Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. face
    • ex. The top two teams will face each other in the final stage.
  2. the Middle Ages
    • ex. Charles the Great was a powerful king during the Middle Ages.
  3. a comeback
    • ex. Bell-bottom jeans were popular in the 70s and made a comeback in the early 2000s.
  4. joint
    • ex. Next week, we’re going to have a joint sales meeting with the Osaka branch.
  5. armor
    • ex. The museum has armor that was worn by a king in battle over 400 years ago.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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Australia and England recently faced each other in a jousting tournament. Jousting is an old sport that was played in Europe during the Middle Ages. Recently, however, the sport has been experiencing a comeback in both England and Australia. After finding out about each other’s jousting tournaments, the two countries decided to hold a joint tournament.

In jousting, two competitors are on horses. They race toward each other and try to hit each other on the chest with long wooden weapons. Because the sport can be very dangerous, all competitors need to wear full armor for protection.

The joint jousting tournament between Australia and England was held for two days in Victoria, Australia. With a score of 89 to 75, Australia was the winner. Both countries say that the joint tournament was a success and hope that it becomes a yearly event. If plans for another joint tournament come true, Australia will face England in the United Kingdom next time.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Keeping Old Traditions Alive

  • Do you think it’s important to keep old traditions alive (ex. old sports, old manners)? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Do you agree with modernizing old traditions (ex. changing some rules of traditional games, mixing old holiday traditions with new ones)? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Is it more interesting to study your own country’s traditions or another country’s traditions? Why? Discuss.

Tournaments

  • Do you think it’s important to have international tournaments? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Do you think that the strongest teams should only face each other in the final stage of tournaments? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Do you think everyone who joins a tournament should receive a prize even if they lose? Why or why not? Discuss.