Unlocking Word Meanings
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. legend (n.) [lej-uhnd] – a famous person who is admired for being good at doing something
Example: Tiger Woods is a legend in golf.
2. amateur (n.) [am-uh-choor, -cher, -ter, am-uh-tur] – an athlete who does not compete for money
Example: Many, but not all, Olympic
athletes are amateurs.
3. professional (n.) [pruh-fesh-uh-nl] – an athlete who receives payment for competing or performing
Example: Athletes in Major
League Baseball, like Ichiro Suzuki, are professionals.
4. keep track (v.) [keep trak] – to follow or be informed about what someone or something is doing
Example: I keep track of my favorite sports teams
by watching their games on TV.
5. patriotic (adj.) [pey-tree-ot-ik] – having pride in, love for, and loyalty to one’s own country
Example: The Olympics inspires
patriotic feelings, especially when a person’s fellow countryman wins a medal.
Article(10 minutes)
Read the text below.
Cuba may be small,
but it has some of the best boxers in the world. The country boasts a total of 32
Olympic gold medals for boxing.
Among its boxing legends are Hector Vinent Charon and
Teofilo Stevenson, who have
won two and three Olympic gold medals respectively.
According to Vinent,
Cuban boxers are different from others because of Cubans’ intelligence and fighting
spirit. Stevenson, meanwhile, says Cubans like boxing because they value a strong
attitude and self-defense.
Under government
law, Cuban sportspeople, including boxers, are strictly amateurs. This qualifies them for competitions like the Olympics,
but does not allow them to earn millions of dollars like professionals. The need for money has caused some boxers to leave their
home country.
But Cuba’s boxing
commissioner, Alberto Puig, believes Cuban fighters are strong because they
are patriotic. He says Cuba’s
talented boxers may not earn millions in money, but they fight with support
from the 11 million people of Cuba.
Puig also credits
the Cuban government, which he describes as really good at finding and developing
talent at a very young age. He says the government keeps track of talented boxers, even those in the farthest areas
of Cuba.
Young talents are
usually trained in places like the Rafael Trejo gym in Havana. There, Vinent
teaches kids as young as eight years old how to box. Most of them will not become
great fighters, but Vinent says boxing teaches them confidence and life
skills they can use every day.
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Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A
·
Cubans do well in boxing. What sport do you
think your countrymen are good at? Please explain the reasons for this.
·
Does your government do a lot to promote sports
or help people train for sports? Why do you think so?
Discussion B
·
What are the benefits of having a worldwide
competition like the Olympics?
·
Given the chance, would you want to compete in
the Olympics? Why or why not?