6 Minute English How Excited Are You About The World Cup?

BBC LEARNING ENGLISH
6 Minute English
How excited are you about
the World Cup?
This is not a word-for-word transcript
Rob
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English, I'm Rob…
Neil
And hello, I'm Neil. And Rob, I have to say, I am very very excited!
Rob
Why's that, Neil? Are you going on holiday?
Neil
Come on, Rob. You know why. The 2018 World Cup is about to start in Russia. Four
weeks of world-class football to watch. By world-class I mean 'some of the best in the
world'.
Rob
Yes, yes, I know that. But to be honest, I'll just be taking a passing interest – I've got better
things to do!
Neil
Better things to do? Well, I'm going to be glued to my TV to watch the 32 countries
compete for the title of World Cup Champions. And if you love football…
Rob
…or not…
Neil
… we've got some useful vocabulary to learn.
Rob
But let's start with a question for you to answer, Neil, to see how much you really know.
Now, the mascot for Russia 2018 is a wolf called Zabivaka. What does his name mean in
6 Minute English ©British Broadcasting Corporation 2018

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English? Is it…
a) The winner
b) The one who scores
c) Fair play
Neil
Well, my Russian is a little rusty – so I'll go for a) The winner.
Rob
OK. I'll reveal the answer later.
Neil
OK, but now I have a question for you, Rob. Who won the last World Cup in Brazil in
2014?
Rob
Come on! It was Germany, Neil. And they beat Lionel Messi's Argentina in the final. Both
teams are among the favourites again this time, but there'll be lots of countries who fancy
their chances of lifting the World Cup trophy. That means they think they are likely to
succeed, even though they might not.
Neil
So you do know your football, Rob! Anyway, the final will take place in the revamped – or
much improved - Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on July 15th 2018. Did I say I was very
excited? Well, I'm not the only one. We asked some people what they think about the
World Cup. And here are Keith and Jane describing their feelings…
Keith
It's a four-week festival of football, isn't it? And everyone kind of gets behind their country.
You also get to know about football teams in parts of the world you don't really think about
very often, so it's that double-sided thing of the actual football itself - which is exciting - but
also the stories that happen off the pitch as well.
Jane
I'm really excited. I can't wait for it to start. One thing – there's going to be great telly every
night. It's great to see the underdogs that are going to come through and have a really
sensational tournament. I think it's the enthusiasm of the crowds and the love of football
that people have.
Neil
So two football fans there. Keith used some good alliteration – that's words beginning with
the same letter – four-week festival of fun. He talked about people getting behind their
country – not literally going behind their team, but supporting them. Who are you
supporting, Rob?

Rob
Well, my home team is England – but I'm not confident they'll do well. That doesn't matter
to Jane though – she said it's fun to see the underdogs do well. The underdog here
means the team considered to be the weakest and the least likely to win. You could say
Iceland are the underdogs in this tournament.
Neil
Maybe, Rob. So you can see why everyone is excited by the World Cup!
Rob
Not everyone, Neil. For many people, they're not bothered by the tournament. We could
say 'it's not their thing' and there are different reasons for it. Let's hear from some other
people - Jeff and Inga…
Jeff
There's not a lot of sportsmanship in it now. I find that it's very corporate and there's a lot
of what I would call cheating going on – people taking dives, people falling over because
somebody looked at them the wrong way on the pitch.
Inga
Not really that excited. It's just too much hype about nothing really. The World Cup is a
great event if you are into football, but I'm not so I can't be really bothered.
Rob
There you go, Neil. Some sensible people there! Jeff thinks football has changed and now
lacks real sportsmanship – that's fair and honest behaviour – he even claims some players
cheat.
Neil
I'm not sure about that, Rob. But maybe he's right about the tournament becoming very
corporate, which means it's sponsored by big companies who like to decide how the
tournament is run.
Rob
And Inga thinks there is too much hype. This means there is a lot of talk and publicity to
make people interested in something. Well, there is certainly a lot of talk about the World
Cup, but we have to remember it's not everybody's cup of tea!
Neil
Well, it is my cup of tea, Rob. Now, can we have the answer to that question, please?
Rob
Yes. Earlier I said the mascot for Russia 2018 is a wolf called Zabivaka. What does his name
mean in English? Was it…

a) The winner
b) The one who scores
c) Fair play
Neil
And I said a) The winner – because football is all about winning, isn't it?
Rob
It's the taking part that is important, Neil. And you took part in my quiz and got it wrong.
The answer is b) The one who scores. Now let's have a brief reminder of the vocabulary
we've discussed today, starting with world-class.
Neil
That means 'some of the best in the world'. We should see some world-class football in
Russia.
Rob
If we're watching it, Neil. Next we had fancy their chances. If someone 'fancies their
chances' they think they are likely to succeed, but they might not.
Neil
Let's move on to get behind. If we get behind someone – like our national football team –
we support them.
Rob
Are you getting behind our national team, Neil?
Neil
Nope, I'm supporting the underdog Iceland, Rob. That's a word to describe the team or
person least likely to win. Next we discussed sportsmanship – that describes fair and
honest behaviour.
Rob
And finally we talked about hype which means 'lots of talking and publicity to make people
interested in something'. Well, we've had enough hype about the World Cup today and
we're out of time.
Neil
Yes, but don't forget to join us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for more
Learning English fun. Thanks for joining us and goodbye.
Rob
Bye bye!


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BBC LEARNING ENGLISH

6 Minute English ©British Broadcasting Corporation 2018

6 Minute English ©British Broadcasting Corporation 2018

6 Minute English ©British Broadcasting Corporation 2018

6 Minute English ©British Broadcasting Corporation 2018

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