Reading Comprehension
Task 1. Read the text and complete the following sentences.
Many people think that athletes should stop boxing. They don’t like this sport and say it is more like fighting, not sport. In the history of boxing people tried to put an end to this sport. Just think what they could feel during the first boxing fights that took place in ancient Greece. Some of the rules were very much the same as today but sportsmen didn’t wear boxing gloves.
Then for a long time people didn’t do boxing. Only at the beginning of the 18th century this sport appeared again in England and became quite fashionable. In those days fights took hours and were dangerous as boxers fought until one of the athletes couldn’t move.
There was a lot of protest and by and by they began to change the rules: the rounds on the ring became shorter and there appeared intervals between rounds. In the 19th century there was little boxing outside England and the USA. In the 20th century boxing became a sport of many countries again. But nowadays scientists are beginning to think that even modern boxing may be dangerous for human brain.
1) Boxing first appeared in....
a) the south of Europe
b) the northwest of Europe
c) the USA
2) When they began boxing in England the boxing fights were...
a) very long
b) limited in time
c) not long
3) They changed the rules in boxing because....
a) boxing was becoming less and less fashionable
b) boxing fights took too long
c) boxing was bad for athletes’ health
4) Nowadays boxing is....
a) a modern sport
b) an international sport
c) one of the most popular sports
Task 2. Read the text and complete it with the following word combinations.
a) comes from the Greek
b) red, blue and green
c) important international sports event
d) Winter Olympic Games
e) are always colourful
f) Paralympic flag has
The Paralympic Games are an (1) __________ important international sports event, where athletes with a physical disability compete. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games. They follow the Summer and (2) __________ Winter Olympic Games. The Paralympics began in 1948. They didn’t have this name then. That year the first sports event for disabled athletes took place. A small group of the British World War veterans competed with each other. In 1952 some Dutch veterans joined in the competitions. In I960 in Rome 400 disabled athletes took part in the Summer Paralympic Games. In the year 2005 there were already 3,900 sportsmen from 146 countries. In the Paralympic Games in Sochi the number of athletes was 555 from 45 countries. The word Paralympic (3) __________ comes from the Greek word para which means “similar”. The (4) __________ Paralympic symbol on it. There are three colours (5) __________ . These are the colours we can find on the flags of different nations. The opening and closing ceremonies (6) __________ .
Reading Comprehension
Task 1. Read the text and complete the following sentences.
Many people think that athletes should stop boxing. They don’t like this sport and say it is more like fighting, not sport. In the history of boxing people tried to put an end to this sport. Just think what they could feel during the first boxing fights that took place in ancient Greece. Some of the rules were very much the same as today but sportsmen didn’t wear boxing gloves.
Then for a long time people didn’t do boxing. Only at the beginning of the 18th century this sport appeared again in England and became quite fashionable. In those days fights took hours and were dangerous as boxers fought until one of the athletes couldn’t move.
There was a lot of protest and by and by they began to change the rules: the rounds on the ring became shorter and there appeared intervals between rounds. In the 19th century there was little boxing outside England and the USA. In the 20th century boxing became a sport of many countries again. But nowadays scientists are beginning to think that even modern boxing may be dangerous for human brain.
1) Boxing first appeared in....
a) the south of Europe
b) the northwest of Europe
c) the USA
2) When they began boxing in England the boxing fights were...
a) very long
b) limited in time
c) not long
3) They changed the rules in boxing because....
a) boxing was becoming less and less fashionable
b) boxing fights took too long
c) boxing was bad for athletes’ health
4) Nowadays boxing is....
a) a modern sport
b) an international sport
c) one of the most popular sports
Task 2. Read the text and complete it with the following word combinations.
a) comes from the Greek
b) red, blue and green
c) important international sports event
d) Winter Olympic Games
e) are always colourful
f) Paralympic flag has
The Paralympic Games are an (1) __________ important international sports event, where athletes with a physical disability compete. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games. They follow the Summer and (2) __________ Winter Olympic Games. The Paralympics began in 1948. They didn’t have this name then. That year the first sports event for disabled athletes took place. A small group of the British World War veterans competed with each other. In 1952 some Dutch veterans joined in the competitions. In I960 in Rome 400 disabled athletes took part in the Summer Paralympic Games. In the year 2005 there were already 3,900 sportsmen from 146 countries. In the Paralympic Games in Sochi the number of athletes was 555 from 45 countries. The word Paralympic (3) __________ comes from the Greek word para which means “similar”. The (4) __________ Paralympic symbol on it. There are three colours (5) __________ . These are the colours we can find on the flags of different nations. The opening and closing ceremonies (6) __________ .
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