大谷翔平－二刀流神話再現Shohei Ohtani－Baseball’s Next Big Hope
這個年輕選手正開啟棒球新紀元This young player is taking baseball in a new direction
將近一個半世紀之久,許多人都稱棒球為美國最愛的消遣。
然而,目前棒球的真實情況及相關數據卻揭露出一個新的現實。
在美式足球迷的人數創歷史新高之際,棒球迷卻減少了。
許多人,尤其是年輕人,都認為棒球比賽節奏太慢又無聊。
記錄顯示,超過半數的美國棒球觀眾年逾五十四歲。
這些事實似乎预示了棒球渺茫的未來,一直到現在。
認識一下來自日本的棒球明星大谷翔平吧,這個許多人寄望能翻轉棒球劣勢、極其振奮人心的年輕選手。
有些人還把這個年僅二十七歲的球員稱為「全球最佳選手」。
大谷生於一九九四年七月五日。
他的父親曾打過幾年業餘棒球,因此鼓勵兒子在很小的時候就開始打棒球。
大谷十七歲時,就能投出時速一百五十九公里的球!
高中畢業後,他隨即獲得日本職業棒球聯盟的招募,並於聯盟完成五季賽事。
然後二Ｏ一七年,大谷簽下一紙合約正式加入美國職業棒球大聯盟洛杉磯天使的行列。
For nearly a century and a half, many called baseball America's favorite pastime. But these days baseball facts and figures are revealing a new reality. As American football fans have turned out in record numbers, baseball fans have decreased. Many people, especially young people, consider the game too slow and boring. Records show that over half of America's baseball spectators are over 54. These facts seemed to foreshadow a grim future for the game, until now.
Meet Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani, an exciting young player whom many hope can turn the sport around. Some are calling the 27-year-old "the world's best player."
Ohtani was born on July 5, 1994. His father, who played amateur baseball for a few years, encouraged his son to play at an early age. By the time Ohtani turned 17, he could pitch a ball 159 kph! After he finished high school, he was recruited by the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) League and played five seasons with them. Then in 2017 Ohtani signed a contract to play with America's MLB team the Los Angeles Angels.
（to）decrease使減少；使下降
The number of people who are going to movie theater has decreased since streaming became available.
The company’s sales have been decreasing over the past years to the point that the company can no longer stay in business. 銷售業績一直下滑，公司不能繼續營業下去
decrease（n.）
The company has experienced a sharp decrease the number of computer being sold.
（to）foreshadow預示…的預兆
The strong disagreement over border rights foreshasowed war between the two contries.對邊境權的強烈分歧
The hints that the professor gave in class foreshadowed the difficulty of his final exam.
Director often use music in movies to foreshasow what will happen next.用音樂預示接下來的情節
to take ＋（n.）＋in a new direction
maybe you had one vision or mission before, but now you’re changing it slightly or changing it a lot.
pastime消遣
Kind of like a hobby
to turn out
pitch丟；推銷
Let’s pitch our idea to our boss. 向老闆提出點子
slae pitch
elevator pitch 快速推銷
grim 嚴峻
turn around
to turn something around 使…好轉；使…有起色
The department store’s sales finally turned around as people bought gifts for Christmas.
turn around 轉身
When the person in line in front of me turned around, I realized that I knew him.
turn around someone’s words故意扭曲某人的話
Our department head always turns my words around and makes me sound like I don't know what I'm doing.
amateur業餘愛好的；非職業的
Are you thinking about joining the amateur golf league that is starting up next week? 業餘高球聯賽
The brand was made up of amateurs, but they were really good.
Julia and Clara are amateurs when it comes to understanding Shakesneare.
to encourage to ＋（v.）
to turn ＋（age）
to turn of the century
recruit （v. vs. n.）
recruit 招募vs. draft徵召
draft
sometimes the military will draft people to come and serve in the military, maybe especially during the wartime. The difference between those words is that a draft is usually involuntary. So if they come and find you and they say, "You gotta (have got to) come to the military. We're drafting you," you have no choice, whereas if someone comes and finds you to recruit you for a team, you have the choice to say yes or no.
the whole package
the bases are loaded滿壘
someone on first base, second base and third base, and the batter is going up to hit.
If he hits a home run, that’s four runs that the team scores.
bottom of the 9th
it’s getting towards the end of the game
neck and neck旗鼓相當，不相伯仲
they maybe both have the same amount of points, or it seems like they’re very equally matched, and you’re not quite sure who might win the game.
留言列表
