A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
NFL球员不打球了，去解数学难题
Former NFL Player Proves a Maths Conjecture
About this story
HSK 5 Chinese listening. Former NFL player John Urschel becomes a mathematician and proves a longstanding conjecture about random matrices.
This is an HSK 5-6 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 已经、方法、数字 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.
Read at your level
原文Read the complete story in Chinese. Reveal pinyin and English only when you need them.
English transcript reference
John Urschel used to play professional football, and now does mathematics research at MIT, and recently proved a conjecture that had stood for decades.
He played football for the Baltimore Ravens for three years, but mathematics was already very important before his professional sports career.
When he was selected into the NFL in 2014, John Urschel had already earned a master's degree in mathematics.
In 2016, he was playing football while also studying at MIT, yet he had almost no time to spend with his girlfriend.
Later, he felt that this arrangement was not good, because two careers both need time.
In 2017, John Urschel retired and decided to devote himself entirely to studying mathematics.
Four years later, he received his doctorate, and two years after that, he returned to MIT to become an assistant professor.
His recent paper studies random matrices; a matrix is a table that arranges numbers into rows and columns.
Gaussian elimination is a method for solving systems of equations, and computers also often use it; during the calculation, the numbers in the table change.
The growth factor measures how large the numbers can become during the elimination process, and this relates to the stability of the computation.
John Urschel proved that for Gaussian random matrices, when using elimination with partial pivoting, the growth factor is rarely much larger than the square root of the matrix dimension.
This solved a conjecture proposed early on by the mathematician Trefethen, covering a class of random matrices and a specific computational method.
It does not mean that all error problems in computer calculations have already been solved.
The paper is publicly available on a preprint website, and the acknowledgements also mention that an OpenAI model provided help.
John Urschel says he wants to understand the reasons behind things, and artificial intelligence will not destroy this interest in doing mathematics.
Just as computers are very strong at chess, people still like to find the next move themselves; mathematics also gives him this kind of pleasure.
If you have a very good job, but in your heart you want to do something else, under what circumstances would you decide to change to a different path?
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇HSK 2. Used before a verb or adjective to indicate that an action or state has already happened. In the script: 已经拿到数学硕士学位.
HSK 3. A common noun for a way of doing something. In the script: 一种解方程组的方法.
HSK 3. Refers to numerals or numerical data. In the script: 表里的数字会改变.
HSK 3. Common word for computer. In the script: 计算机也经常使用 and 电脑下棋很强.
HSK 1. To gain knowledge or skill through study. In the script: 决定全身心学习数学.
HSK 3. To find a solution to a problem. In the script: 这解决了数学家特雷费森早年提出的猜想.
HSK 3. To study something carefully to discover facts. In the script: 现在在MIT做数学研究.
HSK 3. To make a choice after consideration. In the script: 决定全身心学习数学.
HSK 4. To show that something is true with evidence or logic. In the script: 最近证明了一个几十年的猜想.
HSK 4. The series of steps taken to achieve something. In the script: 计算过程中，表里的数字会改变.
Beyond HSK. A rectangular array of numbers or symbols. In the script: 研究的是随机矩阵.
Beyond HSK. An algorithm for solving systems of linear equations. In the script: 高斯消元法，是一种解方程组的方法.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法一边……一边……
Expresses two actions happening at the same time. It links two verb phrases.
在二〇一六年，他一边打球，一边去MIT学习，却几乎没有时间陪女朋友。
在……时
Marks a specific time or occasion when something happens. It is equivalent to 'when...' or 'at the time of...'.
在二〇一四年被选进NFL时，John Urschel已经拿到数学硕士学位。
对于……
Introduces the object or topic being discussed, meaning 'regarding' or 'for'.
John Urschel证明，对于高斯随机矩阵，在采用部分选主元的消元方法时，增长因子很少远大于矩阵维数的平方根。
如果……，会……
A conditional pattern: 'if..., then (one) will...'. It sets up a hypothetical situation and its consequence.
如果你有一份很好的工作，可是心里想做别的事，你会在什么情况下，决定换一条路？
Proper nouns
专有名词Sources
来源Free account
Keep learning from this story
Create a free account to keep saved words and your preferred level together.
- Keep words with their story context
- Remember your preferred level
- Build your vocabulary over time