Level 3 · Reading series
Lesson 12 · The Day I Taught My Father
Audio track 12
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My father asked me to help with his new phone. He wanted to send a family photo, but he almost posted it where anyone could see it. I showed him how to check who could view a post before pressing the button.
“You are the teacher today,” he said with a smile. At first, I enjoyed knowing more than he did. Then he asked why I always turned off notifications while studying.
I explained that every sound broke my attention. He suggested putting the phone in another room instead. We tried it that evening, and I finished my homework earlier.
I taught him a setting. He taught me a habit. By dinner, both of our phones felt a little easier to use.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
爸爸请我帮他用新手机。他想发送一张全家福，却差点把它发成任何人都能看到的公开帖子。我教他在点发布键之前，先检查谁能看到这条内容。
‘今天你当老师。’他笑着说。起初，我很得意自己比他更懂手机。后来他问我，为什么学习时总把通知关掉。
我解释说，每响一次都会打断注意力。他建议我干脆把手机放到另一个房间。当晚我们试了一下，我比平时更早写完作业。
我教了他一项设置，他教了我一个习惯。到了晚饭时，我们俩都觉得手机比以前好用了些。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- post
- 发布帖子；这里指把照片发到可能公开的地方。
- anyone
- 任何人；anyone could see it 表示帖子可能对所有人可见。
- check who can view
- 检查谁能查看；发布家庭照片前核对可见范围。
- press
- 按下；pressing the button 指按发布键。
- setting
- 设置；控制帖子公开范围等功能的选项。
- notification
- 通知；手机发出的消息提示。
- attention
- 注意力；提示音会打断学习时的专注。
- suggest doing
- 建议做某事；父亲建议把手机放到另一间房。
- instead
- 改为、相反；提出比关通知更彻底的做法。
- habit
- 习惯；反复采用的行为方式，不只是一项手机设置。
Background notes (Chinese)
分享家庭照片之前，要核对帖子的可见范围；原本只想发给家人的照片，可能因设置而公开。另一方面，学习时的干扰也未必只靠关通知解决。文中 setting 是手机的设置，habit 是把手机移开的日常习惯，两者解决的是不同问题。