A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
医生说他只能活到十二岁，可是这个比利时博主活到了二十八岁。
Progeria Blogger Michiel Lives to 28
About this story
Progeria Blogger Michiel Lives to 28. HSK 1 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 1 Chinese listening episode that runs about 1 minute. 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 医生、岁、说 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
In Belgium there is a man.
His name is Michiel.
Michiel has an illness.
This illness makes a person’s body grow old very fast.
A small child’s body grows old fast too.
When Michiel was very small, a doctor looked at him.
The doctor said: he will not reach thirteen.
But Michiel reached thirteen.
Later, he reached twenty.
Later, he reached twenty-five.
Later, he reached twenty-eight.
Twenty-eight.
The doctor said twelve. He reached twenty-eight.
These past few years, Michiel talked about his life online every day.
He did not say: I am unhappy.
He said: today, this is what I did.
Where I went today, what I ate today.
A great many people watched him.
This week, Michiel died.
Twenty-eight.
Think about it: when someone tells you that you cannot, what do you do?
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇医生说：他不能到十三岁 = the doctor said he would not reach thirteen.
他到了二十八岁 = he reached twenty-eight.
医生说十二 = the doctor said twelve.
很多很多人看他 = a great many people watched him.
今天，我做了什么 = today, this is what I did.
他不说：我不高兴 = he did not say "I am unhappy".
让人的身体很快就老 = makes a person’s body grow old fast.
Michiel 有一个病 = Michiel has an illness.
身体很快就老 = the body grows old fast.
Michiel 走了 = Michiel died (lit. "left"). A gentle way to say it.
后来，他到了二十岁 = later, he reached twenty.
别人说你不可以的时候 = when someone tells you that you cannot.
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法到 + age
"reach an age". The whole episode is built on this one verb.
他不能到十三岁。
后来，他到了二十八岁。
可是……
"but". Marks the point where the prediction fails.
可是，Michiel 到了十三岁。
很快就……
"soon / quickly becomes X". 就 makes it feel immediate.
这个病，让人的身体很快就老。
Proper Nouns
专有名词Sources
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