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3,000 years ago. 6. People in parts of Alaska and Canada's Yukon Territory travel on sleds pulled by huskies (dogs). 7. In early times, people made sledges from logs tied together. 8. In time, they became longer, more like something that we know today. 9. Metals were very expensive there, so the first ice skates were made from bones of animals such as deer or horses. 10. Later, people found that the sled would move more easily and quickly if wooden runners were put under the logs. 11. The oldest known skis that were found in Finland and Sweden date from about 2,500 ВС. 12. At first skating was a practical necessity but later it became a sport. 13. A Norwegian rock carving from about the same date clearly shows people using skis. 14. The canals of the Netherlands gave ideal ice rinks from Medieval times. 15. Then people started to use metal to make runners and put light boxes on top of them. 16. Specially designed bobsleds1 of steel and fiberglass2 are used for racing in winter sports events now.
b) Discuss the following questions.
1. What inventions are described in the text?
2. What is common between them? What is different?
3. When and where do people use them? What for?
4. What other inventions that are used in sports do you know? Do you know their history?
5. How do inventions influence the development of sports?
6. What new kinds of sports can appear in the future with the development of modern technologies?
3. You are going to read a magazine article about skiing in Japan. Five sentences have been removed from the article. Choose them from A — F. There is one extra sentence you don't need to use.
The World's Largest Refrigerator Snow Skiing
When it's summer in Japan, you can go skiing indoors. The world's largest indoor ski centre opens this week in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, a town 30 minutes east of Tokyo by train. ... (1)
The ski building is actually a $364 million refrigerator. ... (2) The building's snow-making system is unique: a mix of compressed air and misty water is sprayed from the ceiling. ... (3)
The ski building has two slopes — one for beginners and the other, slightly steeper — for experienced skiers. ... (4) Two high-speed chair lifts will take skiers back up to the top after they have completed a run.
Visitors to the new ski hall have to pay $54 for two hours of skiing. To avoid overcrowding, only 2,000 people will be allowed in at one time. ... (5)
A. Those who are waiting can eat, watch TV, swim or sit in a sauna /'sauna, 'sana/ until their numbers are called.
B. The building also includes a race track.
C. The water crystallizes into snow under low temperature.
D. From the outside, the building looks like a giant piece of cheese.
E. Inside, the temperature is minus two degrees Celcius.
F. As may be expected, the slopes are short — only 500 metres long.
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