1 Exciting Sports

Our World

Unit 1 VOCABULARY 1 1 Listen and read. These days, many young people do dangerous and exciting sports called “extreme sports.” They can be done in the air, in the water, or on land. Extreme skiers reach speeds of 240 km (150 miles) an hour and fly the length of two football fields before they land! Another popular land sport is BMX (bicycle motocross). In skiing and BMX, people flip in the air! Kitesurfing is a new kind of surfing. An athlete travels skillfully across the water at speeds of 55 km (35 miles) an hour or more. If he isn’t skillful, he’ll crash. Kitesurfers, called “Charlie Browners,” need lots of strength in their arms. Hang-gliding is one of the most popular extreme sports, although the equipment is expensive. Serious accidents are not common, but sometimes people have injuries when they land. Imagine flying like a bird at a height of 6,000 m (20,000 feet)! 2 Listen and repeat. length Extreme skiers can fl y the length of two football fields. land He landed after hang-gliding for two hours. motocross Motocross can be dangerous. skiing Skiing is my favorite winter sport. flip Some skiers flip in the air. kitesurfing Kitesurfing is fun. skillful She is a very skillful athlete. crash Be careful. Don’t crash. strength Surfers need a lot of strength. hang-gliding I enjoy hang-gliding. equipment I bought some ski equipment. accident That skier had an accident. injury Many people have sports injuries. height He is flying at a height of two thousand meters.

SONG 1 Listen, read, and sing. Extreme Sports A kitesurfer rides the waves. A kitesurfer rides the wind. I’ve kitesurfed in my dreams ever since I was a kid! Extreme sports. Flying high in the air! Other sports don’t compare! Extreme sports. Look around. They’re everywhere! Super cool sports! Skiers flip so skillfully, incredibly high above the snow. I’ve skied in my dreams ever since I was a kid. Extreme sports. Flying high in the air! Other sports don’t compare! Extreme sports. Look around. They’re everywhere! Super cool sports! Motocross and hang-gliding, are so incredibly fun! I’ve dreamed of doing both ever since I was a kid! Extreme sports. Flying high in the air! Other sports don’t compare! Extreme sports. Look around. They’re everywhere! Super cool sports!

GRAMMAR 1 Present perfect with for and since TR: Kitesurfing has been popular for about fifteen years. Surfing and skateboarding have been popular since the 1970s. How long have you done extreme sports? for: for fifteen years/for five years/for a month/for an hour since: since the 1970s/since I was born/since June/since last year

VOCABULARY 2 1 Listen and repeat. elbow pads She’s wearing elbow pads. knee pads She’s wearing knee pads. a helmet She’s wearing a helmet. brakes Always check your brakes. a life jacket Always wear a life jacket on a boat. 2 Listen and stick. Work with a partner. Are you ready to go cycling now? Just a minute! I can’t fi nd my knee pads. You can borrow my old ones. Here you are. Thanks. But where are your elbow pads? You aren’t wearing any! They’re here. OK, I’m ready now, Sarah. Let’s go! Oh sorry, can you wait a minute? I’ve forgotten my helmet! I can’t fi nd it. Can you see it? It’s blue. There it is! It’s on the fl oor, next to your life jacket. Hurry up! We’re going to be late, and we still need to check the brakes. Why don’t you check the brakes while you’re waiting? GRAMMAR 2 Adverbs of emphasis Skateboarding is so exciting. Skateboarding is very cool. That trick is really dangerous. That trick is incredibly scary. That trick is very difficult. Those knee pads look extremely cool. Those knee pads look super silly. This boy’s helmet looks totally cool.