Part 3. Sports and Entertainment Choices

Keywords. Paralympics, sports competition, physical or mental limitations, disabilities, choices of entertainment,

Vocabulary. spinal cord, wheelchair, scuba diving, yoga, visual interpreter.

A. Listen to the first part of a report about the sports and entertainment choices for disabled people.

Write down in column A all the time expressions mentioned in the passage, then draw lines to match this time expressions with the facts and events in column B.

The Olympics and the Paralympics are separated movements.

But they have always been held in the same year, and since 1988, they have also been held in the same city.

The International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympics Committee signed an agreement in 2001 to secure this connection.

The Paralympics Games grew out of a sports competition held in 1948 in England.

A doctor named Ludwig Guttmann organized it for men who suffered spinal cords injures in World War Ⅱ.

4 years later, it became an international event as competitors from the Netherlands took apart.

Then in 1960, the first Paralympics were held in Rome, 400 athletes from 23 countries competed.

By 2004, the Paralympics Games in Athens had almost 4,000 athletes from 136 countries.

B. listen to the whole report, and give brief answers to the questions you hear.

The Olympics and Paralympics are separated movements.

But they have always been held in the same year, and since 1988, they have also been held in the same city.

The International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee signed an agreement in 2001 to secure this connection.

The Paralympics Games grew out of a sports competition held in 1948 in England.

A doctor named Ludwig Guttmann organized it for men who suffered spinal cords injures in World War Ⅱ.

4 years later, it became an international event as competitors from the Netherlands took apart.

Then in 1960, the first Paralympics were held in Rome, 400 athletes from 23 countries competed.

By 2004, the Paralympics Games in Athens had almost 4,000 athletes from 136 countries.

Athletes may have physical or mental limitations.

They may be blind, or in wheelchair, yet sometimes they perform better than athletes without disabilities.

Wheelchair tennis is a popular sport, so is basketball.

In fact, there are more than 100 professional teams playing wheelchair basketball.

Special wheelchair for athletes are lightweight and designed for quick moves.

For people who want to go really fast in their chairs, there's a Power Wheelchair Racing Association.

In the state of Utah, there is a place called the National Ability Center.

It teaches all kinds of sports to people with all kinds of physical and mental disabilities.

It even gives friends and family members a chance to try a sport as if they were disabled.

A reporter from The Washington Post wanted to know what it would be like for a blind person to use a climbing wall.

So protected by a safety line, the newspaper reporter closed his eyes and started to feel for places to put his hands and feet.

Trainers on the ground urged him on: "Take your time", "You can do it".

Finally, he reached the top.

At the National Ability Center, people can learn to ride horses and mountain bikes.

They can try winter mountain sports, and learn scuba diving and other water activities.

The center also prepares athletes for the Paralympics.

For disabled people interested in yoga, there are special stretching exercises.

Matthew Sanford knows about these.

He has been in a wheelchair ever since a car accident when he lost the ability to move his legs.

He was 13 years old at the time, that was almost 30 years ago.

Matthew Sanford says he has had two lifes: one before he was 13, and the other after.

He had to learn to live with a new reality

For many years, he was told to building up the strength in his arms and forget about his legs.

But he says yoga enable him to reconnect with the 13-year-old boy who loved his body.

He says the exercises and special breathing of yoga let him connect his body and mind again.

Now, Matthew Sanford teaches yoga at his studio in the State of Minnesota.

He also travels to talk to people about living with the disability.

He says feeling connected to our body is a powerful part of living whether we have a disability \or not.

Today there are more and more choices and entertainment for people with disabilities.

Theaters may offer wireless earphones to make the sound louder for people with limited hearing.

Some provide a visual interpreter to describe a performance or a play for a person who with blind or has limited sight.

And some movie theaters offer a new device called MoPix for Motion Picture Access.

For a person unable to hear the movie, it shows the words the actors are saying.

For a person unable to see the movie, it provides a spoken description of what is happening.

Questions.

1. What are the popular sports for athletes with mental or physical disabilities?

2. What does the National Ability Center do?

3. What does Matthew Sanford lose in a car accident?

4. According to Matthew Sanford, how did yoga help him?

5.What choices of entertainment are there in theaters for people with disabilities?