📕 Part 1: Sports Programs

This episode's vocabulary

Get into (something) (phrasal verb) – to become interested or involved in an activity. → Example sentence: I've never been able to get into watching sports, I find them quite boring.

Regardless of (preposition) – without being affected or influenced by something. → Example sentence: I can't get into watching them, regardless of whatever sport's on.

Qualifier (n) – a game or match that a team must win to enter a competition. → Example sentence: We went to see Scotland versus Croatia for a World Cup qualifier.

Bored to tears (idiom) – to be extremely bored. → Example sentence: I was bored to tears by the whole thing and left early.

Crack a few jokes (idiom) – to tell some jokes. → Example sentence: At least if we were together, we could crack a few jokes and have a laugh.

Dull (adj) – boring; not interesting. → Example sentence: We could have a laugh about how dull and incomprehensible it all is.

Incomprehensible (adj) – impossible to understand. → Example sentence: For someone who doesn't follow the sport, the rules are completely incomprehensible.

Swing by (phrasal verb) – to visit a place quickly, especially on your way to somewhere else. → Example sentence: I suppose I might swing by to watch the World Cup final, if it's on when I'm working.

Stay abreast of (idiom) – to make sure you know the most recent facts about a subject. → Example sentence: I only watch to stay abreast of events that my students might talk about.

Ecstatic (adj) – feeling overwhelming happiness or joy. → Example sentence: I watched a match during the World Cup and I was ecstatic when my team won.

Over the moon (idiom) – extremely happy and excited. → Example sentence: When my team won, I was over the moon.

Spectators (n) – people who watch an event, especially a sports game. → Example sentence: The game is often very funny for spectators, and painful for participants.

Questions and Answers

Maria: Do you like to watch live sports games?

Rory: I don't like watching sports whether they're live or recorded. I've never been able to get into watching them, regardless of whatever sport's on. I just don't really have any connection with that sort of thing.

Maria: Have you ever watched a sports game in a stadium?

Rory: I did, yeah, about 25 years ago now. A bunch of us went to see Scotland versus Croatia for a World Cup qualifier. It must have been in, I think, 1998 or something like that. Anyway, it was a long time ago, and I was bored to tears by the whole thing.

Maria: Who do you like to watch sports games with?

Rory: I wouldn't put anyone through that if I didn't have to. But if I were to watch them, then it would be with my best friend. At least if we were together, we could crack a few jokes and have a laugh about how dull and incomprehensible it all is.

Maria: What kinds of games will you watch in the future?

Rory: I don't plan to watch any at all, really. I can't imagine anything I'd rather not do with my time. I suppose I might swing by to watch the World Cup final, if it's on when I'm working. But only to stay abreast of events that my students might talk about. It wouldn't be to watch the match out of enjoyment.

Discussion

Maria: You see dear listener, Rory isn't into sports. He doesn't like watching live sports games. He's just. But it's okay. So he answers the questions. He explains why. So that's absolutely fine. It's okay about other topics as well. The the examiner can ask you questions about watches, headphones, but if you don't like them, okay, fine, yeah? About flowers, if you hate flowers, so, this is the strategy, just to answer the question, say why you are not into it. Okay? First of all, sports programs. Rory, do we say sport programs? Do we say sports programs?

Rory: It could be sport programs, but most people say sports programs.

Maria: Sports, right?

Rory: Yeah.

Maria: Yeah, because like different kinds of sport. Sports. Yeah, different games, like tennis, football, rugby, cricket, swimming, what else, baseball, basketball, volleyball.

Rory: I love how you ask me as if I know. But whatever, whatever they are, then that will be what we watch. But let's imagine that you are someone who does watch sports games, then you should probably know what they are called, like a football match, a rugby match. A, a game of tennis, I suppose. What else are there?

Maria: Yeah, we call them sports games, sports programs, and we watch live sports games. Like you go to the stadium, you're a football fan, you go to see a match, you go to the stadium, you put on some nice clothes, you with your beer, with your popcorn or whatever, a hot dog. So you go there to see a live game. Live. Okay, live game. You can say I'm, I don't like watching sports, whether it is live or recorded. I prefer to watch a recorded game or sports, right? Or I enjoy a live show, a live game. So, I don't really have any connection with that with that sort of thing, right?

Rory: Because it's rubbish and it's boring.

Maria: Sorry. Yeah, well, that's fine. If the examiner asks you about flowers, let's talk about flowers or pets, you say, ooh, I don't really have any connection with that sort of thing. I don't like flowers. Okay. Yeah, or like fixing things. Do you enjoy fixing things? Oh, I don't really have any connection with that sort of thing. It's not my thing. Or I'm into football. I enjoy, I enjoy watching a match with my friends. Or I'm into swimming. I'm into tennis.

Rory: I'm a big fan of it.

Maria: I'm a big fan of tennis. I'm a big fan of swimming. Or the Olympic Games, for example. Winter Olympic Games or Summer Olympic Games. Or you can say the World Cup. So football. I enjoy watching the World Cup. Very often, the examiner asks a question in the present perfect. Have you ever watched? Have you ever done? Have you ever read? Have you ever had? So you can say, yes, I have. So, have you ever watched a game in a stadium? Yes, I have. It was when I was at school. Or you can answer using past simple. For example, have you ever watched a sports game in a stadium? I did about 25 years ago. And I went to see a football match, or I went to see swimming, or tennis, or a chess game, I don't know. It was a long time ago. I don't remember when it was. I was bored to tears. Rory was bored to death during a football match. So you can say, yeah, it was really dull, boring. I was bored to death. I was bored to tears. Or it was super exciting. I was excited. I was, I watched a match during the World Cup. I was ecstatic. I was like super happy.

Rory: Could you say you were over the moon?

Maria: I was over the moon. Yeah. Once I went to this football match during the World Cup, I saw Brazil play, for example. I watch sports with my friends, with my family, or I watch sports alone. Or again, I am a football fan, and my pals and I, my buddies, my friends and I usually go to see football, to cheer for our team, like support our team.

Rory: Just make sure you say to watch the football, because you don't look at football. We watch things that are moving, like watch a movie, watch a football match, but we look at things that are still, like look at a painting.

Maria: In the future, I don't plan to watch any games at all. Okay, fine. Or in the future, I'll watch some football games, I'll watch tennis, I'll watch winter Olympic Games. I watch the World Cup. Again, dear listener, like what, what sports do you like? You can also talk about, I don't know, karate, or wrestling, just name some interesting sports, unusual. Like what unusual sports do we have? Cheese rolling.

Rory: I'm not sure that gets much coverage to be honest.

Maria: Okay, there we go. According to Britannica.com, Britannica is this British encyclopedia. Yeah, we're looking for something different. So they say Quidditch.

Rory: Oh, for heaven's sake.

Maria: Yeah, but it's not a sport. It's from Harry Potter. Do people play Quidditch?

Rory: I'm not giving this any air time. That's, I think it's just sad.

Maria: Rockball. It's wrestling, basketball, and rugby all in one thing. Oh, hockey, by the way.

Rory: Oh, yeah, you could watch a hockey match.

Maria: But actually, cheese rolling is, well, according to Britannica.com, is considered a sport. Cheese rolling. It's amazing. In Gloucester, Gloucester?

Rory: Gloucester. Doesn't look like that, but that's how you say it.

Maria: Gloucester, England. So they have this huge cheese, a cheese is like bigger than a ball. So they roll it from the mountain, from a small hill, and they catch this cheese. Yeah, just Google, cheese rolling, England. You would watch that video with your friends. I watched it with my friends.

Rory: Oh, really? Did you?

Maria: No, no, no, no. I'm, I'm saying this is you could say that in the exam. I was watching cheese rolling with my friends. Yeah, online. This is a game that is often very funny for spectators. Spectators like people who watch the show, and painful for participants, because kind of you go downhill, you chase after a round of cheese from from Gloucester. Gloucester.

Rory: Gloucester.

Maria: Gloucester. It's a region in England. Yeah, so the cheese is huge, and it travels 70 miles per hour. So the cheese is pretty fast. And the person who gets to the bottom first wins the cheese. Oh my God. Right. Okay. This is, or underwater hockey. There we go, dear listener. Underwater hockey.

Rory: Oh, there's a totally normal sport that everyone's watched, for sure.

Maria: Absolutely, like in the swimming pool, they're underwater and they play hockey. Ah, amazing. Amazing, underwater hockey and cheese rolling. Dear listener, now we give you band nine ideas, because everybody will talk about football and tennis, it's boring. So you say, cheese rolling, okay? In the future, I plan to watch cheese rolling with my friends, which is an interesting game from England. Yeah. And then I'm gonna go into underwater hockey. Love it. You see? So you've become so interesting to the examiner. The examiner will jot down your ideas, write them down, and then after you leave, they will Google what cheese rolling is and, and if underwater hockey exists. Yeah. Or if you don't enjoy games, you say, I can't imagine anything I'd rather not do with my time. Which means I don't want to watch any games in the future. A nice structure, I'd rather not watch anything. I'd rather play video games. I'd rather go out. I'd rather read a book. So, I'd prefer to do it. I'd rather read a book. Not I'd rather to read, no, no, no, no, no. I'd rather read a book. I'd rather listen to a podcast. Or I'd rather watch football outside. Right, dear listener, thank you very much for listening. We'll get back to you in our next episode, okay? Bye.

Rory: Underwater hockey, really?

Maria: I know, right? Yeah, Britannica is nuts.