A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
6:55
世界杯小组赛：镰田闪击上田梅开二度伊藤建功，亚洲球队日本进攻全面开花四比零横扫突尼斯提前出线
Asian Football on the Rise: Japan Sweep Tunisia Aside 4–0 to Reach the Knockouts
中高级中文听力：世界杯日本四比零横扫突尼斯全程回顾。镰田闪击、上田梅开二度、伊藤建功，日本进攻全面开花提前晋级淘汰赛，亚洲足球展现长足进步。含进阶生词、语法与全文翻译。
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 7 key vocabulary words such as 尊重、传统、舞台 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.
Japan beat Tunisia 4-0, a match in which an Asian team showed the world a high level of play.
A big score like 4-0 clearly shows Japan played almost perfectly this match, while Tunisia suffered a rather painful defeat.
Before reviewing this match, let's first get to know the two teams.
Japan comes from Asia, is a deserved face of Asian soccer, and is one of the fastest-improving and most-watched teams in recent years.
Most of their players ply their trade in Europe's top leagues — technically refined, tireless runners, with very seamless overall combination too.
At recent World Cups, Japan has performed quite well, even beating some traditional soccer powers and leaving a deep impression on the whole world.
Their opponent for this match, Tunisia, comes from Africa and is likewise a team with a certain quality and a fairly strong physique.
However, before this match began, the situation Tunisia found themselves in was actually not optimistic.
They'd already run into considerable trouble in the group stage, and if they lost this one again, they'd very likely be eliminated early.
For exactly this reason, Tunisia badly wanted a result they could be satisfied with in this match.
For them, this was almost a win-or-bust key battle.
However, once the match actually got going, the situation on the pitch was nearly a one-sided, brilliant Japan show.
Just a few minutes into the match, Japan's player Kamada scored first, taking an early lead.
This very early goal threw Tunisia into a passive position at once.
They'd wanted to steady themselves first and make their defense solid, but didn't expect to concede a goal so quickly.
For a team that had to win, falling behind in just the opening minutes was undoubtedly a rather heavy blow.
The plan they'd carefully prepared before the match was thrown completely into disarray almost in an instant.
And after taking the lead, Japan not only didn't let up in the slightest — instead, they played even more confidently and more composedly.
Before long, their player Ueda scored a second goal, stretching the score on the pitch to two to zero.
Japan at this point attacked like a tide, wave after wave, their passing fast and accurate, the players' movement very smart too.
They weren't in a hurry to kick blindly, but kept patient control of the ball, slowly searching for gaps in Tunisia's defensive line.
Facing such methodical, patient attacking, Tunisia's entire defensive line gradually struggled to cope.
By the end of the first half, Japan led firmly by a score of two to zero.
After the change of ends, Japan still firmly held the initiative on the pitch.
They soon scored another goal, rewriting the score to three to zero.
And late in the second half, the red-hot Ueda stepped forward once more, scoring his second goal of the day.
This goal was just as beautiful — he got ahead of the defender and put the ball accurately into the net.
The two goals showed his excellent competitive form today to the fullest.
A player scoring two goals in a row in the same match has a vivid name in Chinese: "méi kāi èr dù" (a brace).
Ueda's brace was undoubtedly one of the biggest highlights of Japan's thoroughly enjoyable big win.
Four to zero — Japan thus turned this match completely into a thoroughly enjoyable rout.
So why did Tunisia lose so badly today?
For one, Japan's overall form today was simply too good, with extremely high attacking efficiency — almost every threatening attack converted into a real goal.
For another, Tunisia's attack never found an effective way; facing Japan's solid, organized defense, they could hardly create truly threatening chances.
When one team plays with flowing ease while the other can't get going for the longest time, such a lopsided big score is often produced just so.
In the end, the match finished four to zero, and an outstanding Japan had the last laugh.
For Japan, the meaning of this victory could be called no ordinary thing.
With this thoroughly enjoyable big win, they locked up a qualifying spot early, advancing smoothly from the group stage to the knockout phase.
The knockout phase is utterly different from the group stage: one game decides it, lose one and you head home, so every match is crucial.
Qualifying early and winning so beautifully, so completely, undoubtedly boosted the whole Japan team's confidence greatly.
And for Tunisia, this was a rather cruel, and rather hard-to-accept, result.
Losing this crucial match meant they were eliminated early, and their journey at this World Cup came to a full stop.
For Tunisia's players and fans, it was undoubtedly a sad night.
But soccer is simply like this: where some have the joy of advancing, others feel the regret of going out — and this is part of the World Cup.
After the match, the discussion mostly centered on Japan's brilliant performance.
Some marveled that Japan played to the highest level of an Asian team today, letting the whole world see the great progress of Asian soccer.
Others, without stinting, sent their applause to Ueda for his brace, calling him the deserved biggest hero of this big win.
In fact, as an Asian fan, getting to see Japan play so excellently on the World Cup stage is itself something to be happy and proud of.
It makes more and more people start to believe that Asian teams are fully capable of producing their own brilliance on the highest stage like the World Cup.
Of course, Japan themselves know very well that the further it goes, the stronger the opponents will be, and today's effortless ease doesn't mean every match ahead will go so smoothly.
The truly severe test often doesn't arrive until the more crucial knockout rounds ahead.
And for Tunisia, though they bowed out to their regret this time, the attitude they showed in fighting to the last on the pitch still deserves people's respect.
The world of soccer has never been only about victory; how you face defeat is just as much a part of a team's growth.
But in any case, being able to lock up qualification early with such a big win has already added plenty of belief and confidence to this Japan team.
Alright, that's the whole story of the Japan versus Tunisia match; see you next time.
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
考纲词. 突尼斯拼到最后的态度值得尊重。
HSK 1-4. tradition.
HSK 1-4. stage.
HSK 1-4. efficiency.
受到很多人关注。日本是亚洲最受瞩目的球队之一。
在某支球队踢球。日本球员大多在欧洲联赛效力。
队伍的阵势、位置。突尼斯本想先稳住阵脚。
* beyond level超纲词
非但没有…，反而…
'Not only did not …, but on the contrary …' marks a strong reversal.
取得领先后，日本非但没有松懈，反而踢得更自信。
并不代表…
'Does not mean / imply …' blocks an over-reaching conclusion.
今天的轻松，并不代表后面也轻松。
无论如何，…
'In any case / regardless, …' sets aside details to state the bottom line.
无论如何，能用大胜提前出线，已经增添了不少信心。
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