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
A three-storey apartment building in Brooklyn, New York, collapsed on 11 November 2026, killing eight people, two of them children, and injuring 18. The cause is under investigation. HSK 4 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 4 Chinese listening episode that runs about 2 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 造成、儿童、宣布 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
At about four in the afternoon on 11 November, a three-storey apartment building in Brooklyn, New York, collapsed onto the construction site next door.
The building was nearly a hundred years old.
The accident killed eight people, six of them adults and two of them children.
Of the adults who died, two were workers on the construction site next door.
Another 18 people were injured, including 14 members of the public and four firefighters.
The city government said most of the injured are in a stable condition and one is seriously injured.
After the accident, more than 250 firefighters and rescue workers went to the scene.
The search and rescue went on until Thursday afternoon.
The fire department then announced that the search was over and that there were no more victims at the scene.
The cause of the collapse is still under investigation.
The investigation is led by New York City's Department of Buildings and the police, and covers both the collapsed apartment building and the site next door.
The Department of Buildings said the developer of the site next door held a permit for excavation and foundation work.
After the accident, the Department of Buildings ordered all work on the site to stop.
The mayor said the five entities connected with this site are also linked to about a hundred other sites across the city.
The Department of Buildings has started checking those sites one by one.
The city government has opened a reception centre nearby to help residents who have lost their homes.
The mayor of New York said at a press conference: "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. Usually followed by a bad result: 造成八人死亡.
HSK 4. A formal word for 孩子, common in news.
HSK 3. 宣布搜救结束 means to announce that the search is over.
HSK 2. 倒塌的原因 means the cause of the collapse.
HSK 3. 还在调查中 means still under investigation.
HSK 4. 失去住处的居民 means residents who lost their homes.
Beyond the HSK 1 to 5 lists. Used for buildings and walls. More formal than 倒.
HSK 5. 隔壁的建筑工地 means the construction site next door.
Beyond the HSK 1 to 5 lists. 遇难者 means a person who died in it.
Beyond the HSK 1 to 5 lists. Short for 搜索 (search) and 救援 (rescue).
HSK 5. 持有…的许可 means to hold a permit for something.
Beyond the HSK 1 to 5 lists. 全面停工 means all work stops.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法造成 + Result
Introduces the harm an event caused. Formal, common in news.
事故造成八人死亡，其中六名是成年人，两名是儿童。
Group + 中，有 + Number + 是 + Noun
Picks out some members of a group. 中 is the formal form of 里.
遇难的成年人中，有两位是隔壁工地上的工人。
一直 + Verb + 到 + Time
Says an action continued until a point in time.
搜救一直持续到星期四下午。
由 + Agent + 负责
由 marks who is responsible for an action.
调查由纽约市建筑局和警方负责，范围包括倒塌的公寓楼和隔壁的工地。
随后 + Verb
'Soon afterwards'. A formal way to give the next event.
消防部门随后宣布搜救结束，现场没有更多遇难者。
为 + Person + 提供 + Noun
To provide something for someone.
市政府在附近开设了一个接待中心，为失去住处的居民提供帮助。
Proper nouns
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