Chinese · Episode 1
A Semester on Earth
Spoken by 晓星
Earth feels heavy. Far from her Moon home, Xiaoxing begins a semester in Shanghai—and finds herself missing a roof over the sky.
Listen first
Hear the episode
AI-generated audio Listen at your own pace
Read along
Episode text
来上海以后,别人总问我: After I came to Shanghai, people always ask me:
重不重? Is it heavy?
重。 Heavy.
真重。 Really heavy.
前几天我上楼,停了三次。 A few days ago I went upstairs and stopped three times.
不是生病。 It's not that I'm sick.
就是这儿什么都重。 It's just that everything here is heavy.
空气也重。 Even the air is heavy.
走一步,像多拿了一袋东西。 Every step feels like I'm carrying an extra bag.
我叫晓星。 My name is Xiaoxing.
从月亮上来的。 I came from the Moon.
来留学,就一个学期。 I'm here to study, just one semester.
读完回家。 When I finish, I go home.
家在望城。 Home is in Wangcheng.
望城在圆顶下面。 Wangcheng is under the dome.
他们还问我是不是半机械人。 They also ask if I'm a cyborg.
是。 I am.
腿现在是有点没力气。 My legs are a bit weak right now.
身体会自己慢慢改。 The body slowly adjusts on its own.
不是半机械人,会更重。 If I weren't a cyborg, it'd be even heavier.
改完就好。 It'll be fine once it adjusts.
现在还在改,所以我走得慢。 It's still adjusting, so I walk slow.
街上的人走得很快。 People on the street walk very fast.
人也多,声音也多。 Lots of people, lots of noise.
圆顶里没这么吵。 It's not this noisy under the dome.
我有时候抬头,想找圆顶。 Sometimes I look up, wanting to find the dome.
没有。 There isn't one.
就是天,蓝的。 Just sky. Blue.
我以前特别想看这种天。 I used to really want to see a sky like this.
小美想看海。 Xiaomei wants to see the ocean.
大伟想看火星的山。 Dawei wants to see the mountains on Mars.
我呢,就想看蓝天。 Me, I just wanted to see blue sky.
现在天天看。 Now I see it every day.
还是会抬头找一找。 I still look up for it sometimes.
晚上给家里打电话。 At night I call home.
妈妈一般在花园。 Mom is usually in the garden.
哥哥在外面干活,常常接不上。 My brother is out working—I often can't get through.
小美一开口就问海。 The second Xiaomei opens her mouth she asks about the ocean.
我还没去。 I haven't gone yet.
上海也有水。 Shanghai has water too.
我走过一次,水是黄的。 I walked by once. The water was yellow.
我没敢跟她说。 I didn't dare tell her.
以后想学造飞船。 Later I want to learn to build spaceships.
那种学校还在地球上。 Those schools are still on Earth.
所以先来一个学期。 So I'm here for one semester first.
不是不回去。 It's not that I'm not going back.
房间还在。 My room is still there.
圆顶还在。 The dome is still there.
就是这儿有点重,有点吵。 It's just a bit heavy here, a bit noisy.
晚上有时候会醒。 Sometimes I wake up at night.
窗外没有地球。 Outside the window there's no Earth.
有灯。 There are lights.
很多灯。 Lots of lights.
也挺好看。 Pretty nice, too.
就是不是家。 Just not home.