VOA文化艺术2024--Brazilian Dog Excels at Footvolley

The Brazilian sport of footvolley is a popular activity on sunny days along Rio de Janeiro's coast. But, recently, people stopped to watch one especially exceptional¹ player: a three-year-old named Floki. But the young player is not a child. Floki is a dog.

He is also very good at footvolley.

The rules of footvolley are almost the same as beach volleyball. However, the game requires a lower net and a soccer ball replaces the volleyball. Similar to soccer, the rules bar players from using their hands on the ball.

Not a problem for the four-legged Floki. He jumps up and hits the ball with his mouth.

Floki has become popular on social media in Brazil, with hundreds of thousands of followers² on services such as Instagram and TikTok.

Floki's owner, Gustavo Rodrigues, is a footvolley trainer, or coach.

Floki entered Rodrigues' life as a puppy³ and demonstrated his sporty qualities early on. At just 2 months old, he started playing with small balloons. He would jump in the air to reach them.

Rodrigues started Floki out on an exercise called "altinha." It involves a group standing⁴ in a circle and passing a soccer ball through the air for as long as possible.

In 2023, Floki started playing the complex, competitive⁵ game of footvolley.

Footvolley players need skills such as agility⁶ and timing⁷. Just two people must cover an entire half court. This requires quick and surefooted moves on soft sand under the hot sun.

Floki was a natural. A star was born.

Rodrigues, age 26, said about Floki, "He does things that even some professionals don't - like positioning on the court."

Rodrigues added that, during play, Floki always "turns toward the ball to always hit it straight on."

It is clear this high-energy dog lives for this game. Even when resting on the beach, Floki was paying careful attention to a nearby footvolley competition.

When playing, he makes dog sounds to communicate with Rodrigues. Floki barks to let his human teammate know he is open for a pass. The dog appears to understand the basic rules of the game.

Sometimes, he surprises the other team with an unexpected drive of the ball over the net. He scores a point and then he jumps into Rodrigues' arms to celebrate.

One of the watchers on a recent Sunday was Luiza Chioli, who had traveled to Rio from Sao Paulo. She already knew the famous Floki from TikTok. She said she was surprised that the real dog was as good at footvolley as the videos had suggested.

"Seeing social media, we had thought it was just cuts, that they used the best takes," said Chioli, 21. "But we saw he played, performed the whole time, did really well. It's really cool."

Proposals for partnerships⁸ and business deals with Rodrigues and Floki followed the dog's growing stardom. The two live in the capital Brasilia. However, they often travel to Rio and other Brazilian states for games, marketing⁹ appearances and social media work.

Words in This Story

beach -- n. a seashore area

net -- n. an open-meshed fabric¹⁰ woven together at regular intervals¹¹

puppy -- n. a young dog

agility - n. the ability to move with quick easy grace

1 exceptional   

adj.优越的，杰出的，例外的，独特的，异常的

参考例句：

• He is a man of exceptional talent.他是位具有非凡才能的人。
• He showed exceptional musical ability.他显示出特殊的音乐才能。

2 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

3 puppy   

n.小狗，幼犬

参考例句：

• You must school your puppy to obey you.你要训练你的小狗服从你。
• Their lively puppy frisks all over the house.他们的小狗在屋里到处欢快地蹦跳。

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

5 competitive   

adj.竞争的，比赛的，好竞争的，有竞争力的

参考例句：

• Some kinds of business are competitive.有些商业是要竞争的。
• These businessmen are both competitive and honourable.这些商人既有竞争性又很诚实。

6 agility   

n.敏捷，活泼

参考例句：

• The boy came upstairs with agility.那男孩敏捷地走上楼来。
• His intellect and mental agility have never been in doubt.他的才智和机敏从未受到怀疑。

7 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

8 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

9 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

10 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。

11 intervals   

n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息

参考例句：

• The forecast said there would be sunny intervals and showers. 预报间晴，有阵雨。
• Meetings take place at fortnightly intervals. 每两周开一次会。