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Your Daily English Programme #8 - Major European Sporting Events (Reading B1-B2) |
Here we are again, kicking off Week #3 of Engramme's English Every Day Series. Today, we're looking at 3 of Europe's current sporting events. Let's begin!
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Think Before You Read |
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Time to Read |
o
They are all held in Europe
o They are all held in
the summer
o They all traditionally
began as European sports events
Move your mouse over the underlined words to see their meaning1:
Wimbledon is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is played on outdoor grass courts.
Wimbledon is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the others being the Australian Open, the French Open, and the US Open.
The tournament traditionally took place over two weeks in late June and early July, starting on the 3rd Monday in June. The Ladies' and the Gentlemen's Singles Finals are scheduled for the Saturday and Sunday at the end of the second week. The prize money in the 2017 tournament was £31,600,000.
The Tour de France is an annual, multiple stage bicycle race primarily held in France. The race has been held annually since its first edition in 1903, except when it was stopped for the two World Wars. As the tour gained prominence and popularity, the race was lengthened, and its reach began to extend around the globe: participation expanded from a primarily French field as riders from all over the world began to participate in the race each year.
The Tour de France is one of the Grand Tours, along with Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España. It is the oldest and generally considered the most prestigious of the three by fans and riders alike. Traditionally, the race is held in the month of July. While the route changes each year, the format of the race stays the same, with passage through the mountain chains of the Pyrenees and the Alps, and the finish on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. It consists of 21 day-long stages over a 23-day period and covers approximately 3,500 kilometers. 20 to 22 teams participate with 9 riders in each. All the stages are timed to the finish, and the rider with the lowest overall finishing times is the leader of the race and wears the maillot jaune ('yellow jersey' in French).
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of single-seat auto-racing event held every year by the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile). The first F1 World Championship took place in 1950 across 6 of the major Grands Prix of Europe, plus an independent one in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. The Italian Team of Alfa Romeo dominated all others in the 1950 season, winning every race bar one in the championship with the 'Alfetta' 158s.
F1 cars are some of the fastest cars in the world, racing at speeds up to approximately 375 km/h. The 'formula', designated in the name, refers to a set of rules to which all participants' cars must conform. And the Grands Prix ('grand prizes' in French) refers to the series of races that are held worldwide on F1 circuits and public roads.
While Europe is Formula One's traditional base, the sport's scope has expanded significantly to include an increasing number of Grands Prix held on other continents.2
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Let's Practice |
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Over to You |
It's Your Turn Now: Tell us, in one or two paragraphs, which famous sporting events are regularly held in your country. (write your answers in the comments & let other learners know about major sports events in your country)
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Practice the vocabulary from this lesson HERE
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1 Learning vocabulary and other language elements in the context of reading/listening is the best way to learn and recall those elements. That is why we rarely 'teach' vocabulary before an activity.↩
2 All texts are courtesy of 'Wikipedia', reproduced here with minor changes; to read more, follow the links in the texts or visit Wikipedia.org↩
3 These short exercises not only help you in organizing and summarizing text content, but are also useful practice for those of you taking international academic tests, such as IELTS & TOEFL↩
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