Baseball is often called America's game . This may or not be true but a baseball game is a great place to learn American English . So , let's go to the ballpark ! My colleague , Christopher Jones Cruise , invited me to a baseball game recently . Let's hear how it went . Anna , thanks for coming to the game today ! It's going to be a great game . The teams are from two countries . The Toronto Blue Jays traveled from Canada to Washington , D.C ., to play the Washington Nationals . I've never been to Nationals Park before ! It's really … big ! But it's raining . Is that going to affect the game ? Well , the weather experts said the rain in the D.C . area would be intermittent . It's going to rain for a few minutes and then stop before possibly starting again . It'll be fine . Oh , and don't let me forget to pay you for the tickets . Don't worry about the tickets . Seating close to the field for some games can be expensive . Do you see those seats all the way down there behind home plate ? They can cost $375 ! So five dollars for a seat is a great deal ! Well , I know you like to save money . You know , some people from work say I'm a cheapskate . They don't say that … much . I'm not a cheapskate . I just love the idea of saving money and enjoying the game in the ‘cheap seats ’. Oh , I don't mind seats this far away . But , you know , my eyesight is not that good . In fact , it looks like there's a huge , furry animal down there on the field . There's nothing wrong with your eyesight . That is a big furry animal on the field . It's the team mascot . You know , people in costumes that get the crowd excited . Well , that mascot is doing a good job . Everyone is excited . Oh , look , they have big screens televising the game . I can watch the game on those . Those are called “Jumbotrons !” That's a cool name . Look at the crowd . We all look funny all wearing these cheap rain covers . You know Christopher , I think the rain is falling harder . And it's been raining for 20 minutes . It won't be a problem . We have a problem . We would like to announce that the game will be delayed due to inclement weather . The game is delayed . I heard that . It's delayed because of “inclement ” weather . Why not just say , “The game is canceled because of rain .” I guess they want to sound fancy instead of just saying it's “stormy .” Look , many fans have moved inside the stadium . What are those people doing on the field with that big blue plastic thing ? That is a plastic tarp and they are covering the field . It will keep the field from getting too wet . Teams often cancel games when the field is soaked with water . Baseball players can get injured when they play on a field that is wet or muddy . Yeah , I guess team owners don't want to lose money if a player gets hurt . They pay some players millions of dollars a year to play a ballgame ! Hey , the rain … it seems to be slowing . Maybe the game will start soon ! I don't think so , Christopher . Look , an official is coming out to check the field . Now , it looks like he is signaling to someone . It looks like a weird dance . I know that weird dance . Don't do it . Don't do it ! The game is rained out ! The fields can't be that damaged from the rain . ANNOUNCER : The field is really damaged from the rain . But keep your tickets . There will be a make-up game tomorrow . The first game is at one o'clock in the afternoon . Thank you for your understanding . See , it's not so bad . You can see two games tomorrow , a double-header . I can't come tomorrow . I have to work . Oh , well , I'm off . Can I have your ticket ? I'll bring a friend . Well , since they called the game , we have to leave the stadium At least , the officials for the Nationals have a sense of humor . What do you mean ? There's nothing funny about a rained out baseball game . Don't you hear the song they are playing on those large speakers throughout the park ? “Laughter in the Rain ” by Neil Sedaka !