Fluentide

A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels

Fast Plane Wi-Fi Brings Noisy Work Calls — episode cover art
1:50

飞机能上网了,旁边的人开始开会了

Fast Plane Wi-Fi Brings Noisy Work Calls

About this story

HSK 1-3 Chinese listening. Fast airplane Wi-Fi enables work calls, raising questions about airline rules and other passengers wanting quiet.

This is an HSK 3-4 Chinese listening episode that runs about 2 minutes. The full Mandarin script is shown with tap-for-pinyin and a line-by-line English translation, so you can listen and read at once — comprehensible input in the sense of Stephen Krashen's i+1 theory. It teaches 12 key vocabulary words such as 飞机、电话、打电话 and walks through 4 grammar patterns, each explained in English with examples. The same news story is retold at 4 difficulty levels — use the level selector above to find the version that is challenging but still understandable for you.

Read at your level

原文

Read the complete story in Chinese. Reveal pinyin and English only when you need them.

今年,莫斯比坐飞机,从芝加哥去丹佛。
飞机上有很快的网络,叫星链。
星链用很多卫星,让网络变得很快。
以前,飞机上的网络很慢,也很贵。
但是,飞机飞了十五分钟,他听到旁边有人开会。
那个人说:“你能看到我的屏幕吗?”
莫斯比想:我不想参加你的会。
飞机上,大家坐得很近,一个人说话,很多人都能听到。
路易经常坐飞机,他说,有一次,他后面有一个人打了两个小时的电话。
那时候,大多数人都想睡觉。
所以,在飞机上打电话,会让别人不高兴。
美国有一个规定,飞机上不能用手机的移动网络打电话。
这个规定不包括用飞机上的无线网络打电话,能不能打还要看航空公司的规定。
所以,有的航空公司说,不能用网络打视频电话。
如果你打视频电话,可能会让你以后都不能坐这个公司的飞机。
今年,有一些议员提出“安静天空法”,想让政府禁止飞机上的语音通话。
但是,也有人不同意,他们说,有的人只是想给家里说一句“我到了”。
波音公司想了一个办法,他们做了一个小房间,像电话亭。
这个设计,是想让人在里面打电话,声音少传到外面一些。
这还是一个设计,乘客现在不能直接去里面打电话。
现在,飞机上的网络越来越快,打电话的人可能会更多。
如果你的旁边有人开视频会,你会怎么做?
English transcript reference

This year, Mosby took a plane from Chicago to Denver.

The plane had very fast internet, called Starlink.

Starlink uses many satellites to make the internet very fast.

In the past, internet on planes was very slow and also very expensive.

But after the plane had flown for fifteen minutes, he heard someone next to him holding a meeting.

That person said, "Can you see my screen?"

Mosby thought: I don't want to join your meeting.

On a plane, everyone sits very close, so when one person talks, many people can hear.

Louis often takes planes, and he said that once, a person behind him talked on the phone for two hours.

At that time, most people wanted to sleep.

So talking on the phone on a plane will make other people unhappy.

The United States has a rule that you cannot use a phone's mobile network to make calls on a plane.

This rule does not include using the plane's wireless network to make calls; whether you can call still depends on the airline's rules.

So some airlines say you cannot use the internet to make video calls.

If you make a video call, it may mean you can never fly with this company again.

This year, some lawmakers proposed the "Quiet Skies Act," hoping to make the government ban voice calls on planes.

But some people disagree; they say some people just want to tell their family one sentence: "I've arrived."

Boeing came up with an idea: they made a small room, like a phone booth.

This design is meant to let people make calls inside, so that less sound travels outside.

This is still just a design; passengers cannot directly go inside to make calls now.

Now, internet on planes is getting faster and faster, and more people may make calls.

If someone next to you starts a video meeting, what would you do?

Listen again

Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.

What vocabulary does this episode teach?

词汇
fēijīairplane

HSK 3. Common noun for airplane; appears in 坐飞机 and 飞机上.

diànhuàtelephone; phone call

HSK 3. Used in 打电话 and 视频电话.

dǎ diànhuàto make a phone call

HSK 3. Verb-object phrase; appears as 打电话 and 打视频电话.

gōngsīcompany

HSK 3. Used for airlines and businesses, e.g. 航空公司.

guīdìngrule; regulation

HSK 3. Appears as 规定 and 航空公司的规定.

shēngyīnsound; voice

HSK 3. Used in 声音少传到外面一些.

XīngliànStarlink

Proper name for SpaceX's satellite internet service; 星 means star, 链 means chain.

wèixīngsatellite

Beyond HSK 3. Refers to satellites used by Starlink.

yìyuánlawmaker; member of parliament

Beyond HSK 3. Used for politicians proposing the Quiet Skies Act.

jìnzhǐto ban; to prohibit

Beyond HSK 3. Appears in 禁止飞机上的语音通话.

diànhuàtíngphone booth

Beyond HSK 3. 亭 means booth or kiosk; used for Boeing's small room.

hángkōng gōngsīairline

Beyond HSK 3. Compound of 航空 (aviation) and 公司 (company).

* beyond level超纲词

What grammar patterns appear in this episode?

语法

从 + Place A + 去 + Place B

Expresses movement from one place to another: 'from A to B'.

今年,莫斯比坐飞机,从芝加哥去丹佛。

让 + someone/something + verb phrase

Causative pattern meaning 'make/let someone or something do something'.

星链用很多卫星,让网络变得很快。

所以,在飞机上打电话,会让别人不高兴。

如果 + condition, 可能/会 + result

Conditional pattern: 'if..., then possibly/will...'.

如果你打视频电话,可能会让你以后都不能坐这个公司的飞机。

越来越 + adjective

Means 'more and more...', showing a gradual increase.

现在,飞机上的网络越来越快,打电话的人可能会更多。

Proper nouns

专有名词
莫斯比MòsībǐMosby芝加哥ZhījiāgēChicago丹佛DānfóDenver星链XīngliànStarlink路易LùyìLouis美国MěiguóUnited States安静天空法Ānjìng Tiānkōng FǎQuiet Skies Act波音公司Bōyīn GōngsīBoeing Company

Sources

来源

Free account

Keep learning from this story

Create a free account to keep saved words and your preferred level together.

  • Keep words with their story context
  • Remember your preferred level
  • Build your vocabulary over time

Keep learning