A
friend of yours from England has been asked to write a contribution to a
blog about Sport around the world. His assignment is to write about Sport in Spain. While doing his
research, he
came across these pictures on Google related to sport in Spain.
He sends them to you so that you can shed some light on sport in
your country. Your friend also asks you some questions about
this topic. You
decide to
send your friend a voice message with an explanation of 2 minutes.
1. Could you please comment on the pictures I have sent you? Could you discuss what different aspects of sport they are depicting?
2. Do people in your country practise a lot of sport? Too much? Too little?
3. In terms of sport, are Spaniards doers or watchers? What's the favourite spectator sport of Spanish people?
4. Do you think sport is an important part of our education? Has it been given enough relevance in the Spanish curriculum?
4. What’s your opinion about sports coverage in the Spanish news?
5. Are Spanish sportsmen and sportswomen always a good role model for children or people in general?
6. What are the sports facilities in your area like?
7. What is your opinion of gyms in Spain?
8. What gender differences are there regarding sport in your country?
Useful language to describe a chart: This chart illustrates how... This chartcompares... The results that are shown in the chart are... As can be seen from these results, ... According tothis chart, From the data in the above chart, it is apparent that ... We can see on this chart how... The chart indicates that... The chart represents... The information given in the chart... The percentage of people who... is shown on the chart. The chart shows quite clearly the impact of..
Damning:/ˈdæmɪŋ/ critical of somebody/something; suggesting that somebody is guilty. Sp. Condenatorio, mordaz. E.g. damning criticism/evidence. A damning conclusion/report.
Hard-line: very fixed and unlikely to change. E.g. a hard-line attitude.
Bar somebody (from something/from doing something)to ban or prevent somebody from doing something. E.g. The players are barred from drinking alcohol the night before a match.
Hitherto: /ˌhɪðəˈtuː / until now; until the particular time you are talking about. E.g. a hitherto unknown species of moth. Her life hitherto had been devoid of adventure.
Put in: to officially make a claim, request, etc. E.g. The company has put in a claim for damages. We should put in for this money.
Dodgy: /ˈdɒdʒi / not working well; not in good condition. E.g. I can't play—I've got a dodgy knee. The marriage had been distinctly dodgy for a long time.
Flooring: material used to make the floor of a room. E.g. wooden flooring. Kitchen/bathroom flooring.
Whereby: by which; because of which. E.g. They have introduced a new system whereby all employees must undergo regular training.
Hike something (up)to increase prices, taxes, etc. suddenly by large amounts. E.g. The government hiked up the price of milk by over 40%.
Out of line: behaving in a way that is not acceptable or right. E.g. That comment was way out of line.
Refute: /rɪˈfjuːt/ to prove that something is wrong. E.g. to refute an argument/a theory, etc.
Ex 2
Outline something (to somebody)/ outline what, how, etc:to give a description of the main facts or points involved in something.Sketch. Sp. dar una idea general. E.g. We outlined our proposals to the committee.
Throw up: to make people notice something. E.g. Her research has thrown up some interesting facts.
Ex 2
Peril (of something): the fact of something being dangerous or harmful. E.g. a warning about the perils of drug abuse.
Work something off:to get rid of something, especially a strong feeling, by using physical effort. E.g. She worked off her anger by going for a walk.
Ailment: /ˈeɪlmənt/ an illness that is not very serious. E.g. childhood/common/minor ailments.
Ex 3
Take something to heart: to be very upset by something that somebody says or does. Sp. tomarse algo a pecho. E.g. You shouldn't take everything he says to heart.
By word of mouth: because people tell each other and not because they read about it. E.g. The news spread by word of mouth.
To lie face downwards: on the stomach. E.g. the child lay face downwards in the sand and screamed.
To set foot in/on something: to enter or visit a place. E.g. the first man to set foot on the moon. I vowed never to set foot in the place again.
Heart-to-heart: a conversation in which two people talk honestly about their feelings and personal problems. E.g. to have a heart-to-heart with somebody.
Hand in hand: 1if two people are hand in hand, they are holding each other's hand. E.g. They walked through the park hand in hand. 2.if two things go hand in hand, they are closely connected and one thing causes the other. E.g. Poverty and poor health often go hand in hand.
Arm in arm: with the arm of one person linked with the arm of the other. E.g.They walked along arm in arm.
Nose to tail: (British English) if cars, etc. are nose to tail, they are moving slowly in a long line with little space between them. Bumper to bumper. E.g. Traffic is nose to tail every morning on the road into the city centre.
Bumper: a bar fixed to the front and back of a car, etc. to reduce the effect if it hits anything. Sp. parachoques. E.g. a bumper sticker(= a sign that people stick on the bumper of their cars with a message on it). The cars were bumper to bumper on the road to the coast (= so close that their bumpers were nearly touching).
Face to face (with somebody): close to and looking at somebody. E.g. The two have never met face to face before. The room fell silent as she came face to face with the man who had tried to kill her.
Face to face with something: in a situation where you have to accept that something is true and deal with it. E.g. She was at an early age brought face to face with the horrors of war.
Live (from) hand to mouth: to spend all the money you earn on basic needs such as food without being able to save any money. E.g. His family lived from hand to mouth while he was growing up because his father was unemployed.
Made by hand: not by machine. E.g. All our pottery is made by hand.
Fight tooth and nail: to fight in a very determined way for what you want. E.g. The residents are fighting tooth and nail to stop the new development.
Not see eye to eye with somebody (on something): to not share the same views as somebody about something. E.g. The two of them have never seen eye to eye on politics. 'm finding it increasingly difficult to see eye to eye with my boss.
"You've got a bad case of deconditioning," the doctor says.
Actually, it would be the rare doctor who would say that to anyone. And though it might sound like something to do with hair, in fact, deconditioning is a familiar and more profound problem: the decidedly unnatural state of being physically inactive.
At some point in the last few decades, the human race went from being a species that is active most of the time to one that is increasingly sedentary.The Lancetrecentlycalled itan "inactivity pandemic," responsible for 1 in 10 deaths worldwide. That's a major shift, and a major public health problem, many researchers have pointed out. Inactivity is linked to heart disease, diabetes and some types of cancer.
NowMichael Joyner, a physiologist at the Mayo Clinic, argues in acommentaryout this month in theJournal of Physiologythat one way to deal with the problem is to make physical inactivity a mainstream medical diagnosis. It's one of the most common preventable causes of illness and death, and Joyner writes, there is "one universally effective treatment for it — exercise training."
Shots called up Joyner to get him to elaborate a little more on just why doctors need to get more involved with this problem.
"The entire medical research industrial complex is oriented towards inactivity," he tells us. Insurance companies will reimburse patients for pills for diseases related to inactivity, but rarely for gym memberships. "Physicians really need to start defining the physically active state as normal," he says.
Joyner says that he thinks about 30 percent of the responsibility to fight inactivity should fall on the medical community. "Physicians need to interact with patients about being active, and they need to write prescriptions for exercise," he says.
He points to two of the greatest public health triumphs of the 20th century — improvements in traffic safety and the decline in smoking rates — as models for how we should tackle the inactivity epidemic. About one-third of the behavior change came from individuals who started using seat belts and car seats, and those who quit smoking, and doctors directly influenced that, he says. The rest was up to the public health community — to enact indoor smoking bans and harsh drunken driving laws — that helped support the right behavior.
For inactivity, doctors can push patients to get exercise, and cities and towns can make it easier for them to do it, he says, with more bike lanes and parks that can be an alternative to the gym.
Joyner says he increasingly sees two types of patients in his clinic: the ones who follow health guidelines and keep active; and those who don't and see no connection between their behavior and their health outcomes.
"We have to be more innovative and creative to figure out how to help the people who aren't empowered to exercise for their health," he says. Read the story on the NPR website
An active lifestyle, which could involve brisk walking,
gardening and doing housework, helps reduce the chance of getting breast
cancer, research suggests.
The study involving Oxford
University researchers is thought to be the largest ever to look at
physical activity and breast cancer, and included over 8,000 breast
cancer cases in women. The research is part of ongoing work by the
European Prospective Investigation of Cancer (EPIC), one of the biggest
studies into the links between diet, lifestyle and cancer.
The
researchers found that the most physically active women were 13% less
likely to develop breast cancer compared with those who were physically
inactive.
Researchers found that women who were moderately active had an 8% lower chance of developing breast cancer.
Professor
Tim Key of the Cancer Epidemiology Unit at the University of Oxford,
who works on the EPIC study, said: ‘This large study further highlights
the benefits of being active – even moderate amounts. There is also a
lot of evidence that exercise reduces the risk of bowel cancer. More
research is needed on other types of cancer, and to investigate the
mechanisms which could explain the links.’
The government
recommends we do 150 minutes a week of moderate physical activity – such
as brisk walking. But only 39 per cent of men and 29 per cent of women
are managing this.
Sara Hiom, director of information at Cancer
Research UK, said: ‘While maintaining a healthy bodyweight and cutting
back on alcohol remain two of the best ways of reducing our risk of
breast cancer, being active can clearly play a role too – but doesn’t
have to cost you money or too much time.
‘You don’t need to train
like an Olympic athlete but the excitement of watching team GB win so
many golds might have inspired some of us to spend less time on the
sofa. And, as this research confirms, exercise can include anything that
leaves you slightly out of breath like doing the gardening, walking the
dog or housework.
‘Small changes in your daily routine can make
all the difference, like taking the stairs instead of the lift or
walking some of the way to work, school or the shops and add up over the
course of a week.
‘Keeping active could help prevent more than
3,000 cases of cancer in the UK every year. And it can have a positive
effect on your health.’
The EPIC study is funded by Cancer
Research UK, the Medical Research Council and other European agencies.
It is an ongoing study looking into the dietary habits of more than half
a million people in Europe.
Like many, Michael Mosley want to get fitter and healthier but can't face hours on the treadmill or trips to the gym. Help may be at hand.
He uncovers the surprising new research which suggests many of us could benefit from just three minutes of high intensity exercise a week.
He discovers the hidden power of simple activities like walking and fidgeting, and finds out why some of us don't respond to exercise at all
Using himself as a guinea pig, Michael uncovers the surprising new research about exercise, that has the power to make us all live longer and healthier lives.
Watch this video and answer the questions:
1.Michael Mosley doesn’t enjoy doing exercise and he _______________ the time he spends doing it.
2. He thought exercise was just about ___________ the streets or hitting the gym.
3. Research is showing us how, without _____________________, we can all live healthier and longer lives.
4. He is going to start by putting himself in the ______________________ and see what he can learn from people who push their bodies to the limit.
5. He is at Loughborough University, the training ground for many Olympic ______________.
6. Will Sharman is aiming for a medal in the 110 m ___________at London 2012.
7. There are some things within Will's training components that are ____________, and he doesn't enjoy them at the time.
8. He doesn't enjoy having ____________ in his legs. It's really painful.
9. Michael Mosley is currently doing _______ hours of training a week.
10. As the camera crew set up to film their epic contest, and having only had time to place a small trackside camera, Will and Michael prepared for their ____________________ with what was meant to be a warm-up.
11. But after just three paces, Michael __________ a muscle. 12. The difference between a Ferrari like Will and a ____________ like myself is not just down to training.
13. Most of us want to ____________ and make some progress on the _______________.
14. Dr. Keith Tolfrey is going to be measuring the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide that Michael _____.
15. Dr. Keith ____________________ by pointing out how long I would have to run to burn off a selection of foods.
16. In the long term, very few people are willing to put in the hours that are necessary to lose weight and __________________.
17. As Michael and Keith have been standing there talking, Michael has been unconsciously ___________ at the Cappuccino because it is in his hand.
18. Many of the most important benefits of exercise ______________ deep inside your body.
19. Jason Gill sticks a needle in Michael's arm. Before sticking a needle doctors usually say: ________________________.
20. Michael doesn't feel very hungry. He just feels a bit ______________.
KEY 1.Begrudges (Begrudge: /bɪˈɡrʌdʒ/ to feel unhappy about having to do, pay or give something. Sp. Dar de mala gana. E.g.I begrudge every second I spent trying to help him.They begrudge paying so much money for a second-rate service.)
2. Pounding (pound: to hit something/somebody hard many times, especially in a way that makes a lot of noise. E.g. Heavy rain pounded on the roof. She pounded him with her fists.
3. Breaking a sweat.
4. Lion's den (the lion's den: a difficult situation in which you have to face a person or people who are unfriendly or aggressive towards you).
5. Hopefuls (Hopeful (Noun):a person who wants to succeed at something. E.g. 50 young hopefuls are trying for a place in the England team.)
6. Hurdles (a race in which runners or horses have to jump over hurdles (vertical frames that a person or horse jumps over in a race. Sp. Vallas). E.g. the 300 m hurdles.
7. Gruelling (/ ˈɡruːəlɪŋ/ very difficult and tiring, needing great effort for a long time. Sp. Agotador. E.g. a gruelling journey/schedule. I've had a gruelling day.
8. Lactic acid: /ˌlæktɪk ˈæsɪd/ an acid that forms in sour milk and is also produced in the muscles during hard exercise.
9. No.
10. Head-to-head (in which two people or groups face each other directly in order to decide the result of a disagreement or competition).
11. pulled. (pull something:to damage a muscle, etc. by using too much force. Sp. Desgarrarse. E.g. to pull a muscle/ligament/tendon).
12. Hatchback: a car with a sloping door at the back that opens upwards.
13. Firm up ( to become harder or more solid. E.g. Put the mixture somewhere cool to firm up. A few weeks of aerobics will firm up that flabby (having soft, loose flesh; fat) stomach.)
Waistline (the amount that a person measures around the waist, used to talk about how fat or thin they are. Sp. Cintura, línea. E.g. an expanding waistline. All this butter and cream won't do much for my waistline.)
14. Exhales.
15. Rubs it in. (to keep reminding somebody of something they feel embarrassed about and want to forget. Sp. Refregar por las narices. E.g. I know I was stupid; you don't have to rub it in.)
16. Keep it off (keep somebody/something off: to prevent somebody/something from coming near, touching, etc. somebody/something. E.g. They lit a fire to keep off wild animals. Keep your hands off (= do not touch) me!
17. sipping. (Sip: to drink something, taking a very small amount each time. E.g.She sat there, sipping at her tea.He slowly sipped his wine.)
18. Lie hidden
19. Sharp scratch.
20. Peckish (slightly hungry. E.g. Is there anything to eat? I'm feeling a bit peckish.)
