- In addition to all the usual sports at the Olympics, Tokyo 2020 will feature five more: sport climbing, surfing, karate, skateboarding and baseball/softball.
- Baseball/ softball has appeared at the Olympics before; the last time was in Beijing in 2008. But the other four sports have never been seen at the Olympics before!
- This will be the first Olympics after both Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt retired. Super swimmer Phelps is the most successful Olympic athlete in history.
Bolt is a track star and the fastest runner on earth. These two have dominated at the Olympics since 2004 and 2008. - The opening and closing ceremonies will likely be spectacular. The final details are still top secret. One possibility is a man-made meteor shower! ALE, a satellite company, is hoping to launch small satellites designed to make an amazing display over Tokyo.
No matter what happens, this year's Summer Olympics is sure to be an unforgettable event!
Info Cloud
baseball = America’s pastime 美國國民娛樂
Welcome back to Info Cloud, friends. Rex, what song were you singing a minute ago?
Take Me Out to the Ball Game. "Take me out to the ball game" is a really famous song in the States, isn't it?
It sure is. We sing it at baseball games. When I lived in Ohio, I used to love going to baseball games, eating popcorn and hot dogs, cheering for the home team and watching the fireworks at the end. I really miss that.
Anne Marie, you can go to baseball games here in Asia, too.
I know. But did you know that baseball originated in the USA? We even call it "America's pastime."
Hey, let's share a little bit about baseball history with our students today.
OK. Well, the origins of baseball can be traced back to other ball-and-bat games such as rounders and cricket. As immigrants came to the U.S. from Canada and Great Britain, they brought these games with them.
By the 1830s, different versions of these games began appearing. Finally, in 1845, set rules were established. By the late 1800s, baseball had really grown in popularity. In 1903, the first World Series was held.
That's a lot of history. When I think of baseball, I usually just think of wearing my team's colors and eating good food.
如果你生活在亞洲，對棒球運動 baseball 應該不會太陌生，今天要跟大家分享baseball 的發展史，由於這項運動源自於美國，baseball 也被稱為是 America’s pastime 美國國民娛樂。很多人不知道，baseball 其實是從 cricket 板球的一種叫 rounders 的繞圈球的運動發展而來。cricket 跟rounders 都是英國和加拿大移民帶到美國的英式運動，比賽中都是用棒子和板子擊球，到了1830年代，已經出現不同版本，1845年制訂正式的規則，到了19世紀末，棒球運動已經受到大眾歡迎。1903年，第一屆棒球運動的世界大賽 The World Series 正式舉行。講到棒球，一般人都不會想到它的發展史，而是一種可以跟親人一起到球場吃熱狗、看球賽的親子運動，或是一種能夠激發士氣的國民運動。
Language Lab
surfing n. 衝浪
the activity or sport of riding ocean waves on a special board (called a surfboard)
- Abel wants to live near the beach because he enjoys surfing a lot.
Abel 想要住在海灘附近，因為他喜歡衝浪。
Surfing is not allowed on this beach because there have been too many accidents before.
這個海灘禁止衝浪，因為以前發生太多意外。
surf v. 衝浪
to ride on ocean waves using a special board (called a surfboard)
- When Jason went to Bali, he learned how to surf.
Jason 去了峇厘島時有學會衝浪。
surf v. 上網
to look for information or other interesting things on the Internet
- Marc decided to surf the Internet because he was bored and had nothing else to do.
Marc 決定上網看看，因為他無聊沒事做。
retire v. 退休
to stop a job or career because you have reached the age when you are not allowed to work anymore or do not need or want to work anymore
- Sandy has worked for this company for thirty years, and she will retire next year.
Sandy在這家公司三十年了，而她明年就要退休。
- After Jim retires, he will travel through Europe with his wife.
Jim 退休後，就會帶著妻子到歐洲旅遊
retire v. 從一個人比較多的地方退到另外一個比較安靜一點的地方 。
to move to a different place
- After the noisy dinner banquet, some of us retired to a balcony to enjoy the view of the city at night. 熱鬧的晚宴後，我們幾個人退到陽台去欣賞城市的夜景。
retire v. 就寢
to go to bed
- Our guest was very tired from his trip and decided to retire early.
我們的客人因為旅遊勞累，而決定早一點睡。
dominate v. 最大、最有優勢的
to be the largest or most noticeable object in (a place)
- Ever since the cartoon character became very popular, its products have dominated every toy store.
自從那個卡通人物開始受歡迎後，它的商品佔據了每一家玩具店。
- With its fuel efficiency and modest price tag, the car quickly dominated the auto market.
因為省油，價錢又很親民，因此這款車很快就在汽車市場裡佔了優勢。
dominate v. 控制、霸佔
to have control of or power over (someone or something);
- Nobody wanted Kevin to come because he always dominates the conversation.
沒有人要Kevin來，因為他老是主導控制話題。
satellite n. 衛星、人造衛星
a [count] : an object (such as a moon) that moves around a much larger planet
b : a machine that is sent into space and that moves around the earth, moon, sun, or a planet
- Although we didn’t have cable TV, we were able to watch the program by satellite TV.
我們雖然沒有有線電視，但是我們還是能透過衛星電視看節目。
- We have an image of the storm thanks to the weather satellite.
我們有暴風雨的影像，因為有氣象衛星的關係。
- Earth has only one natural satellite.
地球只有一個天然衛星。
- Jupiter has over seventy satellites.
木星有超過七十個衛星。
