UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI URBINO CARLO BO Centro Linguistico d'ateneo Scuola di Scienze Motorie

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI URBINO CARLO BO Centro Linguistico d'ateneo Scuola di Scienze Motorie"

Maria Harrington
7 years ago
Views:

1 UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI URBINO CARLO BO Centro Linguistico d'ateneo Scuola di Scienze Motorie Part I Reading Comprehension: Will we ever run the 100m in nine seconds? Test Campione N 5 In 2008, at the Beijing Olympic games, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt ran the 100m in just 9.69 seconds, setting a new world record. A year later, Bolt surpassed his own feat with an astonishing 9.58-second run at the 2009 Berlin World Championships. He is arguably the fastest man in history but just how fast could he possibly go? That's a surprisingly difficult question to answer, and consulting the record books is of little help. People are getting faster, but in an unpredictable way. From 1991 to 2007, eight athletes chipped 0.16 seconds off the record. Bolt did the same in just over a year. Before 2008, mathematician Reza Noubary calculated that the ultimate time for [the] 100 meter dash is 9.44 seconds. Following Bolt's Beijing performance he said that the prediction would probably go down a bit. John Barrow from the University of Cambridge another mathematician has identified three ways in which Bolt could improve his speed: being quicker off the mark; running with a strong tailwind; and running at higher altitudes where thinner air would exert less drag on him. These tricks may work, but they're also somewhat unsatisfying. We really want to know whether flexing muscles and bending joints could send a sprinter over the finish line in 9 seconds, without relying on environmental providence. To answer that we have to look at the physics of the sprinting leg. Peter Weyland from Southern Methodist University has been studying the science of of running for decades. Sprints are very short, so scientists can only make measurements in a limited window of time. Weyand divides each cycle of a runners's leg into what happens when their foot is in the air, and what happens when it's on the ground. The former is surprisingly irrelevant, Back in 2000, Weyland showed that at top speed, every runner takes about a third of a second to pick their foot up and put it down again. It's the same from Usain Bolt to Grandma, he says, She can't run as fast as him but at her top speed, she's repositioning her foot at the same speed. That third of a second in air the swing time is probably close to a biological limit. Weyand thinks that there is very little people can do to improve it. For most runners, speed is largely determined by how much force they can apply when their foot is on the ground. They have two simple options for running faster: hit the ground harder, or exert the same force over a longer period. Champion male sprinters can hit the ground with a force that is around 2.5 times their body weight. When Usain Bolt's foot lands it applies around 900 (400kg) of force for a few milliseconds, and continues pushing for around 90 more. In the 1990s, speed skaters started using a new type of ice skates. The blade of the skate was hinged to the front of the boot rather than firmly fixed. As the skater pushed back, the new design kept their blades in longer contact with the ice, allowing them to exert the same force over more time. Speed records suddenly fell. People have tried to duplicate the same effect with running shoes, but with little success. Technologies that alter a runners gait tend to diminish the leg's overall performance. One option remains for runners. Exert more force on the ground. Put simply, fast people hit the ground more forcefully than slow people relative to their body weight. But we know very little about what contributes to that force, and we are terrible at predicting it based on a runner's physique or movements. Studies are underway to fill those gaps. Marcus Pandy and Tim Dorn used computer simulations of sprinters to show the calf muscles, more than any others, determine the amount of force that runners apply to the ground. At top speeds, the hip muscles become increasingly important, too. 1

2 Leggere il testo e scegliere tra A (vero), B (falso), or C (non menzionato nel testo) 1. According to the article, environmental factors such as high altitudes and wind direction can influence how fast a sprinter can run. 2. Mathematician Reza Noubary believes that no athlete can run the 100m in less than 9.58 seconds Bolt's record at the Berlin World Championships. 3. Usain Bolt set an Olympic Games record of 9.63 at the London Olympics games in Champion athletes reposition their feet much more quickly than other runners. 5. In the 1990s, skaters were able to skate faster because of changes in the design of their skates. 6. New technology for running shoes has helped athletes like Usain Bolt to run much faster. 7. Researchers M. Pandy and T. Dorn are convinced that calf muscles are important in determining the force a sprinter can use when running. Abbinare le parole o espressioni evidenziate in neretto nel testo con la loro corretta definizione 1. = the part of your body that can bend where two bones meet 2. = the way that someone walks 3. = quickly and without warning 4. = something impressive that someone does 5. = the thick part of your leg between your knee and your ankle 6. = to make something better 7. = a type of shoe with a thin metal blade on the bottom used for moving quickly on ice 8. = considering something as a whole rather than its details or the different aspects of it 2

3 PART II Completare le frasi con il verbo al Present continuous o al Present simple. 1. I like fish and chips but I... hamburgers. (not / like) 2. Open the umbrella. It (rain) 3. Listen, I think someone... to open the door. (try) to work every day? (you / drive) Completare le frasi con il verbo al Past continuous o Past simple. 5. While I... home last night, I ran out of petrol. (drive) 6. I... a taxi to the station yesterday because I was late. (take) 7.,8. I had an appointment to see the bank manager but when I... (get) to the bank, he... (not / be) there. 9. A journalist interrupted the President while he.... (speak) Future forms: Completare le frasi con will, going to o present continuous, present simple. 10. My sister wants to be a doctor. She... medicine. (study) 11. My horoscope says that I... an old friend this week. (meet) 12. 'What would you like to have: coffee or tea?' I... some tea, please.' (have) 13. They... to Seattle tomorrow morning. (fly) Completare le frasi con: who, which, where, whose 14. A pharmacy is a shop... you can buy medicine. 15. The man... got out of the car was wearing dark glasses and a dark suit. 16. A horoscope is the section of the magazine... tells you about your future. 17. She's the woman... briefcase was stolen. Completare le frasi con la forma comparativa o la forma superlativa dell'aggetivo tra parentesi. 18. The summers here are... than they were in the past. (hot) 19. What's the... skyscraper in the world? (high) 20. Alice in Wonderland is the... children's book of the nineteenth century. (famous) 21. The taller the tree, the... the shadow. (long) Completare le frase con should, shouldn't, have to, don't have to, must, mustn't 22. That restaurant is great - you... go there. 23. Today is Sunday! I... go to school. 24. All drivers... pass a driver's test before they can go on the road. 25. In football, you... touch the ball with your hands. 3

4 Completare le frasi utilizando: can, can t, could, couldn t 26.. you open the window? It's very hot in here. 27. You. use my computer if you like. I'm not using it. 28. The suitcase was so heavy I.. lift it. 29. You. wear jeans in that nightclub. It's not allowed. Completare le frasi con some, any, much, many, a lot of 30. We don't have... furniture. Just a table and a few chairs. 31. How... books did you buy? 32. I've got... bad news. There's going to be a train strike. 33. I'd like to buy a new cell phone but I don't have... money at the moment. Completare le frasi con in, on, at, by, to, from, with 34. The election results will be announced 11 o'clock I was tired this morning so I stayed bed until 10 o'clock. 36. You can only reach the village boat. 37. The children sat the floor. Tradurre in Italiano shoulder elbow forearm index finger leg thigh calf knee 4

5 KEY Reading Comprehension 1. A True 2. B False 3. C Doesn't Say 4. B False 5. A True 6. B False 7. A True Abbinare le parole o espressioni evidenziate in neretto nel testo con la loro corretta definizione 1. joints = the part of your body that can bend where two bones meet 2. gait = the way that someone walks 3. suddenly = quickly and without warning 4. feat = something impressive that someone does 5. calf = the thick part of your leg between your knee and your ankle 6. improve = to make something better 7. skate = a type of shoe with a thin metal blade on the bottom used for moving quickly on ice 8. overall = considering something as a whole rather than its details or the different aspects of it PART II 1. don't like 2. it's raining 3. is trying 4. Do you drive 5. was driving 6. took 7. got 8. wasn't 9. was speaking 10. is going to study 11. will meet 12. I'll have 13. are flying 14. where 15. who 16. which 17. whose 18. hotter 19. highest shoulder = spalla elbow = gomito forearm = avambraccio index finger = (dito) indice 20. most famous 21. longer 22. should 23. don't have to 24. must 25. mustn't 26. Could / Can 27. can 28. couldn't 29. can't 30. much / a lot of 31. many 32. some 33. much / a lot of 34. at 35. in 36. by 37. on leg = gamba thigh = coscia calf = polpaccio knee = ginocchio 5

Nota: Test campione in vigore dalla sessione d'esami giugno- luglio 2012

Nota: Test campione in vigore dalla sessione d'esami giugno- luglio 2012 UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI URBINO CARLO BO Centro Linguistico d'ateneo Facoltà di Scienze Motorie Test Campione N 1 Accertamento