2010 April’s Issue
Beckham likely to miss World Cup
It took just seconds for David Beckham's dream of playing in this year's World Cup to collapse onto the turf. In the final minutes of a match for his club, AC Milan, he was about to kick the ball when he suddenly pulled up, clutching his left heel. In tears he hobbled off the pitch, clearly aware something was badly wrong. But just how bad only emerged later, when his club confirmed he had torn his Achilles tendon. Dr Tom Crisp, a consultant sports physician, said the player's recovery will be a slow process:
"It takes many weeks for the tendon itself to heal, six to eight weeks minimum. It's remotely possible that he may be running in three months, I think that's what I would say. The chances of him being fit to play for England are just non-existent, I'm afraid," said Dr. Crisp.
Beckham is due to fly to Finland for surgery on Monday, but his England manager, Fabio Capello, has said it's unlikely he'll be ready to play again in time for this summer's World Cup in South Africa. He concedes it will be bitterly disappointing for the man who was hoping to become the first England player to play in football's greatest tournament for a fourth time. David Beckham turns 35 this year, leading some football fans to wonder if such a serious injury could end his playing career.
In a career that's spanned two decades, David Beckham has known fantastic highs and crushing lows. His many fans will be hoping that this latest sad twist in his football fairytale is not his last.
Adapted from the article “Beckham likely to miss World Cup” by Jack Izzard,
published in BBC News on
15 March, 2010
Vocabulary
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Word |
Part of Speech |
Meaning |
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turf |
n. |
the area of short, thick grass where people play football (草皮) |
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pull up |
ph. v. |
stop suddenly (停下來) |
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clutch |
v. |
hold tightly (抓住) |
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hobble |
v. |
walk uncomfortably and in pain (蹣跚) |
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Achilles tendon |
ph. |
a cord inside the leg which joins the heel to the lower leg (腳跟與小腿間的大塊肌腱) |
|
non-existent |
adj. |
impossible, not going to happen, out of the question (不實在的) |
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concede |
v. |
agree it is true (承認) |
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span |
v. |
spread, stretched across (跨越) |
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fantastic highs and crushing lows |
ph. |
unbelievable successes and extremely upsetting failures (大起大跌 |
|
fairytale |
n. |
dream, unrealistically wonderfully story (神仙故事) |
Questions for
F.1 – F.3
Questions for F.4 – F.5
Questions for F.6 – F.7
Lai Chack Middle School
Winners of Monthly News Review Competition
(2010 April's Issue)
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The Best Participation Class Award: 1B, 2B, 3A,3B (100%) |
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Individual Prize winners: |
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Form 1-3: |
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1C (1) 1C (31) 3A(4) 3A (42) 3B(22) |
陳佩鈴 黃達峰 陳麗娟 楊逸鶴 陳天寶 |
CHAN PUI LING WONG TAT FUNG CHEN LIJUAN YANG Yihe CHAN TIN PO |
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Form 4-5: |
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4A (26) 4A(13)
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李宇軒 蔡鴻思
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LEE YU HIN TSOI HUNG SZE
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Form 6-7: |
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6A (4) 6A (8) 6A (12) 6A (30) 6B(4)
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林芷敏 蔡秋琪 楊鵑如 余曉龍 何清香 |
LAM TSZ MAN TSOI CHAU KI YEUNG KUEN YU YU HIU LUNG HO CHING HEUNG
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Answer Key
(F.1 – F.3)
|
a |
pulled up |
f |
fairytales |
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b |
hobble |
g |
fantastic highs and crushing lows |
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c |
non-existent |
h |
conceded |
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d |
turf |
i |
Achilles tendon |
|
e |
span |
j |
clutching |
(F.4 – F.5)
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1 |
C |
2 |
B |
3 |
B |
4 |
B |
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a |
non-existent |
d |
hobble |
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b |
clutch |
e |
spans |
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c |
Achilles tendon |
f |
fantastic highs and crushing lows |