolate factory (厂) to the ceiling of the dining hall so that you just have to stand below it to let the chocolate flow into your mouth.