📙 Part 2: Describe a famous athlete you know

You should say: who he/she is, how you know of him/her, what he/she has achieved, and explain why he/she is famous.

This episode's vocabulary

To keep something up (phrasal verb) - to continue without stopping or changing, or to continue something without allowing it to stop or change.

Trophy (noun) - a prize, such as a gold or silver cup, that is given to the winner of a competition or race, and often returned after a year to be given to the winner of the competition in the following year.

Medal (noun) - a small metal disc, with words or a picture on it, given as a reward for a brave action, for winning a competition, or to remember a special event.

Enthusiasm (noun) - a feeling of energetic interest in a particular subject or activity and an eagerness to be involved in it.

The ins and outs (noun) - the detailed or complicated facts of something.

Competent (adj.) - able to do something well.

Coverage (noun) - the reporting of a particular important event or subject.

To arise (verb) - to start to happen or exist.

To fall back on something (phrasal verb) - to have something you can use or do if what you originally planned to use or do is not available or not possible.

Questions and Answers

R: I don't really watch a lot of sports. So this is a hard one for me. However, someone who's in the news a lot, at least in Scotland is Andy Murray. He's one of our best tennis players. And actually, I think one of the best in the world. Or he was. I don't really keep up with things connected to organized sports like tennis championships bar the occasional news report. Like I said, I only really know of him through news reports that come through from time to time. And occasionally I see matches when the TV has switched to a particular channel or event. He always seems to be doing something, which makes sense since he wouldn't be on TV if he weren't. I think he's won quite a few awards and trophies and medals for his various contributions to sport. Oh, and he works with his mother, who is also very enthusiastic about sports. They work to promote healthy and active living among young people, mainly. Although I imagine what they're doing could be beneficial for, well, people who are not young. I'm not sure how well it's going. Like specifically, but at least he's making an effort. And then obviously, in order to do all of that he had to win matches, which is something I certainly couldn't do. I don't even know how to play tennis. I know how to hit balls with a tennis racket. But as to the ins and outs of the sport, I think he's way more competent in that regard than I am. And this probably explains why he's so famous in addition to all that media coverage. Some people are really into tennis. So it makes sense that superstars in this area would arise eventually. And it's a good thing this has happened too. Otherwise, I'd have had no one to talk about. You don't really have a lot of famous sportsmen and women from Scotland. It's only a small country. So it's good that we have these one or two superstars that we can fall back on to talk about. And I think that, well, I hope that there'll be more people like him in the future that have been inspired as a result.

Discussion

M: Right, dear listener, a very specific topic here, a famous athlete. Okay? And here, if you are not into sport, you should know famous... One famous athlete to talk about. You can talk about Messi, Usain Bolt, Neymar. They are all athletes. Football players are athletes. Cristiano Ronaldo.

R: But if you look at the question, it says a famous athlete you know, but I think actually it should be a famous athlete you know of. So pay careful attention to that because it's not going to be like they're your friend or something. It's just got to be somebody that you're aware of and can talk about.

M: Yeah, so describe a famous athlete, you know of. So a football player is also an athlete. So go ahead to talk about Messi. I think this is like the easiest thing to do. Rory told us about Andy... How to pronounce his name?

R: Andy Murry.

M: Murry. A British professional tennis player. So he was ranked number one in 2016. Okay? Now he's 36 years old and leaves in...

R: Scotland.

M: Oh, Scottish, he's Scottish. Oh, nice.

R: Yeah. Actually, he had quite an unfortunate childhood. He was in a school called Dunblane, which was where... There was a massacre. Lots of children were killed in the attack.

M: Oh, wow.

R: So that's pretty unfortunate, but he seems to have turned it into something good at the very least.

M: So dear listener, this athlete or a sportsman and sportswoman could be from your country, could be from another country, but you should google this person and know some information about them. Okay? You can start off with I don't really watch a lot of sports. So I'm not into sport.

R: And I don't.

M: Yeah. Rory kind of isn't into sports, but Rory goes to the gym. Right, Rory. Still?

R: Yeah, but like weightlifting. Oh, wait, weightlifting is a sport, but I don't know really any... Is Chris Bumstead a weightlifter? Chris Bumstead. Is that his name?

M: I have no idea. If you ask me, I would talk about Messi.

R: Oh, wow. Yeah. Chris Bumstead is a bodybuilder. Everybody knows Messi. Talk about Messi.

M: Yeah. Someone who is in the news a lot in Scotland is Andy Murray. So he's in the news. Like Messi is in the news. They write about him nonstop. He is one of our best tennis players. He is one of the best football players or, I don't know, hockey players.

R: It's important to point out though, if you say, one of and you're talking about one person, you need to add the plural. One of the best tennis players. Not a tennis player. Because I have students that do this all the time.

M: Yeah. I don't really keep up with things connected to organized sports. So I don't keep up with things. I don't follow things connected to organized sports. Or you can say I don't really keep up with the news.

R: And I don't.

M: I only really know of him through the news. So why do we have this preposition of? I know of him through the news. Why can't we say I know him through the news?

R: Because if you say I know someone, relate the connection, the relationship is much more personal and direct. Whereas if you know of someone, then there's this distance. And we know of celebrities, but we don't know them personally.

M: I know of Rihanna. Rihanna, the singer. I can't say I know Rihanna. Oh, I know Rihanna. Oh, yeah. I met her last week.

R: Like I know who she is, but I don't know her like a friend.

M: So I should say I know of Rihanna. I know of Leo Messi.

R: Well, if someone asks you do you know Rihanna, like do you know who she is? Then you can say, yeah, I know, Rihanna. But not like I know her like she's my best pal.

M: Yeah. So here, you can say, I really know of him through the news reports, or I really know of him through the internet, through mass media. Well, because famous athletes, they are all over the news, right? So I really know of her through the news reports. I watch matches on TV, like football matches, tennis matches, hockey games. And he always seems to be doing something. So this person always seems to be doing things. He is doing things. He's very productive. So he's always on TV.

R: And very important, on TV, not in TV.

M: Yeah, he's all over the internet. He's on TV. He's all the radio. So everyone is talking about. And then about his achievements. You see, so if this person is alive, all right? We use present perfect to talk about what he has achieved. And in the exam card, you have this prompt, this task, what he, she has achieved. So we're gonna use the present perfect, dear listener, if this person is alive, so he has won a few awards, and trophies. So what are awards and trophies? What is a trophy?

R: Well, a trophy is a big... Oh, God. To simplify, a trophy is a big metallic cup that is given to you to celebrate some kind of win. And an award, it could be a cup or a trophy. But it's just also some sort of physical symbol that you achieved something. So it could be a certificate, or it could also be a plaque, like a big sort of rectangular object with your name on it and what you did. And the medal is just the big silver or gold or bronze coin that you wear around your neck when you win something.

M: So you can say he's won a lot of awards, trophies and medals for his contributions to sport. So he has contributed a lot to the sport. Well, he's given a lot to sport. You can say he has always been very enthusiastic about sports. So Leo Messi has always been enthusiastic about the World Cup, and about football. And he promotes a healthy lifestyle. Also, this is true for Leo Messi because he promotes football in Argentina. He has built I think a couple of stadiums or a couple of centres if I'm not mistaken.

R: Really?

M: In the town... Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. In the town where he was born, in Argentina he has built several places. Well, not he but he gave money and they built things.

R: Yeah.

M: So you can say that this person promotes a healthy and active lifestyle, or he promotes healthy and active living among young people. So he is making an effort. He is trying to promote a healthy lifestyle among people, he is making an effort to promote a healthy lifestyle.

R: Which we should all be doing, really. But since we're talking about celebrities, that's what we're talking about.

M: So when you research this person, you can say he has done this, he has done that, he has won championships. What synonyms can we have for famous? So he's a famous athlete.

R: Well known.

M: He is a well-known athlete. Renowned. He's a renowned athlete?

R: Yeah. Popular might be close, but it's not exactly the same thing.

M: So he is a superstar in this area, right?

R: Like how we are superstars in ours.

M: And if you're from a small country like Rory. Scotland is a small country. We don't have many famous sportsmen and women from Scotland, so yeah. But it doesn't mean that you have to talk about a famous athlete from your country. Again, Messi.

R: No, but I was just thinking of the first person I could. And most people think of their culture when they're asked this question≥

M: Right, dear listener, thank you very much! Okay? You have to google your famous athlete. Okay? Choose. I would go for Messi. But it's your choice. And we'll get back to you in speaking part three about sports.

R: Bye!

M: Bye!

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