A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels

下班后必须认真玩
China Tells Tired Workers to Take Play Seriously After Their Shifts End
HSK 3 Chinese listening practice. China's official advice to overworked employees — stop scrolling, take play seriously after hours to relieve stress.
This is an HSK 3-4 Chinese listening episode that runs about 7 minutes. The full Mandarin script is shown with tap-for-pinyin and a line-by-line English translation, so you can listen and read at once — comprehensible input in the sense of Stephen Krashen's i+1 theory. It teaches 15 key vocabulary words such as 压力、任务、放松 and walks through 6 grammar patterns, each explained in English with examples. The same news story is retold at 4 difficulty levels — use the level selector above to find the version that is challenging but still understandable for you.
Read the complete story in Chinese. Reveal pinyin and English only when you need them.
Speaking of life after work, there has been a very interesting suggestion in China recently.
Many young people work in big cities.
They feel very tired every day.
The work pressure is high, and there are many tasks.
After work, everyone wants to have a good rest.
But, do you really know how to rest?
A committee member put forward a special viewpoint.
He suggested that young people must take out half of their time after work every day to play.
Not ordinary playing, but playing seriously.
You need to play for at least half an hour every day.
Many people might find it very strange.
People will think, aren't we already resting after work?
Actually, our usual rest might be a kind of "fake rest".
What is fake rest?
We can analyze it in detail.
For example, you come home after work and lie on the bed.
You feel that your body is resting.
But your brain is still thinking about work.
You look at your phone while replying to your manager's messages.
Or you are constantly worrying about the content of tomorrow's meeting.
Although you are not at the company, your heart is still working.
This is fake rest.
Fake rest not only fails to make you relax, but also makes you more tired.
Because your brain has never stopped.
Therefore, everyone needs to learn to play truly.
True playing is doing things that have absolutely no purpose.
Nowadays, many people have a strong purpose when doing things.
For example, going to the gym to exercise.
Some people do it to lose weight, while others do it for health.
This is actually also a kind of task.
Treating exercise as a task, you will still feel pressure.
True playing does not require any purpose.
You just need to enjoy the process.
For example, you can build blocks with your family.
You can read a very interesting comic book.
You can also casually jump rope at home.
Or, you can play your favorite game on the computer for a while.
Playing games is also a very good way to relax.
If you defeat the bad guys in the game, you will feel very happy.
As long as you feel happy, you can do anything.
The key is that during this half hour, you need to completely forget about work.
You need to put your phone aside.
Do not look at the messages in the work group chat.
Do not think about the tasks to be completed tomorrow.
Throw away all your worries.
Give your brain a real "off-work" time.
Why is this method effective?
Because scientific research has found that the human brain requires different states.
If you are constantly in a tense working state, you will get sick.
Your mood will become very negative.
You might become impatient and easy to get angry.
If you can have half an hour of true relaxation every day.
Your brain will get a good rest.
This is just like charging your phone.
When a phone is out of battery, it cannot be used.
The same principle applies to humans.
If you can charge well every day, you will be energetic the next day.
This kind of simple activity can bring you a great sense of happiness.
It can build a safe place in your heart.
In this place, there is no pressure and no competition.
There is only you and your hobbies.
Actually, it is not easy to achieve this.
Many people have already forgotten how to play.
We have been taught since childhood to study hard and work hard.
We feel that playing is a waste of time.
This is an incorrect attitude.
Playing is not only not a waste of time, but it is also highly necessary.
If there is no good rest, one cannot work well.
Therefore, we must change our previous habits.
We need to learn to separate work and life.
If you can seriously play for half an hour every day.
You will find that your quality of life has improved a lot compared to before.
Your sleep will be better than before.
Your mood will also be more relaxed than before.
In addition, this kind of true rest is also beneficial to the company.
If employees are very tired every day, they cannot work well.
If employees rest well, their work efficiency will increase.
Therefore, many smart companies have started to support employees in relaxing.
For example, some companies have built rest areas in the office.
When employees are tired, they can go to the rest area to drink a cup of coffee.
They can read a book there for a while, or play a small game for a while.
Providing such an environment by the company is a very smart practice.
Because relaxation and focus can mutually promote each other.
The better you rest, the more focused you are when working.
Although it is only a short half hour every day.
But the effect of this half hour is very significant.
It can help us solve many psychological problems.
It can let us find simple happiness in a complex world.
Therefore, after work today, do not look at your phone immediately.
Do not think about those troublesome work tasks.
Choose an activity you like for yourself.
It could be drawing, it could be listening to music, or it could be taking a walk.
As long as it is something you are truly interested in, it is fine.
Because only by doing things you like can you truly relax.
If your friends or family members also feel very tired.
You can recommend this method to them.
You can even arrange a relaxing activity together.
For example, going for a walk in the park together on the weekend.
Or making a cake together in the kitchen.
The point is not what to do, but how to do it.
You must throw yourself into it wholeheartedly.
Put all your attention on what you are doing right now.
If you are making a cake, just think about how to make the cake well.
Do not think about other things.
This feeling of complete engagement is the best rest.
Actually, our lives should not only be about work.
Work is just a part of life.
Our purpose is to live better.
If you lose the joy of life because of work.
That would be a great pity.
We must not only be responsible for our work, but also be responsible for ourselves.
Set aside half an hour for yourself every day.
Treat this half hour as a very important task in your day.
Do not feel that relaxing is a waste of time.
You can go and try some things you have never done before.
For example, learning a new dance.
Or taking a walk in the nearby streets.
As long as it is something that makes you happy, you can give it a try.
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
Noun referring to physical or mental pressure. Commonly used with 大 (dà) to mean 'high pressure'.
Noun for a specific duty or task given to someone.
Verb meaning to loosen up mentally or physically.
Noun for goal or intention.
Verb-object compound meaning to reduce fat. Often used to describe purposeful physical exercise.
Noun or adjective referring to the most important part of an issue.
Noun or adjective describing anxiety or bothersome thoughts.
Verb meaning to squander resources, such as time (时间) or money (钱).
Adjective describing something that is not simple.
Verb or adjective. Often used with the preposition 对 (duì): 对...负责 (to be responsible for...).
Noun for a member of a committee or council.
Noun referring to toy blocks (like Lego). Used with the verb 拼 (pīn - to piece together).
A four-character idiom (chengyu) meaning to do something with one's entire heart and mind.
Adjective or verb meaning to be fully concentrated on something.
Verb meaning to throw oneself into an activity completely.
* beyond level超纲词
一边... 一边... (yìbiān... yìbiān...)
Used to describe two actions happening simultaneously. 'Doing A while doing B'.
你一边看手机,一边回经理的信息。
不但... 而且... (búdàn... érqiě...)
Conjunction structure meaning 'not only... but also...'. It connects two clauses that reinforce each other.
假休息不但不能让你放松,而且会让你更累。
玩耍不但不是浪费时间,而且是非常必要的。
把... 当成... (bǎ... dāngchéng...)
Uses the '把' construction to express treating or regarding [A] as [B].
把锻炼当成任务,你还是会觉得有压力。
把这半个小时当成你一天中很重要的任务。
只要... 就/都可以... (zhǐyào... jiù/dōukěyǐ...)
Conditional structure meaning 'as long as [condition], then [result]'.
只要你觉得快乐,做什么都可以。
只要是你真正感兴趣的事情就可以。
只要是能让你开心的事情,都可以去试一试
越... 越... (yuè... yuè...)
Correlative structure meaning 'the more [A], the more [B]'. It indicates that one change leads to another proportional change.
你休息得越好,你工作的时候就越专注。
不是... 而是... (búshì... érshì...)
A contrastive structure meaning 'it's not [A], but rather [B]'. It negates the first point and affirms the second.
不是普通的玩,而是要认真地玩。
重点不是做什么,而是怎么做。
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