A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
美国二比零赢了波黑
USA Beat Bosnia Two to Zero
About this story
A beginner Chinese listening lesson on the World Cup knockouts: host USA 2-0 Bosnia, playing most of the game with ten men. Simple HSK 1 sentences about a hard-fought home win.
This is an HSK 1 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 前面、守、漂亮 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 at your level
原文Read the complete story in Chinese. Reveal pinyin and English only when you need them.
English transcript reference
Today let's talk about a soccer game.
There are two teams.
One team is called the USA.
One team is called Bosnia.
Both teams want to win.
The USA wants to win.
Bosnia wants to win too.
Score a goal, and you get a point.
The team with more points wins.
Many people came to watch today.
So very many people.
Everyone wants to watch these two teams.
Both teams really want to win.
Both teams want to score.
Everyone sits there watching.
Watching these two teams.
Watching that ball.
Today the game is in the USA.
Many Americans came to watch.
Alright, the game began.
Near the end of the first half, the USA scored.
The scorer is named Balogun.
Now it was one to zero.
The USA was ahead.
The USA's fans were happy.
But then something happened.
Balogun committed a foul.
The referee was angry.
The referee gave him a red card.
With a red card, you can't play anymore.
So Balogun left the field.
Now the USA had only ten players.
Bosnia had eleven players.
The USA was one player short.
A man down, it's hard to play.
But the USA was not afraid.
They defended together, and defended well.
Bosnia had more players and kept trying to score.
They attacked again and again.
But they just couldn't score.
The USA's fans were all nervous.
Later, the USA scored again.
The scorer is named Tillman.
He struck the ball into the goal.
This goal was very beautiful.
Now it was two to zero.
The USA's fans were so happy.
A man down, and they still scored two goals.
Later, the game ended.
The USA beat Bosnia two to zero.
A man down, and the USA still won.
This was really not easy.
Bosnia didn't score a single goal.
They wanted to win too.
But the USA was too good.
So Bosnia had to go home.
This was a very important game.
Lose, and you go home.
The USA can go on to the next match.
Today, the USA beat Bosnia two to zero.
That was today's game.
Listen again
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇考纲词。分数更多、领先。美国在前面。
考纲词。挡住对方、不让他们进球。美国守得很好。
考纲词。很好看。这个球非常漂亮。
HSK 1. they; them.
把球踢进门。美国进了两个球。
踢球的时候动作不对、违反规则。巴洛贡犯规了。
犯规太严重,裁判给红牌,球员就要下场。他拿了一张红牌。
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法只有…
'Only has…' — a limited amount.
现在美国只有十个人。
少一个人,还…
'A man down, and yet still…' — doing something despite a disadvantage.
美国少一个人,还赢了。
一次一次地…
'Again and again' — repeated action.
他们一次一次地进攻。
Proper Nouns
专有名词Free account
Keep learning from this story
Create a free account to keep saved words and your preferred level together.
- Keep words with their story context
- Remember your preferred level
- Build your vocabulary over time