A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
穷学生、有钱男孩，和一场交易
A Poor Top Student, a Rich Boy, and a Tutoring Deal
About this story
Never-Ending Summer ep 1-2 in simple Chinese: Zhou Wan sells study books for her sick grandma, spots her runaway mother chasing rich Lu Xixiao, and strikes a tutoring deal. HSK 2 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 2 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 16 key vocabulary words such as 成绩、考试、药 and walks through 6 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 let's talk about a new TV drama.
The story of this drama takes place in a very hot summer.
In the story there is a student — her name is Zhou Wan.
Zhou Wan does especially well in school.
Her grades are the best in the school.
But her family has no money.
Her mother left her when she was very young.
She lives with her grandma.
Her grandma is very good to her.
But then, grandma got sick.
Grandma's illness is serious.
The doctor said: she needs medicine.
That medicine is expensive.
It costs 3,000 yuan a month.
Zhou Wan doesn't have that much money.
She worries about her grandma.
She thinks: I absolutely must get money.
So she came up with a plan.
She writes study books herself.
The books she writes are especially good.
Classmates who read them do well on exams.
She sells these books at school.
Her classmates all want to buy them.
This way she earns a little money.
She goes to class by day and writes books at night.
She's tired, but she doesn't tell anyone.
There is another student at the school — his name is Lu Xixiao.
He is very different from Zhou Wan.
His family is extremely rich.
But he doesn't like studying.
He thinks studying is boring.
His mom and dad are very busy.
They don't look after him.
Nobody asks how he's doing.
One day, the school held an assembly.
Lu Xixiao didn't want to go.
He ran all around the school.
He kicked the school's water pipe.
Water burst out at once!
The sun shone on the water.
The water turned into a rainbow.
The classmates all watched the rainbow and laughed.
The teacher was furious.
The teacher scolded him from the stage.
But Lu Xixiao wasn't worried.
He took the microphone and said to everyone: I'm sorry.
One look and you know: he's afraid of nothing.
The teacher got even angrier.
The teacher took away his bike keys.
The teacher said: score well on the exam, and I'll return them.
Everyone thought he couldn't do it.
But he really wanted those keys.
So he started studying.
He heard that Zhou Wan sold books.
The school doesn't allow students to sell things.
This was Zhou Wan's secret.
Lu Xixiao said to her: Give me your books.
If you don't, I'll tell the teacher.
Zhou Wan had no choice but to give them to him.
Later, he really did score well.
At this point, the two of them still aren't friends.
But this summer has only just begun.
Now comes day two of the story.
Something Zhou Wan had said was found to be untrue.
She lost her tutoring job too.
Just when she had no money at all, she saw someone.
It was her mother!
Her mother left her many years ago.
Now her mother is back.
But her mother didn't come back to see her.
Her mother was talking with Lu Xixiao.
Her mother was especially nice to Lu Xixiao.
Why?
Because Lu Xixiao's family has money.
Her mother wants his family's money.
Zhou Wan was furious.
She was heartbroken too.
She thought: Mom, you want money.
Fine — I want money too.
I need to buy grandma's medicine.
This is her revenge.
She knew Lu Xixiao wanted to study abroad.
Going abroad means taking an English exam.
But his English is very bad.
Zhou Wan's English is especially good.
So she went to find Lu Xixiao.
She waited for him under the big tree.
She said: I'll teach you English, and you pay me.
Lu Xixiao said: No.
Zhou Wan didn't leave.
She said: Let's play a game.
If you lose, you do what I say.
They played the game.
Lu Xixiao lost.
He could only say: Fine, you teach me.
From that day on, they study English every evening.
Next to the school there is a swimming pool.
The pool is old — nobody uses it.
So they hold their lessons beside the pool.
Summer evenings are hot.
Zhou Wan teaches with all her heart.
When he doesn't get it, she teaches it again.
She doesn't let him rest.
She also brought a little electric fan.
The fan's breeze is nice and cool.
She set the fan beside him.
Lu Xixiao felt warm inside.
His whole life, nobody looked after him.
Now someone does.
He thinks it feels good.
He began to study hard.
One evening, they saw someone selling goldfish by the road.
The goldfish were tiny and beautiful.
The goldfish were in a plastic bag.
Lu Xixiao loves goldfish.
Every time, he looks at them for a long while.
But he had never bought one.
This time, Zhou Wan bought that bag of goldfish.
She gave the goldfish to Lu Xixiao.
The bag had a small hole.
Water dripped out little by little.
Neither of them said a word.
This summer became a little different.
One of them is sincere.
One of them has other plans.
This is the first story of "Never-Ending Summer."
Don't you want to know what happens to them next?
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇她的成绩是学校里最好的 = her grades are the best in the school.
你考试考好，我才还你 = score well on the exam and I'll return them.
那个药很贵 = that medicine is expensive. 买药 = buy medicine.
她很担心奶奶 = she worries about her grandma.
你不给，我就告诉老师 = if you don't, I'll tell the teacher.
妈妈很多年前离开了她 = her mother left her years ago.
妈妈对陆西骁特别好 = her mother is especially nice to Lu Xixiao.
她不让他休息 = she doesn't let him rest.
这是周挽的秘密 = this is Zhou Wan's secret (selling books at school).
The confiscated bike keys — why the rich boy suddenly studies.
这是她的报复 = this is her revenge (on the mother who left).
出国读书 = study abroad. Why Lu Xixiao needs English.
水变成了一道彩虹 = the water turned into a rainbow. Measure word: 道.
The old unused pool where they hold English lessons.
She brings a little fan and sets it beside him — small care, big meaning.
The goldfish in the leaking bag — the story's signature image.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法但是 (but)
Contrast between two clauses.
但是她家里没有钱。
但是他没有买过。
因为...(所以...)
States a cause and its result.
因为陆西骁家里有钱。
所以她去找陆西骁。
verb + 得 + adverb
Describes how an action is done.
考试就考得好。
周挽教得很用心。
把 + object + verb
Moves the object before the verb to stress what happens to it.
她把风扇放在他的旁边。
她把金鱼给了陆西骁。
从...开始
Marks the starting point of something.
从那天开始，他们每天晚上学英语。
只好 (have no choice but)
Forced into the only remaining option.
周挽没有办法，只好给他。
他只好说：好，你教我。
Proper nouns
专有名词Sources
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