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English for THE GAMES

70m

Paralympic ArcheryWhen athletes come together from around the world to compete in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, they are fulfilling their dreams and competing at the highest level. Billions of people across the globe join in; watching, listening to and reading about the greatest global celebration of sport. To celebrate the London 2012 Games, the British Council is making a wide range of classroom resources available for learners of English worldwide.

What do you know about archery? Paralympic Archery was first developed to rehabilitate people with a physical disability. however, it quickly became a competitive sport. Are there any stories in your national history about archery? Do you know any famous archers – ancient or modern?

Archer shooting an arrow

Bow

Compound bow

Recurve bow

Target

Bowstring

Arrow

B122 London 2012 English Worksheets Paralympic Archery_V3.indd 1 14/02/2012 16:11

1. Vocabulary

a. Write the correct words in the spaces provided.

a. bowstring b. bow c. target d. arrow

e. recurve bow f. compound

bow g. archer shooting

an arrow

4

3

2 1

5

6

7

2. The rules of Archery

What is it? Paralympic Archery is basically the same as Olympic Archery, but with rules adapted for athletes with a disability. The aim is to shoot arrows as close to the centre of a target as possible.

Who can participate in Archery at the Paralympics? Archery events are open only to athletes with a physical disability. Classifications Athletes are separated into three groups:

Archery Wheelchair 1 (ARW1) - These athletes have a disability that affects their arms and their legs.

Archery Wheelchair 2 (ARW2) - These athletes have a disability that affects only their legs.

Archery Standing (ARST) - These athletes have a disability that affects their legs, but they are able to stand or sit in an ordinary chair with their feet on the ground.

How is it played?

There are individual and team competitions for both men and women. The target is placed at a distance of 70 metres. The target has 10 rings, from very big on the outside, to the small circle in the

centre. Each ring on the target is worth from one to 10 points. The smallest, in the

middle, is worth 10 points. The winner is the archer who scores most points. Matches are played over the best of five sets. Each set consists of three arrows

per archer. In the team competition each team has three archers competing against each

other. There are a number of aids which athletes can use depending on how serious

their disability is. Here are a few examples: o a wheelchair o a body support o something to help the athlete release the arrow using their mouth o a compound bow o a bow tied or bandaged to the hand o a support for an elbow/wrist o a person to load arrows into the bow

a. Match the words in the table with their definitions below.

A. arrow B. bow C. compound bow

D. recurve bow E. mechanical release

aid F. target

1. A device used by athletes who have no functional finger movement.

2. A long thin piece of wood, or other material, bent into a curve by a piece of

string, used to shoot arrows.

3. A modern bow that uses a levering system, usually of cables and pulleys, to bend

the limbs.

4. A long thin stick with a sharp point at one end which is shot from a bow.

5. The object which the archers try and hit when they shoot each arrow.

6. A bow that has tips that curve away from the archer when the bow is strung. It

requires more strength to use this type of bow..

3. Reading

A moment of magic?

Many people remember the moment when Paralympic archer Antonio Rebollo shot a

flaming arrow to light the Olympic Flame at the Opening Ceremony in Barcelona in 1992.

Rebollo, who suffered from polio when he was a baby, represented Spain at the

Paralympics in 1984, 1988 and 1992, winning two silver medals and a bronze.

The selection process to find the athlete who would light the Olympic Flame began with

200 archers. Rebollo finally found himself among the final four, and apparently was

chosen only two hours before the famous moment.

In an interview four years later he said “There were no fears – I was practically a robot. I

focused on my positioning and reaching the target.”

But according to BBC journalist John Mathews, things were not as they appeared. The

organisers could not risk his arrow missing the target. If it had fallen short and landed

among the crowd, it could have burnt somebody, so Rebollo was instructed to shoot his

arrow safely out of the stadium.

So it was actually some clever pyrotechnics, special effects, and camera angles which

ensured that millions of people watching on TV around the world were amazed as they

‘saw’ his burning arrow shoot through the air and ignite the Olympic Flame.

a. Select the best answer to the questions below.

1. Which of the following

statements about Rebollo is NOT true?

a. He competed at three Paralympic Games. b. He won medals at three Paralympic Games. c. He won the archery competition at the Paralympic

Games.

2. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

a. Many athletes wanted to shoot the arrow at the Opening Ceremony.

b. It took a long time to choose the last four candidates to shoot the arrow.

c. The organisers chose the athlete who would shoot the arrow long before the Games began.

3. Which of the following

statements about Rebollo is NOT true?

a. He concentrated on what an archer normally does. b. He never spoke about the famous moment after

1992. c. He wasn’t afraid because he was like a robot.

4. Which of the following

statements about Rebollo is true?

a. He was told to shoot his arrow into the crowd. b. He was told to shoot his arrow out of the stadium. c. He was told to shoot his arrow short of the target.

5. Which of the following

statements is true?

a. Millions of people thought they saw the arrow ignite the Olympic Flame.

b. Millions of people saw the arrow ignite the Olympic Flame.

c. Millions of people thought the special effects were amazing.

b. Match the first halves of the sentences to the second halves of the sentences.

1. If he hadn’t made the final four, a. …he wouldn’t be remembered by so many

people.

2. If he hadn’t shot the arrow that lit the Olympic Flame,

b. …he wouldn’t have been chosen to shoot the arrow.

3. If he hadn’t suffered from polio, c. …he wouldn’t have been able to represent Spain at the Paralympics.

4. If it had fallen short and landed among the crowd,

d. …it could have burnt somebody.

5. If the organizers hadn’t used clever pyrotechnics,

e. …millions of people wouldn’t have ‘seen’ the arrow ignite the Olympic Flame.

4. Solution

Exercise 1a

1. g; 2. b; 3. a; 4. d; 5. e; 6. c; 7. e;

Exercise 2a

1. e; 2. b; 3. c; 4. a; 5. f; 6. d

Exercise 3a

1. c; 2. c; 3. b; 4. b; 5. a

Exercise 3b

1. b; 2. a; 3. c; 4. d; 5. e