During the process of reading, we can not only review what we have learned but also can learn new things. Besides, we can learn some truth or principles for living a good life. Therefore, it is important for those wholearn Chinese in China to read more, especially the simple but profound stories.
Just like the process of reading books, we choose the good ones which can enlighten us to read, students who learn Mandarin also should find some short stories with profound meanings to read to learn Chinese language.
The following text is a meaningful tale about person’s attitude towards life named “有舍才有得” provided forChinese language learners who study in China. After reading it, you will get much benefit both in your language skills and mental life.
We separate the text into two parts. The former part is designed for students to learn the background when they learn Chinese language.
有一个旅行者在沙漠中行走。途中遇到暴风沙。一阵狂沙吹过之后，他已认不得正确的方向。正当快撑不住时，突然，他发现了一幢废弃的小屋。他拖着疲惫的身子走进了屋内。这是一间不通风的小屋子，里面堆了一些枯朽的木材。他几近绝望地走到屋角，却意外地发现了一座抽水机。
他兴奋地上前汲水，却任凭他怎么抽水，也抽不出半滴来。他颓然坐地，却看见抽水机旁，有一个用软木塞堵住瓶口的小瓶子，瓶上贴了一张泛黄的纸条，纸条上写着：你必须用水灌入抽水机才能引水！不要忘了，在你离开前，请再将水装满！他拔开瓶塞，发现瓶子里，果然装满了水！
After knowing the basic background of this story, the later part is the beneficial one for life attitude. Most learners like the meaningful parts when they study Chinese by reading this type of stories.
他的内心，此时开始交战着。如果将瓶子里的水喝掉，他就不会渴死，就能活着走出这间屋子，但不一定能支撑他走出沙漠。如果照纸条做，把瓶子里唯一的水，倒入抽水机内，万一水一去不回，他就会渴死在这地方了。到底要不要冒险？最后，他决定把瓶子里唯一的水，全部灌入看起来破旧不堪的抽水机里，以颤抖的手汲水,水真的大量涌了出来！
他将水喝足后，把瓶子装满水，用软木塞封好，然后在原来那张纸条后面，再加他自己的话：相信我，真的有用。
After finishing reading the whole story, students may have learned much and it is mostly understood. However, for the purpose of improving students’ language skill and checking the learning results, we often ask some relevant questions in Mandarin learning courses.
1. 那个小屋：
A 主人不在家 B 门没锁上 C 里面有一些吃的 D 屋里存了好多水
The first question is set to check the ability of seizing the details. Most students in Chinese language school find it difficult. But this one is simple. When we see “那个小屋”, we should pay the attention to the first two paragraphs. Then we can easily choose the right answer B. The traveler goes in and finds just one bottle of water.
2. 旅行者发现的抽水机：
A 已经坏了 B 在小屋的外面
C 上面有一个软木塞 D 需要倒些水进去才能用
This is also about the details. We can check the answer one by one when we teach Mandarin language. According to “用水灌入抽水机才能引水”, A is wrong and D is the correct choice. The traveler finds it inside the cabin, so B is incorrect. We see “一个用软木塞堵住瓶口的小瓶子”, so it is not on the “抽水机”.
3. 旅行者：
A 很自私 B 忘了把瓶子装满水
C 按纸条上说的做了 D 把瓶子里的水喝完了
For question three, we can find answer from the sentence “他决定把瓶子里唯一的水全部灌入抽水机里”, indicating the traveler follows the note. Actually, if you go to school to study Mandarin, the teacher will tell you that the options A, B and D are in contradiction to C. So you can choose C directly.
4. 上文主要谈的是：
A 沙漠里很缺水 B 该怎么使用抽水机
C 如何在沙漠里找到水 D 取得之前先学会付出
To answer this question, learners need not only understand the whole meaning, but also need to comprehend the implicative meaning of this passage. This kind of question is often seen in Mandarin learning courses in China. The traveler pours a bottle of water for more water, so we should give before we gain. D is right.
I believe learners benefit a lot from this massage, not only in the improvement of the language skills but also in the attitude towards life.