①The FIFA World Cup is the world’s biggest international soccer tournament（比赛）. ②It’s also the most-watched sporting event in the world. It’s upon us in Qatar and excitement is truly kicking in. This year’s tournament looks to be particularly（尤其）unique. What makes it different from the ones before?

For starters, it’s the first time the tournament has been held in the Middle East after Qatar beat other host competitors—the US, South Korea, Japan and Australia back in 2010. It’s also the first time in history the tournament is happening during the Northern Hemisphere（北半球）winter months, from Nov. 20 to Dec. 18.

That’s because Qatar is a desert country, and in summer the temperature can be as high as 42 degrees. ③That’s way too hot to play outdoor sports. But it will still be pretty warm in winter. The temperature in the stadium（体育场）is expected to be around 20 degrees to 30 degrees. Air conditioning（空调）will help to keep it cooler.

Qatar is also the smallest nation by area to host the cup. They’ll be playing the first match of the tournament, facing Ecuador（厄瓜多尔）. It’s Qatar’s first-ever FIFA World Cup game. This makes them the first country to host their debut（首秀）game since Italy in 1934!

There may be new challenges for many players too. Aside from（除……之外）the hot weather, for European teams like England, France, Germany and Spain, it’s only just over a year since their last big international tournament, the UEFA Champions League（欧联杯）.

pic.1 Competing Teams in of the FIFA World Cup in 2022

pic.2 The Map of Qatar            pic.3 The Most Expensive Teams in Qatar

THE 2020 OLYMPICS will be held in Tokyo. All the athletes will live in the Olympic Village. What will their living environment be like?

The organizers recently showed off a few furnishings (家具陈设). Surprisingly, the bed frames (床架) are made of cardboard.

Athletes, especially heavier ones, might feel nervous about this. Will their beds break while they sleep on them?

Takashi Kitajima is responsible for the Olympic Village. He explained, “Those cardboard beds are stronger than wooden ones. They can stand up to 200 kilograms. Surely, no Olympic athlete weighs that much.”

The bed frames will be recycled after the Olympics. They will be turned into paper products. So, there will be little waste.

The Olympic Village will be completed in June. The Tokyo Olympics will open on July 24 according to the plan. But perhaps it will be delayed because of novel corona virus新冠病毒）.

This summer, many people watched the 31st FISU Summer World University Games (世界大学生夏季运动会), known as “Little Olympics”. Every two years the world’s best student players come together in the FISU Summer World University Games! From July 28th to Aug 8th, 6,500 student players from 113 countries and regions came together in Chengdu. The players were between 18 and 27 years old.

In the matches, they tried hard for medals (奖牌). Chinese players were the most hard-working and brought out the best in them.

Chart Ⅰ

It’s all thanks to the young players’ hard work and creativity. One example is Chinese player Wu Yanni. Before each match, the 26-year-old girl liked to turn her head around and point her fingers to the sky. She did it to show she wants to become stronger.

But after matches, players all over the world were happy to learn more about Chengdu.

The players went to visit pandas in Chengdu. On July 31st. Italian player Mario Del Basso met pandas for the first time in real life. He even learned to say “come here” in the Sichuan way.
They also loved the nice food. In Chengdu, many players fell in love with chili powder (辣椒面). Mario Del Basso even bought some chili powder on July 31st. Because he wanted to take it back to his country.

Chart Ⅱ

Players from other countries enjoyed staying in Chengdu. No one seemed to be bored. They had fun in Chengdu and hoped to visit it again! We welcome all the young people from, all over the world and know more about China. As our Chinese President Xi Jinping says, “The key to state-to-state relations lies in close bonds between people. Efforts to this end must start from the youth (国之交在于民相亲，民相亲要从青年做起)”