Тексты для чтения ( III, IV семестр ). Text 11 Athletics.

Athletics or track-and-field sports, consists of competitions in running, walking, jumping and throwing events. Athletics has become the most truly international of sports, with nearly every country in the world engaging in some form of competition. Most nations send teams of men and women to the quadrennial Olympic Games and to the official World Championships of track and field. There also are several continental and intercontinental championship meets held, including the European, Commonwealth, African, Pan-American and Asian.

Within the broad title of athletics come as many as two dozen distinct events. These events generally held outdoors make up a meet. The outdoor running events are held on 400m oval track and field events (jumping and throwing) either inside the track’s perimeter or in adjacent areas.

In many parts of the world the sport moves indoors during the winter; because of limited space, some events are modified and several are eliminated altogether.

Also within the general scope of track-and-field athletics come separate but related competitions that are not contested on the track. Cross-country running competition is carried out on various types of countryside and parkland. Marathons and races of other long distances are run on roads and the long-distance race walks are contested on measured road courses. The rules followed by all organized competitions are established and enforced by the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) and its member body from each nation. The IAAF also ratifies all world records.

1. Answer the questions:

1. What does athletics consist of?

2. Is track-and-field included in the programme of the Olympic Games?

3. What championships in track-and-field athletics do you know?

4. Where are track-and-field events generally held?

5. Where are marathons and races of other long distances run?

6. What is the IAAF?

7. What does the IAAF ratify?

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

1. The rules followed by all organized competitions are established and enforced by the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) and its member body from each nation. The IAAF also ratifies all world records.

2. These events generally held outdoors make up a meet.

3. Most nations send teams of men and women to the quadrennial Olympic Games and to the official World Championships of track and field.

4. Within the broad title of athletics come as many as two dozen distinct events.

5. Athletics has become the most truly international of sports, with nearly every country in the world engaging in some form of competition.

6. Athletics or track-and-field sports, consists of competitions in running, walking, jumping and throwing events.

7. The IAAF also ratifies all world records.

Text 12 Football.

The roots of soccer are grounded in antiquity, but the modern form gained its shape in October 1863 in London, where the first football association (English Football Association) was established and the laws of the game were formulated.

Contemporary soccer is truly an international game, with the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), established in 1904, representing more than 170 nations. Soccer was introduced to the Olympic Games in Paris in 1900 and the inaugural World Cup was played in 1930 in Montevideo. Since then such luminaries as Pele, Cuyff, Beckenbauer, Maradona, Romario, Roberto Baggio, David Beckham, Figu and Zedane have served to spread the passion of the game around the world.

Two teams of 11 players try to score goals by kicking or heading the ball into the opposition’s goal. The team with the most goals after two 45-minute halves of play wins the game. The outfield players may not touch the ball with their hands or arms. The goalkeepers may use their hands within the rectangle around their own goal known as the penalty area. If a defender kicks the ball back to the goalkeeper, the goalkeeper may not use his hands.

The team captains toss a coin. The winner chooses which goal to attack in the first half of the match, while the loser kicks off. In the second half the other team kicks off and teams change ends and attack in opposite goals. A goal is scored when the whole of the ball passes over the goal line, between the goalposts and under the crossbar.

A football field for international matches must be 100 to 110 metreslong and 64 to 75 metres wide. The half way line crosses it dividing it into two equal halves. It also dissects the centre circle with its 9.1 m radius from the centre of the field. A penalty area is marked at each end.

The goals stand 2.44m high and 7.32m wide. The football must be 68 to 70 centimetres in circumference and not weigh more than 450g and not less than 410g.

1. Answer the questions:

1. When were the laws of football formulated?

2. When was soccer introduced to the Olympic Games?

3. How many players are there in each team?

4. How long does the game last?

5. Do you know any famous football players?

6. What is the aim of the game?

7. Is soccer an international game?

2. Complete the sentences as in the text.

1. The winner chooses which goal to attack…, while the loser kicks off.

2. The goalkeepers may use their hands … .

3. … passes over the goal line, between the goalposts and under the crossbar.

4. The roots of soccer are grounded in antiquity, but the modern form gained its shape … .

5.… touch the ball with their hands or arms.