A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
《经济学人》劝华盛顿：让中国抄美国AI
The Economist Urges Washington: Let China Copy American AI — Why Banning Distillation Would Backfire
About this story
HSK 1: The Economist urges Washington not to ban AI distillation, as Anthropic and OpenAI accuse Chinese firms like Alibaba of copying their models.
This is an HSK 2 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 12 key vocabulary words such as 公司、东西、写 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
There are two big companies in America.
The things they make are called artificial intelligence.
It can write words, and it can also answer questions.
The two companies say: Chinese companies steal things.
They ask America for help.
One company says: Chinese companies should pay money.
These two companies have hundreds of billions of dollars in total.
Chinese companies let the big thing write a lot of words.
Then they take these words to teach the small thing.
It is like taking a good student's answers to teach other people.
America has some people who run the country.
Hagerty wrote a new rule.
The new rule says: do not let Chinese companies do business.
The big official in charge of money in America is called Bessent.
He says: America can stop China from doing business.
In September, America said six Chinese companies steal things.
China says: these words have no basis.
One American company says, some people came to use it.
These people work at a Chinese artificial intelligence company.
In July, more than four thousand people came about sixteen thousand times.
At the end of July, this thing stopped.
Another American company wrote a letter to the people who run the country.
The letter says: one big Chinese company does the most.
This company is called Alibaba.
The people who write books say, American companies used their books.
The American company says: I will give you 1.5 billion dollars.
Some people say: America should not tell Chinese companies to stop.
These people say, China's best things are three to six months slower.
Chinese companies take American things to learn, and they learn fast.
But Chinese companies always need to use American things.
If America does not allow it, China will only be a few months slower.
American companies say: words written by computers, anyone can use them.
In the past, the Soviet Union used American things, and was still not as good as America.
So Chinese companies always learn from America.
It may always be in second place.
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇HSK 1. A common noun; 一家公司 means 'one company'.
HSK 1. Used here for products or technology: 做的东西 'the things they make'.
HSK 1. Appears in 写字 'write words' and 写信 'write a letter'.
HSK 1. 回答问题 'answer a question'.
HSK 1. Here in 回答问题 'answer questions'.
HSK 1. 交钱 'pay money'; 管钱 'manage money'.
HSK 1. 管国家的人 'people who run the country'.
HSK 1. Used in 很多人 'many people' and 写书的人 'the people who write books'.
Beyond HSK 1. A compound of 人工 'man-made' + 智能 'intelligence'; the topic word of the episode.
Beyond HSK 1. 新规定 'a new rule'; also a verb 'to stipulate'.
Beyond HSK 1. 不让中国公司做生意 'not let Chinese companies do business'.
Beyond HSK 1. 没有根据 'baseless, without grounds'.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法有 + Noun (possession / existence)
有 states that something exists or someone has something. 美国有两家大公司 = 'America has two big companies'.
美国有两家大公司。
美国有一些管国家的人。
会 + Verb (learned ability)
会 marks an ability that was learned, here applied to AI: 它会写字 'it can write'.
它会写字，也会回答问题。
让 + Person + Verb (make/let someone do something)
让 introduces a causative: someone causes another to act. 中国公司让大东西写很多字.
中国公司让大东西写很多字。
美国不该叫中国公司停下。
拿 + Noun + 去 + Verb (take something to do something)
拿…去… shows taking an object and using it for a purpose: 拿这些字去教小东西.
再拿这些字去教小东西。
就像拿好学生的答案，去教别人。
不 + 让 + Person + Verb (prohibit)
不让 means 'not allow'. 不让中国公司做生意 = 'not allow Chinese companies to do business'.
新规定说：不让中国公司做生意。
美国不让，中国也只会慢几个月。
给 + Person + Verb (do something for someone)
给 marks the recipient of an action: 给管国家的人写信 'write a letter to the people who run the country'.
另一家美国公司给管国家的人写信。
美国公司说：我给你们十五亿美元。
还是 + Adjective (still)
还是 expresses that a situation continues despite other changes: 还是不如美国 'still not as good as America'.
以前，苏联用美国的东西，还是不如美国。
Proper nouns
专有名词Sources
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