A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
苹果换了一个新老板
Tim Cook Steps Down; John Ternus Takes Apple Over
About this story
Tim Cook is not Apple's boss now. The new boss is John Ternus. Cook was the boss for 15 years. HSK 1 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 1 Chinese listening episode that runs about 5 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 苹果、我们、什么 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
Speaking of phones and computers, let me tell you some big news.
Have you ever used Apple products?
iPhone.
iPad.
Mac computer.
Apple Watch.
AirPods.
These are all made by Apple.
Apple is one of the biggest companies in the world.
How much is it worth?
Four trillion dollars.
Four trillion.
This number is too big.
Richer than many countries.
Who is Apple's boss?
Before, it was Steve Jobs.
Steve Jobs was Apple's founder.
He made the first iPhone.
He was a very famous person.
But he passed away in 2011.
After he passed away, who became boss?
A person called Tim Cook.
Tim Cook became Apple's boss.
From 2011 until now.
Fifteen years.
Fifteen years is a long time.
In these fifteen years.
Apple became even bigger.
Made even more money.
Four times more.
Apple's revenue is four times what it was before.
Tim Cook did very well.
But yesterday.
Tim Cook said something.
He said: "I'm leaving."
Not leaving now.
Leaving in September.
September first this year.
He will no longer be CEO.
CEO means the biggest boss.
He won't be CEO anymore.
But he won't completely leave Apple.
He will become the "chairman."
What is a chairman?
A chairman is the person who sits above and watches.
Not the person who manages things every day.
But still very important.
So who will be the new CEO?
A person called John Ternus.
Who is John Ternus?
He has worked at Apple for twenty-five years.
Twenty-five years.
Since 2001.
What does he do?
He manages Apple's hardware.
Hardware is things you can touch.
A phone is hardware.
A computer is hardware.
Earphones are hardware.
A watch is hardware.
iPhone is managed by him.
iPad is managed by him.
AirPods are managed by him.
Apple Watch is also managed by him.
He managed everything at Apple that you can touch.
Now he's going to be CEO.
This is a very big deal.
Why big?
Because Apple is so big.
Billions of people around the world use Apple products.
Changing the boss will affect many things.
Tim Cook wrote a letter.
What did he say in the letter?
He said he reads user emails every morning.
Users are people who use Apple products.
Someone told him Apple Watch saved his life.
Because Apple Watch can detect heart problems.
Someone told him iPhone helped him take the best photo on a mountain top.
He said he was very moved.
He felt these fifteen years were very meaningful.
What did Tim Cook do?
He let Apple design its own chips.
Chips are the most important little things inside computers.
They make computers and phones run.
He also made Apple Pay.
Apple Pay is paying with your phone.
He also made Apple TV.
Apple TV is for watching movies and shows.
He also made Apple News.
Apple News is for reading news.
He did many many things.
Under him, Apple went from one trillion to four trillion.
Three times more.
But now he says: enough.
It's time to let someone else do it.
Tim Cook is sixty-five this year.
He wants to rest.
But not completely retire.
He will still be at Apple.
Just not managing things every day anymore.
The new boss John Ternus will lead Apple forward.
What will he do?
Nobody knows.
Maybe he'll make a new iPhone.
Maybe he'll make new things.
We don't know.
But we know one thing.
Apple's story isn't over yet.
From Steve Jobs to Tim Cook.
From Tim Cook to John Ternus.
Every era is different.
A new era has begun.
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇The world's most valuable tech company. Makes iPhone, Mac, etc.
HSK 1. we; us.
HSK 1. what.
HSK 1. time / moment.
HSK 1. now.
HSK 1. the top; above.
The top boss of a company.
To leave an official position.
To take over a position from someone.
A board position above CEO but not in daily operations.
Total value of a company on the stock market.
Physical products you can touch (phones, computers, etc).
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法Proper nouns
专有名词Sources
来源Free account
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