EnglishPod

Intermediate - Volleyball #D0093

A: It’s a beautiful day here in New Zealand at the Men’s Volleyball world championship. My name is Rick Fields and I’m joined by the man with the plan, Bob Copeland.

B: Thank you, Rick. We’ve got a very exciting encounter ahead of us today as two powerhouse teams, Brazil and China, face off against each other and try to qualify for the next round. Without a doubt, both teams are in top shape and this will prove to be a competitive match.

A: The ref signals the start of the game and here we go. Ribeiro serves and China quickly receives the ball. Chen bumps it to the setter, and... a very nice set by Chen!

B: Xu spikes it! Wow, what a great hit! The Brazilian blockers anticipated the play and tried to block him but he managed to get the ball in! Great play.

A: It’s China’s service now. What a superb jump serve by Li, oh, and we have a let serve. The ball was coming in fast and almost made it over the net.

B: Brazil calls for a time out and we’ll be right back, after a short commercial break.

Key Vocabulary

encounter - meet for a game or battle

ahead of (someone) - in the future

powerhouse - a highly energetic, strong team

qualify - to reach the later stages of a selection process or contest by competing successfully in earlier rounds

in top shape - in their best condition

serve - hits the ball to start a set of the game

bump - to pass (a volleyball) by redirecting it with the forearms

set - the action of putting ball in the air so as to be driven to opponents’ court

spike - strongly hit the ball to opponents’ court using the palm of the hand

anticipate - to foresee and act in advance of

jump serve - a serve with the ball firstly thrown overhead and then the player jumping to hit it

let serve - the ball touches the net in a serve but still crosses into the opponents’ court

time out - a pause during a game

Supplementary Vocabulary

side out - when the team that served the ball loses the rally, causing the other team to serve the next point

whiff - a mishit — when a player attempts to hit (or spike) the ball with the open hand and nearly misses the ball

dig - the ability to prevent the ball from touching one’s court after a spike or attack, particularly a ball that is nearly touching the ground

coin toss - is the practice of throwing a coin in the air to resolve a dispute between two parties

draw - a contest or game ending in a tie