5A Sporting superstitions

1 VOCABULARY sports a In teams, race to answer all the questions. Shout when you
cross the finish line! can you do the butterfly is there a shot cal led a slam dunk is the
person who throws the ball called the pitcher 4 are there two teams of 15 people and a
ball that isn't round 5 do you hit the ball over a net on a table 6 do players walk about 5
miles during a game, and never run 7 are there two teams of six, who play on ice 8 are
there four main tournaments: in Melbourne, Paris, London, and New York 9 can you do
different activities, e.g., running, high jump, javelin, etc. 10 has Brazil won more World
Cups than any other country

b Q) S.1 Listen and check. Who got the most questions correct? c O p.1 57 Vocabulary
Bank Sport 2 PRONUNCIATION br/ and /gr/ a Write the words from the list in the
correct row. Be careful with or (there are two possible pronunciations). course court
four girl h urt score serve shorts sh irt sport warm up work out world worse b Q)S.7
Listen and check. c Q)S.8 Listen and write six sentences. Practice saying them. ,

3 SPEAKING In pairs, interview your partner about sports using the questionnaire. Ask
for more information. What sport(s) do you play? How often do you play sports? Have
you ever won a medal or a trophy? Have you ever been injured while playing a sport?
Do you prefer playing sports or watching sports? How many hours do you spend a
week watching sports on TV, or following them online? Do you go to watch a local
sports team? What's the most exciting sports event you have been to?

What sports do I did you have to play at school? Do I Did you enjoy them? Do you do
any kind of exercise? Do you think you're in shape? Would you like to get in better
shape? Do your family and friends like sports? Is there any sport you don' t mind
watching on TV? What sport(s) do you hate watching on TV? Have you ever found a
sporting event exciting?

Do you think that there are good sports facilities in your town? Do you think physical
education should be optional or required at school? Do you think there is too much (or
not enough) sports on TV?

4 READING a Do you do any of these things when you want to have good luck or avoid
bad luck? cross your fingers knock on wood wear lucky clothes carry a lucky charm b
Read the article about superstitions in sports. What's the answer to the question in the
title? c Match paragraphs 1 -4 to topics A-D. A the physical effects of superstitions B
examples of sports superstitions C the disadvantages of superstitions D the
psychological effects of superstitions

d Read the article again. With a partner, explain why the fol lowing examples are
mentioned. Parag raph 1: Cristiano Ronal do's right foot and Serena Williams's ball
Paragraph 2: lucky golf balls and lucky charms Paragraph 3: adrenaline and other
chemicals Paragraph 4: two players with the same superstition e Talk to a partner. • Do
you know of any other athletes who are superstitious? What do they do? • Do you
have any superstitions, e.g., when you are playing or watching sports, or when you take
an exam, or when you travel?

Do " uc.ky socks" really work? "I'm not superstitious either, but those were the days
Harris wore his lucky socks." S ports have a lways been full of superstitions, even for
the best athletes in the world. Long-distance runner Mo Farah always shaves his head
before a race. Judo star Kayla Harrison always wears the lucky socks that were a gift
from her grandmother. Soccer player Cristiano Ronalda always steps onto the field with
his right foot first. And tennis legend Serena Williams always bounces the ball five t
imes before a first serve, and twice before a second serve.

Do actions like this have any real effect on sports results? According to a study by the
University of Cologne, it seems that they can i ncrease confidence and a sense of
control, which m ight help athletes. The study showed that people who were given a
golf ball that they were told was "lucky" played better than those who used a "normal"
ball. And it isn't just sports. In another experiment, people who were allowed to carry
their lucky charm performed better at memory tests than people without one. The
researchers concluded that superstitions make people feel more confident, which
makes them perform better. Superstitions may also have a positive physical effect. Dan
Abrahams, a sports psychologist, says that sporting rituals can cause the release of
adrenaline and other chemicals that help the athlete to focus better. Most
psychologists, however, say that superstitions can be bad as well as good. Abrahams
tells the story of a professional soccer team where two players had the same
superstition - they both had to be the last person to leave the locker room before the
game. They couldn't agree how to solve the problem, and it had a really negative effect
on them and on the team. And what happens if you sit down to take an exam and
realize you've forgotten your lucky pen?

5 LISTENING a Do you think being a soccer referee is a difficult job? Why (not)? b G 5.9
You're going to listen to an interview with an exChampions League soccer referee from
Spain. Listen to Part 1 and choose a, b, or c. c Why did he want to become a referee? a
His father was a referee. b He liked sports, but wasn't good at them. c He always liked
the idea. Juan Antonio Fernandez Marin refereed 200 league and 50 international
matches. 2 What was the most exciting game he ever refereed? a His first professional
game. b He can't choose just one. c Real Madrid against Barcelona. 3 The ____ worst
experience he ever had as a referee was when attacked him. a a player b a woman c a
child 4 Why does he think there is more cheating in soccer today? a Because soccer is
big business. b Because the referees are worse. c Because soccer players are better at
cheating. 5 How does he say soccer players often cheat? a They fall over when no one
has touched them. b They accept money to lose games. c They touch the ball with their
hands.
Read sentences 1-6. With a partner, predict what the referee is going to say. 1 The most
difficult thing for him about being a referee is to make the during a game. 2 One of the
reasons it's difficult is because soccer today is very ___ _ 3 Making correct decisions
often depends on the referee's interpretation of the ___ _ 4 He thinks that players who
cheat are the __ _ 5 A study that was done on Leo Messi shows that he could run
exceptionally fast ___________ _ 6 He thinks Messi isn't a soccer player. d G5.10 Listen
to Part 2 and check your answers. e Ask and answer the questions in small groups. 1 Do
you agree with the referee when he says, "I think fair play does exist - the players who
cheat are the exceptions." Is it also true of other sports? 2 Are there any sportspeople
in your country who are well known for cheating? What kinds of things do they do? 3
Do you think new technology makes a referee's job easier or more difficult? Why? 4
Wou ld you like to be a sports referee (or umpire)? Why (not)?

6 GRAMMAR past tenses a Read the article about Alistair Brownlee. What did he do? b
Paragraph 2 tells the story of what happened. Most of the verbs are simple past, but
there are two examples of the past continuous, and four of the past perfect. Ca ll you
find them? Why are they used? Alistair sacrifices gold ... to help his brother Nobody
will remember who won the world triathlon in Cozumel, Mexico, in 2016. I nstead, they
will remember the sacrifice of Alistair Brownlee, who stopped to help his brother,
jonny, instead of winning the gold medal himself. As jonny. 26, entered the last
kilometer of the 10-km run, he was winning by a lot - he'd gone very fast in the
swimming and bike riding stages. But then he began to feel sick because he hadn't
drunk enough in the hot conditions, and he stopped at the side of the road. His
brother. Alistair, was running behind him, but when he saw that jonny had stopped, he
didn't run past him to win the race. I nstead, in a wonderful act of brotherly love, he
took his brother's arm and helped him to run the final few hundred meters. Seconds
before they reached the fi nish line, South African Henri Schoeman, who had been
behind them until then, ran past them both and won the gold niedal.

Alistair said, "It was a natural human reaction to my brother, but for anyone, I would
have done the same thing."

c 0 p.140 Grammar Bank SA d Read the article about Anton Gafarov. Complete it with
the verbs in the correct tense. Canada to the rescue Russian cross-country skier Anton
Gafarov 1 was competing (compete) at the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014. _____ He 2
(do) well in the race when he (fall) and 4 (damage) his left ski. Soon after that, he 5
(fall) again. He realized that his ski 6 (break) into two pieces. He 7 (try) to continue on
one ski when _____ suddenly the Canadian ski coach, justin Wadsworth, ______ (run)
out of the crowd and (replace) Gafarov's broken ski with a spare one that he 10
_______ (bring) for his own team. Gafarov 11 _______ (finish) the race in front of his
home crowd.
G Communication Good sportsmanship A p.107 B p.112 Practice telling a story. f Which
of the four stories you've read do you think is the most heroic?

7 SPEAKING a You're going to tell your partner two anecdotes. Choose two of the topics
below and plan what you are going to say. Ask your teacher for any words you need.
Tell your partner about ... • a really exciting sports event you saw When and where was
it? Who was playing? What happened? Why was it so exciting? • a time you had an
accident or got a sports injury When and where did it happen? What were you doing?
What part of your body did you hurt? What happened next? How long did it take you
to recover? • a time you saw or met someone famous When was it? Where were you?
Who were you with? What was the celebrity doing? What was he I she wearing? Did
you speak to him I her? What happened in the end? • a time you got lost Where were
you going? How were you traveling? Why did you get lost? What happened in the end?
• a time you missed or nearly missed something important (e.g., a flight, an exam, a
date, etc.) What did you miss or nearly miss? Why? How did you feel? What happened
in the end?

b Work with a partner. Tell each other your two stories. G ive as much detail as you can.
Use the language from the Telling an anecdote box. p Telling an anecdote Starting an
anecdote I'm going to tell you about a time when ... This happened a few years ago ...
When I was younger, ... Listening to an anecdote Wow! Really? That sounds terrible I
awful. How amazing! What happened next I after that I in the end? 8 WRITING Q p.118
Writing Telling a story Write a story about a trip where you had a problem.

5A Supersticiones deportivas

1 VOCABULARIO deportes a En equipos, compitan para responder todas las preguntas.

¡Griten al cruzar la línea de meta! ¿Pueden hacer la mariposa? ¿Hay un tiro llamado
led? ¿Un mate? ¿Se llama lanzador a la persona que lanza la pelota? 4 ¿Hay dos
equipos de 15 personas y una pelota que no es redonda? 5 ¿Se golpea la pelota por
encima de una red en una mesa? 6 ¿Los jugadores caminan alrededor de 5 millas
durante un juego y nunca corren? 7 ¿Hay dos equipos de seis que juegan sobre hielo? 8
¿Hay cuatro torneos principales: en Melbourne, París, Londres y Nueva York? 9
¿Pueden hacer diferentes actividades, por ejemplo, correr, salto de altura, jabalina,
etc.? 10 ¿Brasil ha ganado más Copas del Mundo que cualquier otro país?

b P) S.1 Escucha y comprueba. ¿Quién respondió más preguntas correctamente? c O

p.1 57 Banco de vocabulario Deportes 2 PRONUNCIACIÓN br/ y /gr/ a Escribe las
palabras de la lista en la fila correcta. Ten cuidado con o (hay dos pronunciaciones
posibles). course court four girl hurt Score Serve shorts t irt sport warm up work out
world worst b Q)S.7 Escucha y comprueba. c Q)S.8 Escucha y escribe seis oraciones.
Practica diciéndolas. ,
3 HABLAR En parejas, entrevista a tu compañero sobre deportes usando el
cuestionario. Pide más información. ¿Qué deporte(s) practicas? ¿Con qué frecuencia
practicas deportes? ¿Alguna vez has ganado una medalla o un trofeo? ¿Alguna vez te
has lesionado practicando un deporte? ¿Prefieres practicar deportes o verlos?
¿Cuántas horas pasas a la semana viendo deportes en la televisión o siguiéndolos en
línea? ¿Vas a ver a un equipo deportivo local? ¿Cuál es el evento deportivo más
emocionante al que has asistido?

¿Qué deportes tienes que practicar en la escuela? ¿Los disfrutas? ¿Haces algún tipo de
ejercicio? ¿Crees que estás en forma? ¿Te gustaría ponerte en mejor forma? ¿A tu
familia y amigos les gustan los deportes? ¿Hay algún deporte que no te importe ver en
la televisión? ¿Qué deporte(s) odias ver en televisión? ¿Alguna vez te ha parecido
emocionante un evento deportivo?

¿Crees que hay buenas instalaciones deportivas en tu ciudad? ¿Crees que la educación
física debería ser opcional u obligatoria en la escuela? ¿Crees que hay demasiados (o
no suficientes) deportes en la televisión?

4 LECTURA a ¿Haces alguna de estas cosas cuando quieres tener buena suerte o evitar
la mala suerte? Cruzar los dedos Tocar madera Usar ropa de la suerte Llevar un
amuleto de la suerte b Lee el artículo sobre supersticiones en los deportes. ¿Cuál es la
respuesta a la pregunta del título? c Une los párrafos 1-4 con los temas A-D. A Los
efectos físicos de las supersticiones B Ejemplos de supersticiones deportivas C Las
desventajas de las supersticiones D Los efectos psicológicos de las supersticiones

d Lee el artículo de nuevo. Con un compañero, explica por qué se mencionan los
siguientes ejemplos. Párrafo 1: El pie derecho de Cristiano Ronaldo y la pelota de
Serena Williams. Párrafo 2: Pelotas de golf de la suerte y amuletos de la suerte. Párrafo
3: Adrenalina y otras sustancias químicas. Párrafo 4: Dos jugadores con la misma
superstición. Habla con un compañero. • ¿Conoces a otros atletas que sean
supersticiosos? ¿Qué hacen? • ¿Tienes alguna superstición, por ejemplo, cuando
juegas o ves deportes, o cuando haces un examen, o cuando viajas?

¿Funcionan realmente los "calcetines de la suerte"? "Yo tampoco soy supersticioso,

pero esos eran los días en que Harris usaba sus calcetines de la suerte". Los deportes
siempre han estado llenos de supersticiones, incluso para los mejores atletas del
mundo. El corredor de largas distancias Mo Farah siempre se afeita la cabeza antes de
una carrera. La estrella del judo Kayla Harrison siempre usa los calcetines de la suerte
que le regaló su abuela. El futbolista Cristiano Ronald siempre entra al campo con el pie
derecho primero. Y la leyenda del tenis Serena Williams siempre bota la pelota cinco
veces antes del primer servicio y dos antes del segundo.
¿Tienen este tipo de acciones algún efecto real en los resultados deportivos? Según un
estudio de la Universidad de Colonia, parece que pueden aumentar la confianza y la
sensación de control, lo que podría ayudar a los atletas. El estudio demostró que las
personas a las que se les dio una pelota de golf que se les dijo que era "de la suerte"
jugaron mejor que quienes usaron una pelota "normal". Y no se trata solo de deportes.
En otro experimento, las personas a las que se les permitió llevar su amuleto de la
suerte obtuvieron mejores resultados en pruebas de memoria que quienes no lo
llevaban. Los investigadores concluyeron que las supersticiones aumentan la confianza
en uno mismo, lo que a su vez mejora su rendimiento. Las supersticiones también
pueden tener un efecto físico positivo. Dan Abrahams, psicólogo deportivo, afirma que
los rituales deportivos pueden provocar la liberación de adrenalina y otras sustancias
químicas que ayudan al atleta a concentrarse mejor. Sin embargo, la mayoría de los
psicólogos afirman que las supersticiones pueden ser tanto malas como buenas.
Abrahams cuenta la historia de un equipo de fútbol profesional donde dos jugadores
compartían la misma superstición: ambos debían ser los últimos en salir del vestuario
antes del partido. No se ponían de acuerdo en cómo resolver el problema, lo que tuvo
un efecto muy negativo tanto para ellos como para el equipo. ¿Y qué pasa si te sientas
a hacer un examen y te das cuenta de que has olvidado tu bolígrafo de la suerte?