PHYSICAL CULTURE AND SPORT IN MY LIFE

 

Many people all over the world are fond of sports and games. Sport helps them to stay in good shape, keeps them fit, healthy and makes them more organized and better disciplined. For some, it is a professional occupation, a road to records, titles, fame or save- expression. For others, it is just a business, and as such, it is as good as any others business, if it brings profits. Sport is also a means of relaxation and entertainment, a way of spending leisure time or building up health.

Many sports are popular in Belarus. They are: football, basketball, volleyball, weightlifting, tennis, track and field, boxing, swimming, judo, shooting, hockey, figure- skating and cross- country skiing. All this sports have their strong supporters. In Belarus much attention is paid to organized sports. There are many skating- rinks in the cities. There are also numerous water- pools for water sports and activities. Stadiums, gyms, shooting- galleries, football fields and sport grounds are used in our country not only for daily sport activities, but also for numerous national and international matches and competitions regularly held in Belarus. They attract many fans and journalists. Various sport clubs, societies and complexes work in our republic. Profession sport is paid much attention. The most famous complexes in Belarus are Raubichi and Staiki.

There are also a lot of amateur clubs and keep- fit centers in Belarus where people go in for aerobics, yoga, body- building, swimming, skating, jogging and horse- riding.

Great attention is paid to sport in our schools, colleges and universities. You can hardly find a school without a gym or sports ground.

As for me I have been practicing sports through all my life. Though I can’t boast of my great progress I think my time was not wasted. I become stronger and more energetic, and at the same time more self- controlled and self- disciplined. I become more self- confident and sociable and it helped me to make many new friends. My favourite sports are football, table tennis, chess and hockey. I am not only a fan of these sports, but I am always eager to play a game or two, whenever I have a chance. I also like to watch sport reports and competitions on TV. But the greatest pleasure for me is to watch the Olympic Games on TV. These are the greatest international sport games in the world. The Olympic Games have an interesting and long history. The competitions of athletes took place in Greece twenty- eight centuries ago. Wars were stopped when the Olympiads were held. Now the Olympic Games are the symbol of peace and friendship. They help to bring people closer to each other, let them understand each other better.

Our life becomes more and more comfortable and that is the reason why the need for us to go in for sports is so pressing. More and more people, both young and old, go in for physical activity in their leisure time. They may choose what they like: gymnastics or games, aerobics or dance, aquatics or hiking.

QUESTIONS:

1. What kind of sports do you go in for?

2. Did you attend any sports school?

3. What are your favourite kinds of sport?

4. What sports are you really good at?

5. Why do people go in for sports?

6. Why are sports and games nowadays more popular than ever before?

7. Are sports and games useful for character- training?

8. What is the use of sports and games?

9. What do you know about the Olympic Games?

10. What is their importance?

11. What problems can you see in sport nowadays?

Tell about last sport competitions, which are not related in the text.

Tell about sport in you life.

 

4.3 DISCUSSION CLUB. (TV&READING)

1. TV is one of the most popular hobbies. The following questions will help me to understand your likes and dislikes.

a. Discuss in-group:

- How long do you watch TV every day?

- Which programmes do you always watch, or never watch?

- What types of films do you like?

- What’s the best/worst film you have seen recently, either at the cinema or on TV?

b. And now let us look through a BBC programme for today.

BBC 1

7.50 Tom and Jerry (a cartoon)

8.00 Top of the Pops: the hits from the charts with DJ Clive Sawyer

8.30 Only Fools and Horses (a comedy)

9.00 News: weather

9.30 Film: “The Reptiles” (a science fiction thriller) Starring Elizabeth Mount and Doug Stanton

11.05 Sport: football; ski jumping

11.50 Late film: “They Call Me Trinity” (a western) Starring Bud Spenser and Terence Hill

1.30 Weather forecast

c. And now open a TV programme for tomorrow. Translate the names of morning programmes into English. What is your favourite TV programme? Is TV your hobby?

d. Try to guess what programmes are these extracts taken from?

A: Look at this oak tree, for example. The leaves should be green, but they are turning yellow.

B: The Prime Minister of Canada arrived in London today.

C: OK, blue eyes, you’re under arrest for the murder of Mrs. Kelly.

D: Tomorrow it will be cloudy in the South with rain spreading from the west later.

e. Ask your friend what he is going to watch on TV next week and why.