A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
纽约尼克斯：等了 53 年，终于拿冠军
The New York Knicks: 53 Years Later, Finally Champions
About this story
The story of the New York Knicks winning the NBA championship after a 53-year wait — the longest in league history — told one slow step at a time using only beginner-level Chinese. HSK 1 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 1 Chinese listening episode that runs about 6 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 分、等、没关系 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.
Read at your level
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 about a ball.
This ball — many people love it.
In China, some people love this ball.
In America, the people who love it are many too.
Grown-ups love this ball.
Kids love this ball too.
Very, very many people all love it.
They love watching others play.
They also love playing themselves.
So what ball is this?
We'll go slowly.
This ball has a name.
Its name is 'basketball'.
Have you heard of basketball?
Maybe you have.
Maybe you haven't.
It's okay.
It's okay — today you'll get to know it.
Basketball is a ball.
It's a ball that grown-ups love.
It's a ball that kids love.
It's a ball that very, very many people love.
In China, some people love this ball.
In America, many people love it too.
And you?
Do you like ball games?
Maybe you'll come to like basketball too.
Okay.
So how is basketball played?
Let's slowly explain now.
Listen carefully.
To play basketball, you need many people.
Many people play this ball together.
They use their hands to play this ball.
Everyone splits into two sides.
Your side, my side.
Both sides want this ball.
When you play, there's a basket up above.
The basket is high, up above.
You have to find a way
to put the ball into that basket.
When the ball goes into the basket, your side gets a point.
The side with more points wins.
The side with fewer points doesn't win.
This is basketball.
Now you know basketball.
Now let's talk about a place.
This place is also in America.
It's very big, with many people living there.
This place is called New York.
New York has its own basketball team.
What is a team?
A team is some people who play ball together.
They play together, win together, lose together.
New York's team — we call it the New York team.
New York's people all love the New York team.
Every day they watch the New York team play.
When it plays well, they're happy.
When it plays poorly, they're sad.
But there's one thing
that made New York's people sad for a very, very long time.
What thing?
We'll go slowly.
Basketball is played every year.
By the very end,
only one team is the best.
This best team,
we call it that year's 'number one'.
Every team wants to be number one.
The New York team wants it too.
But the New York team hadn't been number one for a long time.
How long?
A very, very long time.
Fifty-three years.
How long is fifty-three years?
Maybe even older than your dad.
In these fifty-three years,
the New York team played every year.
But every year, it didn't become number one.
New York's people waited and waited.
Year after year.
Their fathers watched the New York team.
Their fathers' fathers also watched the New York team.
But none of them got to see it be number one.
Many people thought:
'In my whole life, will I still get to see the New York team be number one?'
But this year, it was different.
This year, the New York team played better and better.
They beat one team, then beat another team.
In the end, only two teams were left.
One was the New York team.
The other was a team from another city.
These two teams played several games.
The last game was especially tense.
The New York team won!
They won the last game.
The New York team became number one!
After waiting fifty-three years, today, they finally became number one!
New York's people all cried.
They cried from happiness.
Some old people said:
'I waited my whole life, and today I finally saw it.'
On the New York team, there's one person who plays the best.
He's called Brunson.
In the last game, he alone scored a lot of points.
Everyone says he's the best one.
Finally, let's think together.
A team waited fifty-three years.
Every year they lost, every year they didn't give up.
This year, they finally won.
Fifty-three years is very, very long.
But they never stopped playing.
Finally, I want to ask you.
Is there something
you really want to do well,
but you've done it a long time and still haven't done it well?
Are you still doing it?
Or have you already stopped?
Think about it.
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇球到了篮子里，你这边就有分 = when the ball goes in, your side gets a point. 拿了很多分 = scored many points.
The emotional core: 纽约的人，等啊，等啊 = New York's people waited and waited. 等了五十三年 = waited 53 years.
HSK 1. it doesn't matter.
HSK 1. we; us.
HSK 1. you (plural).
HSK 1. they; them.
Glossed inline: 很多人一起玩，把球放到高高的篮子里，进了就有分 = many people play together, put the ball in a high basket, scoring a point. 篮 (basket) + 球 (ball).
Glossed inline: 队就是一些人在一起玩球，一起赢一起输 = a team is some people who play together, win and lose together.
Central verb. 分多的那一边，赢 = the side with more points wins.
一起玩，一起赢，一起输 = play together, win together, lose together. The opposite of 赢.
The episode's plain word for champion: 那一年最好的队，叫那一年的第一 = the best team that year is called that year's 'number one'.
HSK 3. 让纽约的人难过了很久 = made New York's people sad for a long time.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法什么是 X 呢? + answer (gloss)
Rhetorical question to define a new word, then answered fully.
那这个球，是什么球呢？
什么是队呢？
A 比 B + Adj (comparison)
'A is more Adj than B'.
比你的爸爸，可能还要老。
越 + Verb + 越 + Adj
'the more... the more...'. Escalation.
今年，纽约队，越打越好。
Subject + 都 + Verb (all)
都 = all, before the verb. Collective statements.
很多很多人，都喜欢。
纽约的人，都爱纽约队。
纽约的人，都哭了。
V 得好 / 不好 (degree complement)
Describes how well an action is done.
打得好，他们就高兴。
打得不好，他们就难过。
他打得最好。
终于 + Verb (finally)
Marks a long-awaited outcome.
今天，终于当上了第一！
今天终于看到了。
一年又一年 / 年年 (year after year)
Repetition expressing long duration.
一年，又一年。
纽约队，年年都打。
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