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
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.