A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
两年前赢得很大，现在却要走人：英国首相，为什么干不下去了？
UK PM Starmer Resigns After Two Years
About this story
UK PM Keir Starmer is resigning. The story explained simply: a huge 2024 win, then a cost-of-living crisis, lost public faith, a wave of ministers quitting, and the rise of popular rival Andy Burnham. HSK 2 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 2 Chinese listening episode that runs about 3 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 为什么、问题、开始 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.
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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'll talk about a big event.
This thing
happened in Britain.
Britain
is a very famous country,
far away in the west.
This big event
is connected to Britain's
highest official.
Britain's highest official
is called the prime minister.
A prime minister
is a bit like, in other countries,
a president or a premier.
This prime minister's
name is Starmer.
Just this week,
he said:
I'm done.
I'm going to resign.
This event —
why is it surprising?
Because,
just two years ago,
he was riding very high.
At that time,
Britain was choosing a new leader.
Starmer
won by a huge margin.
Very, very many people
voted for him.
You could say
he, carrying everyone's hopes,
came to power.
But
after only two years,
the situation
completely reversed.
The Starmer of today
is deeply unpopular.
So,
what exactly happened?
The first big problem
is money.
These two years,
things in Britain
have gotten more and more expensive.
Many ordinary people
feel life is harder and harder.
They had hoped
the new PM could help them.
But
life did not get better.
Slowly,
people
grew disappointed in him.
Besides ordinary people being unhappy,
the people on his own side
also began to leave him.
Working alongside him,
many important officials
one after another
resigned.
Some ran the hospitals,
some ran the army.
It was as if they were saying:
we don't want
to follow you anymore.
Finally,
there's one more person,
especially crucial.
This person
is called Burnham.
Burnham
is the mayor of a big British city.
Unlike Starmer,
he is, right now,
very popular with ordinary people.
Just this week,
he had just
won an election.
Now,
many people feel:
the next prime minister
is very likely to be him.
Pushed from the front,
chased from behind,
Starmer
finally couldn't hold on.
And so,
he chose to resign.
Speaking of this,
I'd like to talk with you.
Two years ago,
he was the long-awaited
big winner.
Two years later,
he became
the one who had to leave.
In politics,
the wind can change
really very fast.
Finally,
I want to ask you a question:
if you were the leader,
when people
begin to lose faith in you,
would you choose
to hold on to the end,
or
to gracefully
turn and walk away?
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇HSK 1-2. why.
HSK 1-2. problem / question.
HSK 1-2. to start / to begin.
HSK 1-2. to hope.
HSK 1-2. to feel / to think.
HSK 1-2. to leave.
HSK 1-2. to welcome.
Glossed inline: 英国最大的官，叫首相，有点像别的国家的总统或者总理 = Britain's top official, like a president or premier elsewhere.
我不干了。我要辞职 = I'm done; I'm going to resign.
为什么让人吃惊呢 = why is it surprising?
就在两年前，他还非常风光 = just two years ago, he was riding very high.
很多很多人，都投票给他 = very many people voted for him.
他是带着大家的希望，上台的 = he came to power carrying everyone's hopes.
今天的他，非常不受欢迎 = today he is deeply unpopular; 伯纳姆非常受欢迎 = Burnham is very popular.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法有点像 ... (a bit like...)
Makes an approximate comparison to explain a new concept.
首相，有点像别的国家的，总统或者总理。
就在 + Time (right at / just this...)
Pinpoints a moment for emphasis.
就在这个星期，他说：我不干了。
就在两年前，他还非常风光。
只过了 ... ，就 ... (after only ..., then...)
Stresses how little time passed before a big change.
只过了两年，情况就，完全反过来了。
除了 X，Y 也 ... (besides X, Y also...)
Adds a second, often worse, fact.
除了老百姓不满意，他自己这边的人，也开始离开他。
一个接一个地 + Verb (one after another)
Vivid sequence of repeated actions.
很多重要的官，一个接一个地，辞职了。
前面有人逼，后面有人追 (pushed ahead, chased behind)
A parallel idiom for being trapped from both sides.
前面有人逼，后面有人追，斯塔默，终于撑不住了。
你会选择 X，还是 Y？(would you choose X or Y?)
An either-or question for the reflective close.
你会选择，坚持到底，还是，体面地，转身离开？
Proper nouns
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