This series of Everyday Conversations is about a family traveling to each of the 50 states in the U.S. Join the family members as they learn about local pastimes and history. These conversations are for intermediate-level English-language learners or higher.
The family goes to Rhode Island, where they plan to visit the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Gina: Sam, you will love Rhode Island. It is home to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Sam: That’s awesome. We’re going to go see it, right?
Paul: Yes, of course. We know how much you love tennis. And the Hall of Fame honors players and others who have contributed to the sport of tennis.
Sam: Induction into the Hall of Fame must be an incredible honor.
Claudine: Keep practicing. Maybe you’ll get inducted one day.
Gina: Before we head to the Hall of Fame, we’re all going to enjoy a day of sailing. The sailing in Newport is some of the best sailing in the country.
Paul: For the smallest state in the U.S., there’s a lot to see and do here.
Now let’s review the vocabulary.
The phrase home to in the sentence “Rhode Island is home to the International Tennis Hall of Fame” means that the International Tennis Hall of Fame is in Rhode Island.
A Hall of Fame is like a museum, where people can visit. It houses displays and information about people from a particular sport or activity. The International Tennis Hall of Fame honors players and other contributors to the sport of tennis.
When Sam asks, “We’re going to go see it, right?” he uses a tag question. A tag question is a special construction in English. It is a statement followed by a short question, such as right?, isn’t it?, aren’t you?. We usually use tag questions to ask for confirmation.
To contribute means to increase, improve or add to something.
An induction is the formal process or ceremony of placing someone into a new job, position, group, organization, etc. To induct is to officially make someone a member of an organization, group, etc.
The word honor can have slightly different meanings. In this context, honor is used to mean something that shows that other people have respect for you.
Sailing is the sport or activity of traveling on water in a boat with sails, also called a sailboat.
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