20091031 -- The Gaelic Athletic Association (2)

The Gaelic Athletic Association

From the lowest to the highest levels, GAA players are amateurs. More importantly, clubs cannot be sold or even owned by individuals. Instead, each club is based in a community and run by the people of that community. Each year, club members vote to elect a committee to manage the club's affairs. Even at the highest levels, association officials are elected and can only hold their posts for four years.

Despite its focus on amateur sports, the association's business model has proven extremely successful. Over the years, the GAA has built up more than 2.6 billion euros in assets. Last year it earned an additional 64 million euros. An impressive 80 percent of that income was invested back into local GAA clubs.

This year the GAA marks its 125th anniversary. As an organization, it has stood the test of time. The association has demonstrated that community and culture can still be an important part of top-level sports.


committee n. 委員會
=> a group of people who has chosen to make decisions for an organization
eg: Last year we started a committe to help plan student events.

extremely adv. 極端地/非常
=> to a very great degree
eg: Mountain climbing is an extremely exciting hobby.

invest v. 投資
invest in something
eg: Simon would like to invest his money but he has a lot of questions.
eg: Alex invested some of his savings in real estate(房地產).

investment n. 投資
eg: He made a large investment in the stock markets.

demonstrate v. 證明
=> show
eg: Mr. Maxwell stood at the front of the class to demonstrate the experiment.
eg: The research clearly demonstrated the connection between lung cancer and smoking.

demonstrate v. 表明
eg: The change of location of headquarters(總部) demonstrated the company's determination to take over the Asian market.

amateur adj. 業餘的
amateur <=> professional

euros in assets

asset n. 資產/財產(大多數是用複數型)
=> the thing that somebody or a company own
eg: The majority of the couple's assets are in cash.
eg: The most valuabe assets of this company are their copyrights.

asset n. 寶貴的人才/有利的條件
eg: Britney is an important asset of our company.

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stand the test of time 經得起時間的考驗
=> last for a long time

stand out 傑出/突出
=> prominent

stand out like a sore thumb 突出(負面的意思)

it stand to reason 理所當然
=> it makes sense

stand one's ground 不屈服

stand up to someone 勇敢面對某人
=> confront someone

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Will Gaelic Games die out? With its stable, healthy economy, Ireland has become a very desirabe place to live. What this means is there are more and more people living in Ireland who aren't Irish. This presents a unique challenge to the Gaelic Athletic Association, which has traditional marketed itself to Irish nationals. So now, the question is: can the GAA help Ireland's non-Irish people develop a passion for Irish sports?