A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
8:19
谷爱凌：连接东西方的滑雪天才
Eileen Gu — Freestyle Skiing Prodigy Bridging San Francisco and Beijing
HSK 3 Chinese listening practice. Eileen Gu, the San Francisco-born skier who competes for China, returns to the world stage balancing two cultures.
This is an HSK 3-4 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 15 key vocabulary words such as 了解、影响、勇敢 and walks through 5 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.
Read the complete story in Chinese. Reveal pinyin and English only when you need them.
Speaking of the recent 2026 Winter Olympics, there's one name that everyone must have heard frequently: Gu Ailing.
If you've been watching the news or scrolling through your phone, you've definitely seen stories about her.
Maybe you already know her well, or maybe you're not very familiar with her yet.
Some people might ask: "Who is Gu Ailing?"
"Why is she so famous?"
Today we'll talk about this young skiing athlete.
Gu Ailing's English name is Eileen Gu.
She's a very interesting person because she has two names and two cultural backgrounds.
She was already very famous at the age of 18, and now at 22, she remains the center of attention.
First, let's look at her story growing up.
Gu Ailing was born in San Francisco, USA.
San Francisco is an American city, but it also has a large Chinese community.
Her father is American and her mother is Chinese.
So she is a Chinese-American mixed-heritage child.
Because her mother is Chinese, Gu Ailing grew up under the influence of Chinese culture.
Not only does she speak fluent English, but her Chinese is also exceptionally good.
If you listen to her speak, you'd think she's a native Beijing girl.
This is quite rare among children who grew up in the United States.
When she was little, every summer her mother would take her back to Beijing, China.
She lived in Beijing, playing with her relatives and friends there.
She would visit her maternal grandmother and chat with the neighbors.
This kind of experience is very important.
Because it meant she didn't just learn the Chinese language — more importantly, she came to understand Chinese culture.
She knows how Chinese people live, how they think, what they like to eat, and what they care about.
So she understands both Western culture and Eastern culture.
This dual cultural background is her greatest advantage.
She's like a bridge, connecting two different worlds.
That's why both Chinese and American people feel a sense of closeness to her.
Beyond her cultural background, she's also extremely talented in sports.
She started skiing when she was three years old.
Just imagine — a three-year-old child who might not even walk very steadily was already sliding on the snow.
She frequently practiced at ski resorts near Lake Tahoe.
That area has beautiful scenery, but the winter snow is also very heavy.
Skiing is actually a rather dangerous sport that requires a lot of courage.
But Gu Ailing is very brave — she's not afraid of falling down or getting hurt.
She absolutely loves the feeling of flying over the snow.
Through years of hard work, her skiing skills got better and better.
However, Gu Ailing's remarkable qualities go far beyond skiing.
She's also an incredibly smart student.
Does everyone know Stanford University?
It's one of the most prestigious universities in the United States and even the entire world.
Getting into this university is extremely difficult — you need outstanding grades.
When Gu Ailing took the American college entrance exams, she achieved a near-perfect score.
This shows that she's not only great at sports, but also very serious about her studies.
She is currently a student at Stanford University.
Besides being an athlete and a student, she has another identity.
She's also a fashion model.
Because she's very attractive with a great figure, many magazines love featuring her in photo shoots.
She frequently appears in various advertisements and on magazine covers.
She was also selected by the prestigious Forbes magazine as an outstanding young person.
This is what we call an "all-around talent."
She seems to be good at everything, and she does everything well.
She has shown everyone that a person can have many passions simultaneously and achieve success in every one of them.
Next, let's focus on her performance at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
This Winter Olympics has drawn tremendous attention from everyone.
Gu Ailing is 22 years old this year — the prime age for an athlete.
To compete in this event, she made a very important decision.
She took a leave of absence from Stanford University, temporarily putting her studies on hold.
She devoted all her time to practicing skiing.
Because she knew that to win at the Olympics, you must work extremely hard.
This kind of attitude is very worth learning from.
If you want to do something well, you must be fully focused.
At this Winter Olympics, she competed in the freestyle skiing slopestyle event.
The name of this event sounds a bit long and somewhat complex.
Simply put, athletes ski down a slope with many obstacles along the way.
Athletes need to perform various rotations and jumps in the air.
Judges score based on the difficulty and beauty of the movements.
This requires not only physical strength, but also technique and a calm mind.
In the competition, Gu Ailing's performance was spectacular.
Although she faced enormous pressure, she appeared very relaxed.
She completed extremely difficult moves in the air and landed very steadily.
In the end, she won a silver medal.
A silver medal means she came in second place — that's an incredible achievement.
Although she didn't win the gold medal, her performance had already won the audience's applause.
Everyone was proud of her.
Actually, she had already made history back in 2022.
At that time, she became the first female athlete in the world to complete an ultra-high-difficulty move in competition.
That move required spinning four rotations in the air — extremely dangerous and very hard to control.
But she did it, and that's what made the whole world take notice of her.
Gu Ailing's success isn't just because she won medals.
It's even more because she represents a new kind of strength.
She tells young girls that you can be beautiful and strong at the same time.
You can enjoy wearing pretty dresses and also play sports in the dirt and snow.
You can be a model, or you can be a scientist or an athlete.
Don't let anyone tell you what you should do.
You should chase your own dreams.
Whether on the sports field or in the classroom, with hard work, success is possible.
This is the "positive energy" that Gu Ailing brings to everyone.
She's very confident and always wears a smile.
This confidence isn't because she thinks she's better than others, but because she believes in herself.
She believes that through effort, difficulties can be overcome.
When facing pressure, she has her own methods.
She listens to music or writes in a journal to help herself relax.
For many young people, Gu Ailing is a role model.
She shows us what a modern young person looks like: open-minded, confident, hardworking, and brave.
Through her actions, she encourages everyone to try different things.
If you feel that life is boring or you lack direction, maybe you can look at Gu Ailing's story.
She'll make you feel that life is actually full of infinite possibilities.
At this 2026 Winter Olympics, she once again proved her abilities.
Although she's already very famous, she continues to challenge herself.
She hasn't stopped — she keeps moving forward.
We believe that in the future, she will continue to bring us more surprises.
Whether on the ski slopes or in other fields, she will keep shining.
If you want to see her amazing performance at this Winter Olympics, you can search for videos online.
Watching her soar through the snowy sky, you'll surely be moved.
This is the story of Gu Ailing — a girl who bridges the East and the West.
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
A common verb meaning to know something well or to understand a situation.
Can be used as a noun (cultural influence) or a verb (to influence someone).
Adjective describing someone who is courageous.
Refers to mental or physical pressure/stress.
Here used in the positive sense of being proud of someone's achievements.
Used to emphasize a point, often linking to a more extreme example.
Can be a noun or a verb indicating achievement.
HSK 1-3. neighbor.
Short for 冬季奥林匹克运动会 (Winter Olympic Games).
Compound word: 滑 (slide) + 雪 (snow).
Refers to someone with parents from different racial or ethnic backgrounds.
Used to praise someone's accent or local knowledge (e.g., authentic Beijing accent).
Loan word for a fashion model.
Refers to physical obstacles in sports or metaphorical difficulties.
Describes the spinning motion in sports like skiing or figure skating.
* beyond level超纲词
Not only... but also... (Used to connect two clauses where the second adds to the first).
她不但会说流利的英语，而且中文也说得特别好。
The 'Ba' construction is used to emphasize the manipulation of an object.
她像一座桥，把两个不同的世界连接在了一起。
她把所有的时间都用来练习滑雪。
Although... but... (Used to express contrast).
虽然面临着巨大的压力，但她看起来很放松。
虽然没有拿到金牌，但她的表现已经赢得了观众的掌声。
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