Episode 109

EPISODE 109
LEVEL A1.2/ A2.1

 

READING COMPREHENSION 

 

SPORTS

During the first modern Olympic Games in Athens there were just a few sports: tennis, cycling, rowing (= a sport in which you make a boat move through the water using long poles), wrestling (= a sport in which two people fight and throw each other to the ground), shooting (= a sport in which you use a gun), gymnastics, swimming, weightlifting (= a sport in which you lift heavy objects) and athletics. At that time most people were interested in the athletics events in the main stadium (= a big building in which people watch sports events). In the first Olympics there were no team sports. They were introduced only at the beginning of the 20th century and they included: football, hockey, handball and basketball. Later on more and more sports were introduced, such as judo, volleyball (= a sport in which two teams hit a ball over the net), windsurfing, table tennis or baseball.

The Olympic Games nowadays are becoming bigger and bigger and more and more expensive. That is why people often ask: “Will the Olympics continue?’, “Should the Olympics continue?’

 

More contexts for the new words: 

• She loves to go sailing (= the activity of using boats with sails)
• Many doctors believe that boxing is too dangerous and should be banned. (= a sport in which two people fight using hands)

 

EXERCISE 1 

Give the words to the definitions:

1. a sport played on ice by two teams of six players = h……………………..
2. a sport in which you use a bicycle = c………………………
3. a sport in which two players use rackets to hit a ball across the net = t……………………..
4. a sport in which you move across the water standing on a flat board with a sail = w………………..
5. a sport in which two teams throw a ball through a net = b………………………..
6. a sport in which two teams score points by hitting the ball with their hands = h………………..
7. a sport of moving yourself through the water using your arms and legs = s…………………
8. a Japanese sport in which you try to throw another person to the ground = j……………
   

 

EXERCISE 2 

Complete the questions with the correct words:

1. Do you watch Olympic g……………………? Why/why not?
2. Do you prefer t……………… sports or individual sports?
3. Have you ever been to a sports s…………….? What was the occasion?

 

ENGLISH IN USE  

In this lesson we are going to talk about the difference between a little and a few.
A little and a few both mean a small number or amount of something.

We use a few with plural countable nouns.

a few bottles
a few people
a few sweets

We use a little with uncountable nouns.

a little money
a little sugar
a little milk

 

IDIOM CLOSE-UP

The name of the game is getting to know the right people.

The name of the game is something you must do if you want to be successful in a particular activity or business.

 

 

PHRASAL VERBS CLOSE-UP

1. When you KNOCK SOMEONE OUT, you hit them so hard that they become unconscious.
   He was knocked out in the first round.

2. When you DROP OUT, you leave a competition or race.
   She was injured in the first round and had to drop out.

 

EXERCISE 3 

Complete the sentences with correct prepositions:

1. People say that in politics the name ……… the game is making the right friends.
2. The champion was unexpectedly knocked ………… in the first round.
3.  She dropped ………. of the race after two laps.

 

NEWS

BASEBALL COMES FROM ENGLAND

Historians in England have found evidence that baseball may not be American. The BBC reports that baseball was played in England in 1755, more than twenty years before America’s independence in 1776. This may come as a shock for lovers of America’s national game, who believe baseball is an American creation. 

It will come as no surprise to many sports fans that baseball comes from England. The English invented the world’s most popular sports, including football, tennis, rugby and cricket. What might come as a surprise is that the original form of baseball was played by both sexes. William Bray’s diary describes a game of baseball played on a spring afternoon in which “young ladies” took part. A Washington Post journalist, Kevin Sullivan, told the BBC that he was not surprised baseball came from Britain. He said: “It’s a great American tradition to take things from other places and improve them. We’ve always known that baseball evolved; it wasn’t invented like basketball.”

 

  GLOSSARY 

• come as a surprise – be surprising
• invent – create sth that has never been made before
• take part in sth – be involved in an activity wth other people
• improve sth  make sth better
• evolve – develop

 

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