English Essay by Sunil Kapoor, Niigata City ALT
69 What a Weekend! (part 4) ＲＥＡＤＩＮＧ (slow)(fast)
What a Weekend! (Part 4)
Day Three’s games were played
in Niigata City’s Big Swan Stadium. It
was Monday July 15th, Umi-no-Hi. Finally, there was blue sky and no
rain. The first game on this day was Niigata
versus USA. If the USA won or
drew the game, they would be champions of the tournament for the
first time. I was very excited.
Just before the game, Sam came
to me and gave me the USA soccer ball. It
was signed by all the players. I was
very happy to receive it. We talked a
little about Big Swan Stadium and its World Cup history. Sam knew that England soccer star David Beckhamhad played there in 2002.
After kickoff, Niigata
played very well. The USA defenselooked confused, but they stopped Niigata from scoring a goal. Then the USA had chances to score, but they
couldn’t. It was 0-0 at halftime. Three new players were substituted for
the USA in the second half. About
15 minutes later, the USA scored their first goal. Then their second goal came just 10 minutes
after that. The USA won the game 2-0,
and they became champions. The USA’s
final tournament result was three wins in three games, scoring eight
goals.
After the game, the USA
players and coaches celebrated the victory. Again they came to me and my family and
thanked us for the support. Next,
there was a trophy and medal presentation. Then there was the championship ceremony. We also celebrated. We felt like we had won, too.
Sam came to us and asked us
to take a photo with the team. He asked
us to meet at the stadium players’ entrance after thirty minutes. The next and final game was Japan versus
Croatia (Croatia won 1-0). After
kickoff, we went to meet the players and coaches for a photo.
When we arrived there, the
coaches and players were loading their bags on to the team bus. They talked to us and thanked us again. Then we took a perfect photo with the
team. They asked my daughter Caren to
hold the trophy. And they gave her the
team locker room sign: “USA U-17 アメリカ代表”
We still have the locker
room sign on the wall in our home. The
photo with the team has been enlarged and framed. It hangs on the wall in our home,
too. This was a great experience for
us. It’s a memory that we will treasure
and never forget. What a Weekend!
＜注＞
Day Three’s games（第３日目），were played（＜試合が＞行われた）
Finally（ついに），Niigata versus
USA（新潟 対 アメリカ）
won or drew the game（試合に勝つか引き分けるか）
would be champions（チャンピオンになるというものだった）
for the first time（はじめて），It was signed（サインされていた）
England soccer star David Beckham（イギリスサッカー界のスター，デヴィッド ベッカム），had played there（そこでプレイした）
defense（守り，防御），looked confused（混乱しているように見えた）
from scoring a goal（得点を取ることから）
were substituted（交代した），in the second half（後半に）
The USA’s final tournament result（アメリカの決勝トーナメントの結果）
three wins in three games（３試合で３勝），
celebrated the victory（勝利を祝った），for the support（応援に対して）
a trophy and medal presentation（トロフィーとメダル授与式）
the championship ceremony（大会表彰式）
like we had won（私たちが勝ったかのように），entrance（入り口）
for a photo（写真のために），were loading
their bags（バッグを積み込んでいた），a perfect photo（完璧な，素晴らしい写真）
asked my daughter Caren to hold（私の娘のカレンに持つように頼んだ）
has been enlarged and framed（引き伸ばされて枠組みされた）
hangs（ぶら下がっている）
Questions
& Answers for Part 4
Please
answer the questions in a complete sentence and in English.
Q1. Where and when were the games played on Day
Three?
Q2. Did Sam know that David Beckham played at Big
Swan Stadium in 2002?
Q3. How many goals did the USA score in the
tournament?
Q4. After the championship ceremony, what did Sam
ask Sunil and his family to do?
Q5. Does the team photo hang on the wall in Sunil’s
home?
Answers
A1. They were played in Big Swan Stadium in
Niigata City on Monday July 15th.
A2. Yes, he did.
A3. The USA scored eight goals in the tournament.
A4. He asked them to take a photo with the team.
A5. Yes, it does.
