节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2013-10-25
难易度:Low
关键字:popular, underwater, revise, compete, hockey, chessboxing
We are on the first day of our lesson Making Old Sports New.
And today we have talked about a very interesting new sport called underwater
hockey.
It is hockey played under the water.
You have two teams with six players each, and they all have a hockey stick.
But it is much shorter than this one, perhaps just this top part.
And they are underwater.
They have flippers on their feet.
It is quite an interesting sport to watch.
Well, we have more to learn about this and other sports in the next part of our
lesson.
Making Old Sports New.
Other team members must be ready to take the puck when a team member goes up for
air.
That makes underwater hockey a true team sport.
Chessboxing.
A sport can also be revised by mixing it with another game.
In chessboxing, two players compete on the chess board and in the ring.
First, their minds are tested in a game of chess.
Then they use their strength in a round of boxing.
They repeat this for 11 rounds.
The winner beats the loser in chess, knocks him out while boxing or gets more
boxing points.
Well, we're going to talk about chessboxing.
But first, let's finish talking about underwater hockey.
We're learning the rules of underwater hockey here.
Other team members must be ready to take the puck when a team member goes up for
air.
All right, to go up for air.
That means you're playing underwater, you only have so much air in your lungs,
you need to go up for air sometimes.
That's right.
So you have to go back up to the surface so you can breathe.
And that makes underwater hockey a true team sport because even the best player
still has to go up for air at some point.
OK. A team sport, of course, is a sport where you're not just playing yourself
against somebody else.
You're playing with a team.
And this is a true team sport because you really do rely on your teammates to
come and help you when you need to go up for air.
Well, now it's time for us to see a special video about underwater hockey.
Carolyn, let's stand next to each other so everybody can see us.
We look like underwater hockey players together.
Yes.
Let's watch this video.
What's so exciting under the surface?
It's underwater hockey played by dozens of teams throughout the United States
and in more than 20 other countries around the world.
In underwater hockey, two teams of six face off on the floor of a pool, trying
to put the puck in the trough-like goal.
Players use short sticks to slide, zigzag and shoot the 3-pound puck around the
pool.
With fins and fancy stickwork, this non-contact sport is all about speed,
finesse and the flip.
The special underwater hockey puck is heavy and coated in plastic to protect the
bottom of the pool and let it glide like an air hockey does.
With some practice, players can maneuver it tactfully and launch it high up
above.
Most sports go back and forth.
But underwater hockey is also played up and down in a three-dimensional playing
area.
When one player comes up to the surface for a breath, someone else has to be on
the bottom.
Teamwork is crucial as even the best players have to come up for air eventually.
Meanwhile, player's constantly transitioning from offense to defense and back
again, testing player's individual fitness and team's energy.
Underwater hockey is fun and safe for players of all ages and skill levels.
In the United States, co-ed teams play weekly pick-up games and also travel to
regional and national tournaments to compete.
Then, every two years, countries send their junior, masters and elite national
teams to the world championships,
which showcases the best underwater hockey on Earth.
At local clubs, new players are always welcome to attend weekly practices.
Most clubs even have equipment to borrow, including ear protectors, mouth guards
and special gloves.
Come check out an underwater hockey team near you.
To find a club or get more information, visit our website at usauwh.com.
We'd love to see you on the bottom.
Hmm... so if I understand this correctly, in chessboxing, you're playing chess.
Uh, one person is playing chess.
And the... the other person is... is um, boxing?
Uh, yes, I think that's right.
Wait. Wait, Carolyn...
Because it's chessboxing.
So there's chess and there's boxing.
Right. Well, Car, I think... I think we're wrong.
I think that maybe both people are playing chess at the same time, and then they
both start boxing each other in the ring.
Oh. Well, that might make more sense.
It would be very distracting if somebody hitting on you when you're trying to
move your chess pieces.
Right. Yes, I... I'd appreciate if you stop hitting me um, while I'm playing
chess here.
OK, friends.
Oh, sorry, sorry.
Let... let's take a look at this game a little more closely, OK.
Chessboxing.
As you can see, there's a chess set here with chess pieces.
And Carolyn has boxing gloves.
And I still have my helmet because this is a dangerous sport.
So this idea was actually taken from a French artist named Enki Bilal in his
comic book.
He had a comic book.
And a sport inside was chessboxing.
Now it's a real sport that people play.
Well, this is a very interesting sport that people can play, combining chess and
boxing.
But learning about this sport:
A sport can also be revised by mixing it with another game.
So before, we had underwater hockey, which is taking a game and putting it in a
different environment, a different place, moving from ice to water.
But now we are taking two games and putting them together to revise this game.
Well, let's take a look at that word from our Word Bank: revise.
When you revise something, that means you change it to make it better in some
way, or at least make it different.
That's right.
So you change it.
And you can use this word not just talking about combining two sports or
combining two things together, you may also need to revise your English paper.
If you have written something for a class, you might need to go back and revise
it, make some changes and make it better before you turn it in.
That's right.
You might make some revisions.
There's the noun form of that word - a revision.
R-E-V-I-S-I-O-N.
I need to make some revisions on my English paper before I hand it in to my
teacher.
So here we're talking about a sport that is revised, or two sports revised to
make a completely different game.
That's right.
And in chessboxing, two players compete on the chess board and in the ring.
OK, on the chess board and in the ring.
So there are two places.
Of course if you are a boxer and you like boxing, like Carolyn looks like she
likes boxing, you would box in the ring.
That is actually not round.
It's a square area where people box each other, OK.
They're fighting against each other.
Now the chess board is where you play chess.
And you compete on the chess board during chess.
Let's take a look at that word from our Word Bank: to compete.
You compete against somebody else.
And that means that you are going against them in something.
It's a sport or an activity.
That's right.
So you might have heard of a competition.
That is when you are competing against someone else, usually for a prize.
You want to achieve something or gain something.
Maybe you go and compete in an English speech competition.
That is one way you can compete.
OK, so in chessboxing, there are two players.
First, their minds are tested in a game of chess.
That's why I'm wearing a helmet - to protect my mind. OK.
Their minds are tested in a game of chess.
Then they use their strength in a round of boxing.
They repeat this for 11 rounds.
OK. What that means is that there are six rounds of chess and five rounds of
boxing, 11 rounds in total.
That's right.
And the winner beats the loser in chess, knocks him out while boxing or gets
more boxing points.
OK. Well, let's take a look at that phrase there: to knock someone out.
OK. This starts with K, knock, and out, O.
Maybe you're playing video games.
In some video games you might see the letters KO. That is a knockout.
And if you're boxing, you might knock someone out. OK.
And uh, what does that mean, Carolyn?
Well, it means that the other person is down.
They are done and cannot continue.
But right now we can continue learning with Steve and Ken in the Information
Cloud, then with Michelle in the Language Lab.
This month's SPORTS feature gives us a good excuse to discuss how to cheer on a
sports team.
Knowing how to cheer a team on to victory in English isn't as easy as it might
be in certain other languages.
The reason is the cheer depends on who it is exactly you want to cheer for.
That's right.
You could cheer the whole team on or just the team's offense or just the
defense.
Or you can cheer on an individual player.
Or if you and your friends feel like it, you can cheer against the other team.
But again, each cheer will be different, depending on who you're cheering for.
Also, the cheer you use will depend on which sport is being played.
If we use basketball as an example, a good cheer to use at the game would be...
Defense!
Defense!
But that's not something you'd hear at a baseball game.
OK. Here's a good all-purpose cheer you can use in any sport, including
underwater hockey and chessboxing.
Insert the team's name or player's name between the phrases "Let's go." The
cheer would sound something like this:
Let's go, Ken! Let's go!
Let's go, Ken! Let's go!
OK, got it.
(Chinese).
(Chinese).
And now let's see what our teachers are up to.
Hey, Gabe.
Yes?
Which of these sports would you like to play?
Carolyn, I... I like the idea of chessboxing, but I still don't think that you
understand it.
And if you keep on hitting me, uh...
Well, friends, thank you for joining us here today.
And of course, we have more to learn about Making Old Sports New right here on
Studio Classroom.
See you!
Checkmate!
What?! Gabe...
Ha... Yes, I win.
I win! Let's go do underwater...