A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels

赛力斯的新专利:车里有一个马桶
Seres's New Patent: A Toilet Inside the Car
About this story
A Chinese car company called Seres made a car with a toilet inside. People say this is very strange. HSK 1 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 1 Chinese listening episode that runs about 6 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 我们、他们、什么 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.
Read at your level
原文Read the complete story in Chinese. Reveal pinyin and English only when you need them.
English transcript reference
Speaking of cars, let me tell you something very funny.
Have you ever ridden in a car?
Riding a car to a far away place.
Sometimes you have to ride for a very long time.
One hour.
Two hours.
Three hours.
After riding for a very long time.
What do you want to do?
You want to use the toilet.
Yes.
Use the toilet.
But you're in a car.
There's no toilet in the car.
What do you do?
You have to tell the driver.
"Stop for a moment."
"I need to use the toilet."
Then they stop the car.
You get out.
Go find a toilet.
Sometimes in far away places there are no toilets.
You can't find one.
It's very uncomfortable.
Many people have this problem.
Riding in a car for a long time.
Wanting to use the toilet.
But can't find a toilet.
In China there's a company that makes cars.
A company is a place where many people work together.
This company is called Seres.
Seres is its name.
It makes electric cars.
Electric cars are cars that don't use oil.
They use electricity.
This company thought of a solution.
A very special solution.
They said: "Let's put a toilet in the car."
Yes.
Put a toilet in the car.
You heard right.
A toilet.
Inside the car.
Under the chair you sit on.
You say one sentence.
And the toilet comes out.
What do you say?
You talk to the car.
Just like you talk to a person.
You say: "I need to use the toilet."
Then under the chair.
Something slides out.
Slides out means slowly comes out from inside.
Like pulling open a drawer.
This thing is the toilet.
You can use the toilet in the car now.
After you're done?
It goes back by itself.
Back under the chair.
Can't see it anymore.
But what about the stuff inside?
The stuff from after you used the toilet.
Where does it go?
There's a small box.
The stuff is in the box.
There's something hot.
It makes the water dry.
There's also something that sends bad smells outside the car.
Bad smell means the smell is not good.
Stinky.
Nobody wants to smell that.
So there's a pipe that sends the smell out.
This way the car won't be stinky.
But that box.
In the end you still have to take it out yourself.
Empty it yourself.
Wash it yourself.
Hmm.
This part is not great.
Is this toilet real?
Not yet.
Right now it's just an idea.
This company wrote the idea down.
Told the government.
The government said: "OK, this idea is yours."
"Other people can't use your idea."
This is called a "patent."
A patent means an idea only you can use.
But having a patent doesn't mean they will make it.
Many companies have many ideas.
Have patents.
But in the end never make them.
This car toilet might never be made either.
We don't know.
But the idea itself is very interesting.
And very funny.
Think about it.
You're sitting in a car.
Your friend is sitting next to you.
Then you say: "I need to use the toilet."
A toilet slides out from under your chair.
Your friend is right there.
Watching you.
This image is too funny.
In China there are many companies that make cars.
They think of many many solutions.
To make cars better.
Some cars let you sleep inside.
Some cars let you cook inside.
Some cars have very big TVs.
Now some cars even have toilets.
Chinese cars are less and less like cars.
More and more like a small house.
A small house that can move.
With everything inside.
Maybe one day.
You don't need to buy a house.
You just buy a car and that's enough.
Eat in the car.
Sleep in the car.
Use the toilet in the car.
Watch TV in the car.
This is a joke.
But look at Chinese cars.
Maybe it's not entirely a joke.
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇HSK 1. we; us.
HSK 1. they; them.
HSK 1. what.
HSK 1. time / moment.
HSK 1. now.
HSK 1. friend.
The fixture you sit on in the bathroom.
Legal protection for an invention or idea.
Operated by speaking commands.
A track that lets something slide in and out.
Pushing air or smells out of a space.
When liquid turns into gas and disappears.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法Proper Nouns
专有名词Sources
来源Free account
Keep learning from this story
Create a free account to keep saved words and your preferred level together.
- Keep words with their story context
- Remember your preferred level
- Build your vocabulary over time