A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
5:15
世界杯：落后两次仍顽强扳平，小国佛得角二比二逼平乌拉圭
Behind Twice, Still Level: Cape Verde Earn a 2–2 Draw With Uruguay
用简单中文回顾一场真实的世界杯比赛：小国佛得角两度落后仍顽强扳平，皮纳先拔头筹瓦雷拉建功，二比二逼平两届冠军乌拉圭。含生词、语法和全文翻译，适合初级学习者。
This is an HSK 2 Chinese listening episode that runs about 5 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 冠军、勇气、尊重 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.
Today we're going to talk about a very special World Cup match.
This match is Uruguay versus Cape Verde.
Let's give the result first: the two teams drew two to two.
You may not have heard much about this team, Cape Verde.
That's okay — after this match, you'll surely remember it.
Let's first talk about the two teams.
Uruguay comes from South America and is a very famous, strong team.
They've won the World Cup twice before; they're very strong.
Cape Verde, meanwhile, is a very, very small island nation.
Cape Verde is in the Atlantic, a very small place with very few people.
They say it's one of the least populous teams in World Cup history.
So for Cape Verde to come play the World Cup is itself a miracle.
A "miracle" is something almost impossible that actually happens.
Before the match, almost everyone thought Uruguay would win.
After all, the two teams' strength looked very far apart.
People even worried whether Cape Verde would lose a lot of goals.
But once the match got going, it was nothing like that.
Not long after the match began, it was actually Cape Verde who scored first.
The scorer was Cape Verde's player Pina.
One to zero — this tiny Cape Verde had actually taken the lead first!
The people in the stands were all surprised.
But Uruguay, being a strong team after all, soon caught up.
After falling behind, Uruguay stepped up their attack, always looking for chances.
Near the end of the first half, Uruguay scored a goal.
One to one — the two teams were back on the same line.
Right after, Uruguay scored another goal.
Two to one — Uruguay had gone ahead instead.
At the break, Uruguay led two to one.
At this point, many people thought Cape Verde was going to lose.
After all, the one behind was the smallest team.
But Cape Verde's players didn't give up at all.
In the second half, they attacked forward again and again.
They badly wanted to pull the score back, every one of them giving their all.
Daring to push forward while behind takes real courage.
Finally, in the second half, Cape Verde scored another goal.
The scorer was their player Varela.
Two to two!
Cape Verde had equalised again.
This goal made Cape Verde's fans beside themselves with excitement.
For a small team, coming back from behind to level is especially rare.
It shows they don't just fight hard — their quality is pretty good too.
After that, both teams wanted to score another, but neither did.
The match grew more and more intense, and the watchers more and more tense.
In the end, the match finished two to two.
For Uruguay, this result was a bit disappointing.
They're a big-name strong team and had really wanted to win.
Leading twice yet being pegged back twice — they were indeed a bit frustrated.
But for Cape Verde, this was a remarkable draw.
As such a small country, behind they still caught up to a powerful Uruguay.
What's even more impressive, this is already the second time Cape Verde held a strong team.
Before, they also drew zero to zero with another very strong team.
In both matches, they earned a precious point.
A "point" is the score you get from a match; a draw earns one point.
For a small team like Cape Verde, these points are so precious.
After the match, many people praised Cape Verde.
Some said they're small but tenacious, one of the biggest surprises of this World Cup.
Others said holding strong teams twice means Cape Verde deserves everyone's respect.
Still others said Uruguay were a bit unlucky, leading twice yet unable to hold on.
Actually, this is the most moving part of soccer.
Small teams have their dreams too, and can create miracles too.
With stories like Cape Verde's, the World Cup is even more interesting.
Alright, that's the Uruguay versus Cape Verde match.
The two drew two to two, and tiny Cape Verde earned a point again.
Holding two strong teams in two matches is just remarkable.
Coming back from behind to level — they're really tenacious.
Thank you for listening; see you next time.
Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
考纲词. 乌拉圭以前拿过两次世界杯冠军。
考纲词. 落后还敢往前压，很需要勇气。
考纲词. 能两次逼平强队，佛得角值得尊重。
HSK 1-2. interesting.
几乎不可能、却真的发生的事，就是奇迹。
本来落后，后来又超过了对方，就是反超。
把落后的比分追成一样，就是扳平。
* beyond level超纲词
竟然…
'To one's surprise …' marks an unexpected result.
率先进球的，竟然是佛得角。
还能…
'Can still …' stresses something achieved against the odds.
落后了还能追平，真的很顽强。
毕竟…
'After all …' gives a reason that should be obvious.
毕竟，落后的是那支最小的球队。
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