英语博客：Local rivals.

 

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　　We spent a noisy night on Saturday at the local arena¹. We had tickets to go and see a basketball match between the two big local rivals, Wenatchee and Eastmont. We were lucky enough to have box seats, so we were up high with a good view. We took all of the kids, and met up with my husband's brother's family, and another set of friends. We snacked and chatted while the match played. To tell you the truth, I didn't pay much attention to the game; I was more interested in catching² up with my sister-in-law and my friend. I would hear comments every now and then from the men about the game. The Eastmont band was just below our box. Whenever they would play, it was loud. The atmosphere was exciting; there was definitely a spirit of competition in the arena that night. Before the game started, a group of students from each high school shot baskets, to see who would make the most. Wenatchee won by a small margin³. I'm sure nerves of the event affected⁴ the accuracy of the shots. There were quite a few sporty looking, tall young men shooting baskets, but they only did as well as the girls. At half time, there was a dance performance by a large group of local young girls. It was a sort of hip-hop style which went down well with the audience. And then, of course, there were the cheer leaders doing their thing, their arrangement of kicks, moves, and claps. It was a spectacle⁵, as is to be expected of these arena events. While we were there, it snowed heavily. At one point, I went down to the first floor to get a bite to eat, and, as I walked past the windows, I was amazed at the large, thick snowflakes falling. It made the occasion feel special. This weekend, we have tickets to see a country singer called Clint Black, so I'm sure I will be podcasting about that experience.
Grammar notes.
Related vocabulary: to catch up with, a margin, accuracy, to go down (well/ badly).
1. I hadn't seen my friend for years, so we spent a few hours catching up.
2. In our science class, we are allowed no margin for error.
3. Swiss watches have a reputation of having long term accuracy.
4. The joke was in bad taste; it didn't go down well at the dinner party.

1 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

2 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

3 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 spectacle   

n.（大规模）场面，壮观[pl.]眼镜

参考例句：

• She was fascinated at the spectacle of a rocket launching.她被发射火箭的壮观场面强烈地吸引住了。
• The opening ceremony was a fine spectacle.开幕式典礼是个壮观的场面。