A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
中国演员李现，在世界杯上开球
Li Xian Becomes First Chinese World Cup Kickoff Artist
About this story
用最简单的中文，听一个温暖的世界杯故事：中国演员李现登上世界杯赛场，成为第一位为世界杯正赛开球的中国内地艺人。含生词、语法和全文翻译，特别适合零基础和初级中文学习者。. HSK 1 Chinese listening practice.
This is an HSK 1 Chinese listening episode that runs about 5 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 演员、有名、知道 and walks through 2 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
Many people love watching soccer.
I love watching soccer too.
Many people also love watching TV.
I love watching TV too.
Watching soccer is nice.
Watching TV is nice too.
Today, I want to talk about a person.
This person — many people know him.
He is Chinese.
In China, everyone knows him.
He's a good person, and everyone likes him.
Many people like him too.
Seeing him, everyone is happy.
He is a very good person.
And many people want to see him.
So, what does he do?
Okay, let's say it slowly.
This person — everyone loves to watch him.
Who is he?
Let's talk about it.
His name is Li Xian.
Li Xian is a Chinese person.
In China, he is truly very famous.
He is an actor.
An "actor" is a person who acts in TV shows and movies.
Li Xian has acted in many TV shows and many movies.
So many people recognize him.
So what does Li Xian have to do with soccer?
It turns out, this year there's a very big soccer tournament.
This tournament is the World Cup.
The World Cup is the biggest soccer tournament in the world.
It happens only once every four years and is especially famous.
Many, many people watch the World Cup.
No matter which country people are from, they love watching it.
This year's World Cup is being played over here in the U.S.
At this year's World Cup, something special happened.
Li Xian went to the World Cup!
He took a very long flight to get there.
After arriving, he even went out onto the pitch.
Before a match began, Li Xian did something.
He carried a soccer ball and walked onto the pitch.
At that time, there were many, many people in the stadium.
Everyone watched him and applauded him.
Then, he placed this ball in a certain spot.
This is called the "kickoff."
The kickoff is something done before the match begins.
Once it's done, the match is about to start.
Getting to do the kickoff at the World Cup is a very special thing.
Because not just anyone can go onto a World Cup pitch.
Of all the people in the world, only very few can go out there.
For Li Xian to go out there is really not easy.
What's even more special is that Li Xian is a Chinese actor.
Before, no Chinese actor had ever done the kickoff at a World Cup.
Li Xian is the first Chinese actor to do this.
So this makes the moment even more joyful.
This thing made many Chinese people very happy.
Everyone said: wonderful, so impressive!
Many people who saw this were very happy.
Some said: getting to see a Chinese person on a World Cup pitch is wonderful.
Others said: Li Xian did well, and we're all happy for him.
And many people wrote messages to Li Xian online.
Everyone said they hope more Chinese people can be at the World Cup in the future.
Li Xian himself was very happy too.
He said being able to go to the World Cup is a wonderful thing.
Actually, this also tells us: soccer isn't only about the players.
Many people can have a connection to soccer.
An actor can also walk onto a World Cup pitch.
This is the fun part of soccer.
It can connect many, many people together.
Alright, today's story — that's all for here.
Chinese actor Li Xian went to the World Cup and did the kickoff.
He's the first Chinese actor to do this.
This made many Chinese people very happy.
Thank you for listening; see you next time.
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇考纲词. 李现在中国非常有名。
考纲词. 在中国，很多人都知道他。
考纲词. 这是一件很特别的事。
考纲词. 这件事让很多中国人都很高兴。
演电视、演电影的人，就是演员。
比赛开始以前做的一个仪式，就是开球。
踢足球的地方，就是球场。
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法又…又…
'Both … and …' links two things that are true together.
这个人，又和足球有关，也和电影有关。
第一个…
'The first to …' marks someone as the very first.
李现是第一个这样做的中国演员。
Proper Nouns
专有名词Free account
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