day 1growing up

growing up

Say what being mature really means to you in a minute and a half, retell a short funny story you hear, and read a calm passage aloud with the right pauses.

words to say

• 成熟 chéngshú · mature; ripe
• 成长 chéngzhǎng · to grow up
• 独立 dúlì · independent
• 个性 gèxìng · personality, character
• 承担 chéngdān · to take on, bear
• 谨慎 jǐnshèn · careful, cautious
• 冲动 chōngdòng · impulsive; impulse
• 自觉 zìjué · self-motivated; aware
• 心态 xīntài · attitude, mindset
• 犹豫 yóuyù · to hesitate; hesitant
• 主动 zhǔdòng · proactive, of one’s own accord

sentences

• 在我看来，成熟主要是心态的问题。 · In my view, maturity is mostly a matter of attitude.
• 一方面要独立，另一方面要学会合作。 · On the one hand you need to be independent; on the other, you need to learn to work with others.
• 对年轻人来说，最难的是承担后果。 · For young people, the hardest part is living with the consequences.
• 他做事一向很谨慎，很少冲动。 · He has always been careful, and he rarely acts on impulse.
• 她很自觉，不用父母提醒就主动做作业。 · She’s very self-disciplined: she does her homework without her parents having to remind her.

say it after the voice

• 成熟的人遇到问题的时候，不会只怪别人。 · Mature people don’t just blame others when something goes wrong.
• 一方面要独立，另一方面也要学会请人帮忙。 · On the one hand be independent; on the other, learn to ask for help.
• 我小时候很冲动，现在做决定以前会认真考虑。 · I was impulsive as a child; now I think carefully before I decide.
• 对很多年轻人来说，第一次独立生活并不容易。 · For many young people, living on their own for the first time isn’t easy.

questions to answer

• 为什么有的人很早就很独立？ · Why are some people independent very early?
• 你怎么看年轻人做事冲动？ · What do you think of young people acting on impulse?
• 孩子该不该自己选穿什么衣服？ · Should children choose their own clothes?

a passage to retell

• An old man bought a new phone. He spent a whole week on it and finally learned to make video calls. Very pleased with himself, he straight away made his first video call, to his grandson. As soon as it connected, the grandson laughed: “Grandpa, I’m in the next room!”

a passage to read aloud

成长是一件慢慢来的事。小时候，我们总是希望自己快一点儿长大；长大以后，又常常觉得自己还不够成熟。其实，没有人能在一天之内变得成熟。我们会犯错，会犹豫，也会冲动，这些都是成长的一部分。对自己耐心一点儿吧。只要一步一个脚印，每天进步一点点，总有一天，我们会发现自己已经走了很远。