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Every reading sits at the level where most of its words are taught
All readings at HSK 4
Page 3 of 3 · 25–35 of 35
Article · 2 min audio筷子最早是用来吃饭的吗？The history of chopsticksThe oldest chopsticks were probably for cooking, not eating. And their Chinese name comes from boatmen who were afraid of one word.HSK 4
Story · 2 min audio最后一单A day in the life of a delivery riderLunch rush, broken lifts, rain. Then, at nine at night, one last order for dumplings, and the address is his own home.HSK 4
Story · 2 min audio电梯里的四十分钟Stuck in the lift with the neighbourTwo years of silent lift rides. Then the lift stops dead at the twelfth floor, and the old man from upstairs asks: “The one who plays the piano at night, is that you?”HSK 4
Story · 2 min audio照片上的秀兰An old photo and a family secretAn old photo of Grandpa with a girl called Xiulan, Grandma's sister. Mum says never to mention it. Then Grandma sees the photo and laughs until she cries.HSK 4
Story · 2 min audio爷爷的收音机Grandpa's radioGrandpa's nine o'clock radio show goes silent for good. So his grandson secretly brings it back. Grandpa is delighted, and he isn't fooled for a minute.HSK 4
Story · 2 min audio打错的电话The wrong number: a Sunday phone call in ChineseEvery Sunday at 8 pm, an old woman calls the wrong number. The third time, she admits she knows.HSK 4
Article · 2 min audio红色和白色在中国代表什么？What colours mean in China: red for luck, white for funeralsAnna writes her friend’s name on a birthday card in her best red pen. Her friend’s face falls.HSK 4
Article · 2 min audio饺子为什么像元宝？Why do Chinese dumplings look like gold ingots?Every New Year’s Eve, one dumpling hides a coin. And every year, somehow, Dad finds it.HSK 4
Story · 2 min audio中秋夜班A Mid-Autumn night at the office: mooncakes for the security guardMid-Autumn night, last one in the office, and the only mooncakes left are the flavour nobody wants. The security guard downstairs disagrees.HSK 4
Article · 2 min audio腊八节是什么节？What is the Laba Festival?Before dawn on a freezing winter morning, Beijing queues outside a temple. For a bowl of porridge.HSK 4
Article · 2 min audio重阳节是什么节？What is the Double Ninth Festival?A seventeen-year-old alone in the capital writes one line about missing home. Thirteen centuries later, China still quotes it every autumn.HSK 4
