HSK6 – A Guilty Conscience

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HSK 6 · Reading Practice

A Guilty Conscience

Vocabulary

HSK 6 迟疑chíyí Tap to flip

to hesitate

面对miànduì这个zhège重要zhòngyào决定juédìng，他tā迟疑了chíyí le很久hěn jiǔ才cái做出zuòchū回答huídá

Faced with this important decision, he hesitated for a long time before giving an answer.

HSK 6 产权chǎnquán Tap to flip

property rights

这栋zhè dòng房子的fángzi de产权chǎnquán目前mùqián登记在dēngjì zài她tā父亲fùqīn名下míngxià

The property rights to this house are currently registered under her father’s name.

HSK 6 都更dūgēng Tap to flip

urban renewal (short for 都市更新)

这一带的zhè yídài de老旧lǎojiù公寓gōngyù正在zhèngzài进行jìnxíng都更dūgēng

The old apartment buildings in this area are undergoing urban renewal.

HSK 6 理亏lǐkuī Tap to flip

to be in the wrong, have a weak case

他tā知道zhīdào自己zìjǐ理亏lǐkuī，所以suǒyǐ不敢bùgǎn多说duō shuō什么shénme

He knew he was in the wrong, so he didn’t dare say much.

HSK 6 凭借píngjiè Tap to flip

by virtue of, relying on

她tā凭借píngjiè多年的duōnián de努力nǔlì，终于zhōngyú考上了kǎoshàng le理想的lǐxiǎng de大学dàxué

Relying on years of hard work, she finally got into her ideal university.

HSK 6 诉讼sùsòng Tap to flip

lawsuit, litigation

这场zhè chǎng诉讼sùsòng已经yǐjīng拖了tuō le将近jiāngjìn两年liǎng nián还hái没méi结束jiéshù

This lawsuit has already dragged on for nearly two years and still hasn’t ended.

HSK 6 丰厚fēnghòu Tap to flip

generous, substantial

这份zhè fèn工作的gōngzuò de薪水xīnshuǐ虽然suīrán丰厚fēnghòu，但dàn工时gōngshí也yě非常fēicháng长cháng

The salary for this job is generous, but the working hours are also very long.

HSK 6 俐落lìluo Tap to flip

efficient, neat and quick (in doing things)

新来的xīnlái de助理zhùlǐ做事zuòshì非常fēicháng俐落lìluo，很快hěn kuài就jiù上手了shàngshǒu le

The new assistant handles things very efficiently and quickly got the hang of it.

HSK 6 颤巍巍chànwēiwēi Tap to flip

trembling, shaky (esp. elderly gait)

老爷爷lǎoyéye颤巍巍地chànwēiwēi de扶着fúzhe拐杖guǎizhàng走下zǒuxià楼梯lóutī

The old man walked down the stairs tremblingly, leaning on his cane.

HSK 6 无可挑剔wúkětiāotī Tap to flip

beyond reproach, impeccable

这场zhè chǎng表演biǎoyǎn从头到尾cóngtóudàowěi无可挑剔wúkětiāotī，观众guānzhòng都dōu给予jǐyǔ高度gāodù评价píngjià

The performance was flawless from start to finish, and the audience gave it high praise.

HSK 6 哽咽gěngyè Tap to flip

to choke with sobs, voice breaking with emotion

她tā说到shuōdào伤心处shāngxīn chù，忍不住rěnbuzhù哽咽gěngyè起来qǐlái

When she got to the sad part, she couldn’t help but choke up.

HSK 6 压抑yāyì Tap to flip

to suppress, to repress (emotions)

他tā把bǎ心里的xīnlǐ de难过nánguò压抑下来yāyì xiàlái，表面上biǎomiàn shàng还是háishì笑着xiàozhe

He suppressed the sadness in his heart, but on the surface he still smiled.

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Reading Passage

良心谴责
良心譴責

陈律师接手这件案子时，心里其实早有几分迟疑。委托人是一家颇具规模的建设公司，案由是与一名老旧社区住户之间的产权纠纷。公司希望借由法律程序，尽快让那名住户搬离，以利都更工程如期动工。陈律师研究文件后发现，对方虽然证件不齐全，理亏居多，但那户人家已在此居住三十余年，搬迁补偿金额又明显偏低。基于职业立场，她仍决定接下此案，并凭借专业，顺利为公司赢得诉讼。

案子结束后，公司依约支付了丰厚的酬劳，同事们纷纷向她道贺，说她办事俐落、前途无量。然而，陈律师却怎么也高兴不起来。每当夜深人静，她总会想起开庭那天，那位年迈的住户颤巍巍地站在法庭上，声音哽咽地诉说着自己大半辈子的积蓄与回忆都在那间老屋里。她明知法律程序无可挑剔，自己也并未做错任何事，可心底深处却总觉得有什么东西堵着，挥之不去。

几个月后，她偶然在报上看到那户人家因搬迁后租屋负担沉重，生活陷入困境的报导，内心的不安终于再也压抑不住。她主动联系了那位老人，自掏腰包资助了一笔生活费，虽然对方起初婉拒，她仍坚持送上。事后，她并未向任何人提起此事，只是觉得心里那块石头，总算是放下了几分。

Chén lüshī jiēshǒu zhè jiàn ànzi shí, xīnlǐ qíshí zǎo yǒu jǐfēn chíyí. Wěituōrén shì yì jiā pōjù guīmó de jiànshè gōngsī, àn yóu shì yǔ yì míng lǎojiù shèqū zhùhù zhījiān de chǎnquán jiūfēn. Gōngsī xīwàng jièyóu fǎlü chéngxù, jǐnkuài ràng nà míng zhùhù bānlí, yǐlì dūgēng gōngchéng rúqí dònggōng. Chén lüshī yánjiū wénjiàn hòu fāxiàn, duìfāng suīrán zhèngjiàn bù qíquán, lǐkuī jūduō, dàn nà hù rénjiā yǐ zài cǐ jūzhù sānshí yú nián, bānqiān bǔcháng jīn’é yòu míngxiǎn piāndī. Jīyú zhíyè lìchǎng, tā réng juédìng jiēxià cǐ àn, bìng píngjiè zhuānyè, shùnlì wèi gōngsī yíngdé sùsòng.

Ànzi jiéshù hòu, gōngsī yī yuē zhīfù le fēnghòu de chóuláo, tóngshìmen fēnfēn xiàng tā dàohè, shuō tā bànshì lìluo, qiántú wúliàng. Rán’ér, Chén lüshī què zěnme yě gāoxìng bù qǐlái. Měi dāng yèshēn rénjìng, tā zǒng huì xiǎngqǐ kāitíng nà tiān, nà wèi niánmài de zhùhù chànwēiwēi de zhàn zài fǎtíng shàng, shēngyīn gěngyè de sùshuō zhe zìjǐ dàbàn bèizi de jīxù yǔ huíyì dōu zài nà jiān lǎo wū lǐ. Tā míngzhī fǎlü chéngxù wúkětiāotī, zìjǐ yě bìngwèi zuòcuò rènhé shì, kě xīndǐ shēnchù què zǒng juéde yǒu shénme dōngxi dǔzhe, huīzhībúqù.

Jǐ ge yuè hòu, tā ǒu’ěr zài bào shàng kàndào nà hù rénjiā yīn bānqiān hòu zūwū fùdān chénzhòng, shēnghuó xiànrù kùnjìng de bàodǎo, nèixīn de bù’ān zhōngyú zài yě yāyì bú zhù. Tā zhǔdòng liánxì le nà wèi lǎorén, zì tāo yāobāo zīzhù le yì bǐ shēnghuófèi, suīrán duìfāng qǐchū wǎnjù, tā réng jiānchí sòngshàng. Shìhòu, tā bìngwèi xiàng rènhé rén tíqǐ cǐ shì, zhǐshì juéde xīnlǐ nà kuài shítou, zǒngsuàn shì fàngxià le jǐfēn.

When Attorney Chen took on this case, she already had some private hesitation. The client was a fairly large construction company, and the case involved a property dispute with a resident of an old neighborhood. The company hoped to use legal proceedings to get the resident to move out as quickly as possible, so the urban renewal project could begin on schedule. After studying the documents, Attorney Chen found that although the other party’s paperwork was incomplete and largely at fault, the family had lived there for over thirty years, and the relocation compensation offered was clearly too low. Out of professional duty, she still decided to take the case, and through her expertise, successfully won the lawsuit for the company.

After the case concluded, the company paid a generous fee as agreed, and her colleagues congratulated her one after another, saying she handled things efficiently and had a bright future ahead. And yet, Attorney Chen couldn’t feel happy no matter what. Late at night, she would always recall the day of the court hearing, when the elderly resident stood trembling in the courtroom, voice breaking, describing how the savings and memories of most of her life were all tied up in that old house. She knew full well the legal process was beyond reproach and that she herself had done nothing wrong, but deep down she always felt something blocking her — a feeling she couldn’t shake.

A few months later, she happened to see a newspaper report that the family, burdened by the heavy cost of renting after relocating, had fallen into hardship, and the unease inside her finally became impossible to suppress. She reached out to the elderly woman on her own initiative and, paying out of her own pocket, offered her a sum to help with living expenses. Although the woman declined at first, she insisted on giving it. Afterward, she never mentioned this to anyone; she just felt that the stone in her heart had finally been set down, at least a little.

Comprehension Questions

Question 1 of 6

陈律师Chén lǜshī接手jiēshǒu案子ànzi前qián“心里xīnlǐ其实qíshí早zǎo有yǒu几分jǐfēn迟疑chíyí”，最zuì主要的zhǔyào de原因yuányīn是shì什么shénme？

The passage says she sensed that although the case was legally sound, it might be unfair to the vulnerable resident.

文中wénzhōng提到tídào“那户nà hù人家rénjiā已yǐ在此zàicǐ居住jūzhù三十余年sānshí yú nián，搬迁bānqiān补偿bǔcháng金额jīn’é又yòu明显míngxiǎn偏低piāndī”，这句话zhè jù huà在zài文中的wénzhōng de作用zuòyòng是shì什么shénme？

This detail foreshadows the inner unease Attorney Chen will feel later in the story.

“每当měidāng夜深人静yèshēnrénjìng，她tā总会zǒnghuì想起xiǎngqǐ开庭kāitíng那天nà tiān……”这段zhè duàn描写miáoxiě主要zhǔyào表现出biǎoxiàn chū陈律师Chén lǜshī怎样的zěnyàng de心理xīnlǐ状态zhuàngtài？

Though she has no legal fault, she cannot emotionally let go of what happened.

陈律师Chén lǜshī“明知míngzhī法律fǎlǜ程序chéngxù无可挑剔wúkětiāotī，自己zìjǐ也yě并未bìngwèi做错zuòcuò任何rènhé事shì，可kě心底xīndǐ深处shēnchù却què总zǒng觉得juéde有yǒu什么shénme东西dōngxi堵着dǔzhe”，这句话zhè jù huà说明了shuōmíng le什么shénme？

This shows that something being legally justified doesn’t always align with a person’s own sense of morality.

陈律师Chén lǜshī“自掏腰包zìtāoyāobāo资助了zīzhù le一笔yìbǐ生活费shēnghuófèi”，却què“并未bìngwèi向xiàng任何rènhé人rén提起tíqǐ此事cǐshì”，这个zhège细节xìjié最zuì能néng说明shuōmíng什么shénme？

Keeping it private shows she did this purely to settle her own conscience, not to build a reputation.

这篇zhè piān文章wénzhāng最zuì想xiǎng传达的chuándá de道理dàolǐ最zuì可能kěnéng是shì什么shénme？

The passage’s message is that even lawful, faultless behavior can still leave someone uneasy if it goes against their conscience.

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