节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-08-29
难易度:Medium
关键字:host, athletic, surgeon, parallel, disabled, spinal cord, mascot
Hello, everybody.
Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
Thanks for joining us today.
My name is Steve.
When the Summer Olympic Games ended a few weeks ago, Londoners breathed a big
sigh of relief.
Well, with all the thousands of foreign guests to look after and with the eyes
of the world watching their every move,
hosting an Olympic Games has got to be stressful.
But can London really rest and relax?
Well, not yet.
You see, the world's largest international sporting event may have just ended,
but the world's second largest international sporting event is just beginning.
Let's open our magazines to page 50 and learn about the 2012 Summer Paralympics.
(Music).
The Summer Paralympics 2012.
Another global gathering of great athletes begins now.
Last month, London, England, hosted the Summer Olympics, attracting great
athletes from around the world.
Now, equally extraordinary athletes are gathering there for the Paralympics,
an international sporting event second only to the Olympics in size.
Since 1960, the Paralympics has given people with disabilities an opportunity to
demonstrate their athletic ability.
These games take place in the same year and in the same city as the Olympics.
England has a unique historical bond with the Paralympic Games.
One of the first sports competitions for the disabled began in Stoke Mandeville,
England.
Hello, friends.
Thank you so much for joining us here in the studio.
My name is Kaylah.
And my name is Ryan.
And friends, I hope you are ready to talk about sports because we're in our
SPORTS article today.
And we remember from last month, the Olympics were in London.
Well, now we're not talking about the Olympics, we're talking about the Summer
Paralympics.
That's right.
Now the Paralympics are an important part of the Olympic series that does take
place.
And we're going to learn a lot about it today, how it got started and what it
represents.
All right.
So this is another global gathering of great athletes, and it begins right now.
That's right.
So... we followed some other athletes during the month of July.
And now we're looking at the new Olympics that are getting started.
That's right. So this is a gathering.
And that's when many people or animals or things come together in one spot.
And it's going to happen again.
That's right. And "global" means the entire world, all the... all the different
countries.
It's international.
OK. Now last month, of course, in London, they hosted the Summer Olympics,
attracting great athletes from around the world.
That's right.
Now to "host" something means to provide the space and other necessary things
for some sort of event.
We see that London hosted the Olympics.
But you can also host.
You can host friends in your home, have them over for dinner.
You provide the space and the necessary things.
For dinner, you would need, well, food.
Exactly, and your place.
Usually if you are hosting something, you provide the place for the event, or at
least plan where it will happen.
That's right.
So athletes came from all over the world to participate during the Olympics.
Now equally extraordinary athletes are gathering there for the Paralympics,
which is an international sporting event second in size only to the Olympics.
OK. So right now let's talk about what something that is equally extraordinary
is.
Well, extraordinary means amazing, fantastic, incredible.
Now to be equally extraordinary means that these athletes are just as amazing,
incredible as the athletes that compete in the Olympics.
But these are Paralympic athletes.
Right. And we'll find a little bit more about what that means a little later.
But right now we know that the Paralympics is second only to the Olympics.
Can we help describe what that means a little bit?
That means that the Olympics are the largest in size, and that the Paralympics
are the second largest... international sporting event.
But Liz has some more information on that.
So let's visit her with Grammar on the Go.
Greetings from England, friends.
My name is Liz.
And it's time for Grammar on the Go.
In today's article, we're talking about the Paralympics which the writer
describes as:
... an international sporting event second only to the Olympics in size.
That's our Grammar Tip sentence.
Today our focus is on the phrase, second only to.
It's another way to say "the second most, whatever." So today's sentence just
means that in terms of size,
Paralympics is the second largest international sporting event.
If you want to talk about how something that comes in second in its category,
then give this phrase a try.
For example, people know that Mount Everest is the world's tallest mountain.
But K2, which is in Pakistan, is the second tallest in the world. So we can say:
K2 is a mountain located in Pakistan and is second only to Mount Everest in
height.
Or the Nile river in Africa is usually viewed as the longest river in the world.
But the Amazon river in South America is a close second. So we can say:
The Amazon river, second only to the Nile in length, begins in Peru and empties
into the Atlantic Ocean from Brazil.
If you have a copy of this month's magazine with you,
be sure to check out today's Grammar Tip section for more example sentences.
That's it for today.
This is Liz with Grammar on the Go signing off.
Bye-bye.
Thank you, Liz.
So the Paralympics are a huge event.
Since 1960, the Paralympics has given people with disabilities an opportunity to
demonstrate their athletic ability.
That's right.
So they have these amazing athletic abilities.
So athletic means having to do with sports.
You're strong, healthy and very good at some sort of sporting activity.
Now I enjoy doing some sports, but I'm not an athletic person.
But Ryan, are you an athletic person?
Well, I wish I was an athletic person, or more athletic.
I... when I played sports, I was OK at them.
And so in that time I was the athletic.
But now I don't think I'm as athletic anymore.
I stay inside too often.
That's right.
They have great athletic abilities.
Now to be "athletic," if you look at that word, you can see the beginning of the
word "athlete" in there.
Now "athlete" is the noun form of this word.
To be "athletic" is an adjective saying that you are very strong and very
healthy, and usually very good at sports.
For example, Jeremy Lin is a very athletic man.
That's a great example, Kaylah.
And so people in the Paralympics are able to demonstrate, or show us, their
athletic abilities.
Now these games take place in the same year and in the same city as the
Olympics.
So since London has already hosted the Olympics, London will be hosting the
Paralympics.
Now England has a unique historical bond with the Paralympics.
OK. Now this means that if you have a unique, or that means special,
if you have a historical bond, that means that it's very... it's happened there
before.
It's tied together.
That's right.
It is very connected.
And the reason is one of these first sports competitions for... for the disabled
began in Stoke Mandeville, England.
OK. Now the word "disabled" is referring to people that don't have the abilities
that most people have, especially physically.
That's right.
Now we saw the word earlier "disabilities." So to be disabled means you have
disabilities.
OK, friends, join us after the break as we continue to learn more.
But first, let's see the skit.
I love the Summer Olympics.
It attracts great athletes from around the world.
Yes. Too bad it's over.
Goodbye, London.
Goodbye, Olympics.
Oh, not so fast.
It's not over yet.
There are a lot more events coming up.
What are you talking about?
Equally extraordinary athletes are gathering in London right now.
Really? For what?
An international sporting event second only to the Olympics.
Really? Another great sporting event?
Well, what is it?
It's the Paralympics.
(Background Noise).
The Paralympics?
Mmhm.
Is that something new?
No. It's been around since 1960.
It's a sporting event that gives people with disabilities an opportunity to
compete and demonstrate their athletic ability.
A competition for people with disabilities?
Yes. These games take place the same year as the Olympics, and in the same city.
Oh. So England will host these games too.
Yes, and that's special.
England has a unique bond with the Paralympics.
Why is that?
England held one of the very first athletic competitions for the disabled.
Really?
Yes.
Later it became an international event.
That's impressive.
Later, the 1960 games were held in Rome.
Those were considered the first Paralympics.
So that was an important event.
Yes. It fulfilled the dream of creating a parallel Olympics for athletes with
disabilities.
Ah.