A mere two hours after he had ordered the mission, the President read his security briefing with a seething fury, his thoughts as stormy as the clouds darkening the skies above Washington. His administration could deal with a partisan Congress. And no-one expected a free ride from the media on issues of national security. But to face what must either be gross incompetence or deliberate obstruction from his own military advisers? He reached for the phone....

Learning Chinese? Today's lesson is an intermediate listening test filled with drama. This is Chinese the way you'll hear it on television or in the theaters. So if you have a few years of mandarin under your belt take a listen to our dialogue and then click through to our quiz section to gauge your comprehension. And if you have any questions? Feel free to leave questions in our discussion section below, or check out our online popup Chinese transcript and see what you missed.