A Chinese podcast · Same story, 4 levels
世界杯：少了普利西奇，美国二比零胜澳大利亚提前出线
USA Win Without Pulisic, Beat Australia 2–0
About this story
用简单中文回顾一场真实的世界杯比赛：东道主美国缺少球星普利西奇，靠乌龙球和弗里曼头球二比零胜澳大利亚，提前晋级淘汰赛。含生词、语法和全文翻译，适合初级学习者。. HSK 2 Chinese listening practice.
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 信心、提前、实力 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 going to talk about a World Cup match.
This match is the USA versus Australia.
Let's give the result first: the USA won, two to zero.
This match was played in the USA, because the USA is one of the hosts of this World Cup.
A "host nation" is a country that holds the tournament in its own country.
So for this match, there were especially many USA fans watching.
The match was in Seattle, a city in the USA.
Before the match, the USA team actually had a bit of bad news.
Their most famous star, Pulisic, was injured and couldn't play.
Pulisic is one of the USA team's most important players.
His not playing was of course a problem for the USA.
Many people worried whether, without him, the USA could still win.
Some said that, missing their best player, the USA would struggle in this match.
Others said the USA has plenty of players and doesn't rely on just one man.
But once the match got going, the USA didn't fall apart.
They played with confidence, pinning Australia back right from the start.
Just eleven minutes in, the USA scored first.
This goal, however, went in a bit unusually.
USA player Balogun sent in a cross, playing the ball to the goalmouth.
An Australia player tried to clear it but accidentally knocked it into his own goal.
A ball like this is called an "own goal" — kicking the ball into your own team's net.
One to zero — the USA led early.
For the USA fans, this goal came at just the right time.
After scoring this goal, the USA played with more assurance.
Near the end of the first half, the USA scored again.
This time, it was USA player Freeman, heading the ball into the goal.
But this goal only counted after the referee first checked the video replay.
In today's soccer, after a goal the referee sometimes checks the replay to confirm there was no foul before it counts.
After watching the replay, the referee confirmed the goal was valid.
Two to zero — the USA stretched their advantage further.
In the second half, Australia wanted to catch up too; they wanted to score.
Two goals down, they had to push forward to look for chances.
But the USA defended steadily, not giving the opponent many chances.
The USA's players dropped back, protecting their goal together.
While defending, they could also counter, keeping the match under control.
A few times, the USA even came close to scoring a third goal.
Although Australia kept attacking, they just couldn't break through.
They tried crosses and shots, many methods, but sadly none worked.
The USA fans in the stands grew happier and more at ease the longer they watched.
The minutes ticked by, and Australia still couldn't score.
In the end, the match finished two to zero, and the USA won.
Even missing Pulisic, the USA still won the match.
This shows the USA doesn't rely on just one star; the whole team has quality.
Two goals — one an opponent's own goal, one headed in by themselves.
However the ball goes in, winning is a good result.
Winning this match meant a lot to the USA.
Because of this victory, the USA reached the next round early — the knockout stage.
The "knockout stage" is where losing one match means going home; it's more important than the group stage.
Qualifying early made everyone on the USA team very happy.
In their own country, winning and qualifying — that feeling is especially good.
Of course, Australia, who lost, didn't play badly either.
They kept fighting and didn't give up; it's just that today the USA was a bit stronger.
After the match, many people were talking about the USA team.
Some said the USA can win even missing a big-name star, and that's no easy thing.
Others said the USA, as host this time, reaching the knockout stage is a good start.
Still others said that when Pulisic returns from injury, the USA will be even stronger.
For the USA fans, these are all happy things.
Alright, that's the USA versus Australia match.
The USA beat Australia two to zero and reached the knockout stage early.
Winning even without a star, the USA played very steadily in this one.
Thank you for listening; see you next time.
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Try it without the transcript and notice what sounds clearer.
What vocabulary does this episode teach?
词汇考纲词. 美国踢得很有信心。
考纲词. 美国提前进了下一轮。
考纲词. 美国整个队都有实力。
HSK 1-2. to start / to begin.
在自己国家办比赛的国家，就是主办国。
把球踢进自己队的门，就是乌龙球。
比赛时录下来的画面。裁判看了录像才算进球。
* beyond level超纲词
What grammar patterns appear in this episode?
语法不管…，能…就是…
Dismisses the manner and judges only the result.
不管球是怎么进的，能赢下来就是好结果。
对…来说，意义很大
'For …, it means a great deal' rates importance to someone.
赢了这场比赛，对美国来说意义很大。
等…，就…
'Once …, then …' points to a future condition and result.
等普利西奇伤好了回来，美国会更强。
Proper Nouns
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