A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
纽约布鲁克林一座公寓楼倒塌，八人遇难
An Apartment Building Collapses in Brooklyn, New York, Killing Eight
About this story
An apartment building in Brooklyn, New York, collapsed on 11 November 2026. Eight people died, two of them children, and 18 were injured. The cause is being investigated. HSK 3 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 3 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 12 key vocabulary words such as 事故、去世、受伤 and walks through 6 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
On Wednesday 11 November, an apartment building in Brooklyn, New York, fell down.
It was about four in the afternoon.
The building had three floors and was nearly a hundred years old.
It fell towards a building site next to it.
Eight people died in the accident.
Six were adults and two were children.
Of the adults who died, two were workers on the building site next door.
Another 18 people were injured.
Fourteen were members of the public.
Four were firefighters taking part in the rescue.
Most of them are in a stable condition.
One is seriously injured.
More than 250 firefighters and rescue workers went there.
On Thursday afternoon, the fire department ended the rescue.
They said there was nobody else in the building.
Why the building fell is still being investigated.
The investigation is led by New York City's buildings department and the police.
The buildings department said the site next door had a permit to dig.
After the accident, the department told the site to stop all work.
Several companies are connected with this site.
They have about a hundred more building sites in New York.
New York City has started checking those sites.
The city has also opened a centre nearby to help people who have nowhere to live.
The mayor of New York said: "We will find out what happened."
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Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇HSK 3. 在这次事故中 means 'in this accident'.
HSK 3. A respectful word for 'to die'.
HSK 3. 受 (receive) + 伤 (injury).
HSK 3. 还在调查 means still under investigation.
HSK 3. 负责调查的是… introduces who leads the investigation.
HSK 2. The city is checking other building sites.
Beyond the HSK 1 to 5 lists. 公寓楼 is an apartment building.
Beyond the HSK 1 to 5 lists. The place next door where building work was going on.
Beyond the HSK 1 to 5 lists. Four of the injured were firefighters.
Beyond the HSK 1 to 5 lists. 参加救援 means to take part in the rescue.
HSK 4. 情况稳定 means a person's condition is stable.
HSK 5. 有…的许可 means to hold a permit for something.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法Verb + 向 + Place
向 after a verb gives the direction of the action.
它倒向了旁边的一个工地。
在 + Event + 中
'In' or 'during' an event. More formal than 在…里.
八个人在这次事故中去世。
快 + Number + 了
Says an amount has nearly been reached.
这座楼有三层，已经快一百年了。
负责 + Verb + 的是 + Noun
A 是 sentence that names who is in charge of doing something.
负责调查的是纽约市管建筑的部门和警察。
Event + 以后，…
Tells what happened after an event.
事故以后，这个部门要求工地停下所有的工作。
已经开始 + Verb
Says an action has already begun.
纽约市已经开始检查这些工地。
Proper nouns
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