A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
美国环保局：为什么不管污染了？
America's EPA: Why Did It Stop Fighting Pollution?
About this story
A simple story about Trump's EPA letting pollution lawsuits pile up as fewer workers manage the dirty cases. HSK 1 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 1 Chinese listening episode that runs about 1 minute. 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 10 key vocabulary words such as 现在、还有、水 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 at your level
原文Read the complete story in Chinese. Reveal pinyin and English only when you need them.
English transcript reference
Here is water
The water is very dirty
This is pollution
'Wūrǎn' means pollution
Who did it
It is big companies
The government needs to manage it
'Zhèngfǔ' means government
But now they do not manage it
Lawsuits are very few
'Guānsi' means lawsuit
Also there is Trump
'Tèlǎngpǔ' means Trump
He is the president
He does not sue companies
So pollution is a lot
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇To pile up or accumulate. Used here to describe cases that are not finished.
A noun referring to a law case or a specific file to be handled. Measure word: 个 (gè).
Contamination of the environment. Can be a noun or a verb.
A legal battle or court case. Often used with '打' (dǎ) meaning 'to force a lawsuit'.
The group of people with the authority to govern a country or state.
HSK 1. now.
HSK 1. also / in addition.
HSK 1. water. 这里有水 = there is water here.
HSK 1. who. 谁做的 = who did it?
HSK 1. to do. 谁做的 = who did it?
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法Simple description of a noun. '很' (hěn) is often used as a linker, not always meaning 'very'.
水很脏
官司很少
人很少
X means Y
A pattern used in this script to define new terms in English for the listener.
污染 means pollution
积压 means backlog
Proper Nouns
专有名词Sources
来源Free account
Keep learning from this story
Create a free account to keep saved words and your preferred level together.
- Keep words with their story context
- Remember your preferred level
- Build your vocabulary over time