A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
6:09
从荧幕到绿茵场：李现成首位在世界杯正赛开球的中国内地艺人
From the Screen to the Pitch: Li Xian, First Chinese Mainland Artist to Kick Off a World Cup Match
中级中文听力：一个温暖的世界杯故事。作为运动品牌代言人，中国演员李现在亚特兰大西班牙对沙特的比赛前完成开球仪式——并非中圈开球，而是将比赛用球放上底座，成为首位在男足世界杯正赛开球的中国内地艺人。含生词、语法与全文翻译。
This is an HSK 3-4 Chinese listening episode that runs about 6 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 珍贵、影响力、观众 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.
Today we're not talking about a specific match, but about an especially interesting World Cup story connected to China.
The protagonist of this story is a Chinese actor, whose name is Li Xian.
Li Xian is a very famous Chinese actor who has starred in many hit TV dramas and films, and is much loved by young audiences.
So how could an actor be connected to the far-off World Cup?
The reason is that Li Xian is the ambassador for a well-known sports brand.
A so-called ambassador is a person who helps promote a brand and serves as its image representative.
And this World Cup happened to have this brand as a sponsor.
So the brand invited Li Xian to go to the World Cup in person and carry out a special task — to kick off a match.
Before many big soccer matches begin, the organizers often invite a special guest to perform a short kickoff ceremony, getting the match underway.
The guest chosen this time was Li Xian.
They say that before the official announcement, the brand even released an amusing "appointment letter," half in jest, inviting Li Xian to serve as the World Cup kickoff guest, and Li Xian replied, "Mission will be accomplished."
This back-and-forth made many netizens find it both formal and fun.
The match Li Xian kicked off was a group-stage game, Spain versus Saudi Arabia, held in Atlanta in the U.S.
However, Li Xian's kickoff this time was not quite the picture many people imagined.
Many assume that a so-called kickoff means the guest stands in the center of the field and gives the ball a hard kick.
But in fact, what Li Xian did was a different kind of ceremony.
He carried the official match ball with both hands and, accompanied by staff, slowly walked onto the pitch.
Then, he gently placed the ball on a special pedestal at the players' entrance, waved in greeting to the tens of thousands of spectators, and posed for a photo with the ball.
According to people at the scene, Li Xian was dressed very smartly, his expression both a little nervous and unable to hide his excitement.
The whole process was not complicated in its actions, but the meaning it carried was extraordinary.
Because Li Xian is the first Chinese mainland artist to complete a pre-match kickoff at a men's World Cup match.
Before him, no Chinese mainland actor had ever been able to stand on a World Cup pitch in such a role.
So this time, you could say Li Xian genuinely created a "first."
This quickly spread across China's internet, making countless Chinese fans feel both excited and proud.
You should know that China's team did not make it into this World Cup.
Precisely because of this, getting to see a familiar Chinese face on a World Cup pitch felt especially precious.
Some fans sighed that, although the Chinese team couldn't take part, seeing a Chinese person appear at the World Cup in this way still felt heartwarming.
Others felt that this, from one angle, shows the distance between China and world soccer is slowly closing.
In fact, at this World Cup, several Chinese people have already appeared on the pitch, one after another.
For example, Chinese referee Ma Ning officiated a match at this World Cup, winning much praise.
That is to say, on the pitch, Chinese professionals are already contributing their strength.
And Li Xian is the first, and the only, Chinese entertainment artist to appear in the role of "kickoff guest."
A referee relies on professionalism, an artist on influence; in their different ways, they connect China and the World Cup.
Li Xian himself also clearly treasured this experience and was excited by it.
Well before setting off for the U.S., he said that getting such an opportunity was a very honorable thing.
Being able to represent China and stand on a top global stage like the World Cup, he felt sincerely proud.
Of course, there were also some light-hearted discussions online, such as: does this kind of "placing the ball" really count as a true "kickoff" or "kicking the ball"?
But actually, what this thing is called isn't the most important part.
What truly matters is that more and more Chinese people are stepping closer to the World Cup and into world soccer in all kinds of different ways.
Among them are referees who officiate fairly, artists who take the stage, and in the future, perhaps even a Chinese team that truly competes on the pitch.
After the match, photos and videos of Li Xian's kickoff were wildly shared on China's social media, becoming a hot topic for a time.
Many people, while happy for him, also expressed the same wish: that in the future, more and more Chinese figures will appear on the World Cup stage.
In fact, this is exactly the charm of the World Cup.
It has never belonged only to the players running and kicking on the pitch, but equally to every ordinary person in the world who loves soccer.
Even if you're an actor, you can absolutely connect, in your own way, with this grandest sporting event in the world.
Alright, that's the story between Li Xian and the World Cup.
A Chinese actor, with one simple yet special kickoff, left behind a moment that made many Chinese people feel warm and proud.
Perhaps in the not-too-distant future, we'll see more such pleasantly surprising Chinese figures at the World Cup.
Thank you for listening; see you next time.
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
考纲词. 这样的画面显得格外珍贵。
考纲词. 艺人靠的是广泛的影响力。
HSK 1-3. audience.
HSK 1-3. world.
代表一个品牌形象的人，就是形象大使。
出钱支持一个活动，就是赞助。
正式的比赛，区别于热身或预选，就是正赛。
* beyond level超纲词
之所以…，原因在于…
'The reason … is that …' spells out cause explicitly.
他之所以和世界杯有关，原因在于他是品牌代言人。
并不…，而是…
'Is not actually …, but rather …' corrects an assumption.
这次开球并不是中圈踢球，而是把球放上底座。
正因为如此，…
'Precisely because of this, …' draws a consequence from the prior point.
中国队没参赛，正因为如此，看到中国面孔就格外珍贵。
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