Файл: Teksty_dlya_chteniya_1_2_semestry.doc

Swimming as a sport was not popular in Russia. Training and competitions were only possible in summer and athletes could not achieve good results. The first swimming competitions in Russia were held in 1913 in Kiev. Since 1947 our swimmers have been taking part in international competitions.

I. Answer the questions

1. How many styles are there in swimming?

2. Where was swimming practised as a sport?

3. Was swimming as a sport popular in Russia?

4. When did swimming become the Olympic sport?

5. When were the first swimming competitions in Russia held?

II.Choose the Russian equivalent

1. Many countries organized national swimming competitions.

1. Национальные соревнования проводились во многих странах.

2. Организация соревнований по плаванию была на должном уровне.

3. Многие страны организовывали национальные соревнования по плаванию.

1. Swimmers trained and contested mostly in rivers, ponds and lakes, which was only possible in summer.

1. Пловцы никогда не тренировались на реках, прудах и озерах летом.

2. Соревнования по плаванию проводились летом на реках, прудах и озерах.

3. Пловцы тренировались и соревновались в основном на реках, прудах и озерах, что было возможно только летом.

2. One of the earliest swimming competitions in Europe was held in 1515 in Venice.

1. Соревнования по плаванию проходили в Европе в 1515 году.

2. Одно из самых первых соревнований по плаванию в Европе проводилось в 1515 году в Венеции.

3. В Венеции проводились соревнования по плаванию в 1515 году.

Text 15 Tennis.

There is Deck Tennis, Beach Tennis, Lawn Tennis, Ring Tennis and Table Tennis.

Deck tennis appeared in the 1920s. It is played by either two or four people who throw a quoit or rubber ring to one another across a net suspended over the centre of the court, which is divided like a Lawn Tennis court. The size of the courts, whether for singles or for doubles, varies. Ring tennis is a combination of tennis and quoits. Two or four players in either singles or doubles can play it.

Beach tennis can be played with the same equipment and to the same rules as ring tennis, but often the only equipment used is the rubber ring.

Lawn tennis is a game played with long-handled, oval-headed rackets, made of either wood or metal, by two (singles) or four (doubles) players. They seek to collect points by controlling and maneuvering a lively, cloth-covered, rubber ball within the confines of a court, 23.77m long and for singles play 8.23m wide. The court is divided across the middle into two equal halves by a net, 0,914m high at the centre. The game was played first on grass, which has remained the traditional surface in Great Britain, Australia and the USA. Now the grass at some of the most famous American clubs should be replaced by plastic surfaces.

Real tennis is a racket-and-ball game played in an indoor court. This ancient game, from which lawn tennis was devised, is now known as real tennis in Britain, royal tennis in Australia and court tennis in America.

Table tennis, an indoor game, is played by two players or two pairs facing each other and hitting a ball with a racket so that it passes over or round a net stretched midway across the surface of a table, striking its surface at each end alternately.

1. Answer the questions

1. When did Deck tennis appear?

2. What is Ring tennis?

3. What do players throw to one another across a net?

4. How is the court in Lawn tennis divided?

5. Is tennis popular all over the world?

2. True or false?

1. Beach tennis can be played with the same equipment and to the same rules as ring tennis, but often the only equipment used is the rubber ring.

2. Now the grass at some of the most famous American clubs should be replaced by plastic surfaces.

3. Lawn tennis is a game played with long-handled, oval-headed rackets, made of plastic, by two (singles) or four (doubles) players.

4. The size of the courts, whether for singles or for doubles, never varies.

5. Table tennis, an indoor game, is played by two players or two pairs facing each other and hitting a ball with a racket.

Text 16 Wrestling.

Wrestling is the oldest sport of all.There is evidence that organised events took place over 5000 years ago.

There are two types of wrestling- Freestyle and Greco-Roman. They are essentially the same- the difference is only in what the legs are allowed to do. Basically Greco-Roman wrestlers are not allowed to use or attack the legs whereas Freestyle wrestlers make use of single-leg and double-leg tackles. Visually this means that the Greco-Roman encounters are more akin to Judo with the competitors using body lifts and throws to get their opponents onto the floor.

For the 2000 Olympics the competition took on a new format – eight new divisions in each style were replacing the previous ten weight divisions in both styles. The divisions are defined by maximum body weight: 54kg, 58kg, 63kg, 69kg, 76kg, 85kg, 97kg and 130kg.

Each class contains 20 wrestlers, who have qualified trough a variety of pre-Olympic tournaments. They are drawn into six groups, composed of two four-man groups and four three-man groups. There is no seeding – the draw for the pools is open. Each wrestler fights with the group on a round-robin basis with the winners from the four three-man pools progressing to the quarter-finals. The two winners from the quarter-finals join the two winners from four-man groups in the semi-finals. The victorious semi-finalists fight for gold and silver while the defeated wrestlers wrestler for bronze.

1. Answer the questions

1. What are the types of wrestling?

2. What is the difference between Freestyle and Greco-Roman?

3. How are the divisions defined?

4. How many wrestlers does each class contain?

5. Is wrestling popular in this country?

2. Put in the correct order as in the text

1. The divisions are defined by maximum body weight: 54kg, 58kg, 63kg, 69kg, 76kg, 85kg, 97kg and 130kg.

2. There is evidence that organised events took place over 5000 years ago.

3. Eight new divisions in each style were replacing the previous ten weight divisions in both styles.

4. The victorious semi-finalists fight for gold and silver while the defeated wrestlers wrestle for bronze.

5. Basically Greco-Roman wrestlers are not allowed to use or attack the legs whereas Freestyle wrestlers make use of single-leg and double-leg tackles.

Text 17 Skiing.

Skiing is moving over snow by the use of a pair of long flat runners, attached to shoes or boots, called skis. The oldest skis found in bogs in Sweden and Finland are believed to be 4000 to 5000 years old.

Skis were first used for transport and are still used for travel in Norway, Sweden and some eastern European countries in rural areas. Skiing as both a recreation and a sport was a natural development from skiing as transport.

Skiing events are divided into two kinds: Nordic and Alpine, the former comprising cross-country and jumping skills. The Alpine events include downhill racing and slalom.

In the 20^thcentury skiing became an increasingly popular activity, first in Europe and North America. It spread rapidly in Australia and New Zealand in the 1930s. Following World War II it also spread to Greece, the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Iran and India.

At first the Alpine skier had to climb heights to ski down. In the early 1900s only mountain railways or aerial cable cars carried skiers uphill in the Alps. But in the 1930s there began the introduction of succession of devices from rope tows to chair lifts and gondola lifts that made it possible for a skier to ski downhill four to five times more in a day than earlier skiers could. The introduction of snowmaking machines guaranteed adequate snow for skiers if the weather failed.

The improvement of skis also promoted proficiency and added to the popularity of the recreation and sport. Skis were originally made from one piece of wood, usually hickory, but from the 1930s laminated constructions were also used. From the 1950s plastic running surfaces increased speed and durability. Skis of metal, usually with a wood or plastic core, became increasingly popular. Parabolic skis (also called hourglass skies) came into wide use in the 1990s.

New fabrics and manufacturing techniques made skiers more comfortable on the slopes. A seemingly endless variety of waxes to be used on running surfaces for varying snow conditions and kinds of skiing increased the average skier’s proficiency and provided a subject for friendly disputes in ski lodges everywhere.

In 1924 the International Ski Federation (ISF) was founded as the world governing body. It held world championships quadrennial. Skiing became an Olympic sport in the 1924 Games, Nordic only for men until 1936, when Alpine events for both men and women were added. Nordic events for women were introduced in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1967 an annual Alpine World Cup championship was established, supervised by the FIS but privately sponsored, and in the 1969-70 season the World Cup became entirely private and professional. A Nordic World Cup was added in 1979.

1. Answer the questions.

1. How are skiing events divided?

2. What do the Alpine events include?

3. When was the ISF founded?

4. When did skis appear in our country?

5. Is skiing popular in Russia?

6. What famous Russian athletes do you know?

2. Put the sentences in the correct order as in the text.

1. New fabrics and manufacturing techniques made skiers more comfortable on the slopes.

2. The oldest skis found in bogs in Sweden and Finland are believed to be 4000 to 5000 years old.

3. In the 20^thcentury skiing became an increasingly popular activity, first in Europe and North America.

4. A Nordic World Cup was added in 1979.

5. A seemingly endless variety of waxes to be used on running surfaces for varying snow conditions and kinds of skiing increased the average skier’s proficiency and provided a subject for friendly disputes in ski lodges everywhere.

6. Skiing is moving over snow by the use of a pair of long flat runners, attached to shoes or boots, called skis.