Paris scooters (audio)

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Team sports teach life lessons

On a bright summer morning, many young swimmers gather at a local swimming pool in the state of Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C. They are members of a competitive summer swim team. 

Swim team teaches the team members skills like discipline and focus. 
There is also responsibility, goal-setting and working within a group.

An article published in the magazine Fast Company notes reasons why a company should consider employing former athletes. The writers argue that people who played sports in school are:

·         focused on goals,

·         strong communicators,

·         team players,

·         good at managing their time, and

·         resilient -- meaning they do not give up when things get difficult.

Some studies have found that team sports could be especially good for women. A series of studies by the company Ernst & Young found that 90 percent of women in so-called “C-suite” positions at several major companies had played sports.

C-suite describes a corporation's most senior executives. These positions usually begin with a “C” for "chief." Examples are chief executive officer, or CEO and chief financial officer, or CFO.

Other studies have shown that students who play sports are more likely to go to college and less likely to abuse drugs and alcohol. 

But playing team sports is not without harm. Some sports can be hard on the body. Young athletes can suffer serious injuries that follow them into adulthood.

Coach Wass explains that swimming is different from most sports in two important ways. First, the risk of injury is less than most sports.

The second difference relates to how swim teams are structured. Swimmers compete as a team but each individual swimmer races with the goal of improving their own personal time

From VOA  (edited)

Hyundai first vehicle with a solar top (audio)

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Cristiano Ronaldo South Korea's no-show

Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench during the friendly football match

 

Football fans in South Korea are planning to sue Italian soccer club Juventus and its star player Cristiano Ronaldo. Over 2,000 fans want compensation after Ronaldo failed to play in a pre-season friendly against an all-star K League team.

Juventus signed a contract to play Ronaldo for 45 minutes of the game, but he stayed on the subs bench and did not even lace up his soccer boots.

Many fans at the game switched from chanting Ronaldo's name to chanting the name of his great rival Lionel Messi. There were also boos around the stadium. A fan wrote: "He betrayed the 60,000 audience and belittled us. I'm no longer a Ronaldo fan."

The angry fans are now seeking compensation. They have gone to a law firm in South Korea's capital city, Seoul. They want Juventus to return their $60 ticket price and pay $850 to each fan for the "mental anguish" they suffered because of Ronaldo's no-show.

A-Please ask questions so as to get the underlined answers

1.      Juventus bus arrived at the venue 15 minutes after the match was supposed to start,

2.      Football fans in South Korea are planning to sue Italian soccer club Juventus and its star player Cristiano Ronaldo.

3.      Many fans at the game switched from chanting Ronaldo's name to chanting the name of his great rival Lionel Messi.

4.      Representatives from Juventus will visit Korea this week to apologize for the incident.

5.      Since the no-show match, disappointed fans have been voicing their anger at Ronaldo on social media.

B.  Fill in the blanks with one of the following linkers, without repeating any

Anyway -  As  -  Although  -   Due to  -  However   -  In spite of  -  Since

1.      The League All-Stars was scheduled to start at 8:00 p.m.

        __________________   the kick-off was delayed about one hour because the Italian  team arrived at Seoul World Cup Stadium at 8:15 p.m.

2.      __________________ Juventus arrived late, they asked to play 40 minutes in each half, not 45 minutes. It also wanted a shortened half-time break, from 15 minutes to 10 minutes. 

3.      __________________ the advance publicity, Ronaldo, didn’t play citing muscle fatigue and exhaustion.

4.      Local law firm Myungan said those who purchased the expensive tickets were not treated in the way they expected  __________________Ronaldo's absence from the field.

5.      A lawyer told Reuters that normally fans get their money back for their tickets, but this is "a special case  _______________ the agency that organized the match took advantage of the football star's fans through false advertising

C.  Please fill in the blanks with the word in parenthesis

Ronaldo, who ________________________ (play) for Juventus since 2018, _______________________(spend) the entire game on the bench to the dismay of many of the 66,000 fans . Many of them ______________________ (boo) as they _____________  (see) Ronaldo on the big screen sitting on the bench and eventually __________________________  (leave) the stadium during the second half when they _____________  (lose)  hope that he would compete in the match.

The K League says that they  _____________ (feel)  "indignation and disappointment," when they _____________ (find) out that Ronaldo would not take part 10 minutes into the second half.

According to Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli his club _____________  (do) nothing wrong because Ronaldo _____________(be not) 100% fit due to muscle fatigue.

From BBC (edited)