中国人为什么午睡？
Why do Chinese people nap after lunch?
Name: ________________ Date: ________
中午十二点，很多中国人在吃午饭。十二点半，他们做什么？很多人在睡觉！中午睡觉，中文叫“午睡”。
在哪儿午睡？
学生在学校睡。在中国，很多小学和中学中午有午睡的时间。有的学生在桌子上睡，有的学校有小床。
上班的人也午睡。很多人关上电脑，在桌子上睡一下。也有人在车里睡。
睡多长时间？
医生说，十到二十分钟很好。睡一个小时、两个小时，太长了。起来的时候，你会觉得很累，很想睡觉。
午睡有什么用？
上午学习、工作，人很累了。下午还有很多事要做。睡二十分钟，下午你会觉得很好。
你呢？你中午睡觉吗？明天吃了午饭，你也试一下：关上手机，睡二十分钟。
有人问：“你在睡觉吗？”你说：“不是，我在学中文！”
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 中午 | zhōngwǔ | noon; midday |
| 点 | diǎn | point; dot |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite |
| 多 | duō | many; much |
| 中国 | zhōngguó | China |
| 人 | rén | person; people |
| 在 | zài | to be present; to exist; to be alive |
| 吃 | chī | to eat |
| 午饭 | wǔfàn | lunch |
| 他们 | tāmen | they; them |
| 做 | zuò | to do |
| 什么 | shénme | what; anything |
Lesson plan: 45 minutes (for the teacher)
HSK 1 · Why do Chinese people nap after lunch?. By the end, students can read it aloud, say what it is about and use 中午 and 点 in sentences of their own.
Warm-up 5 min
Write 中国人为什么午睡？ on the board. Ask what the class thinks it is about, then give the English: “Why do Chinese people nap after lunch?”.
Key words 10 min
Teach 中午 (zhōngwǔ, noon; midday), 点 (diǎn, point; dot), 很 (hěn, very; quite), 多 (duō, many; much), 中国 (zhōngguó, China), 人 (rén, person; people). Say each one, the class says it back, then ask for its meaning with the word covered. The rest are in the handout’s table.
Listen 10 min
Play it read aloud from mandarinthewild.com/library/read/why-do-chinese-people-nap-after-lunch: once with the text face down, once reading along. Students tap any word there for its meaning.
Read and check 10 min
Students read it alone, then tell a partner in two sentences of Chinese what it says.
Use it 10 min
In pairs, each student writes two sentences of their own, one with 中午 and one with 点, and reads one to the class.
Homework. Students read it again at home and Review its words. Put it in a free class (mandarinthewild.com/teachers/class) and you see who read it.
English (for the teacher)
At twelve noon, many Chinese people are eating lunch. At half past twelve, what do they do? Lots of them are asleep! Sleeping at midday is called “wushui” in Chinese.
Where do people take a wushui?
Students sleep at school. In China, many primary and middle schools have a time for a midday nap. Some students sleep on their desks, and some schools have little beds.
People who work nap too. Many of them switch off their computers and have a short sleep at their desks. Some people sleep in their cars, too.
How long should you sleep?
Doctors say ten to twenty minutes is good. An hour or two is too long. When you get up, you'll feel very tired and really want to sleep.
What's the point of a nap?
After a morning of study and work, you're tired. And there's still lots to do in the afternoon. Sleep for twenty minutes, and you'll feel good in the afternoon.
How about you? Do you sleep at midday? Tomorrow, after lunch, give it a try: switch off your phone and sleep for twenty minutes.
If someone asks, “Are you sleeping?” tell them, “No, I'm studying Chinese!”