And hello, I'm Neil. And Rob, I have to say, I am very very excited!

英語では、私はロブ...

Why's that, Neil? Are you going on holiday?

ニール：そしてこんにちは、僕はニールです。そしてロブです。

Come on, Rob, You know why.

とっても楽しみにしています!

The 2018 World Cup is about to start in Russia. Four weeks of world-class football to watch.

ロブ：なんでだよ、ニール？君が行くのは

By world-class I mean 'some of the best in the world'.

休み？

Yes, yes, I know that. But to be honest, I'll just be taking a passing interest. I've got better things to do!

ニール：さあ、ロブ、理由はわかるだろ。

Better things to do? Well, I'm going to be glued to my TV to watch the 32 countries compete for the title of World Cup Champions.

2018年のワールドカップがいよいよ開幕します。

And if you love football…

ロシア。世界レベルの4週間

Or not…

観戦するサッカー。ワールドクラスの

We've got some useful vocabulary to learn.

世界で最も優れたもの』という意味です。

But let's start with a question for you to answer, Neil, to see how much you really know.

ロブ：そうですね、そうですね。しかし、次のように

Now, the mascot for Russia 2018 is a wolf called Zabivaka.

正直なところ、一応

What does his name mean in English?

興味がある - 他にやることがあるんだ!

Is it…

他にやることがあるのか？そうだな、俺は行くよ

a) The winner b) The one who scores or c) Fair play.

32を見るためにテレビに釘付けになります。

Well, my Russian is a little rusty, so I'll go for a) The winner.

世界のタイトルを競う

OK. I'll reveal the answer later.

カップチャンピオンズ

OK, but now I have a question for you, Rob.

そして、サッカーが好きな方は

Who won the last World Cup in Brazil in 2014?

ロブ: ...かどうか...

Come on! It was Germany, Neil.

ニール：......便利な単語をいくつか持ってきました。

And they beat Lionel Messi's Argentina in the final.

を学ぶことができます。

Both teams are among the favourites again this time, but there'll be lots of countries who fancy their chances of lifting the World Cup trophy.

ロブ: では、まずあなたに質問をしてみましょう。

That means they think they are likely to succeed, even though they might not.

答えて、ニール、あなたがどれだけ本当は

So you do know your football, Rob!

を知っています。さて、ロシア2018のマスコットは

Anyway, the final will take place in the revamped or much improved - Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on July 15th 2018.

ザビバカと呼ばれる狼彼の

Did I say I was very excited? Well, I'm not the only one.

名前の意味は？それは...

We asked some people what they think about the World Cup.

a) 優勝者 b) 得点者

And here are Keith and Jane describing their feelings…

または c) フェアプレー

It's a four-week festival of football, isn't it?

ニール：僕のロシア語は少し錆びついています。

And everyone kind of gets behind their country.

私はA)の方を推します。

You also get to know about football teams in parts of the world you don't really think about very often,

ロブ: OK、答えは後で明かすよ。

so it's that double-sided thing of the actual football itself, which is exciting, but also the stories that happen off the pitch as well.

ニール: わかりました、でも質問があります。

I'm really excited. I can't wait for it to start.

君だよ ロブ

One thing, there's gonna be great telly every night.

2014年にブラジルで開催された前回のワールドカップで優勝したのは？

It's great to see the underdogs that are going to come through and have a really sensational tournament.

ロブ：いい加減にしろよ！ドイツだったんだ ニールそして

I think it's the enthusiasm of the crowds and the love of football that people have.

でリオネル・メッシのアルゼンチンを破った。

So two football fans there.

決勝戦に進出しました。両チームともに

Keith used some good alliteration – that's words beginning with the same letter – four-week festival of fun.

今期もお気に入り

He talked about people getting behind their country – not literally going behind their team, but supporting them.

時間はかかるが、多くの国では

Who are you supporting, Rob?

ワールドカップの優勝を狙う

Well, my home team is England, but I'm not confident they'll do well.

トロフィー。と思っていることを意味しています。

That doesn't matter to Jane though. She said it's fun to see the underdogs do well.

成功する可能性は高いが、成功しないかもしれない。

The underdog here means the team considered to be the weakest and the least likely to win.

ニール：じゃあ、ロブ、お前は自分のサッカーを知っているんだな。

You could say Iceland are the underdogs in this tournament.

いずれにしても、決勝戦は

Maybe, Rob. So you can see why everyone is excited by the World Cup!

リニューアルされたルジニキ

Not everyone, Neil. For many people, they're not bothered by the tournament.

2018年7月15日にモスクワのスタジアムで

We could say 'it's not their thing' and there are different reasons for it.

興奮していると言ったかな？まあ、そうではありません

Let's hear from some other people – Jeff and Inga…

唯一無二の存在。何人かの人に聞いてみました

There's not a lot of sportsmanship in it now.

彼らはワールドカップについて考えていますそしてここで

I find that it's very corporate and there's a lot of what I would call cheating going on. People taking dives, people falling over because somebody looked at them the wrong way on the pitch.

は、キースとジェーンが

Not really that excited. It's just too much hype about nothing really.

感情...

The World Cup is a great event if you are into football, but I'm not so I can't be really bothered.

キース：4週間のサッカーの祭典ですね。

There you go, Neil. Some sensible people there!

それは？誰もが自分の背後にいる

Jeff thinks football has changed and now lacks real sportsmanship – that's fair and honest behaviour.

国のこと。についても知ることができます。

He even claims some players cheat.

あなたが世界の一部のサッカーチーム

I'm not sure about that, Rob. But maybe he's right about the tournament becoming very corporate,

あまり考えたことがないので

which means it's sponsored by big companies who like to decide how the tournament run.

実物のあの両面

And Inga thinks there is too much hype.

サッカー自体はエキサイティングだが、それだけではない

This means there's a lot of talk and publicity to make people interested in something.

ピッチの外でも起こる話。

Well, there is certainly a lot of talk about the World Cup, but we have to remember it's not everybody's cup of tea!

ジェーン：本当にワクワクしています。待ちきれないわ。

Well, it is my cup of tea, Rob.

始めようとしています。一つのこと--そこには

Now, can we have the answer to that question, please?

毎晩素晴らしいテレビを見ることができてよかったです。

Yes. Earlier I said the mascot for Russia 2018 is a wolf called Zabivaka.

来たるべき下馬評

What does his name mean in English?

を通して、本当にセンセーショナルな

Was it… a) The winner, b) The one who scores, or c) Fair play.

トーナメント。の熱意だと思います。

And I said a) The winner because football is all about winning, isn't it?

観客動員とサッカーへの愛が、その魅力となっている。

It's the taking part that is important Neil, and you took part in my quiz and got it wrong. The answer is b) The one who scores.

人々が持っている

Now let's have a brief reminder of the vocabulary we've discussed today, starting with world-class.

ニール：そこに2人のサッカーファンがいたんですね。キース

That means 'some of the best in the world'. We should see some world-class football in Russia.

表現が上手い

If we're watching it, Neil. Next we had fancy their chances.

同一文字で始まる言葉

If someone 'fancies their chances' they think they are likely to succeed, but they might not.

4週間のお楽しみ祭りについて語ってくれました。

Let's move on to get behind.

国の後ろ盾になっている人たちではなく

If we get behind someone – like our national football team – we support them.

文字通りチームの後塵を拝しているが

Are you getting behind our national team, Neil?

彼らを支持している誰を応援してるの、ロブ？

Nope, I'm supporting the underdog Iceland, Rob.

ロブ：そうですね、僕のホームチームはイングランドです。

That's a word to describe the team or person least likely to win.

が、うまくいく自信はありません。それは

Next we discussed sportsmanship – that describes fair and honest behaviour.

ジェーンにはどうでもいいことなんだけどね。

And finally we talked about hype, which means 'lots of talking and publicity to make people interested in something'.

下手くそが頑張っているのを見るのは楽しい。には、そのようなことはありませんでした。

Well, we've had enough hype about the World Cup today and we're out of time.

アンダードッグ

Yes, but don't forget to join us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for more Learning English fun.

最弱とされ

Thanks for joining us and goodbye.

勝利の可能性が最も低いアイスランドと言えば

Bye bye!

はこの大会の弱点となっています。