A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
写歌、唱歌、拿过大奖的爱尔兰人 Glen Hansard，走了
The Irishman Who Wrote Songs, Sang, and Won a Big Prize: Glen Hansard Has Died
About this story
A simple beginner Chinese listening story about Glen Hansard, the beloved Irish singer whose song from a movie made people cry, who won a big award, and who has died at 56. 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 爱、听、会 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
Glen Hansard was Irish.
He wrote songs, and he sang them too.
A great many people loved listening to his songs.
He had a song that was in a movie.
Everyone knows this song.
Many people heard it and cried.
The song was so good that they gave him a very big prize.
This week, Glen Hansard passed away.
He was fifty-six this year.
Many people miss him deeply.
Glen Hansard is gone, but everyone still loves his songs.
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Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇很爱听他的歌 = loved listening to his songs.
爱听他的歌 = loved to hear his songs.
他会做歌 = he could write songs.
在一个电影里 = in a movie.
很多人都很想他 = many people miss him.
他的歌 = his songs.
也会唱歌 = he could also sing.
很多人听了，都哭了 = many heard it and cried.
一个很大的奖 = a very big prize.
大家给了他一个奖 = they gave him an award.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法会 + verb
会 + verb = "can / knows how to (do)".
他会做歌，也会唱歌。
都……了
都 … 了 marks that something has come to pass for all: 都哭了 = "all cried".
很多人听了，都哭了。
A 走了，可是 B
走了 here gently means "has passed away".
Glen Hansard 走了，他的歌，大家都爱听。
Proper Nouns
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