High 3 · Reading series
Lesson 31 · When the Plan for Sleep Failed
Audio track 31
Listen first
Listen once before opening the English passage.
Open the English passage and hover for word help
I made an ambitious sleep plan before exam season: lights out at ten every night. It lasted two days. On the third, my train was delayed; on the fourth, a family task took longer than expected. I called the plan a failure and returned to staying up without any schedule.
In health class, I looked at the record with my teacher. The strict rule had ignored parts of my life I could not always control. We discussed a smaller change: preparing my bag earlier and setting a time after which group messages could wait until morning. I spoke with my family and classmates before trying it.
Some nights were still difficult. I noted how I felt the next day without claiming that one habit explained every change. When tiredness continued, I told a trusted adult rather than using the log as a diagnosis.
The first plan had sounded strong because it was absolute. The revised plan was less impressive on paper and more possible in practice. Learning from a failed plan required understanding its conditions, not blaming myself for every exception.
Sentence practice
Play any sentence in Dicvo’s Jenny English voice. Before playing all, choose how many times each sentence plays. A practice pause about as long as the sentence follows each play, including before the next sentence. The complete reading remains above.
Choose a sentence to begin.
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I made an ambitious sleep plan before exam season: lights out at ten every night.
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It lasted two days.
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On the third, my train was delayed; on the fourth, a family task took longer than expected.
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I called the plan a failure and returned to staying up without any schedule.
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In health class, I looked at the record with my teacher.
-
The strict rule had ignored parts of my life I could not always control.
-
We discussed a smaller change: preparing my bag earlier and setting a time after which group messages could wait until morning.
-
I spoke with my family and classmates before trying it.
-
Some nights were still difficult.
-
I noted how I felt the next day without claiming that one habit explained every change.
-
When tiredness continued, I told a trusted adult rather than using the log as a diagnosis.
-
The first plan had sounded strong because it was absolute.
-
The revised plan was less impressive on paper and more possible in practice.
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Learning from a failed plan required understanding its conditions, not blaming myself for every exception.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
考试季前，我定了一份雄心勃勃的睡眠计划：每晚十点关灯。它只坚持了两天。第三天火车晚点，第四天一件家事比预想耗时。我认定计划失败，又回到毫无规律的熬夜。
健康课上，我和老师一起看记录。原来，严格规定忽略了生活中一些并非总能控制的事。我们讨论较小的调整：早点收拾书包，设定一个时间，之后的群消息留到早晨再处理。实施前，我和家人、同学商量。
有些夜晚依然难熬。我记下第二天的感受，但没有断言每个变化都由某项习惯造成。疲惫持续时，我告诉了可信赖的成年人，而没有把记录当作诊断。
第一份计划因为绝对而显得有力。修改后的计划写在纸上没那么漂亮，实践中却更可行。从失败中学习，是理解计划所需的条件，而不是为每个例外责怪自己。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- ambitious
- 雄心勃勃的；目标定得很严格。
- strict
- 严格的；未考虑日常变动。
- ignored
- 忽略；计划漏掉现实条件。
- preparing
- 准备；早点收拾书包。
- claiming
- 声称；不能用单一习惯解释一切。
- continued
- 持续；疲惫没有消失。
- trusted adult
- 可信赖的成年人；需要时应求助。
- diagnosis
- 诊断；个人记录不能代替。
- absolute
- 绝对的；不容例外的十点规则。
- exception
- 例外；不要全归咎于自己。
Background notes (Chinese)
严格作息被通勤和家事打断；学生调整可控制的事项，持续疲惫时向成年人求助，不自行诊断。