VOA日常语法2024--Language for Olympic Games: Host, Compete, Expect

The Paris Olympic Games will begin later this month, with the Opening Ceremony set to take place on July 26.

You are likely to see and hear discussions¹ about the Olympic Games - the athletes, the events, and the results of the competitions.

For today's lesson, we will explore this question: What are three important words to know when we talk about the Olympics?

There are many possible answers. But we are going to take a close look at these three words: "host," "compete," and "expect."

Host

The Olympic Games are held every two years and take place over two to three weeks. Thousands of athletes take part. Thousands of workers, volunteers and others prepare for and run the event. Millions of people from around the world gather at the Olympic Games to watch the athletes perform.

Cities around the world request to hold these huge events. They seek to "host" the games. Or, we can say that cities seek to be the "host" of the games. The word host can act as a noun² or as a verb³.

When we talk about the Olympic Games, we use "host" (the noun) to mean the city that holds the event:

Paris is the host of the 2024 Olympic Games.

The verb form of "host" means⁴ to receive and serve guests:

Paris is hosting the 2024 Olympic Games.

Note that the verb form of "host" takes a direct⁵ object. Direct objects often answer the question "what?"

Paris is hosting what?

Paris is hosting the 2024 Olympic Games.

So, we have the noun "host" and the verb "host."

Which of the two is more commonly used, you might ask?

Google's Ngram Viewer⁶ has data that comes from thousands of books. We can look at how common different words are and see how the usage⁷ numbers have changed over time.

We should keep in mind that the data and results are not perfect. Still, we can take away general ideas that can help us.

When we compare the noun and verb forms of host in Google's Ngram Viewer, we find that the noun form is more commonly used.

And what is the most commonly used word after the noun "host?"

It is the short word "of."

Let's think back to our earlier example:

Paris is the host of the 2024 Olympic Games.

Compete

Our next important word is at the center of Olympic Games action: compete.

"Compete" is a verb. It means to try to win something that someone else is also trying to win.

We might use the verb "compete" to describe the athletes' purpose for going to the Olympics. So, we might say this:

The athletes are competing for a medal.

Note that we often use the verb "compete" without an object. In other words, we often use it in an intransitive sense.

For example, we might say,

Seven athletes are competing today.

Still, we often use the verb "compete" with other short words.

Google's Ngram Viewer suggests that "with" is the most commonly used word after "compete."

So, you are likely to hear or see something like this:

Athletes go to the Olympic Games to compete with other top athletes.

However, we can find other short words commonly used after "compete," such as "for," "in," and "against."

You might hear "Athletes are competing for gold medals," "That athlete is competing in the 100-meter dash," or "The athletes are competing against each other."

Overall⁸, the main idea is that the verb "compete" is central to discussions about the Olympics. "Compete" may be followed by a short word. "With" is the most common of these short words, but you should probably learn the other common short words as well - for, in, and against.

Expect

Our final important word is expect. It is used to express our predictions⁹.

People might "expect" an athlete to do well. They watch the Olympic Games to see if the "expectation" is correct.

This is part of what makes the Olympic Games exciting - and partly explains why people enjoy talking about the Olympic Games.

We have "expect," a verb, and a related¹⁰ noun form "expectation."

Google Ngram Viewer suggests "expect" is more commonly used than "expectation."

We often use the verb "expect" with an object - in other words, in a transitive sense.

The object could be a noun or noun phrase¹¹, as in:

The trainers expect hard work.

Or we might see a structure¹² that acts like a noun or noun phrase in a sentence. The structure "to + verb" is one such structure, as in:

The swimmer expects to win.

Or we might use a more complex¹³ structure like this:

Fans expect that runner to win gold.

Closing

Today we explored a few words that connect to the Olympic Games. Of course, there are many other choices!

We will end this lesson with a call to action. Write to us a short description of an Olympic Games - either in the past, present, or future.

Be sure to use some of the words we have explored today. Send your writing in an email to [email protected]

In a future lesson, we will give feedback¹⁴ on some of the messages that we receive.

Words in This Story

intransitive - adj. not taking or having a direct object

transitive - adj. having or taking a direct object

1 discussions   

n.讨论( discussion的名词复数 )；商讨；详述；论述

参考例句：

• Discussions are held on an informal basis within the department. 讨论限于在本部门内非正式地进行。
• Her specialist input to the discussions has been very useful. 她在这些讨论中提供的专家建议很有助益。

2 noun   

n.名词

参考例句：

• What kind of noun is this?这是哪类名词？
• This word is a collective noun.这个词是个集体名词。

3 verb   

n.[语]动词

参考例句：

• The sentence is formed from a verb and two nouns.这句子由一个动词和两个名词构成。
• These are the finite forms of a verb.这些是一个动词的限定形式。

4 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

5 direct   

adj.直接的；直达的；v.指挥；知道；监督；管理

参考例句：

• This train is direct,you do not have to change.这辆火车是直达的，你不必换车。
• The army is under the king's direct command.军队由国王直接统帅。

6 viewer   

n.观察者，看电视者，视察员，观察器

参考例句：

• Every viewer has his personal rainbow.每一个观察者各自看到不同的彩虹。
• These images are likely to evoke a strong response in the viewer.这些图像可能会在观众中产生强烈反响。

7 usage   

n.惯用法，使用，用法

参考例句：

• I am clear about the usage of this word at last.这个词的用法我算是弄明白了。
• The usage is now firmly established.这种用法现已得到确认。

8 overall   

n.工作服，工装裤；全面的，全体的

参考例句：

• The shop assistant was wearing a white overall.那店员穿着白色的工作服。
• How much will it cost overall?一共多少钱？

9 predictions   

n.预言，预言的事物( prediction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Experiments have corroborated her predictions. 实验证实了她的预言。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This is what makes Leon Bagrit's predictions particularly remarkable. 这就是莱昂。巴格瑞特的预测非凡的地方。 来自新概念英语第三册

10 related   

adj.有关系的，有关联的，叙述的，讲述的

参考例句：

• I am not related to him in any way.我和他无任何关系。
• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。

11 phrase   

n.短语，词组；成语，习语

参考例句：

• The phrase was caught on and immediately became popular.这个短语被采用后很快就流行了。
• That's exactly the phrase I was looking for.这就是我一直找的那个短语。

12 structure   

n.结构，构造，建筑物；v.构成；

参考例句：

• Doctors study the structure of the human body.医生研究人体构造。
• A flower has quite a complicated structure.一朵花的结构相当复杂。

13 complex   

adj.复杂的，合成的，综合的；n.联合体

参考例句：

• What he said was too complex for me to understand.他说的太复杂了，我无法了解。
• Justice is part of the complex machinery of the law.正义是复杂的法律机器的一部分。

14 feedback   

n.回授，反馈，反应

参考例句：

• I was getting great feedback from my boss.老板对我的评价很高。
• You need feedback to monitor progress.你需要利用反馈信息来监控进展。