Sports - Intermediate LESSON 1 Baseball Exercise Vocabulary 1

• Association - /əˌsəʊsiˈeɪʃ(ə)n/ - a group of people joined together because they have similar interests or goals • Counter-clockwise - /ˌkaʊntə(r)ˈklɒkwaɪz/ - moving in the direction opposite to the movement of a clock • Century - /ˈsentʃəri/ - a period of 100 years • League - /liːɡ/ - a group of teams or players who regularly compete against each other • Prefecture - /ˈpriːˌfektʃə(r)/ - one of the districts into which some countries are divided Exercise Reading 2 Baseball is the most popular bat-and-ball game, modern rules for this game come from Great Britain. The earliest written rules of baseball come from 1744, though the field had a shape of a triangle back then. Rules of baseball as we know them today come from 19th century United States, where baseball was popularized and then spread all over the world from then on. The first association of baseball players was formed in 1853. According to modern rules, this game consists of two parts, batting and fielding. The game starts when a player on the fielding team, called a pitcher, throws a ball which the player on the batting team tries to hit. The goal of the batting team is to hit that ball into the field of play and then proceed to run counter-clockwise around four bases in order to make a “run” and score points. The objective of the fielding, defensive team is to prevent batters from running a full circle. There are four bases, touching all four of them means that the batter has scored a “home run”, and it brings points to his team. Baseball was first introduced to Japan in 1872, nowadays it is considered the country’s most popular sport. The first professional competitions were held in the 1920s. The professional league of Japan, Nippon Professional Baseball, consists of two leagues of 6 teams each. Baseball is also a very popular sport in Japanese high schools, there is a Japanese High School Baseball Championship in which all 47 prefectures participate. Exercise Fun facts 2

• The most stolen base in baseball is the second base. • No woman has ever played in a major league baseball game, unfortunately. • Baseball gloves have evolved more than any other piece of equipment. • Baseball ball can reach a speed of up to 180 kilometers per hour! Exercise Discussion 3

1. Have you ever played baseball? 2. How many bat-and-ball games do you know of? 3. Who is your favorite baseball player? Why? 4. How would you explain what baseball is? 5. What rules of baseball do you know of? 6. Do you know any fun facts about baseball in Japan? 7. Which one is the largest baseball stadium in Japan? 8. Do you know if your country had won any baseball championships? SEE YOU NEXT TIME