A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
刮舌头比刷舌头更能去口臭，可舌头上的细菌也在帮你降血压
Tongue Scrapers Beat Toothbrushes at Fighting Bad Breath — and Your Tongue's Bacteria May Help Lower Your Blood Pressure
About this story
Does tongue scraping work? It beats brushing for bad breath, and tongue bacteria may help your blood pressure. HSK 1 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 1 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 15 key vocabulary words such as 东西、衣服、起床 and walks through 6 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
Take a look at your tongue.
Your tongue is in your mouth.
You use your tongue to eat and to speak Chinese.
Is there a little white stuff on your tongue?
Lots of people have a little white stuff on their tongues.
In this white stuff, there are lots and lots of tiny things.
These little things are too small; you can't see them.
These tiny things are called bacteria.
Bacteria are very, very small, but there are very, very many.
There are lots and lots of bacteria in your mouth.
Some bacteria are bad.
With these bacteria in your mouth, your mouth will smell bad.
What does 'smelly' mean?
If you don't wash your clothes for three weeks, they'll be very smelly.
Bad breath means your mouth smells bad.
If your friend sits in front of you and your breath smells bad, they won't be very happy.
When you get up in the morning, does your mouth smell?
Lots of people brush their teeth, but don't brush their tongues.
Now, lots of people have bought a little tool to scrape their tongues.
What does 'scrape' mean?
You use this little tool to scrape your tongue from the back to the front.
The white stuff on your tongue gets scraped off.
This is called tongue scraping.
In India, many, many years ago, lots of people already scraped their tongues.
Now, people in many countries are buying this little tool too.
Is tongue scraping good?
In 2004, a doctor studied 10 people.
When these 10 people brushed their tongues with a toothbrush, bad breath went down by 45%.
Then they scraped their tongues with the little tool, and bad breath went down by 75%.
So scraping your tongue is better than brushing it.
But 10 people is too few.
Other doctors say: scraping cuts bad breath, but if you scrape today, you have to scrape again tomorrow.
Now, let's talk about something very interesting.
Not all the bacteria on your tongue are bad.
Some bacteria are good.
When you eat lots of vegetables, there's something in the vegetables.
The good bacteria on your tongue can turn this thing from the vegetables into something very good for your blood.
There is a kind of water called mouthwash, for rinsing your mouth.
A very strong mouthwash can kill lots of the bacteria in your mouth, good and bad.
In 2019, a doctor asked 26 people to rinse with a very strong mouthwash for one week.
After a week, these 26 people's blood pressure went up a little.
Blood pressure is how much force your blood has as it moves through your body.
High blood pressure isn't good for you.
Their blood pressure went from 113 to 115.
When the good bacteria were gone, blood pressure went up a little.
So what about tongue scraping?
Does scraping your tongue scrape away the good bacteria too?
This doctor says: people who scrape their tongues still have the good bacteria on them.
Tongue scraping only takes away the white stuff.
A very strong mouthwash kills lots of bacteria.
So you can scrape your tongue, and you should also eat more vegetables.
Whether to use a very strong mouthwash every day — you can ask a doctor.
Think about it: tomorrow when you get up, will you take a look at your tongue?
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇HSK 1. 白的东西 = white stuff; 小东西 = a little tool.
HSK 1. 你的衣服，三个星期没有洗，会很臭.
HSK 1. 你起床的时候，口里臭不臭？
HSK 1. 你的朋友坐在你前面.
HSK 1. 很多人买了一个小东西.
HSK 1. 有一个医生，看了10个人.
HSK 1. 用了一个星期 = used it for a week.
HSK 1. 口臭少了75% = bad breath fell by 75%.
刮舌头 = scrape your tongue.
好的细菌 = good bacteria.
口臭 = bad breath.
刮舌头 = tongue scraping.
刷牙 = brush your teeth.
血压高了一点 = blood pressure went up a little.
漱口水 = mouthwash; 用漱口水漱口 = rinse with mouthwash.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法A 比 B + Adj
A is more Adj than B.
所以，刮舌头，比刷舌头好。
Adj + 不 + Adj？
Yes/no question formed by repeating the adjective with 不.
你起床的时候，口里臭不臭？
刮舌头，好不好？
会不会 + verb？
Asks whether something will happen.
刮舌头，会不会把好的细菌也刮走？
从 A，到 B
From A to B.
他们的血压，从113，到了115。
从后面，走到前面。
不都是……
Not all are… (partial negation).
你舌头上的细菌，不都是不好的。
Verb + 一 + verb
Do something briefly or casually.
你看一看你的舌头。
可以问一问医生。
Proper nouns
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