26/07/2013
NEW WORDS IN THE NEWS: THE RUNNING MAN
Sport is a frequent topic in IELTS/TOEFL test, so today you can prepare yourself for it by reading this article about our raising star, The Running Man. (thể thao là chủ đề phổ biến trong IELTS/TOEFL, bạn hãy chuẩn bị với bài viết sau về Running Man đang gây sốt ở Việt Nam nhé!)
Soccer stars on treadmill to boost globalization drive
Vu Xuan Tien became Arsenal's unofficial mascot on the Hanoi leg of their pre-season Asia tour after he ran alongside the team's coach for several miles. Tien was then invited to lead the Arsenal players onto the pitch at the My Dinh stadium in Hanoi before their match against the Vietnamese national team, which they won 7-1.
He runs alongside the Arsenal coach in Vietnam's capital Hanoi mile after mile. He bumps into trees and lamp posts but keeps on running.
At one stage he beats his hand against the badge of the red and white Arsenal shirt that he is wearing, mimicking an often used footballer's goal celebration. Eventually to keep up with the coach he hops on a moped.
The "Running Man" -- as Vu Xuan Tien has been dubbed -- gets his reward when the Arsenal coach stops and he is invited on board to meet the players and manager Arsene Wenger, who all sign his shirt.
Man gets on Arsenal bus. Cue international headlines as the "Running Man" goes global. Welcome to the power of English football in Asia.
"It should be a message for all of you guys that if you really want to pursue your dreams, it can happen," goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny told the Arsenal website.
But the "Running Man" is not the only one working his socks off in Asia at the moment.
Arsenal are one of a number of English Premier League clubs touring Asia and Australia -- others include Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea -- as part of their pre-season preparations. The new season kicks off on August 17.
"Tours provide us with an opportunity to build our global following, and are also a great opportunity to bring thousands of supporters further afield closer to the club by giving them a chance to interact with us personally," an Arsenal spokeswoman told CNN.
"From a business perspective it's also important we show our commitment to building our name around the world to become more attractive to potential commercial partners and to support some of our existing partners' business objectives for whom Asia is also an important market."
The business case is clear, but to travel thousands of miles round the world, to train in humid conditions and wake up in a different hotel bed each morning seems -- on the face of it -- perhaps not an ideal way to prepare for the rigors of the English Premier League season and the challenge of the Champions League.
United forward Wayne Rooney was an early casualty of the club's three-week trip to Asia, with the England international having to fly home on the tour's opening day with a hamstring injury.
Dutchman Alex Buttner also picked up a hamstring injury in their friendly defeat to the Singha All-Stars in Thailand -- United's first match on the tour -- to join Rooney in the treatment room.
United did not respond to CNN's questions regarding the financial importance of the Far East to the club or the physiological efficacy of these tours as a way of preparing players for a new season.
While Premier League clubs press the flesh in Asia, Champions League winners Bayern Munich remained in northern Europe and held a training camp in northern Italy in Trentino early July.
"Unfortunately from a physiological perspective and as preparation for the upcoming season I can't see too many positives and more importantly there is significant chance of injury," Dr Craig Duncan of the Australian Catholic University, who until recently was Sydney FC's head of human performance, told CNN.
Topic vocabulary (Từ chủ đề):
mascot
lead
players onto the pitch
stadium
match against
badge
footballer's goal celebration
goalkeeper
season
global following
supporters
commercial partners
partners' business
challenge
held a training camp
upcoming season
injury
There are also ome interesting words, but not related to sport, so knowing them is nice and who knows, one day they will be on your test (Có một số từ thú vị nhưng không liên quan tới thể thao)
- bump into: va phải
- lamp post: cột đèn
- mimick: bắt chước
- dub: gán tên
- on board: trên tàu/xe
- (make international) headlines: trở nên nổi tiếng khắp thế giới
- go global: trở nên phổ biến khắp thế giới
- pursue your dream: theo đuổi ước mơ
- work your socks off: làm việc vất vả
- rigor: sự khắc nghiệt, khó khăn gian khổ
- casualty: thương vong
- press the flesh: giao lưu, có tính chính trị, trang trọng,…
The last paragraph suggested some ideas and examples that will be useful for writing eassays (Một số ý hữu ích từ đoạn trên):
Touring foreign countries:
- Advantages:
o Builds the global following of football clubs, as well as reinforces the existing fanbase by allowing them to interact with the club personally.
o Attract potential commercial patners and boost existing partners’ business.
- Disadvantages:
Reduce player’s strength
Incompatible climate
Chance of injuries
Lack of intensive training
- Check the dictionary or comment if you have any question about these words.
- Go to this link if you want to read the rest of the article and take note of any word, phrase and idea that you find useful.
- http://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/23/sport/football/football-asia-tours/index.html?hpt=ias_mid
- Finally, apply what you have just learned to answer these prompts, which you can find on the internet or make up some of your own, for example (vận dụng những điều vừa học để trả lời câu hỏi sau):
o In your opinion, has modern sport been over-commercialized?
o Does sport have a positive or negative impact on their fans?