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育碧背后的“隐形”兄弟：克劳德·吉尔莫，为什么值得被记住？
The 'Invisible' Brother Behind Ubisoft: Why Claude Guillemot Is Worth Remembering
HSK 3 Chinese listening practice. Ubisoft co-founder Claude Guillemot died in a Cessna crash near La Baule, France, aged 69. The story of five Brittany brothers, a global game empire (Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, Just Dance), the quiet operator behind the public CEO, and a company now in painful restructuring.
This is an HSK 3-4 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 创立、陌生、来历 and walks through 7 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.
今天，我们聊一个，刚刚去世的人。
Today, we'll talk about a man who has just passed away.
他的名字，叫克劳德·吉尔莫。
His name was Claude Guillemot.
这个名字，
This name
你可能很陌生。
may be quite unfamiliar to you.
但是他一手参与创立的公司，
But the company he helped found
你几乎一定听过，
you have almost certainly heard of:
那就是——育碧。
Ubisoft.
育碧，
Ubisoft
是世界上最大的游戏公司之一。
is one of the world's biggest game companies.
《刺客信条》、
Assassin's Creed,
《孤岛惊魂》、
Far Cry,
《舞力全开》，
Just Dance —
这些火遍全球的游戏，
these games, hits across the whole world,
都出自育碧。
all came from Ubisoft.
可以说，
You could say
全世界有无数的玩家，
countless gamers around the world
都玩过他们家的游戏。
have played their games.
我们先说说，
Let's first talk about
这家公司的来历。
where this company came from.
故事的起点，
The story's starting point
是在四十年前。
was forty years ago.
一九八六年，
In 1986,
在法国西部，
in western France,
一个叫布列塔尼的地方，
a place called Brittany,
有五个亲兄弟，
five blood brothers
一起创立了育碧。
founded Ubisoft together.
克劳德，
Claude
正是这五兄弟之一。
was one of these five brothers.
一开始，
At first,
他们做的，
what they did
只是一门小生意——
was just a small business —
靠邮寄的方式，
by mail order,
卖电脑软件。
selling computer software.
谁也没想到，
No one imagined
几十年后，
that decades later,
这门小生意，
this small business
会长成一个，
would grow into
横跨全球的游戏帝国。
a game empire spanning the globe.
在这五个兄弟当中，
Among these five brothers,
最有名的，
the most famous
其实是弟弟伊夫。
is actually the younger brother, Yves.
伊夫，
Yves
长期担任育碧的CEO，
long served as Ubisoft's CEO,
是公司对外的"门面"，
the company's public 'face',
经常公开露面、接受采访。
often appearing in public and giving interviews.
而克劳德，
Claude, by contrast,
走的是完全相反的路。
took the completely opposite path.
他非常低调，
He kept an extremely low profile,
几乎从不抛头露面。
almost never showing his face in public.
他更像是公司的"大管家"，
He was more like the company's 'head steward',
默默地，
quietly
管着运营，
running operations,
管着这个庞大家族生意的，
managing this vast family business's
方方面面。
every aspect.
他还掌管着，
He also ran
家族另一家，
another of the family's companies,
做游戏硬件的公司。
one that makes gaming hardware.
你玩游戏用的手柄、
The controller you play games with,
方向盘这些东西，
the steering wheel and such —
就和他有关。
they're connected to him.
如果说，
If
弟弟伊夫，
the younger brother Yves
是站在台前的明星，
was the star out on the stage,
那克劳德，
then Claude
就是那个，
was the one
在幕后，
who, behind the scenes,
把整个舞台撑起来的人。
held up the entire stage.
那么，
So,
这次的悲剧，
this tragedy —
是怎么发生的呢？
how did it happen?
这个星期五的傍晚，
This Friday evening,
克劳德，
Claude
登上了一架，
boarded
小型的私人飞机。
a small private plane.
那是一架，
It was
双引擎的塞斯纳飞机。
a twin-engine Cessna.
飞机飞到了，
The plane flew to
法国西海岸，
France's west coast,
一个叫拉博勒的海滨小城，
a seaside town called La Baule,
准备降落。
preparing to land.
但就在快要落地的时候，
But just as it was about to touch down,
飞机，
the plane
一头栽进了田里，
plunged into a field,
随后燃起大火。
and then burst into flames.
机上，
On board,
连他在内，
including him,
一共两个人，
there were two people in all,
全部遇难。
all killed.
另一位，
The other
是一名飞行教练。
was a flight instructor.
克劳德，
Claude
享年六十九岁。
was sixty-nine.
消息传出后，
After the news broke,
整个游戏圈，
the entire gaming world
都陷入了震惊和悲伤。
fell into shock and grief.
而这件事，
And this event
还有让人格外唏嘘的一面。
has an especially poignant side.
其实，
In fact,
最近这两年，
over the past two years,
育碧的日子，
Ubisoft's days
并不好过。
have not been easy.
公司正在艰难地重组，
The company is restructuring with difficulty,
大幅削减成本。
slashing costs.
就在这样一个，
At just such
风雨飘摇的时刻，
a precarious moment,
这位一手把它带大的创始人，
this founder who raised it with his own hands
却以这样一种，
departed, in such
突然的方式，
a sudden way,
离开了。
left it.
说到这里，
Speaking of this,
我想和你多聊一句。
I want to say one more thing to you.
我们这个时代，
Our era
习惯于追捧那些，
is used to lionizing those
站在聚光灯下的人。
who stand in the spotlight.
但是克劳德的故事提醒我们：
But Claude's story reminds us:
在每一个，
behind every
我们熟悉的名字背后，
name we know well,
其实都还有一些人，
there are, in fact, others
一辈子，
who, all their lives,
都待在光照不到的地方，
stay where the light doesn't reach,
默默地，
quietly
把事情，
getting things
一件一件做好。
done, one by one.
最后，
Finally,
我想留给你两个问题。
I want to leave you with two questions.
第一，
First,
在你自己的生活里，
in your own life,
有没有这样一个，
is there such
"幕后的人"——
a 'person behind the scenes' —
不常被你看见，
not often seen by you,
却一直在，
yet always
为你撑着什么？
holding something up for you?
第二，
Second,
当一个人，
when a person
用一生，
spends a lifetime
建起了一座"城"，
building a 'city',
而这座城，
and this city
此刻正摇摇晃晃，
is, at this moment, swaying and unsteady,
他的离开，
what does his departure
又给我们，
leave
留下了什么？
to us?
这两个问题，
These two questions
没有标准答案。
have no standard answer.
但是值得我们，
But they're worth our
慢慢去想。
thinking about slowly.
他一手参与创立的公司 = the company he helped found.
这个名字，你可能很陌生 = this name may be quite unfamiliar to you.
我们先说说，这家公司的来历 = let's first talk about where this company came from.
横跨全球的游戏帝国 = a game empire spanning the globe.
是公司对外的“门面” = the company's public face — i.e. brother Yves.
几乎从不抛头露面 = almost never appears in public — describing the low-key Claude.
默默地，管着运营 = quietly running operations.
做游戏硬件的公司 = a company that makes gaming hardware (controllers, wheels).
就是那个，在幕后，把整个舞台撑起来的人 = the one who held up the whole stage from behind the scenes.
双引擎的塞斯纳飞机 = a twin-engine Cessna.
一共两个人，全部遇难 = two people in all, all killed.
公司正在艰难地重组 = the company is restructuring with difficulty.
就在这样一个，风雨飘摇的时刻 = at just such a precarious moment.
站在聚光灯下的人 = those who stand in the spotlight.
* beyond level超纲词
一手 + Verb (single-handedly)
Stresses doing something largely by oneself.
他一手参与创立的公司。
这位一手把它带大的创始人。
谁也没想到 ... (no one expected that...)
Sets up a surprising outcome.
谁也没想到，几十年后，这门小生意，会长成一个，横跨全球的游戏帝国。
走的是 ... 的路 (to take the ... path)
Describes a life or strategy choice metaphorically.
而克劳德，走的是完全相反的路。
更像是 ... (is more like...)
Offers a fitting comparison.
他更像是公司的“大管家”。
如果说 X，那 Y (if you say X, then Y)
Builds a parallel contrast.
如果说，弟弟伊夫，是站在台前的明星，那克劳德，就是那个，在幕后，把整个舞台撑起来的人。
却以 ... 的方式 (yet in a ... way)
Marks an unexpected manner, often poignant.
却以这样一种，突然的方式，离开了。
这两个问题，没有标准答案。但是值得 ... 慢慢去想
The channel's reflective close.
这两个问题，没有标准答案。但是值得我们，慢慢去想。