A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
妈妈的银行卡，和一条没送出的项链
Her Mother's Bank Card, and a Necklace He Never Gave
About this story
In Never-Ending Summer, Zhou Wan's estranged mother offers a bank card if she stays away from Lu Xixiao, so Zhou Wan turns cold to save her sick grandma. HSK 2 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 2 Chinese listening episode that runs about 4 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 13 key vocabulary words such as 钱、妈妈、朋友 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
Last time, to pay for her sick grandma's treatment, Zhou Wan deliberately got close to the rich Lu Xixiao.
The two of them had agreed it was only a deal: she teaches him English, he gives her money.
But over that summer, they slowly became real friends.
Today, let's keep going.
At school there was an event where everyone wrote down their wishes and sent them up into the sky.
Lu Xixiao didn't really want to come.
But Zhou Wan said she would be there, so he came too.
He brought many, many balloons — red ones, yellow ones, especially pretty.
He said to Zhou Wan: I hope everything you want comes true.
Zhou Wan looked at him, and something inside her suddenly shifted.
She thought: this person really seems to be good to me.
Just then, Zhou Wan saw a woman.
It was her mother.
Many years ago, her mother had left her and never come back.
Now, her mother had returned.
Her mother wasn't happy at all, and didn't even ask how grandma was.
It turned out that over the years, her mother had married into Lu Xixiao's family and become the lady of that house.
So Lu Xixiao's home was now her mother's home too.
Her mother only wanted to know one thing: does Lu Xixiao know that they are family?
Her mother took out a bank card and gave it to Zhou Wan.
She said: take the money, keep your distance from Lu Xixiao from now on, and don't see him again.
Zhou Wan thought of grandma's medicine, so expensive.
In the end, she still accepted the card.
From then on, Zhou Wan was deliberately cold to Lu Xixiao.
She no longer talked to him, and no longer looked at him.
Lu Xixiao didn't know why, and it hurt.
Actually, in those days, he had secretly made a small gift to give to Zhou Wan.
It was a necklace shaped like an arrow, made bit by bit with his own hands.
But just as he was about to give it, he heard Zhou Wan say to someone else:
Lu Xixiao and I are not friends — we weren't before, and we won't be later.
Lu Xixiao stood there and said nothing.
He put the necklace away and never took it out again.
Later, grandma's illness got worse, and she was admitted to the hospital.
To take care of grandma, Zhou Wan even skipped an exam.
During that time, a lot went wrong in Lu Xixiao's family too, and his path to study abroad was cut off.
One day, Zhou Wan saw several people beating up Lu Xixiao.
She was very scared, but she still ran over and shielded him.
Her mouth said they weren't friends, but seeing him beaten, she couldn't bear it for even a second.
You see, this summer, Zhou Wan took her mother's money and also pushed Lu Xixiao away.
Grandma had money for treatment now, but in her heart, Zhou Wan wasn't happy at all.
The things she said weren't true — not a single word.
The summer is still long, and these two still have a lot left unsaid.
If it were you, would you push away the person you like, for the sake of family?
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇HSK 1. 他给她钱 = he gives her money.
HSK 1. 妈妈又来了 = her mother came back again.
HSK 1. 慢慢成了真的朋友 = slowly became real friends.
HSK 2. 想送给周挽 = wanted to give it to Zhou Wan (as a gift).
HSK 2. 妈妈就离开了她 = her mother left her.
HSK 2. 奶奶的药那么贵 = grandma's medicine is so expensive.
HSK 2. 我希望你想要的都能得到 = I hope you get everything you want.
Beyond HSK 2. He brings armfuls of them to the wish event.
Beyond HSK 2. 心 (heart) + 愿 (wish). Everyone writes one down and sends it up.
Beyond HSK 2. 银行 (bank) + 卡 (card). The mother's price for staying away.
Beyond HSK 2. The arrow-shaped necklace Lu Xixiao makes but never gives.
Beyond HSK 2. 这只是一场交易 = this is only a deal.
Beyond HSK 2. 为了照顾奶奶 = to take care of grandma.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法为了 + 目的
为了 introduces the purpose someone acts for: 'in order to …'.
为了给生病的奶奶看病…
为了照顾奶奶，连考试都不去了。
本来…可是…
本来 = originally/at first; 可是 flips to how things actually turned out.
陆西骁本来不想来。可是周挽说她会来…
本来说好只是一场交易…
把 + 宾语 + 动词
把 moves the object before the verb to stress what happens TO it.
他把那个项链收了起来。
把喜欢的人推开了。
还是 + 动词
还是 = 'still / after all', the choice made despite everything.
最后，她还是收下了这张卡。
她还是跑了过去。
Proper nouns
专有名词Sources
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