A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
劳力士帕德洛尼一年只需调一次日期
Rolex Padellone Needs One Date Fix a Year
About this story
A simple explanation of how a Rolex watch handles calendar dates automatically, except for the varying days in February. HSK 1 Chinese listening practice.
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 20 key vocabulary words such as 手表、今天、名字 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.
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原文Read the complete story in Chinese. Reveal pinyin and English only when you need them.
English transcript reference
Today, we are talking about a watch.
This watch is made by Rolex.
The name of the watch is Perpetual.
The watch can tell you what time it is.
The watch can also tell you today's date.
The month and day is the date.
The date moves forward day by day.
After the 1st comes the 2nd, and after the 2nd comes the 3rd.
This is very easy.
But, how many days are in a month?
This question is not easy.
Some months have thirty days.
Some months have thirty-one days.
April has thirty days.
After April 30th, it is not April 31st.
What comes next is May 1st.
Ordinary watches do not know this.
People have to help ordinary watches.
People have to say: April does not have a 31st.
Rolex's new watch knows this.
At 12 o'clock at night on April 30th, the date changes to May 1st.
People do not need to help the watch.
May has thirty-one days.
After May 31st, the date changes to June 1st.
People also do not need to help the watch.
This watch is very smart.
But, there is one month the watch does not know.
This month is February.
Some Februarys have twenty-eight days.
Some Februarys have twenty-nine days.
The watch does not know which kind this year is.
After February, people need to help the watch once.
You only need to help this one time.
For March, April, and May, the watch can run by itself.
There are twelve months in a year.
For eleven months, the watch works by itself.
In February, people come to help the watch.
Do you think helping once a year is rare?
Will you remember after a year?
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇HSK 1. A timepiece worn on the wrist.
HSK 1. The current day.
HSK 1. What someone or something is called.
HSK 1. At the present time.
HSK 1. Used to ask about numbers, usually small quantities or dates.
HSK 1. Used after a number to indicate the day of the month (e.g., 一号 is the 1st).
HSK 1. A unit of time.
HSK 1. Human beings.
HSK 1. Refers to position in space or time.
HSK 1. Not difficult.
HSK 1. Something asked or an issue to be solved.
HSK 1. Indicates possession or existence.
HSK 1. To be aware of facts or information.
HSK 2. To assist someone.
HSK 1. The period of time from sunset to bedtime.
Proper noun. A famous Swiss luxury watch manufacturer.
Proper noun. The specific model name mentioned in the script (phonetic translation).
HSK 3. The specific day of the month or year.
HSK 4. Normal, not special or exceptional.
HSK 4. Intelligent.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法是...做的
Used to indicate who made or created an object. Structure: Object + 是 + Maker + 做的.
这个手表是劳力士做的。
Used to list different cases or subsets within a group. Meaning: 'Some are..., some are...'.
有的月有三十天。
有的月有三十一天。
有的二月有二十八天。
有的二月有二十九天。
A 后面是 B
Indicates sequence in time or space. Meaning: 'After A comes B' or 'B is behind/after A'.
一号后面是二号，二号后面是三号。
四月三十号后面，不是四月三十一号。
后面是五月一号。
不用 + Verb
Indicates that an action is not necessary. Meaning: 'No need to...' or 'Don't have to...'.
人不用帮手表。
人也不用帮手表。
变成
Verb meaning 'to change into' or 'to become'. Indicates a transformation of state or identity.
日期变成五月一号。
日期变成六月一号。
Proper Nouns
专有名词Sources
来源Free account
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