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Goose Leg Auntie's Duck-Leg Scandal — episode cover art
4:50

火了好几年的"鹅腿阿姨",原来卖的是鸭腿

Goose Leg Auntie's Duck-Leg Scandal

About this story

The full story of Beijing's viral street vendor 'Goose Leg Auntie': how she became famous outside top universities, the moment she admitted her goose legs were actually duck legs, and the lesson about integrity (诚信) at the heart of the scandal. HSK 2 Chinese listening practice.

This is an HSK 2 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 14 key vocabulary words such as 腿、便宜、告诉 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.

今天我们说一件最近大家都在说的事。
这件事,跟一个人有关系。
这个人是中国人。
她在中国。
她在中国的一个地方。
这个地方,叫北京。
北京是一个很大的地方。
有很多很多人。
也有很多很多大学。
大学就是大的学校。
学生大了,就去大学。
今天的这个人,跟这些大学有关系。
她在大学的外面,卖东西。
她卖的,是吃的。
她卖了很多年了。
卖了十几年了。
那她卖什么吃的呢?
她卖的,是肉。
什么肉呢?
她说:"我卖的是鹅的肉。
鹅是什么呢?
鹅是一种动物。
鹅有两条腿。
鹅有点像鸡。
但是比鸡大。
她卖的,就是鹅的腿。
我们叫它"鹅腿"。
鹅腿很好吃。
学生吃了,都喜欢。
一个学生告诉别的学生。
别的学生也来买。
来买的人越来越多。
有的时候,要等很久。
等一个小时。
有的时候,等更久。
但是学生愿意等。
他们说:
"鹅腿阿姨的鹅腿,等也愿意。
就这样,大家都叫她:"鹅腿阿姨"。
鹅腿阿姨慢慢地火了起来。
她在中国的网上,变得很有名。
报纸上写她。
电视上说她。
很多人都喜欢她。
也很多人来买她的鹅腿。
她每天都很忙。
钱也越赚越多。
这样过了好几年。
鹅腿阿姨,每天都在大学外面卖。
学生也每天都来排队。
大家都很高兴。
但是,最近几天,有一件事变了。
鹅腿阿姨,自己说了一句话。
她说的话,很多人都没想到。
她说:
"对不起。
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。
鸭比鹅小一点。
鸭腿的样子,跟鹅腿有一点像。
但是鸭腿比鹅腿便宜很多。
便宜多少呢?
我们说一个数。
一个冻的鸭腿,差不多一块多钱。
一个冻的鹅腿,差不多要十块钱。
也就是说,鸭腿的钱,只有鹅腿的差不多十分之一。
听到这里。
喜欢她的学生,都很不高兴。
他们说:
"我们以为吃的是鹅。
其实吃的是鸭。
我们花的,是鹅的钱。
吃的,是鸭的肉。
那以前买的那么多次,怎么办?
那为什么以前不告诉大家呢?
鹅腿阿姨说:
"很多很多年以前,我真的卖鹅腿。
那是2011年。
后来,鹅越来越少。
我找不到好的鹅。
但是学生还在等。
我就用了鸭。
旁边卖东西的人,也用鸭。
我跟大家说:'对不起。
我一直没告诉你们。
我也想说。
但是一直没说。
我也知道,这样做不对。
现在,有人在看这件事。
看以后怎么办。
也看是不是要赔钱。
说实话,这件事不光是鹅和鸭的事。
更是"诚信"的事。
"诚信"是什么呢?
"诚信"就是:你说的话,跟你做的事,要一样。
你说卖鹅。
你就卖鹅。
你说卖鸭。
你就卖鸭。
心里也安心。
最后我想问你一下。
你身边,有没有这样的事?
有人说一件事。
做的,跟说的,不一样。
也许是别人这样做了。
也许是你自己。
没关系。
重要的,是以后。
以后,说的跟做的,可以一样吗?
English transcript reference

Today we'll talk about something everyone has been discussing lately.

This thing is related to a person.

This person is Chinese.

She is in China.

She is in a place in China.

This place is called Beijing.

Beijing is a very big place.

It has very, very many people.

Also very, very many universities.

A university is a big school.

When students grow up, they go to university.

Today's person is related to these universities.

She sells things outside the universities.

What she sells is food.

She has been selling for many years.

More than ten years.

So what kind of food does she sell?

What she sells is meat.

What kind of meat?

She says: 'What I sell is goose meat.'

What is a goose?

A goose is a kind of animal.

A goose has two legs.

A goose is a bit like a chicken.

But bigger than a chicken.

What she sells is the goose's leg.

We call it 'goose leg'.

Goose leg is very tasty.

Students who ate it all liked it.

One student told other students.

Other students came to buy too.

More and more people came to buy.

Sometimes you had to wait a long time.

Wait an hour.

Sometimes wait even longer.

But students were willing to wait.

They said:

'For Goose Leg Auntie's goose leg, waiting is worth it.'

Just like that, everyone called her: 'Goose Leg Auntie'.

Goose Leg Auntie slowly became hot (famous).

On the Chinese internet, she became very well-known.

Newspapers wrote about her.

Television talked about her.

Many people liked her.

And many people came to buy her goose legs.

She was very busy every day.

She made more and more money.

Several years passed like this.

Goose Leg Auntie sold outside the universities every day.

Students also came to line up every day.

Everyone was happy.

But, in the last few days, something changed.

Goose Leg Auntie herself said something.

What she said, many people didn't expect.

She said:

'I'm sorry.

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 a bit smaller than a goose.

A duck leg looks a bit like a goose leg.

But duck leg is much cheaper than goose leg.

How much cheaper?

Let's give a number.

One frozen duck leg costs about one yuan something.

One frozen goose leg costs about ten yuan.

In other words, a duck leg costs about one-tenth of a goose leg.

Hearing this.

Students who liked her were all very unhappy.

They said:

'We thought we were eating goose.

Actually we were eating duck.

What we spent was the price of a goose.

What we ate was the meat of a duck.

So what about all the times we bought it before?'

So why didn't she tell everyone earlier?

Goose Leg Auntie said:

'Many, many years ago, I really sold goose leg.

That was in 2011.

Later, geese became fewer and fewer.

I couldn't find good geese.

But students were still waiting.

So I used duck.

The other vendors nearby also used duck.

I want to say to everyone: I'm sorry.

I never told you.

I wanted to say.

But I never said it.

I also know this was not right.'

Now, someone is looking into this thing.

Looking at what to do next.

Also looking at whether she needs to pay back the money.

Honestly, this isn't just about goose and duck.

More than that, it's about 'integrity'.

What is 'integrity'?

'Integrity' means: what you say and what you do should be the same.

You say you sell goose.

Then you sell goose.

You say you sell duck.

Then you sell duck.

Your heart is also at peace.

Finally, I want to ask you something.

Around you, is there something like this?

Someone says one thing.

What they do is not the same as what they say.

Maybe someone else did it.

Maybe you did it yourself.

It's okay.

What matters is from now on.

From now on, can what is said and what is done be the same?

Listen again

Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.

What vocabulary does this episode teach?

词汇
tuǐleg

HSK 4 noun. The physical object. 鹅腿 = goose leg; 鸭腿 = duck leg.

piányicheap

HSK 2 adjective. 鸭腿比鹅腿便宜很多 = duck leg is much cheaper than goose leg.

gàosuto tell

HSK 2 verb. 为什么以前不告诉大家呢? = Why didn't you tell everyone earlier?

zhòngyàoimportant

HSK 3. 重要的,是以后 = what matters is from now on.

wèishénmewhy

HSK 1-2. why.

pángbiānside / beside

HSK 1-2. side / beside.

xiǎoshíhour

HSK 1-2. hour.

āyíauntie (term for a middle-aged woman)

HSK 3 noun. Here it's the public nickname: 鹅腿阿姨 = Goose Leg Auntie.

égoose

Glossed inline as 一种动物 = a kind of animal. Central to the story.

yāduck

Glossed by contrast: 鸭比鹅小 = a duck is smaller than a goose. 鸭比鹅便宜 = a duck is cheaper.

chéngxìnintegrity; honesty

Glossed inline: 你说的话,跟你做的事,要一样 = what you say and what you do should match. The moral lesson.

qíshíactually; in fact

HSK 3 adverb. Used to mark the reveal: 其实不是鹅腿.

yuànyìwilling to

HSK 3. 学生愿意等 = students were willing to wait.

páiduìto line up; queue

HSK 4 verb. 学生每天都来排队 = students lined up every day.

* beyond level超纲词

What grammar patterns appear in this episode?

语法

Subject + 觉得 / 以为 + Clause

'X feels/thinks/assumes that Y'. 以为 marks a wrong assumption.

我们以为吃的是鹅。

他们觉得不高兴。

A 比 B + 更 / Adj + 一点 / 很多

Comparison with degree marker.

鸭比鹅小一点。

鸭腿比鹅腿便宜很多。

其实 + Clause (reversal)

Marks 'actually X is not what you thought'. Central pattern for the reveal.

我卖的,其实不是鹅腿。

其实吃的是鸭。

越来越 + Adj / 越 + V + 越 + Adj

'more and more'. Marks gradual change.

来买的人越来越多。

钱也越赚越多。

鹅越来越少。

也就是说 + Clause (in other words)

Discourse marker that summarizes / rephrases.

也就是说,鸭腿的钱,只有鹅腿的差不多十分之一。

Subject + 是 + 一个 + Noun (definition)

Used to gloss new terms.

鹅是一种动物。

鸭也是一种动物。

什么是 X 呢? + complete answer

Rhetorical question to gloss vocabulary.

鹅是什么呢?

什么肉呢?

便宜多少呢?

Proper nouns

专有名词
鹅腿阿姨É tuǐ Āyí'Goose Leg Auntie' — internet nickname for Chen Xiufeng, the viral Beijing street vendor北京BěijīngBeijing — capital of China and home to top universities中国ZhōngguóChina2011年èr líng yī yī niánthe year 2011 — when Auntie says she first started selling goose legs

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