A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
爱泼斯坦与骗人的模特工作
Epstein, Brunel, and the Fake Modelling Jobs That Trapped Brazilian Girls
About this story
Epstein and Brunel offered fake modelling jobs to Brazilian girls — how the trick worked and how the police caught on. HSK 2 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 2 Chinese listening episode that runs about 6 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 18 key vocabulary words such as 其实、准备、相信 and walks through 6 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 finding a job.
Many girls want to find a glamorous job.
They like to wear new clothes.
They like to wear dresses and pretty shoes.
They also like taking pictures outside.
They think this job is very interesting.
This is called modeling work.
Being a model means you can go to many fun places.
You can go to foreign countries.
You can ride in big airplanes.
Many girls think about doing this job every day.
Because being a model can earn a lot of money.
With money, they can buy things for their mom and dad.
So they look for opportunities every day.
They want to meet people who can help them.
They hope someone can introduce them to jobs.
This is the story of girls wanting to find a good job.
Next, let us talk about a man.
This man said he was a big boss.
He said he had a very big company.
His company is in a very faraway place.
In a faraway foreign country, in the United States.
This man knew many young girls.
He looked at these girls every day.
He thought these girls were very pretty.
He said to the girls, 'I can help you.'
'I can introduce you to very good jobs.'
'You can take an airplane to work at my company.'
The girls were very happy to hear this.
They thought he was a good person.
They thought he was a good boss.
They believed this man's words.
This is the beginning of this man's deception.
Actually, he was a very bad person.
In addition, going to a foreign country to work is a difficult thing.
You need to buy very expensive airplane tickets.
You also need to go through a lot of procedures to go abroad.
These young girls did not have a lot of money.
They did not know what they should do.
This man said to the girls, 'It does not matter.'
He said, 'I will help you make all the preparations.'
He bought the girls plane tickets to the United States.
He went through the procedures for the girls to go abroad.
The girls went to the United States by plane.
The girls thought he did a very good job.
They thought this boss cared about them a lot.
However, this man actually had other issues.
He did not really want to find jobs for them.
He was making preparations for something else.
He wanted to give these girls to other people.
Because he wanted to get money from other people.
He treated the girls as objects to make money.
Also, this man had a rich friend.
His friend was very rich.
This rich man lived in a big house.
He had a lot of money, and also many airplanes.
But this rich man was a bad person.
He was even worse than that boss.
He especially liked young girls.
He asked that boss to find young girls for him.
The boss then sent the tricked girls here.
The girls only realized something was wrong after they arrived.
There were no pretty new clothes here.
There were no modeling jobs for taking pictures here either.
There was no work here at all.
They knew they had been tricked.
Although they wanted to go home, it was very difficult.
Because they were in a faraway foreign country.
They had no money to buy plane tickets back to their own countries.
This is the bad thing that the rich man did.
Next, let us tell a story about a mother.
There was a very young girl.
She also wanted to go to a foreign country to do modeling work.
That deceptive boss came looking for her too.
The boss said a lot of things to her mother.
The boss said, 'Let your daughter come with me.'
'I will give her a very good job.'
'I will give her a lot of money.'
But this mother was very smart.
She looked at this boss and felt something was strange.
The mother felt that this boss was not a good person.
Although what the boss said sounded very nice.
But the mother said, 'No.'
'My daughter absolutely cannot go to a foreign country with you.'
The mother protected her daughter.
The daughter did not take a plane to a foreign country.
The daughter now feels very happy.
Because she knows other girls encountered bad things.
It was her mother's love that helped her.
The mother was much smarter than the boss.
What happened to those girls who went to foreign countries?
They were very sad in that rich man's house.
That rich man treated them very badly.
They cried in their rooms every night.
They missed their dad and mom very much.
They wanted to return to their own countries.
Later, some girls finally escaped.
They ran very fast.
They found the police outside.
The girls told the police everything.
They said that boss was a fraud.
The rich man also did many bad things.
Now the police are investigating this matter.
The police want to help these poor girls.
Although a long time has passed since these events.
But the girls still remember those bad things.
The story just told is actually a news report.
The news is about a person named Epstein.
He is that rich bad man.
That deceptive boss is named Brunel.
He went to Brazil to find many young girls.
He tricked the girls into going to the United States to be models.
Actually, he gave the girls to Epstein.
Now many girls have told reporters about this.
Everyone is paying attention to this important news.
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇Used to point out the actual situation, often contradicting an assumption.
Can be used as a verb (to prepare) or a noun (preparations).
Verb meaning to trust or believe in someone or something.
Verb meaning to show care or concern for someone.
Adjective used to describe someone intelligent.
Adjective describing a feeling of sadness or emotional pain.
Adverb indicating that a long-awaited event has finally occurred.
Noun for a tale or narrative. Measure word is 个 (gè).
Noun referring to police officers or the police force.
Verb meaning to lie to or scheme against someone.
Noun for a fashion model.
Noun referring to official steps or paperwork needed for something (e.g., going abroad).
Verb meaning to keep someone or something safe from harm.
Adverb used to add strong emphasis, often in negative sentences like 'absolutely cannot'.
Verb meaning to look into a matter, often used in police or journalistic contexts.
Adjective describing someone who deserves sympathy.
Noun for someone who reports the news.
Verb meaning to closely track or show interest in an issue or news story.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法说到...
Used at the beginning of a sentence to introduce a topic, meaning 'Speaking of...'.
说到找工作。
把字句 (bǎ sentence)
The 'ba' structure is used to indicate how an action affects an object. The object is brought forward before the verb.
他想把这些女孩送给别的人。
他把女孩当成了赚钱的东西。
女孩们把所有的事都告诉了警察。
把...当成...
A specific use of the 'ba' structure meaning 'to treat X as Y' or 'to regard X as Y'.
他把女孩当成了赚钱的东西。
虽然...但是... (suīrán... dànshì...)
A common conjunction pattern meaning 'Although... but...'. Note that in Chinese, both words are often used together in the same sentence.
虽然她们想回家，但是很难。
虽然老板说的话非常好听。但是妈妈说，不行。
虽然事情已经过去很长时间了。但是女孩们还是记得那些坏事。
A 比 B + Adjective
The basic comparative structure meaning 'A is more [adjective] than B'.
他比那个老板还要坏。
妈妈比老板聪明多了。
为了... (wèile...)
Preposition meaning 'for' or 'for the purpose of', indicating the intention behind an action.
他是为了别的事情做准备。
Proper Nouns
专有名词Sources
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