3:17
他送她气球，她说：我们不是朋友
He Brings Her Balloons; She Says They're Not Friends
HSK 1 Chinese listening practice. In the C-drama Never-Ending Summer, a boy fills the sky with balloons for the girl who tutors him — until her long-lost mother pays her to push him away.
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 11 key vocabulary words such as 钱、妈妈、高兴 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.
前面，我们说了周挽和陆西骁。
Earlier, we talked about Zhou Wan and Lu Xixiao.
周挽家里没有钱。
Zhou Wan's family has no money.
她的奶奶不好，要看医生。
Her grandma is unwell and needs to see a doctor.
看医生要很多很多钱。
Seeing a doctor costs a lot of money.
陆西骁家里有很多钱。
Lu Xixiao's family has a lot of money.
陆西骁对周挽很好。
Lu Xixiao is very good to Zhou Wan.
这一天，学校里，大家在一起。
On this day, everyone is together at the school.
大家放很多气球。
Everyone lets lots of balloons go.
气球很大，很漂亮。
The balloons are big and beautiful.
陆西骁也来了。
Lu Xixiao came too.
他给周挽很多很多气球。
He gives Zhou Wan many, many balloons.
他对周挽说：我要你天天高兴。
He says to Zhou Wan: I want you to be happy every day.
周挽很高兴。
Zhou Wan is very happy.
她想：他真的对我很好。
She thinks: he is really good to me.
这个时候，周挽看见了一个人。
Just then, Zhou Wan saw someone.
是她的妈妈。
It was her mother.
妈妈很多年不来。
Her mother hadn't come for many years.
妈妈不看周挽，也不看奶奶。
Her mother never visited Zhou Wan, and never visited grandma either.
现在，妈妈来了。
Now, her mother has come.
妈妈家有很多钱。
Her mother's family has a lot of money.
陆西骁的家，也是妈妈的家。
Lu Xixiao's home is her mother's home too.
妈妈不高兴。
Her mother is unhappy.
她对周挽说：你不可以和陆西骁好。
She says to Zhou Wan: you can't be close to Lu Xixiao.
妈妈给周挽很多钱。
Her mother gives Zhou Wan a lot of money.
她说：你要这个钱，你就不可以看他。
She says: if you take this money, then you can't see him.
周挽想：奶奶要看医生，要很多钱。
Zhou Wan thinks: grandma needs to see a doctor, and that takes a lot of money.
周挽要这个钱。
Zhou Wan needs this money.
所以，周挽拿了妈妈的钱。
So Zhou Wan took her mother's money.
拿了钱，周挽就不看陆西骁了。
Having taken the money, Zhou Wan stopped seeing Lu Xixiao.
后面，周挽看陆西骁的时候，很冷。
After that, when Zhou Wan looked at Lu Xixiao, she was cold.
她不想和他说话。
She didn't want to talk to him.
陆西骁不知道为什么。
Lu Xixiao didn't know why.
陆西骁做了一个小东西，要给周挽。
Lu Xixiao made a little thing to give to Zhou Wan.
这个东西很小，很好看。
This thing was small and pretty.
可是，他听见周挽说：
But he heard Zhou Wan say:
我和陆西骁不是朋友。
Lu Xixiao and I are not friends.
现在不是，后面也不是。
Not now, and not later either.
陆西骁很不高兴。
Lu Xixiao was very unhappy.
他不给周挽那个小东西了。
He no longer gave Zhou Wan that little thing.
他把东西放好，不看了。
He put the thing away and didn't look at it again.
后面，奶奶更不好了。
Later, grandma got even worse.
奶奶要去医院。
Grandma had to go to the hospital.
周挽不去学校了，她要看奶奶。
Zhou Wan stopped going to school; she had to look after grandma.
陆西骁家里也有很多事。
Lu Xixiao's family had a lot going on too.
有一天，一些人打陆西骁。
One day, some people beat up Lu Xixiao.
那些人很多，陆西骁一个人。
There were many of them, and Lu Xixiao was alone.
周挽看见了。
Zhou Wan saw it.
她很怕，可是她去帮陆西骁。
She was scared, but she went to help Lu Xixiao.
她不要陆西骁不好。
She didn't want anything bad to happen to Lu Xixiao.
你看，周挽对陆西骁说：我们不是朋友。
You see, Zhou Wan told Lu Xixiao: we are not friends.
可是，她不要他不好。
But she didn't want him to be hurt.
周挽拿了钱，奶奶可以看医生了。
Zhou Wan took the money, and grandma could see a doctor.
可是，周挽也很不高兴。
But Zhou Wan was very unhappy too.
这个夏天，很热，也很难。
This summer was very hot, and very hard.
你有没有对一个人说：我们不是朋友？
Have you ever told someone: we are not friends?
可是你的心里，不是这样想。
But in your heart, that's not what you meant.
HSK 1. 周挽要钱 = Zhou Wan needs money.
HSK 1. 是她的妈妈 = it's her mother. The mother who comes back.
HSK 1. 我要你天天高兴 = I want you to be happy every day.
HSK 1. 我们不是朋友 = we are not friends.
HSK 1. 陆西骁的家也是妈妈的家.
HSK 1. 奶奶要看医生 = grandma needs to see a doctor.
HSK 1. Here it means emotionally cold: 周挽看陆西骁的时候，很冷.
Beyond HSK 1. 气 (air) + 球 (ball). Lu Xixiao gives Zhou Wan many of them.
Beyond HSK 1. The sick grandma — why Zhou Wan needs money.
Beyond HSK 1. 她去帮陆西骁 = she goes to help Lu Xixiao.
Beyond HSK 1. 夏 (summer) + 天 (day). The drama's title 炽夏 = Never-Ending Summer.
* beyond level超纲词
对 + 人 + 好
对 + person + 好 = to be good/kind to someone.
陆西骁对周挽很好。
妈妈不高兴。
要 + 动词 / 要 + 名词
要 before a verb = need to / want to; before a noun = to want (something).
奶奶要看医生。
周挽要这个钱。
了 (completed action)
了 after a verb marks that the action happened / is completed.
周挽拿了妈妈的钱。
陆西骁也来了。
也 (also / too)
也 goes before the verb to mean the subject does it too.
陆西骁也来了。
她也很不高兴。
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