A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
假蜂蜜、假驼奶、减肥糖和“幽灵外卖”：最高法公布网络食品安全犯罪典型案例
Fake Honey, Fake Camel Milk, Diet Sweets and 'Ghost Takeout': China's Top Court Publishes Typical Online Food-Safety Crimes
About this story
Syrup sold as imported linden honey at six yuan a jin, 1,200 orders a day; fake camel milk powder aimed at the elderly; diet sweets laced with a diuretic; 3,961 forged licences behind 'ghost' delivery restaurants. China's Supreme People's Court and Procuratorate published these typical online food-safety cases and the sentences, up to 15 years. Chinese listening practice at four levels. HSK 3 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 3-4 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 12 key vocabulary words such as 检查、习惯、利用 and walks through 3 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
These days, lots of people are used to buying food online, placing an order while watching a livestream.
But is the food you buy online always safe?
Recently, China's Supreme People's Court published several cases of fake food sold online.
The first case is about fake honey.
Someone surnamed Huang in Henan made fake honey at home from syrup and flavourings.
This person stuck foreign-language labels on the bottles, pretending it was honey imported from abroad.
The fake honey sold very cheaply, only about six yuan a jin, with "buy one, get five free."
This person also used the websites' recommendations to get the fake honey in front of more people.
The fake honey sold twelve hundred orders a day, more than two million yuan in total.
One kind of fake honey sold more than 34,000 orders in two months.
Tests found that the honey contained none of what real honey should have.
The court sentenced this person to fifteen years in prison and a fine of 1.2 million yuan.
The court said websites recommend cheap, good products to help customers, but bad actors can exploit that too.
The second case is about fake camel milk powder.
Camel milk powder is made from camel's milk, and lots of older people and students like it.
Three people bought cheap milk powder, repackaged it in a rented flat and stuck fake foreign labels on it.
They also claimed the powder would make you healthier and lower your blood sugar.
They sold four hundred thousand yuan's worth in total.
Tests found that its nutrients didn't meet national standards.
All three were sentenced to between two and three years in prison.
The third case is about diet sweets.
Someone opened an online shop and hired a host to sell diet sweets on livestreams.
Some people felt dizzy and weak after eating them.
The host said: that's because you're taking them the wrong way.
Later tests found the sweets contained a drug that should never be in food.
On the livestreams the host never said "lose weight," only "get prettier," because that way the website was less likely to notice.
In the end, both were sentenced to prison.
The fourth case involves "ghost takeout."
"Ghost takeout" means restaurants you can see on food-delivery apps but can't find in real life.
To open a restaurant online, you need a business licence and a food licence.
Someone surnamed Luo made more than 3,900 fake certificates on a computer and sold each for fifty to three hundred yuan.
Some people bought these fake certificates, opened shops on delivery apps and then sold the shops to others.
The person who made the fake certificates was sentenced to six years.
The court said that when something goes wrong with food sold online, the impact is faster and bigger than when it's sold in shops.
Next time you buy food online, what will you check first?
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇HSK 3. 检查以后发现.
HSK 3. 很多人习惯在网上买吃的.
HSK 3. 坏人也会利用它.
HSK 3. 一定是安全的吗？
HSK 2. 这种糖里有一种药.
HSK 2. 买来便宜的奶粉.
食 (food) + 品 (product).
用糖浆和香精做假蜂蜜.
贴上假的外国标签.
奶粉的营养达不到国家标准.
主 (main) + 播 (broadcast).
外卖网站 = food-delivery app.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法一边……，一边……
Doing two things at once.
现在，很多人习惯在网上买吃的，一边看直播，一边就下单了。
本来……，可是……
Originally meant to…, but…
法院说，网站推荐便宜的好东西，本来是为了帮助顾客，可是坏人也会利用它。
一旦……，会……
Once… happens, it will…
法院说，在网上卖食品，一旦出了问题，会比在商店里卖影响更快、更大。
Proper Nouns
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