Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. a venue
    • ex. The tennis match took place at an outdoor venue, which had many seats for fans.
  2. electric
    • ex. The crowd at the concert was so electric. Everyone was cheering and dancing.
  3. motivate
    • ex. Amy’s friends cheered loudly to motivate her during the race.
  4. beat
    • ex. Our team worked hard and finally beat the other team in the soccer match.
  5. ecstatic
    • ex. The children were ecstatic to see the fireworks show at the end of the festival.

Article

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

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Many excited fans attended the Paris Olympics this year. There was a very notable difference between the Paris Olympics and the two Olympics before it. The Tokyo 2021 and Beijing 2022 Olympics had empty venues because of COVID-19. But in Paris, fans were back. Olympic athletes noticed how electric this year’s crowds were.

Hundreds of fans came to see the match between tennis players Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. This could be Nadal’s last Olympics and fans wanted to see him play one last time. Djokovic won, but Nadal said his fans motivated him to win his following matches. French swimmer Léon Marchand also felt the excitement when he won gold. “It was beyond what I expected. Everybody was shouting my name,” Marchand said.

In Tokyo, the basketball games were quiet. In Paris, 27,000 fans watched the U.S. beat Serbia in basketball. Basketball player Kevin Durant said he loves a game that can bring people from all over the world together. Will Shin, a fan from Atlanta, said he was ecstatic to finally come to the Olympic Games in one of the most visited cities in the world.

This material was based on an article by The Associated Press.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Olympics Fans

  • How do you think fans’ excitement can affect athletes and their performance? Discuss.
  • In your opinion, do you think fans are important in helping athletes achieve success at sports games like the Olympics? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Kevin Durant said he loves when a game brings people from all over the world together. In your opinion, how can sports events help in bringing people closer together? Discuss.

The Olympics

  • In your opinion, how important is the Olympics? Discuss.
  • Many fans came to the Paris Olympics, unlike in Tokyo 2021 and Beijing 2022 in which venues were quiet due to the pandemic. How important is the venue’s atmosphere in creating an exciting sports event? Discuss.
  • Would you like to watch the Olympics live? Why or why not? Discuss.