Learning English - Words in the News - Air guitar championships

Last updated at 16:58 BST, Wednesday, 29 August 2012

Air guitar championships

Video

Sorry, you can't see the video.

To see the video in the page you need to enable JavaScript in your browser's preferences.

Report and vocabulary

Transcript: The 17th annual Air Guitar World Championships have taken place in Finland.

Eighteen contestants battled in front of an audience of 5,000 for the ultimate prize for imaginary instrumentalists.

In the first round, they have to play a song of their choice; those who make it through to the next stage perform a number chosen by the judges.

This year's winner was Justin "Nordic Thunder" Howard from the USA.
air guitar: imaginary guitar played by a person in time to a real song
contestants: people who take part in a competition
instrumentalists: people who play a musical instrument
the first round: the opening stage of a competition
number: song or piece of music

Exercise

Use one of the words or phrases below to complete each of these sentences from 大象传媒 news reports.

Note that you may have to change the form of a word to complete the sentence correctly.

air guitar/ contestants/ instrumentalists/ the first round/ number

1. Trott and former X Factor __________ Stacey Solomon started Sky Ride Birmingham, which allowed residents to ride through traffic-free streets.

2. More than 2,000 music festival goers in Wiltshire have set a new world record for the largest __________ ensemble.

3. Ibragimova, 25, was described by The Guardian as "one of the most technically gifted and charismatic __________ of the age" after the Manchester shows.

4. This year sees the 60th anniversary of Nellie's death and there's a rare chance to see her most famous __________ , 'My Mother Said', performed live onstage.

5. I went into Wimbledon this year having lost in __________ of Queen's. That was meant to be a horrible preparation, but Wimbledon worked out fine. So there's no reason why that can't happen here.