A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
张雪峰去世了
Education Influencer Zhang Xuefeng Dies
About this story
Zhang Xuefeng, the influencer who helped millions of Chinese students choose a college major, dies suddenly in Suzhou. HSK 2 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 2 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 14 key vocabulary words such as 去世、舒服、选 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
On March 24th, Zhang Xuefeng passed away.
He was only forty-two years old.
He was China's most famous education person.
Online, over thirty million people followed him.
After he died, many people were very sad.
How did Zhang Xuefeng die?
His heart had a problem.
Doctors call this sudden cardiac death.
It means the heart suddenly stops.
That day at noon he was at his company.
His company was in Suzhou.
Suzhou is a very nice city.
He went running that day.
After running he felt uncomfortable.
This was at twelve twenty-six.
Someone immediately called a doctor.
The doctor came, but it was no use.
At three fifty in the afternoon, he passed away.
That day, many people were very sad.
Who was Zhang Xuefeng?
He was born in 1984.
His home was in Heilongjiang.
Heilongjiang is in northeast China.
The northeast is very cold, with lots of snow in winter.
His home was in a small place called Fuyu County.
Although it's called Fuyu (meaning rich), the place is not rich.
His father worked on the railway.
That means work related to trains.
His family didn't have a lot of money.
But he studied very hard from a young age.
He knew that only through studying could he change his life.
Later he got into Zhengzhou University.
Zhengzhou is a very big city.
In university he was very good at speaking.
He entered a competition.
It was a speaking competition, called a host competition.
He won that competition.
Everyone thought he spoke very well.
After graduating from university he became a teacher.
He taught students for the graduate school exam.
The graduate exam is the test for school after university.
In China, the graduate exam is very hard.
Every year many, many people take it.
But only some people can pass.
Zhang Xuefeng's classes were very interesting.
Students all liked listening to him talk.
Because he spoke in a very funny way.
He could tell jokes.
Unlike other teachers who were so boring.
Students wouldn't fall asleep in his class.
In 2016 he became extremely famous.
He had a video.
In seven minutes he talked about thirty-four universities.
For each university he only said a few sentences.
He spoke both fast and funny.
Whether each university was good or not, he covered them all.
Many, many people watched this video.
He became a hit.
Being a hit means becoming very famous.
After becoming famous he started a company.
His company was in Suzhou.
This company helped students choose universities.
In China, after the college entrance exam you need to choose a university.
Students don't know which university to go to.
They also don't know what to study.
This is a very big problem.
Zhang Xuefeng's company helped them choose.
But you had to pay money.
One type was called the Dream Card, costing over ten thousand yuan.
Another was called the Dream-Come-True Card, costing about twenty thousand yuan.
Although expensive, many people bought them.
Because everyone trusted him.
They felt what he said was right.
He had a total of eleven companies.
His companies were very wealthy.
Some people said he had over a hundred million yuan.
He also did advertisements.
One video ad cost two hundred fifty thousand yuan.
For him to speak somewhere, it cost four hundred thousand yuan per hour.
He earned a lot of money.
But some people also didn't like him.
He once said a university was very bad.
He said some harsh words.
People at that university were very unhappy.
They felt Zhang Xuefeng was wrong.
In 2023 he said another thing.
He said studying journalism was useless.
Journalism is the news we read every day.
Many journalism students disagreed with him.
Everyone argued online for a long time.
Some said he was right, some said he was wrong.
But more people still liked him.
Because he helped many students.
Many parents also thanked him.
He helped them know how to choose a university for their children.
He himself also loved exercise.
He especially liked running.
In March he ran a lot.
On March 22nd he ran seven kilometers.
That month he ran a total of seventy-two kilometers.
He posted about this online.
He said he was happy to have run so much.
That was his last post online.
Two days later he passed away.
It was so sudden.
Nobody expected it.
He was only forty-two, still very young.
Many people talked online.
They said Zhang Xuefeng helped many people.
He was a good teacher.
He left too early.
Many students said they got into good universities because of Zhang Xuefeng.
Many parents said he helped their children.
Everyone missed him very much.
Nobody will forget him.
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇A polite way to say someone died. 张雪峰去世了。
Feeling well physically. 他不舒服了 = He felt unwell.
To pick one from many options. 他帮学生选大学。
HSK 1-2. interesting.
HSK 1-2. company.
HSK 1-2. problem / question.
HSK 1-2. meaning / interest.
The process of teaching and learning.
The organ that pumps blood. 他的心脏突然停了。
Happening without warning. 他突然倒了。
To put in great effort. 他从小就很努力。
To become different. 他改变了很多人的人生。
To finish school. 他从郑州大学毕业。
Promotion of products or services. 一条广告二十五万。
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法才 is used before a number or fact to emphasize that something is less than expected, expressing surprise or regret.
他才四十二岁。
很多学生说因为张雪峰才去了好大学。
This paired structure expresses contrast. 虽然 introduces the concession, and 但是 introduces the main point.
虽然叫富裕，但是那里不富裕。
虽然很贵，但是很多人买。
This structure is used to describe two qualities or actions happening at the same time.
说得又快又好笑。
他又有名又有钱。
以后 is placed after a verb or time phrase to mean 'after something happens.'
跑完以后他觉得不舒服。
大学毕业以后他做了老师。
This structure emphasizes that a result can only happen under a specific condition.
只有读书才能改变生活。
只有一些人能考上。
Proper nouns
专有名词Sources
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