A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
世界杯淘汰赛：落后两球，比利时三比二逆转塞内加尔
World Cup Knockout: Two Goals Down, Belgium Come Back to Beat Senegal 3-2
About this story
An easy Chinese listening lesson on the World Cup knockouts: Diarra and Sarr put Senegal 2-0 up, then Lukaku, Tielemans and a late penalty complete Belgium's 3-2 comeback. HSK 2 vocabulary on comebacks, extra time, and penalties.
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 开始、觉得、容易 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: Belgium came from behind to beat Senegal three to two.
To "come from behind" means to fall behind first, then turn it around and win.
In this game, Belgium very nearly lost.
First, a word on Belgium.
Belgium is a famous, strong team with many big-name players.
Everyone thought Belgium would win easily.
But the game surprised everyone right from the start.
Senegal played fast and fierce.
In the first half and the start of the second, Senegal scored two goals in a row.
The scorers were named Diarra and Sarr.
Zero to two, Senegal led by two goals.
Belgium were behind, and looked about to be knocked out.
The fans at the ground all thought Belgium would lose this time.
The Belgium fans in the stands were silent and sad.
But Belgium didn't give up; they kept attacking hard.
In the final minutes of the game, a miracle happened.
In the eighty-sixth minute, substitute Lukaku scored a goal.
One to two, Belgium had pulled one back.
Just three minutes later, Tielemans scored another.
Two to two, Belgium had leveled the score.
Belgium's fans jumped up with joy.
The ninety minutes ended still at two to two.
So the two teams played more time, which is called extra time.
Near the end of extra time, Belgium won a penalty kick.
A penalty is when one player shoots against the goalkeeper — easy to score.
Again it was Tielemans, and he calmly put the ball away.
Three to two, Belgium had finally gone ahead.
This goal came extremely late, and Belgium won the game.
So, how should we view this game?
For Belgium, this is a remarkable comeback.
Two goals down and still able to turn it around and win — that's very hard.
It shows they never gave up, and are strong in the mind.
For Senegal, losing is truly such a shame.
They led by two goals for a while, and came close to winning.
Sadly they couldn't hold on at the end, which is very painful.
But they played bravely, and deserve our respect.
That's Belgium three to two Senegal, a game people will 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HSK 1-2. to start / to begin.
HSK 1-2. to feel / to think.
HSK 1-2. easy.
HSK 1-2. but; however.
先落后，后来又反过来赢了。比利时逆转赢了塞内加尔。
分数更多、走在前面。塞内加尔领先了两个球。
分数更少、在后面。比利时落后了。
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法差一点就…
'Almost…' — came very close to a result.
比利时差一点就输了。
仅仅…，就…
'In just…, …' — emphasizes how quickly something happened.
仅仅过了三分钟，蒂勒曼斯又进了一个球。
还能…
'Can still…' — able to do something despite difficulty.
落后两个球，还能反过来赢。
Proper Nouns
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