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  • I did some sledding recently and it got me  thinking about winter sports. So let's learn  

  • some new vocabulary today as we learn  English with News. Watching a story about  

  • three weird winter sports. The sports  are obscure, but the vocabulary  

  • isn't. We'll learn 29 words, phrasesand idioms, in this news story.

  • I just used the wordobscure”. It's an  adjective that means not well-known, not  

  • known to most people. These sports are obscureIf you're listing every sport you can think of,  

  • you might not even be on your list. This  is also a verb that means to try to hide  

  • something or make something hard to understandThey tried to obscure the truth about the scandal.

  • Now let's check out this  first part of this news clip.

  • Hurtling along snow or ice on  metal blades isn't insane enough?  

  • Check out these other weird winter sports.

  • Hurtling. Hurtle is a verb that means to  move rapidly or forcefully. An object might  

  • be hurtling through space. On a roller  coaster you're hurtling through the air.  

  • Hurtle and hurtling sound  just like the word with a D,  

  • hurdling, which we also associate with  racing. A hurdle spelled with a D is this,

  • And hurdling is the act of jumping over an  obstacle. We have a related idiom here. When there  

  • are hurdles involved in a situation, that means  there is some difficulty. For example, there were  

  • some hurdles involved in getting my son signed  up for summer camp. Maybe I had to prove his age,  

  • that he'd gotten his vaccines, maybe I had to  list any allergies, and so on. Extra things to do.  

  • So hurdling with a D, jumping over somethingHurtling with a T, moving very very fast.

  • Hurtling along snow or ice on  metal blades isn't insane enough?

  • That isn't insane enough? This is a dramatic  way to say that you think something is crazy,  

  • dangerous, or scary. It's insane to  ski a double-black diamond if you're  

  • not an expert skier. We also use 'insane' to  describe something that's hard to believe.

  • “I can't believe you got a perfect  score on the SAT. That's insane!”

  • Hurtling along snow or ice on  metal blades isn't insane enough?  

  • Check out these other weird winter sports.

  • Let's start with horse skijoring.

  • Skijoring is putting a skier  behind a horse with a 30-foot rope.  

  • Asking the skier to go around 16 to 20 gates,  a few jumps, and the horse to go wide open.

  • Here in Pennsylvania, this is not a winter  activity I've seen, so I did some reading,  

  • and yes, I had to look up the pronunciationand I found that the wordskijoring”  

  • comes from a Norwegian word meaningski  driving.” It's said to have originated as  

  • a mode of winter travel with a horse, dogor motor vehicle pulling a person on skis  

  • through the snow. Now, skijoring is mostlycompetitive sport. Let's hear that word again.

  • Skijoring

  • Skijoring. Three syllables with  stress on either the first or second  

  • syllable. The narrator puts stress  on the second syllable here, “jor

  • Skijoring

  • The man being interviewed put  stress on the first syllable, “ski

  • Skijoring is putting a skier behind  a horse with a 30-foot rope. Asking  

  • the skier to go around 16 to 20 gates, a  few jumps, and the horse to go wide open.

  • Wide open. This means open  all the way, like a door.

  • The door wasn't cracked; it was wide open.”

  • But it also means without limits or restrictionsSo, if the horse is going wide open,  

  • that means it is running just as fast as it canas fast as it wants to. No restrictions or limits.  

  • You know what this reminds me of? Hurtlingwith a T, to move rapidly or forcefully.  

  • I don't know about you, but I do not want to be  pulled by a horse when it's going wide open. Let  

  • me quickly take 5 seconds of thanks to shout out  the people here on YouTube who support my channel  

  • through the membership. Thank you, thank youJust click the join button to find out how you  

  • can support my channel and get perks like audio  lessons and private posts. Okay, back to the news.

  • Skijoring is putting a skier  behind a horse with a 30-foot rope.  

  • Asking the skier to go around 16 to 20 gates,  a few jumps, and the horse to go wide open.

  • Still not crazy enough? Wellthe skiers also try to gather  

  • rings that are suspended along the  course and stack them on their arms.

  • There are three terms here that  are worth taking a look at.

  • First is the verbgather.”

  • Well, the skiers also try to gather rings.

  • Whengatheris used with an object, it  means to bring together into one group,  

  • collection or place. “We gathered  some firewood for our campfire.”

  • But it doesn't have to be a tangible thing,  

  • Hey, we're just trying to gather  some ideas here in this brainstorm."

  • It can also mean to bring together  or assemble from various places;  

  • The college is gathering faculty from  all over the country for a conference.”

  • It can also be used without an  object, and it means not to collect,  

  • but to bring around a central point. For example,  “Gather around; it's time to sing Happy Birthday!”

  • That's like saying, come here. Or,  “Clouds are gathering in the southeast.”  

  • They are coming around a point, coming  together, over there, in the southeast.

  • Well, the skiers also try to gather rings  that are suspended along the course.

  • Suspended. The verbsuspendhas many meanings.  

  • Let's focus on the definition used here. It  means to hang something or attach an object to  

  • something above to allow free movement. “The  chandelier is suspended from the ceiling.”

  • In skijoring, the rings are suspended on pollsthey're free hanging to make them easier to grab.  

  • Suspendused without an object most  commonly means to come to a stop;  

  • to cease operation for a period of time.

  • We aren't sure if we want to  keep our tv streaming service,  

  • so we suspended payments for now.”

  • The third term in that clip isstack.”

  • Well, the skiers also try to gather  

  • rings that are suspended along the  course and stack them on their arms.

  • As a noun, a stack is more or less an  orderly pile or heap. A stack of books.  

  • A neat stack of notes. The verb stack  can be used with or without an object;  

  • meaning to pile or arrange  objects on top of each other.

  • Let's stack the boxes in that corner.” “The  chairs easily stack on top of each other.”

  • That means they're stackable, an adjective nowwhich makes it easier to store them. Once I  

  • posted this to Instagram with the caption, Friday  morning face stack! Let's hear that bit again.

  • Well, the skiers also try to gather rings that  

  • are suspended along the course  and stack them on their arms.

  • Next up, we have a couple of fantastic idioms  

  • that you can use in any contextTheir use is not limited to sports.

  • Guys that are doing it  successfully have some ski racing  

  • behind them or, you know, a lot  of skiing under their belt.

  • Tohave something behind you”. Literally, this is  about order and orienting objects to one another.  

  • The wall is behind me. The camera is in  front of me. But it has other meanings  

  • as well. To have something behind you means  that you have experience doing something.  

  • “I have some competition behind me.”  “I have some graduate work behind me.”

  • “I'm not totally new at this. I've done  this before. It's not my first time.  

  • They have some ski racing behind them.”

  • That is, they have some experience in  ski racing. They've already done that.  

  • Be careful not to confuse this withputting  something behind you,” which means to forget  

  • about a bad experience, to try to move on. “We  had a huge fight, but we've put it behind us.”

  • Another way to say you have accomplished  something or have practice at doing it  

  • is to say that youhave it under your  belt.” A lot of skiing under their belt.  

  • I read that this idiom came into English  as a way to reference how much alcohol  

  • a person has drunk. But as in idiom it meansexperienced. Once you've worked hard at a skill,  

  • the ability is under your belt. It's in  you. You can do it. “I've got Over 10  

  • years of teaching under my belt.” Or, “I've  got 10 years of teaching behind me.”

  • Again, take care that you don't accidentally  say a really similar idiom that has a different  

  • meaning and that would be below the belt.

  • Don't saybelow the beltwhen you mean  “under the belt.” Hitting below the belt  

  • is when an opponent unfairly targets a weakness or  vulnerability. As with boxing, you can't hit your  

  • competitor's lower abdomen; it'd be too painfuland it's prohibited. So let's say you're fighting  

  • with your partner and they bring up something  your mom said that was hard for you to deal with.  

  • In this fight, bringing that up, man, they  know you're sensitive about. You could say,  

  • that's below the belt. Or, that's  a low blow. Below and under,  

  • similar meanings. But 'below the beltand 'under the belt', different meanings.

  • If you have experience, you have it under your belt.

  • Let's go on to the next segment.

  • The whole race only lasts about 20 to 30 seconds,  

  • and takes skiers at speeds of up to 40 miles an  hour.

  • The skill set is missing a few brain cells and  

  • making some calculated decisions  and definitely accepting the risks.

  • Skill set is a term you might see related to a job  post. What are the skills required for the job,  

  • what are the skill sets they like to see in  job applicants? Those would be skill sets.

  • So this guy is joking here, the  participants are a little crazy,  

  • missing a few brain cells”. We use this  term to mean not smart. If you're willing  

  • to let a horse pull you up to 40 mphyou might be missing a few brain cells.  

  • Let's face it, it's an insult, but he's  using it jokingly. Let's hear it again.

  • The skill set is missing a few brain cells.

  • I love this next collocation. A collocation  is a pair of words that often occur together.  

  • This collocation is an adjective plus a noun.

  • making some calculated decisions--

  • Calculated decisions. Calculated, you've thought  it over thoroughly, you've weighed all the risks  

  • and rewards, you've done your homework on this  issue. You're not just randomly choosing. So  

  • as you're going down this course you're making  calculated decisions about how to use your body.  

  • Intentional, thought out. Something you can  do in the moment when you're experienced.

  • Making some calculated decisions  and definitely accepting the risks

  • Coming to terms with possible consequences, and  being ok with whatever happens. Risk acceptance.

  • Let's keep going.

  • Next, why waste that snow shovel on your  driveway when you can use it for racing?

  • It's kind of a crazy idea but a lot of  people end up really liking the feel of it.

  • Felt great! Let's do it again!

  • Shovel racing started in the 1970s at  the Angel Fire Resort in New Mexico.  

  • The course is a thousand feet long with a 400  foot vertical drop. The resort still hosts the  

  • world championship. The record for the fastest  time is 13.5 seconds at almost 75 miles an hour.

  • Oh wow! That set a recordthink for height of shovel.

  • Did you catch what the racers are sitting on?

  • Next, why waste that snow shovel on your  driveway when you can use it for racing?

  • Not a traditional sled, but it takes  you down the hill pretty quickly.  

  • And did you hear the phrase used  to describe how high the hill is?

  • The course is a thousand feet long  with a 400 foot vertical drop.

  • Vertical drop. That's about a 122  meter descent over a 305 meter length.  

  • Not very high compared to traditional skiing, but  I'm not sure I'd agree to ride a shovel down that.  

  • Shovels have some very sharp edges.  “Vertical dropis another collocation  

  • that I hear a fair amount. Let's list  some synonyms fordrop.” We have:

  • Decline. The hillside has a steep decline.

  • Descent. Going down. The descent  of the trail begins here.

  • Plunge. I often think of this with water. He  jumped off the cliff and plunged into the lake.

  • Drop-off. A noun. Be careful, there's  a steep drop-off just off shore.

  • Grade. There's a 5% grade on this road.

  • A second meaning ofdropas a noun istiny bit of fluid, shaped like a sphere.  

  • A drop of rain. Eye drops. Today I will  not have even one drop of alcohol.

  • And third, “dropoccurs regularly as a verbmeaning, to fall unexpectedly or suddenly.  

  • I dropped my phone. Have you heard  the idiomto drop the ball”?  

  • This means to make a mistake, to not get something  done. It has nothing to do with an actual ball.  

  • I missed registration for summer camp  and now it's full. I dropped the ball!

  • You can also usedropas a verb  to explain that something doesn't  

  • matter anymore. I know we disagreebut let's drop it and move on.

  • And another meaning I use,  

  • meaning to release something to the public. My  new videos drop on YouTube every other Tuesday.

  • Ok, let's take a look at the  third and final unusual sport.

  • Finally, there's fat bike racing.

  • Three, two, one, begin!

  • You've probably seen them before. Mountain  bikes with tires that are at least 4 to 5  

  • inches wide. This makes them perfect for winter  races that usually take place on snow-covered,  

  • cross country type trails. There are races  all over the country, but the premiere race  

  • in North America takes place on the 65 mile-long  American Birkebeiner Trail in Cable, Wisconsin.

  • My bike tires are definitely not that wideHow did she describe the width of the tires?

  • Fat bike racing.

  • Fat bike. To link those first two words  smoothly, we put a stop T in fat so it's  

  • not released. Fat bike. Fat bike racing.  I like the way the landscape is described.  

  • Native speakers sometimes  create strings like this:

  • Snow-covered, cross-country-type trails. The  formula isAdjective + Adjective + typeor  

  • Noun + Noun + type.” And there's no limit to  how many adjectives, nouns, or complex phrases  

  • you can string together. You end the phrase  withtype,” meaningthat kind of thing.”  

  • Let's practice buildingcouple of these descriptive  

  • strings. I'll give you the noun, and you fill  in the adjectives, the descriptive phrases.

  • Let's describe someone who's very romantic.

  • He's a roses and chocolates type guy.”  you can also use 'of', type of guy.

  • He's a sing-love-songs-in-publicsend-you-gifts-at-work type of guy.”  

  • What did you fill it in with? Share  your ideas in the comments.

  • Now try one describing a super expensive car.

  • It's a midlife-crisissell-your-house-to-pay-for-it type car.”

  • How about describing a job you've always wanted?

  • It's my dreams-come-trueonce-in-a-lifetime type job.”

  • If you think of other ways to string  

  • adjective phrases or noun phrases  together, share in the comments!

  • Last, let's look at the wordpremiere.”

  • The premiere race in North America  takes place on the 65 mile-long  

  • American Birkebeiner Trail in Cable, Wisconsin.

  • Premiere as a noun is the first  performance or exhibition.  

  • The debut. The opening. It's the  world premiere of a new opera.

  • Or, As a verb: The movie is  premiering tonight at midnight.

  • And as an adjective: The premiere showing  is tonight at midnight. But it can also  

  • mean the principal, the most important. The  Met is the premiere opera house in the US. The  

  • hotel is one of the premiere resorts in the areaHere, she saysThis race is the premiere race.”

  • It's more important than the others.

  • There are races all over the country  but the premiere race in North America  

  • takes place on the 65 mile-long American  Birkebeiner Trail in Cable, Wisconsin.

  • Ok, great! We pulled out so many vocabulary  words and idioms from these clips.  

  • Which words were new to you? Let  me know in the comments below.  

  • I have several other Learn English with News  videos, check them out on my YouTube channel.  

  • And be sure you subscribe with notifications on  so you never miss a lesson. I love being  

  • your English teacher and accent coach. That's itand thanks so much for using Rachel's English.

I did some sledding recently and it got me  thinking about winter sports. So let's learn  

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