A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
世界杯决赛：西班牙一比零赢阿根廷，第二次夺冠
World Cup Final: Spain Beat Argentina One to Zero for Their Second Title
About this story
An easy Chinese listening lesson on the World Cup final: Spain 1-0 Argentina. Spain dominated, Martínez made save after save, Enzo was sent off, and Torres won it in extra time. Spain's second title. HSK 2 Chinese listening practice.
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 特别、几乎、表现 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 special game: the World Cup final, where Spain beat Argentina one to zero.
This was the last game of this World Cup.
Winning this one means becoming world champions.
First, a word on the two teams.
Argentina are the champions from last time, with the legendary star Messi in the side.
Many say this may be Messi's last World Cup.
Spain have been strong for years and badly wanted the title.
Alright, let's look at the game.
In this game, Spain had the upper hand from start to finish.
They kept attacking and took many shots.
Argentina had almost no chances.
But Argentina had an outstanding goalkeeper named Martínez.
He alone blocked many of Spain's shots.
Thanks to him, Argentina didn't concede.
Both the first and second halves ended zero to zero.
Near the end, Argentina's Enzo fouled, got a second yellow card, and was sent off.
Argentina were a man down, with only ten players left.
After ninety minutes, still zero to zero, and the game went to extra time.
Spain brought on a player named Torres.
In extra time, Torres seized his chance and scored the game's only goal.
One to zero, Spain finally led.
In the end, Spain won the game one to zero.
Spain took the World Cup title, their second championship in history.
Across the whole World Cup, Spain conceded only one goal — an outstanding defense.
For Argentina, losing the final was a great shame.
They fought to the very end, and their goalkeeper played very well.
But sadly, they couldn't win another title.
For Messi, this may be a somewhat sad ending.
That's Spain one to zero Argentina, a World Cup final worth remembering.
See you next time.
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇考纲词。和别的不一样、很不寻常。这是一场非常特别的比赛。
考纲词。差不多、接近。阿根廷几乎没有什么机会。
考纲词。做得怎么样。守门员表现得很好。
考纲词。让人觉得可惜。很遗憾，阿根廷没能再夺冠。
站在球门前挡球的球员。马丁内斯是阿根廷的守门员。
常规时间打平后，再加一段时间比赛。比赛进入了加时赛。
事情最后的样子。对梅西来说，这是一个难过的结局。
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法从头到尾
'From start to finish' — the whole way through.
这场比赛，西班牙从头到尾都占了上风。
靠着…，…
'Relying on …, …' — how something is achieved.
靠着他，阿根廷一直没有丢球。
对…来说
'As for … / for …' — introducing a perspective.
对梅西来说，这可能是一个有点难过的结局。
Proper Nouns
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