Q2e

SE Listening & Speaking 4: Audio Script Unit 8

Unit 8: Social Psychology LISTENING 1: Training Chinese Athletes

Activity A, D, pages 159–160
The Q Classroom
Host: Good morning. Welcome back to Topic
Activity B, page 156
Talk. I’m Beatrice Irwin and my guest today is
Teacher: The Unit Question is: “Is athletic
Jacinta Munoz, a writer currently working on a
competition good for children?” What do you
book about youth sports. She’s just returned
think, Marcus?
from several months in China, investigating
Marcus: Of course it is. Kids need to exercise.
what made the athletes on the Chinese Olympic
Childhood obesity is a growing problem, and
team so good so quickly. Is there something
exercise helps with that. It gets kids off the sofa
American athletes could learn from their
and away from their computers and TVs.
example? If you’ve competed in a sport, if you
Teacher: That’s true. But why athletic
are the parent of an athlete, or if you are just
competition and not just exercise?
interested in this topic, we’d love to take your
Marcus: Because competition is motivating.
calls later in the show.
Kids are more likely to play if they’re trying to
So, Jacinta, why did you decide to learn more
win at something.
about the Chinese training system?
Teacher: What do you think, Felix? Do you
Jacinta Muñoz: A couple of reasons. First, I
agree? Is athletic competition good for
think we’ve all seen how the Chinese athletes
children?
have come out of nowhere in the last twenty
Felix: Not necessarily. I agree that some kids
years or so and have started to dominate in a
find it motivating, but for other kids it’s too
number of sports. Just look at the 2008
much pressure. They’re so focused on winning
Olympics, where their gymnasts won so many
that it takes all the fun out of the sport. They do
medals. But I have a personal interest as well.
need exercise, but if they’re under too much
When I was younger, I was a pretty good
pressure, it’s just adding stress to their life
gymnast myself, and I wanted to see how the
instead of helping them.
Chinese training methods differed from the
Teacher: Sophy, what’s your opinion about
ones I used.
this? Is athletic competition good for children?
Host: “Pretty good?” You’re much too modest.
Sophy: I think Felix and Marcus both made good
You made the Olympic team in 1996, didn’t
points. But there’s something else in favor of
you?
competition besides exercise. Kids in
Muñoz: I did, but unfortunately, I was badly
competitive sports learn sportsmanship, they
injured the month before the Games began, so I
learn how to work together toward a goal, and
never actually competed in them.
they learn self-discipline. I think there are a lot
Host: It was a knee injury, wasn’t it?
of benefits.
Muñoz: Yes, I was coming off the balance beam,
Teacher: How about you, Yuna? Do you think
and I injured my knee. I just collapsed. The
athletic competition is good for children?
doctors couldn’t fix it well enough to compete
Yuna: Mostly yes. Some adults get too extreme
again, so I had to retire from gymnastics
and push their kids too hard. But if you don’t
altogether.
put too much pressure on the kids, I think it’s
Host: Hmm. That must have been so
good for them.
disappointing, to really be at the apex of your

athletic career and have to retire.

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Q2e SE Listening & Speaking 4: Audio Script Unit 8

Muñoz: It really was. I had trained for years In the United States, young athletes and their
with that one goal in mind—making the Olympic families have to foot the bill. Sometimes, if
team—and I gave up a regular childhood, so it they’re very good, the athletes can get funding
was a crushing blow at the time. from other sources, such as companies or
Host: It seems to me that training for any sport individuals that want to invest in their athletic
at the highest level is pretty tough, but careers. In general, though, it’s up to the
gymnastics is particularly brutal. parents to pay for everything. But in China,
Muñoz: Well, I think at that level of competition there’s no need for private investment.
in any sport it’s probably the same: long hours, Government funding is integral to the whole
the intensity of the schedule, and many system.
sacrifices. For example, I think I missed out on a Host: Why is training athletes so important to
lot of the fun activities most high school the government?
students participate in. But I think Muñoz: Susan Brownell, an anthropologist who
gymnastics is a little different because has lived and studied in China off and on for
competitors are so young. several decades, has concluded that
Host: So gymnastics is probably similar around for the Chinese, sports have been a way to open
the world in that the athletes start very young. up. Sports are the first areas in which the
But in China, you found out athletes in many Chinese provided incentives, or rewards, for
other sports are also starting their training at a performance. They are proud of their athletes
young age, didn’t you? and want their athletes to represent the
Muñoz: Yes. What’s interesting about the country on the world stage. They want to their
Chinese system is it’s a bit like the old Soviet athletes to excel.
system in that talented athletes are identified Susan Brownell says that in the U.S. we raise
when they are small children, and they are our children to excel—to try to be number 1—and
usually sent to train at a special school provided we teach them to share. So in our sports
by the government. As a result, they often don’t training, athletes need to learn how to work
see their parents for months or even years. together. Picture a child in the U.S. playing with
Their counterparts in the United States, on the a ball in the schoolyard. We often have to teach
other hand, are often encouraged by their the child that it’s important to share the ball.
parents to stick with a sport. The parents are On the other hand, in China, they raise their
usually the ones making it happen, by taking children to share, and so they train them to
their kids to practice, paying a lot of money for excel. Humility is very important in Chinese
special trainers, and so on. culture. It’s not good to stand out. But when
Host: Living away from home and family at such athletes compete, they need to be better than
a young age must be very hard on the athletes. others. They need self-confidence. So much of
Why do they do it? their training is focused on building self-
Muñoz: There are many benefits of this system. confidence and on becoming faster, stronger,
The Chinese children have all of their physical and better.
needs met, from housing to food and clothing As part of this process, individual provinces
to training costs to medical care—it’s all paid for start selecting potential athletes from the
by the government. elementary schools, and they train them to
compete.

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Q2e SE Listening & Speaking 4: Audio Script Unit 8

Only about 80,000 of the hundreds of The kids live far from home and practice very
thousands of children selected will make it to hard. Therefore, they only see their parents
the national training center. And that will take every few months.
them years. Some kids start playing some sports too young.
Host: How are the children selected? Is it on the The result is they often get injured before they
basis of their performance in the sport so far? even reach high school.
Muñoz: Not really. The recruiters are usually Activity A, page 164
looking for body types. For example, children 1. Our team won the tournament as a result of
with small hips and flexibility are chosen for that goal.
gymnastics and diving, whereas tall children are 2. Andy trained too hard and didn’t get enough
selected for basketball and volleyball. Some sleep. Because of this, he didn’t compete well
children are sent for training before they’ve on the day of the race.
ever even played the sport. But once they get 3. Due to the snow, our game had to be
there, they train for six hours a day, six days a canceled.
week. As a result, they can get very good, very 4. Olympic athletes in China receive
fast. government payment and do not
Host: Is it worth it? have to support themselves financially. The
Muñoz: Many athletes think so, since they get a result is that they can concentrate fully on their
chance to go to school, travel, and compete. training.
Remember, often these children come from 5. Coach Zheng has won several gold medals.
rural communities where they don’t have as Therefore he is respected around the world.
many options as those in larger cities. But the 6. I can practice more often since we live closer
real beneficiary of the system may be China to the gym.
itself. In just 20 short years, China has gone
from winning five medals in 1988 to one NOTE-TAKING SKILL: Taking notes on causes
hundred in 2008, the second highest total. It’s and effects
really the beginning of a new era for Chinese Activity A, page 165
sports. M: Most small children love to run and play. But
Host: Now we’ll open the phones to take some what they don’t know is that by playing, they
of your calls. We’ve got Jane from Madison on are actually getting smarter. In fact, when kids
the line. Hi, Jane. What’s your question? engage in sports, the results can be long-lasting
improvements to their young, developing
LISTENING SKILL: Listening for causes and brains. For instance, a study conducted in 2007
effects found that vigorous exercise increases the flow
Example 1, 2, page 163 of blood to the brain. As a result of this
Many athletes are driven by the hope of increased blood flow, children who exercise
winning medals at the Olympics. may find it easier to stay alert, focus, and learn.
The athlete won two gold medals as a result of More recent research has also shown that
years of hard work. vigorous physical activity helps create new brain
Due to bad weather, the baseball tournament cells, therefore causing improved short-term
was canceled. memory and more creativity. In other words,
children can become better, more creative

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Q2e SE Listening & Speaking 4: Audio Script Unit 8

students by simply playing hard. School-aged most often as very active spectators. And their
children are often under a great deal of ambitions often got the best of them.
pressure. Some studies have shown that Parents wanted to see their kids do as well as
running outdoors actually reduces stress and possible at a sport, and so some big changes
helps kids deal with many of the pressures they happened in the way children play sports. One
are facing. change is that children started to play
competitive sports at very young ages, when
LISTENING 2: Until it Hurts Discusses Youth they’re more vulnerable to certain kinds of
Sports Obsession injuries, like bone fractures. Mark Hyman says
Activity A, C, Page 166, 168 that kids now commonly start playing organized
Host: It’s now 8:45 on Monday morning—which sports at four or five years old.
is the time we turn to sports writer Jim Butler Another change is that instead of playing a
for his take on the sporting world. variety of different games, many children now
Jim Butler: Maybe you heard the story last concentrate on only one, which they play year-
week: Yet another parent jumped onto the field round. Again, injuries and burnout are more
at his kid’s soccer game to yell at the referee. likely, because they’re doing the same thing
And just like too many other times, the yelling over and over again, straining the same
escalated, ending up with the father fighting muscles.
with the referee. What a sad reflection on Mark Hyman knows more than most about this
youth sports today, and the role of adults in problem. In 2004, he wrote an article about
them. how overuse of the pitching arm in baseball can
Which brings me to a book I read recently, result in an injury so crippling that you need a
about our obsession with youth sports, called major surgery to repair it. In the article, he
Until It Hurts. The author, Mark Hyman, is a criticized the parents and coaches who failed to
sports journalist who has written for Sports keep the young players safe.
Illustrated and The New York Times. He’s also a Then at age 18, Mr. Hyman’s son Ben, a
dad, a coach, and a former athlete. baseball player, found that he needed the very
Mr. Hyman’s book is about many things—how same surgery because of overuse of his pitching
youth sports have changed over time, and how arm. This encouraged Mr. Hyman to think about
they should change in the future—but it’s also a his own role in his son’s athletic career. He
personal story about what he’s proud of—and recalled an incident when Ben was 14. Ben
what he regrets— about his decisions as a father complained that his shoulder was tired and
and a youth sports coach. sore, but Mark encouraged him to play again a
When we first began organizing youth sports, few days later. Ultimately, the decision to play
say, oh, 150 years ago, the teams were guided was Ben’s. He played because he wanted to,
by schools and educators. They were designed and he enjoyed it. But Mr. Hyman still
to be fun, teach skills, maybe build a little wondered if he had made the right decision in
character. But sometime in the middle of the encouraging Ben to play. Mark Hyman suggests
last century, educators bowed out, and the we take some fundamental steps to get youth
parents took over, sometimes as coaches, but sports back to where they used to be. We
should listen to doctors, which will mean
educating coaches about overuse injuries. We

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Q2e SE Listening & Speaking 4: Audio Script Unit 8

should also discourage kids from playing just I will put on my uniform when I get there.
one sport year-round. We should listen to When I get there, I will put on my uniform.
children and help them decide if and when they
want to play. And most of all, we need to PRONUNCIATION: Thought groups
restore perspective—encourage parents to be Examples, page 174
the reasonable people they are off the field. In Blake loves basketball.
some communities, parents sign contracts He plays every day and watches every game.
about their behavior. In the contract, they agree Steve and Debbie, on the other hand, will not
to follow rules about fighting with one another be going.
and arguing with the referee. One such rule Do you agree or not?
introduced Silent Sunday, a day when parents We’re going out. Do you want to come with us?
are banned from yelling or even talking at the Activity A, page 175
game. If only that father at the game last week 1. In my opinion, that’s a bad idea.
had signed such a contract. He might not have 2. Are they coming or not?
made such a fool of himself, and maybe, just 3. If I get home early, I’ll go running. Want to
maybe, the kids playing the game would have join me?
had more fun. 4. Keep your head up as you kick the ball. It’s
important.
VOCABULARY SKILL: Idioms 5. All week long these kids are so busy they
Activity A, page 171 have no time for fun.
1. First, I think we’ve all seen how the Chinese 6. If he wins this match, Mr. Williams will be in
athletes have come out of nowhere in the last first place.
twenty years or so and have started to 7. If you’d like to talk, call me at (555) 233-1157.
dominate in a number of sports. 8. Here’s my e-mail address:
2. In the United States, young athletes and their goalkeeper100@global.us.
families have to foot the bill. Sometimes, if
they’re very good, the athletes can get funding SPEAKING SKILL: Adding to another speaker’s
from other sources, such as companies or comments.
individuals that want to invest in their athletic Examples, page 175
careers. Ahmad: I believe that organized sports are
3. They are proud of their athletes and want beneficial to kids. Sports are good exercise, and
their athletes to represent the country on the they give kids the chance to meet people they
world stage. would never meet otherwise.
4. But sometime in the middle of the last David: That’s true. And I would add that sports
century, educators bowed out, and the parents help them learn to work as part of a team.
took over, sometimes as coaches, but most Activity A, page 176
often as very active spectators. John: In my opinion, college athletes should be
5. And their ambitions often got the best of paid a salary for playing. Here’s why: We all
them. know that college sports are a big business.
Universities make a lot of money when their
GRAMMAR: Uses of real conditionals teams perform well. And I think the athletes
Examples, page 172

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Q2e SE Listening & Speaking 4: Audio Script Unit 8

should receive a part of that profit. That would

be fair.
Mosa: Another important point is that these
athletes have to work really hard. They practice
every day. They travel around the country.
And they have to attend classes just like
everyone else. Basically, they work like
employees of the university. And if they are
employees, they should be paid a salary.
David: That’s a good point. And to build on
what John said earlier, if universities really want
to succeed in sports, they should be happy to
pay their athletes. If they do agree to pay them
a salary, these athletes will play better, and
they’ll be more likely to stay in school longer,
instead of leaving school to become
professionals before they graduate.
Ahmad: John and Mosa are both right. And I
would add that, as a college athlete, I could
definitely use the money!

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