A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
巴拉圭点球赢了德国
Paraguay Upsets Germany on Penalties
About this story
A beginner Chinese listening lesson on a World Cup upset: Paraguay knock out Germany on penalties. Simple HSK 1 sentences explaining a shootout and a shock result.
This is an HSK 1 Chinese listening episode that runs about 4 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 有名、强、新闻 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 let's talk about a soccer match.
There are two teams.
One team is Germany.
One team is Paraguay.
Both teams wanted to win.
Germany wanted to win.
Paraguay wanted to win too.
They all wanted to score.
Score one goal, and you get one point.
The team with more points wins.
Many people came to watch today.
So very many people.
Everyone wanted to watch the two teams play.
Both teams really wanted to win.
Both teams really wanted points.
Germany wanted to score.
Paraguay wanted to score too.
Both teams really wanted to score.
Everyone sat there watching the game.
They watched the two teams.
They watched the ball.
Both teams came out.
They all wanted to play well.
None of them wanted to lose.
Here's something you might not expect.
Germany is a very famous team.
Germany is strong and very good at soccer.
Paraguay isn't as famous as Germany.
So before the game, many said: Germany will win.
But today, things turned out differently.
This is the knockout stage.
In the knockouts, lose and you go home.
So both teams were very careful.
Neither wanted to lose.
The match began.
First, Paraguay scored a goal.
It was one to zero.
Paraguay was ahead.
Everyone was surprised.
Then, Germany scored a goal too.
It was one to one.
The two teams were even.
After that, both teams wanted to score again.
But neither could.
Right to the end, it was still one to one.
The two teams were level.
Level — what do you do then?
In the knockouts, it can't be a draw.
There must be a winning team.
So they have to take penalties.
What is a penalty shootout?
It's each player, one by one, taking a kick.
Kicking from very close.
Whoever scores more wins.
The two teams took penalties one by one.
You take one, I take one.
With each kick, everyone was tense.
Some went in, some didn't.
In the end, Paraguay scored more.
So Paraguay won!
In a shootout, no one knows the result.
Only at the last kick do you know who wins.
Paraguay's people went wild.
They were so happy.
They beat Germany and advanced to the next round.
Germany's people were sad.
They had to go home.
Germany is so strong, yet they can lose too.
This really is big news.
Many people didn't expect it.
Soccer is just like this.
Famous teams can lose too.
In the knockouts, anyone can go home.
So every game is hard, and you have to fight.
Paraguay played very well today.
They weren't afraid of Germany.
They fought right to the end.
Winning in the end is truly impressive.
Germany didn't play badly either.
They just didn't win the shootout.
Losing is a shame too.
This was a World Cup match.
This is the knockout stage.
Lose and you go home.
Today, Paraguay beat Germany.
That was today's match.
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇考纲词。很多人都知道。德国是很有名的队。
考纲词。很会踢、实力高。德国很强。
考纲词。新发生、大家想知道的事。这真是一个大新闻。
HSK 1. they; them.
在很近的地方踢的一球。打平后靠踢点球决定输赢。
输了就回家、不能再踢的比赛。这是淘汰赛。
两个队分一样多。一直到最后还是一比一，两个队打平了。
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法打平了，怎么办呢？
'It's a draw — what do you do?' — poses a problem, then explains.
打平了，怎么办呢？所以他们要踢点球。
什么是…？
'What is…?' — introduces and defines a term.
什么是踢点球？
这么…，也…
'So…, yet…' — a surprising result despite a strong quality.
德国这么强，也会输。
Proper Nouns
专有名词Free account
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