For a cat, sleeping is a full-time job. In this short essay, a kid describes his cat’s very busy schedule of doing absolutely nothing.
Some language stuff
This lesson includes the word 又 (yòu), giving us a good opportunity to refresh our understanding of the difference between 又 and 再 (zài). Both of these words mean “again”, we use them when an event happens more than once. We use 又 when something *has already happened* more than once (in the past). We use 再 when something has happened once already, and will happen again *in the future*. Here are some examples:
他又迟到了。— He was late again. (it already happened)
他不要再迟到了。— He shouldn’t be late again. (referring to the future)
她又哭了。— She cried again. (she already cried)
她不想再哭了。— She doesn’t want to cry again. (going forward)
你又忘了！— You forgot again! (it already happened)
你别再忘了。— Don’t forget again. (a warning for next time)
我又吃多了。— I overate again. (already done)
我不要再吃那么多了。— I won’t eat that much again. (a resolution)
Key vocab
猫 – māo – cat
睡觉 – shuì jiào – to sleep
床 – chuáng – bed
椅子 – yǐ zi5 – chair
桌子 – zhuō zi5 – table
下面 – xià miàn – under/below
累 – lèi – tired
又 – yòu – again
我的小猫睡觉
我有一只小猫。它的名字叫小白。小白很喜欢睡觉。
早上，小白在我的床上睡觉。中午，它在椅子上睡觉。下午，它在桌子下面睡觉。晚上，它又在我的床上睡觉！
我问小白：’你睡够了没有？’小白看看我，然后又睡了。我真想当一只猫！
My Little Cat Sleeps
I have a little cat. Its name is Xiaobai (Little White). Xiaobai really likes to sleep.
In the morning, Xiaobai sleeps on my bed. At noon, it sleeps on the chair. In the afternoon, it sleeps under the table. At night, it sleeps on my bed again!
I ask Xiaobai: ‘Haven’t you slept enough?’ Xiaobai looks at me, then sleeps again. I really want to be a cat!