UNIT 15
SPORTS AND SCENIC
SPORTS IN AMERICA
By （sports）
（scenic sports）
FOCAL
POINTS
Sports:
 The American Football
 Baseball
 Jackie Robinson
 The World Series
 Basketball
 James Naismith
 NBA
 Michael Jordan
Scenic spots:
The Grand Canyon
Yellowstone National Park
Disneyland
The National Monument
The Everglades
Niagara Falls
Hawaii
Alaska
SPORTS
Watching or attending sports events is an important
part of the lives of many Americans. What are some of
these sports and how do they affect the lives of the
people?
Main sports:
﹒Football
﹒Baseball
﹒Basketball
﹒Other Sports Activities
FOOTBALL
Tailgate party
 Three parts of football match—preseason,
regular season and post-season or play off time.
Super Bowl and two conferences are AFC and
NFC.
 Professional sports in America are
entertainment, especially football.
 The advent of color television increased people’s
interest in professional football.
 Colleges and universities have football teams.
 The reason why football is so popular in America.
 Ball carriers and effective defensive players
often become famous.

TAILGATE PARTY
In the United States, a tailgate party is a social event
held on and around the open
tailgate of a vehicle. When
the car was parked in a lot,
the tailgate was lowered and
food and drinks were placed on it.
Tailgating often involves consuming
beverages and grilling food.
TAILGATE
PARTY
PARTS OF FOOTBALL MATCH
American professional football is played
during the late
summer(preseason ),
the fall
( regular season),
and the winter
until late in
January
(post-season, or
play off time).
All this
culminates
in the Super Bowl
to decide the champion team for the year.
There are now twenty-four teams divided
into two conference, the American
Football Conference(AFC) and the
National Football Conference(NFC).
WHY POPULAR?
One reason football is so popular in America may
be that game combines teamwork
with individual prowess in a rough,
contact competition.
The football hero is a ball carrier
who can evade the defensive
team, all of whom are
trying to stop him. Similarly,
an effective defensive player, who is able to move
through the protection and stop the ball carrier,
will often become famous.
BASEBALL
The popularity of baseball
in America
 Earlier, baseball parks
were located near the urban
centers and were small compared
to football fields.
 Before World War Ⅱ, three
leagues: the older National League,
the American League and
the Negro League.
 After World War Ⅱ, the color
barrier was demolished and the
superb athlete was started to be
hired slowly.
 The baseball season.

THE BASEBALL SEASON
The baseball season begins with
Spring Training in February .
 The regular season begins at the
beginning of April, and ends in
October.
 The World Series between the leading
teams in their respective leagues
takes place in the latter part of
October, when it is frequently
uncomfortably cold for the players.

BASKETBALL
The origin of basketball
 The new rules of basketball
game in recent times
 Basketball is a fast game
 The National Basketball Association(NBA)of
professional teams was established in 1949.

The different games of
basketball
 The great basketball player ——Michael Jordan
 NBA is becoming more and more popular in the
world

ORIGIN OF BASKETBALL
Basketball was
deliberately created in
1891 by a physical
education teacher in
Massachusetts, Canadian-born James Naismith, to
provide an indoor sports activity during the snowy
winter months when outdoor playing fields could not
be used.
NEW RULES
A new rule requires a team to try to score
within a brief time: 35 seconds in the collegiate
game, 30seconds in international play, and 24
seconds in American professional play.
Teams that are leading in scoring no
longer have the luxury of passing the
ball around safely out of reach
of the defensive team; they
must shoot at the basket before
the shot clock runs down.
A FAST GAME
Basketball is a fast game, which does not permit
leisurely snacking. Because it is such a fast game,
the score can suddenly shift, and many games
are won or lost in the final few seconds of play.
This keeps spectators at the game until the very
end, whereas in football and baseball many fans
leave before the game is over when one team is so
far ahead that the outcome seems certain.
WHY PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL
BEGINS TO HAVE MUCH AUDIENCE?
In 1979 two college
players, Larry Bird of
Indiana State University
and Magic Johnson
of Michigan State University
motivated an increased
interest in the game through their
friendly rivalry. Bird subsequently
joined the Boston Celtics, and Johnson
the Los Angeles Lakers.

DIFFERENT GAMES OF
BASKETBALL
In mid-February, there is an intermission for the
All-Star game.
 In mid-April, the eight teams
with the best records in each
division begin a series of
play-off games, where the winner
of four out of seven games in
a series advances to meet the winners
of another play-off series.
 The survivors in each division meet for the
NBA Championship series of games.

MICHAEL JORDAN
Jordan joined the NBA’s Chicago Bulls
in 1984. He quickly emerged as a
league star, entertaining crows
with his prolific scoring. His
leaping ability earned him the
nicknames—Air Jordan. He led
the Bulls to six NBA championships
from 1991 to 1998.
OTHER SPORTS ACTIVITIES:
Ice-hockey
Track
and field
Court games
Other field games
Professional wrestling and
boxing
Ice-hockey, first played in Canada and states
bordering that country.
 Track and field-- races of all sorts:
horses, dogs, automobiles,
and bicycles.
 Court games: tennis, racket
ball and volleyball.
 Other field games: field hockey,
lacrosse, soccer, golf and bowling
 Professional wrestling and boxing are a kind of
entertainment business.
