Read the text and answer the questions.

1. When were the first classical Games held?

2. How were the winners of the Games honored?

3. How many countries took part in the first modern Games?

4. What sports are included in the Winter Games?

5. What does the Olympic flag look like?

2.Choose the best variant.

1. The main idea of the first paragraph is_________________

A. Mount Olympus was a mythical home of the gods

B. the first Olympic Games were held in Greece

C. the Olympic Games were originally a religious festival

2. The Olympiad is _______________________

A. a period of peace throughout Greece

B. an annual and traditional sporting contest

C. a four-year period between the Games

3. Women didn't take part in the Games_______

A. until 1896

B. until 1910 С until 1924

4. The first Winter Games were held____________ after the revival of the Olympic Games.

A. 30 years

1. 24 years
2.  28 years

5. The five rings on the Olympic flag represent _________________________

A. the true spirit of sportsmanship

B. five continents of the world

C. the host country                                                                       

6. Which of the following sports was not mentioned among the basic events of the winter program?_________________

A. bobsledding

B. figure skating

C. field hockey

7. Which of the following is not true?_______________________

A. It's personal, not team performance, is emphasized in the Olym­pic Games.

B. All athletes from the host country take the oath on behalf of all the participants.

C. The winners were traditionally crowned with olive wreaths.

8. What conclusion can we draw about the ancient Greeks?________

A. They were good sportsmen.

B. They liked different ceremonies.

С.They couldn't count, so they used "Olympiads" for dates

 

Text C

Unusual Sports and Games

 

Curling is a popular sport in Canada. However, it probably started in Scotland or Holland around three hundred years ago. There are two teams with four people on each team in curling. The teams play on a sheet of ice that is 45 meters long and 4.3 meters wide.

Each player slides two heavy stones toward the "house" circle at the op­posite end of the ice sheet. The stones weigh almost twenty kilos. Each stone is flat on the top and bottom and has a handle on the top. The player swings the stone off the ice and it curls as it slides along.

While one player throws the stone, his teammates sweep in front of the-stone. This smoothes the ice. The players believe that the stone travels faster on smooth ice. The captain of the team yells "Sweep!" and the teammates start sweeping the ice.

Lacrosse is another popular sport in Canada. It is one of the oldest organized sports in America. It is also popular in Britain and Australia. It was invented by Indians in northern New York and southern Ontario. They used it to train for war before Columbus arrived in the New World.

People play lacrosse outdoors. The lacrosse field is 70 meters long. At each end of the field there is a goal. There are ten players on each team. Each player hits a ball that is 21 centimeters around and weighs 140 grams. They try to hit the ball into the net as many times as possible. Lacrosse is a very fast game because the players can catch and pass the ball at high speed with their sticks.

Sumo wrestling is the national sport in Japan. Every year there are six tournaments, and millions of Japanese watch them on television. Sumo is almost as old as the nation of Japan itself. Stories say there was sumo wrestling over 2000 years ago. Sumo wrestlers weigh from 100 to 160 kilos. One famous wrestler weighed 195 kilos. Sumo wrestlers do not look beautiful, and sumo wrestling is a very slow sport. Sumo wrestlers start training when they are boys. They exercise to make their bodies strong. They also eat, eat, and eat. Sumo wrestlers wrestle in a round ring with a sand floor. A wrestler loses the match if he leaves the ring or if any part of his body except his feet touch­es the floor. Each wrestler tries to push the other down on the floor or out of the ring. People from other countries usually think sumo is very strange, but the Japanese love it.

The most recent unusual sport is the triathlon, which became popular in the US before spreading elsewhere. This most demanding sport came from a late-night discussion in a Honolulu bar in 1977 about which sport was the most exhausting: swimming, bicycle racing, or long-distance running. Some­one suggested that they all be put together. The result was the first triathlon, the "Ironman", in 1978, with 15 participants. This contest was a 3.9-kilome­ter ocean swim, followed immediately by a 180-kilometer bicycle race, and ending with a 42 kilometer run. Five years later there were already 1,000 such competitions throughout the US, and the triathlon is becoming more and more popular in Europe, too.

 

Comprehension

1. Answer the questions.

1. Where is curling popular?

2. Who invented this game?

3. How many people play curling at one time?

4. Why is the game called curling?

5. How do the players slide the stones?

6. Who invented lacrosse?

7. What countries play lacrosse?

8. How many players are on each team?

9. In what countries is lacrosse played?

10. Where is sumo wrestling popular?

11. Is sumo an old sport?

12. How do sumo wrestlers train?

13. How are sumo wrestlers different from other athletes?

14. How does a sumo wrestler lose the match?

15. Why is triathlon referred to as "the most demanding sport"?

16. Where did it appear?

17. What country is triathlon most popular in?

 

Vocabulary Exercises

1. What do you call a man who can:

Wrestle, ski, skate, run, shoot, fence, box, climb, race, do weightlifting, swim, cycle, dive, play football/chess/draughts/volleyball/basketball/ hockey/tennis, go boating/yachting/ gliding/parachuting

 

e.g. to ski - a skier, to play basketball --a basketballer, to play hockey -a hockey-player, to do parachuting/sky diving - a parachute-jump­er/a sky diver, to go gliding — a glider-pilot, to go yachting — a yacht­sman

 

 

2. a) Choose the adjectives from the box that can go with the following sports and games.

 

e.g. Basketball is a fast game (sport).

active      beautiful dangerous  exciting marvelous popular

strenuous violent    spectator   slow     fast         attractive

mass       rash       spectacular bold     thrilling

 

archery, athletics, badminton, baseball, basketball, bobsledding, bowling, cycling, boxing, golf, gymnastics, fencing, figure skating, judo, football, ice hockey, rugby, rowing, speed skating, skiing, sla­lom, ski-jumping, steeplechase, swimming, volleyball, wrestling, yachting

 

b) Name sports from the list above that require:

 

strength, endurance, prudence, courage, quickness of reaction, resolu­tion, team spirit, a good eye and a lot of concentration, calculation

 

3.Translate the following sentences from English into Russian, paying attention to the translation of the words in bold type.

1. Cricket is a team game.

2. The next event will be the 100 meters race.

3. Do I have to wear a suit to the dinner, or will a sports jacket be good enough?

4. All sport-loving nations wish to take part in the Olympic Games.

5. Chess and checkers (draughts — BrE) are board games.

6. The group campaigns against all blood sports (BrE) especially fox hunting.

7. She established the British long-jump record.

8. Who holds the world record for discus throwing?

9. Carl Lewis is a famous track star.

10. Roger Bannister was the first person to run a mile under four min­utes.

11. During the international skating meet the young Russian dancing pair that were suited to each other to perfection were the sensation of the night.

12. The annual rugby match between British and French universities was cancelled because the British organization whose turn it was to play host couldn't raise enough money to stage the event.

13. The couple qualified to skate for Britain weren't in the running for medals but their performance was unforgettable.

14. Football is a thrilling spectator game.

15. Boxing is a dangerous spectacular sport.

16.

 

4. Fill in the following crossword puzzle.

Down

1. English pub game.

3. Popular water sport.

4. Canada's national sport.

5. Long distance run.

6. Musketeers liked this kind of sport.

7. Robin Hood was the best in it.

9. Complex of sports events orig­inated in Ancient Greece still very popular.

11. Kind of sports practiced by Daedalus and Icarus.

12. If you are not fond of skiing you are fond of…

13. We use this word speaking of furniture and tennis.

14. Form of football named after a public school.

Across

1. Plunging headfirst into the wa­ter.

2. Fighting where blows with the closed fists are forbidden. You must throw or pin the oppo­nent to the ground.

6. The most popular game. 8. Game similar to tennis.

10. Popular expensive water sport.

11. Ancient but still very popular kind of sport.

15. Board game in which each player has 16 pieces.

16. Not professional player.

18. Kind of sports enjoyed by grown-ups and children in winter.

19. Ancient kind of sports, dan­gerous and not for women.

17. Opponent (synonym).

20. Game played with clubs.

21. Playing many games we have it.

22. Japanese sport for huge peo­ple.

21. Players are dressed in white playing it.

23. One of the most popular sport terms.

24. Many games are played with the help of it.

 

5. Name sports and games a) popular with children under 7; b) popular with teenag­ers; c) you consider the most expensive; d) that are watched by most people on TV.

 

6.There are many words connected with sport. See if you know the meaning of the words in the list below, then complete the chart. When you have finished, compare your chart with another student's.

 

boat	trunks		stumps	stadium	clubs		net	horse		tracksuit
sticks	court		arrow	pool	cue		bikini	goggles		pitch
spikes	dartboard		course	mat	sea		bow	racket		darts
skis	saddle		bat	shorts	track		field	rink		ball
					hat		gloves
Sport		Where you play				What you wear			Equipment
Swimming
Tennis									net, racket, ball
Riding
Archery
Football
Darts		pubs
Golf
Billiards
Skiing
Boxing						shorts, gloves
Track and field
Sailing
Judo
Cricket

 

 

7. Mark the parts the following games consist of.

 

	Period	Set	Bout	Round	Inning	Half	Runs
Football
Volleyball
Hockey
Basketball
Boxing
Golf
Baseball
Cricket
Tennis
Table Tennis
Badminton
Sumo