| A: | It's a beautiful day here in New Zealand at the Men's Volleyball world championship. My name is Rick Fields and I'm joined by the man with the plan, Bob Copeland. |
| B: | Thank you, Rick. We've got a very exciting encounter ahead of us today as two powerhouse teams, Brazil and China, face off against each other and try to qualify for the next round. Without a doubt, both teams are in top shape and this will prove to be a competitive match. |
| A: | The ref signals the start of the game and here we go. Ribeiro serves and China quickly receives the ball. Chen bumps it to the setter, and... a very nice set by Chen! |
| B: | Xu spikes it! Wow, what a great hit! The Brazilian blockers anticipated the play and tried to block him but he managed to get the ball in! Great play. |
| A: | It's China's service now. What a superb jump serve by Li, oh, and we have a let serve. The ball was coming in fast and almost made it over the net. |
| B: | Brazil calls for a time out and we'll be right back, after a short commercial break. |
| encounter | common noun, singular | meet for a game or battle |
| ahead of (someone) | Preposition | in the future |
| powerhouse | common noun, singular | a highly energetic, strong team |
| qualify | verb | to reach the later stages of a selection process or contest by competing successfully in earlier rounds |
| in top shape | phrase | in their best condition |
| serve | verb | hits the ball to start a set of the game |
| bump | verb | to pass (a volleyball) by redirecting it with the forearms |
| set | common noun, singular | the action of putting ball in the air so as to be driven to opponents' court |
| spike | verb | strongly hit the ball to opponents' court using the palm of the hand |
| anticipate | verb | to foresee and act in advance of |
| jump serve | common noun, singular | a serve with the ball firstly thrown overhead and then the player jumping to hit it |
| let serve | common noun, singular | the ball touches the net in a serve but still crosses into the opponents' court |
| time out | common noun, singular | a pause during a game |
| side out | common noun, singular | when the team that served the ball loses the rally, causing the other team to serve the next point. |
| whiff | phrase | a mishit — when a player attempts to hit (or spike) the ball with the open hand and nearly misses the ball |
| dig | phrase | the ability to prevent the ball from touching one's court after a spike or attack, particularly a ball that is nearly touching the ground |
| coin toss | common noun, singular | is the practice of throwing a coin in the air to resolve a dispute between two parties |
| draw | common noun, singular | a contest or game ending in a tie |