 |
 |
 |
 |
Nick
|
Cheryl
|
Famous Australians
Nick talks with Cheryl about some famous people in Australia and why they are popular.
Cheryl: So Nick, I've never actually been to Australia. Can you tell me about any famous people that live there?
Nick: Well, one famous person, his name is Ian Thorpe.
Cheryl: Ian Thorpe.
Nick: Ian Thorpe. He's a very famous swimmer. He won so many Gold Medals.
Cheryl: Oh, really?
Nick: Mm. In maybe four Olympics. I think he won maybe fourteen to twenty gold medals.
Cheryl: For swimming?
Nick: For swimming yeah. He a free-style swimmer.
Cheryl: I've never actually heard of him. How old is he?
Nick: He's 24 years old I think. 24 or 25. So he's really young.
Cheryl: I see. You guys are really famous for athletics.
Nick: Athletics, yeah. There's another famous person by the name of Cathy Freeman.
Cheryl: Cathy Freeman.
Nick: She's the first aboriginal Australian to win a gold medal.
Cheryl: Ah, aboriginal Australian.
Nick: Yeah, so native Australian.
Cheryl: What did she win a gold medal in?
Nick: In the 400 meters sprint.
Cheryl: Oh, the sprint, so she's a runner.
Nick: Yeah, she's a runner, so yeah, she'd been doing it for for years and years, but finally she had that big break-through and did very well.
Cheryl: Is she the first aboriginal woman to win something, or is she is she the first aboriginal period?
Nick: Well, many aboriginal have won events but never really at a world stage so it was really impressive to see her win the even and then she took the aboriginal flag onto the ground and did a lap of honor for the aboriginal Australians.
Cheryl: Very nice. What year was that?
Nick: That was the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.
Cheryl: Ah, perfect.
Nick: So in Australia so it was really, really a special moment.
Cheryl: Very special since it was held in her own land.
Nick: Yeah, exactly and Sydney's a very important place for aboriginals as well.
Cheryl: Why is that?
Nick: Because that's where the first fleet arrived from England was to Sydney, so that was the first, I suppose, invasion of Australia came through Sydney, so.
Cheryl: Oh, yeah, I remember seeing that in the movie "Australia".
Nick: Oh, yeah, you would have too. It was in Australia so.
Cheryl: Yeah, I guess other country's also have aborigines people. I'm thinking of Taiwan and another island not too far from Australia. Well, I think Taiwan have the aborigines. One really famous aborigines there is Ah Mae. She is a very famous singer. She's been called the Diva of Asia because of her voice. She has a really, really, really talented vocal range. Really high and really low. And she was famous also for being native Taiwanese. The aboriginal Taiwanese.
aboriginal
She's the first aboriginal Australian to win a gold medal.
An aboriginal is a person who has lived in an area longer than anyone other culture or race of people. Aboriginal people are also called natives.
- He collects aboriginal art.
- Sadly, aborigineesl often possess less power than people who came later.
years and years
she'd been doing it for for years and years.
Here the term years and years just means a long time. When someone does not know exactly how many years something happened, they just say years and years to refer to many years. Notice the following:
- He's been vacationing there for years and years.
- It has been years and years since I saw him.
break-through
Finally, she had that big break-through.
A break-through is a big achievement or big advance in one's career or life. People often have a break-through after struggling to achieve something for a long time. Notice the following:
- Micheal Jackson's big breath-through hit was Billy Jean.
- After years of failure the team finally broke through and won the championship.
lap of honor
She did a lap of honor for the aboriginal Australians.
A lap of honor is just a victory lap. After a runner or racer wins a race, they often run around the arena in a lap of honor so all the spectators can honor their victory.
- The sprinter ran a lap of honor while waving his national flag.
- She is shy, so she had to persuaded to do a lap of honor.
vocal range
She has a talented vocal range. Really high and really low.
A range of something measures it from a low area to a high area, so a vocal range would be the range one can can sing from high to low. Notice the following example:
- The lead singer had a wide vocal range.
Vocabulary Quiz
lap of honor • vocal range
More Lessons
