COMPETITIVE SPORT ENGLISH VOCABULARY IN USE PRE INTERMEDIATE

 

ENGLISH VOCABULARY IN USE PRE INTERMEDIATE UNIT 42 COMPETITIVE SPORT

 

A Winning and losing In football, you can talk about the score [the number of goals a team has] like this: Spain played Poland and they won the game. = Poland lost the game. Spain won 2–0 (spoken as two nil). = Poland lost 2–0. Spain beat Poland (2–0). (NOT Spain won Poland.) = Poland lost (2–0) to Spain. Spain defeated Poland (2–0). = Poland were defeated (2–0) by Spain. Spain and Italy drew 1–1 (spoken as one all) OR It was a 1–1 draw between Spain and Italy. Language help   The score at the end of a game is also the result. The final score/result was 2–0. The score at half-time was 1–0. (NOT The result at half-time was 1–0.) B Competitions A competition is an organised event in which people try to win something by being the best, the fastest, etc. Individuals, such as tennis players Serena Williams or Rafael Nadal, and teams such as Manchester United, take part in [join with others in] different types of competition. Tennis players and golfers enter tournaments such as the French Open; football and ice hockey teams play in league competitions, where they play against different teams. Many teams also play in cup competitions (similar to tournaments), e.g. the FA Cup or the World Cup, which ends with two teams playing against each other in a final. The winners (opp the losers) are the champions, e.g. Germany became World Cup champions in 2014, and Philipp Lahm received the cup as captain of the winning team. C Reporting sports events   Language help   Superb, incredible and outstanding can describe something or someone that is very good and of a very high quality, e.g. Pelé was a superb footballer. EXERCISES 42.1 Complete the verb forms with the correct past tense and past participle. 42.2 Choose the correct words to complete the sentences. Sometimes both are correct. 1 It was a fantastic victory / defeat for the team. 2 Lionel Messi was outstanding / incredible for Barcelona. 3 At half-time in the game, the score / result is 1–0 to Arsenal. 4 The French Open is a famous tennis cup / tournament. 5 Croatia beat / defeated Germany 3–2. 6 We won / beat the other team 4–1. 7 The UEFA Cup is a great competition / league. 42.3 Complete the sentences. 1 It was a good game but unfortunately we ____lost____ 3–2. 2 The __________ at half-time was 2–1, but the final __________ was a draw. 3 Holland __________ England 2–1, so they are in the semi-final. 4 Brazil __________ 1–1 with Argentina last night. 5 Serena Williams has won the Wimbledon __________ at least six times. 6 Carolina Kluft broke the heptathlon world __________ again last night. 7 There are 20 teams in the __________, and each team plays the other teams twice. 8 Bradley Wiggins __________ part in the Tour de France in 2009 and finished fourth. 9 I think Novak Djokovic is going to win. He’s __________ 5–2 in the final set. 10 Argentina are playing __________ Brazil next week. 42.4 Complete the crossword. What is the vertical word in grey? 1 competition in which people run, drive, etc. 2 the opposite of win 3 a group of people who play together 4 a synonym for outstanding 5 stop doing a regular activity 6 the leader of a team 7 someone who wins something 8 when you win a competition 9 the last part of a competition 10 the opposite of winner 11 a type of sports competition 42.5

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