HSK 1 reading practice
Every passage here is written inside HSK 1 — the grammar and the vocabulary stay in the level, so you read rather than decode. Shortest first.
Who Cooks Tonight今天谁做饭A family works out who cooks tonight. The son wants to eat out, the mother says the restaurant is too expensive, and the father offers to cook rice an…HSK 1 · 122 characters · 1 min · daily
The Book I Am Reading我在读的书A friend recommends a book she just finished in a week: the characters are not hard, and it is very interesting. Her friend, who thinks all books are…HSK 1 · 126 characters · 1 min · literature
Beijing Is Very Old北京很老A student asks a teacher how old Beijing is. The teacher answers in a round number of years and says how many people have lived there over that time.…HSK 1 · 131 characters · 1 min · history
Which Film Tonight今天看什么电影Two friends stuck inside on a rainy day. David wants to watch a new Chinese movie; Lili already saw it last week with her mom. They talk it out and de…HSK 1 · 142 characters · 2 min · daily
How Much Is Enough多少是够A friend with money wants a bigger house, then a bigger car, then more money for a still bigger house. Each time, his friend asks the same small quest…HSK 1 · 143 characters · 2 min · philosophy
Bring Fruit, Not Nothing去朋友家，带什么A learner is invited to a Chinese friend's family home for dinner and asks a classmate what to bring. The answer: never show up with nothing, fruit is…HSK 1 · 158 characters · 2 min · culture
The Weather Does Not Listen天气不听我们的Rain cancels a trip to the cinema and one friend is furious at the sky. The other talks him down, question by question, until he sees the weather was…HSK 1 · 158 characters · 2 min · philosophy
The Slow Computer电脑太慢了Two classmates in the school computer room. One machine takes ten minutes to start, and the conversation turns into how long you keep a thing before y…HSK 1 · 162 characters · 2 min · tech
Long Life Noodles长寿面For his birthday, a grandmother makes her grandson one very long noodle and tells him not to bite it in half, because a broken noodle is supposed to m…HSK 1 · 174 characters · 2 min · food
The Teacher from Beijing北京来的老师A new Chinese teacher introduces herself on the first day of class: where she's from, how long she's taught, what she likes. It turns out to be a firs…HSK 1 · 180 characters · 2 min · daily
The Cat Dream我做梦是猫A child tells her mother she dreamed she was the family cat, then looks at the sleeping cat and asks whether the cat is now dreaming it is her, and ho…HSK 1 · 192 characters · 2 min · philosophy
The Train Is Late Either Way等车的时候Rain has delayed the trains and two travellers are stuck at the station. One keeps checking the time and getting more anxious. The other sits down wit…HSK 1 · 198 characters · 2 min · philosophy
First Hotpot第一次吃火锅Xiaolong takes Mike out for his first hotpot and treats him to the meal. The pot is split into two broths, one spicy and one not, and Mike picks the s…HSK 1 · 199 characters · 2 min · food
Is the Cheap One Worth It便宜的好吗Two friends look at apples at the same stand, one basket cheap, one basket expensive. One says fruit is fruit. The other insists she can taste the dif…HSK 1 · 204 characters · 2 min · food
Waiting for the Same Bus等同一班车Two neighbours wait for the bus at the same stop every morning, and the waiting itself has slowly made them friends. Today the bus is very late and on…HSK 1 · 208 characters · 2 min · daily
The Fruit My Mother Always Buys妈妈总是买的水果A child notices his mother always buys the same three kinds of fruit at the store even though it sells many more. She explains she knows these well an…HSK 1 · 210 characters · 2 min · food
Grandpa's New Phone爷爷的新手机A grandson brings his grandfather a new phone. The old one had buttons; this one doesn't, and grandpa keeps pressing the screen looking for them. By t…HSK 1 · 218 characters · 2 min · tech
The Old Apple Tree老苹果树A father wants to chop down the old apple tree in the yard because its apples are small and don't taste good. His daughter argues back: it's exactly b…HSK 1 · 221 characters · 2 min · philosophy
Why Hot Water为什么喝热水Tom asks his friend Xiaomei for cold water and gets hot water instead, with no ice anywhere in sight. Xiaomei explains her family's habit of drinking…HSK 1 · 223 characters · 2 min · food
The Book That Changed My Mind那本书让我想了很久On a long flight, Xiaomei finishes a short story about a cat that sits in the same spot every day and never sees the same thing twice. David asks what…HSK 1 · 241 characters · 3 min · literature
What My Name Means我的名字是什么意思A student asks her Chinese teacher what her name means, and learns that a Chinese given name is chosen for its meaning while the family name just belo…HSK 1 · 259 characters · 3 min · culture
My Phone and My Computer手机和电脑A grandmother asks her grandson why he needs both a phone and a computer. He explains what each one is for: films, schoolwork, work, and calling her.…HSK 1 · 283 characters · 3 min · techThese readings are one step of a course that moves. GraphChinese teaches HSK 0 through HSK 6 on a mastery-gated knowledge graph: the reading arrives when the words in it are ones you have already met, and spaced review brings them back just before you would forget. One payment of $49, lifetime access.
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