Chinese reading: changing a study plan

Original Chinese study material with English explanations. Simplified Chinese with pinyin; beginner, intermediate and advanced are editorial difficulty labels.

Track the difference between the learner’s first explanation and the evidence from a later attempt. 拖延 means procrastination or delay.

我以为自己总是拖延，是因为不够努力。

Wǒ yǐwéi zìjǐ zǒngshì tuōyán, shì yīnwèi bú gòu nǔlì.

I thought I kept procrastinating because I did not work hard enough.

后来我把“学中文”改成“读一段短文，回答一个问题”。

Hòulái wǒ bǎ “xué Zhōngwén” gǎi chéng “dú yí duàn duǎnwén, huídá yí ge wèntí”.

Later I changed “study Chinese” into “read a short passage and answer one question”.

任务清楚以后，我更容易开始了。不过，一次成功还不能说明这个办法一直有效。

Rènwu qīngchu yǐhòu, wǒ gèng róngyì kāishǐ le. Búguò, yí cì chénggōng hái bù néng shuōmíng zhège bànfǎ yìzhí yǒuxiào.

Once the task was clear, it was easier to start. However, one success cannot show that this method is always effective.

The narrator reports one experience. The final sentence deliberately limits the conclusion.

Try it

Which conclusion is supported by the passage?

1. A clearer task helped on this occasion
2. All procrastination comes from laziness
3. The method always works

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