English Language Listening Library Online
Mixer #119 | Intermediate B1

Best Sports Memory

Six people talk about their best memory either playing or watching sports.

Aiman / Syria
speakerMy best moment in sports was the last time I was cycling and I was really close to winning that race but I had a puncture and I had to withdraw from that race. But, that was really a great moment for me because I came a really long way to achieving that position.

Cheryl / United States
speakerWhat is my best moment in sports? Well, that's actually kind of difficult because I'm not very athletic. However, I can say that my best moment in sports was when I was a child on Sports Day in school probably when I was in junior high I remember winning a blue medal which is third place for a relay game. That was probably my best moment. I think I'm just happy to hit the ball.

Antoine / France
speakerWhen I was like 12 years old my dad brought me to a football game. It was in Bordeaux which is a big city in France and Bordeaux was playing against Milan AC which at the time was one of the best teams in Europe. And Bordeaux beat Milan AC it was in the UEFA Cup and so it was a great moment. I cried.

Emily / Djibouti
speakerAh, I think my favorite moment was in 1998 when for the World Cup. France won and I was with France so I was really happy and actually it was the first time that I was in France and I saw how people were happy and partying on that occasion.

Jonathan / Canada
speakerThe question is, what was my best moment in sports. Sadly, I don't really have a best moment in sports. When I played hockey as a boy I was the number two goalie and I didn't play very often. On my high school baseball team I was the number two catcher and the best player on the team was the number one catcher so I sat on the bench and kept score most of the games and I would only play if we were already losing something like 17 to 0 so I never had a wonderful moment in sports and I regret it.

Jeff / Canada
speakerMy best moment ever in sports was I only played one rugby game in my whole life. I played where I grew up in High school. I played with the local weekend team and I practiced many times with them but I never played a game because I was always busy. But one day I played in only one game and I scored four tries and I was a hero and then I never played another game.

Learn Vocabulary from the Lesson!

come a long way

image

I came a really long way.

Here, the phrase 'come a long way' means to work hard and improve a lot at something. Notice the samples.

  1. Raj's English has come a long way since he moved to Sydney.
  2. Tom Cruise has come a long way from being an unknown actor to a superstar.

sit on the bench

image

I sat on the bench.

A member of a sport team who goes to the game but does not play is said to 'sit on the bench.' Here are two examples

  1. Beckham was healthy, but he sat on the bench the whole game.
  2. In high school, I was terrible at football so I just sat on the bench most of the time.

something like

image

We were losing something like 17-0

Here, 'something like' is similar in meaning to 'about'. Notice the samples.

  1. Last night I studied for a test and went to bed at something like 3:00 AM.
  2. The salary is something like 2000 pounds per month to start.

whole life

image

I only played one rugby game in my whole life.

The phrase 'whole life' talks about your life from when you were born until today. Notice the sample sentences.

  1. I've been studying English my whole life, but my speaking is not so good.
  2. He has lived in Jakarta his whole life.

grow up

image

Where I grew up.

The phrase 'grow up' talks about getting older. It's a time in life that starts when we are very young to when we become a young adult. Look at the examples below.

  1. My dad grew up on the east coast but moved to the west coast after university.
  2. My girlfriend grew up in Paris. She now lives in Nice.

Vocabulary Quiz

a long way • on the bench • something
whole life • grow up
  1. He sat the whole game.
  2. We played for like ten hours.
  3. I did not in a nice place.
  4. She has come since she first arrived.
  5. He spent his looking for true love.
Answer the following questions about the interview.

One Minute English Video

Cover Image
Mixer Video #119
What can sports teach people about life?

Free Courses from ELLLO

One Minute English Videos

Free Courses from ELLLO