A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels

谁会是这个国家的新领导?
Who Will Be Iran's New Leader After Khamenei — A Country at a Crossroads
About this story
Who will be Iran's new leader after Khamenei — the change Tehran fears, with Trump, Israel, and the US watching closely. HSK 2 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 2 Chinese listening episode that runs about 8 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 变化、习惯、奇怪 and walks through 5 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
Speaking of a big piece of news recently, this is really a very big matter.
This matter happened in a very far place.
That place is a country.
This country recently underwent many changes.
The main change is that the most important person there passed away.
This person was this country's "number one person."
He managed all the affairs of this country.
He served as a leader for a long time.
Everyone knew him, and everyone listened to what he said.
But now, he is gone.
He passed away because another country's planes came.
This was a very big attack.
Now, the people of this country are all asking one question.
This question is: "Who is the next one?"
Who will come to be this new number one person?
This is really hard to answer.
Because that previous person, he was there for too long.
Everyone got used to listening to his words.
Now that he is suddenly gone, everyone feels it is very strange.
Everyone is also a little worried in their hearts.
It is just like a big company where the boss suddenly leaves.
The employees below do not know who they should listen to.
And they do not know what work to do tomorrow.
This is the situation in that country right now.
Although that person is gone, the country is still there.
Some people think that this country will immediately become chaotic.
They think this country will collapse.
However, things might not be like this.
Why?
Because this country has many years of history.
It is not just one person.
It has very, very many people managing it.
Just like a very big machine.
Although a part is missing, the machine is still turning.
There are many people working in the government there.
They know how to let the country continue to move forward.
Therefore, wanting to make this country collapse immediately is not easy.
This is a very complex system.
It is designed to protect itself.
So, who has the most hope of becoming the new leader?
We need to see who has the most power.
In this country, there is a group of people who are especially formidable.
They are people who wear military uniforms.
They have guns in their hands, and also have many people.
They are responsible for protecting this country.
The power of these people is very great.
Much greater than ordinary people.
Now that the most important person is gone, these people have stepped out.
They might walk to the very front.
They might say: "Now listen to us."
Because they have power, it is hard for others to oppose them.
Besides these people, are there others?
There are also some people who want to change the country.
Which is to say, people who opposed that previous leader.
However, these people have a problem.
Their problem is that everyone does not really know them.
Or rather, everyone does not trust them.
They do not have that many friends.
Nor do they have that much power.
So, although they want to be leaders, it is very difficult.
It is hard for them to make everyone listen to their words.
So, in the end, it will probably still be those with guns who will win.
This will make this country become "harder."
Which means not wanting to listen to other countries' words even more.
Speaking of other countries, we also need to look outside.
This attack was done by another country.
That country's leader, he has many ideas.
But his ideas are always changing back and forth.
This makes people unable to see clearly.
At the beginning, he said it was because that country had dangerous things.
He said that country wanted to make very big bombs.
This would make the world unsafe.
So he wanted to attack.
Later, he stated other reasons.
He said it was because that country helped bad people.
Those bad people were doing bad things in other places.
So he wanted to punish that country.
Even later, he changed his story again.
He said he was doing it for that country's people.
He said he wanted to let the people there become free.
Wanted to give them a new start.
You see, he stated three different reasons.
This makes people feel very strange.
Which one is actually true after all?
Maybe they are all true, maybe none are.
This is called "unclear."
Because he is unclear, things are even more troublesome.
If he just wanted to replace a leader, that might be a bit easier.
If he wants to change the whole country, then that is too hard.
It is just like wanting to tear down someone else's house and build a new one.
This needs a long time, and also needs a lot of money.
Furthermore, the people living in the house might be unhappy.
They might get angry.
They might hit you.
This is the situation right now.
That country that wants to change others is doing this kind of thing right now.
This will make things become very dangerous.
If two countries keep fighting wars, that would be too terrible.
When fighting wars, the most pitiful are ordinary people.
It is fathers, mothers, and children.
They cannot go to work.
Children cannot go to school.
There are no things to sell in the shops.
Everyone is very afraid.
If this country really becomes chaotic and turns into a place without a government.
That would be even more terrible.
At that time, anyone can do bad things.
No one will come to manage it.
Bad people will run over there.
This is not only that country's problem.
This is also the whole world's problem.
Because the place where that country is located is very important.
There is a lot of oil there, which is the water for cars to drink.
If it becomes chaotic there, cars all over the world will be affected.
Things will become very expensive.
Everyone's lives will be affected.
So, although we are far from there, we must also care about this matter.
This matter relates to the lives of many people.
We must know that peace is the most important.
Without peace, there is no good life.
Okay, we have said so much, now we want to tell everyone where this is.
This country we just spoke of, its name is Iran.
That important leader who passed away is called Khamenei.
The countries attacking it are mainly the United States and Israel.
That American leader whose ideas always change is Trump.
Now, Iran and the United States are fighting a war.
Or rather, it is a very serious conflict.
Everyone is watching to see who Iran's new leader will be.
Everyone is also watching what Trump will do next.
This is the big news we chatted about today.
Hope everyone can understand the meaning of this matter.
Because this is really very important.
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇A common noun or verb used to describe changes in a situation, person, or place.
Can be a noun (a habit) or a verb (to get used to something).
Adjective describing something unusual or surprising.
Verb or adjective meaning to feel anxious about something.
Verb meaning to have faith in someone or something.
Adjective meaning clear or distinct; can also mean to understand.
HSK 1-2. why.
HSK 1-2. company.
A polite/formal way to say 'to die'.
Noun referring to a person in charge, or the act of leading.
Verb or noun referring to a military or physical assault.
Verb meaning to guard or keep safe.
Adjective or noun indicating a lack of safety.
Specific noun for oil used as fuel.
Noun referring to a state without war or conflict.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法说到...
Used to introduce a topic, similar to 'Speaking of...' or 'When it comes to...'.
说到最近的一个大新闻,这真的是一件很大的事情。
说到别的国家,我们也要看看外面。
是...的
A structure used to emphasize specific details (like time, place, manner, or reason) of an action that has already happened.
他是因为别的国家的飞机来了,才去世的。
这次攻击是别的国家做的。
A 比 B + Adjective + (Degree)
Comparison structure used to show that A is more 'adjective' than B. The degree can be specified (e.g., 得多 - much more).
比普通人要大得多。
让 + Object + Verb/Adjective
Causative structure meaning 'to make/let someone do something' or 'to cause something to happen'.
这会让世界不安全。
想让那里的人变得自由。
这会让事情变得很危险。
如果... (那)...
Conditional structure meaning 'If... (then)...'.
如果他只是想换掉一个领导,那可能容易一点。
如果两个国家一直打仗,那就太糟糕了。
如果那里乱了,全世界的汽车都会受影响。
Proper Nouns
专有名词Sources
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