A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
世界杯淘汰赛:阿里亚斯破门,哥伦比亚一比零加纳
World Cup Knockout: Arias Strikes — Colombia Beat Ghana 1-0
About this story
An easy Chinese listening lesson on the World Cup knockouts: Arias' early goal (Suárez assist) and total control see Colombia beat Ghana 1-0, keeping Ghana without a shot. HSK 2 vocabulary on possession, chances, and a clean sheet.
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 主动、浪费、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 World Cup knockout game: Colombia beat Ghana one to zero.
The score looks close, but in fact Colombia won very comfortably.
First, a word on Colombia.
Colombia is a very capable South American team.
They play with pace and combine well.
Today, they seized the initiative from the very start.
Alright, let's look at the game.
The game had only reached the fourteenth minute when Colombia scored.
Suárez delivered a lovely pass from the flank, and Arias touched it in front of goal to send the ball into the net.
One to zero, Colombia led very early.
This goal let Colombia play with even more ease.
For the rest of the game, it was almost all Colombia attacking.
They controlled the ball and threatened Ghana's goal again and again.
In fact Colombia had several more chances, and came close to scoring another.
Díaz wasted one or two very good chances.
Ghana, meanwhile, were very much on the back foot.
For the entire ninety minutes, Ghana barely had a single proper shot.
That is very rare, and shows just how well Colombia defended.
They simply had no way to threaten Colombia's goal.
The ball stayed at Colombia's feet, and Ghana could only keep running and chasing.
In the end, Colombia comfortably won the game one to zero.
So, how should we view this game?
For Colombia, this is an easy and clean win.
Though they scored only one goal, they controlled the game from start to finish, never in danger.
If they'd taken a few more chances, the score could have been bigger.
For Ghana, losing is of course a shame.
Today they ran into a stronger opponent and had almost no chances.
But reaching the knockout stage is already no small feat for them.
That's Colombia one to zero Ghana, a game of complete control that belonged to Colombia.
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。占上风、由自己说了算。他们一开始就掌握了主动。
考纲词。好机会没有用好。迪亚斯浪费了一两次机会。
HSK 1-2. to start / to begin.
HSK 1-2. easy.
真正的本事和水平。哥伦比亚是一支很有实力的球队。
地球上的一个大洲。哥伦比亚是一支南美球队。
让对方感到危险。他们一次又一次地威胁加纳的球门。
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法看起来…,但其实…
'It looks…, but actually…' — corrects the surface impression.
比分看起来很接近,但其实哥伦比亚赢得非常轻松。
如果…,本来可以…
'If …, could have …' — a missed possibility.
如果他们能多抓住几次机会,比分本来可以更大。
几乎没有…
'Almost no …' — near-total absence.
加纳几乎没有一次像样的射门。
Proper Nouns
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