A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
在 Ceuta，六万人想过海去欧洲，至少七十多人没有回来
Ceuta Crossing: 60,000 Try, 70 Never Return
About this story
Ceuta Crossing: 60,000 Try, 70 Never Return. HSK 1 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 1 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 7 key vocabulary words such as 钱、想、学校 and walks through 2 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
Today, we're going to talk about something very sad.
There's a small place, and that place is good.
In that place, people have money, and food to eat.
In that place, their sons and daughters can go to school too.
In front of this good place, there are huge numbers of people.
These people have no money, and no food to eat.
They all want to go to that good place.
They think: if we go to that place, we'll be well off too.
But that good place doesn't want them to come.
In front of the good place is a vast, vast sea.
The sea is huge.
In July, huge, huge numbers of people wanted to go to that good place.
Many people, one by one, walked into the sea.
The sea was too big; the people were too small.
Many people were lost in the sea.
Many, many people were gone, and did not come back.
That good place — so many people came.
That place called in many soldiers.
The soldiers stood before the sea, so these people couldn't come over.
This is terribly sad.
These people wanted to reach a good place, and in the end were lost in the sea.
The people in the good place have money and food to eat.
The people with no money have nothing at all.
They too want money, and food to eat.
Wanting to reach that good place, they walked into the vast, vast sea.
And you?
When you have no money and no food to eat,
would you, too, walk into a sea this vast?
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Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇那个地方，人有钱 — in that place, people have money.
他们都想去那个好地方 — they all want to go to that good place.
儿子、女儿，也能去学校 — sons and daughters can go to school.
有米饭吃 — have rice to eat.
是很大很大的海 — is a vast, vast sea.
叫来了很多兵 — called in many soldiers.
那个好地方 — that good place.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法也……
"also / too". 我们也会很好 — we'll be well off too.
我们也会很好。
太……了
"too ...". 海太大了 — the sea is too big.
海太大了，水太多了。
Proper nouns
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