A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
巴黎一家医院地下挖出两千年前的古墙：巴黎可能就是从这里开始的
A 2,000-Year-Old Wall Dug Up Under a Paris Hospital May Show Where Paris Began
About this story
Works to shore up the Hôtel-Dieu hospital on Paris's Île de la Cité uncovered a 22-meter stone-and-wood Gallic wall, carbon-dated to 200–10 BC, with traces of fire, charred seeds and a spearhead. Julius Caesar wrote that Lutetia stood on an island in the Seine and that the Gauls burned it before Rome arrived in 52 BC — but for decades scholars doubted the island, some arguing for Nanterre. One archaeologist who once wrote it wasn't there now says he has no doubt. Chinese listening practice at four levels. HSK 2 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 2 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 旅游、准备、问题 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
Paris is a very famous city.
Every year, lots of people travel to Paris.
But where did Paris first begin?
People have been asking that question for many years.
This month, France said: we may know now.
There's a river through the middle of Paris, and on the river there's a small island.
On the island there's a very old hospital.
This summer, people were digging under the hospital to get ready to repair it.
As they dug, they came across a very, very long wall.
The wall is twenty-two meters long, made of stone and wood.
How old is the wall?
Scientists looked at the wood in the wall and said it's more than two thousand years old.
More than two thousand years ago, a group of people lived here, called the Gauls.
Back then, this place wasn't called Paris yet.
Later, the Romans came to attack.
Rome had a very famous man called Caesar.
Caesar wrote a book, and it was about this very war.
The book says the Gauls' town was on an island in a river.
The book also says that when the Romans came, the Gauls set fire to their own town and broke down the bridges.
But Caesar didn't say clearly which island it was.
So for many years, people kept arguing.
Some said it was this island in the middle of Paris.
Others said no, it was another place, west of Paris.
A French university professor also wrote thirty years ago that it probably wasn't on this island.
Back then, there was too little evidence.
Now he has seen this wall, and he's changed his mind.
He said: now I don't doubt it at all — it's this island.
Why is he so sure?
First, the wall dates to more than two thousand years ago, which matches Caesar's book.
Second, the wall shows signs of fire.
They also found charred seeds and a burned wooden house.
That matches the fire in the book too.
Next to the wall, they also found a very old spearhead.
A spear is a weapon used in war long ago, with a pointed tip.
France's culture minister said it's one of the most important finds for understanding early Paris.
Later, the wall will be moved so scientists can study it and people can come and see it.
Next time you go to Paris and stand on that island, you may be standing right on top of a two-thousand-year-old town.
Would you like to go and see it?
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇HSK 2. 每年，很多人去巴黎旅游.
HSK 2. 有人在医院下面挖地，准备修医院.
HSK 2. 这个问题，很多人问了很多年.
HSK 2. 凯撒没有说清楚，是哪一个岛 — the root of the debate.
HSK 2. 法国的文化部长说 — the Culture Minister.
HSK 1. 小岛上有一家很老的医院.
一道很长很长的墙 — twenty-two meters of stone and wood.
那个时候，证据太少了.
HSK 4. 现在我一点也不怀疑了.
为什么他这么肯定？
HSK 3. 让科学家研究，也让大家参观.
高卢人放火烧了自己的城 — and the charred seeds that match.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法V着V着
While doing something, something else happens.
他们挖着挖着，看到了一道很长很长的墙。
和……对得上
Matches up with — the evidence fits the record.
第一，这道墙的时间，是两千多年前，和凯撒的书对得上。
一点也不 + adjective / verb
Not at all — strong negation.
他说：现在我一点也不怀疑了，就是这个小岛。
Proper Nouns
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