3. ответьте на вопросы к тексту в тетрадь. 1. Sport in USA
In the USA many sports and sports activities attract millions of active participants.
One reason of the popularity of sport in America may be the variety and size of
America, providing Americans with a large choice of summer and winter sports. In
addition, public sports facilities have always been available in great number for
participants. Another reason might be that Americans like competition, by teams or as
individuals, of any type. Others point out that American schools and colleges follow
the tradition of all English-speaking societies in using sports activities as a way of
teaching «social values».
In the USA much attention is given to organized sports. Hockey, football, baseball,
basketball and volleyball are the five major sports.
Football is the most popular spectator sport. What makes football in the USA so
different from its European cousins, rugby and soccer, is not just the size, speed and
strength of its players. Rather, it is the most «scientific» of all outdoor team sports.
Specific rules state what each player in each position may and may not do, and when.
There are hundreds of possible «plays» (or moves) for teams on offence and defence.
Baseball is now in second place among the sports people most like to watch. Baseball
is still very popular as an informal, neighborhood sport.
Baseball and football have the reputation of being «typically American» team sports.
This is ironic because the two most popular participant sports in the world today are
indeed American in origin - basketball and volleyball. Both games were invented and
first played at a YMCA in Massachusetts. Basketball was invented as a game that
would fill empty period between the football season and the baseball season. Today, of
course, both basketball and volleyball are played everywhere by men and women of all
ages. They are especially popular as school sports. Professional and collegiate
basketball games in the USA attract large numbers of fans. Most of the important
games are televised live.
Sporting activities are a part of daily American life. There are many other sports and
sports activities in America which attract millions of active participants. Among them
are golf, swimming, tennis, marathon, track-and-field, bowling, archery, skiing,
skating, squash and badminton, rowing and sailing, weightlifting, boxing
and wrestling. 45% of all Americans take part in some athletic activity once a day.
Swimming, bicycling, fishing, jogging, calisthenics or gymnastics, and bowling are
American’s favorite participatory sports. Skating and tobogganing are wide-spread
activities, too. Fishing and hunting are extremely popular in all parts of the country and
have been since the days when they were necessary activities among the early settlers.
As could be expected, all water sports and activities are very popular, including diving,
sailing, white-water canoeing, water-skiing.
There are also several sports in the US which were once thought of as being «strange»,
but have now gained international popularity. Among these is skateboarding,
windsurfing and triathlon.
Answer the questions:
1. What are the reasons of popularity of sports in America?
2. What makes American football different from European soccer and rugby?
3. What games have the reputation of «typically American» team sports?
4. What two participant sports originated in America?
5. What other sports and sports activities attract millions of participants?
6. What «strange» sports originated in America and gained international
popularity?
2. Футбол в США отличается от европейского футбола и регби не только размером, скоростью и силой игроков, но и более научным подходом. В нем особо прописаны правила, определяющие, что каждый игрок на каждой позиции может и не может делать, и когда. Существует сотни возможных "игр" (или ходов) для команды в нападении и защите.
3. "Типично американскими" командными спортами считаются бейсбол и футбол.
4. Два видов спорта участники которых оригинально возникли в Америке - баскетбол и волейбол. Обе игры были придуманы и впервые сыграны в местной YMCA в Массачусетсе. Баскетбол изначально был создан как игра, которая заполнила бы свободное время между сезонами футбола и бейсбола.
5. В Америке существует множество других видов спорта и спортивных мероприятий, которые привлекают миллионы участников. Среди них гольф, плавание, теннис, марафон, легкая атлетика, боулинг, стрельба из лука, лыжи, коньки, сквош и бадминтон, гребля и парусный спорт, тяжелая атлетика, бокс и борьба. 45% всех американцев участвуют в какой-либо спортивной активности хотя бы раз в день.
6. Среди спортов, ранее рассматривавшихся как "странные", но приобретших международную популярность в Америке, можно назвать скейтбординг, виндсерфинг и триатлон.