A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
一位美国美妆高管，打美容针去世
A US Beauty Executive Dies After a Cosmetic Injection
About this story
A true, gentle cautionary story: a man who worked his whole life in beauty died from a routine cosmetic injection that went wrong. Most injections are safe, but 'very rare' is not 'never' — told slowly in beginner Chinese. HSK 1 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 1 Chinese listening episode that runs about 4 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 漂亮、公司、身体 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 person.
And about
something not so good.
Do you want
to make yourself
a little more beautiful?
I think
many people
would.
Right?
We all want
to look
better.
We also want
to look
younger.
To be more beautiful,
some people
spend a lot of money.
They also
do many things.
The man we're talking about today
was just like that.
Okay,
now,
let's talk about him.
This person
was a man.
This year, he was
fifty-six.
His job
was a very good one.
He worked at a
very big company.
This company —
what did it do?
This company
was one that
helped people
become beautiful.
The things they make,
you may have used too.
For example,
face creams,
and perfume.
This man,
at this company,
worked for
twenty-five years.
He knew a lot
about 'beauty'.
But
exactly such
a person, who understood 'beauty' best,
in the end,
because
he wanted to make himself beautiful,
met with disaster.
So,
what exactly
happened to him?
It
went like this.
In order
to make his face
look better,
he went
and got an injection.
This kind of injection,
many people
have had.
Afterward,
on the face,
there are fewer
wrinkles,
and a person looks
younger.
This injection
sounds
small,
very safe.
But
this one time,
something went wrong.
The thing
that was injected
went
where it shouldn't.
It went
deep inside his body.
Then,
he suddenly
felt very unwell.
Very soon,
he
was gone.
When he passed,
his loved one
was right beside him.
An injection
was meant,
only,
to make him a bit more beautiful.
Who could have imagined
that in the end
it would be like this.
To be clear,
getting this kind of injection,
most of the time,
is safe.
Every year,
very many people
get them.
Those who have an accident
are very, very few.
But
'very few'
is not
'none'.
Even the smallest thing
still carries
a little risk.
Finally,
I want to ask you:
to be more beautiful,
how far
are you willing to go?
Between beauty
and safety,
how
would you choose?
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇HSK 1 考纲词. 让你，更漂亮一点 = to make you a bit more beautiful. The whole theme.
HSK 2 考纲词. 他在一个，很大的公司 = he worked at a very big company.
HSK 2 考纲词. 跑到了，他的身体里面 = it went deep inside his body.
HSK 1. we; us.
HSK 1. they; them.
HSK 1. what.
看上去，更年轻 = to look younger.
会花很多钱 = spend a lot of money.
擦脸的，还有香水 = face cream, and perfume — the company's products.
他懂很多，关于美的事 = he knew a lot about beauty.
脸上，会少一些，皱纹 = there would be fewer wrinkles on the face.
他去，打了一针 = he went and got an injection. 打针 = to get an injection.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法为了 + Goal (in order to)
States purpose.
为了更漂亮，有的人，会花很多钱。
为了，让自己的脸，更好看。
更 + Adj (more / -er)
Comparative degree.
看上去，更好。
人看起来，会更年轻。
Verb + 完 + 以后 (after finishing...)
Marks completion then a following state.
打完以后，脸上，会少一些，皱纹。
却因为 ... ，出了大事 (yet because..., disaster struck)
Marks an ironic, unexpected turn.
却因为，想让自己变美，出了大事。
谁能想到 ... (who could have imagined...)
Expresses surprise at an outcome.
谁能想到，最后，会是这样。
"X"，不是"Y" (X is not Y)
Draws a careful distinction.
“非常少”，不是，“没有”。
在 A 和 B 之间，你会怎么选？(between A and B, how would you choose?)
An either-or question for the close.
在漂亮，和安全之间，你会，怎么选呢？
Proper Nouns
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