Fluentide · Chinese Listening — HSK 2
Fluentide · Chinese Listening — HSK 2 is a daily podcast that rewrites top news stories in HSK 2-level Mandarin, helping learners improve their listening comprehension. Each episode features clear pronunciation and a natural pace, with new vocabulary introduced gradually. Listeners can access free interactive transcripts at fluentide.com, where they can tap words for pinyin and translation, review key vocabulary, and read English translations. The podcast uses AI text-to-speech for consistent pronunciation and is designed for commutes, workouts, or study breaks.
Episodes
名厨做高档菜，下班后却爱吃塔可钟 — Top Chefs Cook Fine Food and Reach for Taco Bell After Work
Top Chefs Cook Fine Food and Reach for Taco Bell After Work — HSK 2 level, 1:30. Key vocabulary: 菜 (cài) — dish; vegetable; 叫 (jiào) — to be called; to call; 说 (shuō) — to say; to speak; 爱 (ài) — to love; to like; 东西 (dōng xi) — thing; stuff. Grammar: Place + 有 + Object — Expresses existence: 'there is/are' in a place.; Noun + 叫 + Name — Used to state what something or someone is called.. Read alo
每天一定要走一万步吗？研究发现七千步也有好处 — Must You Walk 10,000 Steps? Research Finds Benefits Around 7,000
Must You Walk 10,000 Steps? Research Finds Benefits Around 7,000 — HSK 2 level, 2:56. Key vocabulary: 走 (zǒu) — to walk; to go; 多 (duō) — many; much; more; 少 (shǎo) — few; little; less; 身体 (shēntǐ) — body; health; 看 (kàn) — to look at; to see; to watch. Grammar: 但是……，其实…… — Expresses a contrast followed by a correction or clarification. 'But..., actually...'; 让 + person/thing + verb phrase — Causa
湖北男子照盗墓小说挖古墓，被判十二年 — A Hubei Man Copies Tomb-Robbing Novels and Gets Twelve Years in Prison
A Hubei Man Copies Tomb-Robbing Novels and Gets Twelve Years in Prison — HSK 2 level, 1:21. Key vocabulary: 说 (shuō) — to say; to speak; 人 (rén) — person; people; 去 (qù) — to go; 看 (kàn) — to read; to look at; to watch; 东西 (dōngxi) — thing; things. Grammar: Place + 有 + Person — Expresses existence: 'In [place] there is [person]'. Used to introduce the main character.; 想 + Verb Phrase — Expresses d
美国跑者靠健身房跑步机训练，首次跑马拉松就夺冠 — A Runner Trains on a Gym Treadmill and Wins His First Marathon
A Runner Trains on a Gym Treadmill and Wins His First Marathon — HSK 2 level, 1:39. Key vocabulary: 跑 (pǎo) — to run; 快 (kuài) — fast; quick; 第一 (dì yī) — first; number one; 一边 (yì biān) — while; at the same time; 运动 (yùndòng) — sports; exercise; to exercise. Grammar: Place + 有 + Object — Expresses existence: 'there is/are ... in/at ...'.; 是……的 — Used to define or explain what something is, often
美国参议员欠甜品店六年，帖子传开后才付钱 — A Senator Pays a Bakery Bill After Six Years and a Viral Post
A Senator Pays a Bakery Bill After Six Years and a Viral Post — HSK 2 level, 2:58. Key vocabulary: 但是 (dànshì) — but; however; 钱 (qián) — money; 年 (nián) — year; 知道 (zhīdào) — to know; 等 (děng) — to wait. Grammar: 有 + Object — Expresses existence: 'there is/are'. Used to introduce people or things.; 没有 + Verb — Negates a past action with 没有, meaning 'did not'.. Read along with the free interactive
帮女友挂号，怎么最后被判刑？ — Hospital Booking Bots Lead to Convictions
Hospital Booking Bots Lead to Convictions — HSK 2 level, 1:55. Key vocabulary: 医生 (yīshēng) — doctor; 医院 (yīyuàn) — hospital; 电脑 (diànnǎo) — computer; 朋友 (péngyou) — friend; 工作 (gōngzuò) — to work; work. Grammar: 为了 + purpose, subject + verb phrase — 为了 introduces a purpose, meaning 'in order to.' The main clause follows.; 是 + noun phrase, meaning 'A is B' — The verb 是 links a subject to a noun ph
沃尔玛的机器人，为什么搬不好箱子？ — Walmart Robots Struggle With Everyday Goods
Walmart Robots Struggle With Everyday Goods — HSK 2 level, 3:43. Key vocabulary: 东西 (dōngxi) — thing; things; stuff; 可以 (kěyǐ) — can; may; be able to; 但是 (dànshì) — but; however; 还是 (háishì) — still; nevertheless; or; 因为 (yīnwèi) — because. Grammar: 让 + Person/Thing + Verb Phrase — The causative 让 means 'let' or 'make' someone/something do something. It is followed by a person or thing and then a
NFL球员不打球了，去解数学难题 — Former NFL Player Proves a Maths Conjecture
Former NFL Player Proves a Maths Conjecture — HSK 2 level, 3:31. Key vocabulary: 学习 (xuéxí) — to study; to learn; 问题 (wèntí) — question; problem; 喜欢 (xǐhuan) — to like; 时候 (shíhou) — time; moment; 电脑 (diànnǎo) — computer. Grammar: 以前……，现在…… — Contrasts the past with the present. 以前 means 'before/in the past' and 现在 means 'now'.; 因为…… — Introduces a reason, meaning 'because'. It can stand alone as
咖啡店为什么开始卖包？ — Coffee Shops Turn Tote Bags Into Branding
Coffee Shops Turn Tote Bags Into Branding — HSK 2 level, 1:49. Key vocabulary: 超市 (chāoshì) — supermarket; 喜欢 (xǐhuan) — to like; 特别 (tèbié) — special; especially; 便宜 (piányi) — cheap; 知道 (zhīdào) — to know. Grammar: 是……的 — Used to identify or explain something, often giving a definition or category.; 有的……，有的…… — Means 'some..., and some...' to show different groups or examples.. Read along with t
飞机能上网了，旁边的人开始开会了 — Fast Plane Wi-Fi Brings Noisy Work Calls
Fast Plane Wi-Fi Brings Noisy Work Calls — HSK 2 level, 3:40. Key vocabulary: 飞机 (fēijī) — airplane; 电话 (diànhuà) — phone call; telephone; 打电话 (dǎ diànhuà) — to make a phone call; 工作 (gōngzuò) — work; job; to work; 公司 (gōngsī) — company. Grammar: 越来越 + Adj — Expresses 'more and more' as a change over time.; 如果……也…… — Expresses a condition with 'if ... then also ...'.. Read along with the free inte
松鼠打猫头鹰、驼鹿打喷嚏：2026年最好笑的野生动物照片入围名单出炉 — A Squirrel Attacks an Owl and a Moose Sneezes: The Funniest Wildlife Photos of 2026 Are In
2026 Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards finalists revealed 1 Oct 2026: a record 10,000+ entries from 112 countries; 56 finalists (40 single images, 3 under-16, 4 portfolios, 9 videos). Highlights: 'Are You Kidding Me?' (Kevin Lohman, USA) a squirrel launching itself at a great horned owl in Santa Cruz, California; 'Little Godzilla' (Udo Harms, Germany) a reddish squirrel with a mouthful of grass in Hano
哈尔岑获诺贝尔物理学奖：他把南极的冰变成了捕捉幽灵粒子的望远镜 — Francis Halzen Wins the Physics Nobel for Turning a Cubic Kilometer of Antarctic Ice Into a Telescope for Ghost Particles
2026 Nobel Prize in Physics (announced 6 Oct 2026) to Francis Halzen, sole laureate (first sole physics winner since Georges Charpak in 1992), 'for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin.' Halzen, born 1944 in Tienen, Belgium; PhD KU Leuven 1969; at University of Wisconsin-Madison since 1972. Proposed using Anta
法国高中生因缺老师罢课抗议：二十五万人上街，五百多所学校停课 — French High-School Students Walk Out Over Missing Teachers: 250,000 March, Thousands Arrested and 500 Schools Shut
France lycée (high-school) protests, late Sept-Oct 2026. Began at Lycée Saint-Exupéry in Créteil (Paris south-east suburb) over teacher shortages: ~10% of teaching hours went untaught in public secondary schools in 2024-25 (worst in maths and English); 35 students per class, not enough chairs; crumbling buildings, cafeteria too small, 35°C classrooms; Parcoursup stress. 30 Sept: 250,000+ marched n
俄罗斯鼠疫研究所研究员实验事故后死亡，官方否认是鼠疫，却隔离了近两百人 — A Russian Lab Worker Died After a Test Tube Broke at a Plague Institute. Russia Says It Wasn't Plague, but Quarantined 200 People.
Russia plague scare (Oct 2026). Darya (Daria) Shipilova, 28, researcher at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute (Siberia). Regional media, citing security-service sources, reported she broke a test tube containing the pneumonic plague pathogen on 25 Sept; admitted to Shelekhov District Hospital 29 Sept with severe pneumonia; died overnight 1-2 Oct. Rospotrebnadzor says she died of 'pneumonia
刮舌头比刷舌头更能去口臭，可舌头上的细菌也在帮你降血压 — Tongue Scrapers Beat Toothbrushes at Fighting Bad Breath — and Your Tongue's Bacteria May Help Lower Your Blood Pressure
Should you use a tongue scraper? (The Economist, 1 October 2026, 'Should you be using a tongue-scraper?'.) Tongue scraping — an old Ayurvedic practice now trending on social media and a growing consumer market — removes the white tongue coating (舌苔) of food debris, dead cells and bacteria. Bad breath mostly comes from volatile sulfur compounds made by bacteria at the back of the tongue. Pedrazzi e
叶军的原子钟一百五十亿年不差一秒，他拿下了被称为诺奖风向标的沃尔夫物理学奖 — Jun Ye's Atomic Clock Won't Lose a Second in 15 Billion Years. Now He Has Won the Wolf Prize, Often a Step Before the Nobel.
Shanghai-born physicist Jun Ye (b. Nov 1967; Shanghai Jiao Tong University applied physics 1989; PhD University of Colorado 1997; JILA/NIST/CU Boulder; NAS 2011; 2022 Breakthrough Prize shared with Hidetoshi Katori) shares the 2026 Wolf Prize in Physics with Immanuel Bloch (Max Planck), announced 1 October 2026, 'for transformative, widely applicable advances in the control of ultracold atomic sys
迪拜航空副驾驶用驾驶舱里的斧子砍伤机长，乘客冲进去救下了整架飞机 — A FlyDubai Co-Pilot Attacked His Captain With the Cockpit's Own Axe. Passengers Broke In and Saved the Plane.
FlyDubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv, Wednesday 30 September 2026, 174 people on board, mostly Israeli. About two hours in, at ~34,000 ft, the co-pilot, Omani national Hamam al-Hammami, attacked Indian captain Smit Machchhar (17 years' experience) with the cockpit's emergency crash axe. The plane dropped more than 17,000 ft (~5,180 m) in about two minutes; part of the rudder was torn away
多动症，也许根本不是“注意力”的问题 — ADHD May Not Be a Problem of 'Attention' at All
Psychiatrist Awais Aftab argues (NYT, first edition of the series Therapeutic Window) that 'attention deficit' may be the wrong framing for ADHD. A major study in Cell last year found stimulants act on brain networks for salience, reward and arousal, with no detectable change in attention networks whether or not children had ADHD. Aftab distinguishes lab 'attention' (selectively amplifying relevan
印尼监狱惊现“豪华公寓”：大电视、豪车和高尔夫模拟器 — Luxury Apartments Inside an Indonesian Prison: Big TVs, Fancy Cars and a Golf Simulator
A surprise inspection on 23 September 2026 by Indonesia's Ombudsman at Cibinong prison, a medium-security prison near Jakarta, found inmates living in at least 10 staff housing units outside the prison with flat-screen TVs and a gym, expensive cars parked in the complex, a golf simulator under construction and an unguarded exit to an adjoining forest. Guards first barred the inspectors; an inmate
黄龙病毁掉了佛罗里达九成五的橙子，基因编辑能救回来吗？ — Citrus Greening Wiped Out 95% of Florida's Oranges. Can Gene Editing Bring Them Back?
For 20 years citrus greening (huanglongbing), spread by the tiny Asian citrus psyllid, has ravaged Florida's orange groves: fruit drops unripe and tastes bitter, production (90%+ for juice) is down 95%, 60,000 acres (26% of what remained) went out of production last year and about half a million acres sit idle. Only four juice processors remain, down from 54 in the 1980s; the workforce more than h
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