【英语趣味课堂】比赛日-Match Day

Valeria: So how about in tournament time?

Daniel: How?

 

Valeria: How do you live that?

 

Daniel: Well if it's an important tournament, like World Cup or Copa America, we would watch the matches like normally¹ watch and...

 

Valeria: What do you mean normally watch?

 

Daniel: Normally watch means even if you have classes, even if you are working, if there's a match in between you're going to watch it.

 

Valeria: So wait a second. If you are working, suppose you are working in your office and the matches are three pm meaning like working hours or the match is at ten am like it's school hours you still watch the match?

 

Daniel: Yeah, yeah. You get a TV at the office or your classroom and you watch the game.

 

Valeria: Really?

 

Daniel: Yeah, we stop working because otherwise you wouldn't do anything anyway.

 

Valeria: So you stop working, you stop studying?

 

Daniel: Yes.

 

Valeria: You stop everything that you are doing for watching the match?

 

Daniel: Yeah.

 

Valeria: It's kind of the same in Argentina.

 

Daniel: You see because it's really important, like football is really important for us so if you're supporting your team, if it's your national team everyone gets involved.

 

Valeria: In my country the rating² of the matches is like more than thirty each time.

 

Daniel: Yeah, yeah, it's the same in Chile. It's really successful when you broadcast the match.

 

重点词汇：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

even if

 

Even if you have classes, even if you are working, if there's a match, you're going to watch it.

 

The phrase 'even if' can be used to add specific and usually unexpected³ information about a situation.  It is usually used to say that something will still happen, even in the most unlikely⁴ situation. Notice the following:

 

Even if everything is going really well in her life, she can always find something to complain about.

Even if I weren't feeling sick, I probably wouldn't want to go to a movie tonight.

suppose

 

Suppose you are working in your office, do you still watch the match?

 

Used like this, 'suppose' is used to ask the listener or speaker to assume⁵ or imagine a particular situation, usually just for conversation or an argument. Notice the following:

 

Suppose you had an emergency, how would you contact someone without a cell phone?

Suppose you went back to school, how would that help your career?

otherwise

 

We stop working because otherwise you wouldn't do anything anyway.

 

'Otherwise' is used to add contrast about what would happen if the situation were different. It is usually used to show contrast between a couple options. Notice the following:

 

Bring a jacket, otherwise you'll be cold.

I think we should leave a little earlier, otherwise we will be late.

stop everything

 

You stop everything that you are doing to watch the match?

 

When you 'stop everything,' it means that your normal life pauses for you to do something else. Notice the following:

 

She is very selfish and expects people to stop everything and help her when she needs something.

When you have teenagers, you have to learn to stop everything and listen when they want to talk.

TV rating

 

In my country the TV rating of the matches is very high.

 

The 'TV rating' is how many people are watching a specific program. Notice the following:

 

TV ratings⁶ have to be very high for programs broadcast at this time of day.

That show was taken off the air because of low TV ratings.

 

1 normally   

adv.正常地，通常地

参考例句：

• I normally do all my shopping on Saturdays.我通常在星期六买东西。
• My pulse beats normally.我脉搏正常。

2 rating   

n.级别，等级，额定值，责骂，收视率

参考例句：

• It is a ship with a rating of 500,000 tons.这是一艘五十万吨级的船。
• The opinion polls gave the president a high rating.民意测验显示人民对总统的支持率很高。

3 unexpected   

adj.想不到的，意外的

参考例句：

• I always keep some good wine in for unexpected guests.我总保存些好酒，用来招待不速之客。
• His promotion was unexpected.他的升迁出人意料。

4 unlikely   

adj.未必的，多半不可能的；不大可能发生的

参考例句：

• It was very unlikely that he would do that.他不见得会做那种事。
• It is unlikely that she will come. 她不大可能来了。

5 assume   

vt.假装；假定，设想；承担；呈现，采取

参考例句：

• I assume that he won't cheat you.想来他是不会骗你的。
• We can't assume anything in this case.在这种情况下我们不可能做出假设。

6 ratings   

n.等级( rating的名词复数 )；收视率；表示电影分级的数字（或字母）；（海军）水兵

参考例句：

• He won high ratings [marks] in all his examinations. 他所有的考试都获得高分。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The boat was operated by two naval ratings in dress whites. 船由两个穿着白色礼服的水兵驾驶。 来自辞典例句