P2-F Fall 2022

Reading

EXTRA SUPPLEMENTARY READING MATERIAL 1

The 1988 Jamaican Bobsled Team

I. The story of the 1988 Olympic bobsled team from Jamaica
is still a great story even though it happened more than 25 years
ago. The idea of a Jamaican bobsled team began with George
Fitch. He is an American who was in Jamaica in the summer of
1987. He told a British friend about Jamaica’s great runners and
said the Jamaicans could win many medals in the 1988 summer
Olympics. His British friend asked, “If they are good athletes, why
can’t they win medals in the Winter Games?” Fitch thought this
was a good question. He knew many of the Jamaican athletes and
a bobsled on ice
decided to ask them to be part of the Winter Olympics.
II. The a push cart with a child on it Winter Olympics were
The next day Fitch went to a nearby mountain to watch one of his favorite Jamaican
sports, push carting. In this sport, teams of people push a homemade cart down a
hill and race to the finish line. While Fitch watched the teams, he thought about the
best sport for Jamaicans in the Winter Olympics. Suddenly, he knew the answer –
bobsledding. That sport is like push cart racing and Jamaicans are very good at it.
At the beginning, you run quickly to start the cart. Then, the driver brings the
bobsled to the finish line.
III. Fitch was sure his Jamaican friends could succeed because they were some of the fastest runners in the world.
However, when he started asking athletes to be part of a bobsledding team, everyone said “no”. Some athletes
wanted to get ready for the Summer Olympic Games and did not want to change their training programs. Some said it
was too cold; many Jamaicans only saw snow in films, and they never wanted to see it in real life. Other athletes also
said “no” because they thought that bobsledding was too dangerous.
IV. However, Fitch did not quit. He chose one day and invited all Jamaican athletes to come and try to be on the
bobsled team. Some fishermen and street sellers came and tried to be on the team; also some very good runners
came, too. These runners became a good team and other people left. They started their training in Jamaica. Later the
US said they could use their training center, the Austrians gave them a bobsled, and Canadians gave them other
equipment.
V. Soon, the team traveled to Austria to be part of a race for the first time. They did very well, and they got an
invitation to be part of the 1988 winter Olympic Games in Calgary, Canada. Although the weather was very cold in
Calgary, the team trained hard every day. The team did not have an extra person, and one team member broke his leg
three days before the Olympics started. They didn’t have any ready plans or people for this kind of a situation. Could
they still be in the Olympics? The brother of the person with the broken leg was there just to watch the Olympics. He
saw this, and he said he could become part of the team in place of his brother, so the team continued.
VI. In the Olympic Games, each bobsled team competed in four races. For
the first and second races, the Jamaican team did average; they were not very
fast but not very slow, either. Then in the third race, they started perfectly. The
runners pushed the sled very quickly. But when the sled came to a turn, the driver
lost control, and the sled turned upside down. The Jamaican team was under
their sled, and the Olympic bobsleds weighed 250 kilos. All the fans were very
happy when the sled stopped and they came out safely. No one was hurt. In the
end, the Jamaicans did not win a medal, but they showed the world that hard
work and teamwork could make a big difference. a bobsled turned upside down in an
accident during the Olympics
Part A. Read the text and choose the best answer.

1. According to the paragraph I, where did the idea of a Jamaican Winter Olympics team come from?
a) From a government program 25 years ago
b) From a conversation between an American and a British person
c) From Jamaican athletes who wanted to be part of the Winter Olympics

2. According to the paragraph II, Fitch thought bobsledding was the best sport for the Winter Olympics because_____.
a) Jamaica has good mountains for bobsledding
b) Jamaicans are good at push cart racing
c) you only need a few people on a bobsled team and Fitch did not have much time

3. According to paragraph III, one of the reasons many athletes said “no” is that _____.
a) they did not like to work hard
b) they were afraid to leave Jamaica
c) they thought it was too dangerous

4. Which of the following is TRUE according to paragraph IV?

a) Some fishermen and street sellers became part of the bobsled team.
b) There was no place to train in Jamaica.
c) Other countries helped the Jamaican team.

5. According to paragraph V, _____.

a) the Jamaican team was the best team in Austria
b) the Jamaican team could not train in Canada because of the cold weather
c) the Jamaican team did not have a ready plan when someone on the team broke his leg

6. According to paragraph VI, in the bobsledding race, _____.

a) the Jamaicans had a great start in the third race
b) the Jamaicans were in first place in the first two races
c) the fans were happy that the Jamaican team did not win

Part B. Circle the letter of the word or phrase the pronoun replaces.

1. they (paragraph III)

a) training programs b) Jamaicans c) films d) other athletes

2. this (paragraph V)
a) the fact that the team practiced hard every day
b) the fact that the team did not have an extra person or a ready plan
c) the fact that the Olympics started in three days
d) the fact that the brother was there to watch the Olympics in Canada

3. they (paragraph VI)

a) the bobsled and the driver b) the Jamaican team c) Olympic bobsleds d) the fans

2
 Answer Key

Part A.
1.B 2.B 3.C 4.C 5.C 6.A

Part B.
1.D 2.B 3.B