The museum also boasts the skis of Roald Amundsem, the famous explorer of the South Pole, who in 1910-1912 skied almost three thousand kilometres in the Antarctic.

The Academy of Physical Education end Sports in Moscow has a small room at the Ski. Department. It houses a museum of the history of skiing in Russia. Among the exhibits there are the skis of the first champion of Russia P.Bychkov and the first Soviet world champion V.Kuzin.

There is a ski museum in Finland as well. It was opened not so long ago, but it has all types of skis showing the world his-tory of skiing.

Be it as it were, the Holmenkollen museum is the only genuine museum of skis in the world.

From the History of Modern Skiing

1. Learn the words:

root [] n корень

purse [] n приз (денежный)

confine [] v придерживаться, ограничиваться

epochmaking [] a эпохальный

expose [] v демонстрировать, выставлять

acknowledge [] v признавать

tow [] n трос, канат, буксировка

immence [] огромный, обширный

mountain-dweller [] n житель, обитатель горной местности

bewilder [] v ставить в тупик

II. Look through the text and say whether it covers all the stages of modern skiing. Point out the people who made a great contribution to tile development of modern skiing. Find out what published papers are on modern skiing:

FROM THE HISTORY OF MODERN SKIING

The development of modern skiing began about 1850, when a Norwegian named Sondre Noi4heim invented the first stiff bindings. Nordheim made his bindings by tying twisted pieces of wet birch roots around his boots. As the roots dried, they became stiff. The bindings held the skis more securely than leather straps did and so provided the skier with greater control. With his improved bindings, Nordheim developed new turning manoeuvres.

The successful innovator was a farmer's son named Nordheim from Morgedal, in the Telemark region of southern Norway. In 1840 he had discovered the possibility of landing from a jump not on the flat but on a steep slope, so he can first be credited with the invention of modern ski jumping. His various experiments convinced him of the need to keep the heels firmly on the skis. Previously only a loose leather strap was used, which made it almost impossible to turn the skis by means of up and down weight movements. Nordheim soaked thin birch roots in hot water to make them flexible and bound heel and instep firmly to the ski. No less importantly he evolved a ski not much different in shape from a modern ski.

In 1866 the first ski races were held in the vicinity of Cristiania (now Oslo), at Iverslokken, when Baekken, of Honefoss, won a purse for beating officers and students over a course with several small jumps. In 1867 the first American ski club, the Alturas Snow-shoe Club, was formed at Lapone, California, and in many parts of the U.S.A. Norwegian immigrants and visitors began to expand the pastime. In 1868 the Telemark skiers skied 200 km. (124 miles) to Christiania and, in the face of some scepticism, demonstrated their skills, and for the next 20 years dominated Norwegian competition.

In 1879 the brothers Torjus and Mikkel Hemmestveit, taught to ski by Nordheim, opened the first ski school in the world, while in the same year the first Swedish ski club, Stockholms Skidlopareclub, was formed, and the first important ski events in Finland took place at Tyrnava Angesleva.

In 1883 the Norwegian Ski Association (Foreningen til skiidrettens fremme) was formed - the first national body in existence. In the same year, at Huseby, Norway, langrenn, or cross-country racing, and jumping were separated for competition purposes, though prizes were given for the combined result, the Nordic combination. Specialization in each discipline improved performance, but the combination preserved the traditional link between the two, and until the 1930s only the winner of it could become national champion in the Scandinavian countries and Finland. This has remained the shape of Nordic competition until the present day.

Nordheim's achievements meant that skiing, previously confined to gentle slopes, could be practiced on almost any snowcovered ground. But it required an epochmaking journey, the first traverse of southern Greenland by the Norwegian explorer, NANSEN, and his detailed account of it, to fire the imagination of Norwegians, and then Germans, Swiss, and British, as to the possibilities of skiing. Nansen's trak took place in 1888, and his book Paa Ski Over Gronland' was translated into English and German in 1891. Skis began to be imported in large quan-tities into Central Europe from Norway, the first laminated skis among them, and ski clubs were formed in Munich, Todtnau, Vienna, and Murzzuschlag.

The British were particularly active in Switzerland. In 1888 Col. Napier took a pair of skis to Davos; Fox became the first to ski in Grindelwald in 1891; and Sir Atthur Conan Doyle skied from Davos to Arosa in 1894 and wrote about it in the Strand magazine. Soon a war of words began over the need for differing techniques, for not only were the Alpine slopes much steeper and more dangerous; even the snow was different. From October to April the Alps are exposed to much greater temperature changes than the Norwegian moun-tains, and the depth of snow can be much greater and the consistency extremely varied. Newly-fallen snow in the Alps, it was observed, quickly changed to deep and heavy powder.

In 1896, Ivlathias Zdarsky of Austria introduced the technique of pushing one ski at an angle to the fall line to control speed.

Zdarsky, who is now generally acknowledged as the father of Alpine skiing, published his "Liliefelder Schilauf-Technik", analysing the stem turn and its use in the Alpine. An Austrian army officer, he set up a military ski school at Lilienfeld and until 1910 taught stemming, stem christianiaa, and telemarks. In the same period, a group of Englishmen led to the brothers E.G. and C.W.Richardson and Caulfield, experimented with techniques, linking the telemark and the Lilienfeld are improving on them. In 1910 Caulfield produced a book. "How to Ski", which analysed ski dynamics clearly for the first time explaining and illustrating unweighting, counter-rotation and parallel swings. He insisted on the practical value of good style, and his rejection of the single-stick method of turning and braking spelt the end of this style.

During the early 1900s, Hannes Schneider, who lived in the Arlberg region of Austria, developed new stopping and turning ma-noeuvres based on Zdarsky's technique- Schneider organized these manoeuvres into the first formal method of ski instruction. It be-came known as the Arlberg technique. This technique forms the basis of most modern skiing techniques.

The First World War interrupted the natural evolution of the sport.

After the war, Arnold Lunn, dissatisfied with downhill as a test of all the qualities needed in. skiing, and rejecting style as being only a means to an. end, introduced the modern slalom. The British Ski Championship of б and 7 January 1921, at Scheidegg, Switzerland, was the first to be decided on downhill, and slalom was introduced as a separate competition in the championships at Murren in 1923. In the same year the Ladies' Ski Club was formed at Murren, the first in the world for women. In 1924 the Federation Internationale de Ski (P.I.S.) was formed, with Col. Kolmquist of Sweden as the first president. Later that year the Swiss University Ski Club (Der Schweizerische Akademische Ski Club) was founded, inspired chiefly by AMSTUTZ. The collaboration of Lunn and Amstutz, and the KANDAHAR SKI CLUB and the S.A.S., at Murren, gave Alpine skiing form and substance. The first international open downhill and slalom competition was held in 1924, the downhill being from Scheidegg to Grindelwald, and the slalom at Murren. The winner was A.Gertsch, of Wengen. In 1924, Nordic competitions were included in the first Winter Olympic Games.

The competitions now called the World Ski Championships began in 1925. In 1936 Alpine events became part of the Winter Olympics.

The invention of ski lifts during the early 1930s led more and more people to take Up recreational skiing. In order to accommodate the increasing number of skiers, many ski areas and resorts were expanded or developed. Chair-Lifts, cabin-lifts, and tows of all descriptions - T.bar, belt, and 'soup-plate' - opened up immense areas of the Alps. Skiing, instead of being a sport fort for moun-tain-dweller or for the privileged few, became mass recreation, in the U.S.A. as well as in Europe, helped on by cheap transport and the package holiday.

Skiing techniques changed, sometimes with bewildering rapidity. Skiing began a new boom. Winners of international competitions attracted increasing publicity. The big star of the 1950s was Toni Sailer of Austria - winner of three gold medals in the 1956 Olympics. The superstar of the 1960s was Pranced Jean-Claude Killy. He won the World Cup in 1967 and 1968 and three gold medals in the 1968 Olympics.

In recent years, the publicity that has been given to skiing champions and the coverage of ski competitions on television and in the press has stimulated interest in recreational skiing.

Speech Exercises.

I. Divide the text into fragments in accordance with their contents. Entitle each fragment.

II. Using the material of paragraphs and your own knowledge of the history of modern skiing, answer the following questions:

1. When did the development of modern skiing begin? 2. Who became the successful innovator of modern skiing? 3. What did Sondre Hord.heim invent? 4. When were the first ski races held? 5. Who became the first prize winner? 6. When and where was the first ski school opened? 7. When was the Norwegian Ski Association formed? 7. Who traversed Greenland on skis for the first time? 8. What book was written by Nansen after hie trek? 9. Who is acknowledged as the father of Alpine skiing? 10. What book was published by Mathias Zdarsky? 11. Who analysed sky dynamics for the first time? 12. Who was the founder of the Arlberg technique? 13. Who introduced the modern slalom? 14. When was F.I.S. formed? 15. When did the World Ski Championships begin? 16. When were the ski lifts enventea? 17. When skiing became a mass recreation?

III. Give the main points of the history of modern skiing.

IV. Write an annotation of the text.

V. Read and retell the story. Answer the questions given below:

SKI RACING: A BRITISH INVEHTION?

It is a first eight perhaps surprising, but it was an English-man, a certain Arnold Lunn, who laid the basis of the modern sport of skiing. Via his father, Sir Henry Lunn, who was involved in the organiaztion of holidays to Switzerland for the well-off Brits, he came in contact with skiing. In 1911 he organized the first real downhill ski competition in Montana: the Roberts of Kandahar-race. At this time skiing was mainly a Norwegian activity and was done "over land" and not in a race down mountain slopes, which was con-sidered too dangerous.

In 1922 Lunn added variety to downhill racing: he set a test of skilled turning at speed, using the Norwegian, term "slalom". The British competitive approach, already applied in athletics and ball games, came into the Alps. Lunn brought further promotion for his ski sport. He organized the Arlberg-Kandahar competition in 1928 and he worked, hard to ensure that skiing was to be in the programme of the "Federation Internationale du Ski (PIS)", and the Winter Olympic Games. This happened in 1931 and 1936 respectively.

Lunn was also an advocate of Ladies skiing and he organised competitions including the Ladies Arlberg-Kandahar. Although the British laid the basis for the sport of skiing, and in the beginning excelled in it, they played no further role of importance.

via [] - через,

well-off - состоятельный, зажиточный,

approach - подход,

excel [] - выделяться.

Question:

1. Who laid the basis of the modern sport of skiing 2. What was Mr. Lunn's father? 3. When did Mr. Lunn organize the first real downhill ski competition? 4. When was the term "slalom" used in skiing for the first time? 5. Who ensured, that skiing was to be in the programme of F.I.S. and the Winter Olympic Games? 6. What did Mr. Lunn organize for ladies?

VI. Read and retell the story. What new information about Arthur Conan Doyle have you learned from the text?

ARTHUR COHAN DOYLS

Arthur Conan Doyle was born in the capital of Scotland, Edin-burgh.

After finishing school Conan Doyle became a student of the medical faculty in the University of 'Edinburgh. In hie third year of studies he went as a ship's doctor to the Arctic and after gra-duating from the University, he agai went in a ship to Western Africa. He began his medical practice in a small English town South-sea, where he spent eight years. Here in 1887, he published his first detective story "A Study in Scarlet". Its main characters were Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, and they became the most popular characters of a great many of Conan Doyle's stories.

"A Scandal in Bohemia" opened a collection of detective stories under the title "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes". The story was published in 1891 and soon after that Baker Street became the well-known address of Sherlock Holmes.

The readers asked for more and more stories about Sherlock Holmes and for two years Conan Doyle wrote them. When he had written about twenty stories with Sherlock Holmes as the main detective, he was so tired of these stories that he decided "to kill Sherlock Holmes". He wrote a story, which he named "Holmes last Case" (1893). In this story Holmes was killed during a struggle with Professor Mariarty. The writer hoped, that after that he could begin writing other books.

But the readers did not wish to lose their favourite character and ten years later the famous detective appeared again.

In 1901-02 one of Conan Doyle's beat stories "The Hound of the Baskervilles" was published.

In 1691 Conan Doyle gave up his medical work and devoted his time to his literary activity. He also travelled much. He visited Europe, the USA and Egypt. In Horway he met Jerome K.Jerome, who wrote about this fact in one of his books.

All his life Conan Doyle liked sports; he played golf, went in for boxing and skied. He was fond of skiing and once even crossed the Alps.

Together with his brothers he went to Switzerland after he read Nansens's book about ski expedition across Greenland. On March 23, 1894 they started an outstanding ski march for their time from Davos to Arosa across 2,445 m Furka Pass which they passed in winter.

He died in 1930. After his death, the famous detective Sherlock Holmes, together with his friend Dr. Watson, continued to be among the favourite characters of British literature end tourists coming to London always go to visit Baker Street to see the house where Sherlock Holmes lived.

"A Study in Scarlet" "Этюд в багровых тонах";

"A Scandal in Bohemia" "Скандал в Богемии";

"The Hound of the Baskervilles" - "Собака Баскервиллей";

case - дело.

VII. Speak of Arthur Gonan Doyle following the outline:

1. Childhood.

2. University and medical practice.

3. Conan Doyle a prominent master of detective stories.

4. Conan Doyle and sports.

VIII. Write an annotation of the texts

I. Read the text to yourself without a dictionary end try to answer the following questions: a) where can we find the roots of the modern Biathlon? b) when were the first competitions in Biathlon organized? c) who proposed to include the sport in the Olympic pro;!5-ram? d) how has the sport been developed?

BIATHION - FROM HUNTING TO SPORTING COMPETITION

Many Disciplines of modern sports have their origines at some dark age. The sport of Biathlon came relatively late to this circle but has as much to offer as others as far as tradition is concerned.

The historians could dig out two roots. The prehistoric hunters were the first to use the combination of skiing and shooting, to be followed by the warriors. The oldest rock-paintings found date back to the neolithic age (about 3000 ВС) showing hunters with bow and arrow moving on sliding timber. In Northern Europe hunting on skies was as well known as in Northern Asia, and in North America. But also in China "winged horses" at the feet were employed to track wildlife in snowcovered regions.

In the Middle Ages the military aspect of shooting on skis came into the foreground and the traditional patrol race came into being that barred today's Biathlon from becoming a pure sporting event for quite some time. Soldiers on skis were not only found in Scandinavia, but also in Russia, in Germany, Austria and Switzerland since the end of the 19th century.

In 1776 in Norway, the first competitions were organized, the competitors firing a rifle while racing ahead. Such competitions were held at a regular interval between 1792 and 1818. In Germany the first military patrol race was held in 1902.

In Norway, this team competition was soon be joined - in 1912 - by an individual race during which 10 rounds were fired in two shooting bouts. The 1st Olympic Winter Games in 1924 in Chamonix included a ski patrol race in their program organized as a demonstra-tion and again in 1928, 1936 and 1948.

It was not before the 44th session of the international Olympic Committee in Rome in 1949, however, that the proposal of Sweden was accepted to include in the Olympic program the combination of cross-country skiing and shooting as an individual competition open also to civilian competitors. The name Biathlon can be found no sooner than in the rules of 1955.

The first Olympic competition was held in 1960 in Squaw Valley after the Union International de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM) has in-tegrated Biathlon as another sport in 1957.

The development was rather quick. The first World Championships in Saalfelden in 1958 found only 25 athletes from seven countries to start in the 20 km race. The development was further enhanced by the change from the large army rifle caliber to small bore rifle in the winter season of 1977/78.

Modern technology changed the target systems, the skating step increased the speed of the race, and on TV millions of enthusiastic spectators were watching be it the sprint or the relay competition -to become fans of the Sport of Biathlon.

II. Translate the text into Russian with the help of a dictionary.

III. Write a precis of the text (in Russian).

Speech Exercises

I. Read the Interview with the world champion at the World Cup competition in Nordic Combination in 1962 and say what has been changed In skiing since.

С мыслями о мире, об укреплении дружбы и взаимопонимания между народами и спортсменами разных стран всегда отправляется на междуна-родные соревнования чемпион мира по лыжному двоеборью из Германии Херман Вайнбух. "Мы, спортсмены, многое можем сделать для сохранения мира на нашей планете, - считает он. - Я неизменно чувствую добро-желательное отношение ко мне в странах, когда выступаю там на тур-нирах".

- До того, как вам досталась "взрослая" мировая корона, вы по-беждали на мировом первенстве среди юниоров, переход из одной воз-растной группы в другую, конечно, достался нелегко. Почему?

- Тяжело было переключаться на новые, более солидные тренировоч-ные нагрузки. Пришлось долго искать гармонию между прыжками с трамп-лина и гонками. Но вот, наконец, я ее нашел и надеюсь сохранить до зимних Олимпийских игр.

- В лыжном спорте сейчас продолжаются споры вокруг "конькового хода". Что думает об этой проблеме чемпион мира по двоеборью?

- В нашем виде спорта, как известно, "коньковый шаг" разрешен. Уверен, что он утвердится и в "чистых" лыжных гонках, потому что современнее и прогрессивнее прежнего; его техника исключает любые недоразумения со смазкой. На первый план выдвигаются действительно спортивные качества лыжника.

- Но ведь от двоеборства он требует исключительной затраты сил, к тому же его нелегко изучить?

- Я так не считаю. Спортсмены, обученные, так сказать, "моторно", занимавшиеся, например, прежде игровыми видами спорта, быстро пости-гают секреты "конькового хода". Раньше я был гимнастом, играл немно-го в футбол и гандбол. Поэтому мне было легко осваивать новую техни-ку. Она, мне кажется, не требует и особой затраты сил. Во всяком случае, их тратится не больше, чем при традиционном, так называемом "диагональном шаге".

... Чемпион мира любит рассказывать о том, как он пришел в большой спорт. Как и другие мальчишки, в Берхтесгадене Херман с ран-них лет катался на лыжах. В 9 лет отец (в Meждународной федерации лыжного спорта он отвечает за двоеборье) привел его в клуб. Первый тренер Хельмут Курц сумел увлечь мальчика в равной степени прыж-ками с трамплина и бегом на лыжах. С годами Херман все больше ощущал гармонию между такими, казалось бы, несовместимыми занятиями. Так и родился настоящий двоеборец, ныне чемпион мира.

World champion, in Nordic combination Hermann Weinbuсh of the Germany is a true proponent of friendship and mutual understanding among nations and sportsmen from different countries. "We sports-men can do a good deal for strengthening peace on our planet", he says. "When competing in the countries, I always feel friendly atti-tude toward me".

Q. You had been the best among the juniors before you won the world adult championship. The transition from the junior class to the adult category was not a bed of roses for you, why?

A. It took great pains to switch on to new, more hard training loads. It was difficult to find harmony between ski. jumping and racing.» but I did, and I hope to preserve it till the Winter Olympiad.

Q. Hitted arguments are going on now about the skating tech-nique. What is the opinion of the world champion in Hordic combina-tion on that score?

A. She akating style is allowed in combined racing. I'm sure it will establish itself in cross-country ski races as well. This modern and progressive style obviates any difficulties with the selection of the right wax, and brings to the fore the athletes' sportsmanship.

Q. But it requires great effort to use this technique and, besides, it is not an easy thing to master this style.

A. I don't think so. Athletes who widely use in their training sports games are quick to master the abating technique. In my day, I was fond of gymnastics played football and handball. So I learned, the technique rather easily. Besides, I don't think it requires great effort, in any case not more than in classical, gliding style.

… The world champion recalls how he came to the big time sport. Like all boys in Berchteagaden Hermann was fond of skiing. When he was nine year's old his father (now he is responsible for Hordic combination in the International Ski federation) took him to the sports club. His first coach Helmut Kurss fostered in him love for ski jumping, end racing. Many years of hard training resulted in an impressive ascent to the room at the top.

II. Read the following information and take it to consideration:

Skiing is not possible in England because of the mild, winters (Snow falls only once or twice during; an average winter, and gene-rally melts after a day or two; the temperature rarely drops below freezing except for a few degrees at night sometimes). Skiing is possible from the climatic point of view in Scotland, but it is not traditional there. It has been introduced in order to attract tourists in the winter, but is still not widespread. Most people who want to ski go abroad - to France, Switzerland, Austria - and skiing is therefore a minority sport.

Russian speakers should bear in mind that skiing to an English person means skiing down mountain slopes (горнолыжный спорт). The expression mountain skiing may exist, but in practice it is not heard, because in England and other western European countries there is no need for it. It could be used as a translation of горнолыжный спорт, since in this country one needs to distinguish this type from "ordinary" skiing. The type of skiing which is traditional in Belarus is unfamiliar to most English people. However, those who watch, the Winter Olympics on television have seen it, and have heard it called Nordic Skiing, that is, skiing as practised by Kordic, or northern peoples. Those who do not follow the Winter Olympics, but have seen this type of skiing when wisiting this country, usually call it cross-country skiing, and describe it, for example, as follows: "not skiing down slopes, but more like walking or running on skis. The skis are narrower and lighter than ordinary skis, and fastened to the boot only at the toe".

In Belarus, however, this type of skiing can be called simply skiing, since here it is the usual type:

Ski, skiing are used in such sentences as:

1. Can you ski?

2. He skis very well. However, He's a good skier is more common.

3. I can't ski downhill/down hills.

4. I'm very fond of skiing.

5. I go skiing nearly every Sunday in winter.

6. What did you do at the weekend?

Went skiing.

7. I skied along the path until I came to a clearing.

Note that go on skis is not used except in such sentences as:

He went there on skis. (How did he go there?) More usual would be: He skied there: Here are some expressions connected with skiing: ski boots, ski-tracks (always plural) лыжня, ski run; a downhill track for skiing: ski-jump (трамплин), ski-jumper, ski-jumping ski race; a race on skis, either downhill or cross-country: slalom (a downhill ski-race along a zigzag course marked out by poles, or zigzagging between trees).

Slalom is only a noun, not an adjective. Слаломные лыжи are simply skis, and слалом used in the sense of горнолыжный спорт is skiing. There is no equivalent for лыжная база, but it can be translated as ski(ing) base/station.