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NBA Finals

NBA Finals

Date: Jun 09 2009

Themes: Sports

Grammar: Future Progressive Tense

Intro

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2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

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It’s human nature to root for the underdog. So why are the Lakers so popular? They have won more NBA championships than any other team. Their star player, Kobe Bryant, has won three himself, and now he’s back for his fourth.

With the best record in their conference, the Lakers were favored to reach the finals. But the Orlando Magic had to pull off a major upset against LeBron James and his Cavaliers to reach the finals.

Because they win more than anyone else, the Lakers are one of the most popular and the most hated teams in the NBA. They easily beat the Magic in the first of the final 7-game series, but Devan hopes the Magic will come from behind to win. Listen to her talk to Jason on the phone about it.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

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2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Devan

Devan

Jason

Jason

Devan:  Hello?

Jason:  Yo.

Devan:  Yo, what’s up?

Jason:  Did you see game 1 last night?

Devan:  What a disappointment that was.

Jason:  I don’t know, I am rooting for Sasha to win a championship.

Devan:  Really?

Jason:  Yeah, he’s my boy.

Devan:  Even though he’s on the same team as Kobe?

Jason:  What’s your beef with Kobe?

Devan:  If you’re like me and you’re a Suns fan, you know, he’s our rival.

Jason:  He’s rival…like, personally? Or his team…

Devan:  I don’t know. Kobe’s everybody’s rival. But the Lakers are the Suns rival. So as a Suns fan, I can’t support them. And besides, I like Dwight Howard better than Kobe anyway.

Jason:  Dwight Howard is pretty cool. I don’t know, I am kind of torn, actually. But you’ll be rooting for the Magic, I take it?

Devan:  Yeah. I just want to see a good series too. I hope it goes to game 7. I hope the Lakers don’t blow them out like they did last night.

Jason:  Yeah. Me too. I just don’t want the season to be over. I want it to last six more games.

 

Grammar Point

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Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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Discussion

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Jason called Devan to see what she thought of the first game of the NBA Finals. She was disappointed because she wanted the Magic to win. She isn’t a Magic fan, but the Lakers are the rival of her favorite team, the Phoenix Suns.

But Jason is glad the Lakers are winning because he wants Sasha “The Machine” Vujacic to win the championship he talked about in his English lesson back in March.

Which team do you like in the NBA Finals? Do you like to root for a winner or do you prefer an underdog?

 

Comments

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zhzloverzy

zhzloverzy

China

NBA games is excitingwow~

05:43 AM Jun 09 2009 |

Rezon 邬

Rezon 邬

China

I’m also enjoying NBA games,,,

04:29 AM Jun 09 2009 |

justine zhang

China

NBA is popular in China because Yao Ming. There are millions of fans in China watching the NBA finals. They do not root for underdog, but root for Chinese:) 

03:54 AM Jun 09 2009 |

alexa1

alexa1

Saudi Arabia

in fact …Laughing, I love all kinds of sports, especially football, and I see only when the competition in the finals>>

03:37 AM Jun 09 2009 |

arrowge

arrowge

China

I enjoy NBA games, especially the NBA Finals, Kobe is the best player after the Michael 23. he can put Lakers in his back to beat anyone else.

02:40 AM Jun 09 2009 |

julywidiawati

Indonesia

i don't root any basketball series. But my lil' brother is a basketball player.

01:39 AM Jun 09 2009 |

mukashi

mukashi

Myanmar

I am torn about underddog or root, I think it depends on the personal and situation of the game.Laughing

12:51 AM Jun 09 2009 |

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