A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
张雪峰走了：一个有名的老师
Zhang Xuefeng Has Died: A Famous Teacher
About this story
A simple story about Zhang Xuefeng, the famous Chinese teacher who helped students pick majors, and his sudden death. HSK 1 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 1 Chinese listening episode that runs about 6 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 老师、有名、大学 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.
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原文Read the complete story in Chinese. Reveal pinyin and English only when you need them.
English transcript reference
A teacher has died.
His name is Zhang Xuefeng.
He was forty-two years old.
He was Chinese.
He was very famous.
Very very famous.
Many people knew him.
Thirty million people watched him.
What did he do?
He was a teacher.
He helped students.
Students want to go to college.
China has many colleges.
Which college to go to?
Students don't know.
He helped them choose.
He said go to this one, it's good.
He said go to that one, it's not good.
He said study this, it's good.
He said study that, it's not good.
Many people listened to him.
Many people trusted him.
How did he die?
His heart stopped.
When the heart stops, you die.
He died very quickly.
Nobody expected it.
Everyone was very sad.
Where was he from?
His home was in the north.
The north of China.
It's very cold there.
Very very cold.
It snows in winter.
That place is very small.
His family didn't have money.
His father worked.
His father was on a train.
His mother also worked.
His family was ordinary.
Not rich.
He worked hard as a child.
He loved studying.
He could also speak well.
Very good at speaking.
His speaking was nice to hear.
Others loved listening to him.
Later he went to college.
He went to Zhengzhou.
Zhengzhou is very big.
He did well in college.
He could speak well.
He spoke better than others.
He entered a competition.
A speaking competition.
He won.
He was very happy.
After college?
He became a teacher.
He taught students.
Students had to take exams.
Very hard exams.
He helped students with exams.
He taught very well.
Students liked him.
Why?
He spoke in a funny way.
Students loved to laugh.
Other teachers were not funny.
Other teachers were boring.
He was different.
He was very interesting.
Students loved his class.
Later he went online.
He spoke on the internet.
He talked about colleges.
He said this one is good.
That one is not good.
Many people watched him.
He had one video.
Seven minutes.
He talked about many colleges.
Thirty-four.
Everyone watched it.
Very very many people watched.
He became famous.
Very famous.
Extremely famous.
After becoming famous?
He started a company.
In Suzhou.
Suzhou is very nice.
Suzhou is very big.
The company helped students.
Helped students choose colleges.
But you had to pay.
More than ten thousand yuan.
Many people paid.
Because they trusted him.
How many companies did he have?
Eleven.
Eleven companies.
He was very rich.
Very rich.
But then?
Some people didn't like him.
Why?
He said some bad things.
He said one college was bad.
He said it in a mean way.
Those people were unhappy.
He also said other things.
He said studying news is useless.
What is news?
It's the messages you read.
Many people disagreed.
Everyone argued for a long time.
But more people liked him.
He also loved running.
He ran every day.
In March he ran a lot.
More than seventy kilometers.
March twenty-second.
He ran seven kilometers.
He said so online.
He said he went for a run.
Those were his last words.
Two days later.
March twenty-fourth.
Noon.
He was at the company.
He went for a run.
After running.
He felt bad.
His heart was not well.
After twelve o'clock.
Someone called a doctor.
The doctor came.
But it was no use.
Three fifty.
He died.
He was only forty-two.
Too young.
Everyone was very sad.
Many people spoke up.
They spoke online.
They said he was good.
He was a good teacher.
He helped many people.
Students said thank you to him.
Because of him.
They went to good colleges.
Parents also said thank you.
He helped the children.
He is gone.
Too fast.
Nobody expected it.
Everyone was very sad.
People will miss him.
He helped many people.
People will not forget him.
He was a good teacher.
Many people loved him.
He is gone.
Everyone will miss him.
We will miss him.
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇A person who teaches. 张雪峰 was a famous teacher.
Well-known by many people. 他很有名 = He is very famous.
A place for higher education after high school.
A person who studies at a school.
To assist someone. 他帮学生 = He helped students.
To stop living. 他死了 = He died.
Feeling unhappy. 大家很难过 = Everyone was very sad.
To work hard. 他小时候很努力 = He worked hard as a child.
A business organization. He started his own company.
Information about recent events.
To run for exercise. 他爱跑步 = He loved running.
Not old. 他太年轻了 = He was too young.
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法很 + Adjective
Use 很 (hěn) before an adjective to say 'very [adjective]'. In simple statements, 很 is often needed even when you just mean 'is [adjective]'.
他很有名。 — He is very famous.
那里很冷。 — It's very cold there.
他很有钱。 — He is very rich.
Subject + 是 + Noun
Use 是 (shì) to connect a subject with a noun, meaning 'is' or 'am'. It is NOT used with adjectives (use 很 instead).
他是中国人。 — He is Chinese.
他是老师。 — He is a teacher.
他是好老师。 — He is a good teacher.
Verb + 了 (completed action)
Place 了 (le) after a verb to show that an action has been completed, similar to past tense.
他死了。 — He died.
他赢了。 — He won.
医生来了。 — The doctor came.
因为 … (giving reasons)
Use 因为 (yīnwèi) at the start of a clause to give a reason, meaning 'because'.
因为他们信他。 — Because they trusted him.
因为他。 — Because of him.
Proper Nouns
专有名词Sources
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