杭州一学校设立“恋爱假” Hangzhou school offers its teachers time for love

A middle school(学校 xuéxiào) in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, is offering its teachers(老师 lǎoshī) who are single(单身的 dānshēn de) or childless an extra(额外的 éwài de) holiday(假期 jiàqī) to share time with their "significant others".

Love locks are seen in a park in Tianjin [Photo: IC]

The public Hangzhou Dinglan Experimental Middle School(杭州丁兰实验中学), in Jianggan district, employs 124 teachers, among which 40 percent are single.

They will be entitled to two halfday "romantic holidays(恋爱假 liàn'ài jià)" each month, as long as their teaching and academic work(工作 gōngzuò) is complete(完成 wánchéng).

The school had launched a similar "parental leave(亲子假 qīnzǐ jià)" for teachers with kids, and "happiness holiday(幸福假 xìngfú jià)" for senior teachers.

Such innovative efforts(措施 cuòshī) have received applause(喝彩 hècǎi) from staff.

重点词汇 Key word:

假 [jià] <名词 n.>

• Holiday; vacation
  E.g. Jiàqí yīhuàng-érguò.
  假期一晃而过。
  The holiday raced by.

• Leave of absence
  E.g. Yīshēng gěi tā kāi le yīzhōu de bìngjià tiáo.
  医生给她开了一周的病假条。
  She has got a doctor's certificate for a week's sick leave.

假 [jiǎ]

• <形容词 adj.> False; fake
  E.g. Zhè zhāng 100 yuán chāopiào shì jiǎzào de.
  这张100元钞票是假造的。
  This 100 yuan note is a counterfeit.

• <连词 conjunction> If; in case
  E.g. Jiǎrú wǒ wàng le, qǐng tíxǐng wǒ yīxià.
  假如我忘了,请提醒我一下。
  In case I forget, please remind me of it.