A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
英国的一个案子：两个人，谁说了真话？
Henry Nowak Dies After Plea for Help
About this story
A sober, gentle telling of a UK case: a young student was hurt, but when police came they believed the attacker's lie first and didn't believe the victim — told slowly in beginner-level Chinese, about why we should believe the person telling the truth. 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 学生、帮、相信 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.
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原文Read the complete story in Chinese. Reveal pinyin and English only when you need them.
English transcript reference
Today we'll talk about a thing.
This thing is a little bit sad.
We'll go slowly.
Today's thing is about a person.
Let's talk about this person.
He's not big (not old).
He's still in school.
He's a student.
He's not in China.
He lives in a place.
This place is called the UK.
Have you heard of the UK?
Maybe you have.
Maybe you haven't.
It's okay.
This student lives in the UK.
He has a family, and friends too.
He's a good student.
He wanted to study well.
He also wanted to be a good person.
He was still young.
He should have been just fine.
He should have had many good days ahead.
But, one day,
something happened.
That day, he was alone.
Beside him, there was another person.
That person — we'll talk about in a moment.
That day,
someone did a very bad thing.
Someone hurt this student.
Hurt him badly.
This student was badly injured.
He was in a lot of pain.
He badly needed someone to help him.
Who could come help him?
In the UK, there's a kind of person
whose job is to help people.
When something's wrong, you can find them.
They'll come.
We call them the police.
That night, the police came.
The police coming should have been a good thing.
They could help this student.
But here, a big problem appeared.
What problem?
We'll go slowly.
When the police came,
they saw two people.
One was this student.
The other was the person who hurt him.
Both people were talking.
But what they said was different.
The person who hurt him told a lie.
He said: 'I'm the good one.
I'm the one who got hurt.'
He was lying.
But the police listened to his words.
The police thought he was telling the truth.
So the police didn't help the student first.
The police arrested this student first.
The student was in pain, and very upset.
He said to the police:
'I can't breathe.
I can't breathe.'
It means: he was suffering badly,
he was about to be gone.
But the police said to him:
'I think you're fine.'
The police didn't believe him.
After a while,
the police realized something was wrong.
They released this student
and wanted to help him.
But it was already too late.
This student was gone.
He could never come back.
And the person who hurt him?
Later, everyone learned the truth.
He was the one who hurt the student.
He was the one who lied.
He was the bad one.
In the end, he was locked up.
Locked up for a very, very long time.
This thing made many people very sad.
It also made many people start to think about a question.
That night,
two people stood before the police.
One told the truth.
One told a lie.
But the police believed the one who lied first.
Why does this happen?
This question is hard to answer.
Sometimes,
the person telling the truth isn't believed.
The person telling a lie gets believed instead.
This is a very sad thing.
Finally, I want to say one thing to you.
If one day,
someone around you is saying they need help,
please, don't rush to not believe them.
Maybe what they're saying is true.
We all hope
the person telling the truth can be heard.
You think so too, right?
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇HSK 1. The young man at the center of the story — 他是一个学生.
HSK 3. 他很需要人来帮他 = he badly needed someone to help him. The whole story turns on whether help comes.
HSK 3. The heart of the story: 警察不相信他 = the police didn't believe him.
HSK 1. it doesn't matter.
HSK 1. we; us.
HSK 1. they; them.
Sets the sober tone: 这个事，有一点难过 = this thing is a little sad. Used throughout.
Where the story happens. 英 + 国 (country).
Glossed inline: 专门来帮人、来管这种事的人 = the people whose job is to help and handle such things.
受了很重的伤 = was badly injured. 受 (receive) + 伤 (wound).
那个打人的人，说了假话 = the attacker told a lie. 他在说谎 = he was lying.
说真话的人 = the one telling the truth; 大家都知道了真相 = everyone learned the truth.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法本来 + Clause (should have been / originally)
Marks what was supposed to happen, often before a turn for the worse.
本来，他会好好的。
警察来了，本来是好事。
Subject + 以为 + Clause (mistakenly think)
以为 marks a belief that turns out to be wrong.
警察以为，他说的是真的。
没有 + Verb (didn't do)
Negates a completed action.
警察没有先帮学生。
说真话的人，没有被人相信。
被 + Verb (passive)
Marks the passive — the subject receives the action.
我才是那个，被打的人。
说假话的人，反而被人信了。
他被关了起来。
反而 + Clause (on the contrary)
Marks an outcome opposite to what's expected.
说假话的人，反而被人信了。
如果 + Clause, 请 + Clause (if X, please Y)
Conditional advice at the close.
如果有一天，你身边的人，在说他需要帮助。请你，先别急着不信他。
X 的时候 (when X)
Marks the time of an action.
有事的时候，你可以找他们。
警察来的时候，看到了两个人。
Proper nouns
专有名词Free account
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