Day 56

Hi,

James really knows how to talk about sport

Vocabulary:______Find the "odd one out"

 There may be more than one answer. Give your reasons.

                      

a game

a sport

a match

betting

gambling

gaming

a competition

a contest

an event

the Test Match

the FA Cup Final

the World Cup

a crew

a side

a team

to lose a game

to miss a game

to win a game

football

rugby

soccer

judge

referee

umpire

Text for dictation:

There are several different categories of sports which exercise both the body and mind.

Altitude sports include gliding, hang-gliding, mountaineering and parachuting. They are not for people who are afraid of heights.

Athletics includes track and field events involving running, jumping, vaulting and throwing. A standard track is a circuit of 400 metres. The field is the green area in the middle.

Combat games consist of boxing, fencing, judo, karate, kendo and wrestling.

Court games attract people of all ages. They include badminton, basketball, handball, netball, pelota, squash, table tennis, tennisand volleyball. The courts are rectangular.

Equestrian sports, usually for people rich enough to own horses, include dressage, eventing, horse racing, polo and show jumping. Many people enjoy betting on the horses.

Field sports require a large area of green. They include American football, baseball, bowls, cricket, croquet. golf, hockey, lacrosse, rugby football and soccer.

Gymnasium sports consist of weightlifting and gymnastics. The latter contains floor exercises including leaps, spins, balances andtumbles as well as fixed apparatus such as rings, bars, beams, pommel horses and vaulting horses.

Other categories of sport are (1) target (2) water (3) wheeled and (4) winter sports. Can you provide examples of sports in each of these categories?

Dialogue:______read aloud in pairs

A: Do you think it's possible to keep politics out of sport?

B: Not at national or international level.

A: Why not?

B: Well, we can hardly keep politics out of the Eurovision song contest. How are

we meant to keep it out of football, which has a far greater following?

A: I'd certainly agree if you're thinking of the World Cup. Success in such a

major tournament seems to produce a feel-good factor which benefits ruling political

parties. Failure produces the opposite effect.

B: Also, the very act of hosting the World Cup or the Olympics gives a great

boost to tourism because of all the spectators who come to watch their country and the

opportunities to present favourable images to the media. Look how everybody wanted the 2012 Olympics!

A: Yet, there are surely some features of these events that are above politics.

What about the power of the athletes and the artistic beauty of the synchronised swimmers?

B: But why play the gold medalists' national anthems and why wear stars and

stripes on your swimming costumes?

A: A good advertisement for your country is better than one promoting cigarettes or soft drinks.

B: But both have nothing to do with sport.

A: I think you're being too sceptical. Sporting greats such as Pelé and Mohamed Ali

are remembered for their skill, not for their nationality or any product they happened to promote.

B: That might have been the case once, but you forget that mega-stars like Pelé

and Ali were the products. They could pull crowds and make vast sums of money. In Ali's case,

he put a little known African country on the map, highlighted the causes of the draft-dodgers

and Black Muslims and rescued hostages. What could be more political than that?

If you need a more recent example, ask yourself: "What has Mike Tyson done for sport?"

A: He's infuriated women's groups and vegetarian societies. However, Ali

endeared himself to millions of whites and raised the morale of millions of blacks.

You may be right about sport and politics, but it can work both ways.

Discussion questions:______ask and answer

1. Which is more important in sport - winning or taking part? Are you a good loser?

2. Should we always try to keep politics out of sport?

3. What are the most important events in the sporting calendar in your country?

Which of these events do you enjoy most? Why?

4. In Britain, the big events include the Boat Race, the Grand National & the Derby

(horse races), the Five Nations (rugby) the FA Cup Final (football), the Test Match

(cricket) and Wimbledon (tennis). Which of these would you like to see? Why?

5. Is it easy to take part in sport in your country? Which sports do you do and how

often do you take part?

6. Who are your sporting heroes and heroines? Why do you admire them?

7. Should the Olympic Games be held only in Greece or should they change between

different countries? Where would you like to see them held next time?

8. Do you think that boxing is a true sport? Should it be included in the Olympic Games?

Should it be made illegal?

9. Which is your favourite sport to watch and what do you think are the qualities of

a good team or a true champion in that sport?

10. Do people in your country do enough sport or do they prefer to watch TV and play

computer games? How could you encourage lazy people to do more sport?