Ex. 4. Find in the newspapers information and write a report on the participation of Belarusian lawn tennis players in the Wimbledon tournaments.

Lesson 3. Focus on Speaking

Step 1. Listening Practice

Ex. 1. Listen to the dialogue and make notes. What information have you heard?

Ex.2. Follow the transcript below. How different is the transcript from the dialogue you’ve heard?

Dialogue: At the Press Conference

Remember: single out выделить

fairly well довольно хорошо

put in приложить

score a goal забить гол

At the press conference that followed the games of the World Ice-Hockey Championship the captain and the coach of the Belarusian National team are giving an interview:

Question: Which of your players do you think did best this time?

Answer: All of them played well. It’s difficult to single out anyone.

Q: You’ve got some new players in the team. Are you pleased with their performance?

A: I think young players did fairly well, but we must certainly put in a lot of

hard work before the Winter Olympics.

Q: What can you say about your opponents?

A: I think most of them play first- class hockey. Several really beautiful goals were scored.

Q: What do you think, were the games organised well enough?

A: It was very good, indeed. We’d like to thank our hosts for their warm reception and hospitality. They did their best to make us feel at home¹

Notes:

¹They did their best to make us feel at home – Они сделали все возможное, чтобы мы чувствовали себя как дома.

Step 2. Oral Practice

Ex. 1. Read the dialogue in pairs. Trade the roles.

Ex. 2. a. Note how the coach expresses his gratitude to the hosts of the World Championship. Study the different ways of expressing gratitude:

We are very grateful to you for…

Thanks a lot for your….

Thank you very much indeed for…

It was very nice of you to…

b. Use these phrases to express your gratitude to the organisers of different sports competitions: a city championship

an interclub tournament

an open national championship

Ex.3. Complete the dialogue. Give your questions according to the answers below:

A: ………………………..?

B: We took part in the World Championship last.

A:…………………………?

B: We won four matches and lost only one.

A:…………………………?

B: We played against first-class hockey teams.

A: …………………………?

B: The games were organised well enough.

A:…………………………?

B: Yes, the hosts did their best to make us feel at home.

A:…………………………?

B: It’s difficult to single out any player.

Step 3. Role Playing

Situation 1. Pretend that one of your group-mates has just come back from a very important international tournament. Take turns asking him questions about the tournament.

Situation 2. Pretend that you have just come back from an international championship. Be ready to answer the questions your group-mates may want to ask you.

Situation 3. The Head Coach of the National ice-hockey team has been invited to deliver a lecture at the University of Physical Culture. You are among his listeners. Ask him about his team's performance at the last World Championship.

Situation 4. Pretend that you are a school PE teacher. Explain to your children's parents why you

have chosen this or that kind of extra-class competitions.