A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
10:05
奥斯卡匿名选票揭示激烈竞争
Oscar Anonymous Ballots — Sinners vs One Battle After Another Best Picture Race
HSK 3 Chinese listening practice. Oscar anonymous ballots show a fierce Best Picture race — Coogler's Sinners vs Anderson's One Battle After Another.
This is an HSK 3-4 Chinese listening episode that runs about 10 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 19 key vocabulary words such as 紧张、结束、规定 and walks through 5 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.
Speaking of the final voting situation for the Oscar film awards, the results have now become very nerve-racking.
Recently, the final voting for the Oscars finally ended.
If someone tells you the competition is already over, he must be lying to you.
The Oscars have always been very mysterious; usually, everyone has to wait until the final moment to know the results.
However, every awards season, there is always some news about the votes that comes out.
This is what we call "anonymous ballots," which means voting without writing one's name.
These anonymous ballots have become an important habit of the Oscar season every year.
Through these ballots, we can see what the people voting are actually thinking in their hearts.
They will very honestly tell everyone what they like and what they hate.
It is like showing the good side, the bad side, and also the ugly side of the Oscars.
The first big question we need to pay attention to is: what on earth are the voters thinking?
This year there is a new rule, and this changes a lot of things.
This new rule requires that if you want to vote in a category, you must finish watching all the nominated movies.
Before you finish watching all the movies, you cannot vote in this category.
This rule has made many people's voting time later.
In the past, many people might have casually chosen a few, and then hurriedly cast their votes.
But now, the system will force everyone to finish watching all the movies.
Although this mainly relies on everyone's self-discipline, it also encourages everyone to get to know more movies.
Before discussing specific movies, let's first see who is voting.
According to the latest data, the Oscars now have more than 10,000 members.
Although most members are still Americans, in recent years, international members and female members have increased a lot.
Actors are the largest group among them, and their influence on the voting results is very big.
Now, let's see what important news these anonymous ballots have told us.
First, the competition for Best Picture is mainly concentrated on two movies.
These two movies are "The Guilty" and "One Fight After Another."
These two movies occupy the most important position in the hearts of the voters.
They are so popular that it is hard to find a third movie that can compete with them.
These two movies have attracted almost everyone's attention.
However, there is a very interesting psychological phenomenon here.
Although many voters think "One Fight After Another" will win, they themselves voted for "The Guilty."
This phenomenon has appeared in many conversations.
Someone said: "I know 'One Fight After Another' will win an award, but I cast my vote for 'The Guilty'."
Even in the voting for Best Director, it is the same situation.
Everyone thinks Paul Thomas Anderson will win, but they cast their votes for Ryan Coogler.
This reminds people of an Oscar ceremony a few years ago.
At that time, everyone thought Chadwick Boseman would win, but in the end, Anthony Hopkins won.
This shows that the feeling in everyone's heart is often more important than rational judgment.
So, although many previous awards were given to Anderson, Coogler's chance of winning is still very big.
Next, let's look at the situation for Best Actor.
The competition for this award is very scattered, and everyone's choices are quite different.
But there is one name mentioned the most times, and that is Michael B. Jordan.
His performance in the movie "The Guilty" has gained the support of many people.
It looks like he has a good hope of winning the first Oscar of his life.
However, he also has two very strong opponents.
One is Leonardo DiCaprio; he acted very well in "One Fight After Another."
The other is Ethan Hawke; his performance in "Blue Moon" was also wonderful.
If Michael B. Jordan does not win in the end, it is very likely that he lost to one of these two people.
As for other actors, although some people mentioned them, the number of supporters is not that large.
Besides these popular movies, there are also some movies that are treated as "homework" by everyone.
For example, movies like "Hamnet" and "Secret Agent."
Many voters did not finish watching these movies until the last few days.
This might be a good thing for Jessie Buckley, the lead actress of "Hamnet."
Because everyone has just finished watching her movie, their impression of her is still very deep.
Jessie Buckley is the name most frequently mentioned in the Best Actress category.
Everyone is very enthusiastic about her performance, and many people like her very much.
Moreover, for those who do not like "One Fight After Another," "Hamnet" is a very good choice.
Of course, Kate Hudson and Emma Stone also have some supporters.
But judging from the current votes, Jessie Buckley's advantage is relatively obvious.
Let's look again at the competition for Best Supporting Actor.
This award is mainly contested between three actors.
At the beginning, Delroy Lindo received a lot of support.
However, in the last two days before voting ended, the situation changed.
Sean Penn's support rate suddenly increased a lot.
His performance in "One Fight After Another" moved many people.
If he wins, this will be his third Oscar award.
In addition, Stellan Skarsgård is also an opponent who cannot be ignored.
Because many people watched his movie only at the very end, his vote count might increase at the final moment.
This really makes the result very hard to predict.
Regarding Best Supporting Actress, the situation is a bit more complex.
Amy Madigan has many friends in Los Angeles, which gives her a big advantage.
This kind of "home court advantage" is very important in fierce competitions.
However, Wunmi Mosaku in "The Guilty" is also very formidable.
She attracts two different types of people.
One type is people who especially like the movie "The Guilty"; they will cast their votes for the actors of this movie.
The other type is people who, although they like "One Fight After Another," want to support other actors in this category.
So, even those who support Director Anderson might cast their votes for Wunmi Mosaku.
This kind of widespread support might help her win this award.
One voter even said that this is the award he finds hardest to choose.
Besides the acting awards, the competition for technical awards is also very fierce.
Especially in the Cinematography award, three movies have a chance.
The visuals of the movie "Train Dreams" are very beautiful, and many professionals have chosen it.
But "The Guilty" also has a chance to create history.
If "The Guilty" wins, its cinematographer will become the first woman to win this award.
Everyone knows this point, and it might also affect everyone's voting.
Although "One Fight After Another" has won in previous other competitions, its support rate at the Oscars was not high at the beginning.
However, just like Sean Penn's situation, the cinematography votes for this movie also increased on the last day.
This shows that the result of the competition can only be known at the very last moment.
In addition, the movie "Frankenstein" has a great advantage in production design.
Its costume design and makeup design have left a very deep impression on the audience.
It looks like it is very likely to take away these few big technical awards.
As for the Film Editing award, the competition is mainly between "The Guilty" and "One Fight After Another."
The Sound Effect award might belong to the racing movie "F1," but "The Guilty" also has a chance.
Generally speaking, although many people think this is a war between two movies, the performance of "The Guilty" is very stable.
In all nominated categories, the support rate for "The Guilty" is very high.
This is very rare for a movie considered "touching" rather than a "must-win."
Although many people dare not believe it, "The Guilty" really has the possibility of becoming the movie with the most awards in history.
It might even surpass those classic movies from before, such as "Titanic."
Of course, this is just a possibility; we still have to wait for the moment the envelope is opened to know.
No matter what the result is, this year's Oscars will definitely be very exciting.
Because everyone's choice is not only looking at the quality of the movie but also listening to the voice of their own hearts.
This struggle between emotion and reason is exactly the most attractive part of the Oscars.
With the end of voting, all suspense will be revealed at the awards ceremony.
For the audience who likes movies, this is absolutely a performance that cannot be missed.
No matter who wins in the end, these excellent movies are worth us going to the cinema to appreciate well.
After all, the charm of movies lies in the fact that they can bring us all kinds of feelings.
From the anonymous ballots, we see the filmmakers' love and persistence for art.
This kind of love is the thing the Oscar awards truly want to celebrate.
In the coming few days, everyone is waiting for that final moment.
Let us look forward to this grand gathering of the film industry together.
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
Common adjective used to describe feelings of anxiety or a tense atmosphere.
A standard verb for an activity or event coming to a close.
Can be a noun (a rule) or a verb (to stipulate).
Standard verb for altering a situation.
Used to express dislike for something or someone.
Adjective describing a person's character or an action.
Used for supporting people, teams, ideas, or structurally.
Often found in structures like '对...有印象' (have an impression of...).
Refers to the standard of something.
HSK 1-3. audience.
Literally 'hiding name'. Specific vocabulary often used in voting or online contexts.
Specific to ceremonies. '颁' means to issue/promulgate.
Literally 'raise name'. Essential vocabulary for awards contexts.
To force someone to do something against their will.
More formal than '比赛' (match), implies rivalry.
The person who directs a film or play.
Refers to intellect or reason as opposed to emotion.
Used in storytelling or competitions regarding uncertain outcomes.
Formal verb used for making results known.
* beyond level超纲词
把 + Object + Verb
The 'Ba' construction is used to emphasize the manipulation of an object. It indicates that an action is performed on a specific object, often resulting in a change of state.
系统会强迫大家把所有的电影都看完。
很多投票的人直到最后几天才把这些电影看完。
通过... (tōngguò...)
Preposition meaning 'through' or 'by means of'. It introduces the method or channel used to achieve a result.
通过这些选票，我们可以看到那些投票的人心里到底在想什么。
...以至于... (yǐzhìyú)
A conjunction meaning 'so... that...' or 'to the extent that...'. It introduces a result or consequence of the previous clause.
它们太受欢迎了，以至于很难找出第三部能和它们竞争的电影。
对...来说 (duì... láishuō)
A structure meaning 'as for...' or 'from the perspective of...'. It introduces the person or entity for whom a statement is valid.
这对于《哈姆内特》的女主角杰西·巴克利来说，可能是一件好事。
对于喜欢电影的观众来说，这绝对是一场不能错过的表演。
不仅...也... (bùjǐn... yě...)
A conjunction pair meaning 'not only... but also...'. It connects two related clauses where the second adds to the first.
大家的选择不仅是看电影的质量，也是在听从自己内心的声音。
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