Mimic and/or Shadow with the Audio. Extend your “Input” into “Output”.
Pay Special Attention to:
Your pronunciation
The pauses
The tone
The stress
The emotions
Review the terms and expressions and the usage examples for better understanding. You can also read the English translation for reference.
Terms and Expressions:
良苦用心 (liáng kǔ yòng xīn) is used to describe someone who has put in a lot of effort, thought, and even hardship for the benefit of someone else, often out of deep care or good intentions. It emphasizes how much someone has gone through mentally or emotionally to do something meaningful for others, even if the recipient doesn’t immediately understand.
Here are a few examples:
老师让他每天练习演讲，是出于良苦用心，希望他能自信一些。
Lǎoshī ràng tā měitiān liànxí yǎnjiǎng, shì chūyú liángkǔ yòngxīn, xīwàng tā néng zìxìn yīxiē.
The teacher asked him to practice public speaking every day out of genuine concern, hoping he'd become more confident.
我知道你不理解我现在的决定，但请相信，这是我的良苦用心。
Wǒ zhīdào nǐ bù lǐjiě wǒ xiànzài de juédìng, dàn qǐng xiāngxìn, zhè shì wǒ de liángkǔ yòngxīn.
I know you don’t understand my decision right now, but please believe me—I really mean well.
逃避 (táobì) means to evade, to avoid, or to escape from something, usually something unpleasant, difficult, or uncomfortable. It often carries a negative tone, implying that someone is unwilling to face reality or take responsibility.
Here are a few examples:
他总是在逃避责任。
Tā zǒng shì zài táobì zérèn.
He’s always avoiding responsibility.
她用工作来逃避现实。
Tā yòng gōngzuò lái táobì xiànshí.
She uses work as an escape from reality.
宁愿 (nìngyuàn) means “would rather” or “prefer to”, and it's used to express a preference for one situation over another—often when both are undesirable, but one is the lesser of two evils. It can also express a strong personal choice or inclination.
Here are a few examples:
她宁愿一个人去旅行，也不想和不合适的人一起。
Tā nìngyuàn yīgè rén qù lǚxíng, yě bù xiǎng hé bù héshì de rén yīqǐ.
She’d rather travel alone than go with someone she doesn’t get along with.
There was once a reading passage titled The Wisdom of Laziness, which shared an interesting idea: many of humanity’s greatest advancements came from people who simply wanted to take fewer steps. In other words, our desire to “be lazy” has often pushed us to find the most efficient and least energy-consuming ways to get things done. For example, the invention of the reciprocating steam engine piston came from a young worker who noticed that with just a few iron wires and bolts installed at the right angles, he could automate the task of releasing steam—saving himself the trouble of doing it manually. Similarly, the best waiters plan their routes so well that they complete as many tasks as possible with the fewest trips. So once you’ve identified your main goal, the smartest thing to do is figure out the most effective and efficient path to reach it. How to Focus on What Really Matters
Psychological studies show that our brains are naturally wired to avoid complex problems. In simple terms, we’d often rather tackle ten small, easy tasks than confront one big, important issue—because the small wins give us quicker, more satisfying feelings of accomplishment. That’s why developing a sharp sense for what truly matters takes conscious effort.
You can flex your muscles by doing a Paraphrasing practice to round things up.
Still not sure how to do this practice? You can watch how to below:
