📘 Part 3: Sports

This episode's vocabulary

To be short (of/on something) - to not have enough of something.

Dedicated (adj.) - believing that something is very important and giving a lot of time and energy to it.

Self-destruction (noun) - behaviour by a person that is likely to make them fail or cause them to be harmed or killed.

Personable (adj.) - having a pleasant appearance and character.

Trait (noun) - a particular characteristic that can produce a particular type of behaviour.

To sniff something out (phrasal verb) - to cause something to end suddenly.

Climbing frame (noun) - a large frame made of bars that children can climb on.

Construct (noun) - to build something or put together different parts to form something whole.

To take advantage of (phrase) - to use the good things in a situation.

Beneficiary (noun) - a person or group who receives money, advantages, etc. as a result of something else.

In-depth (phrase) - in a serious and detailed way.

Milquetoast (adj.) - shy, nervous and with a weak character.

Passion (noun) - a very powerful feeling, for example of sexual attraction, love, hate, anger, or other emotion.

The nitty-gritty (noun) - the basic facts of a situation.

To manifest (verb) - to make something happen by imagining it and consciously thinking that it will happen.

To operate (verb) - to (cause to) work, be in action or have an effect.

To lose sight of something (idiom) - to forget about an important idea or fact because you are thinking too much about other things.

Opportunity cost (noun) - the value of the action that you do not choose when choosing between two possible options.

Inevitable (adj.) - certain to happen and unable to be avoided or prevented.

Commensurate (adj.) - in a correct and suitable amount compared to something else.

Questions and Answers

M: What kinds of exercises do people in your country like to do?

R: Oh, I don't think we're short on variety, really. You see people running, going to yoga, doing Pilates and other things all the time, which makes sense from just about any perspective. I mean, it's a Western capitalist democracy. So you can pretty much choose from an unlimited number of things that suit your taste.

M: What characteristics do you think an athlete should have?

R: I mean, if we're talking about professional athletes here, then individually, they should be dedicated to the point of self-destruction to whatever support they're invested in. I'm not sure what other qualities they need in terms of being an athlete. We could talk about being organized and personable. But those are basic human traits.

M: Do you think academic classes should replace PE classes?

R: I'm a bit torn on this, really. I mean, from a certain point of view, they shouldn't, so kids have a chance to develop their sporting abilities. But on the other hand, PE classes are organized for a mass of people and likely to snuff out any individual interest. So it might be better to let the kids have more free time to play in and enjoy themselves on climbing frames instead.

M: How can people know whether a child has a talent for sports or no?

R: Well, I don't mean to get philosophical about this. But the concept of talent really does seem to be a cultural construct to explain why people have the opportunities to take advantage of things that others don't. I mean, most of the top athletes in the world are the beneficiaries of access to money and power. So of course, they have an interest and trained hard, but unless they have some serious illness or genetic mutation of some kind, most people with time and effort could probably do the same thing. So that's the in-depth answer. But if you'd like something more milquetoast, then they can see your child has a passion for something and invest a lot of time in it.

M: And is it easy to identify children's talents?

R: Without getting into too much of the nitty gritty, probably, yes, in terms of sport, because you can see it manifesting in front of you whenever they play the game, or whatever it is they're doing.

M: And what are the benefits of sports for children?

R: I don't think there's... Well, no, I was going to say, I don't think there's anything specific for children. But perhaps there is because they learn to socialize and understand the rules of how something works, which is important for life more broadly speaking. So this first controlled encounter can be successful for operating independently in later life.

M: And what could be the disadvantages of sports for children? If any.

R: They might lose sight of other forms of achievement, but there's an opportunity cost to everything. So I think that that's inevitable. And that's not something that's unique to children.

M: Do you think there will be more athletes in the future?

R: Well, in terms of the raw numbers, yes. Because the number of sports is constantly increasing as people invent more things. So you will have more athletes, but in terms of the proportion of the population, well, yes, that would also be true, because if we're adding more sports to the pile, then there will be a commensurate increase in the size of the pool of athletes. So yes, there will be more.

M: Thank you Rory for your answers.

Discussion

R: No worries. Hopefully, they give people a sporting chance in their exams. Ho-ho, it's a pun.

M: So sport and exercise, okay? So we do exercise, we do sports. So we work out in the gym, and what kinds of exercises Rory told us about? Running, doing yoga, or going to yoga, doing Pilates. So we do yoga, we do Pilates. And before giving us examples of particular exercises, Rory told us I don't think we're short on variety.

R: Yes.

M: This so we're not short on a variety of different exercises, so there's like a wide range of exercises.

R: But to not be short on something just means that you are not going to run out of something. You will always have enough of it.

M: Like running, swimming, playing sports, doing yoga, which makes sense from just about any perspective.

R: So regardless of how you look at a situation, it's logical that we have this choice.

M: And you can choose from an unlimited number of things. So pretty much this variety of exercises is unlimited. So many things to do these days. An athlete, an athlete or a sports person, a sportsman or sportswoman, but we can say an athlete, he or she, right? So what characteristics, what character traits should an athlete have? And here, we can start off with like if we're talking about a professional athlete... Because we can talk about professional athletes or amateur athletes. So just like people who play sports or play games, do sports, but they don't do it professionally. Like, for example, I play squash. You know squash? It's not tennis, it's squash, it's an English kind of game. So I play squash, but I don't take part in championships. I don't do it professionally. So I'm an amateur player. But some people are professional squash players. So if we're talking about professional athletes, then they should be dedicated to the sport. Dedicated? Devoted it to this sport, they should give their life to this sport.

R: Just have a massive focus on it.

M: They should have a massive focus on this particular sport that they're doing. And they should do only this and nothing else. So squash from morning till night. And Rory told us, they should be dedicated to the point of self-destruction to the sport they are invested in. So to be dedicated to the point of self-destruction. Well, pretty much like Olympic champions do. So they train every day. And sometimes they destroy themselves with this rigorous training.

R: Oh, yeah, like people, people think that professional athletes are super healthy people. But in fact, apparently, they have an increased likelihood of suffering injury, and their lifestyles are tremendously unhealthy while they're engaged in this practice. So looking at the top performers in a sport for lifestyle advice on how to be healthy is probably not a great idea. In the same way, asking Hollywood actors for this advice is a terrible idea because they've all taken various performance-enhancing drugs in order to, well, look the way they do.

M: Yeah. What else can I say? Like...to the point of self-destruction. Any other verb I can use here?

R: Well, you can do anything to the point of self-destruction, you could be focused on a task to the point of self-destruction, or you could work to the point of self-destruction. You could do that, but you shouldn't.

M: And then you can say professional athletes should be organized. Personable?

R: Yeah, but that just means they're easy to like, easy to connect with.

M: Hmm. So kinda like other people should like them.

R: Yes.

M: Or because they're so nice and friendly, they are personable, so people like them.

R: Like us, personable and modest.

M: Very modest, super friendly, dear listener. Yeah? But also you can mention that a professional athlete should be passionate about the sport they're doing. Yeah? So should be a little bit crazy, like should be focused, disciplined, so organized and disciplined. And also committed is another word. So here, Rory told us, they should be dedicated to the sport they're doing, which means they are committed to the sport they're doing. Also, they should be competitive, because they take part in competitions. Competitive. Optimistic, obviously, yeah. Optimistic. Persistent. If a professional athlete is persistent, Rory, what does it mean?

R: Well, they just keep doing what they're doing. But that's not something that's unique to athletes, they just keep going. Everybody does that... Well, most people would probably do that, like, you and I are teachers, so we need to be persistent in our jobs in order for people to succeed.

M: Yeah, also you can say that they should be willing to accept constructive criticism. Professional athletes should be able to accept constructive criticism or should be willing to accept it. Like they need to want to accept it. They should also have self-confidence, motivation, self-discipline, okay? Yeah, and this competitive spirit with passion. Passion, dear listener. Usain Bolt, he's passionate about running. You know, he just runs so passionately, that the whole world is just like, looks at them, they're like, wow, Usain Bolt. At school, students have physical education or PE classes. Okay? So they have academic classes like mathematics, biology, chemistry, and physics. And they have physical education classes. So, should we have more academic classes? And Rory told us, hmm, I'm a bit torn on this, really. To be torn on something. What does it mean?

R: It just means it's difficult to have a clear opinion because there are two sides to it. And here they are.

M: And then, from a certain point of view, academic classes shouldn't replace physical education. Like from a certain point of view. But from another view, it should be replaced. You see? So from a certain point of view, they shouldn't replace, because children should have a chance to develop their sporting abilities. To develop, their physical abilities. Okay? But on the other hand, physical education classes are organized for people...

R: Well, for a mass of people.

M: A mass of people, like many people?

R: Yeah, so it's like for all people to do together.

M: Oh, yeah, yeah. So it's kind of like you don't have individual programs, but they tell everyone to do the same thing. But I couldn't do a certain exercise. And I was given bad marks for this. Could you imagine?

R: Oh, I was horrendous in PE as well.

M: I couldn't stretch physically. And I was given bad marks. Or like I couldn't play basketball. And I was given bad marks.

R: But that's it. That's basically what it is. You get bad marks for failing to conform, which is why I don't like it. And it's why I hated PE. Whereas if I'd been given something that I actually wanted to do, then I might have participated more. Could you imagine if I'd started weightlifting when I was a child, that would have been cool.

M: Oh, Rory, the athlete. You said snuff out any individual interest. So physical education classes could snuff out any individual interest.

R: Yes, but that just means they destroy it.

M: So physical education at school could destroy any interest. A child can have a talent for sports, to have a talent for something, to be talented in something. So we say to be talented in something, right?

R: Talented at something as well.

M: Oh, okay.

R: I would say talented at. It's like being good or bad at something.

M: Okay. Okay. So we say children could have a talent for sports, or children could be talented at sports. Okay? The concept of talent. What is talent? Yeah? First of all.

R: I think talent is just an excuse for why some people have opportunities and others don't. You say people are not truly talented. But then you realize that a lot of these people are actually given tremendous opportunities in addition to the hard work that they put in. So I think from my perspective, it's not really a thing. But yes, and then I gave that explanation and said, however, there's a shorter answer, and that is that you can see the passion. And you can.

M: Yeah, you can say that certain children are naturally talented. But in fact, they were given opportunities to become this talented, yeah?

R: Yeah.

M: But maybe you believe that Usain Bolt was born Usain Bolt and he had this talent before he was born, yeah?

R: Yeah, there are some people who are outliers. I read an interesting opinion the other day that people like Usain Bolt, and Michael Phelps, who's a swimmer from the United States, have a similar body type where they are, it looks like they're specifically adopted through various genetic traits, inherited traits. And that gives them an edge. It definitely does. I don't disagree, but I also think that they benefited from the support of other people in order to do that.

M: So they have inherited traits. So they were born with these traits, character traits.

R: Well, also like physical traits. Yeah. I mean, Michael Phelps has got an extremely unusually shaped body.

M: Yeah, his legs are massive.

R: And the shape of the chest also.

M: But then we can say that together with this talent people have an interest and they train hard, okay? And any person who has an interest focuses on a certain sport, and who trains hard can achieve success unless they have a genetic mutation. What is genetic mutation?

R: Well, like something that, you know, I don't know, something like mitochondrial disease where your body falls apart from the inside. That's probably going to stop you from becoming a superstar at running.

M: So if a child has a passion for something, and could invest a lot of time in it, then he or she will develop a talent for this sport. When you start answering a question you can start off with I don't want to get into too much of the nitty gritty, but blah, blah, blah. What does it mean?

R: The nitty gritty is just the fine details of a particular subject. So if we talk about the nitty-gritty of English, then that would be like explaining the grammar, for example. How it works, what it represents.

M: And could you give us an example, a sentence with nitty gritty?

R: Well, what? If we get into the nitty gritty of what allows people to be successful, then we could talk about different character traits or personal history, all these kinds of details.

M: Perfect. Children benefit from sports, because they learn to socialize, and communicate with people, and they learn to operate independently. So kind of to live their life independently. Also, you can say that the number of sports is increasing.

R: It is.

M: And the number of athletes is increasing. And an interesting thing is that, for example, in... What is an interesting thing?

R: Well, I could tell you one interesting thing about organized sports. Do you know they used to have pistol duelling at the Olympics?

M: What?

R: People would walk away from their partner and turn around and shoot them.

M: Are you joking?

R: No, they used to have it. It was obviously burned because it's extremely dangerous.

M: What a spectacular sport. Shooting at each other.

R: Oh, what was it? It was the same as... They were talking about the use of performance-enhancing drugs and steroids in sports, and what the argument was, if people are that dedicated to it, why not just remove all of the regulations and let these people become insanely massive, and just go toe to toe with each other and see how far we can push the limits of human competition with all of these methods. Which sounds interesting. But it's also like the pistol shooting extremely dangerous, and probably not good for people in the long run.

M: So the number of sports is increasing. And then you can say like, for example, new sports have been added to the Olympic Games. So in 2028, in the Olympic Games, in Los Angeles, apparently, they will have baseball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse, squash, and softball. You see? So they are adding new games, and new sports into the Olympic Games. 2028, dear listener, in Los Angeles, thank you very much for listening. Let's stay healthy, sporty, and athletic. Okay?

R: Not dedicated to the point of self-destruction, though.

M: Yeah. Bye!

R: Bye!

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