A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
古巴没有电了：一个国家，晚上一片黑
Cuba Blackout Deepens Under Oil Blockade
About this story
Cuba Blackout Deepens Under Oil Blockade. HSK 1 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 1 Chinese listening episode that runs about 3 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 10 key vocabulary words such as 医院、天气、热 and walks through 3 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
Cuba is a country.
Cuba is not very big.
Cuba is far, far away.
Cuba is in a bad way right now.
At night, Cuba is very dark.
There's no electricity at home.
Many places have no electricity.
At night, Cubans can't see anything.
Cuba — how did it lose its electricity?
Because Cuba has run out of oil.
With oil, there's electricity.
Without oil, there's no electricity.
Cuba has very little oil.
Cuba has to buy oil.
Cuba wants to buy a lot of oil.
But right now, Cuba can't buy oil.
This has to do with the United States.
In the US there's a man named Trump.
Trump doesn't like Cuba.
He won't let many countries sell oil to Cuba.
Whoever sells to Cuba, the US is unhappy with.
So many countries stopped selling.
Cuba's oil got less and less.
Now there's none left at all.
With no oil, Cuba goes dark.
At night, Cubans are at home.
Home is very dark, and very hot.
They want to turn on the TV, but the TV won't turn on.
They want to use the computer, but the computer won't work either.
The children want to watch a movie, but they can't.
Without electricity, many things can't be used.
Cuba's power sometimes comes, sometimes doesn't.
Today there's power, tomorrow there isn't.
Cubans wish for power every single day.
Cubans are having a hard time.
It's very hot, but there's no electricity.
The hospitals have no electricity either.
Without electricity, the hospitals struggle.
Some people have fallen ill.
Everyone is struggling.
Cubans want electricity, and they want oil.
Right now, they have neither.
Cuba says: we want electricity too.
Cuba thinks the sun can give power too.
But that takes a lot of time.
Cuba, right now, is very dark.
Many people are struggling.
Okay, today we talked about Cuba.
A faraway country that has lost its electricity.
Many Cubans are having a hard time.
We hope, too, that Cubans get better soon.
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇HSK 1. hospital. 医院里，也没有电 = the hospitals have no power either.
HSK 1. weather. 天气很热，可是没有电 = it is very hot, but there is no power.
HSK 1. hot. 家里很黑，也很热 = home is dark and hot.
HSK 1. to buy. 古巴要买石油 = Cuba has to buy oil.
HSK 1. TV. 他们想开电视 = they want to turn on the TV.
HSK 1. things. 很多东西都不能用 = many things can’t be used.
The core word. 没有电，古巴就很黑 = with no power, Cuba goes dark.
Oil. 古巴没有石油了 = Cuba has run out of oil.
A country. 他不让很多国家卖石油给古巴 = he bars many countries from selling oil to Cuba.
The sun. 太阳也可以给电 = the sun can give power too.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法有...就有... / 没有...就没有...
"If there is... then...; if not... then not..." — a simple conditional.
有石油，就有电。没有石油，就没有电。
想 + 动词
"Want to" do something.
他们想开电视。
古巴人，天天都想有电。
Proper nouns
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