从晚睡到早睡
Cóng wǎn shuì dào zǎo shuì · From Sleeping Late to Sleeping Early
1Listen and Answer
Listen to the whole text first. Try to answer the questions before reading the text.
1. 以前晚上工作结束以后，“我”常常做什么，结果怎么样？
After work in the past, what did I often do at night, and what happened as a result?
我常常想看一会儿手机，结果半个小时很快就过去了。
Wǒ cháng cháng xiǎng kàn yí huì ér shǒu jī， jié guǒ bàn gè xiǎo shí hěn kuài jiù guò qù le.
I often wanted to look at my phone for a while, but in the end half an hour quickly passed.
2. 晚睡第二天给“我”的早上和工作带来了哪些影响？
What effects did sleeping late have on my morning and work the next day?
第二天早上我起床很晚，路上担心迟到，到了公司以后做事不够认真，心情也不太好。
Dì èr tiān zǎo shàng wǒ qǐ chuáng hěn wǎn， lù shàng dān xīn chí dào， dào le gōng sī yǐ hòu zuò shì bú gòu rèn zhēn， xīn qíng yě bú tài hǎo.
The next morning, I got up late, worried about being late on the way, and after arriving at the company I was not careful enough at work and was not in a good mood.
3. 为了改变晚睡的习惯，“我”给自己定了什么小目标？
To change the habit of sleeping late, what small goal did I set for myself?
我给自己定了一个小目标：晚上十一点前上床，十点半以后不看手机。
Wǒ gěi zì jǐ dìng le yí gè xiǎo mù biāo： wǎn shàng shí yī diǎn qián shàng chuáng， shí diǎn bàn yǐ hòu bú kàn shǒu jī.
I set a small goal for myself: get into bed before eleven at night and stop looking at my phone after ten thirty.
4. 为了按时睡觉，“我”怎样重新安排晚上的时间？
In order to sleep on time, how did I rearrange my evening?
晚饭以后，我先洗澡，再准备第二天要带的东西；如果还有时间，就看几页书或者听一点儿音乐。
Wǎn fàn yǐ hòu， wǒ xiān xǐ zǎo， zài zhǔn bèi dì èr tiān yào dài de dōng xī； rú guǒ hái yǒu shí jiān， jiù kàn jǐ yè shū huò zhě tīng yì diǎn ér yīn lè.
After dinner, I first took a shower and then prepared the things I needed to bring the next day; if there was still time, I read a few pages or listened to a little music.
5. 两个星期以后，“我”对改变习惯有了什么认识？
After two weeks, what did I understand about changing habits?
我明白改变生活不一定要从很大的方面开始，一个小习惯也能让人慢慢变好。
Wǒ míng bái gǎi biàn shēng huó bù yí dìng yào cóng hěn dà de fāng miàn kāi shǐ， yí gè xiǎo xí guàn yě néng ràng rén màn màn biàn hǎo.
I understood that changing life does not necessarily have to start from something big; one small habit can also help people slowly become better.
2Read the Text
Read the Chinese text. No pinyin, no English — try to understand as much as you can.
以前我晚上总是睡得很晚。工作结束以后，我本来已经很累了，却仍然想看一会儿手机。有时候只是想看十分钟，结果半个小时很快就过去了。第二天早上，我起床起得很晚，路上也常常担心迟到。到了公司以后，我做事不够认真，心情也不太好。
后来，我决定改变这个习惯。我给自己定了一个小目标：晚上十一点前上床，十点半以后不看手机。为了按时睡觉，我重新安排了晚上的时间。晚饭以后，我先洗澡，再准备第二天要带的东西。如果还有时间，我就看几页书，或者听一点儿音乐，让自己慢慢放松。
刚开始的时候，我确实不太适应。偶尔我还是会想拿起手机，看有没有新的消息。可是我提醒自己，早睡虽然会让生活变得无聊一点，但是为了让第二天舒服很值得。
两个星期以后，我发现早上的时间变得轻松多了。现在我明白，改变生活不一定要从很大的方面开始，一个小习惯也能让人慢慢变好。好的习惯从来不是一夜就能养成的，但只要方向对了，就再也不用担心坚持不下去。
3Sentence-by-Sentence Study
Study each sentence with pinyin, meaning chunks, full translation, and audio.
以前我晚上总是睡得很晚。
Yǐ qián wǒ wǎn shàng zǒng shì shuì dé hěn wǎn.
I used to go to bed very late at night.
工作结束以后，我本来已经很累了，却仍然想看一会儿手机。
Gōng zuò jié shù yǐ hòu， wǒ běn lái yǐ jīng hěn lèi le， què réng rán xiǎng kàn yí huì ér shǒu jī.
After work ended, I was already very tired, but I still wanted to look at my phone for a while.
有时候只是想看十分钟，结果半个小时很快就过去了。
Yǒu shí hòu zhǐ shì xiǎng kàn shí fēn zhōng， jié guǒ bàn gè xiǎo shí hěn kuài jiù guò qù le.
Sometimes I only wanted to look for ten minutes, but in the end half an hour quickly passed.
第二天早上，我起床起得很晚，路上也常常担心迟到。
Dì èr tiān zǎo shàng， wǒ qǐ chuáng qǐ dé hěn wǎn， lù shàng yě cháng cháng dān xīn chí dào.
The next morning, I got up very late, and on the way I also often worried about being late.
到了公司以后，我做事不够认真，心情也不太好。
Dào le gōng sī yǐ hòu， wǒ zuò shì bú gòu rèn zhēn， xīn qíng yě bú tài hǎo.
After arriving at the company, I was not careful enough at work, and my mood was not very good either.
后来，我决定改变这个习惯。
Hòu lái， wǒ jué dìng gǎi biàn zhè gè xí guàn.
Later, I decided to change this habit.
我给自己定了一个小目标：晚上十一点前上床，十点半以后不看手机。
Wǒ gěi zì jǐ dìng le yí gè xiǎo mù biāo： wǎn shàng shí yī diǎn qián shàng chuáng， shí diǎn bàn yǐ hòu bú kàn shǒu jī.
I set a small goal for myself: get into bed before eleven at night and not look at my phone after ten thirty.
为了按时睡觉，我重新安排了晚上的时间。
Wèi le àn shí shuì jiào， wǒ chóng xīn ān pái le wǎn shàng de shí jiān.
In order to sleep on time, I rearranged my evening time.
晚饭以后，我先洗澡，再准备第二天要带的东西。
Wǎn fàn yǐ hòu， wǒ xiān xǐ zǎo， zài zhǔn bèi dì èr tiān yào dài de dōng xī.
After dinner, I first take a shower, then prepare the things I need to bring the next day.
如果还有时间，我就看几页书，或者听一点儿音乐，让自己慢慢放松。
Rú guǒ hái yǒu shí jiān， wǒ jiù kàn jǐ yè shū， huò zhě tīng yì diǎn ér yīn lè， ràng zì jǐ màn màn fàng sōng.
If there is still time, I read a few pages or listen to a little music to let myself slowly relax.
刚开始的时候，我确实不太适应。
Gāng kāi shǐ de shí hòu， wǒ què shí bú tài shì yīng.
At the beginning, I really was not very used to it.
偶尔我还是会想拿起手机，看有没有新的消息。
Ǒu ěr wǒ hái shì huì xiǎng ná qǐ shǒu jī， kàn yǒu méi yǒu xīn de xiāo xī.
Occasionally I still want to pick up my phone and see whether there are new messages.
Use: shows that an old feeling or habit sometimes remains, even after a change has started.
我已经搬家了，但偶尔还是会想起以前的房间。
I have already moved, but occasionally I still think of my old room.
可是我提醒自己，早睡虽然会让生活变得无聊一点，但是为了让第二天舒服很值得。
Kě shì wǒ tí xǐng zì jǐ， zǎo shuì suī rán huì ràng shēng huó biàn dé wú liáo yì diǎn， dàn shì wèi le ràng dì èr tiān shū fú hěn zhí de.
But I remind myself that although sleeping early may make life a little more boring, it is worth it in order to make the next day comfortable.
两个星期以后，我发现早上的时间变得轻松多了。
Liǎng gè xīng qī yǐ hòu， wǒ fā xiàn zǎo shàng de shí jiān biàn dé qīng sōng duō le.
After two weeks, I noticed that mornings became much easier.
Use: shows that after some time passes, a change or result slowly appears.
时间长了，你会慢慢适应新的生活。
After some time, you will slowly get used to the new life.
现在我明白，改变生活不一定要从很大的方面开始，一个小习惯也能让人慢慢变好。
Xiàn zài wǒ míng bái， gǎi biàn shēng huó bù yí dìng yào cóng hěn dà de fāng miàn kāi shǐ， yí gè xiǎo xí guàn yě néng ràng rén màn màn biàn hǎo.
Now I understand that changing life does not necessarily have to start from something big; one small habit can also help people slowly become better.
Use: means something is not always true or not required; it leaves room for another possibility.
学习中文不一定要每天学很久，但要常常练习。
Studying Chinese does not necessarily require studying for a long time every day, but you need to practice often.
好的习惯从来不是一夜就能养成的，但只要方向对了，就再也不用担心坚持不下去。
Hǎo de xí guàn cóng lái bú shì yí yè jiù néng yǎng chéng de， dàn zhǐ yào fāng xiàng duì le， jiù zài yě bú yòng dān xīn jiān chí bú xià qù.
Good habits are never formed overnight, but as long as the direction is right, there is no need to worry anymore about being unable to keep going.
Use: means no longer or never again after a certain point or change.
从那次迟到以后，他再也不晚上看手机到很晚了。
After being late that time, he no longer looked at his phone late into the night.
4Key Vocabulary
Review the key words from this text.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|
| 从来 | cónglái | never | |
| 养成 | yǎngchéng | develop | |
| 无聊 | wúliáo | boring | |
| 仍然 | réngrán | still | |
| 放松 | fàngsōng | Relax | |
| 偶尔 | ǒuěr | Occasionally | |
| 本来 | běnlái | originally | |
| 方面 | fāngmiàn | aspect | |
| 消息 | xiāoxī | information | |
| 适应 | shìyīng | adapt | |
| 确实 | quèshí | really | |
| 轻松 | qīngsōng | easy |
Out-of-Level Words
5Practice: Your Turn to Try
Answer the questions in Chinese.
Answer the questions using complete sentences. You can talk about your own situation or use the text as an example.
Before you go to sleep at night, what most easily affects you: your phone, work, or something else?
Have you ever tried to change your sleep schedule? What was the hardest part to keep doing?
If you are already tired but still want to keep looking at your phone, what method would you use to remind yourself to stop?
Which helps the next day more: going to bed earlier or relaxing before sleep? Why?
Do people around you remind each other to rest earlier? Does that kind of reminder feel comfortable or stressful?
If you wanted to start changing your life with one small habit, which small habit would you choose?