S3A Upstream Unit 9: Extreme Sports

Name: ______________________________________ ( ) Date: _________________________________

Part A – Reading Practice

Task 1
Read the passage below about a brief introduction to Extreme Sports. Fill in the blanks with the correct
letter containing the missing content from the reading.

Extreme sports (also called action sports, aggro sports, and adventure sports) is a popular term for
certain activities perceived as having a high level of danger. These activities often involve speed, height,
a high level of physical exertion, and highly specialized gear. There are more than forty kinds of
extreme sports.

The definition of an extreme sport is not (1)__C___, but it gained popularity in the 1990s when it was
picked up by marketing companies to promote the X Games (The X Games is a sports event, controlled
and arranged by the U.S., which focuses on extreme sports.) and the Extreme Sports Channel and
Extreme.com launched.

While use of the term "extreme sport" has (2) _G____.There are, however, several characteristics
common to most extreme sports. (3)_D____, however, they tend to have younger followers. Extreme
sports tend to (4) _H____ (Rafting and paintballing are a notable exception, as they are done in teams.)
In addition, beginning extreme athletes tend to work on their craft without the guidance of a coach
(though some may hire a coach later).

Activities categorized by media as extreme sports differ from traditional sports (5) ___I__. These
environmental variables are frequently weather and area, (6) _E____. Because these natural phenomena
cannot be controlled, they inevitably affect the outcome of the given activity or event.

In a traditional sporting event, (7) __J___. While it is possible to create a controlled sporting event such
as X Games, there are environmental variables that cannot be held constant for all athletes. (8)
_F____for snowboarders, rock and ice quality for climbers, and wave height and shape for surfers.

Whilst traditional sporting judgement criteria (9) __B___ (distance, time, score, etc.), extreme sports
performers are often evaluated on more subjective and aesthetic criteria. This results in a tendency to
reject unified judging methods, (10) _K____
A. between an extreme sport and a conventional one
B. may be adopted when assessing performance
C. exact and the origin of the term is unclear
D. extreme sports are considered to be the domain of the youth
E. for example, wind, snow, water and mountains
F. examples include changing snow conditions
G. spread far and wide to describe a multitude of different activities, exactly which sports are
considered 'extreme' is debatable.
H. be more solitary than traditional sports
I. due to the higher number of naturally uncontrollable variables.
J. athletes compete against each other under controlled circumstances.
K. employing their own ideals and indeed having the ability to evolve their assessment standards
with new trends or developments in the sports.

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S3A Upstream Unit 9: Extreme Sports
Task 2
Match the pictures with the letter of the appropriate name and description of the sport.

EARTH SPORTS

1. _mountaineering_ 2. __slacklining__ 3. __motocross___ 4. __parkour____

A Parkour
B Mountaineering
C Slacklining
D Motocross
E Land-kiting
At its core, it is about overcoming obstacles in a fast, acrobatic and flawless manner. Mostly
done in urban areas, Parkour artists climb and run building structures, rails and huge gaps
trying to defy gravity and expectations of impressed bystanders.
The activity of hiking and climbing the most difficult mountains, glaciers, cliffs or courses
whilst adding a certain level speed to the formula.
Requires the athlete to have balance and skill, which is the difference between life & death.
Done between cliffs to perform impressive tricks and spins while balancing on a narrow line.
Riding motorbikes through extreme terrain regardless of obstacles.
This sport allows you some incredible airtime that gives loads of time and room for
impressive movements. Big heights, long jumps and the feeling of being taken away by the
wind makes you feel like a superhero on wheels.
WATER SPORTS

1. _cave diving___ 2. __coasteering___ 3. __jet boarding__ 4. ____jet skiing___

Riding an engine powered Jet Ski is the ultimate adrenaline rush. With an incredible average
A Jet skiing top speed of 75 miles per hour, these beasts are nothing to joke with. Reckless races or even
freestyle competitions make the riders face each other in impressive contests.
Describes the movement along a course, cliff or coast that involves different obstacles to
B Coasteering overcome. Reaching from waterfalls to raging rivers to slippery rocks and steep cliffs.
It’s all about entering dark abysses which only see the light of flashlights of those daring to
C Cave Diving enter them. The worlds unveiled by these lights seem like a different planet and are incredibly
complex.
Describes being towed behind a crane or boat whilst standing on a board. Shifting weight and
D Wake-boarding building up pressure to gain great air time and the ability to impress with tricks and spins is the
ultimate goal.
Uses turbines that pump up water from the sea and push it out again in order to create a strong
E Jet-boarding boost that vaults them in the air. It feels and looks like out of a sci-fi movie and allows to do
mind bending spins and flips.
Part B – Grammar (‘ing /ed’ Participles)

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S3A Upstream Unit 9: Extreme Sports
Read the passage below and complete the task.

Extreme Ironing

What activities are sports? Running and football? Sure.

Synchronized swimming? Probably. Ballroom dancing? Maybe.
Playing cards? Probably not. Gardening? Definitely not. Most
people believe that sports must combine exhaust physical
activity and competition, and shouldn’t simply be an amuse
pastime. If we use this definition, then ‘extreme ironing’ is a
sport.

What is extreme ironing? Extreme ironing is pressing clothes in very unsettle places, some with astonish levels
of intensity. Ironists must carry their irons, ironing boards, and wrinkled laundry with them to the competition
site. Some ironists even take electric generators; others heat their irons with gas stoves. The competitors get
more points for choosing challenge locations. However, the quality of the ironing is important, too. Each item
must be well pressed.

Extreme ironists compete in some amazing places with captivate natural features, such as peaks, cliff, canals, or
even the mouths of active volcanos. Contestants iron while they are climbing rocks, climbing mountains, and
climbing trees. They iron in canoes, on the backs of cows, and even underwater. One team ironed while on a
kayak in the Atlantic Ocean. Though we may feel bewilder by their outrageous acts, to them there is never a
distress moment when they constantly attempt to defy the odds. The adrenaline rush they feel when
participating in the sport may even be energize for some.

This sport is not a joke, nor is it bore to say the least. If anything, it is both thrill and gratify. Teams from 30
countries competed in the first world championships in Germany in 2002. Phil Shaw is the inventor of extreme
ironing. He says that there are about 1,500 ironists worldwide. Some teams even have corporate sponsors. The
German corporation Rowenta, an iron maker inspire by the growing attention of such an event, pays for Shaw's
team. The most fulfill achievement of extreme ironists is to have their sport included in the Olympics. Maybe
then they can start using their real names. At the moment, contestants use interest names such as Steam, Cool
Silk, and Iron Man. Why? Shaw admits, "Most competitors don't want people to know that they are ironists."

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S3A Upstream Unit 9: Extreme Sports
Identify and UNDERLINE the words written in the wrong form in the text and fill in the blanks. The first
letter of the words are given to you. Write the words in the form of present and past participles, then
CIRCLE the correct form of the word that will best fit the context of the text. The first one has been done
for you.

Original Word Present Participle Past Participle

1. exhaust exhausting exhausted
2. amuse amusing amused
3. unsettle unsettling unsettled
4. astonish astonishing astonished
5. challenge challenging challenged
6. captivate captivating captivated
7. bewilder bewildering bewildered

8. distress distressing distressed

9. energize energizing energized
10. bore boring bored
11. thrill trilling thrilled
12. gratify gratifying gratified
13. inspire inspiring inspired

14. fulfill fulfilling fulfilled

15. interest interesting interested