【英语趣味课堂】足球-Soccer

Todd: Simon, what is you hobby?

 

Simon: Playing soccer.

 

Todd: OK. Wow, you play soccer?

 

Simon: Of course!

 

Todd: How often do you play?

 

Simon: Now I don't play, but before I played about three or four times a week.

 

Todd: Wow, that's quite a bit. -- How come you don't play now?

 

Simon: I've retired¹.

 

Todd: You've retired.

 

Simon: Yeah, I came to Japan. I had a soccer team, but now that I work in Japan I can't play for my soccer team at home.

 

Todd: OK. Do you watch soccer on TV?

 

Simon: These days? No! No time. Always working at Seitoku.

 

Todd: OK. Yeah, we, we all have to work I guess. Um..who is the best soccer player in the world?

 

Simon: That's hard to say. Right now, there's a kid named Ronaldino for Brazil. Maybe he will be the best.

 

Todd: OK. Nice. An..and what is you favorite soccer team?

 

Simon: Deep Cove² Royals. That's my soccer team.

 

Todd: OK. Great. All right. Thanks a lot. 

 

学习内容：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

how come

 

How come you don't play now?

 

"How come" is another way to say "why" when asking a question.  Notice the following:

 

How come you never call me anymore?

How come she doesn't believe me?

retired

 

I've retired from soccer.

 

We usually use the word "retire" to talk about when we stop working because we are too old or have enough money and never have to work again.  Notice the following:

 

When are you going to retire?

He retired two years ago and has been traveling a lot since then.

these days

 

These days? No! I've no time.

 

"Recently" is another way to say "these days."  It is similar to "in the last few weeks."  Notice the following:

 

What do you do for fun these days?

He has been really busy with his studies these days.

hard

 

That's hard to say.

 

In this sentence "hard" can be replaced with "difficult."  The example sentence refers to something that is difficult to predict³ or expect.  Notice the following:

 

It's hard to believe you will be 23 years old tomorrow.

It was very hard for him to find a good job.

right now

 

Right now, there's a kid named Ronaldino.

 

"Currently⁴" is another way to say "right now."  We can use this to talk about something in the immediate⁵ present.  Notice the following:

 

Where are you right now?

I need you to come home right now.  There has been an accident.

1 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

2 cove   

n.小海湾，小峡谷

参考例句：

• The shore line is wooded,olive-green,a pristine cove.岸边一带林木蓊郁，嫩绿一片，好一个山外的小海湾。
• I saw two children were playing in a cove.我看到两个小孩正在一个小海湾里玩耍。

3 predict   

v.预知，预言，预报

参考例句：

• It's hard to predict how things will turn out.很难预测事情会变成怎么样。
• I cannot predict when to meet her again.我无法预测什么时候会再见到她。

4 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。