Turn on any American sitcomcentered aroundteenagers and high school, and more often than not, you’ll encounter the clichédportrayal of the pretty cheerleader as one of the most popular people in school. While this stereotype may not hold true for every American high school, it does reflect the prevalence of cheerleading as a common extracurricularactivity in the United States.
The fact that cheerleading is often viewed as an American image can be traced back to the inceptionof the activity itself. Cheerleading began in the United States during the 19th century, though the exact date remains unknown. There are records of crowds chanting cheers at Princeton University sporting events in the 1880s, but the idea of organized cheerleading didn’t emerge until 1898. In November of that year, Johnny Campbell, a student from the University of Minnesota, took the fieldand led a crowd of students in an organized chant. He is now recognized as the first cheerleader.
Following Campbell’s display, many colleges started organizing groups, or “yell leaders” as they were then called, to stir up the crowd and boost their teams’ morale. Cheerleading also expanded to high schools, and the groups began to incorporate flags, drums, megaphones, and other props. However, contrary tothe current image of cheerleaders, at that time, all cheerleaders were men.
It wasn’t until World War II that cheerleading became dominated by women.Just asthe workplace started hiring women during that time, sodid cheerleading squads turn to women tofill the rankswhen men went to war. Interestingly, even after the war was over, cheerleading remained primarily a female activity. More recently, cheerleading has become popular across the world and is now regarded as a highly athleticendeavor.
單字片語整理
Words in Use
●
portrayal
[porˋtreəl]
n. 描寫，描繪
The novel gives a vivid portrayal of urban life.
那部小說生動描寫出都市生活。
●
stereotype
[ˋstɛrɪə͵taɪp]
n. 刻板印象
vt. 對......有成見 / 刻板印象
Scott, who is always casually dressed, doesn’t conform to the stereotype of a Wall Street banker.
史考特衣著一向很隨便，不符合一般人心目中華爾街銀行家的形象。
Those who stereotype other people often base their opinions on what they have heard, not actual experience.
那些對他人有刻板印象的人，常以他們所聽到的，而非實際經驗來做評論。
多益金色
英檢中高
高中 Level 5
●
prevalence
[ˋprɛvələns]
n. 普及，流行
The police were worried about the prevalence of violence in the area.
警方很擔心該區暴力盛行。
●
chant
[tʃænt]
vi. & vt. . 反覆呼喊；吟誦，念（經）
As they marched towards the government offices to
show their anger at recent decisions, the protesters
began to chant loudly.
抗議人士遊行到政府辦公室以示對最近的決定感到憤怒時，
他們開始大聲反覆呼喊。
As the president went into the building, his loyal
followers chanted, “ We support you!”
當總統走進大樓時，他的忠實追隨者一再高呼：『我們支持
你！』
During the service in the church, which lasted two
hours, people prayed and chanted.
在為期兩小時的教堂儀式上，人們祈禱並吟誦。
The monks chant sutras every morning.
這些和尚每天早上都會唸經。
To show they opposed the Vietnam War, some
Americans repeated the chant, “ We won’t go!”
meaning they wouldn’t fight.
一些美國人為了表明他們反對越戰，他們反覆不停地喊：『我
們不會去！』這意味著他們不會去打仗。
The Muslim chants could be heard over speakers in
the Middle Eastern town every day at certain times.
在中東小鎮上，每天特定的時間都會在擴音器上聽到穆斯林
的禱文。
高中 Level 6
●
emerge
[ɪˋmɝdʒ]
vi. 出現，冒出（常與介詞 from 並用）
=
appear
Ben suddenly emerged from behind the door, which frightened me.
班突然從門後冒出來，嚇了我一跳。
多益藍色
英檢中級
高中 Level 4
●
morale
[məˋræl]
n. . 士氣（不可數）
=
moral
The troops were suffering from low morale, which is why they were easily defeated.
部隊士氣低落，這就是為什麼他們這麼容易就被打敗的原因。
The most effective way to boost staff morale is to provide a good working environment. 提振員工士氣最有效的辦法就是提供他們好的工作環境。
多益金色
英檢中高
高中 Level 6
●
expand
[ɪkˋspænd]
vt. & vi. （使）（尺寸或數量）擴大，增加
=
grow
=
develop
We’ve expanded our business by opening two more restaurants lately.
我們最近擴大營業，新開了兩家餐廳。
Thanks to teamwork and sound strategies, our sales expanded by 20% last year.
由於團結合作且策略得當，我們的業績去年增加了20%。
多益藍色
英檢中級
高中 Level 4
●
incorporate
[ɪnˋkɔrpə͵ret]
vt. 使結合，合併
I was glad that our ideas had been incorporated into the project.
我很高興我們的構想被融入本企畫案中。
多益金色
英檢中高
高中 Level 5
●
dominate
[ˋdɑmə͵net]
vt. 統治，支配；（山脈或建築物）俯瞰、在⋯⋯中佔主要地位、對⋯⋯有壓倒優勢
=
rule
The strong animal dominated the weak animal.
這隻強壯的動物支配那隻弱小的動物。
The big mountain dominates the landscape.
這座大山俯瞰四周的景色。
The house on the hilltop dominates the whole valley.
山頂上的這間房子可俯瞰整座山谷。
The house on the hilltop overlooks the whole valley.
山頂上的這間房子可俯瞰整座山谷。
多益藍色
英檢中級
高中 Level 4
●
squad
[skwɑd]
n. 小隊，小組
A bomb squad was called in to defuse a bomb placed underneath the official’s car. 防爆小組被召集來拆除被安置在官員車下的炸彈。
高中 Level 5
●
athletic
[æθˋlɛtɪk]
a. 運動員的，擅長運動的
There was an athletic meet on our campus yesterday.
昨天我們校園有場運動會。
高中 Level 4
●
endeavor
[ɪnˋdɛvɚ]
n. & vi. 努力，盡力
The manager endeavored to get to the bottom of
their poor sales performance.
經理費心追究業績表現不佳的原因。
The manager madean endeavor to get to the bottom
of their poor sales performance.
經理費心追究業績表現不佳的原因。
英檢中高
高中 Level 6
●
sitcom
[ˋsɪt͵kɑm]
n. 情境喜劇
●
clichéd
[kliˋʃed]
a. 陳腔濫調的
●
extracurricular
[͵ɛkstrəkəˋrɪkjəlɚ]
a. . 課外的
Johnson took part in many extracurricular activities
while in college.
強森念大學時參加了很多課外活動。
高中 Level 6
●
inception
[ɪnˋsɛpʃən]
n. 開端，開始
●
megaphone
[ˋmɛgə͵fon]
n. 擴音器
●
prop
[prɑp]
n. 道具
英檢中高
Practical Phrases
●
be centered around
（主題、話題等）圍繞著⋯⋯／以⋯⋯為中心
●
take the field
上陣，上場
The soccer team took the field, determined to beat its opponent.
那支足球隊上場比賽，決心要打敗對手。
●
stir up... / stir... up
揚起／捲起⋯⋯
●
contrary to...
與⋯⋯相反（的是）
Contrary to popular belief, that country is filled with beautiful landscapes. 和一般認知不同的是，那個國家到處都是美景。
