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006_Adjectives_of_Greatness

006_Adjectives_of_Greatness

Three English adjectives to describe a great Olympic performance.

Kevin:
It’s another episode of Nichibei Kaiwa Gakuin Podcasting. A great place to review English words and phrases. This week I spoke with Nichibei student Yusuke about the winter Olympics.
So, did you get a chance to watch any of the Winter Olympics in Torino on Sunday?
Yusuke:
Yes, I watched the snowboarding HALFPIPE competition.
Kevin:
I missed that. So, how did it go? Did Japan do well?
Yusuke:
Well, actually, none of the Japanese snowboarders made it to the final.
Kevin:
So who won?
Yusuke:
Shaun White of the US won the gold.
Kevin:
Really! How was his performance?
Yusuke:
Oh! His performance was very, very, good.
Kevin:
Very, very good?
Yusuke:
Yes! Very, very, VERY good!
Kevin:
Ah Yusuke, I think you need to learn some very, very good adjectives.
Yusuke:
Yes, please! What are some good adjectives for this case?
Kevin:
OK Yusuke, let’s ask some Nichibei teachers for their opinion on how to describe a very good Olympic performance. Our first adjective is coming from Nichibei teacher Mr. Joji Otani.
Joji, did you catch Shaun White’s snowboarding performance yesterday?
Joji Otani:
Yeah. As a matter of fact I was flipping through channels on TV and I just happened to catch him winning his event. It was really interesting.
Kevin:
What adjective do you think best describes his performance?
Joji Otani:
What comes to mind is the word spectacular.
Kevin:
What does spectacular mean to you exactly.
Joji Otani:
Two things come to mind. One is the word spectacles, which means glasses. You know, something you see through. And another is the noun spectacle itself. A spectacle is something really amazing to watch, you know, like a sports event.
Kevin:
Thanks Joji.
Joji Otani:
I’m welcome! (ha ha!)
Kevin:
Next I asked Nichibei teacher Ray Parnell how he would describe a great Olympic performance. Hi Ray.
Ray Parnell:
Hi Kevin.
Kevin:
Have you been watching the Olympics in Torino?
Ray Parnell:
Oh yes. Lots of it.
Kevin:
Really, did you catch the snowboarding halfpipe yesterday?
Ray Parnell:
You bet I did.
Kevin:
And who won?
Ray Parnell:
Shaun White. U.S.A.
Kevin:
What do you think is a good adjective to describe Shaun’s performance?
Ray Parnell:
Oh, I’d say it was outstanding.
Kevin:
And how would you describe this adjective?
Ray Parnell:
Well, outstanding means it stands out. It’s different from others in a group. It’s much better for some reason.
Kevin:
Ray, could you give us one more example sentence using outstanding?
Ray Parnell:
Well sure. For example, you could say, “He was given an award for outstanding achievement, much better than everyone else.
Kevin:
Thanks a lot Ray
Ray Parnell:
OK, thank you.
Kevin:
For our third adjective of greatness, I asked Nichibei instructor Robin Colomb.
Hi Robin.
Robin Colomb:
Howdy!
Kevin:
Hey did you catch any of the winter Olympic on TV yesterday?
Robin Colomb:
Yeah, I saw a little bit, yeah.
Kevin:
What’s an adjective that you think describes Shaun White’s performance?
Robin Colomb:
Phenomenal. Phenomenal performance. Phenomenal is something that is unique and rare and amazing and so great it’s almost beyond belief.
Kevin:
Thank you very much.
Robin Colomb:
You’re welcome.
Kevin:
So Yusuke, there are three adjectives for you, which one do you like?
Yusuke:
I like “SPECTACULAR”
Kevin:
OK, so how was Shaun White’s performance?
Yusuke:
His performance was SPECTACULAR. I guess he deserved the gold.
Kevin:
Good choice Yusuke, that sounds great. Now, let’s review the vocabulary for today. OUTSTANDING and SPECTACULAR and PHENOMENAL. OK, that’s it for this week’s podcast but I would like to say thank you to the teachers who helped out this episode and also thanks to you Yusuke.
Yusuke:
Thank YOU Kevin.
Kevin:
You’re very welcome. And before we go, Ms. Ono, you have an important announcement?
Ms. Ono:
Just a short one.
Kevin:
Go right ahead.
Ms. Ono:
(announcement in Japanese)
Kevin:
To find out more about Nichibei Kaiwa Gakuin, visit www.nichibei.ac.jp , and follow the podcast link for information and transcripts of this podcast. This podcast is a production of Nichibei Kaiwa Gakuin and Live Mix Media.

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