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M: Hello English learners! Welcome back to EnglishPod! My name is Marco. 

E: And I’m Erica.

M: And today we have another great elementary lesson for you all.

E: That’s right. We’ve got a lesson for all you sports fans out there.

M: Right, we’re doing a podcast on sports today. Uh, we’re starting off with basketball.

E: Aha. So, we’ve got lots of language about basketball and sports in this lesson today.

M: Great, so, let’s take a look at our “vocabulary preview”.

Voice: Vocabulary preview.

E: Two words for you today. The first one is foul.

M: Foul.

E: Foul.

M: A foul.

E: Basically, it’s an action in a game that is not allowed.

M: Right, so, if you’re playing basketball and you kick the other player…

E: That’s a foul.

M: That’s a foul. That’s a pretty big foul.

E: Yeah, if you’re playing soccer and you pick up the ball…

M: That’s also a foul.

E: Aha.

M: Our second word is ref.

E: Ref, R-E-F.

M: Also known as a referee.

E: Uhu.

M: Right? So, a referee is…

E: Basically, like the judge of a game.

M: The judge of the game.

E: Yeah.

M: So, he is the one that will…

E: Say “that was a foul!”

M: That was a foul.

E: Yeah.

M: Exactly.

E: Yeah.

M: Ref. Also known as referee.

E: Okay, so, two great words; we’re gonna hear them in our dialogue and we’re going to be

listening to two guys, who are watching a basketball game on TV.

DIALOGUE, FIRST TIME

M: Alright, a really common situation whenever you’re watching games with the friends,

right?

E: You need to get a beer.

M: Hehe. We’ll talk about that in a little while. Um, let’s take a look at “language takeaway”.

Voice: Language takeaway.

M: Okay, let’s take a look at our first word on language takeaway - free throw.

E: Free throw.

M: Free throw.

E: Free throw. This one is a bit hard to say, isn’t it?

M: It’s a little bit hard to explain, but if you’re playing basketball…

E: Uhu.

M: And if someone fouls you, you get a free throw.

E: So, that’s when all the players line up around you and you can throw the ball.

M: To the basket without anyone blocking you or anything.

E: Right.

M: A little bit complicated, but I’m sure the basketball fans understand what a free throw is.

E: Alright, our next word is…

M: Make the shot.

E: Make the shot.

M: Make the shot.

E: Let’s listen to some examples and we’ll understand the meaning of make the shot.

Voice: Example one.

A: I can’t believe it. He made the shot from the other side of the court.

Voice: Example two.

B: There’s no way he’s going to make that shot. He’s way too far away from the net.

Voice: Example three.

C: If Gretzky makes the shot, they’re gonna with the Stanley Cup.

M: So, it’s clear now. To make the shot is to successfully…

E: Th…

M: Put the ball in the basket.

E: You can use this expression in other sports as well, right?

M: Yeah, you could use it in hockey.

E: Uhu.

M: To make the shot. You could also use it in golf, when… in a lot of different sports they

use the term to shoot.

E: Yes.

M: Shoot the ball.

E: So, uh, anytime you shoot the ball, you can make the shot.

M: Exactly.

E: Uhu.

M: Okay, our next word today – three pointer.

E: Three pointer.

M: Three pointer.

E: A three pointer.

M: It’s a shot in basketball when you get three points.

E: Yes.

M: Usually this shot is taken from further out.

E: Yeah, a farther distance.

M: Yeah. So it’s a little bit more difficult to make this shot.

E: Yeah. You know, sometimes people might say “a three point shot” or something like that.

M: Yeah.

E: But our EnglishPod learners, they know…

M: It’s a three pointer.

E: Yeah, you’ll sound really knowledgeable, really cool, u…

M: Hehe.

E: Using that one.

M: Three pointer.

E: Aha.

M: And, uh, our last word today – travel.

E: Travel.

M: To travel.

E: Travel. When you walk with the basket ball.

M: Well, technically you’re allowed to take two steps in basketball.

E: Okay.

M: So, when you take more than two steps, then it’s…

E: Alright, alright, alright.

M: Traveling.

E: I understand.

M: Hehe. So, yeah, traveling means to take more than two steps with the ball.

E: Let’s listen to the dialogue a second time. This time it’ll be a bit slower, so that we can

understand some of these great phrases we just talked about.

DIALOGUE, SECOND TIME (slow)

M: Alright, sports fans, so now let’s take a look at “fluency builder”.

Voice: Fluency builder.

M: Okay, today on fluency builder we have two really common words that you would listen

to while you’re watching a game.

E: Yeah, these are sort of slangy words, hey?

M: Yeah, they’re kind of, uh, common…

E: Like informal.

M: Informal.

E: Uhu.

M: The first one that we have is screw up.

E: Screw up.

M: Screw up.

E: Screw up.

M: To screw up.

E: Yeah, so, this is a good way of saying…

M: To make a mistake.

E: Uhu.

M: Let’s listen to some examples of how this word is used.

Voice: Example one.

A: Jill, you really screwed up this time, you’re fired.

Voice: Example two.

B: This game is important. If you screw it up, we’re out of the finals.

Voice: Example three.

C: I’m sorry, I know I screwed up. Will you forgive me?

M: Okay, so, screw up is mess up.

E: Yeah, make a mistake.

M: Make a mistake.

E: Aha.

M: Great! And our last word on fluency builder today – a beer run.

E: A beer run.

M: Beer run.

E: So, what is this beer run?

M: You run to get beer. Hehe.

E: Hehe.

M: You go to the store and get beer.

E: Okay.

M: Get more beer.

E: So, it’s just an expression to… meaning to go and get more beer.

M: Yeah, usually you’re watching a game…

E: Uhu.

M: Or you’re at home with your friends, you run out of beer, so, somebody has to make…

[NOTE: anohter one useful phrase – “to run low on something”]

E: Go get some beer.

M: Go get some beer.

E: Yeah.

M: Make a beer run.

E: Yeah.

DIALOGUE, THIRD TIME

M: Okay, guys, I hope you enjoyed our lesson today. We’ll be bringing you more sports

lessons in the future.

E: Yes.

M: So, if you have a particular sport that you wanna learn about, you can tell us. 

E: Uhu.

M: And we’ll…

E: Come to our website englishpod.com.

M: Yeah, and, uh, leave us your comments or your suggestions or any doubts that you

have.

E: Uhu.

M: And we’re always there to answer it, so, we’ll see you there.

E: Yes, until next time…

M: Bye!

E: Bye!