A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
世界杯:特罗萨尔梅开二度德布劳内建功,比利时五比一大胜新西兰
World Cup: Trossard's Brace and De Bruyne Strike — Belgium Thrash New Zealand 5-1
About this story
An easy Chinese listening lesson on the World Cup: Trossard's brace, plus De Bruyne, Lukaku, and Saelemaekers, power Belgium to a 5-1 rout of New Zealand, with Just grabbing a brave goal. HSK 2 vocabulary on stars, passing, and the gap in quality.
This is an HSK 2 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 主动、精神、回忆 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 we're talking about a high-scoring World Cup match: Belgium beat New Zealand five to one.
Six goals in one game, very lively, and Belgium alone scored five.
This game is an open lesson on "just how strong a strong team is."
First, about Belgium.
Belgium is a top team in world soccer, with most players in Europe's best leagues.
They have several world-class stars, like De Bruyne and Lukaku, names everyone knows well.
A team like this is terrifying when it attacks.
Speaking of De Bruyne, he's one of the best passers of this era.
A single pass from him can directly hand a teammate a chance to score.
With a player like that, Belgium's attack always has ideas.
Let's look at the game.
Belgium took the initiative from the start.
In the twenty-eighth minute, Trossard scored first, one to zero.
New Zealand wanted to hold on, but Belgium's attacks came in wave after wave.
Just as the second half began, Trossard scored again, two to zero, completing his brace.
Not long after, the big-name star De Bruyne also scored, three to zero.
By this point, the game was basically beyond doubt.
But New Zealand didn't give up.
In the eighty-fourth minute, New Zealand's Just seized a chance and scored, pulling it back to three to one.
For a small team so far behind, scoring a goal is already hard — the players and fans were happy.
Interestingly, Just had scored in an earlier game too, one of New Zealand's best players at this World Cup.
But Belgium was simply too strong.
After conceding, they kept up the pressure.
Lukaku soon scored again, four to one.
In stoppage time, Saelemaekers added another, fixing the score at five to one.
The whistle blew, Belgium won big five to one.
How to view this game?
For Belgium, this is an emphatic big win — they advanced as group winners, in fine form.
Scoring five goals shows the team's attack is full of firepower, a good omen for the knockouts ahead.
Of course, the real hard battles lie ahead, and Belgium won't get proud over this one game.
For New Zealand, a heavy defeat is of course no fun.
But you have to know they faced a world-class strong team, and the gap in quality genuinely exists.
More importantly, while down zero to three, they could still score a goal and not give up — that spirit deserves recognition.
New Zealand comes from Oceania, and to stand on the World Cup stage is itself something to be proud of.
Looking back at New Zealand's World Cup, they actually left quite a few good memories.
In earlier games, they played tenaciously too, and Just even scored.
Though they lost badly today, that doesn't erase their earlier effort.
For a small team, to reach the World Cup, to score, to go toe to toe with strong teams — that's already great.
That's Belgium five to one New Zealand — a strong team's display of firepower, and New Zealand's brave fight.
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇考纲词。掌握局面、不被对方牵着走。比利时占据了主动。
考纲词。这里指不放弃、肯拼的态度。这种精神值得肯定。
考纲词。过去发生、留在心里的事。他们留下了不少好的回忆。
HSK 1-2. interesting.
最高水平的。比利时是一支顶级强队。
达到世界最高水平的。他们有好几个世界级的球星。
把球传给队友。德布劳内最会传球。
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法一波接一波
'Wave after wave' — relentless, in continuous succession.
比利时的进攻一波接一波。
对…来说
'For… / as for…' — frames whom a statement applies to.
对一支落后这么多的小球队来说,能进一个球已经不容易。
虽然…,但…
'Although…, but…' — concession.
虽然今天输得比较惨,但这不能抹去他们前面的努力。
Proper Nouns
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