Unit 08 A Question of Sport

Unit 8 Page 74 Reading Exercise 7 THE WORLD'S GREATEST SPORTING ACHIEVEMENTS The world of sport is full of wonderful moments. Here are our top three. The triple double The starting gun went off. Suddenly, eight athletes were flying down the track in Rio de Janeiro's Olympic Stadium. Less than 20 seconds later the race was over. Usain Bolt was walking around the stadium with the Jamaican flag over his shoulders - he was a double Olympic champion ... again! Four years earlier, at the 2012 London Olympics, he became the first man to win a gold medal in both the 100m and 200m sprint at a second Olympic Games (he won them both at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, too). In Rio, he did it for a third time. As well as his eight Olympic gold medals (he won the BOLT other two in relay races with other teammates), Bolt also won 11 world championships and currently holds the world record for the 100m and 200m. He is one of the greatest sprinters in history. The perfect ten Everyone was looking at 15-year-old Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci as she left the bars, flew through the air and landed perfectly on the ground. She turned round. The crowd was cheering. Everyone was waiting nervously for the judges' score. Then it came. The scoreboard was showing '1.00'. The crowd was confused. But then the organisers explained. The makers of the scoreboards thought it was impossible to get a perfect score of 10. The boards were not able to show '10.00'. So, on 18 July 1976, at the Montreal Olympics, Nadia made history when she became the first gymnast ever to get a perfect ten. She got six more 'perfect scores' at the games and won three gold medals, making her one of the best athletes in her sport of all time. The four-minute mile It was the final lap. Roger Bannister was running fast, but could he really become the first person to run a mile in under four minutes? A minute later, he was lying exhausted on the ground. Then, there was an announcement of his time: '3 minutes, 59.4 seconds.' The crowd went crazy. Before 6 May 1954, experts said that a four-minute mile was impossible to run. Roger showed them that they were wrong. He planned to stop running after the 1952 Summer Olympics, but there he only came in fourth place. Without a medal, Roger wanted to show how good he was. In 1954, he did exactly that.

Page 77 Listening Exercise 9 & 10 Gemma, how do you feel about sport? I'm not interested in sport. I really don't like it. I mean, I like exercise so I go for walks and I like swimming, oh I run a lot too, that's great - but I just don't like sport, you know, the idea where you try to win, to beat other people. And I hate sport on TV - I leave the room! And I don't go to sports events like football matches - why do people pay so much money to watch 22 men run after a ball? Andy, how do you feel about sport? Well, I like running a lot. At school I play football but that's because I have to, all the boys play football, and it's OK, I mean I don't hate it, but I don't really like team games and sports very much. I like doing things alone and I Think that's why I love running, it's just me and not other people. I'm not a very good runner but I just love trying to run a little faster than the last time, do you know what I mean? Tracey, how do you feel about sport? Well, I absolutely love skateboarding, of course! It's just the best thing in the world. Some of my family say it isn't really a sport but they don't know anything. I spend hours practising moves. There's a skate-park with a really good ramp, it's not far from where I live. I'm there all the time. It's the only sport I like really. I mean, I kind of like football but really that's only because some of my friends are into it. But skateboarding, that's my thing. Paul, how do you feel about sport? When I was a kid I didn't like any sports at all. I thought: 'I'm just not good at things like running and jumping' but about a year ago I saw some gymnastics on TV and now I love it. There's a sports centre in my town where I can do gymnastics. I can't do it at school because they haven't got anywhere, but I go to the sports centre every weekend and some evenings too, to do as much gymnastics as I can. Ryan, how do you feel about sport? Sport? Wonderful! I'm a real sports fanatic. I mean, I think about sport all the time. I watch almost everything on TV - football, tennis, swimming, everything. And I do a lot of sport too - my favourite's football, of course, and I'm really not bad at football. I'm in the school team too. And I'm also learning to ski. My family went to Italy last year. We went sking - it was fantastic and I want to do more.

Page 78 Reading Exercise 2 Sporting Fails Professional athletes need their bodies to be in excellent condition. They train hours every day to achieve this. Sometimes it only takes one small mistake to spoil all that hard work. In 2011, for example, French golfer Thomas Levet won the French Open. He was So happy that he jumped in a lake and broke his leg. And American skier Lindsey Vonn cut her hand badly while she was opening a glass bottle to celebrate winning at the 2009 World Championships. We know you're not professionals, but we want you to tell us all about your silliest sporting accidents. 1 Last year, I was playing volleyball for my school team. I jumped up high and hit the ball really hard. At first, I thought it was a really good shot, but I soon found out it wasn't. The ball hit the post at the side of the net: then it hit me in the face and knocked me to the floor. I had a big purple bruise on my face and I couldn't play the rest of the game. 2 When I was 13, I played for the school rugby team and we won the schools championship. A few days later, there was a big celebration at school. All the students were there to watch as we walked on to the stage to get medals from the headmistress. I got my medal, but when I was leaving the stage, I tripped and fell down the steps. Luckily, I wasn't hurt, but I was really, really embarrassed. 3 A few days ago I was skateboarding down my road when I saw my best friend. I shouted to him and started waving. While I was waving, I rode into a lamppost and fell off. My leg was hurting really badly and I couldn't move. After ten minutes, my friend called an ambulance. Finally, they took me to hospital. The doctor there told me my leg was broken. Now I can't skateboard for at least six months, and I have to miss the local championships.

Page 80 Culture Exercise 2 The wonderful world of sport Sports such as football, tennis and golf are popular all over the world with millions of people playing them or watching them on TV. But there are also many unusual sports that are not so well known. Here are four interesting examples. 1 Every year, on a small Chinese island, thousands of people arrive to celebrate a very special event: the Cheung Chau bun festival. The highlight of the festival is a race to the top of a very strange mountain. The mountain is made of metal and covered with a type of traditional Chinese bun. Spectators watch as three teams compete to see how many buns they can take from the mountain. The climb can be quite dangerous and people who want to take part must take a special training course. 2 Camel racing is a popular sport in many countries around the world, including Mongolia and Australia. But it is especially popular in the Middle East and each year, from late October to early April, many big races take place in countries such as the United Arab Emirates. As many as 70 camels race along sandy desert tracks for up to 16 km. The owners of the camels drive by the side of the animals shouting at them to run faster and Cross the finish line before the others. 3 Bossaball is a very modern sport that was first played in 2005. It started in Spain, but it was the idea of a Belgian man called Filip Eyckmans. He wanted to create a sport that mixed together football, gymnastics, volleyball and the Brazilian music of bossa nova. There are two trampolines with a net between them. The idea is for one team to hit the ball over the net and the other team to try and hit it back. The trampolines let the players jump very high, making the sport very exciting to watch. The sport is already popular in many countries around the world, including Brazil, Mexico, Turkey, Singapore and Saudi Arabia. 4 Chess boxing was the invention of Dutch artist lepe Rubingh. His original idea was to create a piece of performance art, but it was so popular that it soon became a sport played in countries all over the world. The game is quite simple. Two contestants compete against each other at chess and boxing. Each round of chess is followed by a round of boxing with a break of a minute between each round to give the players time to put on or take off their gloves. The first person to win either the chess match or the boxing match wins the game.

Units 7 & 8 Page 82 A2 Key for Schools Listening Part 4 Exercise 2 Now look at Part Four. For each question, choose the correct answer. 1 You will hear a man talking to his son. What does the man want his son to do? You're still doing your homework, Mike? Yeah, it's a lot. Hmm. I was hoping we could go for a bike ride. I've got an idea. I'll help you a bit, then we can go sooner, OK? Sounds great, Dad. Now listen again. You're still doing your homework, Mike? Yeah, it's a lot. Hmm. I was hoping we could go for a bike ride. I've got an idea. I'll help you a bit, then we can go sooner, OK? Sounds great, Dad. 2 You will hear a girl, Kate, talking about shopping. Why did she buy the camera? Hey, have a look at my new camera. I wanted it for a long time, and then this new shop in Market Street opened yesterday. And guess what - they had a special offer. I wanted it in pink, but they only had it in blue. But that's not a problem. Now listen again. Hey, have a look at my new camera. I wanted it for a long time, and then this new shop in Market Street opened yesterday. And guess what - they had a special offer. I wanted it in pink, but they only had it in blue. But that's not a problem. 3 You will hear a woman talking to her daughter. What's the weather like? Ready, Mum. Oh, thanks so much, Nancy. Here's the money. And don't forget to take your coat. It's raining. I don't want you to catch a cold. Now listen again. Ready, Mum. Oh, thanks so much, Nancy. Here's the money. And don't forget to take your coat. It's raining. I don't want you to catch a cold. 4 You will hear a teacher talking to her student, Sebastian. What is he going to do after school? Sebastian, I'm sorry to hear your mum's in hospital. Thanks, Miss Miller. Please say hello from me when you see her next. I will. I'm catching the bus so I can see her there after my final lesson. Look, you don't have to do your homework today. Better stay with her for a bit longer. She'll like that. OK. Now listen again. Sebastian, I'm sorry to hear your mum's in hospital. Thanks, Miss Miller. Please say hello from me when you see her next. I will. I'm catching the bus so I can see her there after my final lesson. Look, you don't have to do your homework today. Better stay with her for a bit longer. She'll like that. OK. 5 You will hear two friends talking about their day. What did they do? It's been a great day. That's true. The adventure park was fun. I loved it. Me too. But I'm really tired now. Well, it's good we didn't come on our bikes. You can rest on the bus home. Now listen again. It's been a great day. That's true. The adventure park was fun. I loved it. Me too. But I'm really tired now. Well, it's good we didn't come on our bikes. You can rest on the bus home.

Unit 8 Pronunciation Exercise 1 Was she shopping? Yes, she was. She was shopping for socks. Were they doing their homework? No, they weren't. They were learning to surf! Pronunciation Exercise 3 Was she shopping? Yes, she was. She was shopping for socks. Were they doing their homework? No, they weren't. They were learning to surf!