A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
不用买，改成"租"：Apple 推出新的手机计划
Apple Upgrade Turns iPhones Into Leases
About this story
An easy Chinese listening story: Apple has switched from selling iPhones to leasing them. You pay a little each month for a fairly new phone, but it stays Apple's, so people debate: buy or lease? HSK 2 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 2 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 10 key vocabulary words such as 喜欢、想、买 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
Apple is a very big company that makes the iPhone.
Many people love using the iPhone.
Before, if you wanted an iPhone, you had to spend money and buy it.
Once you bought it, this phone was your own.
But recently, Apple has switched to a new approach.
Now, you can "lease" a phone instead of buying it all at once.
Every month, you give Apple a little money, and you can use a fairly new iPhone.
After a year or two, you can swap it for a new one.
But remember: this phone is always Apple's, not yours.
People who like it say: it's great, a new phone every year, and it doesn't cost much per month.
People who don't say: this way, the phone never really belongs to you.
Apple also said the old "buy the phone" way will no longer be offered.
So now, many people are wondering: in the future, is it better to "buy" a phone, or to "lease" one?
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇喜欢用 iPhone = like using the iPhone.
很多人都在想 = many people are wondering.
花钱买下来 = spend money and buy it.
每个月 = every month.
花钱 = to spend money.
一个很大的公司 = a very big company.
这个手机是你的 = this phone is yours.
你可以"租"手机 = you can lease a phone.
花钱买下来 = spend money to buy it.
换了一个新做法 = switched to a new approach.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法以前……，现在……
以前 X，现在 Y = "before X, now Y".
以前，你想要 iPhone，就要花钱买。现在，你可以"租"手机。
不用……
不用 + verb = "don't have to …".
不用一下子买下来。
到底是 A，还是 B？
到底是 A，还是 B = "in the end, is it A or B?".
到底是"买"好，还是"租"好？
Proper nouns
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