A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
世界杯淘汰赛：姆巴佩点球，法国一比零小胜巴拉圭
World Cup Last 16: Mbappé's Penalty — France Edge Paraguay 1-0
About this story
An easy Chinese listening lesson on the World Cup last 16: after a tight, physical battle, Mbappé's 70th-minute penalty settles it as France beat a stubborn Paraguay 1-0. HSK 2 vocabulary on a low-block defense, a penalty, and a Golden Boot race.
This is an HSK 2 Chinese listening episode that runs about 2 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 夺冠热门、前锋、死守 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 very tough World Cup knockout game: France beat Paraguay one to zero.
The score is slim, but France did not win this game easily.
First, a word on France.
France are one of the strongest teams in the world, and a title favorite at this World Cup.
Their most famous player is Mbappé.
Mbappé is blazingly fast, one of the best goal-scoring forwards in the world.
Now a word on Paraguay.
Paraguay are a very hard-working team, especially tough in defense.
Alright, let's look at the game.
This game was played very intensely right from the start.
Paraguay put everyone behind the ball, desperately defending their own goal.
France kept attacking, but found it hard to score.
The first half ended still at zero to zero.
For a long stretch of the second half, the score didn't change either.
Just as everyone was getting anxious, a chance came.
In the seventieth minute, Paraguay fouled in the box, and the referee awarded France a penalty.
The one to take it was Mbappé.
He calmly put the ball away — one to zero!
This goal was so important; France finally led.
It was also Mbappé's seventh goal at this World Cup.
Now, like Messi, he is one of the top scorers.
After that, Paraguay wanted to equalize, but never got the chance.
In the end, France comfortably won the game one to zero.
So, how should we view this game?
For France, this is a very practical win.
It wasn't easy, but on the strength of their star's ability they took the crucial three points and reached the quarter-finals.
For Paraguay, losing is of course a shame.
They defended very well, and came close to dragging France into extra time.
Though they lost, their tenacity deserves respect.
That's France one to zero Paraguay, a win that belonged to Mbappé.
See you next match.
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Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇考纲词。很紧张、很拼。比赛踢得非常激烈。
考纲词。不花哨、但很管用。这是一场很实用的胜利。
最有希望拿冠军的球队。法国是这届世界杯的夺冠热门。
站在最前面、专门负责进球的球员。姆巴佩是最会进球的前锋之一。
拼命地守住球门。巴拉圭死守自己的球门。
动作违反规则。巴拉圭在禁区里犯规。
把落后的比分追成一样。巴拉圭想扳平比分。
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法虽然…，但是…
'Although…, but…' — a concessive contrast.
虽然赢得不轻松，但是他们拿到了最重要的三分。
就在…的时候，机会来了
'Just at the moment when…, a chance came' — a dramatic turn.
就在大家都很着急的时候，机会来了。
差一点就…
'Almost…' — came very close.
他们差一点就把法国拖进加时赛了。
Proper Nouns
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