A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
比利时和伊朗零比零
Iran Holds 10-Man Belgium to 0–0 Draw
About this story
用最简单的中文，听一场真实的世界杯比赛：比利时射门很多却进不了球，伊朗靠门将神勇扑救，零比零守住一分。含生词、语法和全文翻译，特别适合零基础和初级中文学习者。. HSK 1 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 1 Chinese listening episode that runs about 5 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 比赛、进球、射门 and walks through 2 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
Many people love watching soccer.
I love watching soccer too.
Today, I want to talk about a soccer match.
This match is great to watch.
In this match, there are two teams.
One team is big, and also very famous.
The other team isn't that famous.
The big team is very good at soccer.
Everyone thought the big team would win.
But soccer is sometimes great to watch.
Today is exactly that kind of match.
Both teams want to play well.
Both teams also want to win.
Everyone wants to watch — who would win?
The people who came to watch were many, many.
The people watching were all very happy.
Some wanted this team to win.
Some also wanted that team to win.
Everyone sat down to watch this match.
The match hadn't started, and everyone was waiting.
Everyone wondered: who would win today?
The people watching were all very happy.
Everyone really wanted to watch this match.
Watching this match — very nice.
Okay, now let's look at this match.
Of these two teams, one is Belgium.
The other one is Iran.
Belgium is that very famous team.
Everyone says Belgium plays very well.
Iran, then, isn't as famous as Belgium.
So everyone thought Belgium would win.
Okay, the match has begun.
Both teams want to score.
"To score" means to kick the ball in.
As the match began, Belgium kept pushing forward.
They wanted to score quickly.
Belgium tried once, and tried again.
They shot, shooting many times.
But the ball just wouldn't go in.
Why?
Because Iran defended too well.
Iran has a goalkeeper who is especially impressive.
A "goalkeeper" is the person who stands in front of the goal and keeps the ball out.
Belgium's shots came time and again.
This goalkeeper pushed the ball away time and again.
Some shots were fast and tough, and he stopped them too.
He stopped the ball many, many times.
Everyone said he defended really well today.
Belgium played a long time and still couldn't score.
Midway through, something happened.
Belgium was even down a man.
They had a player who had to leave and couldn't play anymore.
In soccer, sometimes a player has to be sent off.
Once sent off, he can't come back.
So Belgium had only ten men left.
With fewer men, you'd think it should be easier to play.
Actually, it was Belgium who was down a man, not Iran.
So Iran's chances looked greater.
But Iran didn't score either.
Even so, Iran still held their goal.
No matter how Belgium played, they just couldn't score.
In the end, the match finished, zero to zero.
Neither team scored.
For Belgium, this was a bit of a shame.
They played so much, yet didn't win.
But for Iran, this was a good thing.
Because they held on and didn't lose.
Against such a strong team, not losing is very hard.
They earned a point.
Iran's players were all very happy.
Their goalkeeper, even more, was the biggest hero today.
Everyone said he was amazing today.
Actually, this is the fun part of soccer.
Playing a lot doesn't necessarily mean you'll win.
Being able to hold on is impressive too.
Alright, today's soccer match — that's all for here.
Belgium and Iran, zero to zero.
Iran defended well and earned a point.
That goalkeeper was amazing today.
It was he who helped Iran hold this zero to zero.
Thank you for listening; see you next time.
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇考纲词. 今天有一场很好看的比赛。
考纲词. 守门员一次次把球挡了出去。
考纲词. 比利时踢了那么多，却没赢，有点可惜。
考纲词. 守门员是今天最大的英雄。
把球踢进去，就是进球。
把球往对方球门踢，就是射门。
站在门前、不让球进去的人，就是守门员。
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法不管…都…
'No matter how …, still …' says the result holds in every case.
不管比利时怎么踢，就是进不去。
就算…，还是…
'Even so / even if …, still …' keeps the result against a condition.
就算这样，伊朗还是守住了。
Proper Nouns
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