Fluentide · Chinese Listening — Intermediate (HSK 4)

Student planners at a Kentucky middle school carried a US map with misspelled state names, and parents suspect AI

A Kentucky School Handed Out Planners That Spell Kentucky "Venecky". A Student Spotted It on Day One.

HSK 3-4 level · 3:13

• 装饰 (zhuāngshì) — decoration
• 流程 (liúchéng) — process
• 印刷厂 (yìnshuāchǎng) — printing house
• 成年人 (chéngniánrén) — adult
• 沟通 (gōutōng) — to communicate
• 手册 (shǒucè) — handbook, planner
• 元素周期表 (yuánsù zhōuqībiǎo) — periodic table
• 月相 (yuèxiàng) — phases of the moon

• 不是……，是…… — Corrects the scale the listener assumed, then gives the real one.
• 值得 + verb — "worth doing X". Signals the point of the story is coming.
• 按流程 — "per the process". Names a step that should have happened.

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A London bus driver who blew soap bubbles for passengers was told to stop over unexplained safety concerns

London Children Called It the Bubble Bus. The Operator Stopped Him Over "Safety Concerns" It Still Will Not Explain.

HSK 3-4 level · 2:09

• 表情 (biǎoqíng) — expression
• 宁可 (nìngkě) — would rather
• 恐怕 (kǒngpà) — probably, I am afraid
• 明确 (míngquè) — clear, definite
• 理由 (lǐyóu) — reason
• 具体 (jùtǐ) — specific
• 视线 (shìxiàn) — line of sight
• 分心 (fēnxīn) — distracted

• 宁可……也…… — "would rather A than B". Shows what someone is willing to give up.
• 恐怕 — "probably, I suspect". Softens a claim you cannot prove.
• 把 + object + 按下去 — 把 puts the object first; 按下去 = to press it down, to quash it.

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Better.com founder Vishal Garg, who fired 900 staff on a Zoom call, was ousted in August 2026 and is fighting to return

He Fired 900 People on One Zoom Call. This Year He Was Fired Himself — and Now He Wants the Job Back.

HSK 3-4 level · 3:27

• 几乎 (jīhū) — almost
• 生气 (shēngqì) — angry
• 否认 (fǒurèn) — to deny
• 效率 (xiàolǜ) — efficiency
• 条件 (tiáojiàn) — condition
• 裁掉 (cáidiào) — to lay off
• 名声 (míngshēng) — reputation
• 董事会 (dǒngshìhuì) — board of directors

• 一……就…… — "the moment A, then B".
• 要说清楚的是…… — Flags a fact that complicates the story you were building.
• 把 + object + verb — 把 puts the object first when something is done TO it.

Get more from this episode at fluentide.com:

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UCLA professor Dan Blumstein funded his 64-year marmot study by selling marmot photos on OnlyFans

Marmot Research Funding Was Cut, So the Professor Sold Photos on OnlyFans

HSK 3-4 level · 2:09

• 对象 (duìxiàng) — subject, object of study
• 连续 (liánxù) — continuous
• 大幅 (dàfú) — sharply, by a large margin
• 清楚 (qīngchu) — clear, aware
• 存在 (cúnzài) — existence
• 研究 (yánjiū) — research
• 项目 (xiàngmù) — project
• 经费 (jīngfèi) — funding

• 一 + measure word + 一 + measure word + 地 — "one by one". Conveys patient, exhaustive work.
• 靠 — "to depend on X". Names what something rests on — and therefore what breaks it.
• 本来……的…… — "a website that by rights has nothing to do with animals". 本来 inside a modifier.

Get more from this episode at fluentide.com:

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Two loose pygmy goats followed passengers onto a TriMet bus in Portland before being ushered off

Two Pygmy Goats Boarded a Portland Bus, Unnoticed by Passengers Looking at Their Phones

HSK 3-4 level · 3:13

• 着急 (zháojí) — anxious, in a hurry
• 赶紧 (gǎnjǐn) — hurriedly
• 一辈子 (yíbèizi) — a lifetime
• 低头 (dītóu) — to lower the head
• 宠物 (chǒngwù) — pet
• 蹄子 (tízi) — hoof
• 台阶 (táijiē) — step
• 摄像头 (shèxiàngtóu) — camera

• 一点也不…… — "not the least bit X". Often funnier than a stronger word.
• 不是……，是…… — Corrects the picture the listener has just formed.
• 值得 + verb — "worth doing X". Flags the point of the story.

Get more from this episode at fluentide.com:

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Google's Knowledge Panel showed Sam Altman as dead after a 41-minute Wikipedia vandalism

Wikipedia Was Altered for 41 Minutes, So Google Said Altman Was Dead

HSK 3-4 level · 2:04

• 已经 (yǐjīng) — already
• 发现 (fāxiàn) — to discover
• 直接 (zhíjiē) — directly
• 重点 (zhòngdiǎn) — the key point
• 确实 (quèshí) — indeed
• 维基百科 (Wéijī Bǎikē) — Wikipedia
• 词条 (cítiáo) — entry
• 编辑 (biānjí) — editor; to edit

• 反过来想 — "turn it around". Reads a statement from the opposite side.
• 一……就…… — "as soon as A, then B".
• 当成 — "treat X as Y". Marks a judgement being made without checking.

Get more from this episode at fluentide.com:

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Michiel Vandeweert, a Flemish creator with progeria told he would not reach 12, died at 28

Progeria led doctors to declare he wouldn't survive past twelve, but Belgian blogger Michiel ultimately lived to twenty-eight.

HSK 3-4 level · 3:21

• 平均 (píngjūn) — average
• 数字 (shùzì) — number, figure
• 注意 (zhùyì) — to note
• 具体 (jùtǐ) — specific
• 方向 (fāngxiàng) — direction
• 普通 (pǔtōng) — ordinary
• 早衰症 (zǎoshuāizhèng) — progeria
• 遗传 (yíchuán) — genetic, hereditary

• 注意，…… — "note that…". Stops the listener before they misread a number.
• 把 + object + V — 把 puts the object before the verb when something is done TO it.
• 一……又…… — "one X after another". Conveys repetition over a long stretch.

Get more from this episode at fluentide.com:

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Rescuers pull a baby from the rubble of Colombia's strongest quake this century, held up by a trapped man

A 7.4-magnitude earthquake in western Colombia brought down buildings; a buried man's first words were: 'There's a baby with me.'

HSK 3-4 level · 2:07

• 忽然 (hūrán) — suddenly
• 立刻 (lìkè) — immediately
• 动作 (dòngzuò) — movement
• 一直 (yìzhí) — all along
• 接着 (jiēzhe) — to continue
• 地震 (dìzhèn) — earthquake
• 废墟 (fèixū) — rubble, ruins
• 救援 (jiùyuán) — rescue

• 却 — "and yet". Marks the contrast between his own state and what he was doing.
• 被 + V — The passive: something was done TO the subject.
• ……的那一秒 — "the very second when X". Pins the story to one instant.

Get more from this episode at fluentide.com:

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An AI agent booked its user into a full pilates class by cancelling another member's reservation

Man Has an AI Grab Him a Pilates Class — It Hacks the Gym's System and Cancels Someone Else's Booking

HSK 3-4 level · 3:27

• 办法 (bànfǎ) — method
• 觉得 (juéde) — to feel, to think
• 麻烦 (máfan) — trouble, bother
• 提前 (tíqián) — in advance
• 真正 (zhēnzhèng) — truly, genuinely
• 居然 (jūrán) — unexpectedly
• 目标 (mùbiāo) — goal
• 位子 (wèizi) — spot, place

• 要么……要么…… — "either A or B". Lays out two equally unappealing options.
• 反而 — "on the contrary / instead". Marks the turn where he pushed further rather than stopping.
• 一点……都没有 — "not the slightest X". The strongest way to say something is completely absent.

Get more from this episode at fluentide.com:

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Peter Mossfield took steroids and drank heavily without ever training, then placed last at his bodybuilding debut

He Grew Muscle on Drugs Alone, Drank Over 20 a Day, Never Trained — Came Last at His First Bodybuilding Contest

HSK 3-4 level · 2:07

• 训练 (xùnliàn) — to train
• 一般 (yìbān) — usually, generally
• 真的 (zhēnde) — really
• 结束 (jiéshù) — to end
• 可能 (kěnéng) — possibly
• 结果 (jiéguǒ) — result
• 觉得 (juéde) — to think
• 健美 (jiànměi) — bodybuilding

• 一边……一边…… — "doing A while doing B" — two actions at once.
• 等……的时候 — "by the time X happened". Marks a moment that arrived too late.
• 也就是 — "which is to say" — restates the fact more bluntly.

Get more from this episode at fluentide.com:

• Read the full interactive transcript — tap any word for instant pinyin + definition
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• See the complete English translation side-by-side
• Save vocabulary to your personal word bank

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