英语口语教程（Oral Workshop）--中级 Lesson 14

 

Lesson 14

 What Sports Do They Enjoy?

 Text A

 Not all people like to wnrk but everyone likes to play. All over the world men and women and boys and girls enjoy sports. iends the days of long ago, adults and children have called their friends together to spend hours , even days , playing games.

 Sports help people to live happily. They help to keep people healthy and feeling good. When they are playing games, people move a lot. This is good for their health. I-Iaving fun with their friends makes them happy.

 Many people enjoy sports by watching others play. In small towns , crowds meet to watch the bicycle races or the soccer game.In the big cities, thousands buy tickets to see an ice-skating show or a baseball game.

 What games have you played? What are your favorite sports now? You probably play the games that people in your town or city play. Is the climate hot where you live? Then swimming is probably one of your sports. Boys and girls in Australia love tc swim. There are wonderful beaches there and the weather is good for swimming. 

Or do you live in a cold climate? Then you would like to ski. There are many skiers in Austria where there are big mountains and cold winters. Does it rain often where you live? Then kite flying would not be one of your sports. It is one of the favorite sports of Thailand.

 Surfing is an important sport in Hawaii. The Pacific Ocean sends huge waves up on the beaches, waves that are just right for surfing . But you need to live near an ocean to ride the waves and enjoy surfing.

 People in Switzerland love to climb the wonderful mountains of their country. Mountain climbing and hiking are favorite sports there. But there can be no mountain climbing where tlmc re are no mountains.

 Sposts change with the season. People often do not play the same games in winter as in summer. Sailing is fun in warm weather, but when it gets cold it's time to change to other sports. People talk about sports' seasons. Baseball is only played for a few months of the year. This is called "the baseball season".

 Text B

 Have you ever wondered how some people can break bricks¹ wi th their bare hands'? People who can do this kind of thing are experts in Karate². They are called "Karatekas". Let's try to f ind out how karatekas could do such things. We wanted to learn i f they were especially strong and we got some surprising answers! 

Believe it or not , Karatekas aren't stronger than ordinary nary people - they just have more courage! A Karate expertstrikes hard objects like bricks or plates with the small bone in his wrist , opposite the thumb. Speed is the essence³ of this sport. But the strange thing is that untrained men can break hard objects in the same way just as well as Karatekas. 

Of course, Karatekas practise a lot and they have a layer of hard skin round their wrists. Though they have this advantage over ordinary people, it's basically⁴ lust⁵ a qu5tion of willpower-at least , that's what you can tell your mother afer you've experimentedon a few dinner plates !

 Additional Information

 The Football Match

 Thi's is John Roberts reporting from Cardiff. The result of the match which finished at four this afternoon between France and Wales was a draw. Neither side scored. The Dutch referee⁶ did not allow the one goal which France managed to kick. The reason for this was that a French player was unfortunately off side. So both teams went .home disappointed. This means that neither the French nor the Welsh team will reach first place in this international competition.

 However, I can say that the spectators⁷ were delighted with the game. They particularly admired the French forwards, who were always fast and often threatened the Welsh defence. Once it looked as though the Welsh goalkeeper was in serious trouble.

 He dived to his right to save a shot from the French centre forward and crashed his head against the goal post. A doctor examined him but he soon began to play again. Of course the large, friendly crowd applauded⁸ him. Wales will certainly welcome another visit from this splendid team.

1 bricks   

n.砖( brick的名词复数 )；砖块；积木；可靠的朋友

参考例句：

• He compounded water, sand and soil and formed bricks. 他用水拌和沙和泥土做成砖块。
• The United Auto Workers hit the bricks against General Motors. 联合汽车工人工会举行罢工，反对通用汽车公司。

2 karate   

n.空手道(日本的一种徒手武术)

参考例句：

• Alice's boyfriend knew a little karate.艾丽斯的男朋友懂一点儿空手道。
• The black belt is the highest level in karate.黑腰带级是空手道的最高级别。

3 essence   

n.本质，实质，精华，精粹

参考例句：

• We must try to get to the essence of things.我们必须想法抓住事物的本质。
• The two things are the same in outward form but different in essence.这两件东西外表形式一样，但实质不同。

4 basically   

adv.基本上，从根本上说

参考例句：

• His heart is basically sound.他的心脏基本上健康。
• Basically I agree with your plan.我基本上同意你的计划。

5 lust   

n.性(淫)欲；渴(欲)望；vi.对…有强烈的欲望

参考例句：

• He was filled with lust for power.他内心充满了对权力的渴望。
• Sensing the explorer's lust for gold, the chief wisely presented gold ornaments as gifts.酋长觉察出探险者们垂涎黄金的欲念，就聪明地把金饰品作为礼物赠送给他们。

6 referee   

n.裁判员．仲裁人，代表人，鉴定人

参考例句：

• The team was left raging at the referee's decision.队员们对裁判员的裁决感到非常气愤。
• The referee blew a whistle at the end of the game.裁判在比赛结束时吹响了哨子。

7 spectators   

n.观众，旁观者( spectator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The spectators were wilting visibly in the hot sun. 看得出观众在炎热的阳光下快支撑不住了。
• The policemen asked the spectators to stand well back. 警察要求旁观者靠后站。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 applauded   

v.鼓掌( applaud的过去式和过去分词 )；称赞，赞许

参考例句：

• The audience warmly applauded when the performance came to the end. 当演出接近尾声时，观众热烈鼓掌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The audience applauded after the soprano sang the aria so beautifully. 女高音将咏叹调唱得十分优美，观众爆发出热烈的掌声。 来自《简明英汉词典》