英语博客：ESL Podcast 741 – Playing in a Tournament

　　Irene: How is your team doing in the standings?
Kent: They’re seeded sixth and they’re in a bracket with one of the best teams in the tournament. Our team has already lost to them.
Irene: I thought it was a double- elimination¹ tournament.
Kent: It is. That’s the only reason they’re not out of contention² for the title.
Irene: Why did the organizers get rid of the round-robin rounds?
Kent: I think it’s because they wanted to cut down on the number of games overall. I’m not sure.
Irene: Your team is the defending champion. What happened this year? Why aren’t they ranked higher?
Kent: They didn’t have a very good season. There were a lot of injuries, and as the coach, I had some run ins with a couple of the new players. Let’s just say we had some clashes in personality.
Irene: Isn’t there a game this afternoon?
Kent: Yeah, but I have to feed my team first. They won’t play until they get what they want.
Irene: What do they want?
Kent: Ice cream. Who knew six-year-olds could be so demanding?
Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

1 elimination   

n.排除，消除，消灭

参考例句：

• Their elimination from the competition was a great surprise.他们在比赛中遭到淘汰是个很大的意外。
• I was eliminated from the 400 metres in the semi-finals.我在400米半决赛中被淘汰。

2 contention   

n.争论，争辩，论战；论点，主张

参考例句：

• The pay increase is the key point of contention. 加薪是争论的焦点。
• The real bone of contention,as you know,is money.你知道，争论的真正焦点是钱的问题。