1:15
九死一生：Kai Sato 在太平洋漂流四十多天后获救
Against All Odds: Kai Sato Rescued After 40+ Days Adrift in the Pacific
A medium Chinese listening story: Kai Sato set out to sail solo to Hawaii, his mast snapped, and he drifted 40+ days across the Pacific, collecting water from the air and eating fish, before a cargo ship found him alive.
This is an HSK 3-4 Chinese listening episode that runs about 1 minute. 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 9 key vocabulary words such as 发现、简单、星期 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.
这是一个真实的、九死一生的故事。
This is a true, against-all-odds survival story.
Kai Sato 今年三十九岁，来自加州。
Kai Sato is thirty-nine, from California.
六月七号，他从加州出发，想一个人开船，第一次去夏威夷。
On June 7th, he set out from California, hoping to sail alone to Hawaii for the first time.
没想到，半路上遇到大风浪，船的桅杆断了。
Unexpectedly, partway there he hit heavy seas, and the boat's mast snapped.
船开不动，他也回不了头，只能在太平洋上，一天天往南飘。
The boat couldn't move and he couldn't turn back; all he could do was drift south, day by day, across the Pacific.
一个人，一条坏船，四周全是看不到边的大海。
One man, one broken boat, surrounded by an ocean with no visible edge.
到七月七号，他带的淡水，喝完了。
By July 7th, the fresh water he'd brought was gone.
为了活下去，他把塑料袋挂起来，收集空气里的水珠，一滴一滴地喝。
To stay alive, he hung up plastic bags to collect the droplets of moisture in the air, and drank them one drop at a time.
饿了，就吃点麦片，还有自己跳上船的鱼和鱿鱼。
When hungry, he ate a bit of oatmeal, plus the fish and squid that jumped aboard.
他用管子和船桨，给自己做了一个简单的帆，慢慢往有船的地方靠。
Using pipes and an oar, he made himself a simple sail and slowly worked toward where ships pass.
最难的时候，他哭了整整一个星期，甚至想过，就这样结束算了。
At the hardest point, he cried for a whole week, and even thought about just ending it all.
可是他最后没有放弃。
But in the end, he didn't give up.
七月二十一号，一艘大货船，在离夏威夷九百英里的地方，发现了他。
On July 21st, a big cargo ship spotted him about nine hundred miles from Hawaii.
就这样，飘了四十多天以后，Kai Sato 活着回来了。
And so, after more than forty days adrift, Kai Sato came back alive.
一艘大货船...发现了他 = a big cargo ship spotted him.
做了一个简单的帆 = made a simple sail.
哭了整整一个星期 = cried for a whole week.
吃点麦片 = ate a bit of oatmeal.
甚至想过，就这样结束算了 = even thought about ending it.
他最后没有放弃 = in the end he didn't give up.
船的桅杆断了 = the boat's mast snapped.
他带的淡水喝完了 = the fresh water he brought was gone.
做了一个简单的帆 = made a simple sail.
* beyond level超纲词
一 X 一 X 地
一滴一滴地 = "drop by drop"; the pattern means "X by X, little by little".
收集空气里的水珠，一滴一滴地喝。
就这样，……
就这样 = "and just like that / in this way".
就这样，飘了四十多天以后，Kai Sato 活着回来了。
Free account
You just read the story — hear it next. A free account saves your level, the words you keep from this episode, and the line you stop at, so you can pick the story back up on any device.