Understanding the News in Engrish 初刷_01_Unit1.indd

Unit
1
Olympic Tickets on Sale
2012年開催のロンドンオリンピックの入場券が売り出されました。人々の対応を中心に
ニュースをご覧ください。
Before You Watch
1 Warm-up
□
▶ How much do you know about the theme? Think about the following
questions.
1.Which sports are included in the Olympic Games?
2.Which goods do you buy online? Do you ever encounter difficulties shopping on
the Internet?
2 Words and Phrases
□
▶ Match each of the words with the appropriate definition below.
1.Megan’s train journey across Russia was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
2.The Japanese government received harsh criticism of the way it handled the
earthquake and tsunami crisis.
3.Police asked to speak to anyone who observed anything untoward near the
attack.
4.An electronic ballot is often used to allocate places at oversubscribed schools.
5.Passing the English examination was a straightforward task for Helene.
a. a system or the practice of drawing lots
b. easy to understand and free from difficulty
c. remarks that say something needs improving
d.unfavourable or unfortunate
e. very special, unique
Unit 1 Olympic Tickets on Sale 1
While You Watch
3 Comprehension Questions 1
□
▶ Watch the DVD and match the person with his/her statement.
1
2
a.
3
4
you’ve still got six weeks to apply and it’s not a first come, first served basis
b. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
c. The ticket sales have been steady, which is what we wanted
d.
make sure you only apply for what you can afford
4 Comprehension Questions 2
□
▶ Watch the DVD and choose the correct answer for each of the questions
below.
1.How many Olympic events are applicants able to apply for in the ballot?
a. 6.
b. 12.
c. 650.
d.2012.
2.Why were the sports men and women featured in the news report?
a. They were trying to break their previous Olympic records.
b. They were advertising the fact that tickets were on sale.
c. They were excited about the opening of the stadium.
d.They were promoting the Olympics to people in Nottingham.
3.How many tickets are available in total?
a. 0.6 million.
b. 1 million.
c. 6 million.
d.6.6 million.
2
4.According to the news report, why has there been criticism of the online payment
process?
a. Payments take too long to be processed.
b. Payments can only be made with a Visa card.
c. Payments are not processed immediately.
d.Payments made online cause the website to crash.
5.What is the main message in this news report?
a. Olympic tickets are on sale by ballot and customers have six weeks to apply.
b. The Olympics is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and not to be missed.
c. The online sale of Olympic tickets has gone smoothly so far.
d.Sporting superstars are excited by the prospect of the Olympics.
Background Information
2012年7月27日から8月12日まで行われるロンドンオリンピックの第1回目の入場券発売
が、2011年3月15日から約6週間に渡って、the London 2012 websiteで始まりました。この
ような形で一般に発売されたのは、8,800,000枚の入場券の中の約75%にあたる6,600,000枚
で、そのうちの2,500,000枚は20ポンド以下の値段です。その一方で高価な競技になると、
2,012ポンドにもなります。そして申し込みが予定の枚数を超える場合には、くじ引きとな
りました。しかし、オンラインで申し込みができるのはVisa cardを持っている人が対象で
あったため、不公平だとの批判が起こりました。また当初、Visa cardの有効期限が8月より
も前に切れてしまう人の注文が処理できないというシステム障害が起こり、混乱が生じたよ
うです。ちなみにロンドンオリンピックの入場券の発売は2011年7月8日にも行われたようで
す。
参考文献:2012 Olympics tickets go on sale for London Games
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12741934
2012 Olympic tickets: how does the second round work?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12181583
Unit 1 Olympic Tickets on Sale 3
5 Fill in the Blanks
□
CD 02
▶ Watch the DVD and fill in the blanks in the text.
Newsreader: The race to get tickets for the 2012
London
Olympics
has
begun.
The
1
( ) opened at midnight and
people have six weeks to ( 2 ).
There are 650 events to apply for, but it’s
5
3
not a ( ) process and you may
have to wait weeks or even months to find
out if you’ve got what you want. Our correspondent, James Pearce, is at the
Olympic Park in Stratford for us now. James.
James Pearce: Hello, July the 27th 2012 is when it all gets underway inside this
10
stadium. Where I’m standing now will be some of the most sought after seats
for that opening ( 4 ) and today, for the first time, you’ve got the
chance to go online and apply for some. Nadia Comaneci in the arms of Carl
Lewis. Even two of the world’s greatest ever ( 5 ) were able to get
caught up in the excitement this morning. If you want to attract attention to
15
the fact that tickets are now on sale then inviting a line-up of sporting
( 6 ) is a pretty good way to start.
Rebecca Adlington: It’s such an exciting time. I think everyone is just so excited.
Everyone was Tweeting me this morning going, “I’ve applied for my tickets
already”, and you’ve still got six weeks to apply and it’s not a first come, first
20
served basis but everyone just wants to get their application in because
everyone’s just so excited.
Pearce: So people all over the country can now start ( 7 ) their Olympic
experience. This family in Nottingham was ( 8 ) ( 9 ) to
get online.
Jacqueline
25
Burke: We’re thinking that because it probably will be a
( ) of the, the family holiday next year we’re looking at the sort
10
of amount we would spend ordinarily on the family holiday and using that as
the budget and um, enjoy it from that perspective. It’s a ( 11 )
opportunity so
30
Pearce: Here are a few facts that might help
( 12 ) on their way: 6.6 million
tickets
are
( 13 )
from
the
London 2012 website over a six-week
period. But there’s been ( 14 ) of
4
35
the payment process as online tickets can
only be paid for with a ( 15 )
card.
Pearce: The construction project has gone well,
but will the ticketing process run as
40
( 16 )?
Lord Coe, London 2012 Chairman: The reports are good. You know, we went
online
early hours of the morning. The ticket sales have been steady, which
is what we wanted, and no reports of anything ( 17 ). So, good, so
far. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.
45
18
Pearce: Last night the ( ) with 500 days to go was marked on a new
clock in Trafalgar Square. The race to get your hands on Olympic tickets is
( 19 ). Two main bits of advice really. One is there is no rush at all.
There’s no ( 20 ) in applying today over applying in six weeks time
when the ballot closes, but also make sure you only apply for what you can
50
21
( ) because the tickets, the money, will all be taken out for
everything you have been ( 22 ) in buying, in the middle of May.
(Tuesday 15 March 2011)
Notes
l. 10: gets underway「始まる」
l. 11: the most sought after seats「最も求められ 55
ている席」 l. 14: get caught up in∼「∼に熱中する、夢中になる」 l. 18: Rebecca
Adlington「レベッカ・アドリントン」(2008年の北京オリンピックで2つの金メダルを
獲得したイギリスの水泳選手) l. 19: Everyone was Tweeting me「みんなが私にツ
l. 29: from that
イッターでメッセージを送って来て」
l. 29: budget「 予 算 」
perspective「そのような観点から」 l. 45: Let’s keep our fingers crossed.「うま
くいくように願いましょう」 l. 47: get your hands on∼「∼を手に入れる」
60
65
70
Unit 1 Olympic Tickets on Sale 5
Between the Lines ① Newsreaderが話すリード(lead)の役割
ニュースリーダーがニュースの冒頭で話す部分は、リード(lead)と呼ばれ、ニュー
ス全体の要約になっています。したがってこの部分で、いつどこで誰が何をしたのかなど
について簡潔に述べられるのです。今回のニュースでも、「2012年のロンドンオリンピッ
クの入場券のオンラインによる購入が始まったこと」が述べられています。
After You Watch
6 Summary Completion
□
CD 03
▶ Complete the summary of the news story. When you have finished, listen
to the CD to check your answers.
The online (b ) for the London Olympics has opened and people
have six weeks to apply for tickets. Many sporting (s ) attended the
publicity event. However, the process of applying for (t ) is not
straightforward, as customers may have to wait for weeks or months to find out if
they have been successful in the (b ), and criticism has been made of the
(o ) payment system which can only be done with a Visa card. The
organisers say that nothing untoward has (o ) and the ticketing process
has gone smoothly. Certainly millions of people are looking forward to experiencing
this (o ) event.
7 Optional Tasks
□
▶ Choose one of the tasks given below.
1.The Olympic Games have not always been run successfully. Do an Internet
search to find out the years when the Games were cancelled or when there were
other difficulties and problems. Choose one example to present to the rest of the
class.
2.The British government and the organisers of the London Olympics hope that
London will gain a lot from hosting the Games. In a small group, talk about what
some of the economic, social and political benefits and advantages might be.
6