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Evergrande Founder's London Mansion Sits Empty — episode cover art
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恒大老板许家印:伦敦最贵的豪宅,为什么空着?

Evergrande Founder's London Mansion Sits Empty

About this story

Evergrande Founder's London Mansion Sits Empty. HSK 2 Chinese listening practice.

This is an HSK 2 Chinese listening episode that runs about 4 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 14 key vocabulary words such as 新闻、问题、公司 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.

今天我们说一个很有意思的新闻。
新闻里,有一个伦敦最贵的房子。
这个房子非常大,也非常贵。
但是,房子里一个人都没有。
它已经空了很多年。
为什么会这样呢?
这要从一个人说起。
他叫许家印。
以前,他是中国最有钱的人。
他有一个很大的公司,叫恒大。
恒大是做房地产的,就是盖房子、卖房子。
那些年,恒大盖了很多很多房子。
许家印也赚了很多很多钱。
后来,他花大钱,在伦敦买了这个大房子。
这个房子有多大呢?
里面有四十五个房间,还有一个游泳池。
房子很多窗户都对着一个大公园。
可以说,这是伦敦最好的房子。
但是,好日子没有一直下去。
恒大欠了太多太多的债。
它还不起这些债,最后破产了。
很多买了恒大房子的人,也很着急。
许家印自己,也出了大问题。
那么,这个伦敦的大房子,现在是谁的呢?
事情有点复杂。
这个房子,写的不是许家印的名字。
写的是他太太的名字,她叫丁玉梅。
丁玉梅是加拿大人。
后来,许家印和丁玉梅离婚了。
两个人离婚以后,麻烦就来了。
法院说:这个房子先冻结,谁都不能卖。
所以丁玉梅想卖,也卖不了。
恒大想拿这个房子还债,也拿不到。
就这样,房子一直空在那里。
一年,两年,三年,一直没有人住。
更让人想不到的是房子的外面。
房子外面,住着另一个人。
他是一个普通人,不是有钱人。
他从别的国家来,以前是一个记者。
他没有钱,也没有自己的房子。
他就住在这个大房子的门口。
他在门口,住了三年。
天冷的时候,天热的时候,他都在那里。
他用很多雨伞,给自己做了一个小小的家。
我们再说回房子的事情。
有人说,许家印离婚,是想保护自己的钱。
但是这个办法,也没有用。
法院说:这个房子先冻结,谁也不能动。
所以到今天,房子还是空的。
你看,这真的很奇怪。
最贵的大房子,里面没有人。
门口的一个普通人,把它当成了自己的家。
这个房子,就像恒大的一个故事。
以前非常好,现在没有人。
以前,许家印什么都有。
他有很多钱,也有很多大房子。
现在,他有很多问题。
他最贵的房子,也没有人住。
有钱的时候,买房子很快。
没有钱的时候,房子也卖不了。
一个大房子,里面没有人。
一个普通人,住在它的门口。
这就是今天的故事。
好,今天的新闻就说到这里。
English transcript reference

Today we're talking about a very interesting piece of news.

In the news, there's London's most expensive house.

This house is extremely big and extremely expensive.

But there's no one at all inside.

It has stood empty for many years.

Why is that?

It starts with one man.

His name is Xu Jiayin.

He used to be the richest man in China.

He had a huge company called Evergrande.

Evergrande was in real estate — building and selling houses.

In those years, Evergrande built a huge number of houses.

And Xu Jiayin made a huge amount of money.

Later, he spent big and bought this large house in London.

Just how big is this house?

It has 45 rooms and a swimming pool.

Many of its windows face a big park.

You could call it the finest house in London.

But the good times didn't last.

Evergrande owed far, far too much debt.

It couldn't repay the debt, and finally went bankrupt.

Many people who'd bought Evergrande homes grew anxious.

Xu Jiayin himself ran into big trouble too.

So whose is this big London house now?

It's a bit complicated.

The house isn't in Xu Jiayin's name.

It's in his wife's name — Ding Yumei.

Ding Yumei is Canadian.

Later, Xu Jiayin and Ding Yumei divorced.

After they divorced, the trouble began.

The court said: freeze this house — no one may sell it.

So even though Ding Yumei wants to sell, she can't.

Evergrande wants the house to repay debt, but can't get it.

And so the house just sits there empty.

One year, two years, three years — no one living there.

Even more surprising is what's outside the house.

Outside the house lives another man.

He's an ordinary man, not a rich one.

He came from another country and used to be a reporter.

He has no money and no home of his own.

He lives right at the door of this big house.

He has lived at the door for three years.

In the cold and in the heat, he's always there.

He used a bunch of umbrellas to make himself a tiny home.

Let's return to the house itself.

Some say Xu Jiayin divorced to protect his money.

But even that trick didn't work.

The court said: freeze the house — no one may touch it.

So to this day, the house remains empty.

See, it's really strange.

The priciest big house, with no one inside.

An ordinary man at the door treats it as his home.

This house is like a story of Evergrande itself.

Once splendid, now empty.

Xu Jiayin once had everything.

He had lots of money and lots of big houses.

Now he has lots of problems.

Even his priciest house sits empty.

When you're rich, buying a house is quick.

When the money's gone, the house won't even sell.

A big house with no one inside.

An ordinary man living at its door.

That's today's story.

Okay, that's it for today's news.

Listen again

Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.

What vocabulary does this episode teach?

词汇
xīnwénnews

News. 一个很有意思的新闻 = a very interesting piece of news.

wèntíproblem

A problem. 他有很多问题 = he has a lot of problems.

gōngsīcompany

A company. 一个很大的公司,叫恒大 = a huge company called Evergrande.

qiánmoney

Money. 赚了很多很多钱 = made a huge amount of money.

mǎito buy

To buy. 在伦敦买了这个大房子 = bought this big house in London.

zhùto live

HSK 1. to live / stay. 房子外面,住着另一个人 = another man lives outside.

xiǎngto want

HSK 1. to want. 丁玉梅想卖,也卖不了 = Ding wants to sell but can’t.

màito sell

To sell (beyond HSK 1-2 in the old list). 丁玉梅想卖,也卖不了 = Ding wants to sell but can’t.

fángdìchǎnreal estate

Real estate. 恒大是做房地产的 = Evergrande was in real estate.

zhàidebt

Debt. 恒大欠了太多太多的债 = Evergrande owed far too much debt.

pòchǎnto go bankrupt

Bankruptcy. 最后破产了 = it finally went bankrupt.

líhūnto divorce

To divorce. 许家印和丁玉梅离婚了 = Xu and Ding divorced.

dòngjiéto freeze (assets)

To freeze. 这个房子先冻结 = freeze this house first.

jìzhěreporter

A reporter. 以前是一个记者 = he used to be a reporter.

* beyond level超纲词

What grammar patterns appear in this episode?

语法

后来...

"Later on…" — moves the story forward in time.

后来,许家印和丁玉梅离婚了。

想 + 动词 + 也 + 动词 + 不了

"Wants to… but just can't" — desire blocked by reality.

丁玉梅想卖,也卖不了。

...的时候↗

"When… / at the time of…" — sets a time frame.

天冷的时候,天热的时候,他都在那里。

有钱的时候,买房子很快。

Proper nouns

专有名词
许家印Xǔ JiāyìnXu Jiayin (Evergrande founder, aka Hui Ka Yan)恒大HéngdàEvergrande (the collapsed property giant)丁玉梅Dīng YùméiDing Yumei (Xu Jiayin’s ex-wife)伦敦LúndūnLondon加拿大JiānádàCanada

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