A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels

以前好用的软件,现在怎么了?
Grindr Used to Be Easy and Fun — Now Users Say It Feels Broken
About this story
Why people who loved Grindr for nearby chat, photos and travel now feel the app has changed for the worse. HSK 2 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 2 Chinese listening episode that runs about 7 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 17 key vocabulary words such as 附近、方便、聊天 and walks through 6 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
Speaking of a current mobile app, many people are talking about it.
This app is used for finding friends.
Many people have it on their phones.
However, recently everyone is not very happy.
Because this app has changed.
Before, it was very easy to use.
Before, you picked up your phone and looked at photos.
You could see many people.
These people were all in your vicinity.
They were very close to you.
You could see where he was.
You could look at his photos.
If you felt he was good, you could speak.
You could write to him.
If he saw it, he would also answer you.
You could chat.
If you were both happy, you could meet up.
You could go drink coffee together.
Or go watch a movie together.
This was very fast.
And very convenient.
Everyone felt very happy.
Because finding friends became very easy.
You didn't need to go out.
You could find friends while at home.
You could find friends while in bed too.
This is how it used to be.
But, now it is different.
This app now makes people feel very tired.
Why?
First, now there are many other things.
When you open your phone.
You cannot see the people you want to find.
You see many advertisements.
These advertisements are things you don't want to see.
Someone wants you to buy clothes.
Someone wants you to buy a car.
And someone wants you to play games.
But you don't want to buy things.
You also don't want to play games.
You only want to find someone to talk to.
These advertisements make people very angry.
You must watch these things.
Only after watching can you find people.
This wastes a lot of time.
Second, many people are not real.
Before, behind the photos were real people.
Now, many are fake.
You see a photo.
The photo is very beautiful.
You feel very happy.
You say: "Hello."
He answers very quickly.
However, he is not a real person.
He is a computer.
Or he is a scammer.
He wants to cheat you out of your money.
Or he is just a machine.
This makes you feel very tired.
You don't know who is real.
You don't know who is fake.
You talked for a long time.
Finally you discover he is not a human.
You will feel very uncomfortable.
Third, there is another big problem.
This problem is about money.
This app is now too expensive.
The company making the app wants to make money.
They want to make a lot of money.
They tell everyone.
You need to give us a lot of money.
If you don't give money, the app is not easy to use.
How much money?
Five hundred yuan a month.
Everyone listen clearly.
It is five hundred yuan a month.
Not five hundred yuan a year.
This is very, very expensive.
Think about it.
What can five hundred yuan do?
Five hundred yuan can buy a lot of delicious food.
You can go to very good restaurants.
You can eat many times.
Five hundred yuan can buy a new piece of clothing.
Five hundred yuan can buy a plane ticket.
You can take a plane to travel.
But the app wants this sum of money.
Why does it want so much money?
The company says, if you give money, the computer will help you.
The computer can help you find the best people.
The company says computers nowadays are very smart.
The computer knows who you like.
So the computer finds for you.
But, do we need this?
I want to ask everyone.
Finding friends is a human matter.
It is not a computer matter.
We have eyes ourselves.
We can see for ourselves.
We have hearts.
We know who we like.
We don't need a computer to tell us.
And we don't need to spend five hundred yuan.
I feel the company making the app doesn't understand.
They don't know what we are thinking.
We want simple things.
That app used to be very simple.
You looked at photos, you talked, you met.
This was very good.
Now it is too hard to use.
The company made the app too complex.
Inside there are many useless things.
If you go to a restaurant to eat.
You are hungry.
You just want to eat a bowl of rice.
But the waiter gives you many other things.
He gives you books to read.
He gives you music to listen to.
But he doesn't give you rice.
Will you be happy?
You definitely won't be happy.
This app now is just like this.
It doesn't give us the simplest things.
It only wants our money.
So, many people are very tired.
Everyone wants to leave this app.
Everyone wants to go elsewhere.
There is one more important point.
Now the world has changed.
Our lives have also changed.
Before, finding friends was hard.
Especially some different friends.
You didn't know who was your friend.
You had to use a phone.
Because only on the phone was it safe.
But now, the outside is very open.
The world now is better than before.
You can find friends in the park.
You can also do it at work.
You can also do it in shops.
Everyone is not afraid anymore.
You can talk to people directly.
You can look into his eyes.
You can hear his voice.
This is much better than looking at a phone.
Real friends are outside.
Not inside the phone.
So, this app is not important anymore.
Without it, we can also live.
We can go outside to play.
We can go to bars.
We can talk face to face.
This is real life.
We just said a lot.
The name of this app is Grindr.
It is for men to use.
Men find boyfriends here.
Before, it was very famous.
It changed everyone's lives.
Many men used it to find lovers.
But now it has big problems.
Because it is too expensive.
Also because it is not easy to use.
And there are many fake people.
So many people say, it might be finished.
Everyone doesn't want to use it.
This is the story about Grindr.
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇A location word indicating the area close to someone or something.
Adjective describing something easy to use or helpful.
Verb meaning to have a casual conversation.
Noun. Measure word is 张 (zhāng).
Adjective. The opposite of 难 (nán - difficult).
Can describe vision, understanding, or hearing.
Verb or Noun regarding traveling for pleasure.
Noun referring to what is heard.
Noun or Verb referring to daily life or existence.
Refers to computer programs or phone applications.
Noun. Marketing messages seen in media.
Verb. Often used with time (时间) or money (钱).
Noun. A person who deceives others.
Adjective. The opposite of 简单 (jiǎndān - simple).
Noun. A place to drink alcohol.
Adjective describing a society or attitude that is accepting.
Phrase indicating direct physical presence.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法如果...就... (rúguǒ... jiù...)
A conditional structure meaning 'If [condition], then [result]'. The '就' emphasizes the consequence.
如果你觉得他很好,你就可以说话。
如果你们都高兴,就可以见面。
如果你不给钱,软件就不好用。
离 (lí)
Used to express distance between two places or people. Structure: A + 离 + B + Distance/Adjective.
他们离你很近。
把 (bǎ) Sentence
A structure used to emphasize the result of an action on a specific object. Structure: Subject + 把 + Object + Verb + Result.
公司把软件做得太复杂。
比 (bǐ)
Used for making comparisons. Structure: A + 比 + B + Adjective.
现在的世界比以前好了。
这比看手机好多了。
用来 (yònglái)
Means 'used for' or 'used to'. It explains the function or purpose of something.
这个软件是用来找朋友的。
半天 (bàntiān)
Literally 'half a day', but figuratively used to mean 'a long time' or 'quite a while'.
你说了半天话。
Proper Nouns
专有名词Sources
来源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