A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
1:57
诺兰把 3000 年前的古希腊故事，拍成了今年最火的电影
Christopher Nolan Turned a 3,000-Year-Old Greek Epic Into the Year's Biggest Movie
This is an HSK 1 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 7 key vocabulary words such as 家、想、看 and walks through 2 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 the complete story in Chinese. Reveal pinyin and English only when you need them.
Today, we're going to talk about a movie.
This movie is a story from many, many years ago.
In the story, there's a man.
This man wants to go home.
He wants very, very much to go home.
But he can't get home.
Why can't he get home?
Look — he's out on the sea.
The sea is a vast, vast body of water.
The sea is so big you can't see home across it.
The sea is too big; he can't get home.
One year, two years, three years...
Ten years!
For ten years, he still wants to go home.
The sea is too big; he's still out on it.
On the way home, there are many bad things.
Look — out on the sea there's a huge, huge man.
This huge man is very bad.
He wants to eat the man who wants to go home!
This huge man has one eye, not two eyes.
Look — just one eye!
The man who wants to go home sees him and is very unhappy.
He doesn't want to be here; he wants to go home.
He won't leave; he wants to go home.
Now, people have used this very old story to make a big movie.
This movie is huge; so many people go to see it.
Everyone wants to know: did this man get home?
This story has existed for many, many years.
And today, people still love this story.
And you?
You want badly to go home but can't — what would you do?
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
HSK1. 他想回家 — he wants to go home. The whole story is about getting 家.
HSK1. 他很想很想回家 — he longs and longs to go home.
HSK1. 很多人都去看 — many people go to watch (the movie).
HSK1. 做了一个大电影 — they made a big movie.
一个很多很多年以前的故事 — a story from long, long ago.
Grounded in-story: 海，是很大很大的水 — the sea is a vast, vast body of water.
这个大大的人，一个眼睛，没有两个眼睛 — the giant has one eye, not two.
* beyond level超纲词
太……了
"too ...". 海太大了 — the sea is too big.
海太大了，他回不了家。
V + 不了
"cannot V (achieve it)". 回不了家 = cannot get home.
他回不了家。
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