英语听力精选进阶版 14135（在线收听）

BBC Learning English 

Words in the News  

29 August 2012 

Air guitar championships 

Transcript: 

The 17th annual Air Guitar World Championships have taken place in Finland. 

Eighteen contestants battled in front of an audience of 5000 for the ultimate prize for imaginary instrumentalists. 

In the first round, they have to play a song of their choice; those who make it through to the next stage perform a number chosen by the judges.  

This year's winner was Justin "Nordic Thunder" Howard from the USA. 

Vocabulary: 

air guitar 

imaginary guitar played by a person in time to a real song 

contestants  

people who take part in a competition 

instrumentalists 

people who play a musical instrument 

the first round 

the opening stage of a competition 

number 

song or piece of music 

Exercise: 

Use one of the words or phrases below to complete each of these sentences from BBC news reports.  

Note that you may have to change the form of a word to complete the sentence correctly. 

air guitar/contestants/ instrumentalists/the first round/number 

1. Trott and former X Factor __________ Stacey Solomon started Sky Ride Birmingham, which allowed residents to ride through traffic-free streets. 

2. More than 2,000 music festival goers in Wiltshire have set a new world record for the largest __________ ensemble. 

3. Ibragimova, 25, was described by The Guardian as "one of the most technically gifted and charismatic __________ of the age" after the Manchester shows. 

4. This year sees the sixtieth anniversary of Nellie's death and there's a rare chance to see her most famous __________ , 'My mother said', performed live onstage. 

5. "I went into Wimbledon this year having lost in __________ of Queen's. That was meant to be a horrible preparation, but Wimbledon worked out fine. So there's no reason why that can't happen here."  

Answers: 

1. Trott and former X Factor contestant Stacey Solomon started Sky Ride Birmingham, which allowed residents to ride through traffic-free streets. 

Source: London 2012: Laura Trott takes part in Birmingham cycling event 

2. More than 2,000 music festival goers in Wiltshire have set a new world record for the largest air guitar ensemble. 

Source: Womad festival crowd sets new air guitar world record 

3. Ibragimova, 25, was described by The Guardian as "one of the most technically gifted and charismatic instrumentalists of the age" after the Manchester shows. 

Source: Violinist Alina Ibragimova bewitches historic venues 

4. This year sees the sixtieth anniversary of Nellie's death and there's a rare chance to see her most famous number, 'My mother said', performed live onstage. 

Source: Remembering one of the best-loved stars of the music hall 

 5. "I went into Wimbledon this year having lost in the first round of Queen's. That was meant to be a horrible preparation, but Wimbledon worked out fine. So there's no reason why that can't happen here."  

Source:   Andy Murray seeks first major win at US Open after London glory