A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
美国参议员欠甜品店六年，帖子传开后才付钱
A Senator Pays a Bakery Bill After Six Years and a Viral Post
About this story
A senator owed a bakery $678.75 for six years; after a viral Facebook post, he paid $1,300 but she won't vote for him. HSK 5-6 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 5-6 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 12 key vocabulary words such as 说、钱、年 and walks through 4 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
There is a U.S. senator named Roger Marshall, from Kansas.
He is running for re-election and wants to continue being a senator.
Just at this time, a dessert shop owner posted a post online.
She said that six years ago, this senator owed her money and never paid.
This post quickly spread.
The dessert shop is in Hutchinson, Kansas, and the owner is named Holly Thomas.
The shop's name is Holly's Sweet Treats.
In 2020, the senator's campaign team ordered things at her shop.
150 frosted cookies, 100 small strawberry muffins, and 100 chocolate brownies.
The frosting on the cookies was blue and yellow, with the senator's name written on them.
These desserts were prepared for an election-night party.
The bill was $678.75.
But this money was never paid.
Holly said she sent emails and made phone calls, but there was no response.
Six years passed, and she still had not received the money.
On Thursday, she wrote a very long post on Facebook.
She said, "It's been six years, and I haven't forgotten."
She said that because of this matter, she would not vote for Roger Marshall.
This post was seen by many people, and many people shared it.
On Friday, Holly said she had received the money.
On Saturday, the senator posted on his own X account.
He said, "We don't know why this happened."
He said, "Once we found out, we immediately wanted to contact this shop and apologize."
He also said, "We paid the 2020 bill, and we paid double."
He posted an invoice showing $1,300.
But the original bill was $678.75.
$1,300 is roughly double, but not exactly double.
Holly said he was right to pay.
But she said she still would not vote for him.
She said she couldn't put all the blame on him, because the order was placed by people on the campaign team.
However, she is the boss, and if employees make a mistake, she also bears responsibility.
Why did this matter attract so much attention?
Because the senator is running for election, and the race is very tight.
But for Holly, this matter is not over yet.
She said she would not change her mind just because he paid.
Think about it: if you ran a small shop and someone owed you money and didn't pay for six years, what would you do?
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇HSK 1. Used throughout the script to report what Holly and the senator said.
HSK 1. Appears in 欠她钱 and 收到钱; a core noun for this story.
HSK 1. Used in 六年前 and 六年过去了 to mark the long delay.
HSK 2. Contrasts the payment with Holly's unchanged voting decision.
HSK 2. Introduces reasons, as in 因为这件事，她不会投票给他.
HSK 2. Shows that Holly still had not been paid and still will not vote for him.
Beyond HSK 5. The senator said he wanted to contact the shop and apologize.
Beyond HSK 5. Key political term in the script: 他正在竞选 and 竞选团队.
Beyond HSK 5. Refers to Roger Marshall and his position.
Beyond HSK 5. The shop at the center of the story.
Beyond HSK 5. The Facebook post that made the story go viral.
Beyond HSK 5. The unpaid bill of $678.75 and the later invoice for $1,300.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法Indicates an action in progress, often translated as 'is currently doing'.
他正在竞选，想继续当参议员。
因为参议员正在竞选，而且选情很紧。
一直 + 没有 + Verb
Expresses that something has continuously not happened up to the present.
她说，六年前，这位参议员欠她钱，一直没有付。
但是，这笔钱一直没有付。
因为……，所以……
A cause-and-effect structure; 因为 introduces the reason and 所以 introduces the result. In the script, 所以 is sometimes omitted.
她说，因为这件事，她不会投票给 Roger Marshall。
她说，她不能把错都放在他身上，因为订单是竞选团队的人下的。
如果……，会……？
A hypothetical conditional question asking what someone would do in a given situation.
你想一想：如果你开一个小店，有人欠你钱，六年都不付，你会怎么做？
Proper nouns
专有名词Sources
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