A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels

黄金稳定与石油变贵
Gold Stays Steady, Oil Gets Expensive — A Middle East Shock Hits the Market
About this story
Gold holds steady as a safe asset while oil gets expensive — a Middle East supply shock and what it means for prices. HSK 2 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 2 Chinese listening episode that runs about 8 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 10 key vocabulary words such as 黄金、重要、安全 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.
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原文Read the complete story in Chinese. Reveal pinyin and English only when you need them.
English transcript reference
Next, let's talk about gold and oil.
Gold is a very expensive thing.
Its color is yellow.
Many people like gold very much.
We have known about it since we were little.
Some gold is in the form of rings.
Some gold is in the form of necklaces.
Because gold is very valuable.
Although a long time has passed.
Gold is still very useful.
It is more expensive than many things.
Business people like to buy it very much.
They think buying gold is very safe.
Gold does not go bad.
It doesn't matter if it rains or snows.
Gold is always there.
This is a very good thing.
What do people want to do after they have money?
People want to go buy some gold.
They put the gold in a safe place.
This is gold.
Additionally, let's talk about oil.
Oil is also a very important thing.
It is black water.
It is deep underground.
People find it and take it out.
Why is oil so important?
Because our cars need oil.
We have to take cars every day.
What would happen if there were no oil?
Cars wouldn't be able to run.
Cars run very fast.
It is because of oil.
Airplanes also need oil.
Airplanes fly in the sky.
Airplanes also use a lot of oil.
Many large factories also need oil.
Factories need oil to make clothes.
Factories also need oil to make shoes.
So everyone is buying oil.
Oil is something that cannot be lacking.
Every country needs oil.
If there were no oil.
Everyone wouldn't be able to work.
So oil is as important as gold.
Now there is a big problem.
Some countries are at war.
War is a very bad thing.
Because there is a war there.
Many people cannot go home.
Many people also cannot go to work.
A few countries have a lot of oil.
They used to sell oil every day.
But they are at war now.
Because they are at war.
So they cannot sell oil anymore.
People who buy oil feel very worried.
They are afraid there won't be oil in the future.
What if they can't buy oil?
Their cars won't be able to run.
Their factories won't be able to make things.
This is a big problem.
War makes everyone feel unsafe.
Although we are not there.
But we are also affected.
This is the bad thing brought by war.
Next, let's look at one thing.
This is what happens after a war.
Because some countries are at war.
So oil has become scarce.
The people selling oil have decreased.
But there are many people who want to buy oil.
Everyone wants to buy oil.
When things are few and buyers are many.
At this time, things will become expensive.
So today's oil is more expensive than yesterday's.
Tomorrow's oil might be even more expensive.
Business people are all looking at the money.
They found that oil has really become expensive.
In the past, buying oil only required a little money.
Now everyone has to spend more money to buy oil.
Although everyone spent a lot of money.
The oil they bought has actually decreased.
Business people feel very unhappy.
But they have no other choice.
They must go buy oil.
Also, we need to think about a question.
What will happen if oil becomes expensive?
We will find that many things have become expensive.
Because cars need oil to deliver things.
For example, we want to eat apples.
The people who grow apples are in a very far place.
Cars deliver apples to the store.
Cars used very expensive oil.
Because current oil is very expensive.
The money for delivering apples has also increased.
So the apples in the store have also become expensive.
In the past, buying apples only cost ten yuan.
Now buying apples costs fifteen yuan.
It's not just buying apples like this.
Buying clothes has also become expensive for us.
Going out to eat has also become expensive for us.
This is because oil has become expensive.
Everything is more expensive than before.
Life has become harder than before.
Now everything has become expensive.
What about the money in people's hands?
Everyone will find a big problem.
The things the money in hand can buy have decreased.
One hundred yuan could buy many things before.
Now it can't buy many things anymore.
So money has become worthless.
This is inflation.
Inflation is when money is no longer valuable.
At this time, everyone thought of gold.
Although current money is not valuable.
But gold is still valuable.
Gold is safer than paper money.
So many people started buying gold.
They bought a lot and kept it at home.
Because gold will not become worthless.
Tomorrow it can still be exchanged for many things.
They think this is very safe.
More and more people are buying gold.
Now there are very many people buying gold.
What happened to the price of gold?
Because everyone wants to buy gold.
So the price of gold did not decrease.
It has always been very high.
Business people look at gold every day.
They found that the price of gold is very stable.
Stable means not changing back and forth.
It didn't become very cheap.
Nor did it suddenly become very expensive.
It is always there.
This is what business people want to see.
They think buying gold is right.
Because the price of gold is very stable.
So they can sleep very well at night.
They don't have to worry about their money decreasing.
Although foreign countries are at war.
Although oil has become very expensive.
But gold is still very good.
This is why everyone looks at gold.
These things we just talked about.
Are actually today's news.
The news says there is a war in the Middle East.
The Middle East is a place with a lot of oil.
Because of the war, people are afraid there won't be enough oil.
If there isn't enough oil, things will become expensive.
When things become expensive, money becomes worthless.
This is called inflation in the news.
Because everyone is afraid of inflation.
Business people are all buying gold.
So today gold remains very high.
The price of gold is also very stable.
This is the important matter in the news.
Business people look at this news every day.
They want to see when the war will end.
They also look at when oil will be cheap.
Everyone is waiting for new information.
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇Noun for the precious metal. Often associated with wealth and stability.
Adjective used to describe something of great significance.
Can be used as a noun or an adjective.
A common verb for expressing anxiety or concern.
Used here as a noun/verb to show how events impact people.
Specific term for crude oil or fuel.
A verb-object construction meaning to engage in warfare.
Economic term describing the rise in prices and fall in purchasing value of money.
Describes something that is steady and not prone to change.
Literally 'worth money'. Used to describe items with high market value.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法Although... but... (Used to show contrast or concession).
虽然时间过去很久了,但是黄金还是很有用。
虽然我们不在那里,但是我们也受到影响。
Because... therefore... (Used to indicate cause and effect).
因为黄金是很值钱的,所以大家想去买一些黄金。
因为他们在打仗,所以他们不能卖石油了。
Proper Nouns
专有名词Sources
来源Free account
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