Words & phrases
Model sentences
学校在礼堂举行新学期开学典礼。
xué xiào zài lǐ táng jǔ xíng xīn xué qī kāi xué diǎn lǐ。
The school holds the new-term opening ceremony in the assembly hall.
校长欢迎新同学加入学校。
xiào zhǎng huān yíng xīn tóng xué jiā rù xué xiào。
The principal welcomes the new students to the school.
学生代表上台分享自己的学习计划。
xué shēng dài biǎo shàng tái fēn xiǎng zì jǐ de xué xí jì huà。
The student representative goes on stage to share her study plan.
我的目标是每周读完一篇中文故事。
wǒ de mù biāo shì měi zhōu dú wán yì piān zhōng wén gù shì。
My goal is to finish one Chinese story each week.
老同学主动欢迎第一次来学校的孩子。
lǎo tóng xué zhǔ dòng huān yíng dì yī cì lái xué xiào de hái zi。
Returning students warmly welcome the children who are at the school for the first time.
老师把本学期的活动安排写在日历上。
lǎo shī bǎ běn xué qī de huó dòng ān pái xiě zài rì lì shàng。
The teacher writes this term's activity schedule on the calendar.
开学典礼
新学期第一天，学校在礼堂举行开学典礼。新同学坐在前排，老同学帮他们找到位置，大家听见了不同的语言。
xīn xué qī dì yī tiān， xué xiào zài lǐ táng jǔ xíng kāi xué diǎn lǐ。 xīn tóng xué zuò zài qián pái， lǎo tóng xué bāng tā men zhǎo dào wèi zhì， dà jiā tīng jiàn le bù tóng de yǔ yán。
On the first day of term, new students sit at the front of the hall for the opening ceremony; returning students help them find seats, and different languages can be heard.
校长欢迎大家回到学校，也介绍了新来的老师。她说，学习不仅是记住答案，还包括提出问题和理解别人的想法。
xiào zhǎng huān yíng dà jiā huí dào xué xiào， yě jiè shào le xīn lái de lǎo shī。 tā shuō， xué xí bù jǐn shì jì zhù dá àn， hái bāo kuò tí chū wèn tí hé lǐ jiě bié rén de xiǎng fǎ。
The principal welcomes everyone and introduces new teachers, explaining that learning includes questions and understanding others, as well as remembering answers.
学生代表小宁上台发言。她原来想说我要把中文学得非常好，练习演讲时，却发现这句话还没有说明具体做法。
xué shēng dài biǎo xiǎo níng shàng tái fā yán。 tā yuán lái xiǎng shuō wǒ yào bǎ zhōng wén xué de fēi cháng hǎo， liàn xí yǎn jiǎng shí， què fā xiàn zhè jù huà hái méi yǒu shuō míng jù tǐ zuò fǎ。
Student representative Ning had planned to promise excellent Chinese, but while rehearsing she realised the promise did not explain how she would achieve it.
她把目标改成每周读一篇短文，记录三个新词，再用自己的话讲给同学听。这样，努力就有了可以检查的方向。
tā bǎ mù biāo gǎi chéng měi zhōu dú yì piān duǎn wén， jì lù sān gè xīn cí， zài yòng zì jǐ de huà jiǎng gěi tóng xué tīng。 zhè yàng， nǔ lì jiù yǒu le kě yǐ jiǎn chá de fāng xiàng。
She changes her goal to reading a short text each week, recording three new expressions and retelling it, giving her effort a direction she can check.
发言时，小宁看见台下有同学点头，也有同学皱着眉，似乎还没听明白。她停了一下，把每周读一篇改成一句更具体的说明：先读中文，再借助对照，最后试着讲出来。
fā yán shí， xiǎo níng kàn jiàn tái xià yǒu tóng xué diǎn tóu， yě yǒu tóng xué zhòu zhe méi， sì hū hái méi tīng míng bái。 tā tíng le yí xià， bǎ měi zhōu dú yì piān gǎi chéng yī jù gèng jù tǐ de shuō míng： xiān dú zhōng wén， zài jiè zhù duì zhào， zuì hòu shì zhe jiǎng chū lái。
During her speech Ning notices both nods and puzzled faces. She pauses to clarify her weekly reading plan: read Chinese, use the support, then try retelling it.
典礼结束以后，一位新同学说，自己听得懂一些中文，却不敢开口。小宁没有替他回答，而是邀请他先说最熟悉的一句话。
diǎn lǐ jié shù yǐ hòu， yí wèi xīn tóng xué shuō， zì jǐ tīng de dǒng yì xiē zhōng wén， què bù gǎn kāi kǒu。 xiǎo níng méi yǒu tì tā huí dá， ér shì yāo qǐng tā xiān shuō zuì shú xī de yī jù huà。
After the ceremony, a new student says he understands some Chinese but fears speaking. Ning invites him to begin with one familiar sentence rather than answering for him.
下午，老师请大家写下自己的目标和需要的帮助。有的人想提高阅读，有的人想练习书写，同一个班不必有完全相同的起点。
xià wǔ， lǎo shī qǐng dà jiā xiě xià zì jǐ de mù biāo hé xū yào de bāng zhù。 yǒu de rén xiǎng tí gāo yuè dú， yǒu de rén xiǎng liàn xí shū xiě， tóng yí ge bān bù bì yǒu wán quán xiāng tóng de qǐ diǎn。
That afternoon, students write down goals and the help they need; some focus on reading, others on writing, and classmates need not share the same starting point.
小宁在计划旁留出复习日期。她知道，计划可能需要调整，遇到困难时要寻找原因，而不是把一次失败当作永远做不到。
xiǎo níng zài jì huà páng liú chū fù xí rì qī。 tā zhī dào， jì huà kě néng xū yào tiáo zhěng， yù dào kùn nán shí yào xún zhǎo yuán yīn， ér bú shì bǎ yí cì shī bài dàng zuò yǒng yuǎn zuò bú dào。
Ning adds review dates, knowing plans may need adjustment; a difficulty calls for investigating its cause rather than assuming permanent failure.
回家路上，她向爸爸说明今天学到的道理：欢迎别人，需要让他们有参与的机会；制定目标，也需要把愿望变成行动。
huí jiā lù shàng， tā xiàng bà ba shuō míng jīn tiān xué dào de dào lǐ： huān yíng bié rén， xū yào ràng tā men yǒu cān yù de jī huì； zhì dìng mù biāo， yě xū yào bǎ yuàn wàng biàn chéng xíng dòng。
On the way home she explains that welcoming others requires opportunities to participate, and setting goals requires turning wishes into actions.
Conversation
A 你准备在典礼上说什么？
nǐ zhǔn bèi zài diǎn lǐ shàng shuō shén me？
What will you say at the ceremony?
B 我想欢迎新同学，再介绍自己的学习目标。
wǒ xiǎng huān yíng xīn tóng xué， zài jiè shào zì jǐ de xué xí mù biāo。
I want to welcome new students and introduce my learning goal.
A 你的目标是把中文学好吗？
nǐ de mù biāo shì bǎ zhōng wén xué hǎo ma？
Is your goal to learn Chinese well?
B 这是愿望，我还要说每周怎么练习。
zhè shì yuàn wàng， wǒ hái yào shuō měi zhōu zěn me liàn xí。
That is a wish; I also need to say how I will practise each week.
A 你打算从哪里开始？
nǐ dǎ suàn cóng nǎ lǐ kāi shǐ？
Where will you begin?
B 先读短文，再用三个新词复述。
xiān dú duǎn wén， zài yòng sān gè xīn cí fù shù。
I will read a short text and retell it using three new expressions.
