A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
汪涵，和一位“监狱来的妈妈”
Wang Han and a 'Mother from Prison'
About this story
Wang Han and a 'Mother from Prison'. HSK 1 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 1 Chinese listening episode that runs about 3 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 电影、看、想 and walks through 4 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 I'll tell you a news story.
It's about a Chinese movie.
The movie is called "Mother From Prison."
Have you heard of it?
You probably haven't.
Because this movie hasn't been released.
And now it won't be.
The mother in the movie
is a real person.
Her name is Zhao Xiaohong.
Many years ago, Zhao Xiaohong
did a bad thing.
She killed her husband.
She went to prison.
She was in prison for 15 years.
15 years later,
she came out.
A director
took her story
and made it into a movie.
The director had Zhao Xiaohong
play herself.
The movie says:
Zhao Xiaohong is good.
Her husband beat her.
She couldn't take it,
so she killed him.
But the court papers don't say that.
The court papers say:
that night,
they argued about a small thing.
Zhao Xiaohong took a knife
and killed him.
The court did not say her husband beat her.
That is to say:
the "mother" in the movie
and the real "mother"
are not the same.
The movie says she is pitiable.
The court says she is not.
This movie has another person too.
It's a very famous man.
His name is Wang Han.
Wang Han is a famous TV personality in China.
Many Chinese people like him.
Wang Han's name
is also on this movie.
He is one of the bosses of this movie.
Many Chinese people saw this
and were very angry.
They said:
"Wang Han,
"how could you let a person who killed someone
"make a movie?
On the evening of May 20, Wang Han spoke.
Wang Han said:
"I'm sorry.
"I didn't look at this movie carefully.
"I didn't put in money.
"Now I'm no longer working with them.
The movie also won't be released.
Zhao Xiaohong's account no longer works either.
I read this news,
and I thought:
everyone has done something wrong.
Some things are small,
some are big.
Can we let a person who did a big wrong
come back?
Yes.
But we can't say:
"She actually didn't do it.
We can't turn a real thing
into an untrue movie.
Finally I'll ask you:
Do you think
a person who did a big wrong
can make a movie?
Think about it.
Okay.
That's all for today.
Talk tomorrow.
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇Movie, film. The whole episode is about one 电影 — 《监狱来的妈妈》— and why it will not be shown.
To watch, to look at. The narrator 看 the news; the public 看 the movie's description and got angry; Wang Han didn't 看 the film carefully.
To think. '我看了这个新闻，我想……' — the narrator's reflection at the end uses 想.
To do, to make. 做错事 = to do something wrong; 做电影 = to make a movie. The episode's core question uses it.
Money. Wang Han's defense: '我没有给钱' — I didn't put money in. Whether he paid or not became part of the debate.
China — where this story takes place. 'Many 中国 people were angry.'
News. The narrator's framing word: '今天我给你说一个新闻.'
Famous, well-known. Wang Han is described as a 有名 TV personality. Built from 有 (to have) + 名 (name) — 'to have a name.'
Prison. The film's title is 《监狱来的妈妈》 — 'the mother who came from prison.' Zhao Xiaohong spent 15 years in 监狱.
To kill. The fact at the center of the whole story: Zhao Xiaohong 杀了 her husband.
A court of law. The episode contrasts what the 电影 says with what the 法院 (the court papers) actually recorded.
To apologize. On May 20, Wang Han 道歉 — he apologized publicly for being a producer of this film.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法S + 把 + O + Verb
The 把 construction moves the object before the verb to emphasize what is done to it. 电影把她的事做成了一个电影 — the director took her story and made it into a movie. Very common once you describe doing something TO an object.
导演把她的事做成了一个电影。
电影把真的事变成了不真的电影。
也就是说 + clause
Used to restate something in clearer terms. The episode uses it to spell out the gap: '也就是说：电影里的妈妈，跟真的妈妈，不一样。'
也就是说：电影里的'妈妈'，跟真的'妈妈'，不一样。
可是 + clause (but)
可是 marks a contrast — the conversational 'but.' The episode's key pivot: the movie says one thing, 可是 the court papers say another.
可是法院的纸上不是这样写的。
他道歉了。可是有人说：道歉就够吗？
做错事
做 (do) + 错 (wrong) + 事 (thing). A fixed everyday phrase. The closing reflection turns on it: 每一个人都做过错事 — everyone has done something wrong.
每一个人都做过错事。
做错了大事的人，可以做电影吗？
Proper nouns
专有名词Free account
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