Fluentide

A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels

Goose Leg Auntie's Duck-Leg Scandal — episode cover art
5:05

阿姨卖的"鹅腿",其实是鸭腿

Goose Leg Auntie's Duck-Leg Scandal

About this story

The story of Beijing's famous 'Goose Leg Auntie', who told students she was selling roasted goose legs for years — and then admitted they were duck legs all along. Told one slow step at a time using only beginner-level Chinese. HSK 1 Chinese listening practice.

This is an HSK 1 Chinese listening episode that runs about 5 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 12 key vocabulary words such as 大学、学生、卖 and walks through 7 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.

Read at your level

原文

Read the complete story in Chinese. Reveal pinyin and English only when you need them.

今天我们说一个事。
今天的事,是一个人的事。
我们说说这个人。
她是一个女的。
她不在你家。
她不在我家。
她在中国。
她在中国的一个地方。
这个地方,叫北京。
你听过北京吗?
你也许听过。
也许没听过。
没关系。
北京有很多人。
北京也有很多大学。
什么是大学呢?
大学就是大的学校。
学生大了,去大学。
北京有大学。
大学里有学生。
学生很多。
他们想吃东西。
大学的外面,有的人在卖东西。
卖什么呢?
卖吃的。
今天的这个人,就是在那里卖东西。
她在大学外面卖。
她卖了很多年。
卖了十几年。
那她卖什么呢?
她卖的,是一种肉。
肉的样子,是一条腿。
是什么的腿呢?
她说:"这是鹅的腿。
鹅是什么呢?
鹅是一种动物。
鹅有两条腿。
鹅会走。
鹅也会叫。
鹅的样子,有一点像鸡。
但是比鸡大。
她卖的,就是鹅的腿。
我们说:"鹅腿"。
她的鹅腿,做得很好吃。
学生都喜欢。
一个学生吃了,说:"好吃!
他告诉别的学生。
别的学生也来吃。
他们也说:"好吃!
然后越来越多的学生来。
来买的人很多。
有时候要等一个小时。
有时候要等更久。
但是学生们也愿意等。
他们说:"这个鹅腿,等也愿意。
慢慢的,这个阿姨变得很有名。
中国的网上,都在说她。
大家叫她:"鹅腿阿姨"。
很多人都喜欢她。
就这样,过了好几年。
鹅腿阿姨,每天都在卖。
学生每天都来买。
钱也越赚越多。
但是,前几天。
鹅腿阿姨说了一件事。
她说的这件事,很多人都没想到。
她说:
"我跟大家说一件事。
我卖的,其实不是鹅腿。
我卖的,是鸭腿。
鸭也是一种动物。
鸭比鹅小。
鸭的腿,也比鹅的腿便宜。
我跟大家说对不起。
大家听了,都很不高兴。
学生也不高兴。
喜欢她的人,都不高兴。
大家说:
"我们以为吃的是鹅腿。
其实吃的是鸭腿。
我们花的钱是鹅腿的钱。
不是鸭腿的钱。
鹅腿的钱多。
鸭腿的钱少。
钱不一样。
那为什么以前不说呢?
阿姨说:
"很多年以前,我真的卖鹅腿。
真的真的卖。
后来,找不到鹅了。
我想找。
我也想买。
但是没有。
我就用鸭。
鸭好找。
鸭也便宜。
但是我没跟大家说。
我也想说。
但是没说。
我也知道,这是不对的。
对不起。
现在,有人在看这件事。
看是不是阿姨做错了。
也看以后怎么办。
最后,我想问你一下。
你有没有,跟别人说一件事。
你说的,跟你做的,不一样?
也许是一件小事。
也许是一件大事。
那以后呢?
你跟别人说的,跟你做的,一样吗?
说一样的,做一样的。
心里也安心。
English transcript reference

Today we'll talk about a thing.

Today's thing is about a person.

Let's talk about this person.

She is a woman.

She is not at your home.

She is not at my home.

She is in China.

She is in a place in China.

This place is called Beijing.

Have you heard of Beijing?

Maybe you have.

Maybe you haven't.

It's okay.

Beijing has many people.

Beijing also has many universities.

What is a university?

A university is a big school.

When students are grown up, they go to university.

Beijing has universities.

Universities have students.

There are many students.

They want to eat things.

Outside the universities, some people sell things.

Sell what?

Sell things to eat.

Today's person sells things there.

She sells outside the university.

She has sold for many years.

More than ten years.

So what does she sell?

What she sells is meat.

The meat looks like a leg.

What kind of leg?

She says: 'This is a goose's leg.'

What is a goose?

A goose is a kind of animal.

A goose has two legs.

A goose walks.

A goose also calls out (makes noise).

A goose looks a bit like a chicken.

But bigger than a chicken.

What she sells is the goose's leg.

We say: 'goose leg'.

Her goose legs are very tasty.

Students all like them.

One student ate one and said: 'Tasty!'

He told other students.

Other students came to eat too.

They also said: 'Tasty!'

Then more and more students came.

Many people came to buy.

Sometimes you had to wait an hour.

Sometimes you waited even longer.

But the students were willing to wait.

They said: 'For this goose leg, waiting is worth it.'

Slowly, this auntie became famous.

On the Chinese internet, people were all talking about her.

People called her: 'Goose Leg Auntie'.

Many people liked her.

Just like that, several years passed.

Goose Leg Auntie sold every day.

Students came to buy every day.

She made more and more money.

But, a few days ago.

Goose Leg Auntie said something.

What she said, many people didn't expect.

She said:

'I want to tell everyone something.

What I sell is actually not goose leg.

What I sell is duck leg.

A duck is also a kind of animal.

A duck is smaller than a goose.

A duck's leg is also cheaper than a goose's leg.

I want to say sorry to everyone.'

When everyone heard this, they were all unhappy.

Students were unhappy.

The people who liked her were all unhappy.

They said:

'We thought we were eating goose leg.

Actually we were eating duck leg.

We spent the price of a goose leg.

Not the price of a duck leg.

Goose-leg money is a lot.

Duck-leg money is a little.

The amounts are different.'

So why didn't she say this before?

Auntie said:

'Many years ago, I really sold goose leg.

Really really sold it.

Later, I couldn't find geese anymore.

I wanted to find some.

I also wanted to buy some.

But there were none.

So I used ducks.

Ducks are easy to find.

Ducks are also cheap.

But I didn't tell everyone.

I wanted to say.

But I never said.

I also knew this was not right.

I'm sorry.'

Now, someone is looking into this thing.

Looking at whether Auntie did something wrong.

Also looking at what to do next.

Finally, I want to ask you something.

Have you ever told someone something,

where what you said and what you did were not the same?

Maybe it was a small thing.

Maybe it was a big thing.

What about from now on?

What you tell others and what you do — are they the same?

Say the same thing, do the same thing.

Then your heart feels at peace.

Listen again

Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.

What vocabulary does this episode teach?

词汇
dàxuéuniversity

HSK 1, within HSK 1. Glossed inline: 大学就是大的学校 = a university is a big school.

xuéshengstudent

HSK 1. The customers in this story.

màito sell

HSK 1 verb. Central action of the story: 她在大学外面卖东西.

duìbuqǐI'm sorry

HSK 1. I'm sorry.

méiguānxiit doesn't matter

HSK 1. it doesn't matter.

wǒmenwe; us

HSK 1. we; us.

āyíauntie (respectful term for a middle-aged woman)

HSK 3 noun. In Chinese, used to address any older woman politely. Here it's the news subject's actual public nickname: 鹅腿阿姨 = Goose Leg Auntie.

égoose

Glossed inline: 鹅是一种动物。有两条腿。比鸡大。= A goose is a kind of animal, has two legs, bigger than a chicken.

yāduck

Glossed inline: 鸭比鹅小 = a duck is smaller than a goose. 鸭便宜 = duck is cheap.

tuǐleg

HSK 4 noun, but the basic body part. 鹅的腿 = a goose's leg; 鸭的腿 = a duck's leg.

ròumeat

HSK 3 noun. 她卖的是一种肉 = what she sells is a kind of meat.

piányicheap; inexpensive

HSK 2 adjective. 鸭便宜 = duck is cheap. 鸭腿比鹅腿便宜 = duck leg is cheaper than goose leg.

* beyond level超纲词

What grammar patterns appear in this episode?

语法

Subject + 是 / 不是 + Noun

Basic identity: 'X is/is not Y'.

她是一个女的。

鹅是一种动物。

我卖的,其实不是鹅腿。

A 比 B + Adj (comparison)

'A is more Adj than B'. HSK 2 comparison structure.

鸭比鹅小。

鸭腿比鹅腿便宜。

鸡比鹅小。

Subject + 也 / 都 + Verb

也 = also; 都 = all. Both come before the verb. Used for parallel statements.

鸭也是一种动物。

学生都喜欢。

喜欢她的人,都不高兴。

V + 了 + 很多 / 几 + Noun + 了

Marks continuing past action up to now.

她卖了很多年。

卖了十几年。

就这样,过了好几年。

Verb + 着 / Verb + 来 (manner)

Various verb markers used here: 越来越多 = more and more.

越来越多的学生来。

钱也越赚越多。

那 / 那么 + Adj / Clause (so / well then)

Discourse connector: 'so, then...' or 'in that case...'.

那为什么以前不说呢?

那以后呢?

其实 + Clause (actually)

Reversal marker — introduces what is actually true.

我卖的,其实不是鹅腿。

其实吃的是鸭腿。

Proper nouns

专有名词
鹅腿阿姨É tuǐ Āyí'Goose Leg Auntie' — viral internet nickname for Chen Xiufeng, a street vendor who became famous selling 'goose legs' near Peking and Tsinghua Universities北京BěijīngBeijing — the capital of China中国ZhōngguóChina

Free account

Keep learning from this story

Create a free account to keep saved words and your preferred level together.

  • Keep words with their story context
  • Remember your preferred level
  • Build your vocabulary over time

Keep learning