Sports is Important in Our Life

Sport is very important in our life. It is popular among young and old people.

Many people do morning exercises, jog in the morning and train themselves in clubs, in different sections and take part in sport competitions.

Other people like sports too, but they only watch sports games, listen to sports news. They prefer reading interesting stories about sportsmen. But they don't go in for sports.

Physical training is an important subject at school. Boys and girls play volley-ball and basketball at the lessons. There is the sports ground near our school and schoolchildren go in for sports in the open air.

A lot of different competition are held at schools, a great number of pupils take part in them. All participants try to get good results and become winners. Sport helps people to keep in good health. If you go in for sports you have good health and don't catch cold.

Children and grown-ups must take care of their health and do morning exercises regularly.

There are some popular kinds of sports in our country: football, volley ball, hockey, gymnastics, skiing, skating. Athletics is one of the most popular kinds of sports. It includes such kinds of sports as: running, jumping and others. Everybody may choose the sport he (or she) is interested in.

There are summer and winter sports.

My favourite sport is swimming. I go to the swimming-pool twice a week, but I prefer to rest by the lake or the river and swim there. My friend Kostya goes in for boxing. He is a good boxer and he is a brave and courageous boy. His hobby helps him in his every day life.

Vocabulary:

 

to jog — бегать трусцой
section — секция
competition — соревнования
participant — участник
to go in for sports — заниматься спортом
to catch cold — простуживаться
to take care — заботиться
to include — включать
to choose — выбирать
to prefer — предпочитать
courageous — смелый

 

Questions:

1. Do you do your morning exercises every day?
2. How do children and grown-ups take care of their health?
3. Are a lot of different competitions held at schools?
4. Do you go in for sports?
5. Are there any popular kinds of sports in our country? What are they?
6. What is your favourite sport?
7. Where do you prefer to rest?
8. Do your friends go in for sports?
9. Do you like winter or summer sports?
10. Our hobbies help us in our life, don't they?

Summer and Winter Sports

People all over the world are very fond of sports and games. That is one of the things in which people of every nationality and class are united.

The most popular outdoor winter sports are shooting, hunting, hockey and, in the countries where the weather is frosty and there is much snow — skating, skiing and tobogganing. It's so nice to go to the skating-rink on a frosty sunny day. Some people prefer to be out of town in such weather and to sledge or to ski in the woods. Many people greatly enjoy figure-skating and ski-jumping.

Summer affords excellent opportunities for swimming, boating, yachting, cycling, gliding and many other sports. Among outdoor games football takes the first place in public interests; this game is played in all the countries of the world.

The other games that have firmly established themselves in favour in different countries are cricket, volley-ball, basketball and so on. Badminton is also very popular both with young and old.

All the year round many people indulge in boxing, wrestling, gymnastics and track and field events. Scores of young girls and women go in for callisthenics. Over the last few years aerobics has become popular with young girls and women. Aerobics helps them to be slim, healthy and strong. The interest for it greatly increased thanks to Jane Fonda, a prominent American actress, the founder of this kind of sport. This woman may serve as an impressive example of inexhaustible health, cheerfulness and beauty. Being a great enthusiast of aerobics she has been trying to initiate many women all over the world into this sport.

Among indoor games which one can go in for all the year round are billiards, table tennis, draughts, chess, of course. The results of chess tournaments are studied and discussed by enthusiasts in different countries.

So we have all grounds to say that sport is one of the things that makes people kin.

 

Vocabulary:

to be fond of smth. — любить, нравиться
to unite — объединять
outdoor winter sports — зимние виды спорта на открытом воздухе
shooting — стрельба
hunting — охота
tobogganing — санный спорт
to sledge — кататься на санках
yachting — парусный спорт
gliding — планерный спорт
to establish oneself in favour — стать в почете
lawn-tennis — теннис
track and field events — легкая атлетика
scores of young girls and women — множество девушек и женщин
calisthenics — ритмическая гимнастика
indoor games — игры в закрытом помещении
impressive example — замечательный пример
inexhaustible — неисчерпаемый
cheerfulness — бодрость
enthusiast — энтузиаст
to initiate — приобщить кого-то к чему-то
tournament — турнир, спортивное соревнование

Questions:

1. What are people all over the world fond of?
2. What unites people of every nationality?
3. Why do people prefer to be out of town on a frosty sunny day?
4. What are the most popular outdoor winter sports?
5. What opportunities for sports does summer afford?
6. What game takes the first place in public interest?
7. When do many people indulge in boxing, wrestling, athletics, gymnastics?
8. Who goes in for calisthenics?
9. Why is chess the great international game?

Olympic Games

The world's greatest international sports games are known as the Olympic Games.

The Olympic idea means friendship, fraternity and cooperation among the people of the world. The Olympic Movement proves that real peace can be achieved through sport.

The Olympic emblem is five interlinked rings: blue, yellow, black, green and red. Any national flag contains at least one of these colours.

The original Olympic Games began in ancient Greece in 776 B.C. These games were part of a festival held every fourth year in honour of God Zeus at the place called Olympia. It was a great athletic festival, including competitions in wrestling, foot racing and chariot racing, rowing and others.

The games were for men only. Greek women were forbidden not only to participate but also to watch the Olympics.

The first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens in 1896. Then they were resumed in London after the Second World War. Since then the Olympics are held every fourth year in different countries.

The ancient Greeks had no winter sports. Only in 1924 the first Winter Olympic Games were held in France. Now they are being held regularly.

Vocabulary:

 

peace — мир
fraternity — братство
contain(s) — содержать
ancient — древний
B.C. (before Christ) — до нашей эры
Zeus — Зевс
to participate — участвовать
to resume — возобновлять

 

Questions:

1. What are the world's greatest sports games?
2. What does the Olympic idea mean?
3. What is the Olympic emblem?
4. Why have these colours been chosen?
5. When and where did the original Olympic Games begin?
6. Did women participate in the games?
7. When were the first modern Olympic Games held? Where?
8. Are the Olympics held in the same place?
9. When did the Winter Olympic Games start being held? Where?