A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
2:00
LeBron 为什么去 76ers？41 岁、只签八百万，就为再拿一个冠军
Why LeBron Joined the 76ers: 41, $8M, All for One More Title
This is an HSK 3-4 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 8 key vocabulary words such as 决定、普通、答案 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 the complete story in Chinese. Reveal pinyin and English only when you need them.
Let me start with a question: a man who's already made enough money and won several championships, at forty-one, why is he still fighting so hard on the court?
This summer, LeBron James gave everyone an answer with one decision.
Many call him "the King of basketball."
He's forty-one, playing his 24th season — something that's never happened in basketball's history.
Ordinary players are about done by thirty-five or thirty-six.
But even now, he's still one of the best players in the league.
For the past eight years, he was with the Lakers in LA.
Almost everyone figured he'd stay in LA and play until he retired.
But this year, he made a decision that stunned the whole basketball world.
He left LA, didn't return to his old Cavs or Heat, and finally went to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Even more shocking is the money.
With LeBron's fame, he could have taken a very high salary.
But he signed only a two-year, eight-million-dollar small contract.
For an ordinary person, eight million is a huge amount;
But for a star of LeBron's level, it's almost "playing for free."
Why did he do this?
The answer is simple: he wants one more championship.
This Philadelphia team hasn't won a title in over forty years.
The team also has two strong young players: Embiid and Maxey.
LeBron wants to lead them on one more run at a championship.
He said something many people remembered: "I still truly love basketball, and I have a lot left to give."
A forty-one-year-old legend who'd rather take far less money just to win once more,
that itself may move you more than any single game.
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
他做了一个决定 = he made a decision.
对普通人来说 = for an ordinary person.
答案很简单 = the answer is simple.
很多人都记住了 = many remembered it.
我真心爱着篮球 = I truly love basketball.
再拿一个冠军 = win one more championship.
拼命打篮球 = fights hard at basketball.
第二十四个赛季 = his 24th season.
* beyond level超纲词
为什么还要……？
'why does he still …?' — asking a motive.
四十一岁了，为什么还要拼命打篮球？
宁可……也要……
'would rather … just to …' — sacrificing one thing for another.
宁可少拿很多钱，也要再赢一次。
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