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四十一岁，他换了一个新车队，今天终于赢了
At Forty-One, He Switched Teams — and Today He Finally Won (A Beginner Story)
HSK 1 Chinese listening practice. The story of a 41-year-old racing legend who left his old team for a famous red team, endured over a year without a win and crowds calling him finished — then finally won. Told slowly in beginner-level Chinese.
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 开车、车、快 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.
今天我们说一个事。
Today we'll talk about a thing.
今天的事，很好。
Today's thing is good.
是一个好事。
It's a good thing.
我们慢慢说。
We'll go slowly.
今天的事，是一个人的事。
Today's thing is about a person.
我们说这个人。
Let's talk about this person.
他不小了。
He's not young anymore.
他今年，四十一岁。
This year, he is forty-one.
他不在中国。
He's not in China.
他做什么呢？
What does he do?
他开车。
He drives cars.
你家里，有车吗？
Does your family have a car?
也许有，也许没有。
Maybe yes, maybe no.
都没关系。
Either way, it's okay.
我们说的这个人，也开车。
The person we're talking about also drives.
但是他的车，不一样。
But his car is different.
他的车，开得很快。
His car drives very fast.
非常非常快。
Extremely, extremely fast.
比你家的车，快很多。
Much faster than your family's car.
他的车，很快。
His car is fast.
他开车，开得很快。
He drives, and he drives fast.
他开的车，很快很快。
The car he drives is really, really fast.
他开快车，开了很多年。
He's driven fast cars for many years.
好。
Okay.
他开车的时候，
When he drives,
很多车，跟他一起开。
many cars drive together with him.
大家都想，开到最前面。
Everyone wants to get to the very front.
谁开到最前面，谁就赢。
Whoever gets to the front first wins.
谁在后面，谁就没有赢。
Whoever is behind doesn't win.
这就是他做的事。
This is what he does.
他开车，开得最快。
He drives, and he drives the fastest.
他开车，开了很多年。
He's been driving for many years.
他赢了很多次。
He's won many times.
比别人，都多。
More than anyone else.
所以，很多人都说：
So, many people say:
他开车，开得最好。
he drives the best.
是最好的那一个。
He's the best one.
好。
Okay.
现在你知道他了。
Now you know him.
他开车，开得很快，也很好。
He drives fast, and he drives well.
那今天，发生了什么呢？
So today, what happened?
我们慢慢说。
We'll go slowly.
开车的人，
The people who drive
都在一个一个的"队"里。
are all in 'teams'.
什么是队呢？
What is a team?
队，就是一些人，在一起。
A team is some people, together.
一起做事，一起开车。
Doing things together, driving together.
以前，他在一个队里。
Before, he was in one team.
他在那个队，很多年。
He was in that team for many years.
在那个队，他赢了很多次。
In that team, he won many times.
那个队，对他很好。
That team was very good to him.
但是，前一年，
But, last year,
他做了一件事。
he did something.
这件事，让很多人都没想到。
This thing surprised many people.
他走了。
He left.
他离开了那个老队。
He left that old team.
他去了一个新的队。
He went to a new team.
为什么呢？
Why?
因为这个新的队，很special。
Because this new team is very special.
很多开车的人，
Many people who drive,
小的时候，就想去这个队。
when they were little, wanted to join this team.
这个队的车，是红色的。
This team's cars are red.
很漂亮。
Very beautiful.
这个红色的车队，很有名。
This red team is very famous.
很多很多年，都很有名。
For many, many years, it's been famous.
他想：
He thought:
"我也想，开一次红色的车。
'I want to drive a red car too.
我也想，为这个红队，赢一次。
I want to win once for this red team too.'
所以，他四十一岁，还是去了。
So, at forty-one, he still went.
但是，去了以后，
But, after he went,
事情不太好。
things weren't so good.
他开新队的红车，
He drove the new team's red car
开了一年多。
for over a year.
一次，都没有赢。
Not once did he win.
一次都没有。
Not a single time.
很多人开始说：
Many people started to say:
"他老了。
'He's old.
他不行了。
He's finished.
他换队，换错了。
He switched teams — he made a mistake.'
他自己，心里也不好受。
He himself felt bad inside too.
但是，他没有不开。
But, he didn't stop driving.
他还是一天一天地开。
He still drove, day after day.
他在等一个机会。
He was waiting for a chance.
等他，开红车，赢一次。
Waiting to drive the red car and win once.
今天，这个机会，来了。
Today, that chance came.
今天的比赛，在一个很远的地方。
Today's race was in a faraway place.
那个地方，叫西班牙。
That place is called Spain.
今天，他开着他的红车。
Today, he drove his red car.
他开得非常非常好。
He drove extremely, extremely well.
他一直在最前面。
He was in front the whole time.
到最后，
In the end,
他第一个，开到了头。
he was the first to drive to the finish.
他赢了！
He won!
他真的赢了！
He really won!
这是他开红车，第一次赢。
This was his first win driving the red car.
他等这一次，等了一年多。
He waited over a year for this one.
他四十一岁了，
He's forty-one,
但是他还是做到了。
but he still did it.
比赛完了，他很高兴。
When the race ended, he was so happy.
喜欢他的人，都很高兴。
The people who like him were all happy.
有的人，还哭了。
Some people even cried.
因为大家都知道，
Because everyone knew
这一次赢，他等了太久了。
he had waited too long for this win.
最后，我们一起想一想。
Finally, let's think together.
一个人，四十一岁了。
A person, forty-one years old.
很多人都说他不行了。
Many people said he was finished.
他自己，也很久没有赢。
He himself hadn't won in a long time.
但是他没有放弃。
But he didn't give up.
他还是一天一天地，开下去。
He kept driving, day after day.
最后，他赢了。
In the end, he won.
最后我想问你一下。
Finally, I want to ask you.
有没有人对你说过：
Has anyone ever said to you:
"你不行了。
'You're finished.
你太晚了。
It's too late for you.'
你信了吗？
Did you believe it?
你还在做你想做的事吗？
Are you still doing the thing you want to do?
你想一想。
Think about it.
HSK 1. 他的车，开得很快 = his car is very fast. Repeated to anchor the racing idea.
他开车 = he drives. 开 (HSK 1, operate/drive) + 车 (car). The whole story is about driving.
他的车，开得很快 = his car drives very fast. The central object.
谁开到最前面，谁就赢 = whoever reaches the front first wins. Central verb.
Glossed inline: 队就是一些人在一起，一起做事 = a team is some people together, doing things together.
这个队的车，是红色的 = this team's cars are red. The Ferrari red.
HSK 3. 他在等一个机会 = he was waiting for a chance.
但是他没有放弃 = but he didn't give up. The story's spine.
今天，这个机会，来了 = today, this chance came. The turning point.
今天的比赛，在西班牙 = today's race was in Spain.
HSK 3. Implied throughout — after a long wait, today he finally won.
你太晚了 = it's too late for you — what the doubters said, and the question the host asks you.
* beyond level超纲词
Verb + 得 + Adjective (degree)
Describes how an action is done. 开 + 得 + 很快 = drives very fast.
他的车，开得很快。
他开车，开得最快。
他开得非常非常好。
A 比 B + Adjective (comparison)
'A is more Adj than B'.
比你家的车，快很多。
比别人，都多。
谁 ... 谁就 ... (whoever... that one...)
Pairs a condition with its result using 谁.
谁开到最前面，谁就赢。
谁在后面，谁就没有赢。
什么是 X 呢? + answer (gloss)
Rhetorical question to define a new word, then answered.
什么是队呢？
队，就是一些人，在一起。
一次都没有 + Verb (not even once)
Emphatic total negation.
一次，都没有赢。
一次都没有。
Subject + 还是 + Verb (still / nonetheless)
Marks persistence despite obstacles.
他四十一岁，还是去了。
他还是一天一天地开。
没有放弃 / 没有不开 (didn't give up)
Negation marking persistence — the story's emotional core.
但是他没有放弃。
但是，他没有不开。