Тема 3. Sport Action World

I. Прочитайте тексты 1, 2 и выпишите из них:

а) информацию, которая повторяется в обоих текстах;

б) информацию, которая встречается только в одном из текстов.

Text 1. THE FIRST BIG GAMES In Greece, 2700 years ago, people were very fond of games. The Greeks thought that games pleased their gods. The chief god of the Greeks was named Zeus. The first Olympic Games were held to please Zeus. The Greeks held their Olympic Games every four years. They would even stop fighting wars to hold their Olympic Games! In Olympic Games, the Greeks who took part were called athletes. We still use this word. The Romans held Games, like the Greeks. But some Roman Games were very cruel. On them, men had to fight and try to kill wild animals. The Romans were also very fond of horse racing. They raced in chariots, drawn by 2, 3 or 4 horses. They also liked betting money on their races! Many Olympic athletes took part in five sports. Fast running, long jumping, wrestling, throwing the discus and throwing a sport spear, called a javelin. The Greeks also played team games, such as hockey.

INFORMATION A

INFORMATION B

Text 2. THE HISTORY OF THE OLYMPIC GAMES Long ago ancient Greeks often waged wars. Small states suffered and lost much even if they did not take any side and stayed out of wars. The ruler of such a small state, Elis, want­ed to live in peace with all neighbours. He was a good diplomat because his negotiations were successful and Elis was recognized a neutral state. To celebrate this achievement, he organized athletic games. In the beginning this feast lasted one day, but later a whole month was devoted to it. All wars and feuds were stopped by special heralds who rode in all directions of Greece. The games were held every four years in Olympia on the territory of Elis. Best athletes arrived from many Greek states to Olympia to compete in running, long jumps, throwing of discus and javelin and wrestling. In the course of time fist-fighting (boxing) and chariot races were also included in the Games.

II. Прочитайте текст 3 и подберите заголовки к каждому пронумерованному отрывку текста.

Text 3. FROM THE FIRST ANCIENT GAMES

TO THE FIRST MODERN OLYMPICS

I.

A man called Coroibis of Elis became the first recorded Olympic champion nearly three thousand years ago. What were the Games like in those days?

Nobody knows exactly when the Olympic Games began. Some historians think it was over 3,500 years ago - but the first recorded Games were held at Olympia in 776 ВС. That's when we start to get a clear picture of the ancient prizes, buildings, champions and sports - or rather "sport" - because in the early days there was just one event - a 192-metre race called the "stade". It was several years before other sports were added. Gradually, though, the Games at Olympia grew and grew until they were famous all over Greece. Athletes traveled long distances to compete in them every four years and the winners became national heroes. This continued for centuries until the Roman Empire conquered Greece. Then the Games slowly began to decline. In AD 67, for example, the Roman Emperor Nero won a chariot race in which he was (a) the only competitor (b) drunk ... (and he didn't even complete the course). Finally, the Games were stopped in AD 393 by another Emperor - Theodosius I - who was a Christian and disapproved of Greek gods and festivals. After that, Olympia - the only city ever completely devoted to sport - remained deserted until it was destroyed by two earthquakes in the sixth century. The site was only rediscovered 1,100 years later. That's when interest in the Olympics began to revive. But it was one man - Baron Pierre de Coubertin - who did more than anyone else to bring the classical Games back to life.

II.

The ancient Greeks had several gods. One was Zeus and his temple was at Olympia. The Olympic Games were held in his honour and always involved lots of religious ceremonies as well as sporting events.

III.

A guide to five events at the ancient Games.

- The Dalius - A race at the ancient Games.

- The Dolichus - A race of approximately 5,000 metres. Athletes in these events had to run dressed in armour.

- Chariot Racing - This took place around a circular course

- The Pentathlon - There were five events in the pentathlon - running, the long jump, the discus, the javelin and wrestling.

- The Pankration - This was a violent (and very popular) mixture of wrestling and boxing.

IV.

- The word "athlete" comes from "Athlius". He was a king of Elis, the part of ancient Greece which included Olympia.

- Only men were allowed to take part in the ancient Games.

- Apart Coroibis of Elis, other great stars of the original Olympics included Leonidas of Rhodes, Chionis, Milon of Croton and Discobolus.

- Originally the Games only lasted one day, but from 472 BC that was changed to five days.

- The stadium at Olympia held over 20,000 people (there was also a "Hippodrome" for events which involved horses).

- Winners at the first Olympics only received a crown of olive leaves (there were no second or third prizes). Champions often became rich, though, because their home towns gave them money and good jobs.

V.

Baron Pierre de Coubertin (1863-1937) was a French aristocrat with a dream fascinated by the ancient Olympics, he decided in 1889 to try and revive them. Why? Because, for him, the Games represented ideals which the modern world badly needed... co-operation between nations, honour, fairness, high moral and physical standards.

De Coubertin first suggested his idea at a lecture in 1892. Then, after his idea was well received, he organized an international conference which took place in June 1894 at the Sorbonne University in Paris. Representatives came from twelve countries and there were messages of support from twenty-one others. It was during this conference that the International Olympic Committee was set up. But that's not all. Plans were also made for the first modern Games, and this meant that two important decisions had to be made ... where and when. The answers were «Athens» and "1896".

VI.

A total of 295 athletes from thirteen countries took part in the first modern Olympics. Watched by 40,000 spectators, they paraded around the new Panathenean stadium on 6-th April ... then competition began.

America and Greece were the two most successful nations in 1896 - they won twenty-one gold medals between them. The very first medal of the modem Olympic era went to James Connolly (USA). But perhaps the most dramatic winner in Athens was a young Greek shepherd called Spyridon Louis. He unexpectedly won the first ever Olympic marathon, running 40 kilometres in 2 hours 58 minutes 50 seconds.

HEADING

1. The first modern Olympic Games. ( )

2. The First Olympic Sports. ( )

3. The Ancient Games. ( )

4. The Data Bank. ( )

5. Religion and the Ancient Games. ( )

6. How it all began. ( )

Text 4. ANCIENT OLYMPICS

There are many myths surrounding the origin of the ancient Olympic Games. The most popular legend describes that Heracles was the creator of the Olympic Games, and built the Olympic stadium and surrounding buildings as an honor to his father Zeus, after completing his 12 labours. According to that legend he walked in a straight line for 400 strides and called this distance a "stadion" that later also became a distance calculation unit. This is also why a modern stadium is 400 meters in circumference length (1 stadium = 400 m). Another myth associates the first Games with the ancient Greek concept of ekecheiria or Olympic Truce. The date of the Games inception based on the count of years in Olympiads is reconstructed as 776 ВС, although scholars' opinions diverge between dates as early as 884 ВС and as late as 704 ВС.

From then on, the Games quickly became much more important throughout ancient Greece, reaching their zenith in the sixth and fifth centuries ВС. The Olympics were of fundamental religious importance, contests alternating with sacrifices and ceremonies honouring both Zeus (whose colossal statue stood at Olympia), and Pelops, divine hero and mythical king of Olympia famous for his legendary chariot race, in whose honour the games were held. The number of events increased to twenty, and the celebration was spread over several days. Winners of the events were greatly admired and were immortalized in poems and statues. The Games were held every four years, and the period between two celebrations became known as an 'Olympiad'. The Greeks used Olympiads as one of their methods to count years. The most famous Olympic athlete lived in these times: the sixth century ВС wrestler Milo of Croton is the only athlete in history to win a victory in six Olympics.

The Games gradually declined in importance as the Romans gained power in Greece. When Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, the Olympic Games were seen as a pagan festival and in discord with Christian ethics, and in 393 AD the emperor Theodosius I outlawed the Olympics, ending a thousand-year tradition.

During the ancient times normally only young men could participate. Competitors were usually naked, not only as the weather was appropriate but also as the festival was meant to be, in part, a celebration of the achievements of the human body. Upon winning the games, the victor would also be presented with a crown of olive leaves. The olive branch is a sign of hope and peace.