A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
美国大游行：“No Kings”
America's Big Protest: 'No Kings'
About this story
A simple story about many unhappy people walking together in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago for the No Kings protest. HSK 1 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 1 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 12 key vocabulary words such as 不高兴、我们、他们 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
A big thing happened in America.
Many, many people came out.
They walked to the street.
Why?
Because they were not happy.
They did not like what the president did.
The president is the biggest person in the country.
He did some things.
Many people felt it was wrong.
So they came out.
Came out to do what?
To talk.
To say they don't agree.
This is called a protest.
A protest means you say you don't agree.
You don't like something.
You want others to know.
This protest was very big.
How big?
About nine million people.
How much is nine million?
Very, very many people.
More than many cities.
It might be the biggest one in America ever.
There were never this many before.
Where were they?
Everywhere.
Big cities had them.
Small cities had them.
Small towns had them too.
More than three thousand places.
New York had them.
Los Angeles had them.
Chicago had them.
Many, many cities had them.
When did they come out?
March twenty-eighth.
It was a Saturday.
People don't work on Saturday.
So many people could come out.
This was not the first time.
There were times before.
Last June there was one.
How many people that time?
About five million.
Five million was already a lot.
Last October there was another one.
That time seven million people.
Even more.
This time the most.
Nine million people.
More every time.
Because more people are unhappy.
Things did not get better.
Things got worse.
What do they call this event?
No Kings.
No means don't want.
Kings means kings.
Don't want a king.
America has no king.
America has a president.
But a president is not a king.
A king does whatever he wants.
A president cannot.
A president must listen to the people.
People means regular folks.
Like you and me.
If the president doesn't listen.
People will say no.
Just like now.
They came out to say no.
We don't want a king.
What did the protesters do?
They walked.
They held signs.
Signs had words on them.
Words they wanted to say.
They shouted slogans.
Slogans are words everyone says together.
Like everyone shouting together.
No kings! No kings!
That is a slogan.
They did not hit anyone.
They did not break things.
They were peaceful.
Peaceful means no fighting.
No violence.
Only talking.
Police were there too.
Police watched from the side.
In Los Angeles.
Too many people on the road.
Highway entrances were closed.
Because too many people.
Cars could not drive.
Why are Americans unhappy?
There are several reasons.
First reason.
Some people were arrested.
The way they arrested people was too violent.
Some people died.
Everyone was very angry.
Second reason.
The government shut down.
What does that mean?
Many people have no wages now.
They go to work.
But there is no money.
Like airport workers.
They go to work every day.
But no money.
For several weeks now.
This is not fair.
Third reason.
Some people feel.
The president acts too much like a king.
Does whatever he wants.
Doesn't listen to others.
So everyone says no king.
What does this tell us?
In America.
People can say they disagree.
They can come out and walk.
They can hold signs.
They can shout slogans.
This is their right.
A right is something you can do.
Whether you agree with them or not.
This right is important.
Nine million people walked together.
This is a very, very big thing.
The whole world is watching.
People from many countries are watching.
They also want to know.
What happened in America?
What is wrong?
America, what happened to you?
Why did so many people come out?
This is the story of No Kings.
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇Not happy. Many people were unhappy.
HSK 1. we; us.
HSK 1. they; them.
HSK 1. what.
HSK 1. time / moment.
HSK 1. now.
To come out and say you disagree with something.
The leader of a country. America has a president.
A ruler who can do anything. America does not have a king.
A road in a city. They walked to the street.
A board with words on it. They held signs.
Words everyone shouts together.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法Proper Nouns
专有名词Sources
来源Free account
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