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On X, You Can Now Understand Foreigners' Posts — episode cover art
3:10

X 上，现在能看懂外国人说的话了

On X, You Can Now Understand Foreigners' Posts

About this story

On X, You Can Now Understand Foreigners' Posts. HSK 1 Chinese listening practice.

This is an HSK 1 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 12 key vocabulary words such as 今天、想、看 and walks through 4 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 at your level

原文

Read the complete story in Chinese. Reveal pinyin and English only when you need them.

今天我给你说一个新闻。
这个新闻，
和"语言"有关。
"语言"是什么？
"语言"，
就是人说的话。
中国人说中文，
日本人说日语，
美国人说英语。
不一样的人，
说不一样的语言。
所以以前，
有一个问题：
我看不懂别人写的字。
比如，
一个日本人，
在网上写了一句话。
我不会日语，
我就看不懂。
但是最近，
有一个新的东西，
变了这件事。
有一个手机软件，
叫"X"。
"X"是什么？
我先告诉你。
"X"是一个，
外国人很爱用的软件。
就像中国的微博。
人们在上面，
说话、
写字。
最近，
"X"做了一件大事。
它现在可以，
帮你"翻译"。
"翻译"，
就是把一种语言，
变成另一种语言。
比如，
一个日本人写了日语。
软件帮你变成中文。
你就能看懂了。
是不是很方便？
很多人很高兴。
他们说：
"我现在能看到，
"全世界的人，
"在说什么了！
但是，
也有人不高兴。
为什么？
因为有一些话，
以前我们看不到。
现在能看到了。
比如，
有的日本人，
在自己的国家，
说了一些不好的话。
说了一些，
中国人不喜欢的话。
以前我们看不到，
现在我们都能看到。
反过来也一样。
有的中国人，
说了一些，
外国人不喜欢的话。
以前外国人不知道。
现在他们也知道了。
所以这件事，
有好的一面，
也有不太好的一面。
我看了这个新闻，
我想了一件事。
以前我们以为，
说话只有自己人能听到。
现在不一样了。
你说的每一句话，
全世界都可能看到。
最后我问你：
如果你说的话，
全世界都能看到，
你还会，
像现在一样说话吗？
你想一想。
好。
今天就说到这里。
明天再聊。
English transcript reference

Today I'll tell you a news story.

This news

is about "language."

What is "language"?

"Language"

is what people speak.

Chinese people speak Chinese.

Japanese people speak Japanese.

Americans speak English.

Different people

speak different languages.

So in the past

there was a problem:

I couldn't read what others wrote.

For example,

a Japanese person

writes a sentence online.

I don't know Japanese,

so I can't read it.

But recently

there is a new thing

that has changed this.

There is a mobile app

called "X."

What is "X"?

Let me tell you first.

"X" is an app

foreigners love to use.

It's like China's Weibo.

On it, people

talk

and write.

Recently,

"X" did a big thing.

It can now

help you "translate."

"Translate"

means turning one language

into another language.

For example,

a Japanese person writes in Japanese.

The app turns it into Chinese for you.

You can now read it.

Isn't that convenient?

Many people are very happy.

They say:

"Now I can see

"what people all over the world

"are saying!

But

some people are not happy.

Why?

Because some things

we couldn't see before,

we can see now.

For example,

some Japanese people,

inside their own country,

said some bad things.

They said some things

that Chinese people don't like.

We couldn't see them before;

now we can.

And the other way too.

Some Chinese people

said some things

foreigners don't like.

Foreigners didn't know before.

Now they know too.

So this thing

has a good side,

and also a not-so-good side.

I read this news,

and I thought of one thing.

We used to think

only our own people heard what we said.

Now it's different.

Every sentence you say

can possibly be seen by the whole world.

Finally I'll ask you:

If what you say

can be seen by the whole world,

will you still

talk the way you do now?

Think about it.

Okay.

That's all for today.

Talk tomorrow.

Listen again

Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.

What vocabulary does this episode teach?

词汇
jīntiāntoday

Today. The narrator opens 今天我给你说一个新闻 — 'today I'll tell you a news story.'

xiǎngto think / to want

To think. The closing line: 你想一想 — 'think about it.'

kànto look / to read

To read, to look. 我看不懂别人写的字 — 'I can't read what others wrote.'

tīngto listen / to hear

To listen / to hear. 你听过"X"吗 — 'have you heard of X?'

gāoxìnghappy / glad

Happy. 很多人很高兴 — 'many people are very happy' about the new translation.

zhīdàoto know

To know. 以前外国人不知道。现在他们也知道了 — 'foreigners didn't know before, now they know too.'

yǔyánlanguage

Language. Beyond HSK1. The episode glosses it: 人说的话 — 'what people speak.'

fānyìto translate / translation

Translate. Beyond HSK1. The episode glosses it: 把一种语言变成另一种语言 — 'turn one language into another.'

ruǎnjiànsoftware / app

App. Beyond HSK1. "X" is a 手机软件 — a mobile app — that does the translating.

wǎngshàngonline / on the internet

Online. Beyond HSK1. 在网上写了一句话 — 'wrote a sentence online.'

xīnwénnews

News. Beyond HSK1. The episode is built around this 新闻 — news story — about X's translation.

quán shìjièthe whole world

The whole world. Beyond HSK1. The episode's closing point: 你说的每一句话，全世界都可能看到 — 'every sentence you say, the whole world can possibly see.'

* beyond level超纲词

What grammar patterns appear in this episode?

语法

不一样的 X，V 不一样的 Y

A simple parallel pattern that sets up contrast across groups — the episode uses it to introduce the basic fact that different countries speak different languages.

不一样的人，说不一样的语言。

不一样的国家，写不一样的字。

比如 + example

比如 introduces a concrete example after a general statement. The episode uses it to make the abstract idea (translation) tangible.

比如，一个日本人，在网上写了一句话。

比如，一个日本人写了日语。

是不是 + adj?

是不是 + adj turns a statement into a tag question — invites the listener to agree.

是不是很方便？

是不是有一点麻烦？

反过来也一样

反过来 marks a symmetric reversal of what was just said. The episode uses it to balance the story: foreign content visible to us, AND our content visible to them.

反过来也一样。

有的中国人，说了一些，外国人不喜欢的话。

Proper Nouns

专有名词
XXX (the platform)微博WēibóWeibo中国ZhōngguóChina日本RìběnJapan美国Měiguóthe United States

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