Horizon：Funny competitions
【明報專訊】◆Japan
Crying baby competition
Japan sumo (相撲) wrestlers are respected living gems of the nation because it is a skill that takes a wrestler a long time to master. However, every year in Tokyo, sumo wrestlers gather not to show off their athletic skills but to make babies cry. In ''Nakizumo Festival'', sumo wrestlers try to make a baby cry loud and quick, and a judge wears the traditional outfit and a ghost mask to scare the babies. The Japanese believe that babies who are fat and cry can grow up healthily.
◆Scotland
Stone skimming competition
I bet you must have thrown a stone into the water hoping it would skip a few times before sinking. If you have mastered the skill, you may think about participating in the annual stone skimming competition on Easdale Island, Scotland. Each contestant has three chances and they must use stones naturally formed on the Island. You can even participate in team games. Start practising now!
◆Germany
Mud Olympics
This is like a normal sports event, with volleyball, football and other traditional sports games - staged in a mud field. This relatively new competition covers many features from the Olympic Games, including the torch run. It also features some non-traditional and even bizarre games like sledge racing. The Mud Olympics is a fundraising campaign and has raised more than 440 thousand Euros for helping cancer patients since 2004.
■English highway﹕even
We can use the adverb ''even'' to emphasise something unexpected, surprising or important.
e.g.This handicraft is so easy that even a child can finish it.
Tommy is brave to argue for the right thing, even with the Headmaster.
■Gear up
Fill in the blanks with a word from the designated paragraph. Use the correct form when necessary.
(1) It is an open-ended question, so _______ student can have a different answer. (Scotland)
(2) Dr Chan is the most _______ teacher at our school. (Japan)
(3) My grandma makes her signature turkey according to our family's _______ recipe. (Germany)
(Answers on next text)
■Glossary
respected (adj) 備受尊敬的
master (v) 掌握
contestant (n) 參賽者
campaign (n) 活動
[Smarties' Power English 第267期]
Grammar：Noun as adjective
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