Intro
1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.
2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.
Life isn’t fair. But that doesn’t mean professional sports can’t be. Right?
Brad Pitt’s new movie Moneyball exposes the unfairness in Major League Baseball. It is about the manager of the Oakland A’s, Billy Beane, who wants to help his team win the World Series. But the odds are against him. His team has a much lower budget than big city teams like the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, which are able to pay huge sums to get the best players in the world.
The situation portrayed in Moneyball isn’t unique to baseball. Money is a big part of all professional sports. The richest teams can buy the best players. Of course, underdog teams are still sometimes able to win. But it isn’t easy. That’s why it is so exciting when they do.
Amy recently saw Moneyball. Hear her and Marni talk about the film.
Dialog
1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.
2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.
![]() Amy |
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Amy: I love a good sports underdog story, I have to say.
Marni: You know, I think there’s something really intriguing about sports films that deal with the underdog. Are you by chance talking about that film Moneyball?
Amy: I am, yeah. I just saw it, and I really liked it.
Marni: It sounded like a really interesting concept, so tell me what you thought about the film.
Amy: Well, I thought it was great. First of all, I’m excited that Brad Pitt has turned out to be a serious actor. But also, it was really interesting because it sort of brought up the point that professional sports are sort of unfair in a way.
Marni: Absolutely.
Amy: Because it’s all…you know, the odds are stacked in the favor of the teams that have the most money and can afford the best players. And I’m not a huge baseball fan, this movie’s about baseball, but I’m a basketball fan, and I’ve often felt that way about basketball, that it’s just not fair. So this movie is about this general manager of a baseball team who tries to find a way around that.
Marni: Well, yeah, I think that’s so interesting, and I think it’s true of all sports, but you see that specifically in baseball, teams like the Yankees and the Red Sox, those teams that have all the money, they tend to constantly do well. I think it’s kinda interesting that they finally are really shedding light on that, and I’m hoping this film makes people more aware of that.
Grammar Point
Go Super to learn "Adverbs" from this lesson
Quizzes
Lesson MP3
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Discussion
Amy recently saw Moneyball starring Brad Pitt. She thought Brad Pitt did a great job and enjoyed seeing him in a more serious role. She also enjoyed the plot of the movie, which is about how the manager of the Oakland A’s tried to help his team win the World Series despite the fact that they had far less money to spend on players than other teams.
Marni thinks the concept of the film sounds very intriguing. She says that baseball teams like the New York Yankees are richer than other teams, which means that they can afford the best players. Because of that, these teams often win. Marni and Amy agree that money plays too big a role in professional sports. They hope this will change in the future.
Do you think that professional sports are unfair? What are your favorite sports teams?
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