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| Ihre 10 Minuten Englisch pro Woche |
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Dear email,
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Ready, steady, go! With all eyes on the Olympic Games this week, it’s perhaps unsurprising that we have a bit of a focus on sports this time. If, like me, you’re amazed at the incredible feats of modern athletes, and wonder whether there’s a limit to the records that can still be broken, you’ll find some answers below, in our article “How good can athletes get?”
I will be watching the Olympics but, given the choice, I’d rather attend a welly-wanging contest. It’s both exciting and funny – not a combination you often find in competitive sport. We give you the low-down on welly wanging here.
Finally, why not listen to the most recent episode of our podcast, English, please! It’s all about sports enjoyed by the Spotlight team. We share our not-so-Olympic successes and failures.
Next week, my colleague Judith Gilbert, from Business Spotlight, is back with more informative and entertaining stories.
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Inez Sharp
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Editor-in-chief, Spotlight
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Ready, steady, go!: Auf die Plätze, fertig, los! | amazed: verblüfft | feat: Tat; hier: Leistung | welly-wanging (UK ifml.): Gummistiefel-Weitwurf | low-down: give sb. the ~ on sth.: jmdm. erklären, was es mit etw. auf sich hat | episode: Folge
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Word of the Week
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mid
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Did you know? It’s not good, but it’s also not bad – so it’s mid! Young people are using the word “mid” on social media sites, such as TikTok, to describe something as mediocre – between good and bad. They often use the word when disagreeing about something that other people think is fantastic. For example: “Sorry, but all your favourite films are mid!”
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mediocre: mittelmäßig
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© Illustration: Georg Lechner
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Ihr Gutschein für Spotlight
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Sie erhalten die erste Ausgabe unseres Abonnements gratis
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Sports
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Welly wanging
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Back in May, Britain suffered a major sporting humiliation when Tom Kopke, from Germany, won the annual Gloucestershire cheese-rolling contest. Brits asked themselves if this was the beginning of the end for their many national sports. Was the ancient skill of welly wanging next?
The first welly was thrown competitively in Yorkshire in the 1970s. Since then, people from all over the UK have honed their welly-wanging skills and bravely wanged boots backwards or forwards (Dunlop size 9 green boots are standard) at championships around the country.
The annual Welly Wanging World Championships is held in the West Yorkshire village of Upperthong. One of the furthest wangs ever was almost 64 metres. It was achieved by Teppo Luoma – from Finland.
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humiliation: Demütigung, Blamage | welly wanging (UK ifml.): Gummistiefel-Weitwurf | hone: verbessern, perfektionieren | size 9 (UK): Schuhgröße 43
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© Image: Peter M. Wilson / Alamy Stock Photo
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Podcast
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“The pathetic version of baseball”
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How important is sport in the British and American school systems? Which discipline conjures up horrible childhood memories? And what on earth are rounders and wiffle ball?
In the latest episode of English, please!, the Spotlight team shows their sporty side.
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pathethic: armselig | conjure up: heraufbeschwören | on earth: hier: um Himmels willen
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© illustration: Georg Lechner
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| Rounders and wiffle ball are variations of baseball. Rounders is mainly played in the UK, wiffle ball in the US.
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Science and Nature
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How good can athletes get?
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It seems logical that the laws of physics and the nature of the human body limit how fast we can run, how high we can jump and how much weight we can lift. The only question is: when will that limit be reached? World records were broken rapidly during the 20th century, before slowing down in recent years. In many sports, only fractions of a second, gram or centimetre are added to or removed from previous world bests, often after several years. Some scientists believe this means that humanity has achieved peak performance, while others think there’s still room for improvement.
Gene doping is seen by many as a promising possibility. It could help to increase the number of mitochondria in cells, stimulate muscle growth and boost the number of red blood cells. However, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has already banned these performance-enhancing gene therapies.
Even if the human body has reached its limits, the athletic equipment, tracking technology, training techniques, diet advice and medical care available to professionals continues to develop and help to improve their performance. At the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, for example, a performance-boosting rubber track will give competitors a chance to challenge records – and push the limits of athletic achievement just a little further.
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fraction: Bruchteil | mitochondria: Mitochondrien, Zellorganellen | track: hier: Leichtathletikbahn
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© Image: Georg Lechner with Leonardo AI
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Business Skills
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Talking about complaints
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Putting your fingers in your ears? Definitely not the best way to deal with customer complaints... Train some useful vocabulary around the topic with our exercises!
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complaint: Beschwerde
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© Image: Georg Lechner
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Verlagsaktion
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Jetzt 8€-SOMMER-TICKET sichern!
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Mehr Wissen, Resilienz und Fähigkeiten für Ihre persönliche Weiterentwicklung. Die gesamte Wissenswelt der ZEIT Akademie 8 Wochen lang für nur 8 Euro statt 49,98 Euro. Spannende Video-Kurse mit den besten Expertinnen und Experten ihres Fachs.
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Interview
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How to promote yourself
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Personal branding, outreach and managing a network are important for freelancers and small businesses. But creating content that shows the relevance of your business while also projecting your personality isn’t easy. Business Spotlight spoke to UK-based media strategist Jon Card, who’s worked as a business journalist for publications such as The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph. He has some simple advice to help promote yourself and your business.
How do you make self-promotion feel authentic?
The most important thing is to understand who your audience is and provide them with content, thoughts and ideas that they’ll find useful and relevant.
Are some channels more effective than others?
You need a mixture of channels. LinkedIn is very useful and can lead to a lot of business. If you have the chance to be featured on a podcast, say yes! It’s a great opportunity to do a more in-depth piece and get extra exposure. Coverage in traditional media can be beneficial if the publication is relevant to what you’re doing. The big titles still have a lot of power and prestige.
What should people avoid doing?
Don’t lie or pretend to be someone else. And don’t talk about subjects you don’t know much about. You should always be able to defend anything you say in public.
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personal branding: Persönlichkeits-, Eigenmarketing | outreach: hier: Öffentlichkeitsarbeit | project sth.: etw. nach außen darstellen | featured: be ~: vorgestellt werden | in-depth: detailliert | piece: hier: Beitrag | exposure: hier: Publicity | title: hier: Publikation
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© Image: iStock.com
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Im aktuellen Magazin
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An inside tour of Broadway
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Broadway: a very personal tour of New York’s theatre district | The British Post Office scandal | Chetna Gala Sinha, the social entrepreneur who’s inspired women all over rural India to take control of their finances | Tongan soul food in Sydney
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Quiz
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What do these idioms mean?
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That’s a piece of cake! English speakers often use this phrase even if there are no pastries nearby. What does it mean? And can you translate some more idioms?
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pastry: Gebäck(stück)
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© Image: Toa Heftiba / Unsplash.com
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Book Tip
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A Trace of Sun
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UK writer Pam Williams’s first novel, A Trace of Sun, is marked by her background as a Londoner of Caribbean descent. The story is of Cilla, who leaves Grenada to join her husband in London in 1960, leaving behind a young son, Raef. His despair at being left behind is devastating and, when he finally joins the family seven years later, he can’t adapt. Instead, he becomes the source of disruption that he himself experienced. It’s a disruption at the heart of the immigrant experience, and its long-term effects on mental health make this book both timely and fascinating.
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descent: Abstammung, Wurzeln | devastating: verheerend, niederschmetternd | disruption: Zerrüttung | timely: zeitgemäß
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Ihnen gefällt „ZEIT für Englisch“?
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Teilen Sie diesen Newsletter ...
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... mit Freundinnen oder Freunden, die ihr Englisch verbessern wollen! Kopieren Sie dazu den Link zur Anmeldeseite und schicken ihn per WhatsApp oder E-Mail weiter.
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Mitarbeit: Dennis Draber, Judith Gilbert, Susanne Krause, Nadia Lawrence, Mae McCreary, Richard Mote, Rachel Preece, Inez Sharp
Folgen Sie Spotlight und Business Spotlight auf Instagram.
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