10TH FORM TERM1 CARD 5

Olympic Games

 The Olympic Games are the most important sporting event in the world that began in ancient Greece. The original Greek games took place every forth year for several hundred years, until they were brought to an end in the early Christian era. The Olympic Games were renewed in 1896, and since then they have been staged every forth year, except during World War 1 and World War 2. Beginning in 1924 Winter Olympics were included. They were held in the same year as the Summer Games, but starting in 1994, the Winter Games are held two years after the Summer Games.

Perhaps the main difference between the ancient and modern Olympics is that for the ancient Greeks the Games were a way of saluting their gods, when the modern Olympics are a manner of saluting the athletic talents of people of all nations. The original Olympics included competitions in music, oratory, and theatre performances as well. The modern Games haven’t got them, but represent a lot of sports. For two weeks and a half any international conflicts must be stopped and replaced with friendly competitions. This is the noble idea on which the modern Olympic movement is based.

         The modern Olympic Games are currently at the very peak of their development. Hundreds of athletes prepare for the Games their whole lives and those who make it to the Olympic podium become an example to millions of others. Their achievements remain part of the history of the sport and of the Olympic Movement forever. The 2012 Summer Olympics were held in London. Russia was the forth after the USA, China and Great Britain and won 82 medals including 24 gold ones.  In medal-winning terms, Russia's London 2012 performance marked an improvement on Beijing 2008, improving from 23 gold medals to 24 and up from a total of 73 medals to 82.

     The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi will be holding events in 15 disciplines of 7 winter sports:

   biathlon, bobsleigh( bobsleigh and skeleton), curling, ice hockey, luge, skating (figure skating, short track speed skating and speed skating), and skiing(alpine, cross country, nordic combined, ski jumping, freestyle and snowboard).

The 2014 Olympics will be the most compact Winter Games in the history of the Olympic Movement. It will be possible to get from one venue to another in just a matter of minutes and all Olympic and Paralympic competition will take place in the same venues. It is for this reason that all athletic facilities for the Sochi 2014 Games are being built with the needs of disabled people in mind.

Eleven athletic venues will be built for the Sochi 2014 Games, which will be divided into two clusters—mountain and coastal. The clusters will be located within 48km of each other, which is less than a 30 minute ride along a new railway.

Each cluster will contain an Olympic Village. The travel time from the Olympic Village to a competition venue in the coastal cluster will be no more than five minutes. Additionally, travel time from the Olympic Village to a competition venue in the mountain cluster is less than 15 minutes.

The central focus of the coastal cluster will be the Olympic Park. It will connect up all competition venues, the parking zone and the infrastructure elements. For the first time in the history of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, all ice arenas will be within walking distance of one other. The Olympic Park will be able to accommodate about 70,000 visitors when full. The Mountain Cluster will include Biathlon and Ski Complexes, a Bobsleigh Track, a Ski Center, a Ski Jump Complex, as well as a Snowboard Park and Freestyle Center.

The Hare, Polar Bear and Leopard have been chosen as the official Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games mascots following the results of a public vote during the live television show "Talismaniya Sochi 2014 - The Final” on Channel One. The Ray of Light and the Snowflake will be the Paralympic Winter Games mascots in 2014.

Summer sports

Archery • Athletics • Badminton • Basketball • Boxing • Canoeing • Cycling • Diving • Equestrian • Field hockey • Fencing • Football • Gymnastics • Handball • Judo • Modern pentathlon • Rowing • Sailing • Shooting • Swimming • Synchronized swimming • Table tennis • Taekwondo • Tennis • Triathlon • Volleyball • Water polo • Weightlifting • Greco-Roman Wrestling

Winter sports  

Alpine skiing • Biathlon • Bobsleigh • Cross-country skiing • Curling • Figure skating • Freestyle skiing • Ice hockey • Luge • Nordic combined • Short track speed skating • Skeleton • Ski jumping • Snowboarding • Speed skating

1. Биатлон Biathlon                                          
2. Бобслей Bobsleigh                                        
3. Горнолыжный спорт Alpine skiing                                                            
4. Кёрлинг Curling                                                                                          
5. Конькобежный спорт Speed skating                                  
6. Лыжное двоеборье   Nordic combined                                                                              
7. Лыжные гонки Cross country skiing                                   
8. Прыжки с трамплина     Ski jumping                                                                      
9. Санный спорт Luge                                    
10. Скелетон Skeleton                                                                                                              
11. Сноубординг            Snowboarding                                                                       
12. Фигурное катание    Figure skating                                                                        
13. Фристайл      Freestyle skiing                                                                                  
14. Хоккей           Ice hockey                                                                                                    
15. Шорт-трек Short track speed skating

 Card 5

1. What is the history of the Olympic Games?
2. Are the ancient and modern Olympics different? Why?
3. Why are the modern Olympic Games so popular?
4. What makes the 2014 Winter Games unique?