"Serious sport is war minus the shooting".

George Orwell, English writer

Objectives:

• to present and practise some vocabulary related to sport

• to practise speaking about sport

• to present prediction as a listening strategy

• to practise writing an article

Warm up

Questionnaire

HOW SPORTY ARE YOU?

Does the mention of the word "sport" make you run and put on your train­ers? Or look for somewhere to hide?

Answer these questions and find out how much you like sport. Be honest!

1. It's a cold, wet Sunday afternoon. Do you:

a) go out and play games?

b) watch sport on TV?

c) read a book?

2. The World Cup Final is on TV. Do you:

a) watch the match?

b) study and listen to the match on radio?

c) go to your bedroom and play on your computer?

3. The Olympics are taking place on the other side of the world. Do you:

a) stay up all night to watch TV?

b) read the result in the morning newspapers?

c) yawn when friends talk about it?

4. Your new boyfriend / girlfriend wants to play tennis on Saturday Do you:

a) agree immediately and practise every day?

b) go, but say you're not very good?

c) say you're not interested and suggest going to the cinema?

5. The sports teacher is talking to the class about organizing a sports day. Do you:

a) volunteer for every event?

b) choose one event you'd like to be in?

Homework

Write a letter to your friend with the latest news. Write what has happened and when it happened.

c) hide behind a big student?

6.  Your sports teacher chooses you to run in the 1500 metres race. Do you:

a) practise running for a week before the race?

b) just do your best and not worry about winning?

c) phone the school on the day of the competition and say you re ill?

Points Results

a) 5 points 6 points or less: You hate sport.

b) 3 points 7—18 points: You quite like sport.

c) 0 points More than 18: You're a sports fanatic!

Introducing the Topic

Vocabulary

Answers: 1 e, 2 f, 3 i, 4 g, 5 h, 6 a, 7 b, 8 d, 9 j, 10 c.

B) Which sport is different from the other three in each group. There may be more than one possible answer, so discuss all of them with your partner.

1. basketball football tennis baseball

2. judo volleyball boxing wrestling

3. table tennis sailing cycling swimming

4. volleyball table tennis boxing tennis

5. baseball golf tennis football

6. swimmimg sailing wind-surfing rowing

Answers: Only one suggested answer is given here!

1. tennis (an individual competition not a team game);

2. volleyball (can't be used for self-defence);

3. table tennis (is played with a ball);

4. boxing (neither net or ball is used);

5. golf (a golf course is much larger than baseball and football grounds or a tennis court);

6. swimming (doesn't need any special equipment).

C) Put each of these sports into one of the three groups.

Volleyball, football, judo, basketball, rugby, diving, swimming, cycling, boxing, golf, windsurfing, sailing, badminton, shooting, rowing, wrestling, skating, baseball, high jumping, skiing, fencing, handball, table tennis, lawn tennis

Sports played or done in teams:...

Sports that can be played or done against one other person:... Sports that can be played or done alone:...

D) Look at these sentences:

• You go swimming.

• You play football.

• You do athletics.

Which verb do we use for:

a) ball game?

b) most sports ending in —ing ?

c) other sports?

Reading

Fill in the space with missing prepositions.

MY ATTITUDE TO SPORT

_(in) my opinion sport is one_(of) the things that helps to keep people fit and healthy. Physically inactive people get older earlier than those who have plenty_(of) exercise. Being_(in) good health means having both body and mind_(in) good working order, free_(from) disease and pain.

I like Latin proverb that says "A sound mind is_(in) a sound body". If you want to be physically and mentally healthy, go_(in for) sports. Sport is very popular_(in) our family. Practically all the year round my father and I do our usual morning exercises_(on) the stadium which is close_(to) our house. Only if the weather is really nasty we do them_ (at) home. When my Dad was young he was a good basketball player and played _(for) his institute. He has never given_(up) playing and now he has training twice a week. Sometimes he takes me_(with) him and I play_ (with) his team-mates.

My Mum and young sister are good swimmers and they go_(to) the swimmimg pool every Saturday_(in) winter and use every chance to swim in the river when it is warm.

My favourite sport is tennis. I have been playing it_(since) I was nine.

I belong_(to) a youth tennis club and often take part_(in) different ten­nis tournaments. I don't always win_(—) them but every time I lose a game

I learn something_(about) my mistakes. I believe that sport help to build character. Besides tennis I am good_(at) other sport games and our school

PT teacher often asks me to play_(for) our volleyball, football and basket­ball teams. I never refuse because I enjoy playing.

All our family like to watch sports programmes_(on) TV. We support

"Dynamo" Kyiv football team and never miss important matches. We re also hockey fans and really upset our favouirte team loses. But we never have pes­simistic feelings because we believe that winning is not the main thing_(in) sports.

Relaxation

Guess the sport

In groups, one person thinks of a sport and the others have to guess which it is. You only have ten yes / no questions. Example: Is it a team game? Do you do exercises? Do you use a ball? Is it an indoor sport? Is it an Olympic Sport?

Listening

Listening Strategies:

• Before you listen, always look for clues that will help you understand what you are going to Usten to, e.g. the title, pictures, captions, etc.

• Use your knowledge of the world to try to predict answers to the ques­tions.

• Guess the answers which you can then check when you are listening.

A) Keywords:

Bungee jumping — a dangerous sport of being tied to a long rope and jumping from a high place:

Ice-diving — a very dangerous sport of diving under ice in very cold regions of the sea.

Sky-surfing — a very dangerous sport of moving through the air with a board on your feet after jumping out of plane and before you open your para­chute (a wide piece of cloth above your head like an umbrella: it makes you fall slowly).

Snowboarding — the sport of standing on a long board and moving across snow on the ground.

Snowrafting — a dangerous sport of standing on a wide board with a sail and travelling across snow on the ground.

White-water rafting — a dangerous sport of moving in a small rubber boat on parts of river where the water moves extremely fast.

B) Guess the answers:

1. People do extreme sports in order to feel:

a) excited;

b) nervous;

c) happy.

2. Extreme sports have become popular in the last:

a) 5 years;

b) 10 years;

c) 20 years.

3. People usually bungee jump from:

a) aeroplanes;

b) high buildings;

c) bridges.

4. In sky surfing people do mid-air:

a) gymnastics;

b) dancing;

c) swimming.

5. Snowboarding has similarities with:

a) skiing;

b) surfing;

c) canoeing.

6. Snowrafting is:

a) quite dangerous;

b) very dangerous;

c) not very dangerous.

7. For white-water rafting you need:

a) a big river;

b) a warm river;

c) a mountain river.

8. Ice divers:

a) swim under the ice;

b) walk on the bottom of lakes

c) walk upside down the ice.

C) Listen and check your answers.

Presenter. ...and now we're going to take a look at extreme sports. What exactly are they? How dangerous are they? What makes people risk their lives to do them? Michelle is going to tell us about them.

Michelle. Speed, extreme, danger. You can find all these in the various extreme sports that have become popular in the last ten years or so. Take bun-gee jumping. You jump off the bridge, like this one I'm standing on now, and you fall and fall, and then, just before you hit the ground or water, an elastic rope pulls you back. Other extreme sports appeal just as crazy. Look at this. In sky surfing you jump out of plane and use a board to "surf in the air, doing gymnastics in mid-air! Amazing! And extreme sports on land can be just as dangerous.

Winter sports have always had an element of danger. The new winter sports are even more dangerous. For example snowboarding, which has all the excitement of surfing but on snow, is more dangerous even than skiing. Probably the most danger­ous of all the new winter sports is snowrafting. You sit in a rubber boat and sail down a mountain river at great speed and you can't control the boat!

Of course, water sports have always been fun. In white-water rafting you sit in a small inflatable raft and go down a river at a great speed. Fast flowing mountain rivers are the best. Then there is ice-diving, for those people who are absolutely crazy. You put on diving equipment and dive under a frozen lake. And, if that's not enough, you then try to walk upside down on the ice! Mm, I feel cold just thinking about it.

D) Listen to two people talking about extreme sports and complete the table. Interviewer. So, tell me, Carol, what sort of extreme sports do you do?

C a r o 1.1 like bungee jumping. It's great, really exciting.

Interviewer. But what makes you do bungee jumping?

Carol. Well, I get nervous, you know. But when I'm jumping I feel great. It's like being a bird.

Interviewer. Really? What about other extreme sports?

Carol. Mm, I'd love to try surfing, but it's very expensive, you know.

Interviewer. Right. Are there any sports you wouldn't try?

Carol. I'm pretty adventurous, but even I wouldn't like to do snow raft­ing. There have been some terrible accidents. But I also don't like dull sports. I hate doing boring sports. Like tennis. Personally, I'd prefer stay ay home.

Interviewer. Oh, it's not that bad! Thank you very much, Carol. And now we have another "extreme" sports fan, Jonathan. Jonathan, what extreme sport do you do?

Jonathan. Well, I prefer winter sports. There's something about snow. I love going skiing. And I quite like snowboarding. It's really cool.

Interviewer. What other sports would you like to try?

J o n a t h a n. I'd quite like to go ice diving — it's sounds crazy!

Interviewer. Are there any sports you wouldn't like to try?

Jonathan. Oh yeah. I can't stand heights. I'd hate to do bungee jump­ing. It looks absolutely terrifying.

Interviewer. It certainly does. Right, Jonathan, thank you very much.

Writing

Sport project

Write an article about your favourite sport for school magazine.

Stage 1. Write some notes about these things.

• When and why you became interested in sport.

• What equipment and clothes you need to do it.

• Things to do:

play games (how often? where? who with?)

watch it (on TV, go to matches)

collect things (photos, magazines, stickers, badges?).

Stage 2. Use your notes to write three paragraphs.

Stage 3. Write your article neatly. Include photos, drawings and tables if you wish.

Speaking

Tell the class about your favourite sport.

• Look at the notes you wrote in the previous exercise (writing). Do not read your article.

• In pairs practise talking about your sport to your partner.

• Give your talk to the class. If you have prepared your talk at home, you can bring things in (e.g. equipment, medals, photos) to show the class.

Listening

Listen to a person talking about sports in the USA and Great Britain and answer the questions.

1. What do American footballers have to wear? Why?

2. How many baseball leagues are there in the USA?

3. Are basketball players well paid?

4. Is football (soccer) very popular in the USA?

5. What is the most popular winter sport in Britain?

6. Name another winter sport played in Britain?

7. How long can a game of cricket be?

COMPARING CULTURES

American football is one of the most popular sorts in the USA. It's a very physical game and the players wear helmets and special protective clothes. Baseball is a popular summer sport and there are two main leagues. Basketball is the third most popular sport; and top basketball players can earn millions of dollars. Football, or soccer, is only a minority sport in the USA, though the national team has qualified for World Cups recently. In Britain the most popu­lar sport in winter is definitely football and some clubs like Manchester United are famous all over the world. Rugby is another popular winter sport. Like American football, it is very physical and can be quite dangerous but the play­ers don't wear any protective clothing. In summer cricket's the main sport. Very few countries outside Britain play it — only old colonies like India, Paki­stan, the Caribbean, Australia and New Zealand. Cricket is a very complicated game — it's very slow, and can take up to five days.

Homework

Choose one of the following topics.

• Most people understand the importance of sports in the people's life but not all people go in for sports. Can you explain why?

• Think of a particular sport and describe the qualities that a good player needs to have.

• There is an opinion that the woman's boxing, kick-boxing and other dan­gerous kinds of sports should be banned. What do you think about it? and write a composition.