English World-- Sports in Olympics

Athletics (field)

奥运项目——田赛

（选自《英语世界》2012年第5期）

This article is part of a series produced by the British Council to help you learn English and enjoy the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Find out more about the different jumping and throwing events at the Olympics.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

So I see that on the athletics programme they have field events—that sounds like a pic nic!

If they were in a “field” maybe but here it means the events that take place in the area inside the running track.

The jumps and throws?

Yes, there are four jumping and four throwing events for both men and women. The jumps are the high jump, long jump, triple jump and pole vault.

And the throws?

Javelin, discus, shot put and hammer throw.

But anyone can jump or throw!

Exactly! At the Ancient Olympics the most important event was the pentathlon, and three of the five events were field athletics events—the long jump, and the ja-velin and discus throws, as well as a running race and wrestling. The winner would be crowned Victor Ludorum, “the winner of the games.”

Wow! So field athletics is big time?

Yes! Some of the biggest stars in Olympic history have been field athletes. Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis were both long jumpers, for example.

Not so many famous throwers, though?

That s true, but many deserve to be. And don t forget Dick Fosbury.

Who?

Dick Fosbury. He revolutionised the high jump with a new style—the Fosbury flop. Doesn t “flop” mean a failure? That doesn t sound very successful!

But it was, and is! He won the gold medal in Mexico City in 1968. Since then it’s the style that all jumpers use.

Anyone else?

How about Sergei Bubka—the greatest pole vaulter of all time? He broke the world record 35 times!

Speaking of pole vault ing, I know a joke. Two ath letes meet in the Olympic village. “Are you a pole vaulter?” one asks. “No, I m German, but how did you know that my name was Wal ter?”

RULES FOR ATHLETICS FIELD

The rules of athletics field events are simple: the athlete who jumps the longest or highest, or throws the furthest, is the winner.

In the vertical jumps (high jump and pole vault):

An athlete must clear (go over) the bar without knocking it down.

An athlete is eliminated if she has three failures at the same height.

An athlete can pass her attempt.

The bar is raised (made higher) after all athletes have either cleared, passed or failed their attempts at a height.

When one athlete remains, she can choose how much to raise the bar.

If two athletes have cleared the same height, there is a “tie”. The winner is the ath lete who has needed the fewest attempts to jump the highest height, and then, by the total number of failures at all heights.

In the horizontal jumps (long jump and triple jump) and all throwing events: All jumps and throws must be made from behind a line.

All jumps and throws must land in a specified area.

Crossing the line or landing outside the specified area makes the jump or throw invalid.

Each athlete gets three attempts. The top eight athletes then get three more

attempts.

ACTIVITY

Choose the correct answer to each of the following questions and statements.

1. How many field events take place in the area inside the running track?

A. All of them

B. Only the jumping events

C. Only the throwing events

2. How many athletics men s field events are there in total?

A. 4 B. 8 C. 16

3. How many events did the Victor Ludorum compete in at the Ancient

Olympics?

A. 3 B. 5 C. 8

4. How many events in the pentathlon at the Ancient Olym pics were not field events?

A. 2 B. 3 C. 5

5. How many famous throwers are mentioned?

A. None B. 1 C. 4

（Answers: 1. A; 2. B; 3. B; 4. A; 5. A ）

Marathon

奥运项目——马拉松

（选自《英语世界》2012年第8期）

This article is part of a series produced by the British Council to help you learn English and enjoy the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

What do you know about one of the most famous events in the Olympics?

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Isn’t there an ancient Greek legend about Pheidippides and the marathon? Was he a Greek god of speed or victory?

No, that was Nike. The legend says Pheidippides was the Greek messenger who ran all the way from Marathon to Athens to tell people that Athens had defeated the great Persian army.

Did he get a reward?

No, actually he dropped dead as soon as he delivered the news. It was a distance of 26 miles (41 km), after all…

… so that’s the distance of the modern marathon!

Err, no. No, it’s 42.195 km or 26 miles and 385 yards.

Why the difference?

Well, one story is that in the 1908 London Olympics, the Royal Box—where the King sat—couldn’t be opposite the finishing line. So they extended the race a bit.

That’s not fair—it’s already long enough!

Exactly. The winner, Dorando Pietri from Italy, was so exhausted that people helped him across the finishing line. Johnny Hayes (US) was made the winner.

Isn’t that illegal?

It is, and he was disqualified but you can see why some people might want some help.

Help?

Yes, in 1900, American Fred Lorz used a car for part of the race, ran for the last part and crossed the winning line first. The organisers found out and made another American, Thomas Hicks, the winner.

Who is the best Olympic marathon runner, then?

Difficult to say, but perhaps the most amazing was Emil Zatopek from

Czechoslovakia. In 1952 he won the 10,000 m gold in a new …… 此处隐藏：8577字，全部文档内容请下载后查看。喜欢就下载吧 ……