Unit 2 Sports for Everyone
Vocabulary skills:
Antonyms
1. Read this text. Then match each word in italics with its antonym below.
Thanks to the Paralympics, people with
The Paralympics
disabilities have a 7wonderful opportunity to
Did you know that athletes with disabilities
compete in sports. And don‟t8forget, disability
have their own Olympic Games called the
sports are a serious business. Wheelchair
Paralympics? There are 20 sports in the
athlete Tanni Grey-Thompson trained six days
Summer Paralympics, and five in the Winter
a week, 50 weeks a year … and she9 won 11
Paralympics. They usually take place at
Paralympics gold medals.
the1sametime as the Olympics and are
organized in the same way.
The 2first athletic competitions for people with
disabilities
were
in
1948.
Sir
Ludwig
Guttmann, a doctor at Stoke Mandeville
Hospital in the U.K., organized a competition
for patients. Patients from Holland joined in
four years
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later,
and
the idea of
a
“Paralympics “ began.These days the games
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are5enormous. At the Beijing Paralympics in
2008, around 4,000 athletes from 6 more than
160 countries competed.
a) _____________ remember
d) _____________ tiny
g) ___________last
b) _____________ lost
e) ____________ less
h) ___________terrible
c) _____________ different
f) ____________ finished
i) ___________earlier
2. Match each word on the left with its antonym on the right.
a) better
f) quicker
1) powerless
6) finish
b) easier
g) continue
2) old
7) different
c) natural
h) same
3) weaker
8) worse
d) new
i) sick
4) well
9) slower
e) powerful
j) stronger
5) harder
10) artificial
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Predicting
You’re going to read an article a man with a disability. With a partner, look at the title and
answer these questions.
a) What do you think is the man„s disability?
b) How do you think he overcame this disability?
Bouncing back
At the age of 17, Hugh Herr had a rock
time, people with artificial legs can actually
climbing accident .He became lost with his
feel like they‟re walking. That year, Time
friend Jeff Batzer on Mount Washington, in
magazine called it one of the best innovations
New
was
of the year, together with the Boeing 787
terrible, with temperature below -200c F. For
Dreamliner and the iPhone. Of course, Hugh
four days, the two men waited for help in the
uses PowerFoot One himself!
Hampshire,
U.S.The
weather
snow and ice. They didn‟t have much
Hugh‟s invention is already making an
equipment or any food. When help arrived,
enormous difference to the lives of people
Hugh couldn‟t feel his legs. He spent two
with disabilities.”Once you get used to it, it
months in the hospital and finally lost both
feels like you have you legs back “said Garth
legs at the knee. Doctors gave him two
Stewart, a soldier who lost a leg in the Iraq
artificial legs, but they were painful, and he
war. Thanks to Hugh, people like Garth can
couldn‟t continue rock climbing.
overcome their disabilities and enjoy a better
But that didn‟t stop Hugh! He decided to study
mechanical
engineering
at
quality of life.
Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT). He designed
and made his own artificial legs! He used
springs because they were more powerful.
Now he could continue his favorite sport. He
found he could climb even better than
research, at Harvard. Today, Hugh is a
professor at MIT and is co-founder of iWalk,
a company where in 2007, he helped create an
amazing
new
artificial
PowerFootOne.PowerFoot
ankle
One
called
uses
a
rechargeable battery and springs to make
walking easier and more natural. For the first
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Battery noun
An object that fits into something such as a radio, clock, or car and
supplies it with electricity
Recharge verb
To put more power into a battery
Innovation noun
A new idea or pieces of equipment
Invention noun
Something that someone has made, designed, or thought of for the
first time
Understanding the text
1. Write T (true) or F (false) for each statement.
a. Hugh was a teenager when he lost his legs.
_________
b. He was in the hospital for three months after the accident.
_________
c. He didn‟t like the artificial legs doctors gave him.
_________
d. A friend at MIT designed some new legs for him.
_________
e. He continued rock climbing with his new legs.
_________
2. Read these questions and write you answers.
a. Find two reasons why Hugh didn‟t like the artificial legs doctors gave him.
1.___________________________________________________________
2.___________________________________________________________
b. What did he decide to do after losing his legs?
____________________________________________________________
c. Why were his new legs so powerful?
_________________________________________________________________
d. Where did he continue his research?
_________________________________________________________________
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e. Where does he work now?
__________________________________________________________________
f.
What‟s the name of hiscompany?
____________________________________________________________
g. What is PowerFoot One?
_________________________________________________________________
h. In what year did Time magazine name it one of the best innovations?
____________________________________________________________
i.
Who is Garth Stewart?
____________________________________________________________
3. With a partner, write three questions about the text. Then ask your questions to your
classmates.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
Reading skills: Understanding the main idea
1.
Look at the artificial. Choose the statement that gives the main idea.
a. Rock climbing is a dangerous sport.
b. Many people with disabilities continue to do sports.
c. The best artificial legs use springs.
d. Technology can help people with disabilities to live active lives.
e. It‟s difficult to enjoy sports if you have a disability.
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2. Read this text. Then check (  ) the most appropriate main idea.
The “Blade Runner “
Oscar„s dream is to become the fastest sprinter
in the world. But for a while, the International
Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF)
stopped Oscar from competing against ablebodied athletes in international competitions.
They said that his spring legs gave him an
unfair advantage. In 2008, they told Oscar
African team in the Olympics that year.
Oscar Pistorius is often called “the fastest man
no legs.” The South African is a 100-, 200-,
However, Oscar didn‟t give up. He argued that
and 400- meter Paralympics world record
he runs fast because he trains hard, not
runner. He uses special artificial running legs.
because of his artificial legs, finally, he won
They have long, light springs that help him to
the argument, and the rules changed! Now,
run fast. In fact, Oscar often run against many
Oscar hopes one day to run in the Olympics
able-bodied athletes …and wins!
and try to achieve his dream.
a. Oscar is the best runner on the South African Olympic team.
b. His spring legs make Oscar the fastest runner in the world.
c. Athletes can‟t complete in the Olympics and the Paralympics.
d. Oscar finally won his fight to compete in the Olympics.
e. Oscar‟s spring legs give him an unfair advantage.
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