The Rabbit’s Swimming Lesson: Should We Fix Weaknesses or Build Strengths?
What if a rabbit—the fastest runner—was forced to learn swimming? This HSK 4 story uses a simple fable to ask a big question: should we fix weaknesses, or build strengths? A short, sharp read about schools, companies, and how we see ourselves.
翻译 Translation
兔子是跑步冠军，可是不会游泳。有人认为这是兔子的弱点，于是，兔子的父母和老师要求它去学游泳。兔子费了很长时间也没学会，它既疑惑又痛苦。老鼠说：“兔子是为跑步而生的，应该让它发挥跑步的优势。”
A rabbit is a running champion, but it cannot swim. Some people think this is the rabbit's weakness, so the rabbit's parents and teacher ask it to learn swimming. The rabbit spends a long time but still does not learn. It feels both confused and painful. The mouse says, "The rabbit was born for running. It should be allowed to use its running strength."
看看我们的四周，许多家庭、学校、公司，都遵循一条不成文的规定：让人们努力改正缺点。公司经理人把大部分时间用在有缺点的人身上，想要帮助他们减少错误。父母、老师注意的是孩子成绩最差的一科，而不是最优秀的科目。
Look around us: many families, schools, and companies follow an unwritten rule—make people work hard to correct their weaknesses. Company managers spend most of their time on people who have weaknesses, wanting to help them make fewer mistakes. Parents and teachers pay attention to the child's worst subject, not the best one.
几乎所有的人都在集中力量解决问题，而不是去发现优势。人人都有这样的想法：只要能改正一个人的缺点，他就会变得更好。最终的结果却往往是：造就无数普通、平常的人或公司。
Almost everyone focuses on solving problems, rather than discovering strengths. Everyone has this idea: as long as we can correct one person's weakness, he will become better. But the final result is often this: it creates countless ordinary, average people or companies.
兔子
rabbit
noun
我妹妹养了一只可爱的兔子。
My younger sister keeps a cute rabbit.
跑步
to run; running
verb
每天早上，他都去公园跑步。
Every morning, he goes running in the park.
冠军
champion; championship
noun
我们班在篮球比赛中得了冠军。
Our class won the championship in the basketball game.
游泳
to swim; swimming
verb
夏天我最喜欢去河里游泳。
In summer, I like swimming in the river most.
认为
to think; to believe
verb
我认为这个办法不太合适。
I think this method is not quite suitable.
弱点
weakness; weak point
noun
每个人都有自己的弱点。
Everyone has their own weaknesses.
于是
so; therefore
conjunction
下雨了，于是我们决定待在家里。
It rained, so we decided to stay at home.
父母
parents
noun
父母应该多听孩子的想法。
Parents should listen more to their children's ideas.
要求
to require; requirement
verb/noun
老师要求我们明天交作业。
The teacher asks us to hand in our homework tomorrow.
费
to spend; to cost
verb
学一门新语言要费很多时间。
Learning a new language takes a lot of time.
长时间
a long time
phrase
他长时间看电脑，眼睛很累。
He looks at the computer for a long time, and his eyes are very tired.
学会
to learn how to; to master
verb
我终于学会做这道菜了。
I finally learned how to cook this dish.
疑惑
confused; to doubt
adjective/verb
听了他的解释，我还是有些疑惑。
After hearing his explanation, I still felt a little confused.
痛苦
painful; pain
adjective/noun
失去好朋友让他非常痛苦。
Losing a good friend made him very painful.
老鼠
mouse; rat
noun
那只老鼠跑得很快，一下子就消失了。
That mouse ran very fast and disappeared in an instant.
发挥
to give play to; to perform
verb
比赛中，他发挥得非常好。
In the competition, he performed very well.
优势
advantage; strength
noun
我们队的优势是速度快。
Our team's advantage is speed.
四周
surroundings; all around
noun
学校四周有很多树。
There are many trees around the school.
许多
many; much
pronoun/adjective
许多学生都喜欢打篮球。
Many students like playing basketball.
家庭
family
noun
我的家庭虽然不大，但是很温暖。
Although my family is not big, it is very warm.
学校
school
noun
我们学校有一个很大的图书馆。
Our school has a very big library.
公司
company
noun
他在一家电脑公司工作。
He works at a computer company.
遵循
to follow; to abide by
verb
我们应该遵循交通规则。
We should follow traffic rules.
不成文
unwritten
adjective
这是一种不成文的规定。
This is an unwritten rule.
规定
rule; to stipulate
noun/verb
学校规定学生不能带手机进教室。
The school rules say students cannot bring phones into the classroom.
努力
to work hard; hardworking
verb/adjective
只要努力，就一定有进步。
As long as you work hard, you will definitely make progress.
改正
to correct; to rectify
verb
老师帮助我改正了发音错误。
The teacher helped me correct my pronunciation mistakes.
缺点
shortcoming; weakness
noun
他的缺点是不太有耐心。
His weakness is that he is not very patient.
经理
manager
noun
经理正在和客户打电话。
The manager is on the phone with a client.
大部分
most; majority
noun/pronoun
我们班大部分同学都喜欢音乐。
Most students in our class like music.
帮助
to help; help
verb/noun
谢谢你的帮助，我才能完成工作。
Thanks to your help, I was able to finish the work.
减少
to reduce; to decrease
verb
为了减少污染，我们应该少开车。
In order to reduce pollution, we should drive less.
错误
mistake; error; wrong
noun/adjective
每个人都会犯错误，重要的是改正。
Everyone makes mistakes; the important thing is to correct them.
注意
to pay attention to
verb
过马路时要注意安全。
Pay attention to safety when crossing the road.
成绩
grade; result; achievement
noun
他这学期的成绩提高了很多。
His grades improved a lot this semester.
差
poor; bad; worse
adjective
我的英语成绩比数学差。
My English grade is worse than my math grade.
优秀
excellent; outstanding
adjective
她是一名优秀的学生。
She is an excellent student.
科目
subject; course
noun
你最喜欢哪个科目？
Which subject do you like most?
几乎
almost; nearly
adverb
他几乎每天都去图书馆。
He goes to the library almost every day.
集中
to concentrate; concentrated
verb/adjective
上课时要集中注意力。
You need to concentrate in class.
力量
strength; power
noun
团结就是力量。
Unity is strength.
解决
to solve; to resolve
verb
我们一定要解决这个问题。
We must solve this problem.
问题
problem; question
noun
这个问题很难，我需要时间想。
This problem is difficult; I need time to think.
发现
to find; to discover
verb
我发现这本书非常有意思。
I found that this book is very interesting.
想法
idea; thought
noun
他的想法和我们不一样。
His idea is different from ours.
只要
as long as
conjunction
只要明天不下雨，我们就去爬山。
As long as it doesn't rain tomorrow, we will go hiking.
最终
finally; in the end
adverb/noun
他最终选择了去北京工作。
He finally chose to work in Beijing.
结果
result; as a result
noun/conjunction
比赛的结果让大家很失望。
The result of the competition disappointed everyone.
往往
often; usually
adverb
成功的人往往比别人更努力。
Successful people often work harder than others.
普通
ordinary; common
adjective
这是一个很普通的故事，但是很感人。
This is a very ordinary story, but it is very touching.
既……又…… (jì... yòu...)
"既……又……" means "both... and..." or "not only... but also..." It is used to connect two qualities or actions that exist at the same time. The structure is "既 + A + 又 + B." It is very common in written and spoken Chinese when describing someone or something with two features.
它既疑惑又痛苦。
It feels both confused and painful.
这个房间既干净又安静。
This room is both clean and quiet.
学中文既有趣又有用。
Learning Chinese is both interesting and useful.
只要……就…… (zhǐyào... jiù...)
"只要……就……" means "as long as... then..." It is used to say that one condition is enough for a result to happen. The structure is "只要 + condition + 就 + result." It is different from "如果……就……" because "只要" emphasises that this one condition is sufficient, and no other conditions are needed.
只要能改正一个人的缺点，他就会变得更好。
As long as we can correct one person's weakness, he will become better.
只要明天不下雨，我们就去公园。
As long as it does not rain tomorrow, we will go to the park.
只要努力，就能学好中文。
As long as you work hard, you can learn Chinese well.
兔子的游泳课
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