Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. call out
    • ex. My mother called out my sister for her rude behavior.
  2. booing
    • ex. The booing of the crowd discouraged the players.
  3. hateful
    • ex. Being nice to others is better than being mean or hateful.
  4. embarrassed
    • ex. The actor felt embarrassed when he forgot his lines in the play.
  5. an indication
    • ex. Dark clouds are an indication that it will rain.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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Recently, Gregg Popovich, a coach for the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball Association (NBA) shocked basketball fans. At one game between San Antonio Spurs and LA Clippers, Popovich took a mic and called out the fans for booing Kawhi Leonard. Leonard was a player for the Spurs in the past. Popovich said that the booing was hateful and mean.

In an interview, Popovich said he doesn’t feel sorry for calling out the crowd. “I listened to it for a while and it just got louder and louder, and uglier and uglier, and I felt sorry for him (Leonard), and I was embarrassed for our city, for our organization,” Popovich said. “Because that’s not who we are, that’s not how we’ve behaved ourselves for the last 25 years.”

Popovich recognized the fans for their support. But he thinks that booing is extremely rude. “It’s kind of an indication of the world we live in today,” Popovich said. He said that the hate in the world makes the fans’ behavior even worse.  He thinks it is totally inappropriate.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Popovich’s Actions and Ideas

  • Popovich thinks that booing is extremely rude. What do you think of booing? Discuss.
  • Popovich called out the crowd for booing an ex-player of his team. Do you agree with this action? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Popovich said that the hate in the world makes the fans’ behavior even worse. What do you think this means? Discuss.

Famous Athletes

  • Who is the most famous athlete in your country? Discuss.
  • Aside from skills in sports, what qualities do you think a great athlete should have (ex. he/she should be polite, he/she must be generous)? Discuss.
  • Do you know any famous athlete who changed his/her career to something else (ex. an ex-athlete who became a businessman)? Discuss.