A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
Photo: Christophe95 · CC BY-SA 4.0
谷爱凌是谁？
Eileen Gu Heads to Milan Olympics
About this story
A simple story about Eileen Gu, the famous young skier from America who studies at Stanford and skis for China. HSK 1 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 1 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 16 key vocabulary words such as 有名、年轻、城市 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.
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原文Read the complete story in Chinese. Reveal pinyin and English only when you need them.
English transcript reference
Speaking of very famous young people nowadays, we definitely have to talk about one person.
Her name is Gu Ailing.
Maybe you have heard her name.
Maybe you have seen her on TV.
Maybe you have seen her on your phone.
If you don't know who she is, it doesn't matter.
I will tell you now.
She is a very special girl.
She is very young.
She is only twenty-two years old.
But she has accomplished many things.
Let's talk about her family first.
Her family is very interesting.
She has two homes.
One home is in the United States.
One home is in China.
Her father is American.
Her mother is Chinese.
So, she is American and also Chinese.
She was born in the United States.
She grew up in the United States.
But, she is also a daughter of China.
She can speak English.
She speaks English at school.
She speaks English with friends.
She can also speak Chinese.
She speaks Chinese very well.
She speaks Chinese with her mother at home.
Her mother teaches her many things about China.
Every summer, she goes to China.
She goes to Beijing, China.
Beijing is a very big city.
She likes Beijing.
She likes eating Chinese food.
She likes the friends there.
So, she understands America and also understands China.
This is called "bicultural".
This is a great skill of hers.
She can talk to Americans.
She can also talk to Chinese people.
Everyone likes her.
Besides her family, what else does she like?
She likes winter the most.
Because there is snow in winter.
Snow is white.
Snow is very cold.
But snow is very beautiful.
She likes playing on the snow.
This is called skiing.
Skiing is a type of sport.
People run on top of the snow.
People fly on top of the snow.
The speed is very fast.
This is very difficult.
If you can't ski, you will fall down.
But Gu Ailing is not afraid.
She started skiing when she was three years old.
Three years old is a very young age.
At that time, other children were sleeping.
Other children were playing with blocks.
But Gu Ailing was running on the snow.
Her mother likes skiing.
So she took her skiing.
She is very talented.
Talent means that she learns very quickly.
She is faster than others.
She is better than others.
She is like a little bird on the snow.
She can fly up.
She can spin in the sky.
One circle, two circles, three circles.
Very beautiful.
Also very dangerous.
But she is very brave.
She is not afraid.
She has practiced for many years.
She goes skiing every day.
Even if the weather is very cold.
Even if the wind is very strong.
She is always outside.
She is very hardworking.
Besides skiing, what else does she do?
She is also a student.
She is a very good student.
She likes reading books.
She likes studying.
Her school is called Stanford.
This is a very famous school.
This school is in the United States.
It is very hard to get into this school.
You need a lot of knowledge.
You need to get very high scores on exams.
Gu Ailing got very good scores.
Her scores were very high.
Almost a perfect score.
This is amazing.
Why is it amazing?
Because she doesn't have much time.
She has to ski every day.
She has to exercise every day.
But she still reads books.
She reads on the plane.
She reads in the car.
When she is not sleeping, she reads.
She wants to be a smart person.
Now, she is a college student.
She studies at the university.
She has also made many friends.
Besides skiing and reading, is there anything else?
Yes, there is.
She is very beautiful.
She is very tall.
Her face is very beautiful.
She likes wearing beautiful clothes.
Many people ask her to take photos.
This is being a model.
She has photos in many books.
She has photos on many buildings.
Everyone looks at her.
Everyone thinks she is beautiful.
She can smile.
Her smile is very good-looking.
She is a star.
Let's talk about recent events again.
It is now 2026.
This year is winter.
There is a very big competition.
This competition is called the Winter Olympics.
This is a worldwide competition.
People from many countries have come.
Many skiers have come.
Everyone wants to fight for first place.
Gu Ailing also came.
She is twenty-two years old.
She made a lot of preparations for this competition.
She didn't go to school for classes.
She asked for leave.
She practiced every day.
She wants to win a medal.
The day of the competition arrived.
The weather was very cold.
The mountain was very high.
Many people were watching.
There were also many people watching in front of the TV.
Gu Ailing stood on the mountain.
She skied down.
She was very fast.
She flew up.
She did difficult movements in the air.
She spun many circles.
Then, she stood on the ground.
She didn't fall.
She did very well.
Everyone was clapping.
Everyone was calling her name.
Finally, she got second place.
This is a silver medal.
A silver medal is also a very good result.
She was very happy.
Her mother was very happy.
Chinese people were very happy.
Americans were also very happy.
She smiled on the podium.
This is Gu Ailing.
She is not just a skier.
She is not just a student.
She is not just a model.
She is a role model.
A role model is someone we can learn from.
She tells us many principles.
We can do many things.
We can like sports.
We can also like reading books.
We can be beautiful.
We can also be smart.
As long as we work hard, we can do it.
Moreover, she tells us that culture is very important.
She is American and also Chinese.
She connects the two countries together.
Just like a bridge.
This is a very good thing.
This is the story about Gu Ailing.
This story is about a young girl.
She flew on the snow in the winter of 2026.
She showed us what bravery is.
She showed us what hard work is.
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇Adjective describing someone or something well-known.
Adjective describing youth or young age.
Noun referring to a large town.
Verb or noun meaning to practice or drill a skill.
Adjective or verb describing putting in great effort.
Adjective describing intelligence.
Adjective used colloquially to mean 'amazing' or 'formidable'.
HSK 1. it doesn't matter.
Verb object structure (slide + snow). A specific winter sport.
Noun referring to natural ability.
Adjective describing courage.
Adjective or noun describing lack of safety.
Noun referring to a fashion model (loanword from 'model').
Abbreviation for Winter Olympic Games.
Noun referring to a prize medal (gold, silver, bronze).
Noun referring to a person or thing to be imitated.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法除了... (以外)，... 还...
This pattern means 'Besides... also...'. It indicates inclusion or addition.
除了她的家，她还喜欢什么？
除了滑雪，她还做什么？
A 比 B + Adjective
A basic comparison structure meaning 'A is more [Adjective] than B'.
她比别人都快。
她比别人都好。
...的时候
A time clause marker meaning 'When...' or 'At the time of...'.
她三岁的时候就开始滑雪了。
三岁是很小的时候。
她不睡觉的时候就读书。
不仅仅... (也/还)...
Meaning 'Not only... (but also)...'. It emphasizes that there is more to the subject than just the first attribute.
她不仅仅是一个滑雪的人。
她不仅仅是一个学生。
只要... 就...
A conditional pattern meaning 'As long as... then...'. It expresses that a certain result will occur if a specific condition is met.
只要努力，就可以做到。
Proper nouns
专有名词Sources
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