006_Adjectives_of_Greatness

006_Adjectives_of_Greatness

Three English adjectives to describe a great Olympic performance.

Kevin:

It’s another episode of Nichibei Kaiwa Gakuin Podcasting. A great place to review English words and phrases. This week I spoke with Nichibei student Yusuke about the winter Olympics.
So, did you get a chance to watch any of the Winter Olympics in Torino on Sunday?

Yusuke:

Yes, I watched the snowboarding HALFPIPE competition.

Kevin:

I missed that. So, how did it go? Did Japan do well?

Yusuke:

Well, actually, none of the Japanese snowboarders made it to the final.

Kevin:

So who won?

Yusuke:

Shaun White of the US won the gold.

Kevin:

Really! How was his performance?

Yusuke:

Oh! His performance was very, very, good.

Kevin:

Very, very good?

Yusuke:

Yes! Very, very, VERY good!

Kevin:

Ah Yusuke, I think you need to learn some very, very good adjectives.

Yusuke:

Yes, please! What are some good adjectives for this case?

Kevin:

OK Yusuke, let’s ask some Nichibei teachers for their opinion on how to describe a very good Olympic performance. Our first adjective is coming from Nichibei teacher Mr. Joji Otani.
Joji, did you catch Shaun White’s snowboarding performance yesterday?

Joji Otani:

Yeah. As a matter of fact I was flipping through channels on TV and I just happened to catch him winning his event. It was really interesting.

Kevin:

What adjective do you think best describes his performance?

Joji Otani:

What comes to mind is the word spectacular.

Kevin:

What does spectacular mean to you exactly.

Joji Otani:

Two things come to mind. One is the word spectacles, which means glasses. You know, something you see through. And another is the noun spectacle itself. A spectacle is something really amazing to watch, you know, like a sports event.

Kevin:

Thanks Joji.

Joji Otani:

I’m welcome! (ha ha!)

Kevin:

Next I asked Nichibei teacher Ray Parnell how he would describe a great Olympic performance. Hi Ray.

Ray Parnell:

Hi Kevin.

Kevin:

Have you been watching the Olympics in Torino?

Ray Parnell:

Oh yes. Lots of it.

Kevin:

Really, did you catch the snowboarding halfpipe yesterday?

Ray Parnell:

You bet I did.

Kevin:

And who won?

Ray Parnell:

Shaun White. U.S.A.

Kevin:

What do you think is a good adjective to describe Shaun’s performance?

Ray Parnell:

Oh, I’d say it was outstanding.

Kevin:

And how would you describe this adjective?

Ray Parnell:

Well, outstanding means it stands out. It’s different from others in a group. It’s much better for some reason.

Kevin:

Ray, could you give us one more example sentence using outstanding?

Ray Parnell:

Well sure. For example, you could say, “He was given an award for outstanding achievement, much better than everyone else.

Kevin:

Thanks a lot Ray

Ray Parnell:

OK, thank you.

Kevin:

For our third adjective of greatness, I asked Nichibei instructor Robin Colomb.
Hi Robin.

Robin Colomb:

Howdy!

Kevin:

Hey did you catch any of the winter Olympic on TV yesterday?

Robin Colomb:

Yeah, I saw a little bit, yeah.

Kevin:

What’s an adjective that you think describes Shaun White’s performance?

Robin Colomb:

Phenomenal. Phenomenal performance. Phenomenal is something that is unique and rare and amazing and so great it’s almost beyond belief.

Kevin:

Thank you very much.

Robin Colomb:

You’re welcome.

Kevin:

So Yusuke, there are three adjectives for you, which one do you like?

Yusuke:

I like “SPECTACULAR”

Kevin:

OK, so how was Shaun White’s performance?

Yusuke:

His performance was SPECTACULAR. I guess he deserved the gold.

Kevin:

Good choice Yusuke, that sounds great. Now, let’s review the vocabulary for today. OUTSTANDING and SPECTACULAR and PHENOMENAL. OK, that’s it for this week’s podcast but I would like to say thank you to the teachers who helped out this episode and also thanks to you Yusuke.

Yusuke:

Thank YOU Kevin.

Kevin:

You’re very welcome. And before we go, Ms. Ono, you have an important announcement?

Ms. Ono:

Just a short one.

Kevin:

Go right ahead.

Ms. Ono:

(announcement in Japanese)

Kevin:

To find out more about Nichibei Kaiwa Gakuin, visit www.nichibei.ac.jp , and follow the podcast link for information and transcripts of this podcast. This podcast is a production of Nichibei Kaiwa Gakuin and Live Mix Media.

END