A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
一个虚构小精灵的假坟，让四亿英镑的海底电缆改了道
A Fake Grave for a Fictional Elf Moved a £430 Million Undersea Cable
About this story
A Fake Grave for a Fictional Elf Moved a £430 Million Undersea Cable. HSK 2 Chinese listening practice.
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 16 key vocabulary words such as 电影、电视、电话 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 Britain there is a very famous beach.
The beach is all stones.
Among the stones there is a small spot, with a lot of socks laid on it.
This spot is for someone called Dobby.
Dobby is not a real person.
He is from the film Harry Potter.
In the film, Dobby dies right here on this beach.
After the film came out, a lot of people who love it started coming here.
They come, and they lay down socks.
Why socks?
Because in the film, the moment Dobby is handed a sock, he is free.
So to them, a sock simply means freedom.
Right — now what has happened these past few years.
A large company wanted to lay a very long electric line in the sea.
This line is expensive — it costs a great deal of money.
Originally, the line was going to come through Dobby's spot.
The moment this was on television, the company got hundreds of phone calls.
The callers were all people who love Harry Potter.
They said: please do not touch that place.
Afterwards, the company really did listen to them.
The company had the line go past it instead.
Dobby is not a real person, and that spot is not real either.
But a few hundred phone calls made a very expensive line take a different route.
Think about it: is there a place that matters to you, but that other people might not understand?
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇他是电影《哈利波特》里的 = he is from the film Harry Potter.
这件事一上电视 = the moment this was on television.
公司就接到几百个电话 = the company got hundreds of phone calls.
要很多很多钱 = it costs a great deal of money.
这条电线很贵 = this line is expensive.
很多喜欢这个电影的人 = a lot of people who love this film.
为什么是袜子？ = Why socks?
请不要动那个地方 = please do not touch that place.
因为在电影里，多比拿到一只袜子 = because in the film, Dobby is handed a sock.
Where the whole story happens. 海 = sea, 边 = edge.
海边都是石头 = the beach is all stones.
In the film a sock sets Dobby free, so people leave socks.
拿到一只袜子，就自由了 = handed a sock, he is free.
在海里放一条很长的电线 = lay a very long electric line in the sea. 电 = electricity, 线 = line.
多比不是真的人 = Dobby is not a real person. 公司真的听了 = the company really did listen.
后来，公司真的听了他们的话 = afterwards the company really did listen.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法一……就……
"as soon as A, then B". Two events tight together.
这件事一上电视，公司就接到几百个电话。
多比拿到一只袜子，就自由了。
让 + somebody/something + do
"made X do Y". Marks what caused the change.
公司让电线从旁边过去。
几百个电话，让一条很贵的电线，走了别的路。
Proper Nouns
专有名词Sources
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