Why can’t walkers boast of large audiences?

WHAT IS WALKING?

Пояснения к тексту

Why do people like extreme sports?

1. …because they like to be in dangerous situations.

2. …because they want to escape from monotonous everyday life and problems.

3. …because they don’t like traditional sports.

1. gain the feeling of steadiness – достигаем ощущения устойчивости

2. must constantly maintain contact – должен постоянно поддерживать контакт

3. have been repeatedly altered – неоднократно (несколько раз) изменялись

1. At first this question may seem strange. Walking is the simplest and the most natural way of locomotion. It is as natural for a man as, say, breathing. After we take our first steps in early childhood and gain the feeling of steadiness we no longer think about how we walk – it has become a habit. However, the fact is that there is a great difference in walking habits. An ordinary man doesn’t walk more than 5 to 7 kilometres per hour, even if he is in a hurry. But real walkers cover 14-15 km for that time.

2. The first component of the motto “Quicker, higher, stronger” symbolizes running and walking. But walking is the opposite of running in terms of technique. Technique is not of great importance in running competitions. Your running may be awkward but you can win.

3. In walking, however, it is quite different. First, the walker must constantly maintain contact with the ground, that is his supporting leg must not tear loose from the ground before the front foot touches it. Second, with each step the supporting leg must by all means straighten in the knee at least for an instant. These are two principal criteria to judge whether the walker complies with the rules or not.

4. People go in for walking for nearly a hundred years. As an Olympic event walking first appeared in 1908. Since then the distances have been repeatedly altered. The 10 and 15 kilometres have been the longest “survivors” on the Olympic programme. The 1952 Olympics showed that the 10 km length became too short, and in 1956 the distance was doubled. At present, 20 and 50 km for men and 5 and 10 km for women are the most popular distances at the Olympics and European and World championships.

5. Walkers cannot boast of large audiences because they mostly compete outside stadiums. At the same time, walking enthusiasts would never give up this difficult sport for any other.

VII. Прочтите 5-й абзац текста и вопрос к нему. Из приведенных вариантов ответа выберите и полностью перепишите тот вариант, который является ответом на данный вопрос.

1. … because this sport is not popular.

2. … because the sportsmen mostly compete outside stadiums.

3. … because there are no walking competitions.

Дата добавления: 2015-05-10