A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
7:10
世界杯小组赛：伊伦基补时绝杀，加纳一比零艰难击败顽强的巴拿马
World Cup: Yirenkyi's Stoppage-Time Winner Edges a Stubborn Panama as Ghana Win 1-0
母语级中文世界杯战报：加纳与巴拿马鏖战至补时，塞门约几乎凭一己之力撕开防线，伊伦基绝杀破门，加纳一比零险胜；顽强的巴拿马错失良机，世界杯首胜仍需等待。含生词、语法和全文英文翻译。
This is an HSK 5-6 Chinese listening episode that runs about 7 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 10 key vocabulary words such as 较量、渴望、韧性 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.
Read the complete story in Chinese. Reveal pinyin and English only when you need them.
Ghana edged Panama one to nil — a match that kept everyone on edge right until the very last moment.
The game's only goal came especially late: it dragged all the way into stoppage time before Ghana finally broke the deadlock with the winner.
This was a contest between two teams of quite evenly matched quality.
Ghana comes from Africa, while Panama comes from Central America, and neither side's reputation is among the elite.
And precisely because they were so evenly matched, before the game neither side dared thump its chest and declare it would surely win.
For Panama, this match held especially particular meaning.
Before this, although they had stepped onto the World Cup stage before, they had never managed to win even a single match.
Therefore, they craved beyond measure to take, at this World Cup, the first victory in their nation's history.
And Ghana would not be outdone either — they too wanted to open their World Cup campaign with a win.
Ghana is a team with real tradition in Africa, and their fans have always placed high hopes in them.
For both teams, this match was a key battle that had to be fought for with everything they had.
However, precisely because both wanted to win this match so badly, they instead played with extreme caution and care on the pitch.
Neither wanted to be the first to make a mistake, so after kickoff, both looked a little tense and unable to let loose.
At the start of the match, neither side dared to push up and take risks lightly.
With one accord, they chose to solidify their defense first, then patiently and gingerly look for chances to attack.
Through the entire first half, neither team managed to score.
To be honest, the first half was played somewhat dully, with genuinely threatening chances few and far between.
Ghana didn't play smoothly in the first half, and their attack consistently lacked sufficient threat.
However, after the change of ends, Ghana's performance clearly took a turn for the better.
They made some adjustments at half-time and noticeably quickened the pace of their attack.
In the second half, Ghana began pressing forward relentlessly, threatening Panama's goal again and again.
From the run of play, you could tell Ghana clearly craved this win more than Panama did.
However, Panama by no means gave up at that, and they likewise created several quite decent chances.
Once or twice, Panama's players even got superb opportunities to shoot.
A couple of those shots almost pierced the goal, making Ghana's fans break out in a cold sweat.
Unfortunately, they ultimately couldn't take these chances, and the ball brushed past the goal time and again.
Just imagine: if those chances had turned into goals, the final result of this match might have looked entirely different.
And so, the score on the pitch stayed locked at nil-nil for a long time.
The minutes ticked away, and the match looked set to head toward its conclusion.
Up in the stands, many fans were on edge inside: would today's match really end nil-nil, fizzling out like this?
For Ghana, a draw was actually far from the result they wanted.
For precisely that reason, in the final stage of the match they were still pushing forward desperately, hunting for that one sliver of a chance.
And then, at exactly this seemingly uneventful final moment, the most dramatic scene of all suddenly played out.
By this point, the match had entered stoppage time — the extra few minutes added on after regulation had ended.
Ghana's star Semenyo took the ball and surged forward; he was blisteringly fast and, almost single-handedly, tore open Panama's entire defensive line.
He produced a hugely threatening attack, delivering the ball precisely into the danger zone in front of goal.
And in that lightning-fast instant, Ghana's player Yirenkyi arrived in time, seized that fleeting chance, and sent the ball into the net with one strike!
In that moment, the whole stadium seemed to ignite in an instant, and Ghana's entire bench, boiling over, poured onto the pitch.
One to nil — Ghana, at the final moment of the match, had scored this vitally important, priceless goal.
This goal really came so late, and yet was really so crucial.
For Ghana, this goal was quite simply like a precious gift falling from the sky.
Ghana's players immediately sprinted over to celebrate to their hearts' content, and the fans in the stands erupted in wild cheers and roars.
Because everyone knew full well that this was almost the very last chance of the entire match.
After scoring this precious goal, the match soon blew its final whistle.
Panama, even if they wanted to equalize at this point, no longer had any time.
In the end, on the strength of this stunning last-gasp winner, Ghana won this hard-fought match one to nil.
For Ghana, this was without doubt an extremely precious victory.
Being able to take three points with a last-moment winner in such a tense, locked battle will surely greatly boost the whole team's morale and confidence.
More importantly, these precious three points also gave them an early edge in the group's competition.
Of course, despite losing the match, the tenacious Panama deserves credit and respect all the same.
They defended hard, created chances, and battled all the way to the last moment of the match.
It's just that today, their luck seemed to be a touch against them.
That long-awaited first World Cup win, they will probably have to wait patiently a while longer for.
But as long as they can keep up today's fight and resilience, the chance that belongs to them will come sooner or later.
After the match, people's discussion naturally revolved around this last-gasp winner.
Some said Ghana won somewhat luckily today, but that this victory was hard-earned all the same.
Others said Panama actually played quite tenaciously, and losing in the end really was a bit of a shame.
Actually, this is precisely one of the most fascinating things about the sport of football.
Some goals come very early; while others have to wait until the very last moment to arrive, fashionably late.
And often, it's precisely this kind of last-moment winner that most stirs the blood, and stays unforgettable for a lifetime.
A match like this tells us once more: on a football pitch, as long as the final whistle hasn't yet sounded, hope always exists.
Sometimes, it's the side that can grit its teeth and hold on until the very last moment that is the true winner who has the last laugh.
For Ghana, taking precious three points in their opener is, without doubt, a rather ideal start.
And for Panama, the group stage has only just lifted its curtain, and they still have a chance to fight for a better result.
One to nil, a last-gasp winner, a match remembered to the very last second — this is exactly the World Cup's own unique charm.
Alright, that's the whole story of this Ghana versus Panama match. Until next time.
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
这是实力相当接近的两支球队之间的较量。
他们无比渴望拿到属于自己国家历史上的第一场胜利。
只要保持今天这样的拼劲与韧性。
HSK 1-4. nature; natural.
HSK 1-4. tradition.
考纲词。开场之后，双方都显得有些拘谨和放不开。
成语。耐心地、小心翼翼地去寻找进攻的机会。
成语。就在这电光火石的一瞬。
成语。抓住这稍纵即逝的机会。
成语。凭借着这粒石破天惊的绝杀。
* beyond level超纲词
正因为…，反而…
'precisely because …, on the contrary …' — an unexpected result of a cause.
正因为两队都太想赢，反而在场上都踢得格外谨慎。
恰恰就在…，…
'at exactly the moment when …, …' — heightens drama.
恰恰就在这看似平淡的最后时刻，最具戏剧性的一幕突然上演了。
只要…，就…
'as long as …, then …'.
只要终场的哨声还没有响起，希望就永远存在。
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