Going for Goals in the Premier League
The English Premier League (EPL) is certainly the world’s most exciting football competition.
The best players from all around the world appear in the EPL, which is watched by an estimated 4.7 billion people.
In the 1990s, English football became extremely popular. A media company bid over ₤300 million for the right to broadcast football games for five seasons.
In 1992, England’s top clubs formed a new league, the EPL, to take advantage of this money.
Some of the money went to support local communities, and teams outside the EPL also benefitted from the TV deal.
The EPL is just the tip of the iceberg in English football. Below EPL are three minor professional leagues.
What makes this exciting is that the teams can move up and down. Each year, the three worst teams in the EPL must drop down to a lower league.
They are replaced by the best three teams from that league.
Every season, 20 teams in the EPL compete to be the league champion, though many just hope to survive and avoid dropping down a league.
There are other prizes on offer as well.
The top four EPL teams can enter the following season’s UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) Champions League, where they’ll play European super-powers like Real Madrid and Barcelona.
With so much to play for, there’s never a dull moment.
Players like these, plus all the hopes and dreams of fans and players alike, make the EPL such a thrilling competition to watch.
Football fans everywhere are eagerly looking forward to the new season’s big kick off this month.
國際體壇盛事－英格蘭超級足球聯賽
英格蘭超級足球聯賽(簡稱英超聯賽)絕對是當今世上最刺激的足球比賽，
來自世界各地最頂尖的足球員都出現在此，
且估計有47億的人口觀賞英超聯賽。
90年代，英國職業足球變的超級熱門，
一家媒體公司以超過三億英鎊的價錢取得五年的足球比賽轉播權。
西元1992年，英格蘭頂尖俱樂部們利用這筆資金，組成一個新興聯盟：英超聯賽。
而一部分電視轉播交易資金也用來支持英國當地社區足球發展，讓英超以外的球隊也在其中受惠。
英超聯賽只是英國廣大足壇的冰山一角，
在英超底下還有三個次級職業聯盟。
球隊可能升級或降級，是讓比賽如此刺激的主因。
每一年，英超當中三支成績最差的球隊必須降級到次級聯盟，
他們會被次級聯盟成績最佳的三支球隊給取代。
每一個賽季，英超的20支球隊為了奪冠彼此拚戰，當然有的球隊是為了繼續留在英超，
避免遭到降級而奮鬥。此外，球隊們還有其他的競爭目標。
英超前四支最優異的球隊能夠參賽下一季的歐洲冠軍聯賽，
在該聯賽中，英超球隊將對決皇家馬德里與巴塞隆納等歐洲超級強隊。
有了這麼多拚戰目標，沒有一刻是無趣的。
擁有這些頂級球員，加上球員與球迷共同擁有的希望與夢想，
讓英超成為令人興奮不已的比賽。各地足球迷都熱切地期待在這個月的新賽季盛大開幕。
【Vocabulary】
football n. (英)足球
soccer n. (美)足球
Football is the most popular sport in the world.
足球是世界上最受歡迎的運動。
extremely adv. 極其；非常
extreme adj. 極度的
Driving after drinking is extremely dangerous.
酒後開車極其危險。
community n. 社區
People in small communities usually know all of their neighbors.
居住在小社區的人們通常都認識所有的鄰居。
minor adj. 較小的
Although the child fell out of the tree, he only had minor injuries.
雖然這個小孩從樹上跌落，卻只受到輕傷。
drop down phr. 下降；(突然)落下
Some rocks dropped down onto the mountain road during the earthquake.
一些石頭在地震時掉落在山路上。
champion n. 冠軍
In 2012, the Miami Heat were the NBA champions.
美國職業籃球聯賽2012年總冠軍是邁阿密熱火隊。
dull adj. 乏味的
The movie was very dull so some people left the theater early.
這部電影很無趣因此有些人提早離開了戲院。
title n. (運動)優勝；冠軍
Floyd earned the title when he won the boxing match.
佛洛德打贏了這場拳擊賽而獲得優勝。
feature v. 以…為特色；由…主演 (feature-featured-featured)
This TV show features several actors who are very popular.
這個電視節目由幾位非常受歡迎的演員主演。
previous adj. 前一個的；之前的
The author’s previous book is not as good as her new one.
這位作家的上一本書不如這本新書來得好。
kick off phr. (足球)開賽；開球
In football, the team captain usually performs a game’s kick off.
在足球比賽中，通常是由隊長為比賽開球。
【字彙小補帖】
estimatedadj. 估算出的
bidv. 出 (價)
thrillingadj. 令人興奮的
【句型】
the tip of the iceberg「初露端倪；顯露重要情況的小部分」
Kathy showed ten of her high heels, but these were just the tip of the iceberg.
凱西展示了十雙她的高跟鞋，但這些只是她眾多收藏的一小部份而已。
top dog「優勝者；主要人物」
Steve is the top dog in singing and has many people trying to imitate him.
史蒂夫的歌唱技巧出類拔萃，許多人甚至嘗試要模仿他。
文章出處：《ENGLISH 4U活用空中美語8月號》
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