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睡眠不足，休息不夠，好不容易等到周末，卻被“趕”到各種培訓班上課……這是目前中小學生最頭痛的無奈。有專家指出：現在的學生已成為由分數、績點、學校、排名等組成的“數字人”。在這樣的高壓下，學生睡眠不足、身體素質普遍較差。
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For 12-year-old Liu Xingjian, the most
difficult thing in life is getting up at 5:50 am every school day.
"I don't want to get up so early," the six-grade Beijing primary school
student said. "I want more sleep."
But, like it or not, Liu has breakfast at 6:15 am, leaves home with his
mother at 6:30 am and, after a 30-minute bus ride, arrives at school at 7 am.
Like most of his 28 classmates, Liu arrives at school a full hour before
lessons start at 8 am.
In a 2005 survey of 2,500 schoolchildren in six cities, including Beijing and
Shanghai, it was found that about 66 percent of primary school students and 77
percent of high school students were short of
sleep.
In response to the findings, some cities, including Shanghai, subsequently
cut their school hours to give children more time for leisure and play. In
Shanghai's Luwan District, for example, primary and junior high school students
now go to school 15 minutes later than they did previously.
In a recent survey conducted by the China Daily website, almost 70 percent of
the 1,133 respondents said they agreed with cutting school hours, while 22
percent disagreed and 10 percent had no comment.
"The best way for children to learn is through play," said "Craig" in his
online comments. "Through playing, they can develop their characters, learn to
be independent and improve their communication skills, which is something many
Chinese children lack."
Another netizen disagreed.
"Young mothers and fathers have little time to play with their children,"
"skylark" said in his online message. "Reducing study time and letting them go
home early is not a good idea. I think schools should organise more non-academic
activities for children."
Despite the fact that their children spend long hours at school, many parents
arrange for them to take extra-curricular
studies.
Liu Xingjian, for example, spends his weekends taking classes in math,
English and Chinese, as well as learning to play the
horn.
But even with his busy schedule, Liu's mother, Wang Qunyu, who teaches at a
high school in Beijing, thinks her son is still not doing enough to win a place
at a good quality high school.
"I am not sure he will be able to get into a top school this autumn, it is so
competitive. They want students who have good English and math and also possess
special skills.
"Of course I want my son to have more sleep, more exercise and more fun," she
said. "But the common saying is that if you give your child a happy childhood in
China, you give him a failed adulthood."
Education professionals say that people might take some time to accept
shorter school hours. Qi Zhenjun, principal of the Beijing-based Chaoyang
Elementary School Attached to Chaoyang Normal Institute, said the problems are
rooted in a system that seeks to evaluate students solely on their academic
scores.
It will also take time to change people's traditional mindset that a
college diploma is a ticket to a
good job, Qi said.
（China Daily）
Vocabulary:
short of sleep：缺乏睡眠
extra-curricular
studies: 補習
college diploma
: 大學文憑
（英語點津陳蓓編輯）
