Mixer #86 – Favorite Sport

Various people share sports they like to play or watch.

1) Aki likes rugby because _______ .
a) her brother plays it
b) it's her country's national sport
c) it has lots of action
2) Matthew no longer plays _____ .
a) snooker
b) rugby
c) cricket
3) Chris says he often ________ playing rugby.
a) gets hurt
b) makes friends
c) wins championships
4) Lindsay loves to watch ______ .
a) Basketball
b) Tennis
c) Tennis and Basketball
5) Lori likes sports _______ .
a) she can do alone
b) that involve teamwork
c) that are cheap
6) Eoin says he _______ .
a) likes to watch cycling
b) is very competitive
c) likes to watch soccer

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Transcript
Aki / Japan
I like rugby. I like watching rugby. There's a lot of actions. There are a lot of nice
looking guys, you know, nice movements, also the pace of the games goes fast, so a
lot of scoring, and I enjoy it.

Matthew / England
Well, I was born and raised in England so I enjoy English sports. Cricket and soccer. I
played rugby when I was young, but I also like things like snooker as well if I'm going
to play any sport at all, it's probably going to be something like snooker.

Chris / England
I love playing rugby. I can't do it very often and usually when I do it I end up hurt for a
week but it's a good kind of pain, and I like team games very much, so rugby is a good
game to play for that.

Lindsay / United States

I love to play tennis. I think it's a really fun sport but I actually don't like to watch it. I
think it's pretty boring to watch and I love to watch basketball. I think it's so cool to
watch the ball go back and forth. It's very fast paced, and I love watching the players
dunk, but I hate to play basketball ‘cause I have really bad motor-reflexes and I can't
dunk.

Lori / Canada
I'm not a big sports fan. I have to say I don't really enjoy team sports or organized
sports, but for myself I enjoy swimming, especially in the ocean and something I can
do by myself, like yoga.

Eoin / England
What sports do I like to play? Well, in terms of exercising, I like to cycle. I'm not so
keen on competitive sports anymore though I used to play soccer - football - quite a
lot. In terms of watching sports, I really like watching football - soccer.

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Vocabulary
pace
'Pace' is simply how fast something is being done. See additional examples below:

 The teacher reviewed the material at a very fast pace.

 Pick up the pace! We’re almost out of time.
scoring
When one team makes a point in soccer, rugby, basketball, etc. this is called ‘scoring’ a point.

 He scored a goal just a few minutes before the end of the game.
 The defense prevented the other team from scoring.
end up
'End up' refers to the final results or the consequences of doing something.

 He drives like a maniac. He is going to end up in the hospital.

 We ended up leaving the party early because we were so tired.
back and forth
'Back and forth' is the same as backward and forward and it also implies that it is happening
repeatedly, going one direction and then the other. See the examples below:

 My girlfriend lives in a different city so I’m always driving back and forth between her
city and mine.
 We have been sending e-mails back and forth to each other for about a year now.
reflexes
Your ‘reflexes’ are your natural reactions that you do without thinking. ‘Motor reflexes’ refers
specifically to physical reactions.

 She caught the cup before it fell off the table – good reflexes!
 I always sneeze when I see strong sunlight – it’s a reflex.
dunk
In basketball, to ‘dunk’ means to jump up and put the ball directly into the basket (instead of
throwing it).
organized sports
'Organized sports' area physical activities that have recognized rules and a winner can be
decided based on these rules. Here are two more examples:

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  I was very active when I was young, but I never played organized sports.
 I’m not sure why organized sports get so much attention. I’d rather see really talented
artists playing music.
not keen on
If you are 'not keen on' something means that you don’t really like it.

 I’ve never been very keen on chocolate.

 After about 3rd or 4th grade, most kids aren’t so keen on school.

Vocabulary Quiz
pace • ended up • back and forth • scoring • not keen on
1. My kids are _______________ card games; they lose interest quickly.
2. We played really poorly at the beginning of the game, but we _________________
winning.
3. The star player was responsible for _______________ almost all the points.
4. The dog was very excited and ran ________________ across the yard.
5. He must be tired. His _______________ is a lot slower than yesterday.

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