Active Skills for Reading 2 (Unit 4: Young Athletes)


The Unbeatable Yani Tseng

Vocabulary Skill

Adjectives with the Suffix -ous

One way of forming adjectives in English is to combine -ous with a noun. The suffix -ous means to have or to be full of.

A Use the suffix -ous to change the nouns in the chart to adjectives. Use your dictionary to help you with spelling.

Noun Adjective Noun Adjective
humor courage
danger nerve
fame adventure
Sample Answers

humorous, courageous, dangerous, nervous, famous, adventurous

B Complete the following questions using one of the adjectives from A. Some may have more than one answer. Then discuss the questions with a partner.

  1. Do you consider yourself a(n) ______ person? Why?
  2. Have you ever met a(n) ______ person?
  3. What's the most ______ thing you have ever done?
  4. Have you ever been in a(n) ______ situation? What happened?
  5. Can you make people laugh? Do you know any ______ stories or jokes?
Sample Answers

1. adventurous/humorous
2. famous
3. dangerous
4. dangerous/nervous
5. humorous

What Do You Think?

  1. Would you rather play sports, or watch sports? Why?
  2. Should children be required to take sports lessons in school? Why?
  3. Can you name some great heroes in sports? What can we learn from them?
Sample Answers

1. I would rather play sports because it's more active and fun. Watching is okay but playing is better.
2. Yes, children should take sports lessons because it helps them stay healthy and learn teamwork.
3. Some great sports heroes include Michael Jordan, Serena Williams, and Usain Bolt. We can learn about hard work, determination, and never giving up.


http://sportsspotlight.heinle.com/yanitseng

The Unbeatable Yani Tseng

Yani Tseng is one of the brightest stars of the golfing world, not to mention a superstar in Taiwan, where she grew up. By the age of 22, she had achieved things most golfers can only dream of. She had been named LPGA Player of the Year twice, and was the youngest professional golfer—male or female—to win five major tournaments.

Yani started playing golf when she was very young, thanks to her enthusiastic parents who are both golfers. Her father gave her a set of golf clubs when she was only five years old. At 13 years old, she told him she wanted to take up golf as an occupation. Just one year later, Yani won the Callaway Junior-World Golf Championships and went on to become the top amateur player in Taiwan. She finally started playing in professional tournaments when she was 18 years old, and then her career really took off.

Brittany Lang, who came second to Yani at the Women's British Open in 2011, calls her "unbelievable." She says Yani is "so mentally strong and she's so aggressive and confident. She's just got it all. It's pretty cool to watch."

But Yani was not always so confident, especially off the golf course. When she first left her home to start playing in international tournaments, she didn't speak English very well. She struggled to communicate with other golfers and had to use an interpreter1 for interviews. Because she was shy about her English, Yani had a reputation2 as a very quiet person. Yani's coach, Gary Gilchrist, says that studying English has helped Yani change this. "She worked so hard to improve her English," said Gilchrist. "Now her confidence is a 9 on a scale of 10."

Today, Yani is well known for her big smile and sense of humor. She loves to chat and joke with reporters, fans, and other golfers. Once, before a tournament near her home in Florida, Yani invited a number of golfers and golf reporters to her place for a dinner party. Halfway through the party, she decided to dress up as Harry Potter, and even gave a speech wearing her black coat and round spectacles.

As a teenager, Yani looked up to adult golfers like Annika Sorenstam and saw them as her role models. Today, she herself hopes to inspire young girls to take up golf, the same way Sorenstam influenced a whole generation of women golfers. Yani is also an inspiration to people trying to pick up English. Her advice to English learners: "Keep talking. I'm not afraid to be talking to other people, no matter what I say. I'm learning from the way [I talk] to you, and the vocabulary, I use it for the next time [I talk]."


1 An interpreter is someone who translates from one language to another.
2 Your reputation is the opinion people have of you.


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