World News for Students of English

23-08-2016 15:00

Maybe it’s the excitement of the Games or the heat from the sun, but it seems like love is in the air in Rio.

The world “awwed” when Chinese diver He Zi was proposed to whilst on the podium, and although her fellow diver Fiancée Qin Kai had been planning to pop the question in this way, he still wasn’t sure of what she might say. He says his heart was beating so hard because there was so much uncertainty. He was thinking she’ll probably say no to him and that he didn’t know.

Thankfully, she didn’t say no, and the romantic gesture even cushioned the blow of missing out on gold.

He Zi says missing out is definitely a regret, so she wasn’t that excited and emotional as you can see when he proposed. She said she’s been training for almost 20 years and worked really hard for this dream so was disappointed when she won silver. But the next day, the proposal made her feel more than happy after what he did for her.

This comes after Brazilian rugby sevens player Isadora Cerullo was proposed to by her girlfriend on the pitch after the grand final. Other Olympic love birds include Britain’s 20-kilometre race walker Tom Bosworth who proposed to his boyfriend on Copacabana Beach, and American triple jumper, William Claye, who proposed to his girlfriend after winning a silver medal in his event.

And clearly the rest of the city are feeling the love, too. There must be something in the water in Rio.

Difficult words: aw (when people say “aw,” an expression that means something is emotional), pop (ask an important question), gesture (something emotional that you do), cushion (make something hurt you less), blow (a shock).

Source: www.ondemandnews.com