【一起听英语】足球运动员贴纸（在线收听）

你有收藏的爱好吗，有的人喜欢收集邮票，有的人喜欢收藏包包，有的人喜欢收集货币，而有的人则是喜欢收集足球运动员贴纸.....

Kate: Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English, I'm Kate and joining me today is Rosie!

Rosie: Hello Kate.

Kate: Hi Rosie. Today we're going to talk about collections and collecting things.

Collecting is when you put together a group of objects all of the same type - stamp

collecting for example…. autographs or anything really. Do you collect anything

Rosie?

Rosie: answers

Kate: Well, the World Cup is still in full swing for a few days more and something

which has become very popular internationally is collecting football stickers. Can

you explain what stickers are Rosie?

Rosie: Sure, well stickers are small pieces of paper with a picture or writing on one side

and glue on the other. They can be made to stay permanently on a surface or 'stick'

to something – hence the name 'stickers'.

Kate: Right – well, football stickers have pictures of all the players printed on them and

they are sold with an album or book full of spaces to place the stickers into. This

year there are around 630 stickers of different players to collect.

Rosie: That's a lot. Imagine if you kept getting the same sticker…. 

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Kate: I know – that must be annoying. But before we go any further, we're going to start

with a question. In which year did the first official Panini World Cup sticker book

appear on the market?

a: 1970

b: 1980

c: 1990

Rosie: answers

Kate: We'll check your answer at the end of the programme. Next, we're going to

hear from a sticker book collector and UK Journalist, John Crace. Let's start by

finding a bit more about his collection of sticker books… what is the oldest item in

his collection?

John Crace

I have every World Cup sticker book from 1974 onwards…

Rosie: Wow – so he said he has every single World Cup sticker book since1974 –

quite impressive!

Kate: Let's listen to that extract again and what he goes on to say afterwards. You're

going to hear three more expressions: like gold dust, set you back and a grand.

Can you explain what these mean please?

Roise: Yes, like gold dust is an expression we use to describe something that is very

difficult to get, because a lot of people want it. Set you back is another way of

talking about cost. If something sets you back – it costs you a certain amount.

And a grand is an informal term for £1000.

Kate: Let's listen to the whole extract again. What does he say about the value of his

sticker book collection? 

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John Crace

I have every World Cup sticker book from 1974 onwards – which is about as good as it gets. The

1970 one in Mexico is like gold dust. A complete sticker book will set you back over a grand.

Rosie So he said that book from 1970 is like gold dust and will set you back or cost you

over a thousand pounds!

Kate Yes, obviously it's much in demand then. Let's listen again. What do you think

about this Rosie – grown men collecting football stickers…. Surely this is a hobby

for younger people – children even!

Rosie: answers

Kate: Let's find out what the appeal is. In the next extract you're going to hear the

expression let you down. This means to disappoint or not live up to your

expectations. Let's listen.

John Crace

I mean, unlike the football, won't actually let you down. It starts 2 months beforehand and

there's a sense of enjoyment in collecting.

Kate: So, he said that unlike football in real life, the stickers wont' let you down as in

when your team loses. He mentioned the sense of enjoyment in collecting, which

mean a feeling of happiness when doing something.

In the next extract listen out for what he says about the appeal of collecting

football stickers as an adult? 

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2010

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John Crace

And also as an adult person, you have a chance of completing the collection because it’s

something you can afford to do that you couldn’t do as a child.

Rosie Ah – so a lot of it is down to the fact that as an adult you can afford to do it. As a

child, it's an expensive thing to be doing. Now he's a grown up with his own

money – he's returning to the hobby. A little bit strange really!

Kate: Yes, I think you have to be a little bit obsessive to collect every single sticker but I

can see the appeal. We're nearly out of time so let's find out the answer to my

question earlier. I asked you in which year did the first World Cup sticker book

appear on the market?

a: 1970

b: 1980

c: 1990

Rosie and I said…

Kate: Well that's all we time for today, but do join us again next time for another 6

Minute English. Good bye.

Rosie: Goodbye.