People and proper nouns:
Josh Framm: the teenage boy at the center of
the story, along with his dog Buddy
Buddy (or Air-Bud): Josh’s smart dog, famous
for the ability to play basketball and football; this breed is called
“Golden Retriever”
Andrea: Josh’s little sister (about age 10?);
her best friend’s name is Tammy Fernfield: the American small town where
this story takes place; the town’s motto is “Where Everything is Possible”
Briana Scurry: at the end of the film, this
real soccer player becomes part of this story. She was the goal keeper for
the US Women’s World Cup soccer team.
Coach Montoya: high school soccer coach for
the Timberwolves
Coach Sterns and Steve Sterns: this is the
coach of the Spartans, and his son Steve, who is a talented soccer player
(though he can’t play because of a foot injury)
Emma Putter: a teenage girl who recently
moved to the US from England; she is very good at playing soccer, and meets
Josh by coaching his sister’s “upper elementary school” soccer team (Mrs.
Brimstone is the Putters’ house keeper)
Jackie Framm: Josh’s mother
Molly: Emma’s dog; she and Buddy “fall in
love” and have puppies
Patrick: the man who marries Josh’s mother at
the beginning of the show (I think they meet in “Air-bud 2”); his job is
being a vet (animal doctor)
Spartans: the name of a rival sports team
(the Spartans were ancient soldiers)
Timberwolves (or T-wolves): the name of Josh
and Emma’s high school team (many sports teams in the US have a
mascot/symbol, such as an animal or ancient historical figure)
Mr. Webster (or Willie): one of the “bad
guys,” who “acts British” to get a job inside the Putter house; but his true
motive is to steal the puppies. Like many “bad guys” in family comedies,
Willie is very stupid.
Nouns/verbs (vocabulary):
backfire: a loud sound that comes from the
back of a car or truck when the engine is in need of repair (used here to
show that the truck is old and run down)
bash (to throw a bash): (informal, and not
common) a party
“beats me”: (informal) “I don’t know”
“bingo!”: an expression used to show that
someone got an answer right or guessed about sth correctly
butler: a man whose job is to serve a wealthy
gentleman
canine (or K9): a dog, or relating to dogs
(notice that Buddy’s sport shirt sometimes has the number “K9”)
(in) code: a code is a way to make a
message secret, by using unusual words, letter, numbers or symbols
dog catcher: American cities employ this
person to catch “strays” (dogs without an owner); they are locked up in the
“dog pound” and if no one buys them in a week or so, they are killed
(to prevent the spread of disease or to prevent them from having lots of
unwanted puppies).
dog pound: a place where dogs with no name
tags are looked after for a few days, in hope that the owner will come get
them; if not, such dogs are “put to sleep” (killed) (also see “dog
catcher”)
dog whistle: a dog whistle makes a sound that
people can’t hear, but dogs can. It is used to train dogs to do special
things. (see “note 2”)
dresser: a piece of furniture, often about
the size of a desk, containing clothes in several drawers
football: (see “soccer”)
fundamentals: [c] the underlying principles
or most important ideas/rules of something; the basic skills needed to do
something
(to) hog (the ball): to keep (the ball) to
yourself, without sharing it with other teammates
kilt: a formal, traditional garment worn by
men in Scotland (it looks like a thick skirt, but one should never call it a
“skirt”!)
matrimony: (formal) marriage, often used in
wedding ceremonies. “We are here today to join this man and this woman in
holy matrimony.”
“our best shot”: to do your absolute best to
achieve something. “The other team won because we didn’t give it our best
shot.”
pass (a pass or to pass): in sports, you
“pass” or give the ball to another player; this is called “a pass.” “Tom,
pass the ball to me! Why didn’t you make a pass?”
(to) pass away: (polite) to die. “It has been
hard since his father passed away.”
“peeping Tom”: an expression referring to a
man who looks through a woman’s window, especially while she is getting
dressed (this goes back to an interesting story, that took place in
Coventry, England, in the 11th
century—click here for more info:
http://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/LadyGodiva.htm or http://ask.yahoo.com/20040713.html)
physical contact: when two people touch each
other, esp. in sports. Some sports (like American football) require a lot of
rough “physical contact” to stop the other team; in other sports, like
soccer, physical contact is not allowed.
pocket knife: a small device, often kept in a
man’s pocket, that contains several useful tools, like a small knife, a
screwdriver, a file, tweezers, and sometimes a whistle or magnifying glass.
(The) Pound: (see “dog pound”)
pup/puppy/puppies: several forms of the
English word describing the “children” of a dog
remarried: to get married again after a
divorce or the death of your first spouse (i.e., first marriage partner)
soccer: the American term for the sport most
people call “football” (this film gets humor from this difference between US
and Br English). Some of the important differences between US “football” and
“soccer” include: soccer does not involve physical contact, soccer players
do not need heavy protective pads or a helmet, and in soccer no one is
allowed to touch the ball with his/her hands.
stat sheet: a piece of paper that give
stats (i.e., statistics, or numbers) about the game just played, like
who scored, how many times the ball changed to the other team, etc. “This
won’t look good on the stat sheet.”
synonymous: (adj) having the same meaning or
being very closely connected with “The terms football and soccer
are synonymous when talking about this game.”
threshold: (old term) the entrance to a
house; in America, there is a tradition that a husband should carry his new
bride “over the threshold” the first time they enter their home after the
wedding
undefeated: never been beaten; to have won
every game this season
whistle: (see “dog whistle”)
