B2U4 Key & Transcript

Part I Pre-Reading Task

1. Sports really helped Gabrielle become a more mature individual. Natalie Hawkins watched
her and her other three children, all involved in sports, blossom before her eyes.
2. Sports taught Natalie’s children extreme self-discipline. They taught them how to work as a
team to achieve a common goal.
3. Natalie’s children also learned about time management through sports. They had to figure
out how to focus on their schoolwork while taking up sports activities. And they even
became their mom’s timekeepers, keeping her accountable for time.
4. Natalie thinks her children have learned some beautiful lessons and those lessons could have
only been learned in sports/in the arena of sports. So, she truly believes that elite sports
have many positive aspects to it.

Transcript:
Benefits of Competitive Sports
I think there are multiple advantages to children participating in highly competitive
sports. From soccer to tennis, from gymnastics to swimming, the higher the level the more
responsibility the athlete has. It really helped Gabrielle become a more mature individual. I
watched her blossom before my eyes. I watched my other children, my other three children
blossom. They were all involved in, you know, sports in varying degrees, but it taught them
extreme self-discipline. It taught them how to work as a team. They learned about teamwork
and how important it is to work with others to achieve a common goal. They learned about
time management. They had to figure out how to do their schoolwork, how to also maintain,
you know, their grades, how to still focus on their sports, and go to practices, and be on time.
And so, it taught them so many skills that they’re going to use in their adult lives. It was a
beautiful thing to watch. They actually keep me accountable for time. They’re my timekeepers.
“Mom, you were running late.” And if you’re on time at your appointment at 11 o’clock you’re
already late because you should’ve been there, you know, 15 minutes before. So, they have
learned some beautiful lessons and I think those lessons could’ve only been learned in the
arena of sports because there’s so much that goes into the mindset of an athlete and that
helps them to compete and to help, that helps them to recognize the importance of their
contribution to the team. And so, I just really feel that elite sports has many positive aspects to
it.

Part II Text A

Comprehension
Text Organization
Parts Paragraphs Main Ideas
Part One Paras. 1 It is soccer that captures my heart and soul.
Part Two Paras. 2–8 How I have evolved from a couch potato into an

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 esteemed member of a college soccer team.
Soccer has made a huge difference in my life and my
Part Three Para. 9–10
love for it will never diminish.

Grasping the Main Idea

1) His parents signed him up for soccer because they didn’t want him to be a couch potato.
2) He didn’t enjoy it. For one thing, there were too many concepts that were unfamiliar to him.
For another, he was frustrated because he was not as good as other children.
3) He was irritated by the overall duration of each inning and the entire game. And speed, thrill,
intensity and fun were missing.
4) He didn’t become good at soccer until he was much older and after having tried other sports.
5) He has evolved from a shy and timid person into a strong player and a man.
6) He has gained from playing soccer honors, skills, experiences with different people and
cultures, and a change in his personality for the better.

Interpreting Difficult Sentences

1. B 2. A 3. A 4. B 5. B

Language Sense Enhancement

That all changed when I tried out and made the Monroe Township Middle School Boys’
Soccer team during the fall of my eighth-grade year. Immediately, I was 1) catapulted into a whole
new world of soccer that 2) exceeded the wildest of my imaginations. The culture was 3)
incredible, and I was 4) surrounded by players who already played for state and regionally ranked
clubs. The constant discussions about tactics 5) took my young mind by storm. I wanted to reach
and surpass the level of play my middle school teammates were at. After that fall 2008 season, I
6) committed myself to improving as a player. I contacted multiple teams to try out for, practiced
soccer in my house (much to the chagrin of my parents) and 7) registered for a number of camps
and clinics for my age and up. Throughout the beginning of this newfound experience in soccer,
what I was searching for became apparent — love. The respect I had for the game turned into 8)
admiration, and that admiration, into love.

Language Focus
Vocabulary
I. Basic Practice
1.
1) She suffered multiple injuries after jumping out of a fifth floor window.
2) As with much good music, you need to listen to it a few times before you can fully
appreciate it.
3) Ten years can wear down a romantic relationship, or it can make love blossom.
4) Despite my persistent efforts to persuade him to give up smoking, he never made up his
mind.
5) Her bright and cheerful personality made her one of the most popular girls in her school.
6) Tuesday was the last day to register for classes for the spring semester.

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 7) Good, a concept with a profound theoretical foundation, is one of the values pursued by
Buddhism.
8) I stopped in front of the jewelry just to have a look. I had not the least intention of buying
anything.
9) If you are certain you’re going to see your friend’s band play, you can inform him that you’ll
definitely be there.
10) Recent discoveries of corruption within the company have done serious damage to its
reputation.
11) If you know someone else who takes roughly the same route as you each day, do a car
share, and share the costs.
12) No matter how people’s view of marriage may change, we still cling to the idea that
marriage should be a lifetime commitment.
13) When you visit a gym, it’s easy to get convinced by a very fit salesperson to sign up right
away for a membership.
14) Being able to talk openly about fears, anxiety, frustration, and doubts can be very helpful in
dealing with problems in one’s life.
15) We have always taken great pride in the talent we have been able to attract, and we value
each and every one of our employees.
2.
1) The drugs, the divorce, and the depression — it is an episode in his life that he wants to
forget.
2) These paintings capture the essence of working life at the turn of the last century.
3) These statistics speak volumes for the mutually beneficial nature of China-US economic and
trade relations.
4) If your income drops, you won’t be able to keep up with the interest payments, let alone
pay off those loans.
5) Kenya’s long distance runners have taken the athletics world by storm.
6) At UPS, hundreds of thousands of international packages are processed on a daily basis.
7) Whether dotcom companies will continue to thrive in the long term is still unclear.
8) The global economy seems to be on the road to recovery, thanks to government stimulus
plans worldwide.
3.
9) The Harrison is a romantic bed and breakfast built in 1867, renovated to include the highest
level of modern amenities, while keeping its unique Victorian charm that exceeds all your
expectations. Thanks to its Victorian elegance, present-day luxuries and incredible service, it
delivers a guest experience that is second to none.
10) It is evident that workplace competence, job satisfaction and efficiency are a virtuous circle.
Competent workers — those who approach their work with energy, commitment, and focus
— are more open to new information, more productive, and more willing to go the extra
mile. Moreover, competent workers take immediate actions to change their work
environments in order to stay competent.
11) Launched on Oct. 6, 2010, Instagram now has 1 billion monthly active users. Over the years
the Instagram community has evolved from a place to share photos to so much more — a
global community of interests sharing more than 80 million photos and videos on a daily
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 basis. While it was originally only available through its mobile app, it is now possible to sign
up for it online without the app.

II. Usage
1) I was looking for a birthday present for my mother, but I didn’t find anything suitable.
2) Apart from the bus arriving late, everything else seemed to be going according to plan.
3) Indeed, there is nothing new in his speech today because it is just a repetition of what he
said in his previous speeches.
4) This book is so rare that you can’t find it anywhere else.
5) What most parents can do in these situations is ask themselves, “Did we do everything
possible to prevent it from happening?”
6) How do you know if someone sees you as someone special when you first meet? Here are
some signs experts say to look out for.
7) I still remember the first question our professor asked on the first day of class. “ Can you tell
us something interesting about yourself?”
8) As a child with parents who scarcely cared about her, she remembers distinctly what she
yearned for — to be somewhere safe with someone good.

III. Words with Multiple Meanings

1) I just made a few phone calls.
2) Mama made him clean up the plates.
3) What made you change your mind?
4) I think every business’s goal is to make money.
5) He works for a company that makes furniture.
6) He made the basketball team as a freshman.
7) Peter and Jane certainly make a perfect couple.
8) She could hardly make herself understood in French.

Comprehensive Exercises
I. Cloze
Soccer is a way of life for millions of people. Regardless of religion, ethnicity, or skin color,
soccer brings people together in ways that 1) exceed your wildest dreams. It can 2) take entire
cities and countries by storm for one single game.
What makes soccer so popular is that you can play it almost anywhere, even without having
to spend a single penny. Kids in Africa who can’t get a real ball to play with make soccer balls out
of tied-up plastic bags, banana leaves, strips of cloth and so on 3) and so forth.
Soccer is easy to learn and is 4) definitely a safer sport to play than football, basketball and
baseball. It is unlikely that adults will be harmed while playing so long as they have good control
of their bodies, are able to keep 5) frustration in check, and know how to avoid causing injuries.
International competition is a key part of soccer. The World Cup and the European Cup are
shown on TV to billions of people worldwide. These events can stimulate national pride and give
cultures 6) subjected to profound differences something to bond over.
Playing soccer well is an art. Passing, shooting for a goal, keeping the ball moving on the
grass and in the air, weaving between opponents, and avoiding tackles all demand a high level of
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prowess. Being able to plot a 7) route from one end of the field to the other, knowing who to
pass to, and spotting the best opportunity to shoot — it is 8) incredibly exciting watching players
do all this for 90 minutes at a time.

II. Translation
In competitive sports, the success of an athlete can be credited to their arduous training and
tenacious personality. Lin Dan, the best-known Chinese badminton player, is definitely a case in
point.
Long-time monotonous and high intensity training almost wore him down at one point.
Troubled by chronic pain and his failure at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, it was once his
intention to give up playing badminton, the sport he had played since childhood.
In order to break away from frustration and depression, Lin Dan subjected himself to
rigorous and productive training on a daily basis, constantly exceeding his physical limits. Since
then, Lin Dan has won two Olympic championships. In his 20-year career, Lin Dan has won 20
World Championships and is the only player in badminton history to win Double Grand Slam.
True, success has brought Lin Dan fortune and reputation. However, his tenacity and hard
work have gone beyond the purpose of sports to become the embodiment of the essence of the
human spirit.

Part III Text B

Comprehension Check
1. B 2. D 3. A 4. C 5. D 6. A

Language Practice
1. She hit the ball so hard that her opponent had no chance to establish any rhythm in her
game.
2. Research has demonstrated that babies can recognize their mother’s voice very soon after
birth.
3. Keep in mind that Grandpa does not hear too well anymore, so you may have to speak more
loudly.
4. There’s a(n) tradition in our office that when it’s somebody’s birthday, they bring in a cake for
all of us to share.
5. The description of her intense feelings and her thoughts and inner conflicts speaks to the
heart of the reader.
6. His parents threatened to punish him, but he didn’t take them seriously, since he hadn’t
been punished before.
7. Thanks in part to its oil wealth, Norway is one of the richest nations in the world, with a
generous welfare system.
8. While you may not be able to save your job or house, there are ways to help your family get
through these tough times.
9. The senior management acknowledges the problem, but not much has yet been done about
it.

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10. I’m usually a pretty calm person, but whenever I start driving, I find I lose my temper at the
slightest inconvenience.
11. Steve took a different route to work today in order to avoid getting stuck in traffic.
12. The president made it clear that school safety and security must be maintained at any cost.
13. The conclusion of the research paper emphasizes the importance of exercise for physical
fitness as well as mental health.
14. The study shows that watching violence on TV is just as damaging to children as seeing it in
real life.
15. We live in an increasingly secular society, in which religion has less and less influence on our
daily lives.

Part IV Comprehensive Language Practice

Viewing & Comprehension Practice

1.
1) Lang Ping coaches the US Women’s National Volleyball Team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics,
twenty-four years after leading China’s women volleyballers to gold in Los Angeles.
2) Lang Ping, one of the most respected and beloved players in Chinese sports history, is such a
celebrity in China that her wedding was broadcast nationally and her face even appeared on
a postage stamp.
3) When asked whether it was a difficult decision to take the job as coach of Team USA, Lang
Ping said it was very difficult. If everybody had hated it, she wouldn’t have taken the job.
4) The fact that Lang Ping now heads the US volleyball team has not in the least diminished
Chinese people’s love for her. They are going to come out in masses to watch her.
5) Lang Ping was deeply involved in helping her home country win the bid for the 2008
Olympics. She is proud that the Olympics has come here.

2.
1) Lang Ping says they are professional, so it doesn’t matter which team they compete against,
be it Russian or Chinese. Once they get on the court, they want to win every match.
2) Though a national hero, Lang Ping is not disturbed by the thought of facing her old team in
her home country. She says she can imagine the game will be very loud and she just needs to
concentrate more on coaching.
3) Her players are delighted by all the hoopla Lang Ping generates here in Beijing. They think
Lang Ping’s star power could offer something of a home court advantage. “If we’re playing
someone else other than China I feel as though the people will be on USA side, which is huge
because usually they’re against Americans,” says a player.

Transcript:
And welcome back. Well, one of the stories of this Games has been the success of the US
men’s and women’s volleyball teams, a combined seven and one so far in group play heading into
Sunday and while the Chinese fans have been in full force supporting their volleyball teams,
they’ve also had a rooting interest in American Women’s coach Jenny Lang Ping who receives a
rousing ovation wherever she goes in Beijing. Ping is one of the most famous volleyball players in
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China, maybe even in the world and as Lester Holt tells us she’s found a new job in a new country.
Olympic fame isn’t fleeting in China, just ask Jenny Lang Ping. Twenty-four years after
helping lead China’s women volleyballers to gold in Los Angeles, she is still drawing adoring
crowds. And though her heart and soul are still very much planted in China, her mind is focused
on winning her next gold medal as coach of Team USA.
Her first Olympic appearance as coach of the team brings her home to Beijing. “Was it a
difficult decision to decide to take the job as coach of Team USA?” “It’s very difficult, um but um if
everybody hated it I wouldn’t take the job.” Jenny is such a celebrity in China her wedding was
televised nationally. Her face even appeared on a postage stamp. And no one is more tickled by
all the hoopla she generates here than her players who aren’t quite used to seeing this reaction.
“They respect her so much and they love her so much that I think they’re gonna come out in
masses to watch her.” Yet for this Chinese national hero, the thought of facing her old team in her
home country doesn’t rattle her. “Next one! Next one!”
“I can imagine, you know, that game will be very loud, you know. They all cheer for Chinese
team, you know. For me, I just need to be more concentrated on coaching, but players need to be
ready for this huge crowd only cheering for China.” In fact her players think Jenny’s star power
could offer something of a home court advantage. “If we’re playing someone else other than
China I feel as though the people will be on USA side, which is huge because usually they’re
against Americans.” China’s determination to top the medal count at these games has not
diminished the Chinese people’s affection for Jenny even if she does coach an American team.
But does her record of success — the gold medal in 84 and coaching China to a silver in 96 — put
more pressure on her and her new team to succeed? “I don’t feel I have more pressure than the
former, the other two Olympics I played or I coached. I don’t know why. I just feel like more
relaxed at here.” Relaxed enough for a friendly volley with a member of the US table tennis team.
Jenny was deeply involved in promoting Beijing’s bid for the 2008 Games. She’s proud the
Olympics have come here and though she couldn’t have known then she’d be coaching Team
USA, she promises there will be no divided loyalties. “We’re professional. It doesn’t matter we’ll
play Russia or we’ll play China. You will get on the court and we want to win every match.”

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