A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
世界杯淘汰赛：梅西破纪录，阿根廷三比二险胜佛得角
Argentina Beats Cape Verde 3–2 in Extra Time
About this story
An easy Chinese listening lesson on the World Cup knockouts: Messi's record goal, but tiny Cape Verde twice level the score before holders Argentina win 3-2 in extra time. HSK 2 vocabulary on a giant-killing scare, extra time, and a record.
This is an HSK 2 Chinese listening episode that runs about 3 minutes. The full Mandarin script is shown with tap-for-pinyin and a line-by-line English translation, so you can listen and read at once — comprehensible input in the sense of Stephen Krashen's i+1 theory. It teaches 7 key vocabulary words such as 冠军、英雄、开始 and walks through 3 grammar patterns, each explained in English with examples. The same news story is retold at 4 difficulty levels — use the level selector above to find the version that is challenging but still understandable for you.
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原文Read the complete story in Chinese. Reveal pinyin and English only when you need them.
English transcript reference
Today we're talking about a thrilling World Cup knockout game: Argentina beat Cape Verde three to two.
But Argentina did not win this game easily at all.
First, a word on Argentina.
Argentina are the champions from the last World Cup, and very strong.
On their team is a player named Messi.
Messi is one of the most famous players in the world.
Now a word on Cape Verde.
Cape Verde is a very small country, playing at the World Cup for the first time.
Everyone thought Argentina would win easily.
But the game was nothing like that.
Alright, let's look at the game.
In the twenty-ninth minute, Messi scored first.
One to zero, Argentina led.
This goal also broke a record: Messi is the top scorer in World Cup history.
But Cape Verde weren't afraid at all.
In the second half, Cape Verde scored too, pulling the score back to one to one.
The ninety minutes ended still at one to one.
So the two teams played more time, which is called extra time.
In extra time, Argentina's Martínez scored another — two to one.
It looked like Argentina were about to win.
But Cape Verde stepped up once again.
They scored another, pulling the score to two to two.
This tiny country had leveled against the world champions twice!
Everyone in the stadium was stunned.
Everyone wondered: could Cape Verde pull off a miracle?
Argentina's players started to get a little anxious too.
Right at the end, Argentina finally scored again — three to two.
This time, Cape Verde couldn't pull it back.
In the end, Argentina won a nervy game.
So, how should we view this game?
For Argentina, this is a win that came the hard way.
They're the champions, but today they nearly lost.
Luckily, having a big star like Messi helped steady the team.
For Cape Verde, they lost, but they are heroes.
For such a small country to push the world champions this far is remarkable.
They lost, but the whole world will remember them.
That's Argentina three to two Cape Verde, a game to remember forever.
See you next match.
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇考纲词。比赛拿第一名的。阿根廷是上一届世界杯的冠军。
考纲词。了不起、让人敬佩的人。佛得角输了，但是他们是英雄。
HSK 1-2. to start / to begin.
HSK 1-2. to feel / to think.
最好的成绩、别人还没超过的数字。这个进球打破了一个纪录。
分数更多、走在前面。阿根廷一比零领先。
九十分钟打平后再多踢的一段时间。比赛进入加时赛。
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法一点也不…
'Not … at all' — strong negation.
阿根廷赢得一点也不轻松。
眼看就要…
'On the verge of…' — about to happen.
眼看阿根廷就要赢了。
能把…逼到这个地步
'To push … this far' — an underdog's remarkable feat.
一个这么小的国家，能把世界冠军逼到这个地步。
Proper nouns
专有名词Free account
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