The importance of sport in human life The Olympic Games My favourite kind of sport
to be fond of smth. – захоплюватися чимось
outdoor winter sports – зимові види спорту
hunting – полювання
tobogganing – спуск на санях
to afford excellent opportunities for smth.- надавати чудові можливості для чогось
yachting – плавання на яхті
gliding – планерний спорт
wrestling – боротьба
apotheosis – уславлення, апофеоз
Pelops – Пелопонес (півострів)
Zeus – Зевс
B.C.= Before Christ – (лат.) до нашої ери
A.D.=Anno Domini – (лат.) нашої ери
to admit – визнавати, припускати
Sport is very important in our life. People all over the world are fond of sports and games. All kinds of physical exercises are very useful to make our body strong enough to keep ourselves fit and healthy.
Interest in sports and recreations, such as basketball, darts, skiing, athletics and snooker, has increased, thanks partly to extensive coverage on television. More people participate in sport, mainly because of the increase in leisure time and facilities, greater mobility and improvements in living standards.
The most popular outdoor winter sports are shooting, hunting, hockey, skating, skiing and tobogganing.
Summer affords excellent opportunities for swimming, boating, yachting, cycling, gliding, football and many other sports.
It is estimated that 25 million people over the age of 13 regularly take part in sport or exercise.
Apotheosis of human body came from Greece. It was the first home of the Olympic Games as well. These famous games were held every four years on the peninsula of Pelops in southern Greece. The period between the Games was called Olympiad.
The games were an athletic festival with competitions in music and poetry lasting five days. They were held in honour of Zeus who was regarded as the father of many gods living on Mount Olympus nearby.
There is a record of winners dating from 776 B.C. But the Games were held regularly before that time, and were only stopped in 394 A.D.
The first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens in 1896. They were also in London, St. Lois, Stockholm, Antwerp, Paris, Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Berlin, Helsinki, Melbourne, Rome, Tokyo, Mexico City, Munich, Montreal, Moscow, Nice, Atlanta, Sidney and others.
Ukrainian sports are well developed. Evidence of this is found in the Olympic results. Among the 80 thousand spectators of the first modern Olympic Games in Athens on April 6, 1896 was our countryman – M.Ritter from Kyiv. He came to Athens on his own to compete in shooting and wrestling. However the rules proved unknown to Ritter and he had to cancel his entry. There were no our countrymen at the following Olympics. They were internationally recognized after the World War II.
Olympic Games discovered many outstanding Ukrainian sportsmen. Among them gymnasts, such as Larisa Latynina, the “first grace” of the 16th Olympics (she came to Melbourne as an unknown gymnast and said good-bye to Australia as an overall champion. An outstanding sportswoman, she won 18 Olympic awards. Latynina is one of the brightest stars in gymnastics history), Borys Shakhlin and Yurii Titov (16th Olympics, 1956, Melbourne), Polina Astakhova (17th Olympics, 1960, Rome), Lilia Podkopaieva and Katerina Serebrianska (26th Olympics, 1996, Atlanta). The Ukrainian school of gymnastics is recognized the world over.
The whole world knows the names of Galyna Prozumenshchykova - a swimmer, Leonid Zhabotynskyi – a weightlifter, Valerii Brumel – a high jumper (18th Olympics, 1964, Tokyo), a sprinter Valerii Borzov (20th Olympics,1972, Munich), a pole-vaulter Serhii Bubka (21st Olympics, 1976, Montreal), a figure skater Oksana Baiul (25th Olympics, 1992), boxers Volodymyr Klychko (26th Olympics, 1996, Atlanta) and his brother Vitalii Klychko.
At the Olympic Games of 2000 in Sydney Yana Klochkova became twice Olympic champion in swimming.
Among the prominent sportsmen who came from the Ukrainian diaspora are hockey players T. Sawczuk, D. Haverchuk and the American football legend W. Czizhowicz.
The best Ukrainian football team is “Dynamo”. In 1975 the Dynamo-Kyiv became the holder of the UEFA Super Club. Oleh Blokhin was bronze medallist of the Olympic Games of 1972 and 1976. O. Blokhin scored more than 300 goals, he was named Europe’s best soccer player. One of the best Ukrainian players is A.Shevchenko. The Dynamo-Kyiv team has many fans. Thousands of people go to the stadiums to support their favourite team and many thousands more prefer to watch the games on TV. But watching sports events and going in for sports are two different things.
My favourite kind of sport is tennis. I’ve been playing it since I was eleven years old and the more I play it the more I like it. There is a good tennis court not far from my house and whenever I have a chance I go there with a friend of mine.
Sport is one of the things that makes me keen. To cut the long story short, I should admit that everyone must do all he can to be healthy. Physically inactive people get old earlier than those who have plenty of exercises. If you do daily exercises you feel refreshed, have a good pleasure, and that makes you feel good. I can add that good health is better than the best medicine. The old Latin saying goes “A sound mind in a sound body”.
Which are the most popular games in Ukraine?
What do you think of the role of sports and games in character training?
What is more important for character training – to win or to learn how to be a good loser?
Do you agree that many people realize the importance of sports and games for their health?
What kinds of sports are becoming increasingly popular in Ukraine and why?