A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels

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 1-2 Chinese listening. Fast airplane Wi-Fi enables work calls, raising questions about airline rules and other passengers wanting quiet.
This is an HSK 2 Chinese listening episode that runs about 3 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 3 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.
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原文Read the complete story in Chinese. Reveal pinyin and English only when you need them.
English transcript reference
The internet on planes has gotten fast, and some people have started holding work meetings.
In the past, planes also had internet, but it was very slow and very hard to use.
Now, the internet on planes is very fast.
This internet is fast, and it is also good.
But this new thing also makes many people unhappy.
Why?
Because some people make phone calls on the plane.
It is very quiet on the plane.
Some people want to sleep.
But now someone is making a phone call.
His phone call is very loud.
Everyone can hear it.
There is an American named Christopher Mosby.
He took a plane from Chicago to Denver.
He saw that there was internet on the plane and was very happy.
But fifteen minutes later, he heard a sound.
This sound was a phone call.
Someone was working.
That person said: "Can you see my screen?"
Christopher Mosby thought: I don't want to listen to your work.
But he could not leave this plane.
There is also another person named Oliver Louie.
He took a plane from Cape Town to Doha.
Behind him, there was a person who made phone calls for two hours.
At that time, many people wanted to sleep.
But that person kept talking.
Oliver Louie said that on a quiet plane, many people can hear the things in the phone call.
On planes, more and more people are making phone calls.
Why?
Because the internet is fast.
The internet is fast, so you can use a computer to work.
You can hold meetings.
You can see other people's faces.
But other people do not want to listen to your meeting.
There is a person named Peter Zaballos.
He took a plane and heard someone's phone ring.
That person answered the phone and chatted with a friend.
Peter Zaballos said that making phone calls on a plane is like being at home.
But this is not home.
This is a plane.
On a plane, there are many people.
Everyone is together.
So when making a phone call, you also need to think about whether other people want to listen.
Some airlines say that you cannot make phone calls on planes.
An airline is a company that has planes and takes you to other places.
United does not let people make phone calls on planes.
Qatar Airways lets people make phone calls, but they must wear headphones and speak softly.
The internet on planes has gotten fast, and airlines' rules are also different.
Companies that make planes are also thinking about this.
Boeing showed people a design for a phone booth.
A phone booth is a small room.
You can make phone calls inside it.
It can keep the sound of phone calls from traveling outside a little more.
But there are still no phone booths now.
If an airline lets you make phone calls, you still need to speak softly and be quick.
Many people want to sleep or work and do not want to listen to your phone call.
Think about it: if you want to rest on a plane and hear someone next to you making a phone call, who would you ask for help?
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇HSK 2. Common noun for plane; appears throughout as 飞机上, meaning 'on the plane'.
HSK 2. Used in 打电话 (make a phone call) and 电话响了 (the phone rang).
HSK 2. A very common verb-object phrase; literally 'hit phone call'.
HSK 2. Can be a noun or verb; here it appears in 开工作会 and 在工作.
HSK 2. Used for airlines and plane manufacturers: 航空公司, 波音公司.
HSK 2. Verb-object phrase; often used as 想睡觉 (want to sleep).
HSK 2. Refers to any audible sound; in the script, the phone call is a 声音.
HSK 2. Resultative compound of 看 + 见; used for seeing a screen or a face.
Beyond HSK 2. Compound of 航空 (aviation) + 公司 (company); central to the story.
Beyond HSK 2. Often used for official rules, as in 航空公司的规定.
Beyond HSK 2. Literally 'ear machine'; used in the Qatar Airways rule.
Beyond HSK 2. 电话 (phone) + 间 (room); Boeing's proposed small room for calls.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法如果……也……
Expresses a condition with 'if ... then also ...'.
如果航空公司让你打电话,也要小声,要快。
让 + Person + Verb Phrase
The causative 让 means 'let/make someone do something'.
United不让人在飞机上打电话。
Qatar Airways让人打电话,但要戴耳机、小声说话。
Proper nouns
专有名词Sources
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