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故宫为什么有这么多门
Beijing Forbidden City — Why the Palace Has So Many Gates
HSK 1 Chinese listening practice. Visit the Forbidden City, Jingshan and a Beijing hutong in a simple city story.
This is an HSK 1 Chinese listening episode that runs about 4 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 8 key vocabulary words such as 北京、看见、以前 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.
今天，一个人来北京。
Today, I came to Beijing alone.
北京很大，他今天看什么？
Beijing is very big. What did he see today?
一个北京朋友说：你和我来。
A Beijing friend said: Come with me.
他们坐出租车来一个大门前面。
They came by taxi in front of a gate.
门后面有很多人，也有很多大的家。
There are many people behind the door and many large homes.
这个地方叫故宫。
This place is called the Forbidden City.
故宫，也叫 Forbidden City。
The Forbidden City, also called Forbidden City.
朋友说：以前，中国有皇帝。
A friend said: In the past, China had an emperor.
以前，是昨天、上个月、很多年以前。
Before, it was yesterday, last month, many years ago.
皇帝以前住在故宫，也在故宫工作。
The emperor used to live in and work in the Forbidden City.
故宫是皇帝的家，也是皇帝工作的地方。
The Forbidden City is the emperor's home and the place where he works.
这个人看前面。
This person looks ahead.
一个门后面，还有一个门。
Behind one door, there is another door.
他走进这个门，前面还有一个门。
He walked into this door, and there was another door in front of him.
他走了很多时候，前面还有门。
He walked a lot, and there was still a door in front of him.
他想：故宫怎么有这么多门？
He thought: Why are there so many doors in the Forbidden City?
朋友说：以前，很多人不能进这些门。
A friend said: In the past, many people could not enter these doors.
有的门，很多人可以进。
Some doors allow many people to enter.
有的门，皇帝家里的人可以进。
There are some doors where people from the emperor's family can enter.
门在说：你可以去哪里。
The door says: Where can you go.
他们走，前面还有门。
As they go, there is still a door ahead.
大房子都在中间，门也在中间。
The big houses are in the middle, and the doors are in the middle.
他们在故宫的北门，故宫在后面。
They are at the north gate of the Forbidden City, with the Forbidden City at the back.
北，是北京的北。
North is the north of Beijing.
北门前面有一个山。
There is a mountain in front of the north gate.
这座山叫景山。
This mountain is called Jingshan.
他们慢慢走上景山。
They slowly walked up Jingshan.
这个人看下面，故宫就在下面。
This person looks down, the Forbidden City is below.
他很高兴。
He was very happy.
上午走进的门，现在都可以看见。
The door you walked through in the morning can now be seen.
一个很长的路，南北都在故宫中间。
A very long road, both in the north and south, in the middle of the Forbidden City.
南，是北的前面。
South is the front of north.
北京很多重要的地方，也在这个南北的路上。
Many important places in Beijing are also on this north-south road.
上午，他在故宫里面，一个门一个门看。
In the morning, he was inside the Forbidden City, looking at each door.
现在，他在景山上，看见这些门怎么在一起。
Now, he was on Jingshan Mountain and saw how these doors were together.
朋友说：我们现在去看一个北京。
My friend said: Let’s go see Beijing now.
他们走下景山，来一个小路。
They walked down Jingshan Mountain and came to a small road.
北京人叫这样的小路胡同。
Beijingers call such small roads Hutong.
胡同里没有皇帝，今天的北京人住在胡同里。
There is no emperor in the hutongs. Today’s Beijingers live in the hutongs.
有人吃早饭，有人去上班，也有人在门前说汉语。
Some people have breakfast, some go to work, and some speak Chinese in front of the door.
早饭，是早上吃的饭。
Breakfast is the meal eaten in the morning.
上班，是去工作。
Go to work, go to work.
故宫很大，胡同很小。
The Forbidden City is very big, but the alleys are very small.
故宫里有以前中国最重要的人的家。
The Forbidden City contains the homes of the most important people in China in the past.
胡同里有今天北京人的家。
In the hutongs are the homes of today’s Beijingers.
这个人早上想看一个有名的地方。
This man wanted to see a famous place in the morning.
下午，他看见了一个城市。
In the afternoon, he saw a city.
城市，是很多人一起住、一起工作的地方。
A city is a place where many people live and work together.
故宫和胡同，都在北京这个城市里。
The Forbidden City and Hutongs are both in the city of Beijing.
你来北京，想先看故宫的大门，还是胡同里的早饭？
When you come to Beijing, do you want to see the gate of the Forbidden City first, or the breakfast in the alley?
HSK 1. China’s capital city.
HSK 1. Used for something that comes into view.
Time before now.
HSK 1. Also appears in 去工作.
Beijing’s former imperial palace complex.
The ruler who lived and worked in the Forbidden City.
The hill north of the Forbidden City.
A narrow lane in Beijing’s older neighborhoods.
* beyond level超纲词
Place + 有 + noun
Use 有 to say what exists in a place.
门后面有很多人。
A + 也 + B
也 adds “also” to a second related statement.
故宫是皇帝的家，也是在故宫工作的地方。
想 + verb
想 can introduce what someone wants to do or see.
你来北京，想先看故宫的大门吗？
Free account
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