A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels

整个欧洲像个大烤箱:西、法山火逼近波尔多,三十三万人逃离家园
All of Europe Feels Like an Oven: Spain and France Wildfires Near Bordeaux, 330,000 Flee
About this story
An intermediate Chinese listening story: a relentless heatwave drove wildfires across Spain and France, forcing over 330,000 from their homes; fire neared Bordeaux, and scientists warn such extreme summers will grow more common. HSK 5-6 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 5-6 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 超过、历史、明天 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
This summer, all of Europe feels as if it's been thrown into a giant oven.
Wave after wave of heat keeps rolling in, baking the land dry and brittle, as if one spark is all it would take.
And so wildfires have erupted, one after another, across Spain and France — and spun completely out of control.
The fire has run from Andalusia in southern Spain all the way north, even reaching the famous Fontainebleau forest outside Paris.
So far, the number of people forced from their homes by the fires in the two countries adds up to more than 330,000.
France has about 220,000 evacuated, Spain more than 70,000 who have fled their homes, and tens of thousands more told to shelter in place.
Spain's fire situation is so severe that the entire country has entered a state of emergency.
In France, the most nerve-wracking part is the fire closing in, step by step, on the historic city of Bordeaux — at its nearest, just fifteen kilometers away.
The mountain forest burned in France this year may be double the area of the same period last year.
Thankfully, in this moment of crisis, Europe's nations have chosen to lend one another a hand.
Italy, Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal and several other countries have all sent firefighting planes to the front lines.
But even so, a new wave of heat is still closing in, and this race against the fire has no end in sight anytime soon.
Many scientists warn: as the climate warms, extreme summers like this one will likely only become more common.
Today's Europe may well be many other places' tomorrow.
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What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇加起来已经超过三十三万 = adds up to more than 330,000.
历史名城波尔多 = the historic city of Bordeaux.
正是很多地方的明天 = is exactly many places' tomorrow.
好几个国家 = several countries.
都派出了消防飞机 = all sent firefighting planes.
欧洲各国选择了互相搭一把手 = Europe's nations chose to help one another.
把大地烤得又干又脆 = bakes the land dry and brittle.
随着气候变暖 = as the climate warms.
一波接一波的热浪反复来袭 = wave after wave of heat keeps rolling in.
法国大约有二十二万人撤离 = France had about 220,000 evacuate.
全国已经进入紧急状态 = the whole country has entered a state of emergency.
大火正一步步逼近波尔多 = the fire is closing in on Bordeaux.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法Proper Nouns
专有名词Free account
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