A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
从音乐圈顶端到监狱：Diddy 这几年发生了什么
From the Top of Music to Prison: What Happened to Diddy
About this story
A medium Chinese listening story on Diddy: acquitted of the most serious charges but convicted on two prostitution counts, sent to a New Jersey prison, and thrown in solitary after a fight, while his lawyers appeal. HSK 3 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 3-4 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 13 key vocabulary words such as 音乐、结果、安排 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
In America's music world, Diddy was once one of the most famous and richest figures.
He made music, helped many singers become famous, and had more money than he could count.
But over the past two years, he fell, step by step, from the very top.
Last year, the court put him on trial.
On the most serious charges he was found not guilty; but on two counts tied to "arranging prostitution" he was found guilty.
In the end, the judge sentenced him to over four years and sent him to a prison in New Jersey.
The prison isn't especially strict, but for him the days are hard all the same.
Last week, things took another turn for the worse.
Inside the prison, he got into a fight with another inmate.
Word is the other man cursed him first, and only then did they come to blows.
After the fight, the prison shut him alone in a tiny room — what prisons call "solitary confinement."
In that little room he can't see anyone and can't come out as he pleases.
Meanwhile, his lawyers keep appealing, arguing the sentence was too harsh and that he should get out sooner.
So far, the court still hasn't ruled.
As things stand, he won't actually walk out of the prison gates until 2028.
From adored by millions to sitting alone in a small cell, Diddy's last few years are like a fall from the sky to the ground.
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Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇在音乐圈里 = in the music world.
法院还没有给出结果 = the court hasn't given a result.
按照现在的安排 = as things are arranged now.
日子一样很难过 = the days are hard all the same.
事情又变糟了 = things took a turn for the worse.
手里的钱多到数不清 = more money than he could count.
去年 = last year; 四年多 = over four years.
他的律师一直在为他上诉 = his lawyers keep appealing for him.
送进了新泽西州的一所监狱 = sent to a prison in New Jersey.
被判无罪 = found not guilty; 判他坐牢四年多 = sentenced to over four years.
两个……有关的罪 = two related counts; 无罪 = not guilty.
为他上诉 = to appeal on his behalf.
和另一个犯人打了起来 = got into a fight with another inmate.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法被判 + 无罪/有罪
被判 + 无罪/有罪 = to be found not guilty / guilty.
最重的那几个罪，他被判无罪。
先……才……
先 A 才 B = "A happens first, and only then B".
是那个人先骂了他，两个人才动手。
Proper Nouns
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