Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[joyapple]

Dear friends,
I'm doing the reading comprehension questions of some exam papers, but there are some points that I don't understand. Could you tell me the meaning of the follwoing phrases or sentences? Thank you very much.
1)A strong mental game has always been part of elite sports. Michael Jordan, Nancy Kerrigan and Jack Nicklaus all practiced their moves mentally（In this sentence, what does the first sentence mean?）
2)Everybody is pretty much at the same level physically,� says American diver Michelle Davison, "The difference comes down to who can hold it together mentally."(In this sentence, what does "hold it together" mean?)
3)Through mental practice, he kept stimulating the networks of connected neurons where his skill was embroidered,( In this sentence, what does "embroidered" mean?)
4)But Skoll has seen the transformative power of entrepreneurship so often, from eBay to Africa, that you wouldn't want to bet against him. (In this sentence, what does "entrepreneurship" mean and what does "bet against him" mean?)
5)Mental practice can actually increase real world strength and performance,.. Pumping virtual iron physically changes the brain�and the brain, after all, controls the body. (In this sentence, what does " Pumping virtual iron " mean?)

[CP]

1. Sports are physical activities, but there is always a "mental component" to every sport, the psychological component. The idea of this group of sentences is that you can and should practice mentally as well as physically to excel in sports. If you have thought situations through in advance, you can handle them better in real life.

2. "Hold it together" just means keep oneself calm and stable mentally. Not let the stresses of the competition, or the "trash talking" of the opponents, interfere with performance.

3. Neurons are nerve bodies that make up brain tissue. Embroidery is a type of stitchery used to decorate cloth. The idea is that physical skills are made up of elaborate neural connections in the brain, like fancy embroidery, and that the connections need to be kept fresh with practice, either mental or physical practice. In fact, some studies have shown that thinking about the perfect golf swing or free kick, etc., actually does improve performance on the field. (My guess is that good athletes don't have to be told this, as they spend a lot of time thinking about their sport anyway.)

4. Entrepreneurs are people who start enterprises, businesses of various types. Entrepreneurship is the practice of entrepreneurs. To bet against someone is to put money against the person (in the literal sense), just as one might bet against one team and for another team in a particular match. Here, it means that this man is likely to succeed again, and if you bet against him, you would lose.

5. "Pumping iron" means lifting weights to increase strength and muscle mass. Virtual pumping iron would be thinking about lifting weights, as opposed to actually lifting weights. Same idea as in 3.
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