A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
YouTube占美国电视百分之十五点八，好莱坞开始反击
YouTube Takes 15.8% of US TV Viewing as Hollywood Fights Back
About this story
HSK 1: YouTube now accounts for 15.8% of US TV viewing, surpassing Netflix and Disney combined, as creators like Smosh and Markiplier challenge Hollywood.
This is an HSK 2 Chinese listening episode that runs about 2 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 电视、公司、工作 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
In the US, the most-watched thing on TV is YouTube.
More people watch it than Netflix.
Netflix, Disney, and two other big companies.
Only when you add these four together do you get as many as YouTube.
The videos on YouTube are different.
Many are made by ordinary people themselves.
Next to Hollywood there is a place called Burbank.
In Burbank there is a company called Smosh.
Smosh also makes this kind of video.
They have a very big house.
A hundred people work inside.
More than 45 million people watch their videos.
In three years, the money they get has increased a lot.
The woman who runs this company is called Catanese.
Disney and Netflix sometimes let people go.
Those people then have no job.
She says: 'The people they don't want, we want.'
There is also a person called Mark.
More than 40 million people watch him.
He put up his own money and made a movie.
The movie is called 'Iron Lung', and it's a bit scary.
Many people go to the cinema to watch it.
Mark says: 'YouTube is like a very big monster.'
This monster stands behind everyone.
YouTube makes more money in a year than Netflix.
YouTube has more than 60 billion US dollars.
Netflix has 45.18 billion US dollars.
Before videos start, there are ads.
YouTube takes half of the ad money.
People who make videos couldn't get money at first.
Now Netflix also makes very short videos.
Netflix also spends money to invite video makers over.
In that big house in Burbank, the people at Smosh are still shooting new videos.
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇HSK 1. Common noun; 看电视 means 'watch TV'.
HSK 1. Used for businesses; e.g., 一家公司 'a company'.
HSK 1. Can be a noun or verb; 没有工作 means 'to be unemployed'.
HSK 1. Very common; 拿钱 means 'to get money'.
HSK 1. 看电影 = watch a movie; 电影院 = cinema.
HSK 1. Used as a measure word for people; 一百个人 'a hundred people'.
HSK 1. Used in comparisons: 比…多 'more than…'.
HSK 1. Common adjective; 很大的房子 'a very big house'.
HSK 2. Common in digital contexts; 做视频 'make videos'.
Beyond HSK 4. Used metaphorically for YouTube.
Beyond HSK 4. Describes something that scares people.
HSK 3. Used for making movies/videos.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法比 + Noun + Adjective
Comparison structure meaning 'more [adjective] than [noun]'.
比看Netflix的人多。
YouTube一年拿到的钱比Netflix多。
是 + Noun + 的
Emphasizes a fact or description, often with 是…的 construction.
在美国，电视上看得最多的，是YouTube。
有 + Noun
Indicates existence or possession: 'there is/are' or 'have'.
伯班克有一家公司，叫Smosh。
他们有一间很大的房子。
YouTube有六百多亿美元。
叫 + Name
Used to give a name: 'called'.
叫伯班克。
叫Smosh。
叫卡塔内塞。
叫马克。
让 + Person + Verb
Causative: 'to let/make someone do something'.
迪士尼和Netflix有时候让人走。
像 + Noun
Expresses similarity: 'like' or 'resemble'.
YouTube像一只很大的怪兽。
在 + Place + 里/上
Prepositional phrase indicating location: 'in/at/on'.
一百个人在里面上班。
在伯班克那间大房子里，Smosh的人还在拍新的视频。
Proper nouns
专有名词Sources
来源Free account
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