A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
从"买"到"租"：Apple 停掉旧计划，推出 Apple Upgrade 租赁
Apple Upgrade Turns iPhones Into Leases
About this story
A medium Chinese listening story: Apple killed its old iPhone installment plan and launched Apple Upgrade, a leasing program from ~$18/month for iPhone, Watch, Mac and iPad, part of a shift from owning to renting. HSK 4 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 4 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 11 key vocabulary words such as 改变、计划、担心 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
Recently, Apple made a sizable change.
It shut down the old "buy an iPhone in installments" plan and swapped in a new one, called Apple Upgrade.
The biggest difference in the new plan hides in one word: before, you "bought" your phone; now, you "lease" it.
Simply put, you pay a bit each month, for an iPhone about eighteen dollars, and you get to keep using a fairly new device.
Besides the iPhone, watches, computers, and tablets can all be leased this way.
After leasing for one to two years, you can hand the old one back and swap for a new one.
If you use your old phone as credit, your monthly payment can be even lower.
It sounds convenient, but some people are worried.
Because no matter how long you pay, this phone still isn't really your own.
The moment you stop paying, the phone has to go back.
In recent years, more and more things have shifted from "buy it once" to "pay every month."
Now, even phones have gone down this road.
So many people are starting to ask: are we slowly getting used to "never really owning anything"?
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Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇做了一个不小的改变 = made a sizable change.
那个老计划 = that old plan.
也有人担心 = some people are worried.
简单说 = simply put.
慢慢习惯 = slowly getting used to.
越来越多的东西 = more and more things.
手表、电脑、平板 = watches, computers, tablets.
你是"租"手机 = you "lease" the phone.
也都可以这样租 = can all be leased this way.
比较新的设备 = a fairly new device.
手表、电脑、平板 = watches, computers, tablets.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法过去……，现在……
过去 X，现在 Y = "before X, now Y".
过去你是"买"手机，现在你是"租"手机。
不管……，都/始终……
不管 X，始终 Y = "no matter X, always Y".
不管你付了多久，这台手机，始终不算你自己的。
从 A 变成 B
从 A 变成 B = "change from A into B".
都从"一次买断"，变成了"每月付费"。
Proper nouns
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