跟读练习: Just how ancient is sumo? - Lee Thompson - 通过YouTube学习英语口语
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In 1772, amateur sumo wrestlers in present-day Niigata were performing to raise money for a local temple when a pair of sumo pros crashed their event.
38 句
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In 1772, amateur sumo wrestlers in present-day Niigata were performing to raise money for a local temple when a pair of sumo pros crashed their event.
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These wrestlers from the Tokyo sumo guild claimed that only their guild had the right to charge audiences admission.
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But when the pros tried making off with the ticket money, one was killed and the other barely escaped alive.
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Back in Tokyo, the guild took their case to a magistrate.
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They argued that because they were the only guild that adhered to sumo’s most “ancient practices,” no other performers in the country were legitimate.
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The magistrate accepted this claim.
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But surprisingly, these so-called “ancient practices” were actually recent inventions.
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So, what were these fabricated traditions, and how do they relate to sumo’s true history?
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Our earliest reliable records of sumo come from the 8th century, when performances were held as entertainment for annual court banquets.
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During these events, wrestlers were summoned from across Japan as a demonstration of the emperor's influence.
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Initially, these wrestlers would punch, scratch, and grab their opponents, claiming victory by forcing their hands or knees to the ground.
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But eventually, matches began focusing on grappling and tripping techniques.
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Over time, power shifted from the emperor and his court to their hired soldiers, the samurai, and official court sumo ended in 1174.
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However, samurai leaders still had soldiers perform less formal sumo bouts for exercise and entertainment.
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Throughout imperial and samurai rule, sumo was performed across Japan for sport, spectacle, and martial training.
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But in the 1400s, it took on a new function: fundraising.
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Shrines and temples began hosting performances to raise money for construction and repairs.
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And since skilled performers brought in more customers, event promoters were eager to enlist the best wrestlers.
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This led performers to create the first sumo guilds, ensuring steady employment and improving their working conditions.
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Once wrestlers could reliably make money through sumo, they became eager to perform for as many paying customers as possible.
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Enterprising young men put on rowdy street corner sumo performances, hoping to attract the donations of passersby.
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Lacking the organization of formal performances, these bouts often resulted in fights and injuries among both participants and spectators.
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So it didn’t take long for samurai authorities to crack down, periodically banning all forms of sumo in larger cities.
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Wrestlers and organizers knew they needed to make changes to overcome these bans.
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First, they established a boundary to separate spectators from participants.
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This boundary took many forms, but over the 17th century it morphed into a standard ring called the dohyō.
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This ring outlined the field of play, introducing a pivotal new rule: now matches could also be won by pushing one’s opponent out of the dohyō.
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This innovation increased the advantage of heavier wrestlers, whose weight already helped them topple their opponents.
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But sumo’s journey to become a respectable sport really took off when promoters began introducing rituals to associate sumo with Japan’s ancient past.
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Wrestlers threw salt in the ring and rinsed their mouths with water before matches— actions that evoked ancient religious ceremonies.
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These invented traditions imbued the sport with cultural legitimacy, convincing authorities that sumo was above board.
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One notable ritual emerged in 1789, when the Tokyo guild began having their top-ranked wrestlers perform a ring-entering ceremony wearing a sacred rope called the yokozuna.
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This innovation became so popular, the shōgun himself summoned the troupe for a performance— giving legitimacy not just to the Tokyo guild, but specifically to their invented traditions.
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After the shogunate was overthrown in 1868, sumo was seen as a dated relic and briefly fell out of fashion.
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But the sport gradually remade itself for the modern era, and today, Japan holds six 15-day tournaments every year, all of which are broadcast worldwide.
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New technology has brought advantages like instant replays, while other innovations were introduced to evoke the ancient past.
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And over the last century, the average body weight in the upper division has increased by over 60 kilograms!
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But throughout its changes, sumo has sustained its status as a beloved form of entertainment, a grand display of strength, and an ode to national traditions— both real and invented.
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关于本课
在这节课中，学习者将通过观看有关相扑历史的 YouTube 视频，深入理解相扑的起源和演变。通过该视频，您将练习英语听说技能，同时发展对相扑这一传统文化的认识，拓展词汇量，并增强英语口语的流利度。运用英语影子跟读技术，通过模仿视频中的发音和语调，您将能够提高口语表达和听力理解能力。
关键词汇与短语
- 相扑 (sumo) - 一种日本传统摔跤运动。
- 古老的习俗 (ancient practices) - 与相扑相关的传统和礼仪。
- 对手 (opponent) - 参与比赛的摔跤者。
- 捆绑的绳 (yokozuna) - 相扑最高级别摔跤手的象征。
- 比赛 (match) - 摔跤比赛的过程。
- 表演 (performance) - 相扑赛事的展示。
- 边界 (boundary) - 观众和摔跤者之间的分隔。
- 表演者 (performers) - 参与表演的相扑选手。
练习建议
在观看视频时，请注意视频的语速和语调。由于视频内容涉及历史叙述，语速会相对较慢，适合进行英语影子跟读练习。在模仿发音时，尽量捕捉说话者的情感和语调变化，这将提高您在实际交流中的表达能力。在练习时，您可以使用shadowspeak或shadowspeaks的方法，重复视频中的句子，并尽量做到与说话者保持一致。此外，建议在每段结束后暂停视频，检查您的发音和语调是否与原音相符。这不仅有助于提高您的英语口语流利度，还能让您在享受视频内容的同时深化对相扑文化的理解。通过这种方式，您可以实现更好的看YouTube学英语的效果。
什么是跟读法？
跟读法 (Shadowing) 是一种有科学依据的语言学习技巧，最初开发用于专业口译员的培训，并由多语言者Alexander Arguelles博士普及。这个方法简单而强大：您在听英语母语原声的同时立即大声重复——就像是一个延迟1-2秒紧跟说话者的影子。与被动听力或语法练习不同，跟读法强迫您的大脑和口腔肌肉同时处理并模仿真实的讲话模式。研究表明它能显着提高发音准确性，语调，节奏，连读，听力理解和口语流利度——使其成为雅思口语备考和真实英语交流最有效的方法之一。