Episode 0257

Hello everybody and welcome to English Pod. My name is Marco.

Uh this is the World Cup time of year, so this comes every four years actually.

And we've got a lesson all about it.

That's right. So as everyone may or may not have heard, we are actually in the middle of the World Cup and as you say, it's a football or soccer competition.

Now, soccer is only used in the United States.

That's right. It's used in the United States, although football can be confusing in a place like Australia where they have two different games that are called football.

That's right. So it's a little bit difficult at times to tell someone that you play football and they think you play American football or Australian football or soccer.

So it's a little bit confusing.

It can be, yeah.

All right, so we have a great lesson all about the World Cup. We're gonna explain a little bit and so let's listen to the dialogue for the very first time.

What are you doing?

Um, no.

What?

I think that South Africa will probably dominate the first half since they are the host country and all.

I have no idea what you're talking about.

The only sporting event we watch at home is the Super Bowl.

They first start in a group stage with eight groups, each group having four teams.

The top two teams pass on to an elimination stage before going on to the semifinals and the quarter finals.

Sounds interesting, but soccer doesn't really appeal to me.

All I know about soccer is that you can't use your hands and that players are always falling down trying to get a free kick or penalty kick.

It seems like a sissy sport to me.

Whatever, I'm going to go watch the opening match.

All right, we're back. So obviously two people discussing or fighting over the World Cup and soccer, one of them doesn't really like it.

Um, but he came up with some really interesting points and explained a couple of interesting things.

So let's take a look at some of that vocab on Language Takeaway.

So, okay, the very first phrase here is a very important one. We're talking about sports.

This game is called a sporting event.

That's right. So, a sporting event is an event, I guess you would say, is a performance or something that happens occasionally, but related to sports.

That's right. So an event can be a game itself or a tournament. Uh, you've heard maybe of, well, the UEFA Cup, that's the European Federation of Football or whatever it is. So basically you have this tournament for European soccer teams. But World Cup is also an event, and a very important game could also be an event. So this basically means a sporting match or a sporting competition.

That's right. Now, it may sound confusing as to why you put the "ing" in sport. It would it should be maybe sports event or sport event, but I'm not really sure why we add the gerund to sporting event.

We always just say it this way. It's uh, it's a set phrase. So let's remember that it's sporting event.

This is the world's most important sporting event, for example.

Okay, very good.

Now, we went in and we talked about uh, the first match, Mexico versus uh, South Africa, and they're talking about the teams and how they both have a very strong offense.

Okay, so offense is a part of the team. Basically, it's a group of players who are um, trying to score.

That's right.

Okay? So when you're when you're good at offense, it means you're good at scoring.

And the opposite of offense is what?

Defense.

Defense. So offense, defense.

Um, you can say, they have a very strong defense. That means that it's very hard to score against them because their defenders, their goalie, they're all very strong.

That's right.

So we're talking about an offense and a defense, both uh, very important parts of a team.

And so the guy continued and made a little bit of a prediction saying that South Africa will probably dominate the first half.

Okay, so you know that football matches are split into halves. You have first half and second half.

To dominate here means to be stronger than someone else.

Mhm.

So to control the ball or to have possession or to be the one that is uh the strongest team on the field.

That's right. So you can dominate by having a very strong defense, or you can dominate by having a very strong offense, or both. Dominate means be stronger than.

That's right.

Okay, now let's move on to the other guy who doesn't really like soccer.

and he says, I have no idea what you're talking about. All I know is that I watch the Super Bowl.

Okay, now this is a very American thing.

The Super Bowl.

That's right.

We mentioned earlier that in America most people call the game soccer, not football.

Well, that's because in America we have a different game called football.

That's right.

And so the Super Bowl is like the most important game in the football world. It's the the game that happens every year at the very end of the season.

That's right.

So this is uh what we usually call American football.

So um, you've probably seen it on TV as well, and the Super Bowl is basically the name of the final sporting event of American football.

Just like we have World Cup, we have the Super Bowl.

And the winner of the Super Bowl is the best team that year.

That's right.

All right, so now let's go on to explain a little bit about how the World Cup works.

Um, the guy went on to explain that there are 32 countries competing, and basically we have three parts, an elimination stage, a semi-finals and quarter-finals.

Okay, so basically this describes the different levels because obviously 32 teams can't compete for one trophy at first.

You have to, you have to make the numbers smaller.

So 32 becomes 16, becomes eight, becomes four, becomes two.

That's right.

And so we have different groups for these.

Um, the first one is the elimination stage when some teams lose and they go home.

That's right.

And after that, then we have a quarter finals. So what is quarter finals?

The quarter-finals are when you have eight teams that are basically the the top eight teams of the competition.

And they will play against one other opponent. So the winner passes on to the next stage, which would be the semi-finals.

Semifinals.

Well, the math makes sense because quarter has to do with four, right?

That's right.

So in the quarter-finals, eight teams become four.

Mhm.

And in the semi-finals, four teams become two.

That's right.

And then what happens after the semi-finals?

And then we have the final where basically the two top teams will compete against each other and there will be one champion.

And uh, so this basically is what happens and how we get our champion.

And uh, well, now let's explain a little bit very quickly about two things that happen in the game during gameplay when we have a free kick and a penalty kick.

Okay, so a kick, you know, you just kick the ball.

But sometimes uh, when the ball goes out of bounds or when a player is injured or there's a foul, then that player or his teammate can take a special kick.

All right. And so a free kick is it's just a kick from anywhere, right?

A free kick is a kick that you get um, basically according to the referee who says, okay, stop the game, he's going to kick from inside the lines.

That's right. So wherever you were fouled, wherever somebody maybe hit you wrong or something happened from that position, you will kick freely um, towards the goal or wherever you want.

You can pass to your other players as well.

But a penalty kick is a bit different because you have to be in a special place when you do it.

That's right. A penalty kick is when you are fouled inside the box what they call, it's an area very close to the goalie.

So if you commit a foul there, then um, the other player will receive a penalty kick and it will just be him against the goalie and he must kick the ball. I think it's approximately 10 meters if I'm not mistaken.

Yes, and this is why it's very dangerous because you're so close to the goalie and no one can stop you.

And so when fouls happen inside that special box, uh, it's usually bad news for the goalie.

So, um, this is uh what happens during a penalty kick and uh, well, basically you have no defenders. So it's just you, the goalie, and uh, it can get, as you said, very complicated for the goalie.

Mhm.

So, um, all right. So we've taken a look at a lot of things on Language Takeaway.

Let's move on now to three phrases on uh, Fluency Builder.

Okay, so this is a great word to describe how I felt last week when I watched the England versus America match.

Uh, I thought it was a nerve-wracking game.

That's right.

Okay? And we heard this in the dialogue, right?

Yeah, you said uh, it was a very nerve-wracking game or the in the dialogue the guy said, it's a very exciting and nerve-wracking sport.

So if something's nerve-wracking, what does it mean?

Well, basically, if you break it down, nerves are those things in your body, in your skin that make you feel.

So if something, if someone hurts you, you feel it because of your nerves.

So something that is nerve-wracking makes you nervous, it makes you anxious, it makes you feel very sensitive.

That's right.

So, of course, the the sporting event is so exciting and you're worried that your country or your team will lose, that uh, you're very nervous and you're very excited, you're very anxious. A lot of things are going on.

Maybe you're sweating, maybe you're drinking a lot, you don't want to know, you don't want to see your team lose.

And so you get nerve-wracking.

That's right.

And now, of course, if you're your team is in the World Cup, you are cheering on for your team or you're cheering them on.

Okay, so this is an interesting phrase because maybe you've heard the word to cheer before, you know, go team, go team. This is cheering.

Uh, but we often say, I I want to cheer him on.

Okay? So this "on" to me means like, I want to cheer him onto victory. I want to push them towards some goal.

And so you you hear this a lot. Um, let's cheer them on or he was really cheering me on. Made me feel good.

Motivating you.

Motivating you. So to cheer someone on, cheer them on.

All right. So obviously this is why we have cheerleaders, right?

Uh, girls that that cheer.

Give me an A.

Give me a B.

These are the girls or the or the the group of girls that cheer teams on.

Or men too, I've seen male cheerleaders. That's true.

That's true.

All right, and now when we talked about Brazil, they are the team with the most titles under their belt.

Okay, we're not talking about a real belt here, are we?

No, no.

Under your belt or under their belt in this case means that um, in their history they have the most titles.

Mhm.

That's right.

I think it may come from uh, boxing or one of those sports where you actually wear a belt that says your title. And I think, if I'm not mistaken, sometimes uh, boxing belts will have various titles on the belt.

Right, the championship belts.

Cuz they wear it afterwards.

I've never heard that before, but it does make sense.

Um, but the the important thing to remember here is that it's not just sports. You could say, he has 10 years of experience in marketing under his belt.

That's right.

That means he's good, I mean, he's experienced at marketing.

That's right.

So, that's right. As you said, you can use it for work experience, you can use it for titles in um, in in in work, or maybe in education. You can say, he's got three master's degrees under his belt.

Mm, wow.

All right.

So a lot of great stuff there. We've taken a look at a lot of vocab. So I think we should listen to our dialogue again and we'll be back to talk a little bit more.

What are you doing?

Um, no.

What?

I think that South Africa will probably dominate the first half since they are the host country and all.

I have no idea what you're talking about.

The only sporting event we watch at home is the Super Bowl.

They first start in a group stage with eight groups, each group having four teams.

The top two teams pass on to an elimination stage before going on to the semifinals and the quarter-finals.

Sounds interesting, but soccer doesn't really appeal to me.

All I know about soccer is that you can't use your hands and that players are always falling down trying to get a free kick or penalty kick.

It seems like a sissy sport to me.

Whatever, I'm going to go watch the opening match.

All right, so the World Cup, as we said, it gathers over 100 million people to watch the final in 2006.

Now, this sport is not very popular in North America.

It's not, well, that's not totally true, because Mexicans really follow football.

That's right, that's right.

Um, but I think in America, in United States, it is one of the less popular sports. I was thinking the other day, maybe number five on our list of popular sports.

Maybe, because well, you have American football, the NFL, you have Major League Baseball, you have the NBA, you have the NHL. And I think maybe before soccer, you probably either have uh, golf or um, tennis before soccer.

Even though the United States does have its own Major League Soccer.

Yep, MLS, Major League Soccer, and my hometown team is Chicago Fire. Pretty good team.

I've heard they're they're very good.

And the LA Galaxy, I think is the other best team in the states.

That's right.

Now, the the United States did host the 1994 World Cup and I think this is where a little bit of more interest started to come come up and uh, I think Major League Soccer was formed prior to to the World Cup in in in the United States.

That's right. And well, there's another part of it. I mean, as young people, as children, we almost all played soccer. I played soccer, I know a lot of my friends did as well.

It's not popular everywhere, but a lot of people play it and um, there's not really an audience for soccer in America once you're in the professional realm.

And so the problem is when you pass college, you don't think of it as, you know, the NBA, for example, because there's not as big of an audience and so people just end up doing their normal jobs as opposed to being professional soccer players.

I think that has a big uh, something to do with it is the fact that there is not as much money in this sport professionally as, for example, the NBA.

Or prestige.

Exactly. Although this is this is the the on the other hand, these players that do make it and they really want to play, they go abroad and they were and they go play in the European leagues or something like that.

That's right. I think a lot of the American players who were playing the other day uh, against England were playing against their their teammates because so many of the American team uh, the American national team play in in the English Premier League.

It was really awkward.

Well, it's a really great sport. As as I think it's one of the most popular in many other countries uh, as well because it's so easy. All you need is a ball, you need a group of people, you put two rocks and you have a goal and and you start playing.

And that's probably why it's the most international sport because, you know, it's it's very easy to set up. People all over the world love it.

And uh, hopefully one day the United States will kind of push it and become champion.

Yeah.

Well, I hope this year they'll become champions, but my fingers are definitely crossed.

Cuz who knows?

All right, so uh, it's a really great topic.

We want to know if your country is in the World Cup. Have you ever qualified for a World Cup? There are still many countries who haven't made it. Of course, it's a very small pool. 198, 199 countries compete to qualify for the World Cup and only 32 make it.

And you can also tell us who you're supporting.

We won't judge.

That's right.

So we're waiting for your comments at Englishpod.com. We'll see everyone there.

Bye.

Bye.

The English Pod audio review.

Listen to the meaning, then say the vocabulary word.

To officially begin something.

Kick.

A step in a process.

Stage.

Something only appropriate for girls or women.

Sissy.

Game.

Match.

One who provides services, etc., as for a convention.

Host.

Let's try that faster.

A step in a process.

Stage.

Something only appropriate for girls or women.

Sissy.

To officially begin something.

Kick.

Game.

Match.

One who provides services, etc., as for a convention.

Host.

Now say the word and hear it in a sentence.

Stage.

There are several stages a team must go through in order to make the finals.

Stage.

This morning, I finally moved on to the next stage of my video game.

Stage.

If we start her on these medications, we can cure her because she is still only in the first stages of the illness.

Kick.

Today, we are kicking off a new line of cosmetics.

Kick.

At the opening ceremony, we will kick off the beginning of the weekend conference.

Kick.

The fundraiser's kickoff will be tomorrow at 5:00 p.m.

Match.

It's Spain versus Brazil in the final match.

Match.

I can't make it to the match today, but let me know how it goes.

Match.

This soccer match is going to be nerve-racking because it is my school against our rival school across town.

Host.

The host country put on quite an elaborate show at the opening ceremonies.

Host.

The host school went wild when the home team won the championship.

Host.

I hardly got any time to speak to the host of the party because she was constantly running around and talking to the other guests.

Sissy.

I think soccer is a sissy sport.

Sissy.

That kid is such a sissy when his mom is around, but he's fine when she's gone.

Sissy.

The whole camping trip, she was being such a sissy about having to sleep on the ground and not being able to shower.