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火了好几年的"鹅腿阿姨"，原来卖的是鸭腿
'Goose Leg Auntie' — Famous for Years — Was Actually Selling Duck Legs
HSK 2 Chinese listening practice. 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.
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 阿姨、鹅、鸭 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.
今天我们说一件最近大家都在说的事。
Today we'll talk about something everyone has been discussing lately.
这件事，跟一个人有关系。
This thing is related to a person.
这个人是中国人。
This person is Chinese.
她在中国。
She is in China.
她在中国的一个地方。
She is in a place in China.
这个地方，叫北京。
This place is called Beijing.
北京是一个很大的地方。
Beijing is a very big place.
有很多很多人。
It has very, very many people.
也有很多很多大学。
Also very, very many universities.
大学就是大的学校。
A university is a big school.
学生大了，就去大学。
When students grow up, they go to university.
今天的这个人，跟这些大学有关系。
Today's person is related to these universities.
她在大学的外面，卖东西。
She sells things outside the universities.
她卖的，是吃的。
What she sells is food.
她卖了很多年了。
She has been selling for many years.
卖了十几年了。
More than ten years.
那她卖什么吃的呢？
So what kind of food does she sell?
她卖的，是肉。
What she sells is meat.
什么肉呢？
What kind of meat?
她说："我卖的是鹅的肉。
She says: 'What I sell is goose meat.'
鹅是什么呢？
What is a goose?
鹅是一种动物。
A goose is a kind of animal.
鹅有两条腿。
A goose has two legs.
鹅有点像鸡。
A goose is a bit like a chicken.
但是比鸡大。
But bigger than a chicken.
她卖的，就是鹅的腿。
What she sells is the goose's leg.
我们叫它"鹅腿"。
We call it 'goose leg'.
鹅腿很好吃。
Goose leg is very tasty.
学生吃了，都喜欢。
Students who ate it all liked it.
一个学生告诉别的学生。
One student told other students.
别的学生也来买。
Other students came to buy too.
来买的人越来越多。
More and more people came to buy.
有的时候，要等很久。
Sometimes you had to wait a long time.
等一个小时。
Wait an hour.
有的时候，等更久。
Sometimes wait even longer.
但是学生愿意等。
But students were willing to wait.
他们说：
They said:
"鹅腿阿姨的鹅腿，等也愿意。
'For Goose Leg Auntie's goose leg, waiting is worth it.'
就这样，大家都叫她："鹅腿阿姨"。
Just like that, everyone called her: 'Goose Leg Auntie'.
鹅腿阿姨慢慢地火了起来。
Goose Leg Auntie slowly became hot (famous).
她在中国的网上，变得很有名。
On the Chinese internet, she became very well-known.
报纸上写她。
Newspapers wrote about her.
电视上说她。
Television talked about her.
很多人都喜欢她。
Many people liked her.
也很多人来买她的鹅腿。
And many people came to buy her goose legs.
她每天都很忙。
She was very busy every day.
钱也越赚越多。
She made more and more money.
这样过了好几年。
Several years passed like this.
鹅腿阿姨，每天都在大学外面卖。
Goose Leg Auntie sold outside the universities every day.
学生也每天都来排队。
Students also came to line up every day.
大家都很高兴。
Everyone was happy.
但是，最近几天，有一件事变了。
But, in the last few days, something changed.
鹅腿阿姨，自己说了一句话。
Goose Leg Auntie herself said something.
她说的话，很多人都没想到。
What she said, many people didn't expect.
她说：
She said:
"对不起。
'I'm sorry.
我跟大家说一件事。
I want to tell everyone something.
我卖的，其实不是鹅腿。
What I sell is actually not goose leg.
我卖的，是鸭腿。
What I sell is duck leg.'
鸭也是一种动物。
A duck is also a kind of animal.
鸭比鹅小一点。
A duck is a bit smaller than a goose.
鸭腿的样子，跟鹅腿有一点像。
A duck leg looks a bit like a goose leg.
但是鸭腿比鹅腿便宜很多。
But duck leg is much cheaper than goose leg.
便宜多少呢？
How much cheaper?
我们说一个数。
Let's give a number.
一个冻的鸭腿，差不多一块多钱。
One frozen duck leg costs about one yuan something.
一个冻的鹅腿，差不多要十块钱。
One frozen goose leg costs about ten yuan.
也就是说，鸭腿的钱，只有鹅腿的差不多十分之一。
In other words, a duck leg costs about one-tenth of a goose leg.
听到这里。
Hearing this.
喜欢她的学生，都很不高兴。
Students who liked her were all very unhappy.
他们说：
They said:
"我们以为吃的是鹅。
'We thought we were eating goose.
其实吃的是鸭。
Actually we were eating duck.
我们花的，是鹅的钱。
What we spent was the price of a goose.
吃的，是鸭的肉。
What we ate was the meat of a duck.
那以前买的那么多次，怎么办？
So what about all the times we bought it before?'
那为什么以前不告诉大家呢？
So why didn't she tell everyone earlier?
鹅腿阿姨说：
Goose Leg Auntie said:
"很多很多年以前，我真的卖鹅腿。
'Many, many years ago, I really sold goose leg.
那是2011年。
That was in 2011.
后来，鹅越来越少。
Later, geese became fewer and fewer.
我找不到好的鹅。
I couldn't find good geese.
但是学生还在等。
But students were still waiting.
我就用了鸭。
So I used duck.
旁边卖东西的人，也用鸭。
The other vendors nearby also used duck.
我跟大家说：'对不起。
I want to say to everyone: I'm sorry.
我一直没告诉你们。
I never told you.
我也想说。
I wanted to say.
但是一直没说。
But I never said it.
我也知道，这样做不对。
I also know this was not right.'
现在，有人在看这件事。
Now, someone is looking into this thing.
看以后怎么办。
Looking at what to do next.
也看是不是要赔钱。
Also looking at whether she needs to pay back the money.
说实话，这件事不光是鹅和鸭的事。
Honestly, this isn't just about goose and duck.
更是"诚信"的事。
More than that, it's about 'integrity'.
"诚信"是什么呢？
What is 'integrity'?
"诚信"就是：你说的话，跟你做的事，要一样。
'Integrity' means: what you say and what you do should be the same.
你说卖鹅。
You say you sell goose.
你就卖鹅。
Then you sell goose.
你说卖鸭。
You say you sell duck.
你就卖鸭。
Then you sell duck.
心里也安心。
Your heart is also at peace.
最后我想问你一下。
Finally, I want to ask you something.
你身边，有没有这样的事？
Around you, is there something like this?
有人说一件事。
Someone says one thing.
做的，跟说的，不一样。
What they do is not the same as what they say.
也许是别人这样做了。
Maybe someone else did it.
也许是你自己。
Maybe you did it yourself.
没关系。
It's okay.
重要的，是以后。
What matters is from now on.
以后，说的跟做的，可以一样吗？
From now on, can what is said and what is done be the same?
HSK 2 adjective. 鸭腿比鹅腿便宜很多 = duck leg is much cheaper than goose leg.
HSK 2 verb. 为什么以前不告诉大家呢？ = Why didn't you tell everyone earlier?
HSK 3. 重要的，是以后 = what matters is from now on.
HSK 3 noun. Here it's the public nickname: 鹅腿阿姨 = Goose Leg Auntie.
Glossed inline as 一种动物 = a kind of animal. Central to the story.
Glossed by contrast: 鸭比鹅小 = a duck is smaller than a goose. 鸭比鹅便宜 = a duck is cheaper.
HSK 4 noun. The physical object. 鹅腿 = goose leg; 鸭腿 = duck leg.
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.
HSK 3 adverb. Used to mark the reveal: 其实不是鹅腿.
HSK 3. 学生愿意等 = students were willing to wait.
HSK 4 verb. 学生每天都来排队 = students lined up every day.
Marks frozen vs fresh — relevant to the price comparison.
HSK 3. 差不多一块多钱 = about one yuan something. 差不多十块钱 = about ten yuan.
HSK 3. 只有鹅腿的差不多十分之一 = only about one-tenth of a goose leg's price.
* beyond level超纲词
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？