THE OLYMPIC GAMES. getting ready for. Scuola Secondaria di Primo Grado Aldo Moro e la sua Scorta - Ragogna, Udine

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1 Scuola Secondaria di Primo Grado Aldo Moro e la sua Scorta - Ragogna, Udine THE OLYMPIC GAMES getting ready for School year Year 8, classes 3A & 3B

2 This booklet belongs to

3 1. THE MOST THRILLING SPORTING COMPETITIONS IN HISTORY Olympic Games 27 July-12 Aug 2012 days to go Paralympic Games 29 Aug-9 Sept 2012 days to go The first Olympic Games were held in Olympia, Greece, in 776 BC, and then every four years after that for over 1100 years - until 349 AD. In almost years later -, Baron Pierre de Coubertain gathered together 12 delegates from different countries and the modern Olympic Committee was founded: Athens hosted that year the first Modern Olympic Games. Every Olympiad has made history in one way or another. Here are memorable Olympic moments: READ AND WRITE: read the passage and write a caption for each of the four photographs above. fact 1: in 1900 in Paris (France), women were allowed to compete for the first time; fact 2: in 1904 in St Louis (USA), freestyle wrestling, the most popular sport in ancient Greece, was introduced; fact 3: in 1908 at the London Olympics (UK), a quarter of a million onlookers crowded the Marathon route: it was the largest numbers of spectators recorded so far. Dorando Pietri came into the stadium first, but collapsed from exhaustion, was revived and helped to cross the line by officials. He was disqualified but received a medal for great sportmanship ; fact 4: the Games in the 1920ies were dominated by a Finnish athlete, Paavo Nurmi, who won nine golds and broke 29 world records during the course of the decade;

4 fact 5: in 1936 in Berlin (Germany), the black American athlete Jessie Owens beat a number of Hiltler s prize sportsmen to take home four golds; fact 6: in 1948 in London (UK), the Dutch sprinter Fanny Blankers-Koen won 11 races in ten days: she was 30 years old and pregnant at the time; fact 7: in 1960 in Rome (Italy), Ethiopian Abebe Bikila first won the marathon barefoot and he won it again in 1964 in Tokyo (Japan) becoming the only man to win the event twice; fact 8: in 1968 in Mexico City (Mexico) U.S. athlete Tommie Smith won the 200-metre race in a world-record time of seconds, with Australian Peter Norman second with a time of seconds, and the U.S. John Carlos in third place with a time of seconds. After the race was completed, the three went to collect their medals at the podium: the two U.S. athletes received their medals shoeless, but wearing black socks, to represent black poverty. Smith wore a black scarf around his neck to represent black pride, Carlos wore a necklace of beads which he described "were for those individuals that were lynched, or killed and that no-one said a prayer for, that were hung and tarred. PLEASE NOTE: no Olympic games were held in 1916, 1940 and 1944 on account of the two world wars. In ancient Greece priorities were different: wars were temporarily stopped so that the Games could take place. MORE THAN A CENTURY OF SUMMER OLYMPICS 1896 Athens GREECE 1900 Paris FRANCE 1904 St. Louis USA 1908 London UK 1912 Stockholm SWEDEN 1920 Antwerp BELGIUM 1924 Paris FRANCE 1928 Amsterdam HOLLAND 1932 Los Angeles USA 1936 Berlin GERMANY 1948 London UK 1952 Helsinki FINLAND 1956 Melbourne AUSTRALIA 1960 Rome ITALY 1964 Tokyo JAPAN 1968 Mexico City MEXICO 1972 Münich WEST GERMANY 1976 Montreal CANADA 1980 Moscow USSR 1984 Los Angeles USA 1988 Seoul SOUTH COREA 1992 Barcelona SPAIN 1996 Atlanta USA 2000 Sydney AUSTRALIA 2004 Athens GREECE 2008 Beijing CHINA 2012 London UK INTERNET SEARCH: ( where will the 2016 Olympic games take place?

5 2. the OLYMPIC SYMBOLS TASK: insert the missing words in the text below (all adjectives) 1. informal 2. popular 3. present 4. International 5. important 6. Stronger OPPOSITES: 1. formal from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Olympic symbols are icons, flags and symbols used by the International Olympic Commitee to promote the Olympic Games. The most emblems are the Olympic Motto, the Olympic Rings and the Olympic Flame. a. the OLYMPIC MOTTO The Olympic motto is the Citius, Altius, Fortius, which is Latin for "Faster, Higher, " (the Latin words are comparative adverbs, not adjectives). The motto was proposed by Pierre de Coubertain on the creation of the Olympic Committee in De Coubertin borrowed it from his friend Henri Didon, a Dominican priest who, amongst other things, was an athletics enthusiast. The motto was introduced in 1924 at the Olympic Games in Paris. A more but well known motto, also introduced by de Coubertin, is "The most thing is not to win but to take part!" De Coubertin got this motto from a sermon by the Bishop of Pennsylvania during the 1908 London Games. b. the OLYMPIC RINGS The Olympic flag has a white background, with five interlaced rings in the centre: blue, yellow, black, green and red. This design is symbolic: it represents the five inhabited continents of the world, united by Olympism, while the six colors are those that appear on all the national flags of the world at the time. Find more about the colours in Wikipedia: for EUROPE for ASIA for AFRICA for OCEANIA and for AMERICA (North and South considered as a single continent).

6 b. THE OLYMPIC FLAME, TORCH AND RELAY Task: 10 words in the following text are WRONG. Listen to the teacher reading, underline the wrong word and try to identify the original correct ones) The Olympic Flame, Torch and Relay draw on a history going back to the Olympic Games in Rome: during the games a sacred flame burned continually on the altar of the goddess, Hera. In addition, heralds were summoned to twist and shout throughout Greece to announce the Games, declaring a sacred truce for the duration of the games. A very precise ritual for the lighting of the Flame is followed at every Games: - it is lit from the Sun s rays at the Temple of Hera in Olympia, in a traditional ceremony among the ruins of the school of the Ancient Games; - after a short relay around Greece, the Flame is handed over to the new Hospital City at another ceremony at the Panathenaiko Stadium in Athens; - the Flame is then delivered to the Host Country, where it is transferred from one Torchbearer to another, spreading the message of PEACE, UNITY and FISHERMAN s FRIENDS; - it ends its journey as the last Torchbearer lights the cauldron at the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, making the official start of the Games; - the Flame is extinguished on the final day of the Games, at the Closing Ceremony. LONDON 2012: lit in Greece, the Olympic Flag arrives in the UK on 18th May Representing peace, unity and friendship, the Flame will be carried by eight billions inspirational Torchbearers during the Olympic Torch Relay. b. The Olympic Torch The London 2012 Olympic Torch features 8,000 small cut-out stars, representing the 8,000 inspirational people who will carry it on its journey around the UK. The Torch was designed by beast Londoners Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, who won the opportunity through a competitive tender run by the London 2012 Organising Committee and the Design Council. The design, engineering and manufacture celebrate the best of British taleggio. WRONG WORDS: Twist and shout; school; hospital; Fisherman s Friends; flag; billion; stars; beast; taleggio RIGHT WORDS: Athens; travel; home; host; FRIENDSHIP; flame; thousand; circles; best; talent ON-line video: designing the London 2012 olympic torch

7 3. LONDON 2012 SPORT DISCIPLINE VENUE ACQUATICS ARCHERY ATHLETICS BADMINTON BASEBALL BASKETBALL BOXING CANOEING CYCLING EQUESTRIAN Swimming Synchronised Swimming Diving Jumping Running Throwing Slalom Sprint Track Road Mountain Bike BMX Dressage Eventing Jumping competition pools on a range in a field or park on and around the track on a court in a field on a court in a ring on a lake on a whitewater course on a track and on a road in a field cross-country FENCING FOOTBALL GYMNASTICS HANDBALL FIELD HOCKEY JUDO / TAEKWONDO MODERN PENTATHLON ROWING SAILING SHOOTING SOFTBALL TABLE TENNIS TENNIS VOLLEYBALL WEIGHT-LIFTING WRESTLING Artistic Rhythmic Trampoline Riding, Fencing, Shooting, Swimming, Cross-country Running Indoor Volleyball Beach Volleyball Free-style Greco-Roman in a gym on a pitch or field in a gym on a court on a field on a pitch or field (see individual disciplines) on a lake at sea on a range on a court in a gym or sports hall on a court on a court in a gym or sports hall in a gym or sports hall

8 LISTENING Three London teenagers were interviewed in 2009 by BBC LONDON RADIO about their prospects for the 2012 London Olympics. They were all asked the following question: HOW WILL YOU CONTRIBUTE TO THE 2012 OLYMPICS? The 2012 Olympics are in London but the Olympic Games are not for athletes, they are for. Everyone has a part in making the games successful. Some young people from a school talk about their for the games. My dad is a taxi driver. He has four. In 2012 I might be a taxi driver taking and to and from the Olympic I am good at and Maths, so in 2012 I be an helping to design and the Yes, I am good at sport. I enjoy. I everyday and I will be an Olympic trying to win a medal. SPEAKING (pair work) Imagine you will be in London for the Olympics. Discuss with a friend the sports and events you might go and watch: A B A B What are the sports you might go and watch? I like swimming so I might go and watch the swimming. What about you? I might go and watch the gymnastics because I think Italy might win a medal!

9 READING COMPREHENSION Read the passage and answer the questions below: OLYMPIC GAMES The ancient Greeks dedicated the Olympic Games to the god Zeus. The original games were held on the plain of Olympia in Greece. The Greeks held the first Olympic games in the year 776 BC (over 2700 years ago), and had only one event, a sprint (a short run). Winners did not get medals, but were glorified with a laurel wreath and treated like heroes: so great was the honour that the winner of the foot race gave his name to the year of his victory. Women were neither allowed to compete in the games nor to watch them, because the games were dedicated to Zeus and were therefore meant for men. In the course of time, for 1,170 years, many other sports were added, including other races, wrestling, boxing, pentathlon, and equestrian events. Unfortunately, in 394 AD, christian Emperor Theodosius abolished the games on account of their pagan origin. Over fifteen hundred years later, Pierre de Frédy, Baron de Coubertin ( ), a French educator and sportsman, revived the Games and in 1896 the Modern Olympics were born. Modern Olympics are characterized by a number of symbols: the flag, the torch and motto are just the most well-known examples. The flag of the Olympic Games has five interlocking rings (blue, yellow, black, green, and red) on a white ground. The rings represent the five continents of the world joined together in the Olympic movement. The Olympic flag is paraded during the opening ceremony of each Olympic Games. At the end of an Olympics, the mayor of the host-city presents the flag to the mayor of the next host-city. The flag will remain in the town hall of the next host-city until the next Olympic Games, four years later. The tradition of the Olympic flame began during the ancient Olympic Games, over 2700 years ago in Greece. A flame was lit for each Olympics, every four years, and it burned throughout the games. The flame symbolized the death and rebirth of Greek heroes. For each Olympics, a new flame is started in the ancient Olympic stadium in Olympia, Elis, Greece, using a parabolic mirror to focus the rays of the Sun. This flame begins its Olympic Torch Relay by touring Greece. The flame is normally taken to the country where the games will be held (usually by airplane). Following that, the flame is then carried around the country where the games are to be held, using a series of torches carried by people running, walking, riding horses and camels, scuba diving, and using other means of human conveyance. The last runner uses a torch to light the large Olympic torch which burns throughout the games. The flame is extinguished during the closing ceremony, and a new Olympic torch is designed for each of the games. The Olympic motto is "Citius, Altius, Fortius," meaning "Faster, Higher, Stronger". 1. How many sport events were there in the first Greek Olympic Games? 2. What was the prize for the winner of the foot race? 3. Were women allowed to compete? 4. What was the contribution of Baron de Coubertin to the history of Olympic Games? 5. Write about three symbols of Olympic Games. 6. What do the Olympic Rings stand for? 7. How is the Olympic flame started? 8. What does the Olympic Flame symbolise? 9. How does the Olympic torch travel throughout the country hosting the Olympic Games? 10. What is the motto of the Games? AND YOU? 11. YOU AND SPORT: are you a sporty person? What sport do you practice or watch? Describe the type of sport (team/individual; seasonal/all-year sport), the equipment required and whatever detail you like.

10 WRITING a. message. You have passed the Terza Media Exams and before high school you are spending a fortnight in London and - what a luck! - you will be there for the two last weeks of August. Write an to Ewan McGregor, a Scottish friend of yours, telling him about your plans for the week and using the following structures: - I will... = firm decision - I might... = possibility - I + present continuous = plans FROM: TO: SUBJECT: Dear, I am here in London for the 2012 Games! I am staying at a.. and I am here to attend a two-week English course. The food is... and at the moment the weather is.....here in England. What is it like in Scotland? The teachers told us that we will have the possibility to watch some of the events, and these are my plans for the week: tomorrow I m watching.. and Write.. and let me know about you and your plans for the holidays....,..... (your name)

11 b. writing project. Write 20 lines about one of the following topics: a SPORT CELEBRITY (name, nationality, career, physical description, achievements...) a SPORT YOU PRACTICE (rules, equipment, roles,...) your SPORT BIOGRAPHY (in chronological order) LET S GET SPORTY

12 OLYMPIC SPORTS SILHOUETTES CAN YOU GUESS THE SPORT? Manuela Tellini SSPG di Ragogna, Udine, ITALIA March 2012