5:18
他烧了老板的东西
Angry California Worker Burns His Boss's Ontario Warehouse Near Los Angeles
HSK 1 Chinese listening practice. A simple story about an angry worker in Ontario, California who set fire to his boss's warehouse near Los Angeles.
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 仓库、卫生纸、工资 and walks through 4 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.
说到上班赚钱，我们来说一个很不一样的故事。
Speaking of working and making money, let me tell you a very different story.
有一个年轻人。
There was a young man.
他二十九岁。
He was twenty-nine years old.
他在一个很大的仓库里工作。
He worked in a very big warehouse.
仓库是什么？
What is a warehouse?
仓库就是一个很大很大的房子。
A warehouse is a very very big building.
里面放很多很多东西。
With many many things inside.
什么东西呢？
What things?
卫生纸。
Toilet paper.
是的，卫生纸。
Yes, toilet paper.
很多很多卫生纸。
Lots and lots of toilet paper.
你上厕所用的那种。
The kind you use in the bathroom.
这个仓库有多大？
How big was this warehouse?
非常非常大。
Very very big.
比一百个篮球场还大。
Bigger than a hundred basketball courts.
里面的卫生纸值多少钱？
How much was the toilet paper inside worth?
五亿美元。
Five hundred million dollars.
五亿。
Five hundred million.
这是一个很大的数字。
That is a very big number.
这个仓库在美国。
This warehouse was in America.
在加州。
In California.
加州有一个城市叫Ontario。
California has a city called Ontario.
不是加拿大的Ontario。
Not Ontario in Canada.
是加州的Ontario。
It's Ontario in California.
在洛杉矶旁边。
Near Los Angeles.
这个年轻人在这个仓库里工作。
This young man worked in this warehouse.
他每天搬东西。
Every day he moved things.
搬卫生纸。
Moved toilet paper.
放到车上。
Put it on trucks.
很累。
Very tiring.
工作很辛苦。
The work was very hard.
但是他赚的钱很少。
But the money he earned was very little.
他说："我的钱不够生活。
He said: "My money is not enough to live on."
他说："我赚的太少了。
He said: "I earn too little."
他很不开心。
He was very unhappy.
他觉得不公平。
He felt it was unfair.
他工作那么辛苦。
He worked so hard.
但是钱太少了。
But the money was too little.
他越想越生气。
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.
然后有一天晚上。
Then one night.
他做了一件很坏的事。
He did a very bad thing.
他点了一把火。
He started a fire.
他用打火机。
He used a lighter.
点着了卫生纸。
He lit the toilet paper.
卫生纸很容易烧。
Toilet paper burns very easily.
因为纸做的。
Because it's made of paper.
火一下子就大了。
The fire got big right away.
很快。
Very fast.
非常快。
Extremely fast.
整个仓库都着火了。
The whole warehouse was on fire.
他一边烧，一边用手机录视频。
While it burned, he used his phone to record video.
是的，他录了视频。
Yes, he recorded a video.
他把视频发到了网上。
He posted the video online.
在视频里他说了什么？
What did he say in the video?
他说："你们只要付我们够生活的钱就行了。
He said: "All you had to do was pay us enough to live."
他还说："你们的货都没了。
He also said: "Your inventory is gone."
然后整个仓库烧了。
Then the whole warehouse burned.
全部烧了。
All of it burned.
五亿美元的东西。
Five hundred million dollars worth of stuff.
一个晚上就没了。
Gone in one night.
仓库的屋顶也塌了。
The warehouse roof collapsed too.
停在外面的大卡车也烧了。
The big trucks parked outside also burned.
但是有一个好消息。
But there is good news.
没有人受伤。
Nobody was hurt.
仓库里当时有二十个人在工作。
There were twenty people working in the warehouse at the time.
他们都跑出去了。
They all ran out.
都没事。
Everyone was fine.
这是最重要的。
This is the most important thing.
警察很快就抓到了他。
The police caught him very quickly.
为什么这么快？
Why so fast?
因为他自己录了视频。
Because he recorded the video himself.
他自己发到了网上。
He posted it online himself.
大家都看到了。
Everyone saw it.
警察也看到了。
The police saw it too.
所以很容易找到他。
So it was very easy to find him.
他被抓了以后。
After he was caught.
他跟别人打了一个电话。
He made a phone call to someone.
他说他觉得自己像一个人。
He said he felt like a certain person.
什么人？
What person?
一个叫Mangione的人。
A person named Mangione.
Mangione是谁？
Who is Mangione?
Mangione是另一个案件里的人。
Mangione is a person from another case.
他杀了一个保险公司的老板。
He killed the boss of an insurance company.
很多美国人觉得保险公司不好。
Many Americans think insurance companies are bad.
所以有人觉得Mangione是英雄。
So some people think Mangione is a hero.
这个烧仓库的年轻人觉得自己也是英雄。
This young man who burned the warehouse thought he was also a hero.
但是他不是英雄。
But he is not a hero.
他犯了法。
He broke the law.
纵火是很严重的罪。
Arson is a very serious crime.
他可能要坐牢很多很多年。
He might go to jail for many many years.
最多可能是一辈子。
At most, maybe for life.
这个故事让人想很多事。
This story makes people think about many things.
第一，他说的话有道理吗？
First, did what he said make sense?
工资太低是一个真的问题。
Low wages is a real problem.
很多人都觉得赚的不够。
Many people feel they don't earn enough.
这是真的。
This is true.
第二，但是烧东西不是办法。
Second, but burning things is not the answer.
你不开心，你可以说。
If you're unhappy, you can speak up.
你可以告诉老板。
You can tell your boss.
你可以找新工作。
You can find a new job.
你可以去法院。
You can go to court.
但是你不可以点火。
But you cannot start a fire.
点火会伤害别人。
Starting a fire can hurt other people.
这一次没有人受伤。
This time nobody was hurt.
但是下一次可能就不一定了。
But next time might be different.
所以这个故事告诉我们。
So this story tells us.
生气可以。
It's okay to be angry.
但是不要做傻事。
But don't do stupid things.
做傻事只会让自己的生活更差。
Doing stupid things only makes your life worse.
不会变好。
It won't get better.
他现在在监狱里。
He is now in prison.
没有工资。
No wages.
没有自由。
No freedom.
什么都没有了。
He has nothing left.
这是最让人难过的地方。
This is the saddest part.
Feeling upset or mad.
仓 (storage) + 库 (depot). A big building to store goods.
卫生 (hygiene) + 纸 (paper).
Money paid for work.
打 (strike) + 火 (fire) + 机 (device).
When something starts burning.
A recording of moving images.
Law enforcement officers.
犯 (commit) + 法 (law).
Where convicted criminals are held.
Just and equitable treatment.
傻 (stupid) + 事 (thing/matter).
* beyond level超纲词