A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
印尼监狱惊现“豪华公寓”：大电视、豪车和高尔夫模拟器
Luxury Apartments Inside an Indonesian Prison: Big TVs, Fancy Cars and a Golf Simulator
About this story
In a surprise inspection on Sept. 23, 2026, Indonesia's Ombudsman found inmates at Cibinong prison near Jakarta living in staff houses with flat-screen TVs and a gym, luxury cars parked outside, a golf simulator under construction and an unguarded exit into the forest. Five officials, including the warden, have been suspended while investigators look for bribes. Chinese listening practice at four levels. HSK 1 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 1 Chinese listening episode that runs about 2 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 电视、家、工作 and walks through 3 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.
English transcript reference
Do you have a TV at home?
I have a very small TV at home.
Today we're talking about a prison.
The people who live in prison have done bad things.
They can't go home; they have to live in prison for many years.
Many prisons have too many people, with lots of people living in one room.
This prison is in Indonesia.
In September, a few people went to take a look at this prison.
They didn't say they were coming.
The people working at the prison wouldn't let them in.
But they got in.
What did they see?
Some people weren't living in the prison.
They were living in big houses outside the prison.
These houses were meant for the people who work at the prison.
The houses had very big TVs.
Outside the houses, there were very expensive cars.
Someone was also building a room for playing golf.
Behind the houses there was a door, and nobody was watching it.
People could go out through this door, and come in through it too.
Why could these people live in such nice houses?
Lots of people wonder: did they give money to the people working at the prison?
Now five people at this prison can't work.
One person said: what we saw is only a small part; there will be many more things like this.
If you worked at this prison and someone offered you money, would you take it?
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇HSK 1. 房子里有很大的电视.
HSK 1. 你家里有电视吗？
HSK 1. 监狱里工作的人.
HSK 1. 他们住在监狱外面的大房子里.
HSK 1. 有人给你钱，你要不要？
HSK 1. 他们不能回家.
住在监狱里的人.
监狱外面的大房子.
HSK 2. 很贵的车.
HSK 2. 没有人看这个门.
HSK 2. 房子外面.
打高尔夫球 = to play golf.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法不让 + person + verb
Won't let someone do something.
监狱里工作的人，不让他们进去。
是不是……？
Is it the case that…? — a suspicious question.
很多人想：他们是不是给了监狱里工作的人钱？
可以 A，也可以 B
Can do A, and can also do B.
人可以从这个门出去，也可以从这个门进来。
Proper nouns
专有名词Free account
Keep learning from this story
Create a free account to keep saved words and your preferred level together.
- Keep words with their story context
- Remember your preferred level
- Build your vocabulary over time