Chris早上在咖啡间跟同事Ben打招呼。
Chris: Hey, Ben…did you catch the game last night?
Ben: Uh…what game?
C: Baltimore defeated Texas by 17 points!
B: Um…and what sport are we talking about here?
C: Football of course!
B: Oh…football. Football is cool. I usually try to catch the World Cup finals.
Chris问Ben, Did you catch the game last night? 意思是昨天晚上有没有看比赛，英语里看比赛，看表演在口语里都可以用动词catch, 比如，Let’s go catch a movie. 咱们看电影去。Chris说的是美式足球比赛，football，巴尔的摩乌鸦队赢了德克萨斯人队17分。Ben说，足球好看, 每次World Cup finals世界杯决赛我都看，他显然是把soccer和美式足球football混了。Chris说，
C: No, I’m talking about American football. The World Cup is soccer.
B: Oh, I understand. I can’t say I’m a big fan. I’m from China, and football doesn’t have a really big following over there.
C: So Chinese people prefer soccer or basketball?
B: Yes, I think so. But to be perfectly honest, I’m not really a sports nut.
When I was in high school I played on the school volleyball team. Are you a diehard football fan?
Ben说自己不是特别爱看美式足球，I can’t say I’m a big fan. 在中国，美式足球没有多少球迷。Football doesn’t have a really big following. Following 在这里是名词，指粉丝，追随者，仰慕者。Ben还说，To be perfectly honest 意思是老实说，I’m not a sports nut. 这里的nut, n-u-t, nut是俚语，意思是对某事非常热衷爱好的人，比如history nut, movie nut 还有Ben所说的sports nut。Ben问Chris是不是铁杆美式足球球迷，a diehard football fan. diehard is spelled d-i-e-h-a-r-d, diehard 意思是死忠。Chris回答说，
C: Oh, certainly. I wouldn’t miss a game for the world. My girlfriend says I have an addiction. And actually, if I had to choose between her and my games…I’d probably pick football.
B: It seems Americans are very passionate about sports. Is this just a part of your culture?
C: Oh, yeah! I think the love of sports starts when kids are very young. Americans come from many different backgrounds so I guess sports are something we can all enjoy together.
Chris 承认自己是铁杆球迷，I wouldn’t miss a game for the world. 不会因为任何原因错过比赛。not miss something for the world是一种很常见的说法，强调无论如何都不会错过，比如，I wouldn’t miss your concert for the world. 我绝不会错过你的音乐会。Chris说，美国人热爱体育，是从小培养的，大家来自不同背景，但是运动却能让彼此走到一起。