Hello and welcome to Real Exam English. My name is Trevor and today we´re going to be talking about sports and exercise. Ok I´m a big sports fan, I love watching sports as well as keeping fit, but I understand not everyone is in to doing exercise and following sports, but it IS a common topic in English tests so you need to prepare yourself for sports questions, whether you are interested in sports or not.
In this episode We have some super phrasal verbs for you and a great mix of accents too so you can get you used to listening to different accents before you take your English exam.
And remember in case you can´t understand everything the speakers say then you can get the transcripts and worksheets to this and every episode on the Real Exam English pages on Facebook or Instagram.
Trevor: Which sports are popular in your country?
Keith(USA): In our country…..well…ah…baseball is very popular, American football, basketball…there are so many different sports, I´d say those are probably some of the big ones y´know. American football, baseball, basketball, of course there´s hockey, I think it depends where you are, if there´s professional teams in the area, I mean. Soccer of course is popular but it´s not nearly as followed as it is in the rest of the world, although I think it´s becoming more and more popular as time goes on.
OK, nice answer there. From America, of course. And just to comment on the really nice comparison in this answer. So the speaker says soccer of course is popular, but it's not nearly as followed as it is in the rest of the world. This is a really nice structure to use and it's very useful to have some fancy ways of comparing things because the nature of English exams is that very often you're asked to compare. Maybe it's pictures or two different scenarios. So for example in Cambridge first certificate and advanced speaking Part 2 and three, you have to compare photographs or different options. OK, so rather than just saying it's not as good as you can say, it's not nearly as good as and it kind of emphasises it a bit more and alternative structures you can use here are it's nowhere near as good as or it's not half as good as. So I suppose just try to have some fancy structure that you can use in the exam for comparing two different scenarios, because it is something that comes up all the time.
Trevor: Have you ever taken part in a sports competition?
Diarmuid(Ireland:) Yes I have. I used to play rugby when I was in school. We lost the quarter final of the junior cup. I’m still sickened about it, I missed two kicks and I get reminded quite often.
What is the best time of day to do exercise?
I prefer doing it early in the morning cause it sets me up for the day and I get a good rush of endorphins and I feel like I’ve achieved something first thing in the morning.
he first question here has a phrasal verb within the question. It was have you ever taken part in a sports competition and to take part in means to participate in. OK, so for example I took part in a debate yesterday at school and in the answer to this question the speaker used this expression I'm still sickened about missing some kicks. To be sickened means to feel disgusted or really disappointed about something. So an example would be I missed the last train home by 30 seconds. I was sickened as I ended up having to walk the whole way home.
And then the second answer, we heard another phrasal verb. It was I prefer exercising in the morning because it sets me up for the day. OK, so if it sets you up, it means it prepares you for for the day. Another example of this would be have a big breakfast to set you up for trekking on the mountain. We had a nice piece of vocabulary as well, which was I get a good rush of endorphins. A rush is like a quick flow of something, and there are some common collocations which would be endorphins like in this case, or a rush of energy or a rush of adrenaline. So an example would be jumping out of the aeroplane gave me a huge adrenaline rush.
Trevor: How far do you agree that you have to spend a lot of money to stay fit and healthy?
Karen(USA): Uhm…well….haha…that´s funny, I laugh because I actually….I enjoy going to gyms, I feel like if I spend the money it´s more motivation for me to go to the gym. So, I feel like I do personally, feel like I need to like spend something in order to motivate me to work out but I mean, right now, you can definitely find ways to work out without spending money which is what we are learning right now, cause you can´t go to a gym.
Clearly another COVID-19 lockdown answer there. There are two things I would like to point out in in this answer. The first is this structure in order to motivate me. So instead of saying to when you're giving the purpose or the reason that that you're doing something, it's better to say in order to or so as to. So in this situation it was I I feel like I need to spend something in order to motivate me. OK, so for example, you would say I study in order to get better at my subject or I go to the gym in order to get muscles. OK, so it's just better than saying to.
And the other thing I would like to mention is to work out, OK, so you you probably know this phrasal verb before, but it really is the most important phrasal verb when you're talking about exercising and gyms in particular. So to work out is basically to do exercise.
Remember, you can get the transcripts for this and every episode on the real exam English pages on Facebook or Instagram, and you can also find lots of great grammar exercises there as well as really useful tips on how to prepare for your exam. And if you want information on classes to prepare for your exam, then you can find that there also.
Trevor: Have you ever been to a gym?
Paul(UK): I went to a gym once in about 1984 because I had this grand idea of doing a massive cycling tour, I used to do a lot of cycling and em….the body strength in the lower part of my body was really good but my upper body strength was weak and I thought I´d better go to a gym and I went once and I hated every second of it and that was the last time I ever set foot in a gym.
Clearly not a fan of the gym there. I'd just like to point out this structure, I'd better go, that was used in the answer. And this structure is used when you're making a suggestion or a recommendation, so it's I'd better go to a gym and I'd, uh, actually is I had better go to a gym. And this is something that I see people getting wrong all the time, particularly in part four of the use of English for the first certificate and the advanced and something that you need to master and it's quite useful also because you can use it in your speaking when you're making a decision with a partner. You can say we'd better make a decision, for example, and you can also put it into your writing, perhaps in an informal letter to a friend where you're making a suggestion on something that they should do, you could put it in there also. So take a look at that before the exam and make sure that you're able to master it.
Trevor: Do you try to keep fit?
Ofordi(UK): Yes I suppose I do. Invariably on an exercise bike and failing that, preferably dance classes. I find gyms quite boring and I used to be a gym bunny for many many years. And what I mean by a gym bunny is I used to go the gym quite regularly, probably about four, five days a week and even if I´d a hangover I´d go to the gym and run it off. And at some point I thought this is a bit too much so I stopped doing that and now I prefer to do something a bit more sociable so preferably dance classes or something a bit more fun.
We have a brilliant expression here, a gym bunny, so a gym bunny is someone who goes to the gym very often. Also, make note of the expression she used to clarify what she meant, and that was “what I mean by a gym bunny is…..”, a very nice way to introduce an explanation.
Trevor: Who is your favourite sports personality?
Emma(Ireland): Hmm, that´s a difficult question. I don´t know. I´m going to say Jackie Charlton because he´s just the first person that springs to mind because he unfortunately passed away today very sadly at the age of 85 and he lifted the country at a time when I was very impressionable and I remember that time and it was a great time in everybody in Ireland´s lives because we are a nation of optimists and hopeful people in the face of adversity. He was a soccer manager.
Jackie Charlton, what a legend. Uh, so the first thing to comment about this answer is this expression springs to mind. This is an excellent expression to know because it's very versatile. You can use it to answer many different questions. If somebody asks you about your favourite food or a movie or I don't know, a place that that you like, you can use this expression, you know, you can say the first place that springs to mind is whatever. An alternative version is, uh, that comes to mind. OK, but I like springs to mind. It's a really, really good expression.
And what else? So this speaker uses this phrasal verb passed away, and this of course means when someone dies. OK, it's like a nicer way of saying when someone dies and also the last thing to comment on is that she says he was a soccer manager, OK, in the United Kingdom, soccer is known as football. But in countries that have another form of football such as the United States or Ireland or Australia perhaps then they call their own football, football and they call soccer soccer.
That's it for the questions for today. Have a think about how you would answer questions about what sports you do or would like to do, how you keep fit, why it is important to do exercise and what sports are popular are in your country. Get yourself some nice sports vocabulary and you´ll be all set to pass your test.
Thank you very much for listening, I would be really grateful if you can like and subscribe on itunes, spotify or whatever podcast player you use and please get in touch on facebook or Instagram, I´d love to hear from you.
All the best,
Trevor