Part of the fun of watching sports events is following an exciting rivalry (竞争关系).

    But where do all these rivalries come from?

    Some rivalries start because athletes spend a lot of time close to opponents (对手).

    Other rivalries get personal. Things that one rival says that are thought to be not respectful to the other can cause a rivalry, even if the words are misunderstood. And sometimes, rivalries grow just because the athletes don't like each other's personalities.

    Some sports may also be more likely than others to cause rivalries. “Some sports only meet a few times, so there is less chance for rivalries to build,” For example, in sports where athletes perform on their own, such as diving, rivalries might also take longer to appear than in sports in which athletes compete at the same time. But in tennis, players often face each other, and rivalries are more likely to happen.

    So do the rivalries do good or harm to the athletes?

    Some believe that rivalries can be a good thing because they encourage athletes to try harder to win. But rivalries can also become too personal, taking athletes' attention away from their sports.

    Keegan agreed that rivalries often do athletes more harm than good. “They can be a huge distraction (分散注意力的事) and lead to focusing on the opponent more than the game,” he said.

    “Top athletes often have physical and mental training that they follow in order to worry less and prepare to compete”, Gould further explained. An important part of that preparation is preventing from distractions, including rivalries.

    “The better athletes don't care too much about a rivalry – they try to treat every competition the same,” Gould told LiveScience.

    Argentina in the late nineteenth century was an exciting place. Around 1870, it was experiencing an economic(经济的)boom, and the capital, Buenos Aires, attracted many people. Farmers, as well as a flood of foreigners from Spain and Italy, came to Buenos Aires seeking jobs. These jobs didn′t pay well, and the people felt lonely and disappointed with their new life in the city. As the unhappy newcomers mixed together in the poor parts of the city, the dance known an the tango(探戈舞)came into being.

    At the beginning the tango was a dance of the lower classes. It was danced in the bars and streets. At that time there many fewer women than men, so if a man didn′t want to be left out, his only choice was to dance with another man so that he could attract the attention of the few available women. Gradually, the dance spread into the upper classes of Argentinean society and became more respectable.

    In Europe at this time, strong interest in dance from around the world was beginning.

    The interest in international dance was especially evident in Paris. Every kind of dance from ballet(芭蕾舞)to belly dancing could be found on the stages of the Paris theaters of the Paris theaters. After tango dances from Argentina arrive in Europe, they began to draw the interest of the public an they performed their exiting dance in cafes, Though not everyone approved of the new dance, saying it was a little too shocking, the dance did find enough supporters to make it popular.

    The popularity（流行）Of the tango continued to grow in many other parts of the world. Soldiers who returned to the United States from World War I brought the tango to North America, It reached Japan in 1926, and in 2003 the Argentinean embassy in Seoul hired a local tango dancer to act an a kind of dance ambassador, and promote tango dancing throughout South Korea.

Events listed here are open to everyone. Whether you want to listen to a lecture, learn a new skill, take in a concert or an exhibition, see a play staged by Oxford University students or attend one of our sporting events, there's always something going on.

    Events are subject to change; please contact the organizer for full details.

    Qu Leilei: A Chinese Artist in Britain

    30 November 2017 to 15 April 2018

Contemporary Chinese artist Qu Leilei (born in 1951), now based in London, was a founding member of the creative ‘Stars Group' in the late 1970s, and immigrated to England in 1985. This exhibition shows his progression from calligraphic (书法的) art to an exploration of a new vocabulary of ink language mixing lively brushwork with western technique.

    The Brexit (脱欧) sword hanging over our universities

    29 November 2017

    Lord Bilimoria CBE，the Founder and Chairman of Cobra Beer and President of the University of Birmingham, will talk about Brexit, its influence on our universities, their academics and students as well as the future of international students in the UK.

    Oxford Botanic Garden Christmas Fair

    2-3 December 2017

    Escape the crowds and step inside a wonderland of hand-picked gifts, tasty food and family entertainment. Look through for extra-special Christmas presents at over 30 stands in the heated large tent. Pause for a glass of sweet hot wine and some delicious food, then follow the Alice in Wonderland path around the walled garden before stopping for tea with the Mad Hatter.

    The Art of Partying: A Feast for the Eyes!

    13 December 2017

    From Greek designs and Biblical weddings to Renaissance works and the celebratory styles of the twentieth-century painters, this lecture will examine the popular description of parties in the history of Western Art at the Ashmolean Museum.