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 2 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 2 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 6 key vocabulary words such as 名字、一样、老师 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, in the United States, a senator has to be chosen this year.
On the ballot there is a name: Dan Sullivan.
He is the current senator, and he has served two terms.
But on the ballot, there is another name.
That name is also Dan Sullivan.
Two people, the same name.
The second Dan Sullivan is not a senator.
He is a teacher, and he has already retired.
He does not like the current president, and he did not write down which party he belongs to.
In Alaska, the ballot can carry four people.
This teacher came third.
He did not get many votes — only three thousand six hundred.
But three thousand six hundred was enough.
So both Dan Sullivans are on the ballot.
Then how does the ballot write it?
In the middle of the name, they add one letter.
One is Dan S. Sullivan.
One is Dan J. Sullivan.
Two names, differing only by that one letter in the middle.
The current senator says this is not a coincidence.
He says someone wants people to read it wrong, and choose the wrong man.
The other side says that is not so.
And there is one more thing, which is interesting.
In Alaska, there is a third Dan Sullivan.
He used to be a mayor.
He is not running. He said only one sentence:
I am the first Dan Sullivan, and you should vote for that senator.
Think about it:
If two people have the same name, how do you know who you are voting for?
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇这个名字，也是丹·沙利文 — that name is also Dan Sullivan.
两个人，一样的名字 — two people, the same name.
他是一个老师，已经退休了 — he is a teacher, already retired.
他已经做了两届 — he has already served two terms.
选票上，有一个名字 — on the ballot there is a name.
他是现在的议员 — he is the current senator.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法已经……了
Already done. The 了 at the end is part of the pattern.
他是一个老师，已经退休了。 — He is a teacher, and he has already retired.
就差……
"Differ by only ..." — 差 here means the gap between two things.
两个名字，就差中间那一个字母。 — The two names differ only by that one middle letter.
不是……，是……
Rejecting one reading and supplying another.
现在的议员说：这不是巧合。 — The current senator says: this is not a coincidence.
Proper Nouns
专有名词Sources
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