Games and Sports

The unit opens with four pictures. Here is what each shows, and why it matters.

Picture	The activity	Why it is important
Players leaping at a net to block a ball	volleyball	It needs only a net and a ball, so it is played in villages all over Nepal; it builds teamwork, quick reactions and strong legs. Nepal made it its national game in 2017.
Players in red and blue racing for a ball in an indoor hall	basketball	It is fast: running, jumping and passing build fitness and teach players to think and act together.
A chessboard in the middle of a game	chess	A game of the mind, not the body: it trains planning, patience and concentration, and can be played at any age.
Runners on a red track	running (athletics)	The simplest sport of all: it strengthens the heart and lungs, and a race teaches you to push yourself and to lose well.

Before you read

What kind of text it is

The text is a myth, a very old story about gods and heroes, told to explain how something began. This one explains how the Olympic Games started. It is adapted from a children’s book by Jean Richards and Kat Thacker, The First Olympic Games: A Gruesome Greek Myth with a Happy Ending. Its last part leaves the myth behind and tells real history: how the old Games were forgotten, found again, and started anew.

Read it as two kinds of writing: the myth (paragraphs 1–4: gods, magic horses, a wax pin) and the history (the last paragraph: earthquakes, archaeologists, a Frenchman).

The story, part by part

1. Tantalus and the terrible dinner

In ancient Greece lived Tantalus, half man and half god, a son of Zeus, king of the gods. Zeus invited him to dinner on Mount Olympus, the gods’ home high above the clouds. Proud of the honor, Tantalus climbed up in his embroidered robes (decorated with patterns sewn in thread) and ate an exquisite meal, beautiful and delicious.

Next morning he decided he must invite the gods back, and serve them the thing he valued most. His idea was horrible: he killed his own son, Pelops, and served him to the gods as a stew. The gods, who see everything, were furious, very angry: they hated human sacrifice. They punished Tantalus by sending him to the underworld, the land of the dead, to stand in water up to his neck forever.

2. A gift of horses

The gods brought Pelops back to life and gave him a chariot pulled by snow-white horses that ran faster than the wind. Zeus told him to go and find a kingdom, because he would become a great ruler. Pelops mounted his chariot (got up into it) and drove down to the plain.

3. The old man’s warning

On the road, an old man in rags told Pelops about the kingdom of Elis, whose king had a beautiful daughter, Hippodamia. Whoever married her would inherit (receive after the king’s death) the kingdom. But there was a catch: a suitor had to race the king in a chariot. Win, and he got the princess and the kingdom; lose, and his head was chopped off. Twelve men had already lost. Pelops was not afraid: his horses were faster than the wind. The old man warned him that the king’s horses ran faster than lightning.

4. At the palace

Pelops came to the palace and told the king he had come to woo his daughter, to ask her to marry him. Hippodamia’s eyes shone when she saw him. The king agreed to the race at sunrise. He had never lost: his horses were magic, a gift from Ares, the god of war.

That evening, Hippodamia wandered near the stables and, not knowing anyone could hear, wished aloud that her father would lose the race, just this once. The stable boy, who had long loved her from a distance, heard her. After she went in, he took out the bronze pins that held the wheels on the king’s chariot and put in pins made of candle wax.

5. The race

At sunrise, crowds gathered on the lush (thick and green) fields of Olympia. The horses raced neck and neck. When the king whipped his horses to pull ahead, the heat had melted the wax pins: his wheels flew off, he was thrown from the chariot, and he died. Pelops had won Hippodamia and the kingdom.

But the young pair were sad. The old king had not really been cruel; he had loved his daughter so much that he could not bear to give her away.

6. Funeral games, every four years

Before their wedding, Pelops and Hippodamia held a great funeral feast in the king’s honor, and invited heroes from all over Greece to compete in athletic games and races, in memory of his chariot race. Pelops decreed (ordered officially) that such games should be held every four years, forever. Because they took place on the fields of Olympia, they became the Olympic Games.

7. Lost and found again

Now the text turns to history. Pelops and Hippodamia ruled Elis well, and the Games were held every four years at Olympia for many centuries. Then the old Games came to an end, and later earthquakes and floods knocked down the buildings and buried the fields in mud. They lay hidden for well over a thousand years, and people forgot them; many even doubted that the Games had ever existed.

In 1875, archaeologists (scientists who study the past by digging up what people left behind) began digging at Olympia and uncovered the ancient site. There was great rejoicing, and a Frenchman, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, helped start the Games again. Today, every four years, athletes from all over the world meet in a spirit of peace and friendship, in a different country each time, and an Olympic flame, lit from the sun’s rays at Olympia, burns in the stadium until the Games end.

Words from the story

Word	Meaning here
exquisite	extremely beautiful and delicate; of the finest quality
inherit	to receive money, property or a title from someone after they die
underworld	in myths, the place under the earth where the dead go
embroidered	decorated with patterns sewn in colored thread
stew	a dish of meat or vegetables cooked slowly in liquid
decree	(verb) to order officially; (noun) an official order
mount	to get up onto a horse, a bicycle or a chariot
rejoicing	great happiness, shown by many people together
furious	extremely angry
lush	(of grass and plants) thick, green and healthy
woo	to try to win someone’s love, in order to marry them
caution	(verb) to warn
archaeologist	a person who studies the past by digging up old objects and buildings

A. Complete the sentences

B. True, False or Not Given

C. Answer the questions

D. The Olympics today

A syllable is a beat of a word, built round a vowel sound: sport has one, foot·ball two, O·lym·pic three. In a word of two or more syllables, one is stressed: said a little louder, longer and higher. Here the stressed syllable is in capitals.

Word	Syllables	Stress	Watch out for
invitation	4	in·vi·TA·tion	the stress is on ta, not in
embroidered	3	em·BROI·dered	-ed after r adds no syllable
exquisite	3	ex·QUI·site (also EX·qui·site)	both are correct
furious	3	FU·ri·ous	fyoor, not foo
inherit	3	in·HER·it
princess	2	prin·CESS (British), PRIN·cess (American)	both are heard
beautiful	3	BEAU·ti·ful	beau says byoo
carefully	3	CARE·ful·ly
marriage	2	MAR·riage	-iage is one syllable: rij
earthquake	2	EARTH·quake
stadium	3	STA·di·um	stay, not sta as in stand
Olympic	3	o·LYM·pic
archaeologists	5	ar·chae·OL·o·gists	ch says k; the same stress as ar·chae·OL·o·gy

To ask and tell about something done recently, with a result that matters now, use the present perfect: have/has + past participle.

• Which place has Kathy recently visited? She has visited London.
• Have you finished your project? Yes, I have just finished it.

Recently, just, already, lately and this week often go with it. If you say when (yesterday, last week), use the past simple instead: She visited London last month.

A. Ask and answer

B. Your friends’ news

You met both forms in Grade 9. Here is what each one says, and how to choose between them, which is what the exam tests.

Two ways to link the past with now

The present perfect is have/has + past participle: She has painted the house. It tells about a past action whose result we have now, or counts how many times something has happened up to now.

• I have lost my key. (I don’t have it now.)
• We have visited many places. (a list of what is done)
• You have promised to help me many times. (how many times)

The present perfect continuous is have/has been + -ing: She has been painting the house. It tells about an action that started in the past and is still going on (or has only just stopped), and how long it has gone on.

• It has been raining since morning. (and it is still raining)
• I’m tired. I have been working hard lately. (the work explains how I feel now)
• We have been staying in a hotel since we arrived.

Present perfect: has done	Present perfect continuous: has been doing
the action is finished; the result matters	the action is still going on, or has just stopped
how many / how much: She has written three letters.	how long: She has been writing letters all morning.
with already, yet, just, ever, never, so far	with since, for, all day, lately, recently, how long
Who has eaten my momos? (the plate is empty)	Who has been eating my momos? (some are gone)

A. Nirjala’s note from Pokhara

B. Complete the sentences

A paragraph is a group of sentences about one main idea. A good one has three parts:

1. The topic sentence, usually the first: it says what the whole paragraph is about.
2. Supporting sentences: facts, examples and reasons that explain or prove the topic sentence, each one linked to it.
3. The concluding sentence: it closes the paragraph, often by saying the main idea again in different words, or adding a final thought.

A. A paragraph about David Beckham

The model paragraph is about David Beckham, the English footballer. It says that he became popular in the late 1990s and was known all over the world by the early 2000s; that he became famous first in England with Manchester United, then in Spain with Real Madrid; that his team valued his dangerous free kicks, long passes and crosses; that he was also a fine leader, who captained England at the 2002 World Cup, where they lost only to Brazil; that he has a huge number of fans around the world; and that he is still loved after his retirement.

B. Your favorite player

What kind of text it is

The text is an informative article from WorldAtlas, a website of geography facts. It opens with a short introduction, then gives one paragraph to each sport, from the most popular to the tenth. Each paragraph follows a pattern: the fans, where it is played, how it is played, and sometimes where it began. The numbers are the website’s estimates: nobody can count every fan in the world, and other surveys give different figures and orders.

The article, part by part

Why sports are popular

People play sports to keep healthy, or for recreation (fun in their free time). Even more people love sports as spectators, people who watch. Since time immemorial (for longer than anyone can remember), people have been awed and inspired by those who can perform amazing feats of strength and skill.

The ten sports

Sport	Fans (estimate)	Where it is most popular	What the article says
Football (soccer in the US and Canada)	4 billion	Europe, Central and South America, Africa	The modern game began in England in the 19th century; similar games were played 2,000 years ago, first in China. You need only a ball, so anyone, rich or poor, can play.
Cricket	2.5 billion	the UK, India, Pakistan, Australia	Two teams, a bat, a big field and runs, like baseball; but the ball is bowled to a batsman on a long rectangular pitch in the middle, not pitched from a mound to a batter at home plate.
Hockey (field and ice)	2 billion	field: Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia; ice: Canada, the US, northern Europe	Two teams try to put a ball (in ice hockey, a puck) into the other team’s net with a stick. Field hockey usually has no body checking (pushing an opponent with the body).
Tennis	1 billion	worldwide	Players hit a ball with a racket over a net so that the opponent can’t return it. Pros like Roger Federer and Serena Williams are household names.
Volleyball	900 million	North America, Western Europe, Asia, Australia, South America	Two teams volley a ball over a high net onto the other side. Beach volleyball has two players a side on sand; regular volleyball has six.
Table tennis (ping-pong)	875 million	especially Asia	It began in England.
Basketball	825 million	worldwide	Invented by James Naismith, a Canadian teaching in the US, in the late 19th century. Two teams dribble a ball up a court and shoot it into a raised hoop. It needs little equipment, so it is accessible to everyone.
Baseball	500 million	the US, East Asia, Latin America	America’s national pastime, probably descended from the English games rounders and cricket. Batters hit the ball and run round the bases to score runs.
Rugby	475 million	the UK, Australia, New Zealand	Two teams kick, carry or pass an oval ball over the goal line. A contact sport with much tackling, played with very little protection, unlike American football’s pads and helmets.
Golf	450 million	Western Europe, East Asia, North America	Players hit a small ball into a hole in the fewest strokes. The game began in Scotland in the 15th century; the word may come from Dutch kolf, “club”.

Words from the article

Word	Meaning here
cite	to give something as a reason or an example
recreational	done for enjoyment in your free time
spectator	a person who watches a game or event
(time) immemorial	longer ago than anyone can remember
awed	filled with respect and wonder, perhaps a little fear
feat	an act that needs great skill, strength or courage
tremendous	very great
pitch	in cricket, the strip of ground in the middle where the ball is bowled
mound	a small hill or pile of earth; in baseball, where the pitcher stands
elongated	long and thin, longer than usual
pro	a professional, paid to play
volley	to hit the ball before it touches the ground
variant	a slightly different form of something
accessible	easy to reach, get or use
pastime	something done for pleasure in free time
tackle	in rugby or football, to stop a player or take the ball

A. Crossword

B. Name the sports

C. Choose the correct answers

D. Answer the questions

E. Your ranking

A. Before you listen

The textbook’s listening task is a short sports news report. CDC’s own recording is below: read the questions in B and C first, then listen, as many times as you need. The answers are hidden under the questions; after that, practice with a report of our own that your browser reads aloud.

B and C. The textbook’s audio: answers

In Unit 8 you made the passive in the present simple. The same three steps work in every tense: the object becomes the subject, the doer goes after by (or is left out), and the verb becomes be + past participle, with be in the same tense as the active verb.

Tense	Active	Passive
present simple	They clean the ground.	The ground is cleaned.
present continuous	They are cleaning the ground.	The ground is being cleaned.
present perfect	They have cleaned the ground.	The ground has been cleaned.
past simple	They cleaned the ground.	The ground was cleaned.
past continuous	They were cleaning the ground.	The ground was being cleaned.
past perfect	They had cleaned the ground.	The ground had been cleaned.
future simple	They will clean the ground.	The ground will be cleaned.
future perfect	They will have cleaned the ground.	The ground will have been cleaned.
going to	They are going to clean the ground.	The ground is going to be cleaned.
modal	They must / can / should clean the ground.	The ground must / can / should be cleaned.
modal, past	They might have cleaned the ground.	The ground might have been cleaned.

The perfect continuous tenses (have been cleaning) are almost never made passive: they would need has been being cleaned, which sounds clumsy.

Questions, let, and “people believe”

• Yes/no questions keep the question order, the first helping verb first: Has he translated the book? → Has the book been translated by him? Do they sell tickets here? → Are tickets sold here?
• Wh- questions: if the wh-word is the object, it becomes the subject: What are you building? → What is being built? If it is the doer, who becomes by whom: Who broke the window? → By whom was the window broken? (or, in everyday English, Who was the window broken by?)
• Let: Let + object + be + past participle: Let him open the door. → Let the door be opened by him.
• People believe / say / think that… (Unit 8): It is believed that…, or the subject + is believed to: People believe that he is honest. → It is believed that he is honest. / He is believed to be honest.
• After like and mind (Unit 8): being + past participle: I like people praising me. → I like being praised.

A. The man who bought an ass

B. Choose the correct answers

C. Change into the passive

How to write a dialogue

A dialogue is a conversation written down. In the SEE it is a short writing task, marked for covering every point, natural language and correct layout.

1. Write each speaker’s name (or A and B) on the left, followed by a colon, and start a new line for every turn.
2. Open with a greeting, and close naturally: a plan, a thank you, a goodbye.
3. Cover every point in the task, in a natural order: when and where, what, who, prizes.
4. Make it sound spoken: short turns, questions and answers, contractions (I’m, let’s, don’t), and words like Great!, Really?, By the way….
5. No quotation marks and no he said: the names do that work.

English is the main language of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and many Caribbean and Pacific island nations, and an official language of India, the Philippines and many African countries south of the Sahara. It is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, and the foreign language most often taught.

Its history in short:

• In the 5th and 6th centuries, the Angles, Saxons and Jutes, peoples from what are now northern Germany and Denmark, settled in Britain. Their language, Old English, is the root of English. They had already picked up some Latin words from the Romans before they came (street, wine, cheese, kitchen, mile).
• Christian missionaries in the 6th and 7th centuries brought more Latin, for the church and learning.
• The Norman Conquest of 1066 brought thousands of French words (government, justice, art, painting).
• In the Renaissance, from about 1500 to 1650, some 10,000 more words came in, many of them straight from Latin and Greek (atlas, democracy, academy). Modern English is usually dated from about 1500.

English borrows easily, and makes new words for new technology. It is so widely used that pilots and air traffic controllers on international flights use English on the radio, whatever their own language, as the world’s air authority has recommended since 1951.

Language	Words English borrowed from it
Latin	agriculture, language, justice, science, forum, circus, religion, city
French	art, dance, jewel, painting, ballet, government, salon, brigade, infantry
Greek	phobia, academy, siren, lexicon, muse, democracy, psyche, atlas, biology, comedy, tragedy
German	blitz, kindergarten, poodle, noodle, pretzel, zeppelin
Italian	opera, piano, broccoli, spaghetti, pesto, viola, pizza, cappuccino, latte
Spanish	canyon, tornado, tortilla, barricade, guitar
Dutch	cruise, dock, dyke, yacht, easel, landscape, sketch, cookie
Scandinavian languages	ski, saga, sauna, slalom
Japanese	kimono, sushi, tsunami
Arabic	alcohol, algebra, zero, zenith, giraffe, sultan

(Some of these came by a longer road: language and city reached English through French, from Latin; algebra and zero through Latin and Italian, from Arabic.) Unit 9 lists more borrowed words, including words from Hindi and Sanskrit.

SEE-style practice on this unit. Try each one as in the exam, then open the answer.