Vocabulary: Canoe(N.)獨木舟 Kayak(N.)小艇 Narrow(A.)狹小的 To Maneuver(V.)操縱 Cox(N.)舵手 Capsize(N.)弄翻 To Paddle (V.)划槳 Portage(N.)搬運運輸 Sail(N.)航行 Freestyle(N.)自由式
Text: B: Good morning everybody. This is Britta. C: And this is Chiara! And you are listening to… Both: World Games English. B: So let’s start straight away because today is one of my favourite topics, which is canoeing. C: Have you have tried it? B: No! C: Ok, so we can try together because I would really love to try. B: Yeah, of course you would. C: Yeah. We talked about Dragonboat Racing last time and actually that’s why we are gonna talk about the Canoe Federation which administers all the events regarding kayaking and canoeing. And, do you know, what’s the difference between a canoe and a kayak? B: Yes, of course I know. The main difference is that the kayak is normally closed and the canoe is open. C: Ok, but let’s try to describe a canoe. B: A canoe is a small, narrow boat, human-powered normally and for canoeing you can use single bladed or double bladed paddles, while for kayaking you can only use the double bladed one. C: Yes, so that it’s easier to be manoeuvred by one person. And we can say that the difference between canoe and kayaking and rowing is that with canoeing you are facing the direction of the race while on rowing you face backward. So that’s the main difference. B: So that’s why you don’t need a cox in canoeing. C: Exactly. And then I’d also like to say about the kayak that it is commonly enclosed on top with a deck because it is easier this way to recover from a capsize. Because you use a kayak usually in rivers, so the waters are wildwaters and so if you go underneath the water the kayak doesn’t get filled with water. B: That sounds so exciting! C: Yeah, actually I don’t wanna try canoeing, I wanna try kayaking. B: Do you think there is a river wild enough for you? C: I don’t know, but yeah, I suppose so, I mean pfff, for sure. So, let’s try to talk about the disciplines. Do you know how many there are? B: There are seven. C: Yeah, so let’s start with the flatwater racing, what can you tell me about it? B: But this is so boring, you are just going straight for different distances… C: From 200 to 1000 meters. And actually this is so boring that this is an Olympic sport since 1936. On those race usually there are many boats going on a separate lane. This is similar to rowing, while wildwater racing is the most exciting one. And there is one boat that goes down the river and it has to try to be as fast as possible. B: Yeah, of course. C: And usually there are different distances too, I mean from 400 to longer distances, depends, even up to half an hour duration. B: Half an hour? Wow! C: Yeah, has to be very tiring. B: Yeah, really. C: And then we have marathon that is even more tiring. B: Yeah, actually it is, because… did you know that sometimes you have to carry your canoe or kayak, and bring it to another place and then start paddling again? C: Yeah, they are called portages and they are on a regular basis during the race. B: I mean, as if the race itself is not tiring enough. C: Yeah exactly. And it last approximately 3 hours. I don’t wanna try that one. B: Yeah. C: And then we have canoe sailing, it is also cool. Is a canoe but it is propelled by a sail, so it uses the force of the wind to sail and it is similar to boat sailing, just the boat is smaller. B: I’ve never seen that one. C: I’ve just seen some pictures. And then we have the freestyle that of course is the creative way of sailing with a canoeing. B: Sailing? C: Ough, canoeing! And you have to jump, and go down the river and do some tricks and manoeuvring, and the judges give you grades based on difficulty and creativity. B: And then we have Canoe Polo. Don’t forget about that one. We have to talk about this one too. C: Yes, and we are gonna talk about it a lot more because it’s a World Games discipline. That’s why I left it for last! B: Oh you are so good. C: Yeah, and of course don’t forget about Dragonboat racing but we already talked about that one. B: Ok, so the next time we are going to talk about canoe polo but time is already gone, so… C: …talk to you later. B: Bye bye
Vocabulary: Misnomer(N.)誤稱 To Distinguish(V.)分辨 Connection(N.)關聯 Opponent(N.)對手 Aggressive(A.)攻擊性的 To Tackle (V.)阻截 Field(N.)場地 Pitch(N.)投擲 Referee(N.)裁判 To Monitor(V.)觀察
Text: B: Hi there everybody. This is Britta. C: And this is Chiara! And you are listening to… Both: World Games English. B: So, as we already promised today’s topic is gonna be canoe polo. C: Yes, first of all I’d like to say that actually the name is wrong, it should be called kayak polo because they use a kayak for playing. B: Oh, really? C: Yeah, but I suppose that the misnomer is due to the fact that in America they don’t distinguish between the two kind of boats, somehow. B: Oh, yeah right, that might be an explanation. But actually I was wondering… As you know I was doing horseback riding and I know that they have polo. How is the connection to canoe polo? C: I’m not sure, but from what I read, polo in reality means ball, so it’s because it’s a game played with ball. Probably that’s why. B: Oh, ok. C: I don’t know why they call it polo, probably because there is some machine that brings you around, is not like running around like in basketball or is not just swimming around. B: A machine bringing you around? C: Mmm, some sort of thing bringing you around, like a canoe or a horse. [Laughing] C: Stop laughing at me! B: Ok, yeah, but how does it work? C: Ok, as we said it is a competitive ball sport, played in water on kayaks. B: Since they use kayaks there should be some water, yeah. C: Yeah, that might be a useful thing. And there are two teams of 5 players each and the objective of the game is to get the ball in the goal, in the opponent’s goal and to make as many points as possible. And somehow the game is a combination of water polo, basketball and kayaking. B: Ok. C: And it really cool because it’s fast and aggressive. For example the ball has to be passed hand to hand from player to player and they can somehow use the paddlers to touch the ball and to move it, but the cool thing is that the player in possession can be tackled by being pushed on the shoulder so that he somehow does a capsize, he goes under water and gets up again and then he can throw the ball because he cannot keep the ball for more than 5 seconds. So it’s a really, really fast sport. B: Wow, that sounds really exhausting to me. C: yeah, really exhausting, because the field is also big, 35 meters per 23 meters. So it’s quite big. B: So maybe that’s why they only play 20 minutes and they also do a break in that. C: Yeah, exactly. And the cool thing is about the goal, it is a frame with a net and it is two meters high over the water and there is a goalkeeper that can somehow stop the ball only with the paddler. B: What does that mean? You can just hit the guy with your paddler? C: No, no, no, no… The golie has to stop the ball with the paddler, you cannot… [Laugh] C: Actually there are strict rules and you cannot touch the goalkeeper. B: Ah, ok! C: And then what can we say? That there are 20 minutes, with 2 halves and each half begins with a charge where each team lines up against its goal-line and the ball is thrown into the middle of the pitch by the referee and one player from each team sprints to win possession of the ball. It’s really competitive. I mean, they couldn’t make kayak jump like in basketball so they had to figure out something else. B: Ok, actually the whole thing is really exhausting just to hear it, I think that is not my sport. C: Definitely. And then we can say also that there are 2 referees, one on each side-line and usually they are on foot. And then there are 2 line judges on the goal lines to monitor the goals. B: Somehow this is similar to all the games. Having the judges watching you and giving you cards, like yellow card or red. C: Yeah, exactly. And then one last thing we can say before our time is over is that there are World Championships for this sport, and they are every two years and for example in 2006 they were held in Amsterdam and Germany won both the finale categories. B: Yeah, of course. C: And then as we said, it is a World Games sport since Duisburg 2005. B: Cool. So we can see it here in Kaohsiung 2009 I suppose. C: Yeah, I’m looking forward. B: So guys… C: … Our time is up again, talk to you later B: Bye bye
Text: B: 吉祥話everybody. This is again Britta. C: And this is Chiara! And we welcome to… Both: World Games English. C: And we were trying to say ‘Happy New Year’ to everybody. I don’t know if we managed it… B: I’m sure nobody understood… C: …but now they know what we were talking about. Can you believe that 15 days of Chinese New Year are almost over? B: No, as always the time flies… C: Yeah, so guys did you enjoy your time of family reunion? B: We haven’t had any family reunion. It was so said… C: But we definitely enjoyed our days off. B: Yeah definitely and we had a lot of fun! C: So let’s talk about Chinese New Year tradition. Let’s see if we did everything properly, OK Britta? B: I hope so… C: So, where do we start? B: Maybe we start with the food, because in my opinion this is the most important fact. C: Yeah, OK, so let’s see, what did you eat? B: Oh, I had chicken, I had dumplings, I had a lot of fish, meat and of course rice! C: OK, that’s quite good, because you are gonna be healthy, happy and rich next year, because all these foods have names that are similar to Chinese words for happiness, health, longevity etc. … B: Juhu! So I did right! C: Everybody eats them during Chinese New Year! And then…do you feel a bit older? More than usual? B: Ah, OK…I was like OK, I feel already so old, why should I feel older now? You want to tease me? C: Yes, sure… B: No, actually I still feel normal. C: Yeah, because you got one year older actually! B: Again? C: Yes, again, that’s so said. Because here and in China, from what I understood, everybody grows one year older on the 7th day of Chinese New Year. B: Oh my God, why is that? C: Yeah, it’s funny, so everybody has its birthday on the same day. B: But why do they do this? C: I have no idea…but in the meanwhile we just have to carry around our year. B: But I mean why didn’t I get any presents? C: Yeah, that’s the bad part… B: But I mean what else was going on? Did you realize that there were some particular customs? C: Actually I’ve seen something on TV. People were going crazy about firecrackers in Tainan. You have to go around with helmet and protection… B: …armoured… C: Yeah, more or less, because they start firing firecrackers all over the square just into the middle of the people. B: Really? C: So you get hit. I’ve seen many people with bruises and so on… B: But that’s kind of crazy. I mean I know that they do it in Spain but with tomatoes but with firecrackers… C: Yeah it’s a lot more dangerous. For this reason I think that in many countries they banned the firecrackers like in Singapore and Hong Kong but it was really cool to see it on television but I won’t have the courage to go into the middle of the people… B: Why not? You always want to experience everything! C: Yeah…maybe next year I throw firecrackers against my friends in Italy. OK and how much money did you collect? B: Money? I didn’t get anything. I didn’t get presents for my birthday and I didn’t get any money, what’s this? C: Really? No red envelopes? B: I feel so betrayed now! C: OK I’m sorry for you… B: But did you get anything? C: No… B: You can give me 10 NTDs and I can give me 10 NTDs. C: But red envelopes are given by married couples to single people, so it doesn’t work like that. And what else? B: Actually, did you buy any new clothes in red? C: No, but I had some red clothes, but not new clothes… B: But you should buy new clothes and wear them because it symbolizes a new start for the New Year! C: OK good to know for the next year. B: Yeah, that was what I did… C: OK and then…anything else? Oh yeah, the 15th day which is the lantern festival and it’s coming in a couple of days. B: Yes, I’m really looking forward to that one… C: That one is a kind of Valentine’s day, so I’m really looking forward for it because they said there are a lot of things going on… B: Yeah, especially on the Love River, they have all the lanterns… C: Yeah, yeah, so let’s look forward for that one… B: …and I can tell you another tale… C: So I can sleep again! Thank you! B: Right! As always… C: But now it’s time to go… B: Time to say goodbye! So stay tuned… C: Bye bye… B: Bye bye…
Vocabulary: To sweep(V.)清除 Preposterous(A.)荒謬可笑的 Co-worker (N.)同事 To chew(V.)嚼 Hotpot(N.)火鍋 Kettle(N.)水壺 Oolong tea(N.)烏龍茶 Wishful thinking(Phr.)ㄧ廂情願的想法
Text: B: Welcome everybody. This is Britta. C: And this is Chiara! Both: 新年快樂 B: …and welcome to… Both: World Games English. C: So I suppose now, after two weeks of practise, we are finally sure what we are pronouncing. B: Yeah, we practised like, I don’t know, one million times… C: Yes, so how was your Chinese New Year? B: It was awesome. I did all the sweeping and cleaning… C: Yes, that was on Saturday, on the New Year’s Eve… B: I could do it every day… C: Yeah, we are so good about that. But we have been really bad because we didn’t know what to do on Saturday afternoon and so we decided to buy books and that’s really bad! B: Unfortunately they told us too late: No you cannot do this… C: But considering that we ate all the food and all the preposterous things, it should be OK B: Yes, maybe. C: So, what did we eat, Britta? B: Yes, maybe first of all, we should tell the guys out there, that somebody of our office, our co-worker Sandy, invited us to her families place. C: Yes! B: Because otherwise the people might think that we all cooked the food by ourselves. C: OK, yeah, we are good but not that good! So, we were invited by our colleague’s family, at her grandparents place. And it was a really typical… B: …family dinner. Yeah, her uncle and her aunt were there, too, her sister, her cousin, so lots of people and we were all sitting around the big table and there was so much food! C: Yes, so much! B: I mean, when I first saw the table I thought that about 20 people are still coming. C: Yeah, in fact. So what did we eat? B: We had this vegetable, this special Chinese vegetable for the long life which you cannot chew before you have the whole thing in your mouth. Then we had fish… C: The fish was really good actually! B: And we had a lot of chicken. C: Right, a lot of chicken and hotpot and actually I discovered that they eat the hotpot because everybody can eat from the hotpot at the same time, so it means a family reunion. And so the family will stay together in the next year, too. B: Ahh, so next year, we are still here and will join the dinner again? C: I don’t know, I didn’t think about that. But maybe it means that our families are getting together somehow. B: That’s so sweet… C: So we are stuck home next year…that’s scary! B: Yes, but I mean the amazing thing was, that after dinner there was still more food, we still continued eating. Fruits of course and then there were all the sweets. C: Yeah, all the sweets, like peanut sweets, which are so good… B: There are really good! C: And then we were drinking tea because we discovered that drinking tea is useful for freeing the body from the fat. B: And for loosing some weight… C: Yeah, I should drink litres and litres… B: Maybe we should buy some tea and a kettle and stuff for preparing tea all the time now… C: Especially the equipment because tea we have already quite few. B: Yeah right, but it’s not the Oolong tea. Because only that one makes you slim. C: No, the green tea, too. B: Oh, really? C: Yes! B: Oh my god, now I know, why I’m so thin… C: Yeah sure, wishful thinking… B: Actually I was rolling like a ball since Chinese New Year. C: Yeah, I was almost wondering if she would make it to work because maybe my scooter was going to brake down but we did it! B: Oh come on, otherwise you could have just pushed me. C: Yes, right, but it was really, really good! If Sandy is listening, thank you so much! B: …謝謝 C: It was a really good experience, I was really happy we could figure out how it really is in a Taiwanese family. B: Me too! It was really nice…And we can go again because she already invited us again, so we can go there whenever we want to… C: Oh, that’s so good that you know how to get there! B: Oh come on, we just have to smell the food and follow the smell. But actually our time is over… C: Like always! B: So I would say let’s grab some more food. C: Again? B: Oh come on, you can never get enough… C: OK, so you can grab the food and I can roll you home. B: OK, so guys, see you later and bye-bye. C: Bye-bye.
Vocabulary: To Lengthen(V.)加長 Fireworks display(Phr.)煙火秀 Blast(N.)爆破 Riddle(N.)謎語 Firecrackers(N.)爆竹
Text: B: Hello everybody. This is Britta. C: And this is Chiara! And you are listening to… Both: World Games English. C: So, since 15 days of the Chinese New Year are almost over and we know that the 15th day is the Lantern Festival, we have a special guest from Taiwan to talk about it. Can you tell us more about the Lantern Festival, Jeffrey? G: Ok, the lantern Festival is actually on the 15th day of January, on the lunar calendar. It is also the end of a series of Chinese New Year celebrations and during this time people may have lantern decoration on the street. C: Ok, so I suppose is one of the biggest celebrations during the year, right? G: Yes, is one of the three biggest festivals in the Taiwanese culture. The origin of this festival also lies in the festival activities of the agricultural people celebrating the lengthening of the daytime at the beginning of the year. And another legend has also that actually it was started by this Emperor in the Han dynasty who was a very devoted Buddhist and ordered his people to display lights on the 15th day of this month of the lunar calendar. C: Oh, ok, so right now you also go to temples and it is connected to the religion or now is just because of the New Year? G: Well, mostly I would say is just because of the new year, but the biggest decorations usually surround the temple’s areas and probably they will have fireworks display on that day and it’s going to be a huge blast on that day. C: Cool… B: That sounds so enchanting! C: Yeah, I’m so happy that we are gonna be in Kaohsiung, because I heard that in Kaohsiung is quite big, right? G: Yes, we just started our Lantern Festival fireworks display since 2001, and even last year it was a huge decoration with a huge flower design and with 16 petals. B: Have you seen it? G: Sure, it was so huge everyone could see it from the Love River. C: Oh! And I read about some lantern riddles. What can you tell me about that? G: Well, lantern riddles are another tradition that is quite famous. They will stick some riddles on the lantern itself or they will hang the riddles under the lantern. And people can come to read those riddles and if they can guess what the riddle is saying they can get a price. C: Oh, for sure we are gonna win, Britta. G: But the riddle is in Chinese, you can think of some riddles in English. B: But nobody could read it, then… C: But Britta Chinese is quite good, already B: Yeah, right!!! Actually I just wanted to ask you something about the festival in Taitung. There is the bombing of the God Handan? What is that? G: They say the Handan God is actually a wealth’s God but he is actually afraid of the cold, so each time he is on a procession, on the street, people will try to throw firecrackers at him to keep him warm and the more firecrackers you throw at him, the warmer he gets, the more wealth and prosperity you will get in the coming year. B: Ok, but this is really… I mean it sounds really cruel in my opinion. C: Because there is a person playing the part of the God. G: Yes, he is actually appointed by the God Handan so he is supposed to have this supernatural power to protect him. C: And that is true? I mean, nobody died, ever? G: So far, I don’t think anybody died. C: Ah, ok. And out time is almost over, but I heard about some food specialties… The Tang Yuan? G: On this day, we have to eat Tang Yuan, that is actually a sticky rice ball, but this day is called Yuan Hsiao that is the Tang Yuan with stuffing inside and Tang Yuan is the stick rice ball without stuffing inside. And on lantern festival you eat the Tang Yuan and each time you eat the Tang Yuan you get one year older. C: Oh my god, so how old are you? G: 30 or 40 years old by now since I eat I three times at year. C: Oh, I don’t wanna be older! But I want to try it for sure. G: Today you have already eaten Tang Yuan. B: Somehow I have the feeling that when I’m going back I’m one hundred years old, but… C: Whatever, it’s gonna be worthy! B: So, let’s go to prepare for tomorrow, for the Lantern Festival. C: Yes, and say bye bye to our listeners. B: Yes, see you on Monday! Together: Bye Bye
2007/2/26(一) 
