Unit 13 Hold on or give up
Vocabulary Task
Script and Answers
1. A: My Mom just signed up my little sister for the city basketball league. Now she thinks she is really hot.
B: How old is she?
A: She’s only ten, but she really has the hops.
B: My little brother has played in that league for two years and made the grade. You should see him shoot the ball. He’ll take his shots from downtown and get nothing but net.
2. A: How are college athletes chosen?
B: Scouts go to high schools around the country, select the best athletes, and offer them full scholarships. These kids live apart from other students and train, train and train.
A: What happens if their results are less than impressive?
B: Their scholarships are withdrawn, they either find the money to pay their own tuition or they go home.
3. A: Can you fully comprehend what being the No.1 pick in the NBA means to you?
B: This is now a new start in my basketball life. This is a new league for me to play for, so it will be a challenge for me.
A: What will you contribute to the team?
B: First of all, I will rebound for the Rockets. Then basically, I will play defense for the team. I will also show in the offense all the skills I can now do.
4. A: I know you’re a movie buff, so here is a little bit of movie trivia for you: What movie is the top-grossing film of all time?
B: Oh, that’s easy. “Jurassic Park” It’s the only film that has grossed over a billion dollars in history.
A: Then, what actress has the most nominations for an academy award?
B: Katharine Hepburn. She was nominated 12 times and won 3 times.
5. A: I haven’t seen Phil for centuries. I know he is a couch potato. In his free time, he just sits around and watches television.
B: So do I. Actually, watching TV helps me unwind after a long day of work.
A: But it’s easy for you to put on weight.
B: I know.
Listening Task
2. Listening Activity
1) First Listening
Answers
□ He was not strong enough to handle the physical play around the net.
□ His first games in the NBA were less than impressive because he left the floor early for foul trouble.
□ He would never score more than 20 points in a single game.
2) Second Listening
Answers
1. Yao Ming said, “This is the most pressure I’ve ever faced in my life, but it’s something I have to deal with.”
2. Yes, he made it.
3. He scored 20 points in a game against last year’s world champion LA Lakers, and 30 points against the Dallas Mavericks.
Script
Yao Ming makes the grade
With the first overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft, the Houston Rockets selected Chinese center Yao Ming. He becomes the first-ever number one pick to come from an international basketball league.
Even before he was chosen as the NBA’s number one draft pick by the Houston Rockets, Yao Ming faced intense media pressure and many critics. Many doubted whether the Chinese superstar would be able to make it in the NBA. Some thought he was not strong enough to handle the physical play around the net. Former NBA all-star Charles Barkley said that he would kiss a TV announcer’s behind if Yao ever scored more than 20 points in a single game.
“This is the most pressure I’ve ever faced in my life, but it’s something I have to deal with,” said Yao.
Before coming to the NBA, the 2.26 meter-tall and 134 kg center was the dominant player in the Chinese Basketball Association. As a 17-year-old rookie, he averaged 10.0 points and 8.3 rebounds during the 1997-1998 season. Yao has played against elite international talent since being named to the Chinese National Team at age 18. At the 2001 Asian Basketball Championship for men, Yao averaged 13.4 points on 724 shots with 10.1 rebounds and 2.8 blocked shots, helping the Chinese national team win the title, and was voted to the All-star team at the 2002 World Championship.
For a man his size, Yao is surprisingly agile. He is also an excellent shooter and passes well. But his first games in the NBA were less than impressive, with Yao leaving the floor early because of foul trouble.
But after he scored 20 points in a game against last year’s world champion LA Lakers, then 30 points against the Dallas Mavericks, his critics were silenced and Barkley was forced to kiss a donkey on TV. With performances like these, it seems like Yao Ming is just starting to feel comfortable in the NBA.
Among the first overall selection in NBA history, Yao stands as the tallest and second-heaviest players ever. Upon entering the NBA, Yao will become the third Chinese player in NBA history, following fellow Chinese National Team members Wang Zhizhi and Mengke Bateer.
Real World Listening
1. Predict
Answer
□ Billy argued with his father and insisted on cultivating his interest in ballet.
1. Get the Main Ideas
Answers
F Billy isn’t supposed to practice ballet because he is the son of a coal miner.
F Billy inherited his innate gift for music and dancing from his mother who encourages him to attend the ballet class.
F Mrs. Wilkinson is Billy’s secret ballet coach.
T Billy fears that other boys would regard him as a sissy or poof because he practices ballet.
Billy
1. Nothing is wrong with ballet.
2. It’s perfectly normal.
3. It’s not for poofs.
4. Some ballet dancers are as fit as athletes.
Father
1. Ballet is for girls, not for lads.
2. Lads do football, or boxing, or wrestling.
3. Ballet is frigging.
Script and Answers to Self-study
Billy Elliot
11-year-old boy Billy Elliot is the son of a (1) coal miner who is fond of boxing. Though he has an (2) innate gift for music and dancing, which perhaps he (3) inherited from his dead mother, his father Mr. Elliot makes him learn boxing at the school club to carry on the family tradition. The ballet coach, Mrs. Wilkinson, discovers that Billy has both the ideal (4) physical condition and a natural talent for dancing and encourages Billy to practice ballet. Billy joins in the ballet class and practices once a week using the time for boxing training, but he (5) keeps it a secret from his father and other boys fearing that they would regard him as a sissy or poof. Having found out what Billy is doing, the angry father bans his practise despite Billy’s (6) protest.
Father: Ballet?
Billy: What’s wrong with ballet?
Father: What’s wrong with ballet?
Billy: It’s perfectly normal.
Father: “Perfectly normal?”
Nanny: I used to go to ballet.
Billy: See?
Father: Aye, for your nanny. For girls, not for lads, Billy. Lads do football, or ... boxing, or ... wrestling. Not (7) frigging ballet.
Billy: What lads do wrestling?
Father: (8) Don’t start.
Billy: I don’t see what’s wrong with it.
Father: You know exactly what’s wrong with it.
Billy: No, I don’t.
Father: Yes, you do.
Billy: No, I don’t.
Father: Yes, you bloody well do. Who do you think I am? You know quite nicely.
Billy: What? What are you trying to say, Dad?
Father: You’re (9) asking for a hiding, son.
Billy: I’m not, honest.
Father: You are, Billy.
Billy: It’s not just for poofs, Dad. Some ballet dancers are (10) as fit as athletes. What about that Wayne Sleep? He was a ballet dancer.
Father: Wayne Sleep?
Billy: Aye.
Father: Listen, son, from now on you can forget about the ballet. You can forget about the boxing as well. I’m (11) busting my ass for those 50 pences, and you’re -- No, from now on you stay here, you look after your nanny. Got it? (Silence from Billy) Good.
Nanny: They used to say I could’ve been a professional dancer, with some training.
Father: Will you shut up? (Nanny is silent)
Billy: I hate you! You’re a bastard. |