A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
5:43
世界杯：布迪米尔关键破门，老练克罗地亚一比零小胜巴拿马，巴拿马出局
Croatia 1–0 Panama: Budimir's Decisive Goal as Savvy Croatia Edge Out Panama
中级中文世界杯回顾：底蕴深厚的克罗地亚与顽强的巴拿马僵持难分，长时间零比零，布迪米尔下半场冷静破门一击制胜，老练的克罗地亚守住胜果，巴拿马遗憾出局。含生词、语法和全文翻译。
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 保留、遗憾、世界 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.
Croatia edged Panama one-nil — a rather tense and rather pragmatic match.
What made it tense: the score was nil-nil for most of the match, and only in the second half did Croatia seal the win with a single goal.
Let's first get to know these two teams.
Croatia comes from Europe, a strong team in world football with deep heritage.
In the most recent World Cups they've performed superbly and once went a long way.
This team has a number of hugely experienced veteran players.
They combine seamlessly and read the game well; the more crucial the battle, the steadier they tend to be.
Their opponents Panama come from Central America, well behind Croatia in both fame and overall strength.
But Panama's players are tenacious in style and never give up easily, a team with real fight.
For both teams this was a must-win match, because whoever lost would likely be eliminated and end their World Cup early.
For all these reasons, from the start both sides played especially cautiously.
Both teams secured their defence first, not daring to push up, afraid of being caught and conceding first.
And so, for a long stretch the match stayed nil-nil.
There weren't many goals on show, but in fact both sides were very tense, each attack and each defensive moment shaping the match's direction.
Panama defended quite tenaciously, dropping back to protect their goal, making it hard for Croatia to break through for a while.
A few times Panama even created a little threat on the counter, keeping Croatia wary.
However, Croatia were, after all, the more experienced and stronger team.
They were patient, not impatient for success, calmly controlling the match and slowly probing for flaws in the opposing defence.
Finally, in the second half, Croatia got a precious chance.
Their player Budimir seized that rare chance and calmly finished, helping Croatia take a one-nil lead.
The moment it went in, Croatia's players and fans celebrated wildly, because they all knew how much this one goal weighed in a match like this.
With both teams having few chances, this goal was extremely crucial.
In such a tense match, whoever breaks the deadlock first seizes a huge advantage.
After taking the lead, the experienced Croatia immediately set up to defend solidly.
They knew that in this kind of match, holding a one-goal lead often means taking the whole match.
And the trailing, must-win Panama had no choice but to go all out and pile forward, launching wave after wave of attack at Croatia's goal.
Panama's fans in the stands cheered hopefully again and again, longing for an equaliser.
However, Croatia's defence was just as solid, using their rich experience to defuse Panama's repeated charges.
Minute by minute the time slipped away, and Panama never managed to breach the opposing goal.
In the end, the match finished one-nil, with Croatia having the last laugh.
For Croatia, this was a hugely important victory.
With these three points, they kept their hopes of qualifying from the group alive.
But for Panama, it was a rather cruel result.
Losing this match meant they were eliminated early, their World Cup journey coming to an end.
Still, Panama need not be too dejected.
As a relatively weaker team, just reaching the World Cup is already an achievement.
What's more, in this match they faced a world-class power like Croatia, so the loss was hardly a surprise.
They fought to the very last moment, fearless against a strong opponent, and that tenacious spirit still won the respect and applause of many neutral fans.
After the match, the discussion centred on this game.
Some praised Croatia as a worthy, experienced power: the more crucial the battle, the calmer they stay and the last to laugh.
Others felt for Panama, that they played well and only lacked a little luck and experience in the end.
Actually, this is exactly football's appeal, and its cruelty too: sometimes a single goal is enough to decide a match, even a team's fate.
For this very reason, on a stage like the World Cup, every goal and every chance is all the more precious — and it's this cruelty that makes victory so precious.
Okay, that's the whole story of Panama against Croatia, see you next time.
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
考纲词. 这场胜利让克罗地亚保留了出线的希望。
考纲词. 对巴拿马来说，出局是一个遗憾的结果。
HSK 1-3. world.
HSK 1-3. experience.
克罗地亚是一支底蕴深厚的传统强队。
巴拿马的防守做得相当扎实。
谁先打破僵局，谁就占据主动。
* beyond level超纲词
越是…，越…
'The more … , the more …'.
越是这种关键的硬仗，克罗地亚越能保持冷静。
并不…，而是…
'Not … , but rather …'.
他们并不急于求成，而是稳稳地控制节奏。
意味着…
'… means / implies that …'.
守住领先，往往就意味着能拿下整场比赛。
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