A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels

霉霉泰勒·斯威夫特结婚了:和橄榄球明星的世纪婚礼
Taylor Swift Marries NFL Star Travis Kelce in a Two-Day New York Wedding
About this story
Taylor Swift Marries NFL Star Travis Kelce in a Two-Day New York Wedding. HSK 2 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 2 Chinese listening episode that runs about 4 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 14 key vocabulary words such as 新闻、有意思、运动 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
Today we're covering a piece of news that made a lot of people happy.
One of the world's most famous singers got married.
Her name is Taylor Swift.
In China, many people call her "Meimei."
Her songs are heard all over the world.
You could say she's the biggest star of this era.
Tickets to her concerts are extremely hard to get.
Many people want to go but can't get tickets.
When she plays a concert somewhere, that place comes alive.
This time, she married a man.
This man is named Travis Kelce.
He's famous too — a football star.
Football is a sport Americans love.
So how did the two of them meet?
It's an interesting story.
A few years ago, Taylor held a concert.
Travis went too.
He really wanted to meet Taylor.
He made a little bracelet.
On the bracelet he wrote his phone number.
He wanted to give the bracelet to Taylor.
Actually, at Taylor's concerts, many people like to make these little bracelets and give them to others.
Although it didn't work that time, the story quickly spread.
Later, they really did meet, and slowly fell in love.
Last year, Travis proposed to Taylor.
Taylor said yes.
From meeting to marrying, they've been together several years now.
All these years, the whole world has been watching their story.
This July, they finally got married.
Their wedding was at Madison Square Garden in New York.
It's a very big, very famous venue.
Their wedding lasted two days in all.
The first day had fewer people; the second day, very many came.
There were over a thousand guests in all.
Among them were many famous stars.
Taylor wore a beautiful white wedding gown.
The gown was made by a very famous brand.
They also invited a famous person to officiate the wedding.
Many people know this person.
At the wedding, everyone ate and sang together, very happily.
Interestingly, for those two days, no one was allowed to use a phone.
They didn't want photos spreading everywhere.
Besides getting married, they also did a good deed.
Together they gave a lot of money to many charities.
They gave 26 million dollars in all.
This money can help many people in need.
On the wedding day, a tall building in New York lit up for them too.
This building is called the Empire State Building.
You can tell that many people are happy for them.
See — one sings, the other plays football.
They were people from two different worlds; now they're one family.
That's why so many people love their story.
Okay, that's it for today's news.
Wishing Taylor and Travis lasting happiness.
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇News. 一件让很多人高兴的新闻 = news that made many happy.
Interesting. 这个故事很有意思 = it is an interesting story.
A sport. 美国人很喜欢的一种运动 = a sport Americans love.
To help. 帮助很多需要帮助的人 = help many people in need.
To meet. 他们是怎么认识的 = how did they meet.
Happy. 让很多人高兴 = made many people happy.
Beautiful. 很漂亮的白色婚纱 = a beautiful white wedding gown.
To marry. 她和一个男人结婚了 = she married a man.
A concert. 她的演唱会,票非常难买 = her concert tickets are hard to get.
A wedding. 他们的婚礼办了两天 = their wedding lasted two days.
A wedding gown. 白色婚纱 = a white wedding gown.
A bracelet. 他做了一个小手链 = he made a little bracelet.
Charity. 给了很多慈善机构很多钱 = gave a lot to charities.
American football. 一个橄榄球明星 = a football star.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法向 + 某人 + 求婚
"To propose to someone."
特拉维斯向泰勒求婚。
Proper Nouns
专有名词Free account
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