Super Bowl Sunday 超級碗星期天
In late January or early February each year, Americans like to watch the national American football championship in the United States – the Super Bowl. It is the most popular sporting event of the year, watched by close to 80 million people.
每年一月底或二月初，美國人喜歡觀看美式橄欖球全國冠軍賽——超級碗。這是每年最受歡迎的體育賽事，約有近8千萬人觀看。Two reasons why Super Bowl Sunday is so popular, however, have nothing to do with the game of football itself. In fact, many of the 80 million people who will watch the game don’t watch another game all year. The Super Bowl game is the only game they watch. Why?
然而，超級碗星期天如此受歡迎的兩個原因，與橄欖球比賽本身無關。事實上，這8千萬觀眾中的許多人在全年其他時間不會看任何比賽。超級碗是他們唯一看的比賽。為什麼呢？
First, American football has two periods or “halves” (the plural of “half”). In between the two halves, there is a halftime show. In most other professional football games, there is a small entertainment show, often with “cheerleaders” (mainly women who try to get others excited about the game by jumping up and down, shouting, or dancing) and a “marching band” (a musical group that walks around or marches as they play). But the Super Bowl is different. The halftime show is a “major production” (big show), with famous singers and stars and other performances. It is a huge event.
首先，美式橄欖球比賽有兩個時段，稱為“半場”。在兩個半場之間有一個中場表演。在大多數其他職業橄欖球賽中，會有一個小型娛樂表演，通常由拉拉隊（主要是女性，透過跳躍、喊叫或跳舞來帶動氣氛）和行進樂隊（邊走邊演奏的樂隊）組成。但超級碗不一樣，中場表演是一個“盛大製作”，有著名的歌手和明星等其他表演，這是一個盛大的活動。
The second reason people love to watch the Super Bowl is the commercials. The advertising announcements during the breaks in the game are extremely popular. In fact, because so many people watch the Super Bowl, advertisers have to pay close to $3,000,000 for a 30 second ad. Every company tries to produce an ad that people will remember, one that is funny or clever, that people will talk about the next day at work. A lot of people watch the Super Bowl really to watch the commercials. It’s strange but true.
第二個人們喜歡看超級碗的原因是廣告。在比賽的間歇期間播放的廣告非常受歡迎。事實上，由於超級碗的觀眾數量龐大，廣告商需要為一個30秒的廣告支付接近300萬美元。每家公司都嘗試製作讓人記住的廣告，通常是有趣或聰明的設計，讓人們第二天在工作場所討論。許多人看超級碗其實就是為了看廣告。這聽起來奇怪，但卻是真的。
重要單字
- 1. championship /ˈtʃæmpiənʃɪp/ 冠軍賽
- 2. halftime /ˈhæftaɪm/ 中場休息
- 3. cheerleader /ˈtʃɪrˌliːdər/ 拉拉隊員
- 4. marching band /ˈmɑːrtʃɪŋ bænd/ 行進樂隊
- 5. major production /ˈmeɪdʒər prəˈdʌkʃən/ 大型製作
- 6. commercial /kəˈmɜːrʃəl/ 廣告
- 7. advertiser /ˈædvərˌtaɪzər/ 廣告商
- 8. clever /ˈklɛvər/ 聰明的
- 9. strange /streɪndʒ/ 奇怪的
