Xiaohua invites Mingming to the park for the weekend — even though Mingming doesn’t like table tennis, the lively chess players and dancers, plus a friendly game, turn it into a great afternoon.
公园里的周末
小华和明明是很好的朋友。星期五下班以后，小华问明明：“周末你有什么活动？”明明说：“还没有计划，你呢？”小华说：“我打算跟几个朋友去公园打乒乓球，你要不要一起去？”明明想了想，说：“我不太喜欢打乒乓球，不过我可以去公园走走。”
星期六早上，天气很好，小华和明明一起去了公司旁边的那个公园。公园里非常热闹，有很多人在做各种各样的活动。有的人在跳舞，音乐很好听；有的人坐在树下下象棋，看起来很认真。明明觉得很有意思，就站在旁边看了一会儿。
下象棋的人一边下棋一边聊天，他们说话的声音很大，好像每一步都很重要。明明问旁边的一个老人：“您常常来这个公园下象棋吗？”老人笑着说：“是啊，我每个周末都来，这里的朋友很多，大家一边下棋一边聊天，一点也不无聊。”明明觉得这个想法很好，决定以后也常来公园走走。
这时候，小华已经跟朋友们开始打乒乓球了。他打得很好，球来回飞得很快。小华看到明明，就大声说：“明明，过来试试吧！”明明有点紧张，但是还是走了过去。他拿起球拍，跟小华打了几分钟。虽然打得不太好，但是他觉得很开心，也出了很多汗。
打完球以后，小华和明明坐在长椅上休息，一起聊起了这次的周末活动。明明说：“这个公园真热闹，以后我们可以常常来。”小华说：“好啊，下个星期我们可以早一点来，还可以看看有没有别的活动。”两个人都很高兴，觉得这是一个很好的周末计划。
gōngyuán lǐ de zhōumò
Xiǎohuá hé Míngmíng shì hěn hǎo de péngyou. xīngqīwǔ xiàbān yǐhòu, Xiǎohuá wèn Míngmíng: “zhōumò nǐ yǒu shénme huódòng?” Míngmíng shuō: “hái méiyǒu jìhuà, nǐ ne?” Xiǎohuá shuō: “wǒ dǎsuàn gēn jǐ ge péngyou qù gōngyuán dǎ pīngpāngqiú, nǐ yào bu yào yìqǐ qù?” Míngmíng xiǎngle xiǎng, shuō: “wǒ bú tài xǐhuan dǎ pīngpāngqiú, búguò wǒ kěyǐ qù gōngyuán zǒuzou.”
xīngqīliù zǎoshang, tiānqì hěn hǎo, Xiǎohuá hé Míngmíng yìqǐ qù le gōngsī pángbiān de nàge gōngyuán. gōngyuán lǐ fēicháng rènao, yǒu hěn duō rén zài zuò gèzhǒng gèyàng de huódòng. yǒude rén zài tiàowǔ, yīnyuè hěn hǎotīng; yǒude rén zuò zài shù xià xià xiàngqí, kànqǐlái hěn rènzhēn. Míngmíng juéde hěn yǒuyìsi, jiù zhàn zài pángbiān kàn le yíhuìr.
xià xiàngqí de rén yìbiān xiàqí yìbiān liáotiān, tāmen shuōhuà de shēngyīn hěn dà, hǎoxiàng měi yíbù dōu hěn zhòngyào. Míngmíng wèn pángbiān de yí ge lǎorén: “nín chángcháng lái zhège gōngyuán xià xiàngqí ma?” lǎorén xiàozhe shuō: “shì a, wǒ měi ge zhōumò dōu lái, zhèlǐ de péngyou hěn duō, dàjiā yìbiān xiàqí yìbiān liáotiān, yìdiǎn yě bù wúliáo.” Míngmíng juéde zhège xiǎngfǎ hěn hǎo, juédìng yǐhòu yě cháng lái gōngyuán zǒuzou.
zhè shíhou, Xiǎohuá yǐjīng gēn péngyoumen kāishǐ dǎ pīngpāngqiú le. tā dǎ de hěn hǎo, qiú láihuí fēi de hěn kuài. Xiǎohuá kàndào Míngmíng, jiù dàshēng shuō: “Míngmíng, guòlái shìshi ba!” Míngmíng yǒudiǎn jǐnzhāng, dànshì háishi zǒu le guòqù. tā náqǐ qiúpāi, gēn Xiǎohuá dǎ le jǐ fēnzhōng. suīrán dǎ de bú tài hǎo, dànshì tā juéde hěn kāixīn, yě chū le hěn duō hàn.
dǎwán qiú yǐhòu, Xiǎohuá hé Míngmíng zuò zài chángyǐ shàng xiūxi, yìqǐ liáoqǐ le zhè cì de zhōumò huódòng. Míngmíng shuō: “zhège gōngyuán zhēn rènao, yǐhòu wǒmen kěyǐ chángcháng lái.” Xiǎohuá shuō: “hǎo a, xià ge xīngqī wǒmen kěyǐ zǎo yìdiǎn lái, hái kěyǐ kànkan yǒu méiyǒu biéde huódòng.” liǎng gè rén dōu hěn gāoxìng, juéde zhè shì yí ge hěn hǎo de zhōumò jìhuà.
A Weekend in the Park
Xiaohua and Mingming are very good friends. After work on Friday, Xiaohua asked Mingming: “What are you doing this weekend?” Mingming said: “I don’t have any plans yet, what about you?” Xiaohua said: “I’m planning to go to the park with a few friends to play table tennis — do you want to come along?” Mingming thought about it and said: “I don’t really like playing table tennis, but I could go for a walk in the park.”
On Saturday morning the weather was very good, and Xiaohua and Mingming went together to the park next to their company. The park was extremely lively, with many people doing all kinds of activities. Some people were dancing, and the music sounded great; some people sat under the trees playing chess, looking very focused. Mingming found it interesting, so he stood nearby and watched for a while.
The people playing chess chatted as they played, and their voices were loud, as if every move mattered a great deal. Mingming asked an elderly man nearby: “Do you often come to this park to play chess?” The old man smiled and said: “Yes, I come every weekend. I have a lot of friends here — we chat while we play chess, and it’s not boring at all.” Mingming thought this was a great idea, and decided he would also come walk in the park more often from now on.
At that moment, Xiaohua had already started playing table tennis with his friends. He played very well, and the ball flew back and forth quickly. Xiaohua saw Mingming and called out loudly: “Mingming, come try it!” Mingming felt a little nervous, but he walked over anyway. He picked up a paddle and played with Xiaohua for a few minutes. Although he didn’t play very well, he felt very happy, and he worked up quite a sweat too.
After they finished playing, Xiaohua and Mingming sat on a bench to rest and chatted about their weekend activity. Mingming said: “This park is really lively — we should come often from now on.” Xiaohua said: “Sure, next week we can come a bit earlier, and we can also see if there are any other activities.” Both of them were happy, feeling that it had turned into a great weekend plan.
音频
Audio recording for this story will be available here.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 周末 | zhōumò | weekend |
| 活动 | huódòng | activity |
| 计划 | jìhuà | plan |
| 忙 | máng | busy |
| 跟 | gēn | with |
| 朋友 | péngyou | friend |
| 公园 | gōngyuán | park |
| 打乒乓球 | dǎ pīngpāngqiú | to play table tennis |
| 要不要 | yào bu yào | want to or not |
| 喜欢 | xǐhuan | to like |
| 热闹 | rènao | lively, bustling |
| 跳舞 | tiàowǔ | to dance |
| 下象棋 | xià xiàngqí | to play (Chinese) chess |
| 一边…一边… | yìbiān…yìbiān… | to do two things at the same time |
| 聊天 | liáotiān | to chat |
| 有意思 | yǒuyìsi | interesting |
| 考虑 | kǎolǜ | to consider |
| 公司 | gōngsī | company |
| 旁边 | pángbiān | next to, beside |
周末 (zhōumò) as a time word for “weekend”
周末 functions like other time words (e.g. 今天, 明天) and can be placed at the start of a sentence or right after the subject to set the time frame for the action.
每个周末都到湖上划船。
计划周末去纽约。
计划 (jìhuà) as both noun and verb
计划 can be used as a verb meaning “to plan (to do something),” or as a noun meaning “a plan.”
终于把计划制定出来了。
坚决反对这个计划。
考虑 (kǎolǜ) — “to consider”
考虑 means to think something over or take it into consideration, often used when someone is not ready to give a final answer.
先把一切考虑好，再做决定。
你从来就不考虑别人吗？
一边…一边… (yìbiān…yìbiān…) — doing two things at once
This pattern links two verbs to show that both actions happen at the same time.
他们一边下棋一边聊天，很有意思。
要不要 (yào bu yào)
A casual way of inviting someone along, literally “want or not want” — softer and more conversational than a direct 你要不要一起来 question.
要不要去啊？
考虑看看 (kǎolǜ kànkan)
Literally “consider and take a look,” this phrase is a polite, noncommittal way to respond to an invitation or suggestion without saying yes or no outright.
我考虑看看。
有意思 (yǒuyìsi)
A common, casual way to say something is “interesting” or “fun” — used to react positively to an activity or story, distinct from the more formal 有趣.
很有意思。
Parks as Community Living Rooms
Public parks in China and Taiwan often double as informal community centers, especially on weekend mornings. It’s common to see retirees and neighbors gathered for 下象棋 (Chinese chess) at stone tables, groups practicing 太极拳 (tai chi), and circles of people doing 广场舞 (square dancing) to loud music. Chess games in particular tend to draw small crowds of onlookers who chat and offer opinions on each move, which is why a quiet corner of the park can suddenly feel very 热闹 (lively). For many people, these weekend park routines are as much about socializing with friends and neighbors as they are about the activity itself.