橄欖球源自英國，是一項傳統的運動，在傳入美國后部分規則發生了改變。源自蘇格蘭的七人制橄欖球（Rugby Sevens）在2016年里約奧運會上被列為正式比賽項目。板球運動也同樣起源于英國，早在十八世紀就盛行全國，曾一度被視為“貴族和紳士的運動”。你對這兩種英式傳統運動的了解有多少？你能說出以下六道題的正確答案嗎？做《英語小測驗》，學習和體育運動相關的表達。

1. Both Rugby and cricket involve catching, holding and moving the ball with your hands. But what does the idiom ‘You dropped the ball’ mean?

a) You made a mistake.

b) You did well.

c) You were lazy.

d) You were clumsy.

2. The three sticks which are used in cricket as the bowler’s target are called ‘the stumps’. If the ball hits the stumps, then the batsman is out of the game. In every day English you might hear the phrase ‘I’m stumped’. But what does it mean?

a) I’m still and motionless.

b) I’m happy to stand and I don’t need to sit, thank you.

c) I’m stuck or confused with a problem.

d) I’m being targeted by people for something I have done wrong.

3. In rugby, a dummy pass is when a player pretends to pass the ball to a teammate, but then carries on running. This tricks the defence into marking the teammate and opens up an unopposed gap for the player with the ball to run into. If someone said they were doing a 'dummy run' of an event, what would they mean?

a) They are not taking the event seriously.

b) They are doing a trial of the event to prepare for the real one.

c) They are going to cancel the event.

d) They are saying that the event is not a good idea.

4. In cricket, a score of six is awarded whenever the batsman knocks the ball through the air over the pitch boundary. From this action we get the idiom ‘It knocked me for six’, but what does it mean?

a) It greatly surprised and shocked me.

b) It hit me really hard and hurt me.

c) It made me incredibly happy.

d) It made me extremely angry.

5. In Rugby, as with many sports, the referee signals the start and end of play with a whistle. From these situations we get the expression ‘blow the whistle on somebody’. But what does it mean?

a) make somebody begin to do an action – signal the start of something

b) telephone the police to arrest someone

c) make someone jump from fear by making a loud noise when they don’t expect it

d) report illegal or immoral activities from within an organisation to the public

6. In cricket, if the ball is caught by a fielder after it has been hit by the batsman, the batsman is ‘out’. From this we get the idiom ‘I caught you out’. But what does it mean?

a) I convinced you to leave a place earlier than you wanted to.

b) I switched off your electronic device (such as a phone or computer) unexpectedly.

c) I accidentally saw you outside your home.

d) I noticed that you made a mistake.

答案

1) a, 2) c, 3) b, 4) a, 5) d, 6) d.