8:00
一个中国公司被美国看上了
China Blocks Meta from Buying AI Startup Manus
HSK 1 Chinese listening practice. A simple story about China saying no to Meta — the US company that wanted to buy the AI startup Manus.
This is an HSK 1 Chinese listening episode that runs about 8 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 18 key vocabulary words such as 公司、买、卖 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.
HSK 2 noun. 一家公司 (one company — measure word 家). 大公司 = big company, 小公司 = small company. The episode talks about Manus 公司 and Meta 公司.
HSK 1 verb. 买东西 = buy things. The opposite is 卖 (sell). The whole episode is about who can 买 Manus.
HSK 2. The mirror of 买. Note the tones: 买 (3rd tone) vs 卖 (4th tone) — easy to confuse but very different.
HSK 1. 多少钱 = how much money. 美元 = US dollar, 元 = yuan. The episode mentions 二十亿美元 (2 billion US dollars).
HSK 2. 国 (country) + 家 (home). 中国 = China, 美国 = USA. 国家 means a sovereign nation as a whole.
HSK 1. 中 (middle) + 国 (country). The English name comes from this — but in Chinese the literal sense is 'the middle kingdom.'
HSK 1. 美 (beautiful) + 国 (country). A phonetic + meaning approximation of 'America.' 美元 = US dollar.
HSK 1. 想买 = want to buy. 我想 = I think. Two senses depending on what follows: verb after = 'want to V', otherwise = 'think.'
HSK 1. 做事 = do things, 做工作 = do work. The episode says Manus 做 AI = Manus makes AI. Very general verb.
HSK 1. 电 (electric) + 脑 (brain). Literally 'electric brain.' 用电脑 = use a computer.
HSK 2. Used for events, situations, business. 一件事情 = one matter (measure word 件). Different from 东西 (which is for physical things).
HSK 4 but glossed inline in the episode. 技 (skill) + 术 (method). 高技术 = high tech. The know-how behind making something.
HSK 4. The episode glosses it as '管国家事情的人' (the people who manage the country). 中国政府 = the Chinese government.
Very common loanword. The full Chinese term is 人工智能 = artificial intelligence. In speech, people just say 'AI.' The episode glosses it as 'a computer that can think.'
HSK 5. The Chinese term for 'agent' as in 'AI agent.' 代 (instead of) + 理 (handle). Also used in business: 代理公司 = an agency firm.
HSK 4. 亿 = 100,000,000. 一亿 = 100 million; 二十亿 = 2 billion. Note: in Chinese counting, 万 (10k) and 亿 (100M) are the major break points, NOT thousand/million.
HSK 4. Used for both people (我很紧张 = I'm nervous) and situations (关系紧张 = tense relations). The episode uses it for the China-US tension.
HSK 4. 正式说 = officially say. 正式工作 = formal/full-time job. Opposite is 非正式 (informal).
* beyond level超纲词
X 就是 Y (definition)
The teacher's pattern. Used to define a new term inline using simpler words. Listen for it whenever a beyond-HSK-1 word appears.
公司就是很多人一起做事的地方。
代理就是有人帮你做事。
政府就是管国家事情的人。
因为 ... + clause
'Because + reason.' At HSK 1 level often used alone (without 所以). The reason clause comes after 因为.
因为它做了一个东西。
因为去新加坡，做事比较方便。
因为中国政府觉得，Manus是中国人做的。
想 + Verb (want to V)
Modal of desire. 想 + verb phrase = 'want to V'. Subject + 想 + verb. Very common HSK 1 structure.
Meta想买Manus。
我想去日本。
他们想：买了Manus，我们也可以做这种AI。
不可以 / 可以 (cannot / can — permission)
The most basic permission modal. 可以 = may/can; 不可以 = cannot/may not. Different from 会 (be able / will) — 可以 is about whether something is allowed.
不可以买，也不可以卖。
你们不可以买。
我说可以，才可以。
比 comparison
A 比 B + adjective. The basic comparison structure. 'A is more X than B.'
你一辈子的钱也没有这么多。
担心别人比自己好。
Subject + 自己 + V (does it itself)
自己 = self/oneself. Used after the subject to emphasize that someone does something on their own. 它自己想 = it thinks by itself.
然后这个AI自己想。
自己看。
自己做。