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Cool Running

1. In 1987, two Jamaican businessmen had the idea to start a Jamaican bobsleigh team to compete in the Olympics, despite Jamaica not having a bobsledding tradition or snow. 2. They recruited a team of Jamaican athletes and moved them to Austria to train, where they struggled at first with the cold and crashed frequently. 3. They hired an Austrian coach who selected a former military helicopter pilot as the driver, since piloting skills would help with steering the bobsled. 4. Some initially objected to the Jamaican team's participation in the 1988 Olympics, seeing it as making light of a serious sport. However, they inspired their country and the sport has since

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119 views

Cool Running

1. In 1987, two Jamaican businessmen had the idea to start a Jamaican bobsleigh team to compete in the Olympics, despite Jamaica not having a bobsledding tradition or snow. 2. They recruited a team of Jamaican athletes and moved them to Austria to train, where they struggled at first with the cold and crashed frequently. 3. They hired an Austrian coach who selected a former military helicopter pilot as the driver, since piloting skills would help with steering the bobsled. 4. Some initially objected to the Jamaican team's participation in the 1988 Olympics, seeing it as making light of a serious sport. However, they inspired their country and the sport has since

Uploaded by

aticemalik
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Key words:

MATCH the following words with the right definition. Use a dictionary if necessary.
______ Someone who trains a person or a team in a sport.
1. Athlete ______ People who have a favourite sportsperson or team.
2. Team ______ Dangerous
3. Coach ______ To start doing a sport.
4. Train ______ To compete in the Olympic, for example
5. Take part in ______ A small vehicle with long metal blades under it, built for racing
6. Fans ______To be successful in a competition or race.
7. Competition ______ To have an accident, especially one which damages a vehicle
8. Race ______ Wheeled vehicle that can be pushed by a person; may have one, two or four
9. Take up wheels.
10. Beat ______ To prepare or be prepared for a job, activity or sport, by learning skills and/or
11. Pushcart
by mental or physical exercise
______A competition in which all the competitors try to be the fastest and to finish
12. Bobsleigh
first
13. Crash
______ The way in which things are organized or arranged
14. Hazardous
______ How much people start to use or accept a service or product
15. Set up
______ A person who is very good at sports or physical exercise, especially one who
competes in organized events.
______ A number of people or animals who do something together as a group.

WHILE YOU READ: read the text and then answer the questions about it.

COOL RUNNING

1. In 1987 two businessmen from Jamaica, George Fitch and William Maloney had a surprising idea. They
had seen a “pushcart” race in Kingston, and they thought it looked like a bobsleigh. So why not have a
Jamaican Olympic bobsleigh team?

2. However, there were several problems. Firstly, Jamaica is not a snowy country; Fitch and Maloney had
never seen snow before. There was also very little money and nowhere to buy equipment. Lastly,
although Jamaica had produced plenty of cricket players and athletes, there were no bobsleighers.

3. Nevertheless, Fitch and Maloney created a team. They found three men from Jamaican army and later
got three others to join them. The team moved to Austria to learn how to bobsleigh. At first, they found
practicing cold. It was also very painful, as by the end of the first week, they had crashed again and
again.

4. But a month later, things had started to get better and they hired an Austrian couch to train them. The
couch chose Dudley stokes as the driver because he had been an army helicopter pilot! Dudley’s
experience of helicopters was useful because you need skill and concentration to drive a bobsleigh; even
a small mistake can be extremely hazardous.

5. At first, some people did not want the Jamaican to take part in the winter Olympic in Calgary in 1988.
They felt that the “beginners” were making fun of a serious competition and a dangerous sport. But by
the time the games had started, the team had thousands of fans.
6. The Jamaicans beat a lot of other teams at the games. On the last day, they came seventh in the
practice races. However, their real race ended early in a spectacular crash. Thousands of spectators in
the stadium and millions of TV viewers all around the world were watching.

7. Although they did not win, this was not the end of Jamaican bobsleighing. The team had inspired
Jamaicans, and lots of more decided to take up the sport. Jamaicans have set up other teams,
including a women’s team, and they now do very well in the Olympic.

II. Read the text and put the events in orders. III. Read the text again and choose the
correct answer.
a. _____ They practiced on their own.
b. _____Jamaicans set up a woman’s team.
c. _____Fitch and Maloney watched a race in 1. It is unusual to have a Jamaican bobsleigh
Jamaica. team because
d. _____Stokes became the driver. a. Of the climate in Jamaica.
e. _____They took part in their first Olympic. b. Jamaicans are not interested in
f. _____A coach trained them. bobsleighing.
c. Jamaicans do not like sport.
g. _____They decided to start a bobsleigh team.
h. _____They went to Austria.
2. Stokes became the driver because…
IV. Answers the following questions. Try to use a. He could bobsleigh.
b. He could fly.
your own words. c. He never crashed.

1. What difficult did Fitch and Maloney have


before they formed the team? 3. When the Jamaican team entered the
……………………………………………… Calgary Olympics, some people…
……………………………………………… a. Were unhappy.
b. Made fun of them.
c. Were pleased.
2. Which sports are popular in Jamaica?
………………………………………………
……………………………………………… 4. On the final day of the Calgary Olympics,
the Jamaican team...
a. Didn’t finish the main race.
V. find the opposites of these words. b. Finished seventh in the main race.
c. Won a medal.
a. Obvious: _________________________
(paragraph 1)
b. Comfortable: ______________________ 5. Since 1988, bobsleighing has become.
(paragraph 3) a. Less popular in Jamaica.
c. Safe: _____________________________ b. More popular in Jamaica.
(paragraph 4) c. Less popular all over the world.
d. Trivial: ___________________________
(paragraph 5)
e. Ordinary: _________________________
(paragraph 6)

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