Reading: how a rumour spread
HSK 6 Unit 7: News and reported speech · Lesson 5 of 5 · About 28 minutes
Preview version — Chinese review in progress.
Your mission: By the end of this lesson, you can follow a short news analysis of a rumour, and discuss how to judge information, using this unit's patterns.
Audio preview uses your device’s Chinese voice. It is not a recording.
Warm-up: do you remember?
Two quick questions from earlier lessons. Recalling before you learn makes the new material stick.
Meaning
What does 指出 mean?
That is 影响力 (yǐngxiǎnglì).
That is 谣言 (yáoyán).
Show the answer
Answer: C, to point out.
指出 (zhǐchū) means to point out.
Characters
Which word means “influence”?
代替 (dàitì) means to replace, to take the place of.
解释 (jiěshì) means to explain, explanation.
Show the answer
Answer: B, 影响力.
“influence” is 影响力 (yǐngxiǎnglì).
Listening
From an earlier unit. Listen. What does the word mean?
Cannot listen? Read it instead
千方百计 qiānfāng bǎijì
That would be 员工 (yuángōng).
That would be 陪伴 (péibàn).
Show the answer
Answer: C, by every possible means.
You heard 千方百计 (qiānfāng bǎijì): by every possible means.
New words
Reading a news analysis
A news analysis reports what happened with 据…报道 and 称, explains what officials said with 表示 and 指出, and judges claims with 恐怕 and 未必.
据报道，这条消息是虚假的。
Jù bàodào, zhè tiáo xiāoxi shì xūjiǎ de.
According to reports, this news is false.
Characters
Open a character to see how it is written, stroke by stroke, with its meanings and words.
The salt rumour
A short analysis from a news website.
Listen first
Play the whole text and answer the questions before you open it.
Helpful words: 盐 yán salt; 货架 huòjià shelf; 朋友圈 péngyouquān social media feed (of friends); 辟谣 pìyáo to refute a rumour; 理性 lǐxìng rational; 有关部门 yǒuguān bùmén the authorities concerned; 完全 wánquán completely
Listening
Listen first. What did the rumour claim?
Show the answer
Answer: C, salt would no longer be safe to eat.
以后的盐都不能吃了.
Listening
What happened in some supermarkets?
Show the answer
Answer: B, panic buying.
一些超市出现了抢购.
Listening
What do experts advise?
Show the answer
Answer: B, wait for the official version.
最好先等一等官方的说法.
Show the text
上个星期，一条消息在朋友圈里快速传播：据说海水被污染了，以后的盐都不能吃了。
Last week a message spread fast on social media: reportedly the sea had been polluted, and salt would no longer be safe to eat.
这条消息不仅让很多人担心，还引起了恐慌，一些超市出现了抢购。
The message not only worried many people, it also caused panic, and there was panic buying in some supermarkets.
据记者调查，有的超市的货架一天之内就空了。
According to a reporter's investigation, some supermarket shelves were empty within a day.
第二天，有关部门发布消息澄清，表示盐的生产和质量都完全正常。
The next day, the authorities issued a statement to clarify, saying that salt production and quality were completely normal.
专家指出，这条消息是虚假的，大部分人在转发以前没有核实。
Experts pointed out that the message was false, and most people had not checked it before forwarding it.
专家还表示，网上的消息未必可靠，看到让人恐慌的消息，恐怕最好先等一等官方的说法。
Experts also said that online messages are not necessarily reliable; when you see an alarming message, it's probably best to wait for the official version.
Speak: listen, record, compare
Listen to each model, record yourself, then play both and compare: the rhythm, the tones, the vowels. No automatic score: your ear is the judge.
Recordings stay in this browser tab: nothing is uploaded, and they disappear when you leave the page unless you save a copy of a task recording to your device yourself. Your browser asks for the microphone first.
Recording is not available in this browser. Listen, then repeat aloud and compare by ear.
专家指出，这条消息是虚假的，大部分人在转发以前没有核实。
Zhuānjiā zhǐchū, zhè tiáo xiāoxi shì xūjiǎ de, dàbùfen rén zài zhuǎnfā yǐqián méiyǒu héshí.
Experts pointed out that the message was false, and most people had not checked it before forwarding it.
这条消息不仅让很多人担心，还引起了恐慌，一些超市出现了抢购。
Zhè tiáo xiāoxi bùjǐn ràng hěn duō rén dānxīn, hái yǐnqǐ le kǒnghuāng, yì xiē chāoshì chūxiàn le qiǎnggòu.
The message not only worried many people, it also caused panic, and there was panic buying in some supermarkets.
第二天，有关部门发布消息澄清，表示盐的生产和质量都完全正常。
Dì èr tiān, yǒuguān bùmén fābù xiāoxi chéngqīng, biǎoshì yán de shēngchǎn hé zhìliàng dōu wánquán zhèngcháng.
The next day, the authorities issued a statement to clarify, saying that salt production and quality were completely normal.
Practice
Meaning
What does 澄清 mean?
That is 不错 (búcuò).
That is 人口 (rénkǒu).
Show the answer
Answer: A, to clarify.
澄清 (chéngqīng) means to clarify.
Characters
Which word means “to verify, to check”?
指出 (zhǐchū) means to point out.
澄清 (chéngqīng) means to clarify.
Show the answer
Answer: C, 核实.
“to verify, to check” is 核实 (héshí).
Pinyin
How do you read 虚假 (false)?
Show the answer
Answer: C, xūjiǎ.
虚假 is read xūjiǎ. Check the tone mark on every syllable.
Listening
Listen. What does the word mean?
Cannot listen? Read it instead
恐慌 kǒnghuāng
That would be 包括 (bāokuò).
That would be 嘉宾 (jiābīn).
Show the answer
Answer: C, panic.
You heard 恐慌 (kǒnghuāng): panic.
Your turn
Recall: type the Chinese for “to rush to buy, panic buying” (characters or pinyin).
Show the answer
Answer: 抢购
“to rush to buy, panic buying” is 抢购 (qiǎnggòu).
Listening
Listen. Which sentence did you hear?
Cannot listen? Read it instead
这条消息不仅让很多人担心，还引起了恐慌，一些超市出现了抢购。 Zhè tiáo xiāoxi bùjǐn ràng hěn duō rén dānxīn, hái yǐnqǐ le kǒnghuāng, yì xiē chāoshì chūxiàn le qiǎnggòu.
Show the answer
Answer: B, The message not only worried many people, it also caused panic, and there was panic buying in some supermarkets..
You heard 这条消息不仅让很多人担心，还引起了恐慌，一些超市出现了抢购。 (Zhè tiáo xiāoxi bùjǐn ràng hěn duō rén dānxīn, hái yǐnqǐ le kǒnghuāng, yì xiē chāoshì chūxiàn le qiǎnggòu.): The message not only worried many people, it also caused panic, and there was panic buying in some supermarkets.
Grammar
Which sentence uses 所…的 correctly?
Show the answer
Answer: C, 他所说的并不是事实。.
他所说的并不是事实。: 所 + verb + 的: what he said (written style).
Reading
Read: 据报道，这条消息是虚假的，可是已经有几万人转发了。 How many people had shared the message?
Show the answer
Answer: A, tens of thousands.
已经有几万人转发了.
Grammar
Which word fits? 这条新闻＿＿是真的，我们先核实一下。
Show the answer
Answer: B, 未必.
未必: not necessarily.
In context
The government says the news is wrong and explains the real situation. What does it do?
Show the answer
Answer: B, 澄清.
澄清: to clarify.
Your turn
Type the Chinese for to verify
Show the answer
Answer: 核实
核实: to verify.
Before you share
Give a short talk out loud (eight sentences) on how to deal with news that might be a rumour. Record it.
- Describe a rumour you know of, with 据说.
- Say what it led to, with 不仅…还.
- Report what officials or experts said, with 表示 and 指出.
- Give advice, softening it with 恐怕 and doubting with 未必.
Sentence frames
据说＿＿。
Jùshuō ＿＿.
Reportedly ...
专家指出，＿＿。
Zhuānjiā zhǐchū, ＿＿.
Experts pointed out that ...
Record your attempt (three and a half minutes at most) and listen back:
Review and finish
Can you do this? If a line feels shaky, go back to that part before you move on.
- I can follow a news analysis of a rumour.
- I can use 据说, 恐怕, 未必, 不仅 and reporting verbs in one talk.
Review works best spaced out: answer these exercises again tomorrow, then after a few days. Your progress is saved in this browser.
Completing records that you finished the lesson. Mastery is separate: it grows as reviews bring the exercises back and you answer them correctly.
Next: HSK 6 Unit 8: Building an argument, where you write and deliver a structured argument.