Meet one of the world’s smallest yet greatest soccer players
梅西──嬌小的足球巨星 身體的限制也阻擋不了 足球天王創造歷史
To master a sport, as with a foreign language or a musical instrument, nothing beats starting young. That was undoubtedly the case with Lionel Andres Messi, one of the world's greatest soccer players. "Leo" Messi, born in Rosario, Argentina in 1987, grew up playing soccer with his older brothers. Controlling and kicking the ball became as natural and easy as breathing. At the age of 4, Leo joined a local team coached by his father. Starting at age 6, he played for six years with an older boys' team, scoring almost 500 goals. Around the age of 10, he was found to have a growth hormone deficiency.
Because of this condition, his height would never exceed 170 cm. But little Leo never stopped sharpening his soccer skills or scoring goals.
In 2000, at the age of 13, Leo went to Barcelona, Spain. His relatives arranged for a tryout with Futbol Club Barcelona (Barca), one of the great European teams. Barca was impressed with his skills for such a young player. After some hesitation because of Messi's age, Barcelona offered him a contract. Messi was so quiet at first some of his new teammates thought he was unable to speak.
Info Cloud
eat, sleep and breathe
Hello, everyone. And welcome to Info Cloud. Have you ever been so interested in something that you didn't want to do anything else?
My love of the opera started when I was a little boy. I was fascinated by all the great tenors. But it wasn't like I used to eat, sleep and breathe opera.
You know, somehow I don't know if I believe Rex. When we say that we eat, sleep and breathe something, it means we do that and almost nothing else.
Some kids eat, sleep and breathe soccer. Some eat, sleep and breathe video games. It means that they focus on doing that and nothing else.
But it can also mean that you are going to choose to focus on something for a period of time.
This weekend I'm going to work on my YouTube channel, so I will be eating, sleeping and breathing video editing all weekend long.
I didn't even know that Rex had a YouTube channel. But I do believe that he will be super focused on working on that all weekend long.
當一個人將所有的時間和精力都投入到某一個活動上面，我們有時候會用廢寢忘食來形容這個人，英文可以用: eat, sleep and breathe 來形容。eat, sleep and breathe 就是吃東西、睡覺和呼吸。當你 eat, sleep and breathe 一件事情，那就代表你吃飯、睡覺甚至呼吸，都在想這件事情。Those kids eat, sleep and breathe soccer. 那些孩子完全投入在足球的世界裡。eat, sleep and breathe 可以用在任何活動或是主題上面，代表一個人是非常專注與投入在那件事情上面。
Language Lab
undoubtedly adv. 無疑地、肯定地 (‘un’沒有)
definitely true or existing : not doubted
doubt n. 疑慮、懷疑
a feeling of being uncertain or unsure about something
- Alice was so sure about marrying Benjamin, but now she is having doubts.
Alice 起初很堅定地要嫁給Benjamin，但是她現在開始有疑慮了。
- With all of Debra’s perfect exam scores, she is undoubtedly the top student of her class.
Debra的考試分數都滿分，無疑是班上的第一名。
- Mi Casa is undoubtedly the best Mexican restaurant in our town because of their food, service and prices.
Mi Casa 肯定是我們鎮裡最好的墨西哥餐廳，因為他們的菜好吃、服務周到、價錢合理。
- That vendor was undoubtedly trying to trick us into buying something from him.
那小販肯定再騙我們跟他買東西。
deficiency n. 缺少、不足
/dɪˈfɪʃənsi/
a lack of something that is needed : the state of not having enough of something necessary
- Drinking too much coffee during the day is the main reason why Elaine is suffering from sleep deficiency.
白天喝太多咖啡是Elaine 睡不足的主要原因。
- The deficiency of rain this year has become a big problem to the local farmers.
今年的雨水不足成為當地農民的一個大問題。
deficient adj. 某狀況或東西不夠的
not having enough of something that is important or necessary
- This learning program aims to help educationally deficient adults complete their education.
這個學習計畫是為了幫助教育程度不足的成人來完成他們的學業。
deficient adj. 缺乏的
not good enough : not as good as others
- The children in the villages are getting sick because their diet is deficient in nutrients.
村裡的小朋友都生病，因為他們的飲食缺乏營養。
sharpen v. 讓一個東西變尖或變尖銳
to make (something) sharp or sharper
sharp adj. 尖銳的
having a thin edge that is able to cut things or a fine point that is able to make a hole in things
- Please be careful with that knife, it is very sharp!
小心那把刀，那很尖銳。
sharpen v. 讓一個東西變尖或變尖銳
- Helen likes to sharpen her pencils before she sits down to do her homework.
Helen 喜歡坐下來寫功課前，先把她的鉛筆都削好。
sharpen v. 提升、成為更敏銳
having or showing a quick ability to notice and understand things
- Jessica has taken a lot of math courses, but they have done nothing to sharpen her math skills.
Jessica 上了很多數學課程，但是那些課程都沒有提升她的數學能力。
- Kathleen spent a whole summer in Mexico to sharpen her Spanish skills.
Kathleen 花了一整個夏天的時間，在墨西哥磨練西班牙文。
tryout n. 試驗 (看戲劇方面或體育方面的人才是否合格)
a test of someone's ability to do something that is used to see if he or she should join a team, perform in a play, etc.
try out v. 試試看
to do or use (something) in order to find out if you like it;
to compete for a position on an athletic team or a part in a play
- Leslie wanted to try out every beauty treatment at the salon, but she didn’t bring enough money.
Leslie 很想試試沙龍裡的每一套美容服務，但是她身上的錢不夠。
- Before you can join the cheerleading team, you must first pass the tryouts.
加入啦啦隊之前，你得先通過試驗。
- Michelle hopes to get a part in the play, but she is very nervous about the tryout.
Michelle 希望她能夠在該劇中擔任一個角色，但是她對試演感到非常緊張。
- If Nathan passes the tryout, he will join the school team and possibly get a scholarship.
如果 Nathan 有通過試驗，他不但可以加入校隊，而且可能還有獎學金可以拿喔。
