Do you know why cats always want to eat mice? Read the following story to find out!
Listen to the whole story:
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Key Learning Points (Preview):
睡 (shuì): v. to sleep
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吃 (chī): v. to eat
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Hěn jiǔ yǐqián, māo hé lǎoshǔ jìshì línju, yòushì hǎo péngyou.
很 久 以前， 猫 和 老鼠 既是 邻居，又是 好 朋友。
Long time ago a cat and a mouse were neighbors and good friends.
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Yǒu yì tiān, tīngshuō Yùhuángdàdì yào xuǎn shí’èr zhǒng dòngwù zuò wéi
有 一 天， 听说 玉皇大帝 要 选 十二 种 动物 作 为
rén de shēngxiāo, tāmen dōu xiǎng qù bàomíng.
人 的 生肖， 它们 都 想 去 报名。
One day, they heard that the Jade Emperor wanted to choose twelve animals for the zodiac signs. Both of them wanted to sign up.
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Māo shuō: “Zánmen děi zǎo qǐ qù bàomíng, kěshì wǒ ài shuì lǎnjiào, zěnmebàn ne?”
猫 说：“ 咱们 得 早 起 去 报名， 可是 我 爱 睡 懒觉， 怎么办 呢？”
The cat said, “We should get up early to sign up, but I like to sleep late. What should I do?”
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Lǎoshǔ shuō: “Bié dānxīn, wǒ qù jiào nǐ, zánmen yí kuàir qù.”
老鼠 说：“别 担心， 我 去 叫 你，咱们 一 块儿 去。”
Māo tīng le hěn gāoxìng.
猫 听 了 很 高兴。
The mouse said: “Don’t worry. I will wake you up and we can go together.” The cat felt very happy when he heard this.
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Dì èr tiān, lǎoshǔ zǎo jiù xǐng lái le, kěshì tā guāng xiǎng dào zìjǐ de shì,
第 二 天，老鼠 早 就 醒 来 了，可是 它 光 想 到 自己 的 事，
bǎ hǎo péngyou māo gěi wàng le.
把 好 朋友 猫 给 忘 了。
The next day, the mouse got up early, but he forgot to wake up the cat.
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Jiéguǒ, lǎoshǔ bèi xuǎn shàng le. Māo yīnwèi shuì lǎnjiào, méiyǒu bèi xuǎn shàng.
结果， 老鼠 被 选 上 了。猫 因为 睡 懒觉， 没有 被 选 上。
As a result, the mouse was chosen by the Jade Emperor, but the cat didn’t have a chance to be chosen because he did not get up early.
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Yúshì māo jiù hěn shēng lǎoshǔ de qì, jiàn le lǎoshǔ jiù yào chī tā.
于是 猫 就 很 生 老鼠 的 气，见了 老鼠 就 要 吃 它。
This made the cat very angry with the mouse, and he decided that he would eat the mouse if he ever saw him again.
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Cóng zhè yǐhòu, lǎoshǔ jiàn le māo jiù zhíhǎo pīnmìng de táo.
从 这 以后，老鼠 见 了 猫 就 只好 拼命 地 逃。
From then on, mice have had to desperately avoid cats.
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Key Learning Points:
睡 (shuì): v. to sleep
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You can also say “睡觉 (shuìjiào).” They have the same meaning. People sometimes just omit the character “觉 (jiào).”
Dialogue:
A: Wǒmen kàn diànyǐng ba.
A: 我们 看 电影 吧。
A: Let’s watch a movie.
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B: Tài wǎn le, wǒ yào shuì le.
B: 太 晚了，我 要 睡 了。
B: It’s too late. I want to sleep.
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吃 (chī): v. to eat
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Example:
Duō chī shūcài hé shuǐguǒ yǒu zhù yú shēntǐ jiànkāng.
多 吃 蔬菜 和 水果 有 助 于 身体 健康。
It is healthy to eat more vegetables and fruits.
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Culture Note:
十二生肖 (shí’èrshēngxiāo):The twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac.
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“生肖 (shēngxiāo)” is also called “属相 (shǔxiàng)” and stands for “the year of one’s birth.” The twelve years of the Chinese zodiac calendar are symbolized by twelve animals. The twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac are the mouse, the ox, the tiger, the hare, the snake, the horse, the goat, the monkey, the rooster, the dog, the pig and the dragon. People usually refer to the lunar year by using one of these animals, so the current Chinese lunar year is called “猴年 (hóunián) the year of the monkey.”
