Sports

Warm up:
• What’s your favourite sport and why?

• What sports did you play as a kid?

• What sports are very popular in your country? Do you like them too?

• What sport do you think you are the most naturally talented at?

• Do you think athletes are overpaid? Why or why not?

• Who are some of the greatest sports stars of all time?

1. Name the sports below.

badminton baseball tennis

1. 2. 3.

football/soccer boxing
4. billiards 5. 6.

cycling golf cricket

8.
7. 9.

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 Likes and Dislikes
It is easy enough to talk about likes and dislikes simply using “like” or “don’t like.” However, there are
some more advanced phrases and structures.
E.g. “Golf is just not my cup of tea” means “I don’t like golf.”

2. With a partner, put the phrases in the box on a scale of 1-8 (1 is love and 8 is hate).
I can’t stand… I don’t mind… I’m a big fan of… I’m not crazy about…
I’m interested in… I’m obsessed with… I’m into… I can’t get enough of…

1) I’m obsessed with…

Note: the answers do
2) I can’t get enough of… not have to be in this
exact order.
3) I’m a big fan of…

4) I’m into …

5) I’m interested in…

6) I don’t mind…

7) I’m not crazy about…

8) I can’t stand…

3. Now make 3 sentences about how you or someone else you know feels about certain
sports using the phrases from exercise 2.
E.g. “My son is obsessed with ice-hockey, he watches and plays it every day.”
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Sports
4. Listen to the conversation about sport and answer the questions.
a) How does Matt feel about basketball? He doesn’t mind it, but he’s not a fan

b) Why doesn’t Matt like baseball? He thinks it’s boring

c) What type of race does Matt do every year? A half marathon

d) Why is Lewis bad at tennis? Because he hits the ball too hard because he has that habit

from baseball

e) Why is Lewis surprised that Matt likes football? Because Matt is American and Lewis

thought Americans don’t like football

f) When did Matt become a fan of football? When he went to the world cup with his Dad

g) Who won the match between Brazil and Chile, and how did they win? Brazil won, it was

a draw, but Brazil won on a penalty shootout

h) How does Matt feel about the “football” (British English) vs “soccer” (American English)

debate? He doesn’t mind calling it either, he doesn’t think it’s a big deal.

What was the best sporting event you have ever been to? What was the atmosphere like?

Sayings from Sports

English has a lot of sayings that come from sports.

E.g. “To get the ball rolling” means to start something.

These sayings can be quite confusing if you don’t know them, but quite useful if you do.

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Sports
5. Match sayings to their definition on the right.

a) To throw in the towel (boxing) 3 1. Something that is unlikely to work.

b) The ball’s in your (sb) court(tennis) 4 2. To no longer be in trouble.

c) To give it a shot (unknown) 5 3. To give up, surrender.

d) To get a head start (horse racing) 7 4. It’s your move, your turn to act.

e) A long shot (shooting) 1 5. To try something.

f) To be off the hook (fishing) 2 6. To make a big mistake.

g) To drop the ball (Rugby) 6 7. To get an advantage (often by starting

early).

6. Use the sayings from exercise 5 to complete the sentences below (you may have to
change the tense of the idiom.
e.g “got a head start”
a) I …………………………………………………….. on writing my essay because I did all the research months
ago.

b) I know you’re nervous about trying out for the football team, but you may as well give it
a shot, what’s the worst that could happen?

c) Well it’s a long shot, but if we tell the bank we’re going to be millionaires in the future,
they might loan us the $200,000 we need.

d) After years of searching for gold, he finally threw in the towel and went back to the city
without a dollar to his name.

e) I’m sorry, I really dropped the ball, I’ve been so busy that I completely forgot to buy you
anything for our anniversary.

f) It looked like I was going to prison, but my lawyers made a deal with the judge and now
I am off the hook.

g) We offered you a very generous deal, now we’re waiting for your response. The ball’s in
your court.

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Sports
7. Read the true sport stories and answer the questions below.
Stephen Bradbury is an Australian speedskater who, prior to the 2002 Olympic Winter
Games in Salt Lake City, would have been considered unlucky. In 1994 he was cut by an ice
skate in a freak accident and came close to bleeding to death. In 1998 he suffered a
serious injury to his spine and was told he would not be able to skate again. However, his
luck would change in the 2002 Olympics. Bradbury was coming dead last in the most
important race of his life, a long way behind 4 other skaters, with no hope of winning. At
the last minute, the other 4 skaters all crashed into each other a few metres before the
finish line, and Bradbury skated past them to victory.
1. How did Stephen Bradbury almost die? In a freak ice-skating accident
2. How did Stephen Bradbury win the speedskating race in 2002? All the other skaters
crashed
In 1967 Muhammad Ali was banned from boxing for refusing to fight in the Vietnam War. In
1970 the boxing commission decided that he could return to boxing, and he made his
triumphant return against Jerry Quarry, a tough boxer from California. Many thought that
Ali would be rusty after his long break from boxing, and Quarry was the betting favourite.
However, Ali proved all his critics wrong when he knocked out Quarry in the 3rd round.
1. Why didn’t Muhammad Ali fight for 3 years? Because he refused to fight in the Vietnam
war
2. Why did a lot of people think that Jerry Quarry might win? Because they thought Ali
would be rusty after his time off
In 2019 the Liverpool football team pulled off one of the greatest comebacks of all time
and FC Barcelona. In the first half of the match Barcelona scored 3 goals, and Liverpool
hadn’t managed to score at all. It seemed that Liverpool were simply outmatched by the
offensive genius of Barcelona. However, Liverpool managed to score a goal in the opening
minutes of the second half, giving them some hope. In the minutes that followed Liverpool
were determined not to give up, and at the end of the match the fans went crazy as
Liverpool scored their 4th goal, one more than Barcelona.
1. What was the score at halftime in the match between Liverpool and Barcelona?
Barcelona 3, Liverpool 0
2. How many goals did Barcelona score in the second half? 0
In 2004 two NBA teams, the Pacers and the Pistons, were playing each other on the
Piston’s home court in Detroit when Ron Artest fouled Pistons’ center Ben Wallace from
behind. A furious Wallace shoved Artest, and a huge fight broke out among the players.
Fans threw drinks at the players, causing several players to enter the stands and fight
fans. Both Artest and Wallace were suspended for 146 games (losing $11 million in salary
between them), and five players were charged with assault. It is widely considered to be
the worst fight in basketball history.
1. What started the fight? Artest fouled Wallace
2. What was the punishment for Ron Artest and Ben Wallace? Banned for 146 games.

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8. Extra task/Homework: think about the most exciting sports event you have ever been to
and write about it. Try to describe the atmosphere, who was playing, and what happened
at the event (who won etc).
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Sports
 Audio Transcript
Lewis: So, Matt, are you a fan of Basketball?

Matt: I don’t mind it, but I wouldn’t say I’m a fan. It’s fun to watch every now and then.
Lewis: Oh really? I thought all Americans like basketball. So, you’re more into baseball
then?

Matt: Baseball? No I can’t stand baseball, it’s so boring. I once went to a game with my
family and fell asleep in the stadium.
Lewis: Oh so you’re not really a sport person then?

Matt: Oh no, I love sports actually. I play tennis every weekend and run a half marathon
every year!
Lewis: Tennis? I’m a big fan of watching tennis, but playing it is not really my cup of tea.

Matt: Why not?

Lewis: Well I used to play baseball, and in baseball you have to hit the ball as hard as you
can, and so every time the ball comes to me in tennis I just hit it way too hard.

Matt: Oh… well this is a bit awkward. Sorry I said baseball was boring before, I didn’t
know you played.
Lewis: Oh no problem at all. To be honest I’m not crazy about watching baseball, but
playing it can be great fun. Do you like football?

Matt: Oh my god I’m obsessed with football!

Lewis: Wait really? I thought Americans weren’t into football?

Matt: Well we’re usually not, but I used to play it in high school, and then I became a fan
when my Dad took me to the world cup in Brazil. I can still remember the atmosphere in
the stadium.
Lewis: Oh man, I’m so jealous, I just watched that on T.V. What was the best match?

Matt: Definitely Chile vs Brazil. It was a draw at the end, both teams scored once, so they
had a penalty shoot out. Brazil won the shoot out, but it was so so close. Unbelievable
game.
Lewis: Wait I just realized you call it football. I thought Americans call it soccer?

Matt: I mean we normally do, but I don’t mind calling it football or soccer. Some people
make a big deal out of it, but it doesn’t really bother me.

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