Hello everyone and welcome again to Radio English on Sunday. This is Bruce,
/ And this is Peter.
/ Join us today for a fun lesson on a fun sport, basketball. In unit nine, we are featuring this week, why is basketball so popular? Everybody knows about this sport, but today we're going to find out why this sport has become one of the international favorite of the sport's world.
/ A short while ago, Bruce just mentioned this word "fun", we are going to have a fun lesson on the fun game, well, this "fun" is, of course, in this case, an adjective.
/ That's right.
/ Meaning uhh, interesting, right?
/ Mmm-hum, or "having a good time".
/ While "funny" means "humorous, " something humorous makes us laugh, something that is fun, is something which you consider to be a good time.
/ Of course "fun" can also be used as a noun. For example, to make fun of somebody, something that you always do.
/ haha, I'm afraid so. :P
Why is Basketball so popular?
Soccer and baseball have more fans, but no other sport has increased in popularity so quickly over the past thirty years than has basketball. What accounts for the sudden meteoric rise in a sport which after all is played best by people who are unusually tall. The secret to basketball's success lies in three particular sources: the celebrities in the game; commercial sponsorship of those players and the game itself; and the mushrooming of crowded urban environments around the world.
Let's go over to find out the main idea about our introductory paragraph today. Of course, "basketball" is the key word, and we find that basketball, maybe more than thirty years ago, was not so popular a sport as it is today. It has increased in popularity very quickly, like a meteor in the sky. A meteor is a falling star or shooting star and they, swoosh! very fast to cross the sky, they burn up across the sky. And we sometimes use "meteoric rise" to show that something happens very very quickly. And we finished this paragraph by explaining that the sport's celebrities, sponsorship and the increasing number of cities throughout the world, are probably responsible for this increase in the popularity of this sport.
/ Also, in terms of structure, let's just look at line two here to the end, over the past thirty years than has basketball, 這里than后面用了倒裝，本來應該是than basketball has. 這種倒裝用法是這樣的，如果than后面是用了be(助？）動詞，be（助？）動詞可以跟主詞倒裝。For example, she's more beautiful than Mary is, 這個is可以省略掉，可以用倒裝。she's more beautiful than is Mary.
/That's right.
/ He studies harder than Peter does,
/ He studies harder than does Peter.
______________meteor, n,
A bright trail or streak that appears in the sky when a meteoroid is heated to incandescence by friction with the earth's atmosphere.
流星流星體與地球大氣摩擦加熱至白熾在天空中出現(xiàn)的閃光痕跡或光帶
Also called: falling star shooting star
也可以表示：(流星的)曳光; 曇花一現(xiàn)的東西; 移動快速的人[物]; 一夜之間成名的人
＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿meteoric, adj,
___________celebrity, celebrities, n,
A famous person.
名人
Renown; fame.
聲望；名聲
Ok, let's go right ahead. We have a nice, long paragraph here with many people's names, remember, when you are studying a foreign language like English, we'll find many names that you never saw before. Don't worry. So do we. In English and French and German and Spanish and other European languages, there're many many many family names. Every time I meet someone, I cannot be sure that I have heard their family name before, so feel bad if you see somebody's name that you don't know how to say, this is true for us, too. Just ask the person how they say their name and try your best. It happens to us, too.
/ Yeah, but you just called this paragraph a very nice, long paragraph. I would say this is not a very nice one, in fact, because I couldn't find my name here. :)
/ Haha, :P you are not a sport hero, you are a music hero.
/ Oh, I see.
/ Our Peter is a very good musician, actually he's pretty (ethletic,) too. He likes mountain biking, and walking and swimming, when he has the chance.
Well, let's go back to our topic, basketball. Now I'll read the second paragraph.
All sports have their heroes. Currently, baseball has MarkMoKia and SamiSosor (一些狗*人名），the home run hitting kings. Tennis has MarTina Hingers and PetesSampros, the darlings of the courts. Soccer has players so popular that they are mobbed by fans wherever they appear, especially in Europe and South America. Only basketball, however, has celebrities who have caught the attention of the world like no others. Mickle Gordan is so popular even after having officially retired from the game that there's talk of his running for public office in the US. DenisRokman, the muscular, tattooed, and much ballyhooed player formally of the Chicago Bulls, makes headlines whenever he pulls another of his crazy but fun-loving publicity stunts. Former players like RaryBird and MikeJohnson continue to command respect for their personal integrity and unparalleled sportsmanship. Basketball shoes, T-shirts, and even movies are made with these basketball superstar icons. No other sport figures can compete with their popular recognition and appeal.
Remember in the first paragraph, we introduced to you three reasons which may explain why basketball has become such a popular game around the world during the past thirty years. The first possible reason, which was mentioned was the celebrities in the game. And in this paragraph, we expand that idea, we talk more about it. But first we mentioned that all sports have celebrities, in basketball and tennis, for example, and then we gave you examples of the superstars (within) basketball, Mikeal Gordan, DennisRockman, even former players, players were famous remain famous even after they leave the game, like LarryBird and Magic Johnson.
/ ...they are mobbed by fans...
/ This means that if you can remember, say, when Mickeal Jackson was very very popular, or today's new groups, music groups, the kids go crazy and they want to touch their favorite star, and there're hundreds, and maybe thousands of these kids, and in this situation, we say it is a mob, and we can use it as a verb, he was mobbed by his fans, this is not a bad meaning, it's a little scary, maybe, but it means that he was loved so much by so many people that this crowd chase him wherever he went.
/ to catch the attention of somebody,
to catch the eye of somebody, 也一樣，不過這個eye一定要用單數(shù)。
/ That's right, not "catch the eyes of somebody", it's a same use as "keep your eye on what you are doing", this "eye" does not refer to the eyes we use to look at things with, it refers to our attention, and therefore it is non-count singular eye.
/Keep an eye on that thief. His performance caught the eye of everyone.
/ ...like no others,
/ Ok, the "like no other, or others" usage means that it is incomparable. Incomparable means you cannot compare it to anything else, you could also use the adjective "unique" here. 很特殊的，無與倫比的，one of (a?) the kind.
/ ..there's talk of his running for public office, 。。來自于謠傳說，千萬要說there's a talk of...
/ Right. We don't use "a" or "the" in this case, there's no article here, there's talk of, but there's a rumor that...
/大家注意了，rumor前面卻可以加a. 可以有一種情況下rumor不能加a.
Rumor has it that... Word has it that...
Rumor has it that Bruce's going to keep a dog as a pet. 謠傳說。。要養(yǎng)狗。
/ haha, more likely, the dog will be raising me. :P
________ballyhoo, n, v, ballyhoos, ballyhooed,
Sensational or clamorous advertising.
夸大廣告聳人聽聞的或大肆宣傳的廣告
Noisy shouting or uproar.
大聲吵鬧，喧囂
v, To advertise by sensational methods.
大吹大擂用聳人聽聞的方法做廣告
The candidate's campaign was attended with too much ballyhoo.
對候選人的競選宣傳得太過分了。
vt.
(為...)大吹大擂
ballyhoo the public with false advertising
用不真實的廣告向群眾吹噓
Now let's continue and find out more about our basketball superstars. 12:40
Is this international superstar status solely due to these men's talents and contributions? In no small part, of course it is. But other leading athletes with equally commendable skills, who have performed attention-grabbing antics rarely reach the stratospheric level of stardom that basketball players enjoy. This special privilege is due to a concerted effort by the players behind the basketball players, that is, the basketball leagues' owners and sponsors.
This paragraph introduces to us that the second of the three ideas which we mentioned in the introductory paragraph, explaining why basketball has become so popular. It is the people behind the players or rewrite here, the players behind the players, the people who manage these basketball teams who are also responsible for making basketball, the popular game it is today.
stratospheric,
/ Stratosphere, "-phere" refers to one level of our atmosphere and the idea is that it is very very high, so the stratospheric level of stardom would mean a very very high level of stardom, which means, of course, being a superstar.
/ 的境界，登峰造極的水平，
/ The top of the mountain.
/Is this international superstar status solely due to these men's talents and contributions, here we should notice the word "talent", when it is "talented", it's an adjective, ----be talented in something, ----to have a talent for ...
/ Ok, Mary is talented in singing, or, Mary has a talent for singing.
16:00
Basketball has always been the distant third in sports rankings in the United States behind baseball and American football. Basketball league owners and managers wanted to change this traditional perception of the immutability of this statistics, and in the nineteen sixty's began a concerted effort to make basketball the game of choice by hand-picking more colorful as well as professional players and by making alliances with the commercial sponsors of athletic equipment. By the 1970s, basketball teams recognition in the US has soared with dedicated fans in the millions. Teams like Los Angles Lakes, the Chicago Bulls, and Bulson Seltics, had become household names. Players like Magic Johnson and Mickeal Gerdan will worth millions of dollars in commercial advertising spots for athletic equipment manufacturers, a trend which continues to this day. Today, basketball is a billion dollar business.
_____perception,
The process, act, or faculty of perceiving.
知覺知覺過程、行為或作用
The effect or product of perceiving.
感知知覺的效果或產(chǎn)物
Psychology
【心理學】
Recognition and interpretation of sensory stimuli based chiefly on memory.
領悟力主要在記憶基礎上的再認識和對感覺刺激物的理解
The neurological processes by which such recognition and interpretation are effected.
領悟再認識和理解產(chǎn)生效應的精神過程
Insight, intuition, or knowledge gained by perceiving.
感知直覺、洞察力或通過感知獲得的知識
n.
感覺; 知覺, 感受, 體會
知覺作用; 知覺過程; 感性認識; 觀念, 概念
理解力; 洞察力, 直覺; 了解
The capacity for such insight.
洞察力的容量
_____________immutability, n, immutable, adj, mutate, v, mutable, ad,
_______concerted,
Planned or accomplished together; combined:
商定的共同計劃或完成的；聯(lián)合的：
We made a concerted effort to solve the problem.
我們一起努力解決了這個問
adj
共同的；一致的；商定的
a concerted effort
共同努力
to take concerted action
采取一致行動
商定的， 一致的； 互相配合的； 協(xié)同的；【音】合拍的
concerted efforts
共同的努力
concerted mechanism
協(xié)調(diào)機理
take concerted action
采取一致行動
make a concerted attack
聯(lián)合攻擊
____athletic, adj, athlete, n,
Of, relating to, or befitting athletics or athletes.
體育運動的體育運動或運動員的，有關或適宜于體育運動或運動員的
Physically strong; muscular.
體格健壯的；肌肉發(fā)達的
See: muscular
athletic equipment, 運動器材。
So here we find, the previous paragraph introduced the idea of the league owners and managers and now in this longer paragraph we find out the details about how they make basketball such a famous and popular game. They improved the players by choosing ones who were more interesting as well as more professional and they started to do business. They approached manufacturers of sports equipment, made deals and all those great television commercials, as suddenly people began to think about basketball.
/ a trend, trendy,
/ "Trendy" means fashionable, or stylish, --Brenda is always wearing trendy clothes, means that she likes to read fashion magazines and buy new clothes.
Let's go ahead now.
No amount of advertising, however, can account for the number of fans who not only double as spectators but as players themselves. Basketball courts, whether in schools, parks or abandoned city lots, has sprouted throughout the urban landscape. A child is never far from a basketball ball and hoop. With lands becoming more expensive and ever more crowded cities, city governments are far more likely to construct basketball courts than baseball diamonds or soccer fields. As basketball equipment is minimal and inexpensive, it is no wonder that the game has become more and more popular around the world.
This final paragraph of our development takes us to the third point of the introduction, the fact that basketball is a city game. You can play basketball in a very small area, compared to sports like soccer, American football, or baseball, and equipment is also not very much and pretty cheap, compared to other equipment, and there're more and more cities around the world, so it is becoming a game of choice by city dwellers.
/ sprout, bean sprouts,
Well, let's finish up.
What young boy doesn't dream of becoming as tall as a basketball player, or at least of having as much money or fame? Basketball's quick pace and dynamite plays are in contract to the much slower moves in baseball, or even in much of soccer and American football. This dynamism is part of the pulse of our times, and so long as we live in a fast changing world, basketball and its players will continue to appeal to sports lovers around the world.
In our concluding paragraph reminds the reader that somehow basketball seems to be not just a sport of the cities, but a sport of the times. Our quick changing society is reflected in the quick moves of basketball. Maybe that's why basketball is so popular.
/appeal to,
That girl appeals to me. That girl attracts me.
I am attracted to the girl, by the girl.
這個appeal 還有一個用法，to appeal to someone to do something, or for something,
/ Like I appeal to you for a raise?
/ Yeah? Then?
/ Suddenly I become deaf. :D
Deaf + to,
He was deaf to my advice.
Well, let's go back to page sixty nine and re-read the whole lesson, this time you can just listen instead of using your eyes to read to practise your listening comprehension.
Ok, everybody, that's it for today. Join us next time.
_____________________Pan. 2003.
**********************************************************************************************
Lesson 9, Why is Basketball so popular?
Reading,
Soccer and baseball have more fans, but no other sport has increased in popularity so quickly over the past 30years than has basketball. What accounts for the sudden meteoric rise in a sport which, after all, is played best by people who are unusually tall? The secret to basketball's success lies in three particular sources: the celebrities in the game; commercial sponsorship of those players and the game itself; and the mushrooming of crowded, urban environments around the world.
All sports have their heroes. Currently, baseball has Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa, the home runhitting kings.Tennis has Martina Hingus and Pete Sampras, the darlings of the courts. Soccer has players so popular that they are mobbed by fans wherever they appear, especially in Europe and South America. ONly basketball, however, has celebrities who have caught the attention of the world like no others. Michael Jordan is so popular even after having officially retired from the game that there is talk of his running for public office in the United States. Dennis Rodman, the muscular, tattooed, and much ballyhooed player formerly of the Chicago Bull, makes headlines whenever he pulls another of his crazy but fun-loving publicity stunts. Former players like Larry Byrd and Magic Johnson continue to command respect for their personal integrity and unparalleled sportsmanship. Basketball shoes, T-shirts, and even movies are made with these basketball superstar icons. No other sport figures can compete with their popular recognition and appeal.
Is this international superstar status solely due to these men's talents and contributions? In no small part, of course, it is, but other leading athletes with equally commendable skills or who have performed attention-grabbing antics rarely reach the stratospheric level of stardom that basketball players enjoy. This special privilege is due to a concerted effort by the players behind the basketball players, that is, the basketball leagues' owners and sponsors.
Basketball has always been a distant third in sports rankings in the US behind baseball and American football. Basketball league owners and managers wanted to change this traditional perception of the immutability of these statistics and in the 1960s began a concerted effort to make basketball the game of choice by hand-picking more colorful as well as professional players and by making alliances with the commercial sponsors of athletic equipment. By the 1970s, basketball team recognition in the US had soared, with dedicated fans in the millions. Teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, the Chicago Bulls, and the Boston Celtics had become household names. Players liek Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan were worth millions of dollars in commercial advertising spots for athletic equipment manufacturers, a trend which continues to this day. Today, basketball is a billion-dollar business.
No amount of advertising, however, can account for the number of fans who not only double as spectators but as players themselves. Basketball courts, whether in schools, parks, or abandoned city lots, have sprouted throughout the urban landscape. A child is never far from a basketball ball and hoop. With land becoming more expensive in ever more crowded cities, city governments are far more likely to construct basketball courts than baseball diamonds or soccer fields. As basketball equipment is minimal and inexpensive, it is no wonder that the game has become more and more popular around the world.
What young boy doesn't dream of becoming as tall as a basketball player, or at least of having as much money or fame? Basketball's quick pace and dynamic plays are in contrast to the much slower moves in baseball or even in much of soccer and American football. This dynamism is part of the pulse of our times, and so long as we live in a fast-changing world, basketball and its players will continue to appeal to sports lovers around the world.