Учебно-методическое пособие для студентов I-II курсов заочного отделения неязыковых факультетов
THE FACULTY OF PHYSICAL CULTURE Sports and Money
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- Anything That Has Wheels
- Изд. лиц. ИД № 03857 от 30.01.2001
THE FACULTY OF PHYSICAL CULTURESports and MoneyIntercollegiate sports and money have always been a hotly debated topic. Rules prevent any college athlete from accepting money. Whenever some basketball player is found to have accepted "a gift," the sports pages are full of the scandal. As a result, some college teams whose members have violated the rules are forbidden to take part in competitions. Several universities, like the highly respected University of Chicago, do not take part in any intercollegiate sports whatsoever. Many others restrict sports to those played among their own students, so-called intramural sports and activities. Those who defend college sports point out that there are no separate institutions or "universities" for sports in the U.S. as there are in many other countries. They also note that many sports programs pay their own way, that is, what they earn from tickets and so on for football or basketball or baseball games often supports less popular sports and intramural games at the university. At some universities, a large portion of the income from sports, say from TV rights, goes back to the university and is used also for academic purposes. Generally, however, sports and academics are separated from one another. You cannot judge whether a university is excellent or poor from whether its teams win or lose. In the United States, however, there are attitudes towards the mixing of commercialism, money, and sports, or professionals and amateurs, which often differ from those of other nations. The U.S. was, for example, one of only 13 countries to vote in 1989 against allowing professional basketball players to compete in the Olympics. Similarly, American professionals in football, baseball, and basketball are not allowed to wear jerseys and uniforms with advertising, brand names, etc. on them. The National Football League does not allow any team to be owned by a corporation or company. And when a city wants to build a new stadium or arena, voters get the chance to vote (and "no" is not uncommon). Most Americans think that government should be kept separate from sports, both amateur and professional. They are especially concerned when their tax money is involved. The citizens of Denver, Colorado, for example, decided that they did not want the 1976 Winter Olympics there, no matter what the city government and businessmen thought. They voted "no" and the Olympics had to be held elsewhere. The residents of Los Angeles, on the other hand, voted to allow the (Summer) Olympics in 1984 to be held in their city, but they declared that not one dollar of city funds could be spent on them. Because the federal government doesn't give any money either, all of the support had to come from private sources. As it turned out, the L.A. Olympics actually made a profit, some $100 million, which was distributed to national organisations in the U.S. and abroad. Leisure Sports The attention given to organised sports should not overshadow the many sporting activities, which are a part of daily American life. Most Americans who grow up in the North, for example, also grow up with outdoor winter sports and activities. Skating, certainly, is one widespread activity, with most cities, large and small, flooding areas for use as skating rinks. Skiing, sledding and tobogganing are equally popular. Students at snow-covered campuses "borrow" the metal or fibreglass trays used in dining halls and race downhill standing up on them (or trying to). Fishing and hunting are extremely popular in all parts of the country and have been since the days when they were necessary activities among the early settlers. As a consequence, they have never been thought of as upper-class sports in the U.S. And it is easy to forget how much of the country is open land, how much of it is still wild and filled with wildlife. New Jersey, for example, has enough wild deer so that the hunting season there is used to keep the herds smaller. Wild turkeys have also returned to the East and Midwest in great numbers. In Washington, D.C., commuters driving along the Potomac River can often see them flying overhead. Even more remarkable is the return of the black bear in the Northeast, as the forests grow thicker again. New York State has about 4,000 with most of them in the Adirondack, Allegheny, and Catskill mountain areas. In the states of the Midwest and West, of course, there is much more wild game, and hunting there is even more popular. Hunting licenses are issued by the individual states, and hunting is strictly controlled. Some hunters don't actually hunt, of course. They use it as a good excuse to get outdoors in the autumn or to take a few days or longer away from the job and family. Indoor poker games are rumoured to be a favourite activity of many hunters who head for cabins in the woods. There are many more fishermen (around 50 million in 1991) than hunters (17 million), and many more lakes and rivers than bears. Minnesota advertises itself on its license plates as the "land of 10,000 lakes." This, of course, is not quite true: there are more. Aerial photographs and maps show that there are about twice that number (each larger than 25 acres). Fishing is so popular in Minnesota that when a recent survey showed that 97 percent of all kids in the state went fishing, a newspaper asked, "What on earth went wrong with the other three percent?" Michigan not only has a long coastline from the Great Lakes, it also has what official descriptions simply call, without counting, "thousands of lakes." From Oregon to Southern California, Maine to Florida to Texas there are the ocean beaches. Finding enough water is no problem for most Americans, and where there's water, there are boats. Overall (not including rowboats, canoes, or anything else driven by paddles), there is about one boat for every 15 people in the U.S. today (1991). In Minnesota, one out of seven people owns a boat and in Arkansas, one out of nine. In Arizona, a state usually known for its mountains and deserts, there are still enough lakes and reservoirs for over 10,000 boats. As could be expected, all water sports and activities are very popular, including swimming, skin diving, sailing, white-water canoeing, water skiing, and powerboat and "off-shore" racing. Many Americans, of course, just like to go to the beach on a hot summer day, swim a bit, and then take a nap in the sun. Except for a few areas, such as around New York City, the beaches are not crowded, so long walks along the beaches, for example those of Northern California or those of Lake Superior, are quite relaxing. And, although the thousands of students who head for Florida's beaches each spring get headlines, many more thousands of other Americans enjoy small beach parties where there's no one else except a few friends, a fire, and the warm summer night. Anything That Has WheelsThere are several sports and sports activities in the U.S., all having their strong supporters, which many people think, are a bit strange or at least unusual. For example, Americans will race just about anything that has wheels. Not just cars, but also "funny cars" with aircraft and jet engines, large trucks with special motors, tractors, pickup trucks with gigantic tires, and even motorcycles with automobile engines. Truck racing, it seems, has made it big in Europe. In 1990, The European paper wrote that in only six years since it found its way across the Atlantic, truck racing was attracting "crowds to rival those of the Formula One grand prix motor racing circus." Other sports are popular because they do not involve motors. The first "people-powered" aircraft to cross the English Channel was pedalled by an American. And the first hot-air balloon to make it across the Atlantic had a crew from Albuquerque, New Mexico. There are also several sports in the U.S. which were once thought of as being "different," but have now gained international popularity. Among these, for instance, is skateboarding. Another example is windsurfing which very quickly spread in popularity from the beaches of California and Hawaii. Hang-gliding became really popular after those same people in California started jumping off cliffs above the ocean. Those who like more than wind and luck attached a small lawnmower engine to a hang-glider and soon "ultra-light-weight" planes were buzzing around. The triathlon came from a late-night discussion in a Honolulu bar in 1977 about which sport was the most exhausting: swimming, bicycle racing, or long-distance running. Someone suggested that they all be put together. The result was the first "Ironman," in 1978, with 15 participants. This contest was a 3.8 kilometre ocean swim, followed immediately by a 180 kilometre bicycle race, and ending with a 42 kilometre run. Mountain biking, often still called an "American sport," is now really international. Since the publication of Cooper’s book Aerobics (1968), sports in America turned from an assortment of team activities to what one observer called "a prescription for everyone's health." The emphasis on physical fitness involved increasing numbers of Americans in activities that provide the necessary physical conditioning and at the same time offer enjoyment and recreation. Swimming, jogging, cycling, and callisthenics can be done in company with family members and friends, have no real age limits, and are performed more for health and fun than for competition. Everyone can participate in these activities. The widespread public support for the Handicapped Olympics in the U.S., for example, indicates that "everyone" does, indeed, mean everyone. Список литературы
Учебное издание СБОРНИК текстОВ для самостоятельного чтения и экзаменационные темы по английскому языку Учебно-методическое пособие для студентов I–II курсов заочного отделения неязыковых факультетов 2-е издание, исправленное и дополненное Авторы-составители: Васильева Елена Ефимовна Зонина Наталия Петровна (отв. ред.) Карпенко Наталья Викторовна Костарева Наталья Анатольевна Раскина Елена Юрьевна
Технический редактор О.В. Вязова Компьютерный набор выполнен Н.П. Зониной
№ 1426 от 23.04.2004 Изд. лиц. ИД № 03857 от 30.01.2001Подписано в печать 09.09.08. Формат 60х90 1/16 Бумага ксероксная. Печать офсетная Усл. печ. л. 5,5. Уч.-изд. л. 4,6 Тираж 200 экз. Редакционно-издательский отдел Пермского государственного педагогического университета 614990, г. Пермь, ул. Сибирская, 24, корп. 2, оф. 71, тел. (342) 238-63-12 Отпечатано на ризографе в Пермском государственном педагогическом университете 614990, г. Пермь, ул. Сибирская, 24, корп. 1, оф. 11 жүктеу/скачать 0.55 Mb. Достарыңызбен бөлісу:
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