A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
6:04
世界杯：亚马尔世界杯首球奥亚萨瓦尔梅开二度，西班牙四比零横扫沙特
Yamal's First and Oyarzabal's Brace Power Spain to a 4–0 Win Over Saudi Arabia
中级中文听力：回顾世界杯西班牙四比零横扫沙特。年轻新星亚马尔打进世界杯首球，奥亚萨瓦尔几分钟内梅开二度，西班牙传控碾压全场。含生词、语法点与全文翻译。
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 难忘、锁定、优势 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.
Spain beat Saudi Arabia 4-0, a match in which a strong team showed off its quality to the full.
For convenience, below we'll abbreviate Saudi Arabia to "Saudi."
A big score like 4-0 shows Spain played extremely well this match, giving the opponent almost no chances.
Let's first get to know the two teams.
Spain comes from Europe and is one of the universally acknowledged traditional powers of world soccer.
They're famous for delicate passing-and-possession soccer, with outstanding technique and seamless combination, and have always been one of fans' most beloved teams.
This Spain team also has quite a few young stars who've emerged in recent years, and the team's future is very highly rated.
Their opponent Saudi, from Asia, is also a team with a certain quality.
However, in both fame and overall strength, there's a sizable gap between Saudi and Spain.
For exactly this reason, before the match almost everyone thought Spain would win fairly comfortably.
However, Spain's actual performance still came as a pleasant surprise to many.
Just in the tenth minute, Spain's young player Yamal scored first.
Although Yamal is very young, he's already a much-watched rising star in world soccer, and this was still his first goal at a World Cup.
For such a young player, scoring at the World Cup was undoubtedly a very unforgettable moment.
One to zero — Spain took the lead early.
The moment the goal went in, the Spain fans in the stands burst into loud cheers, and the whole ground's atmosphere was ignited at once.
For Saudi, conceding so early undoubtedly put them under greater pressure.
After taking the lead, Spain played even more confidently, and their attack flowed even more smoothly.
Before long, their player Oyarzabal scored a second goal, stretching the score to two to zero.
Even more astonishing, just a few minutes later, Oyarzabal struck again, scoring another goal.
That is to say, within just a few minutes, he had scored two goals in a row for Spain.
This kind of scoring efficiency gave Saudi's defense almost no chance to catch its breath.
Three to zero — that was his second goal of the match.
A player scoring two goals in one match has a vivid name in Chinese: "méi kāi èr dù" (a brace).
Oyarzabal's brace was undoubtedly a major highlight of Spain's big win.
In the second half, Spain collected a fourth goal.
This time, though, the goal came about in an unusual way: a Saudi player, while defending, accidentally knocked the ball into his own goal.
A goal like this is called an own goal in soccer — a player putting the ball into his own team's net.
Four to zero — Spain had completely sealed the win.
So why did Saudi lose so badly today?
For one, Spain's form today was simply too good, holding an absolute advantage in both possession and attack.
For another, Saudi's attack never found a way either.
For most of the match, the ball was at Spain's feet.
By the statistics, Spain took as many as a dozen-plus shots all match, while Saudi had almost no proper shooting chances — the gap between the two was plain to see.
This style of keeping the match firmly under control is exactly what Spain is most famous for, and what gives opponents the biggest headache.
In the end, the match finished four to zero, with Spain winning both easily and beautifully.
For Spain, the meaning of this victory goes without saying.
With a thoroughly enjoyable big win, they proved once again that they remain a strong contender for the title at this World Cup.
Winning so easily, with a young player shining too, undoubtedly boosted the whole team's confidence greatly.
And for Saudi, this was a rather difficult match.
The team they faced is one of the strongest in the world, so losing was actually no surprise.
Still, they never gave up from start to finish, working hard to win the ball, and that attitude still deserves recognition.
For an Asian team, getting to compete against a top side like Spain is itself a precious experience.
Only by facing the strongest opponents can you see more clearly where your own gap lies.
After the match, the discussion mostly centered on the young Yamal.
Some marveled that so young, he could already score at the World Cup, and his future achievements are surely limitless.
Others sent their applause to Oyarzabal for his brace, calling him the deserved hero of this big win.
In fact, this is exactly where the charm of soccer lies: top teams show off their quality here to the full, treating fans to a feast for the eyes.
And the young player's shining display makes people look forward even more to this Spain team's future.
Of course, Spain knows clearly too that the opponents will get stronger later, and this kind of ease won't last forever.
The real tough battles often don't arrive until the knockout rounds.
But opening with such a big win has undoubtedly added plenty of belief.
For those who love watching soccer, getting to see a high-level performance like this is itself a joy.
Alright, that's the whole story of the Spain versus Saudi match; see you next time.
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
考纲词. 对年轻球员来说，这是一个难忘的时刻。
考纲词. 第四个球让西班牙锁定了胜局。
考纲词. 西班牙在控球和进攻上都占据优势。
HSK 1-3. world.
通过传球控制比赛，就是传控。西班牙以传控足球闻名。
刚出名、很有前途的年轻球员。亚马尔是世界足坛的新星。
停下来歇一口气。西班牙不给沙特喘息的机会。
* beyond level超纲词
无论…还是…，都…
'Whether … or …, all …' covers every listed case.
无论是控球还是进攻，西班牙都占据着优势。
仅仅…，就…
'In only …, already …' stresses how little time it took.
仅仅过了几分钟，奥亚萨瓦尔就再下一城。
不言而喻
'Goes without saying' — the meaning is self-evident.
这场胜利的意义不言而喻。
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