Bamboo Is Innocent
99% Invisible

Bamboo Is Innocent

B2Upper-intermediateAugust 11, 202632 min

A devastating fire put one of Hong Kong's oldest building traditions on trial, but the real story runs much deeper. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of 99% Invisible ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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Sentence 6 of 12 · 0:23

I'd seen the images on the news the evening before. Seven huge residential towers in the

.

By the time I landed, 20 hours had passed.

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  • B20:23
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B2

B2 · Upper-intermediate

Comfortable if you already follow TV news

A1 37%A2 38%B1 18%B2 6%C1 1%
  • 93% of the words are B1 or easier.
  • 152 words a minute: a natural pace.
  • 150 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.

Transcript

The opening of the episode. The whole transcript is in the player.

0:00

This is 99% Invisible. I'm Roman Mars. When reporter Julie Blusay got on a plane to Hong Kong in November of last year, she thought she was going to cover the aftermath of a disaster. Julie is a China correspondent for the Dutch newspaper De Volksgrant.

0:18

I'd seen the images on the news the evening before. Seven huge residential towers in the Tai Po neighborhood of Hong Kong completely engulfed in flames. By the time I landed, 20 hours had passed. I figured the fire would be out, and I'd be documenting the wreckage, talking to survivors.

0:35

But that's not what she found. When I got there, the buildings, all part of this complex called Wangfuk Court, were still burning. Not smoldering, but burning.

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