A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels

民主党赢回国会:物价能降吗?
Democrats Win Congress: Can They Lower the Cost of Living?
About this story
HSK 1: A 29-year-old unemployed engineer votes for the Democrats. They won Congress, but can they make things cheaper and fix healthcare?
This is an HSK 2 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 工作、公司、住 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
He is twenty-nine years old and has been out of work for seven months.
He lives in the United States.
Every day, he looks for a job.
In seven months, he applied to five hundred companies.
He told every company: I want to work here.
Twelve companies talked to him.
But not a single company wanted him.
Before, he did computer work at a company.
That job paid him eighty-nine thousand dollars a year.
Seven months ago, the company let him go.
He said: "What I see now is not very good."
This autumn, Americans elected new people.
He went too; he voted for the Democratic Party.
The Democratic Party won many places.
The United States has a Congress.
Now, there are more Democrats in Congress.
In one place, the Democratic candidate won.
He is going to Congress.
That place also elected a new person to run that place.
This person is also a Democrat.
The Democratic Party says: We want to make things a little cheaper.
But there is not much they can do.
For Congress to do something, sixty people must agree.
The Democrats have fewer than sixty people.
The president can also say no.
So, things may still be this expensive.
The Democratic Party also says it wants to make it cheaper for everyone to see a doctor.
The New Year has just passed, and the Democrats are about to control Congress.
He still does not have a job.
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Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇HSK 1. Common noun/verb: 找工作 (look for a job), 做工作 (do work).
HSK 1. Measure word: 一家公司 (a company).
HSK 1. 住在 + place: 他住在美国 (He lives in the US).
HSK 1. 找工作 = look for a job; 找人 = look for someone.
HSK 1. 说话 = talk; 他说 = he said.
HSK 1. Used alone or after a time: 七个月以前 (seven months ago).
HSK 1. Contrast with 去年 (last year) and 明年 (next year).
HSK 1. 有一个地方 = there is a place.
HSK 1. 美国人 = American person.
HSK 2. 赢了很多地方 = won many places. Opposite: 输 (lose).
Beyond HSK 1. 美国国会 = US Congress; 国会里 = in Congress.
Beyond HSK 1. 民主 = democracy; 党 = party. 民主党的人 = Democrats.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法Subject + 没有 + Verb + 了
Indicates that an action has not happened for a period of time, often with a duration phrase.
他二十九岁,七个月没有工作了。
他还是没有工作。
每 + Measure Word + Noun + 都 + Verb
Means 'every ... all ...', emphasizing that the action applies to each item without exception.
每天,他都在找工作。
他告诉每一家公司:我想来这里工作。
有 + Number + Measure Word + Noun
Expresses existence or quantity: 'there are ...' or '... has ...'.
有十二家公司找他说话。
美国有一个国会。
有一个地方,民主党的人赢了。
但是 + 没有 + 一 + Measure Word + Noun
Emphasizes 'not a single ...' using 没有 with 一 + measure word.
但是没有一家公司要他。
要 + 有 + Number + Measure Word + Noun + 说同意
Expresses a requirement: 'need to have X (people) agree'.
国会要做一件事,要有六十个人说同意。
让 + Person + Verb Phrase
Causative construction meaning 'to let/make someone do something'.
民主党说:我们要让东西便宜一点。
民主党还说,要让大家看病少花钱。
还是 + Verb Phrase
Means 'still' or 'nevertheless', indicating a situation continues unchanged.
所以,东西可能还是这么贵。
他还是没有工作。
Proper nouns
专有名词Sources
来源- Democrats Promised to Fix the Economy. What Can They Really Do? (Wall Street Journal, syndicated)
- Sherrod Brown reclaims Senate seat in Ohio (Mother Jones)
- 2026 midterm election updates (CBS News)
- Jobs report: Hiring surges past forecasts, but paychecks still lose ground to inflation (The National Desk)
- Mortgage rates could hit 7% for some buyers after Fed raises key rate (Spectrum News)
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