A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
世界杯淘汰赛：C罗点球，拉莫斯绝杀，葡萄牙二比一克罗地亚
World Cup Knockout: Ronaldo's Penalty, Ramos' Late Winner — Portugal Beat Croatia 2-1
About this story
An easy Chinese listening lesson on the World Cup knockouts: Perisic scores, Ronaldo equalizes from the spot, and Ramos' stoppage-time header wins it as Portugal beat Croatia 2-1. HSK 2 vocabulary on a penalty, a late winner, and two aging legends.
This is an HSK 2 Chinese listening episode that runs about 3 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 梦想、容易、重要 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 thrilling World Cup knockout game: Portugal beat Croatia two to one.
This game had two big stars, and many stories.
First, a word on Portugal.
Portugal's most famous player is Ronaldo.
Ronaldo is one of the most famous players in the world.
He's already quite old, but still plays for the national team.
Many people say this may be his last World Cup.
So he especially wanted to win.
Now a word on Croatia.
Croatia also have an old star, named Modrić.
Like Ronaldo, he's been a veteran for many years.
Alright, let's look at the game.
After the first half, neither team had scored.
In the second half, Croatia scored first.
The scorer was named Perisic.
Zero to one, Croatia led.
Portugal were behind, but they didn't panic.
In the sixty-eighth minute, a chance came.
Croatia fouled in the box, and the referee gave Portugal a penalty.
A penalty is when one player shoots against the goalkeeper — easy to score.
The one who took the penalty was Ronaldo.
He calmly put the ball away — one to one!
This was also Ronaldo's first goal in a World Cup knockout game.
The whole stadium cheered for him.
For the rest of the game, both teams wanted to win and battled fiercely.
Just as the game was nearly over, Portugal got another chance.
In the ninety-fourth minute, Leão crossed, and young Ramos leapt high and headed the ball into the goal.
Two to one!
Portugal had gone ahead at the very last moment.
But the game wasn't over yet.
In the final moments, Croatia also put the ball in Portugal's net.
But the referee watched a replay and said the goal didn't count, because a player was offside.
So the score stayed two to one.
In the end, Portugal won the game.
So, how should we view this game?
For Portugal and Ronaldo, this is a very important win.
Ronaldo's World Cup dream can continue.
For Croatia, losing is truly such a shame.
This was also veteran star Modrić's last World Cup, and just like that he said goodbye to the tournament.
That's Portugal two to one Croatia, a game that belonged to two veterans.
See you next match.
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇考纲词。心里最想实现的愿望。C罗的世界杯梦想可以继续了。
HSK 1-2. easy.
HSK 1-2. important.
HSK 1-2. the same.
年纪大、经验丰富的老球员。C罗和莫德里奇都是老将。
分数更多、走在前面。克罗地亚一比零领先。
分数更少、在后面。葡萄牙落后了。
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法可能是…最后一次…
'May be the last time …' — a poignant possibility.
这可能是他最后一次踢世界杯了。
正是…
'It is precisely …' — emphatic identification.
来踢点球的，正是C罗。
就这样…
'And just like that…' — marks a resigned outcome.
他就这样和世界杯说了再见。
Proper Nouns
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