A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
4:27
欧洲，太热了：几十年最热的夏天
Europe Is Too Hot: The Hottest Summer in Decades
HSK 1 Chinese listening practice. The story of a deadly heatwave in faraway countries — why it's so hot (a giant 'lid' of hot air), why it's dangerous for the elderly, and what people do about it — told slowly in beginner-level Chinese, with a gentle reminder to check on the heat-vulnerable around you.
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 12 key vocabulary words such as 天气、热、生病 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.
Read the complete story in Chinese. Reveal pinyin and English only when you need them.
Today we'll talk about a thing.
This thing is about the weather.
The weather — you know it.
Hot days, cold days, rain —
these are all weather.
Today, what we're talking about is the heat.
We're talking about a place that's very hot.
Where is this place?
Not in China.
It's some faraway countries.
These few countries are next to each other.
Where they are, it's hot right now.
Very, very hot.
How hot?
We'll go slowly.
Where they are, this year's weather
is different from before.
This year, it's too hot.
This year, it's so very hot.
Where they are, it's hot every single day.
Today it's hot, tomorrow it's hot too.
This week it's hot, next week it'll still be hot.
Hot, hot, hot the whole time.
When people are outside,
in just a moment, they sweat a lot.
It's hot in the daytime, hot at night too.
In some places,
the daytime reached forty degrees.
Forty degrees is very, very hot.
Think about it:
at your hottest, how many degrees is it?
Where they are, it's even hotter than that.
There's one more thing.
Those countries weren't very hot before.
So many people's homes
don't have air conditioning.
Because before, they didn't need it.
Now, even if they want to use it,
it's too late.
With no air conditioning at home,
it's even hotter.
So why is it so hot this year?
We'll go slowly.
You know there are clouds in the sky.
Sometimes, there are other things in the sky too.
This year, over these countries' skies,
there's a huge patch of very, very hot air.
This patch of hot air
just sits over them.
One day, two days,
it doesn't leave.
It's like a big lid.
Covering over these countries.
The sun beats down,
and under the lid, it gets hotter and hotter.
The heat can't get out.
So the people on the ground are especially hot.
Being this hot
isn't just uncomfortable.
It's also dangerous.
Why dangerous?
Because when it's too hot, people get sick.
Especially old people.
And little children.
Their bodies
can't take this much heat.
This year, some people have already
passed away because of the heat.
Not one or two.
Many people.
This is a very sad thing.
So what is everyone doing?
Some people don't go out in the daytime.
Some go to places with air conditioning.
For example, into a big store.
It's cool there.
And some go to help the elderly.
Checking on them, to see if they're okay.
Bringing them water.
Finally, let's think together.
In the past, days this hot
were rare.
Once every few years.
But now,
days this hot are more and more common.
This year is hot, last year was hot too.
Scientists say:
in the future, it will be hotter.
The weather getting hotter
is everyone's business.
Not one country's business.
Finally, I want to ask you.
Where you are, is it hot?
When the weather is very hot,
what do you do?
Around you, are there elderly people?
When the weather is too hot,
don't forget to go check on them.
Pour them a glass of water.
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
HSK 1. Glossed inline: 天热、天冷、下雨，这都是天气 = hot days, cold days, rain — these are all weather.
HSK 1. The whole story: 太热了 = too hot; 比那个还热 = even hotter than that.
HSK 2. 太热了，人会生病 = when it's too hot, people get sick.
HSK 1. we; us.
HSK 1. they; them.
HSK 1. what.
白天到了四十度 = the daytime reached forty degrees. 四十度，是很热很热 = forty degrees is very hot.
家里没有空调，就更热了 = with no AC at home, it's even hotter. Many European homes lack it.
Glossed inline as the heat-dome metaphor: 它就像一个大盖子，盖在这些国家的上面 = it's like a big lid covering these countries.
HSK 3. 一大片很热很热的空气 = a huge patch of very hot air — the heat dome.
HSK 4. 还很危险 = it's also dangerous; 为什么危险呢 = why dangerous?
特别是老人 = especially the elderly — the most heat-vulnerable, and the focus of the close.
* beyond level超纲词
A 比 B + Adj (comparison)
'A is more Adj than B'.
比以前，热很多很多。
他们那里，比那个还热。
一年比一年暖。
Subject + 太 + Adj + 了 (too / excessively)
Marks an extreme degree.
今年，太热了。
因为太热了，人会生病。
X 就像 Y (X is like Y)
Simile, used for the heat-dome 'lid' image.
它就像一个大盖子。
越来越 + Adj (more and more)
Marks gradual increase.
盖子下面，越来越热。
这么热的天，越来越多了。
受不了 / 出不去 (can't bear / can't get out)
Verb + 不 + complement = unable to. Negative potential.
他们的身体，受不了这么热。
热气出不去。
为什么 ... ? 因为 ... (why? because)
Rhetorical question answered with a cause.
为什么危险呢？因为太热了，人会生病。
那为什么，今年这么热呢？
别忘了 + Verb (don't forget to...)
Gentle imperative, used in the reflective close.
天气太热的时候，别忘了，去看看他们。
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