Sports Tournament for Bald Men Returns to Japan

Japan is great for art, food, science… and sports too!

There's a town in Japan called Tsuruta. It's very small. Only about 10,000 people live there. That's not very many. About two and a half million people live in Taipei City!
日本有一個小鎮叫做鶴田，居民很少，只有一萬人。台北市有兩百五十萬人喔！

Every year before the COVID pandemic, Tsuruta hosted a very special sports tournament: the National Sucker Tug of War Tournament. It was only for men who have no hair or not much hair: bald men!
在疫情之前，鶴田都會舉辦很特別的比賽，叫做全國吸盤拔河大賽。

Maybe you play Tug of War too. You need a rope. There are two teams. Each team pulls on one end of the rope.

This tournament is the same. But it is also not the same. To play, you need a string, two bald men… and two suction cups!
拔河需要一條繩子，兩支隊伍各拉一邊。吸盤拔河跟那種拔河有一點像，又有一點不像，它需要一條線，兩名光頭男子，跟兩個吸盤。

The suction cups are at the ends of the string. Each bald man sticks a suction cup on his head. The men are face-to-face.

Then both men pull back as much as they can! They want to pull off the other man's suction cup first!
參賽選手要把吸盤黏在頭上，面對面往後拉，誰先把對方的吸盤拉下來，誰就贏了！

This year, the tournament returned! People came from all over Japan for it. Would you go to a sports tournament for bald men?
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Vocabulary
這個日本小鎮的光頭拔河活動，是不是很有趣呢？

1. team 隊伍
Come on! It's time for Tug-of-War! 快來，拔河時間到了！
Can we play? 我們可以玩嗎？
No, you have to join the team first. 不行，你得先加入一個隊。
It takes a lot of practice. 需要很多練習呢。

2. pull 拉
I thought you just need to pull the rope. 我以為你只要拉繩子就好了。
Of course, everyone has to pull hard. 每個人當然都要用力拉。

3. sport 運動
But it's also a special sport. 不過它也是很特別的運動。
Skills are important. 技巧很重要。

4. man 男人
Hey, it looks the women's team will win! 嘿，看起來女子隊會贏！
Woohoo! They did win! 她們真的贏了！
What's going on with the men's team? 男生隊是怎麼回事？

你有參加過拔河比賽嗎？
team 隊伍
pull 拉
sport 運動
man 男人
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Quiz

1. What do bald men have?
A: No hair
B: Lots of hair
C: Long hair

2. Where is the bald men's tournament held?
A: Tokyo
B: Tsuruta
C: Tsuruga

3. What do bald men need to play this sport?
A: Hair
B: Two teams and a rope
C: Two suction cups and string

Answers
1. A
2. B
3. C