A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
阿拉斯加的选票上有两个丹·沙利文。要把他们分开，只能靠中间那一个字母。
Alaska's Senate Ballot Will List Two Men Named Dan Sullivan. The Only Thing Telling Them Apart Is One Middle Initial.
About this story
Alaska's Senate Ballot Will List Two Men Named Dan Sullivan. The Only Thing Telling Them Apart Is One Middle Initial. HSK 1 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 1 Chinese listening episode that runs about 1 minute. 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 6 key vocabulary words such as 名字、老师、字 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
In Alaska there is a man called Dan Sullivan.
He is an official — a senior one.
This year, everyone has to choose one person.
Choose Dan Sullivan?
You can.
But there is a problem.
There is another man, also called Dan Sullivan.
Two people, one name.
The second Dan Sullivan is not an official.
He is a teacher; he teaches.
He does not teach anymore now.
The two men have the same name.
If the names are the same, how do you choose?
Everyone looks at that piece of paper.
On the paper there are two Dan Sullivans.
The names are the same. In the middle, one letter is different.
One has S in the middle, one has J in the middle.
You have to look at that middle letter.
One letter, two people.
And there is a third man, also called Dan Sullivan.
He is not running. He says: I am the first Dan Sullivan.
Think about it:
When the names are the same, how do you know who is who?
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇两个人，一个名字 — two people, one name.
他是老师，他教书 — he is a teacher; he teaches.
中间有一个字，不一样 — one character in the middle is different.
名字一样，怎么选？ — If the names are the same, how do you choose?
大家要选一个人 — everyone has to choose one person. Same verb for picking and voting.
两个人的名字，一样 — the two men’s names are the same.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法也叫……
"Is also called ..." — 也 goes before the verb, never after.
还有一个人，也叫 Dan Sullivan。 — There is another man, also called Dan Sullivan.
A 一样，B 不一样
Saying what matches and what does not, side by side.
名字一样，中间有一个字，不一样。 — The names are the same; one character in the middle is different.
怎么 + verb？
How do you do it? 怎么 goes before the verb.
名字一样，怎么选？ — If the names are the same, how do you choose?
Proper Nouns
专有名词Sources
来源Free account
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