115 Days to go in the countdown to the London Olympic Games

Wenlock and Mandeville, the London 2012 mascots

From 27 July to 12 August 2012 The Olympic Games will be held in London. The London 2010 Olympics will be one of the biggest sporting events in the world. And on the occasion of the Games, I invite you to know some of the simple facts in words and numbers.

There are 26 sports played by 24 countries. The games will start on July 27th and finish on August 12th. Events will take place at 26 different venues.

There will be more than 10,000 athletes from all over the world. And there will be 8,000 Olympic torch carriers.The new Olympic village will be big enough for 16,000 people. 80, 000 spectators will be able to sit in the new Olympic stadium. Every day 9,000 police officers will keep athletes and spectators safe.

Talking about News and Media, 20,000 journalists will report on the 2012 Olympics 24 hours a day, with  200 kilometres of electrical cables. More than 4 billion people around the world will watch the opening ceremony and the rest of the games on TV.

The 2010 Olympics hope to develop one of the poorest parts of London and provide new homes, jobs and shops. Three-quarters of all the money will help to make East London a better place to live in the future. The Games will make 2,818 new homes for people to live in.

Source: Speak Up

Tasks:
1. Study and revise Vocabulary related to sport. Start with Olympic Sports.

Olympic Sports

Archery	Athletics	Badminton	Basketball	Beach Volleyball
Boxing	Canoe Slalom	Canoe Sprint	Cycling – BMX	Cycling – Mountain Bike
Cycling – Road	Cycling – Track	Diving	Equestrian – Dressage	Equestrian – Eventing
Equestrian – Jumping	Fencing	Football	Gymnastics – Artistic	Gymnastics – Rhythmic
Gymnastics – Trampoline	Hockey	Judo	Modern Pentathlon	Rowing
Sailing	Shooting	Swimming	Synchronised Swimming	Table Tennis
Taekwondo	Tennis	Triathlon	Volleyball	Water Polo
Weightlifting	Wrestling

2. Read the text" The first Olympic Games" and answer the questions about it.

The Olympic Games were a series of athletic competitions held for representatives of various city-states of Ancient Greece. They began in 776 BB in Olympia in Greece. They were celebrated until 393 AD when they were suppressed by Theodosius I as part of the campaign to impose Christianity as a  state religion. The Games were usually held every four years. During a celebration of the Games, an Olympic Peace was made so that athletes could travel from their countries to the Games in safety. Some archaeologists argue, however, that the wars were not halted, but that the athletes who were in the army

were allowed to leave and participate in the Olympics.

Politicians would announce political alliances at the Games, and in times of war, priests would offer sacrifices to the gods for victory. The Games were also used to help spread hellenistic culture throughout the mediterranean.

The ancient Olympics were rather different from the modern games. There were fewer events, and only free young men who spoke Greek could compete. Athletes from any country oe city-state were allowed to participate. the Games were always held at Olympia rather than alternating with different locations as is the tradition with the modern Olympic Games. At first, the Olympic games lasted only one day, but eventually grew to five days. Participation in the classical games was limited to male athletes, although women entering horses in the equestrian events were allowed to take part.

Questions

1. Add True or False, quoting the relevant information from the text to justify your answer.

1. The Olympic Games were originally celebrated once a year until 393 BC.

2. The Games were used for several purposes, apart from the sports competition.

2. Answer the following questions according to the information given in the text. Use your own words.
1. How many cities hosted the Games in the ancient Greece?
2. In what way were the ancient Olympics different from contemporary games?. Give two examples.


3. Find a synonym in the text for:
1. stopped
2. use your authority to force
3. carried out, continued
4. relating to horses and riding

4. Complete the following sentences. The meaning should be the same as that of the sentence above.

1. It´s a pity they didn´t permit women athletes to compete.

I wish......

2. During the Games sculptors created statues of Olympic victors and displayed their works of art.

(.......) used to (.........).

3. The organizers awarded the winner of an Olympic event an olive branch.

The winner....

4. "I have read that single women were allowed to watch the races", he said to me.

He said.....

5. Write a composition with the following title (80-120 words)

Try to convince a friend to join you in a sports activity, giving your reasons.