45   I can talk about people and places in sport

A    People

Word  Example  Meaning

referee  ref  INF The referee gave out five yellow cards.  the official person in control in some sports (in tennis this is an umpire).

linesman  The linesman put his flag up for offside, but I think he was wrong.  a person who helps the referee in some sports. SYN referee’s assistant.

manager  Jose Mourinho has been manager of Porto and Chelsea.  the person in control of a football team (also coach in some countries).

coach  Andy Murray has a new tennis coach.  a person who gives practical teaching to make sb better in a sport.

captain  Fabio Cannavaro was the Italian captain in the 2006 World Cup.  the player who is leader of the team.

spectators  Spectators ran onto the pitch (= the area where the game is played). people who watch a game (also the crowd).

supporters  Many football supporters travel all over Europe to see their team.  people who regularly watch a team play. SYN fans. support V.

commentator  I thought the commentator was talking rubbish.  a person who describes a game on TV or the radio.

 

spotlight  suffix –er and player

We usually add -er or player to a noun or verb for the person who does a sport: golfer, swimmer, skier, racing driver, boxer, tennis player, rugby player.

But: athletics/athlete, gymnastics/gymnast.

B    Places

The Camp Nou Stadium, the ground of Barcelona football club, is the largest stadium in Europe with a capacity of 98,800 spectators.

Hochenheim is a motor-racing circuit where the German Grand Prix sometimes takes place. One lap of the track is 4.574 kms.

The Centre Court at Wimbledon is famous worldwide. Now they have constructed the new roof, the All England Championship won’t be interrupted because of rain.

A standard Olympic swimming pool is 50 metres long, 25 metres wide, and has a minimum depth of two metres.

 

Glossary

stadium  a large structure where people sit and watch sport.

ground  an area of land where a game is played and people watch.

club  A football club is the team, the management, and the ground.

capacity  the amount or number that a space or container will hold.

circuit  an area of land, often in a circle, where a race takes place. SYN track.

lap  one journey around a track.

court  a place where tennis, basketball, or badminton are played.

worldwide  everywhere in the world. SYN all over the world.

construct sth  build or make sth. construction N.

championship  a competition to find the best player or team in a sport.

interrupt sth  stop the progress of sth for a short period of time.

standard  normal; average.

minimum  smallest possible or smallest allowed. OPP maximum.

 

spotlight  long, wide, deep

Long, wide, and deep can describe measurements.

The pool is 50 metres long.

= The length of the pool is 50 metres.

The pool is 25 metres wide.

= The width of the pool is 25 metres.

The pool is 2 metres deep.

= The depth of the pool is 2 metres.

5     Complete the words in each text.

1     Liverpool Football club is planning to c____ a new football s____, with a c____ of over 60,000.

2     The Chinese Grand Prix is raced over 56 l____ of the Shanghai International C____.

It’s the most expensive t____ ever c____, costing $240m.

3     The French Open Tennis C____ at Roland Garros is famous w____ as the only one of the four major tournaments that is played on clay c____s.

4     Unfortunately we don’t have a s____ Olympic swimming p____. The one we use for competitions is only 25 metres l____ and 15 metres w____. The m____ d____ is one metre, and the m____ is two metres. 

1     construct, stadium, capacity

2     laps, Circuit, track, constructed

3     Championship, worldwide, courts

4     standard, pool, long, wide, minimum, depth, maximum