A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
世界杯淘汰赛：德凯特拉雷双响，比利时四比一大胜美国
World Cup Last 16: De Ketelaere's Brace — Belgium Beat the USA 4-1
About this story
An easy Chinese listening lesson on the World Cup last 16: De Ketelaere's brace, Tillman's free-kick equalizer, and goals from Vanaken and Lukaku give Belgium a 4-1 win over hosts USA. HSK 2 vocabulary on firepower, an equalizer, and a class gap.
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 东道主、逆转、破门 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 World Cup knockout game: Belgium beat hosts USA four to one.
In this game, Belgium showed off their powerful quality.
First, a word on Belgium.
Belgium are known as the "Red Devils of Europe," a very famous, strong team with many big-name players.
In the last round, they even came from two goals down to win — very impressive.
Now a word on the USA.
The USA are one of this World Cup's hosts, playing at their own home ground.
Alright, let's look at the game.
Not long after kickoff, Belgium scored first.
In the ninth minute, De Ketelaere took his chance to score — zero to one.
A trailing USA didn't give up.
In the thirty-first minute, Tillman converted a beautiful free-kick — one to one!
The home fans were thrilled.
But the good times didn't last.
Just a minute later, De Ketelaere scored again, a brace — one to two.
Belgium had retaken the lead.
This goal came so fast, and instantly snuffed out the USA's hopes.
In the second half, Belgium played stronger and stronger, firmly controlling the game.
Vanaken scored another, making it one to three.
The USA wanted to pull goals back, but Belgium defended well too, and chances were few.
Near the end, Lukaku scored again — one to four.
In the end, Belgium won big, four to one.
So, how should we view this game?
For Belgium, this is a clean, impressive big win.
Their attack was just too strong, turning several attacks into goals.
For the USA, losing is of course a shame.
They tried hard too, and even leveled the score for a while.
But Belgium's quality really was a big cut above.
As hosts, reaching this stage is already great for the USA.
That's Belgium four to one USA, a complete win that belonged to Belgium.
See you next match.
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇举办比赛的国家。比利时赢了东道主美国。
先落后，后来又反过来赢了。上一轮他们完成了逆转。
把球打进球门。德凯特拉雷抓住机会破门。
对方犯规后在那个位置直接踢的球。蒂尔曼罚进了一个任意球。
一个人在一场球里进两个球。德凯特拉雷梅开二度。
成语。好的局面没能维持多久。可是好景不长。
差距很大。比利时的实力高出了一大截。
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法才…就…
'As soon as … , then …' — something happens very early.
比赛才开始不久，比利时就先进了一个球。
仅仅…后
'Just … later' — emphasizes how quickly.
仅仅一分钟后，德凯特拉雷又进了一个球。
确实…
'Really / indeed …' — affirming a fact.
比利时的实力，确实高出了一大截。
Proper Nouns
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