A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels

听歌的故事:谁是世界第一名?
Bruno Mars 'Risk It All' Hits No. 1 — Who Tops the Billboard Global Chart
About this story
Bruno Mars's new song 'Risk It All' debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard Global chart — fame, hard work, and pop culture. HSK 2 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 2 Chinese listening episode that runs about 7 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 16 key vocabulary words such as 麻烦、方便、成绩 and walks through 7 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
Speaking of the most popular new songs right now.
Let's talk about listening to music.
People nowadays really like listening to songs.
We listen to music every day.
How do you like to listen to songs?
Listening to music used to be a slow process.
They went to stores to buy things to listen to.
Going to stores to buy things is very troublesome.
Sometimes the stores were not open.
Sometimes things were sold out.
Now is different from the past.
Now we all listen on our phones.
Or listen to songs on the computer.
Because listening to songs on a phone is very convenient.
Phones are very small and carried with us.
So everyone listens every day.
Listening when waking up in the morning.
Listening when eating lunch.
Also listening when going to sleep at night.
This is the way to listen to songs now.
Next, how do we know which song is good?
There are many, many new songs in the world.
Some songs have many people listening to them.
Some songs have very few people listening.
We have to see what the computer says.
The computer knows how many times you have listened.
If you listen once on your phone.
The computer will record it.
If a song is listened to by many people.
This song is the most popular.
For example, a song has one million people listening to it.
Another song has one hundred thousand people listening.
One million is much more than one hundred thousand.
So the first song is better than the second song.
The computer works every day.
Calculating during the day, and also calculating at night.
This way, everyone knows the results.
This is the way to find good songs.
In addition, everyone wants to be number one.
People who sing also want to be number one.
Because being number one makes you very happy.
Number one shows that everyone likes you.
If your song is number one.
There will be more people coming to listen.
Everyone will call their friends.
To tell their friends the new song sounds good.
The friends also think it's good after listening.
And then the friends will also go listen.
The number of listeners will become more and more.
The singers will also have a lot of money.
They can buy big houses.
They can also buy beautiful new clothes.
Although being number one is very difficult.
But every singer wants it.
They work hard every day.
Also, recently there is a male singer.
He sings very well.
He is a very famous American.
People in many countries know him.
He recently wrote a new song.
This new song sounds very good.
Everyone thinks it's very interesting.
Because this song is very happy.
So everyone listens to it on their phones.
He also had many good songs in the past.
Everyone loves listening to his songs.
He sings better than others.
He also dances very beautifully.
Many people go to the places where he sings.
Going to see him costs a lot of money.
Although it's very expensive, everyone goes.
So his new song is number one.
Next, let's look at another female singer.
Her song is now number two.
Why is her song very popular?
Because there is a sports competition.
That is a big winter competition.
A beautiful girl playing sports on the snow.
The girl moves very fast.
The clothes she wears are also very beautiful.
This song was played when she was performing.
Many people watched the competition on TV.
They saw that girl.
And also heard that good song.
Everyone thought this song sounded really good.
So after the competition ended.
Everyone looked for this song online.
Everyone listened to the song while thinking about the competition.
And then this song also became popular.
This is the relationship between sports and music.
In addition, listening to a song is not the same as buying a song.
Some people only listen on their phones.
Listening to songs does not require a lot of money.
As long as you have a phone, it's fine.
But some people really like this song.
They will spend money to buy this song.
Buying a song costs a few dollars.
Although buying a song costs a little money.
But this song can be listened to all the time.
You can also listen when there is no internet.
You can also listen when taking an airplane.
So buying songs is also a very important thing.
The computer adds up the people who listen to the song.
And also adds up the people who buy the song.
Calculating the two numbers together.
Then we can know who is number one.
Also, people in each place are different.
Americans like listening to American songs.
Chinese people like listening to Chinese songs.
But some songs are liked by the whole world.
No matter which country you live in.
No matter whether you are in the south or the north.
Everyone might be listening to the same song.
This kind of song is number one in the world.
Being number one in the world is harder than being number one in a country.
Because you have to make everyone like it.
You have to understand the cultures of different countries.
This new song achieved number one in the world.
Everyone thinks he is very awesome.
No matter in a restaurant or in a supermarket.
You can hear this new song.
Next, there is another male singer.
He sings in a different language.
This is also a very popular song.
This song is number one outside of America.
Because there are many other countries in the world.
Besides America, there are many other places.
Many people are watching Americans play football.
There is a rest time in the middle of playing football.
This male singer sings during the rest time.
He sings very loudly and very happily.
So many people got to know him.
Everyone goes to listen to his songs.
His song also became number one.
These things we just talked about.
Are actually American music charts.
This chart is called the Billboard Global Chart.
That famous male singer is called Bruno Mars.
His new song is called "Take a Gamble".
This song is now number one globally.
That song from the winter sports competition.
And that song from playing football.
Are also on this famous chart.
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇Used as an adjective to describe something that requires a lot of effort or causes annoyance.
An adjective describing something that is easy to do or use.
Typically refers to school grades, but here it is used creatively to mean 'music charts' or 'rankings'.
Can be used as a verb or an adjective to describe working hard.
Literally 'to have a name'. Used to describe people, places, or things that are widely known.
Noun referring to a sports match, contest, or competition.
A verb indicating that an event or action has concluded.
Refers to the connection between two things, such as 'sports and music' in the text.
Noun referring to the entire earth or global context.
Noun referring to the customs, arts, and achievements of a particular nation or people.
A common spoken adjective to praise someone or something for being very capable or impressive.
A phrase meaning 'to receive welcome'. Used to describe popular songs or people.
A noun for a professional singer. '歌' means song, '手' means hand/person skilled in a trade.
While '红' literally means 'red' (within level), its usage here as a slang adjective meaning 'popular' or 'viral' is beyond basic levels.
Literally 'notice board', but used as the official translation for the Billboard music charts.
Refers to a worldwide ranking list. '全球' means global, '榜' means list/chart.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法Used to express two actions happening simultaneously. The structure is '一边 + Action 1 + 一边 + Action 2'.
大家一边听歌一边想比赛。
A conjunction pattern meaning 'Although... but...'. It connects two clauses that contrast with each other.
虽然做第一名非常难。但是每个唱歌的人都想。
虽然很贵,但是大家都去。
虽然买歌花了一点钱。但是这首歌可以一直听。
The basic comparison structure in Chinese. It means 'A is more [Adjective] than B'.
一百万比十万多很多。
所以第一首歌比第二首好。
他唱歌比别人唱得好。
世界第一比国家第一更难。
Means 'No matter... all/still...'. It indicates that the result ('都' clause) remains the same regardless of the condition ('不管' clause).
不管你住在哪个国家。不管你在南方还是北方。大家可能都在听同一首歌。
不管在饭馆还是在超市。你都能听到这首新歌。
Indicates that the degree of an adjective or a mental verb is increasing over time, meaning 'more and more'.
听的人就越来越多了。
Means 'Besides... there is also...'. Used to add items or information to something already mentioned.
除了美国,还有很多地方。
The degree complement structure. '得' connects a verb to a description of how the action is performed.
他唱歌唱得非常好。
他跳舞也跳得非常漂亮。
他唱得非常大声,非常高兴。
Proper Nouns
专有名词Sources
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