A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
王虹和邓煜：两个北大老同学，第一次为中国拿下菲尔兹奖
China Wins First Fields Medal
About this story
China Wins First Fields Medal. HSK 2 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 2 Chinese listening episode that runs about 3 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 8 key vocabulary words such as 同学、喜欢、一起 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.
English transcript reference
Wang Hong and Deng Yu are two Chinese people.
Both are very good at math.
Today, many people around the world are talking about the two of them.
Why?
Let's take it slowly.
When they were young, they already loved math.
While other kids played outside, these two liked to sit alone and think about math.
Deng Yu was especially good at math from a young age.
One year, kids from many countries competed in math to see who was best.
That time, Deng Yu did the best.
Later, he went to a famous university in Beijing.
Wang Hong also loved math.
But at first, she couldn't get into the university's math class.
She studied something else.
But in her heart, she always wanted to study math.
On her own at home, she kept studying, kept thinking.
Later, she really did study math, and became Deng Yu's classmate.
At the same university, the two classmates studied math together for many years.
Later still, they both went to America to study even harder math.
In math, there are some very hard problems.
Some problems, many people thought about for a hundred years and couldn't work out.
Wang Hong and Deng Yu each worked one out.
The problem Wang Hong solved, people had puzzled over for more than a hundred years.
What Deng Yu solved was also very hard.
The two Chinese classmates each did what many people couldn't.
So today, a very big prize was given to them — the Fields Medal.
What is the Fields Medal?
In math, there is one biggest prize of all, and it's called the Fields Medal.
Many people call it "the Nobel Prize of math."
This prize is given only once every four years.
And each time, only to a very few people.
What's more, only to people who are still young.
So very, very few people ever get this prize.
What makes Chinese people happiest is this:
Wang Hong and Deng Yu are the first two Chinese to win it.
For many, many years, no Chinese person ever had.
Today, two old classmates did it together.
There's one more thing that's also wonderful.
Wang Hong is a woman.
Among winners of this prize, women are very, very few.
Wang Hong is only the third in many years.
A Chinese woman this good at math — many people are very happy.
Think about it:
When you were young, was there something you loved and always wanted to do well?
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇A classmate — someone in your class. 老同学 = an old classmate.
To like. 他们很喜欢数学 = they love math.
Together. 一起学数学 = study math together.
A problem or question. 很难的问题 = a very hard problem.
A country. 很多国家的孩子 = children from many countries.
Mathematics. Beyond HSK 1-2; the topic word of this episode.
University. 北京的大学 = a university in Beijing.
Young (of a person). 还很年轻的人 = people who are still young.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法可是 / 但是……
'But…' — introduces a contrast with what was just said.
可是一开始，她没能进大学的数学班。
但是她心里，一直想学数学。
……才……
'only then / not until' — stresses how rare or hard-won something is.
这个奖，四年，才给一次。
最让……的是……
'What makes … the most … is …' — points to the most striking part.
最让中国人高兴的是：王虹和邓煜，是头两个有这个奖的中国人。
Proper nouns
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