материал для проведения урока-дебатов на тему "Extreme sports"
учебно-методический материал по английскому языку (11 класс) по теме

Type:                                                Talk show        

Title:                                                The case of base jumping

The Case

On the 25th of October a 16 year old Jack Nicholson jumped from a 22 story building and was badly injured. The accident took place during a school day. Before doing his base jumping, Jack informed all his friends through the Internet about this outstanding event. Many people gathered in front of the house to watch and video record his “flight”.

Later that awful video was downloaded in “YouTube” and much more people could watch it. People need bread and circuses.

N., a famous reporter, lost his close friend, who died after base jumping. Now in his talk show he intends to draw attention of society and the government to extreme sports, the most dangerous ones, which cause deaths, especially of young people. He is also worried that some hair raising videos with victims are easily accessible.

 In his studio he invited Jack Nicholson, his family and friends, the head of his school, a psychologist, and the government deputy.

Preamble

Today is the day when we all must think about the extreme sports as they involve severe risks. As you know the cause for our talk show is the accident which happened to a young boy of 16 Jack Nicholson, who jumped from the 22 story building and was badly injured. Unfortunately this case is not the only one. We need to draw attention of our society and the government to the problem. The society can’t keep silent when young boys and girls just run physical risks and lose their lives .

Of course, we have gathered not only to find and accuse the guilty. We are here to discuss and analyze the problem, identify the possible causes and suggest alternatives for those who do extreme sports.

However among us are also the people who support these kinds of sport. We will listen to all pros and cons. I am sure it is going be a heated discussion.

I hope that in the end we will manage to come up with solid arguments that on the one hand, will make young generation behave reasonably and, on the other hand, will convince the government to develop legal measures to control extreme sports, especially when children under 18 are concerned.

 Good luck!

Role cards

Texts

1. Base Jumping the Verdon

"Minds are like parachutes — they only work well when opened."

November 2004 — We decided to spend my last weekend among the 'unfrozen' climbing in the Verdon. Even though it's in southern France late november is not the best time of the year to be there as it can get windy and miserable. We were lucky, we had two days of stupendous weather, climbed in T-shirt and all the super-classics were totally empty. We were basically the only climbers on the entire cliff. The parking lot at the Carelle would have been empty were it not for a group of jumping happy BASE jumpers. Before and after our climbs I took a few images of their jumps in the panorama of Canyon. In the evening, with a few locals we were the only ones at the bar. I processed the images quickly to produce those jump sequences before leaving...

It's not the first time I'm in contact with base jumpers, but the first time was much quicker. I was leading the last pitch of the Nose, 10 years ago in Yosemite, totally exhausted after 41 hours of continuous climbing. It was midnight and a bright full moon was out. Very quiet one km off the ground, getting very close to the final edge. Suddenly there was a loud noise, like a bag being dragged on the rock very close to me. Then another one and another one. I looked around but couldn't see anything. My partner called: "Did you see the BASE jumpers ?!?" I turned around in my harness only to see another one pass no more than 2 meters from my back in the moonlight, with a noise of fabric flapping in the wind. All in all 5 people jumped in close succession, and I counted 9 seconds of freefall before opening. It took them about 15 seconds to go down what had taken us 41 hours to go up...

In 2005, I had barely reached my new home that I received a surprise gift book via 'penguin mail': Jevto Dedijer's BASE 66, A story of Fear, Fun and Freefall, which recounts many stories of early base jumping in Europe. There's a mouthful of adjectives that can be applied to BASE jumping: impressive, crazy, insane, beautiful, interesting... But I'd just reduce it to one: fascinating.

2. Extreme sports

Summer's just around the corner, encouraging some to dust off the tennis racket or rummage round the cupboard for the cricket bat. But for some in Britain traditional outdoor pursuits are just not enough. So how do extreme sports devotees get their kicks?

Extreme sports are about exhilaration, skill and danger. They do not normally involve teams and there are very few rules. People who take part use their skills and experience to control the risks. That control is what makes them sports and not just dangerous behaviour.

Here are just some of the extreme sports which are popular in Britain:

Kitesurfing: a growing band of enthusiasts have been discovering the thrilling combination of kite, board and waves. These kites can be up to 17 metres long. Catch a gust and you're motoring - up, down and across the surf. British Ladies kitesurfing champion Jo Wilson says: "It's always an adrenalin rush. It's unpredictable. You could jump 5ft or 35ft. You never know if you're going to go up in the air, and your heart is just going boom, boom, boom all the time."

Coasteering: this is exploring the coastline without worrying about a coastal path or finding a rocky cliffy cove blocking your route. You climb, dive, swim and clamber from A to B. There are about 15 operators in the UK offering coasteering.

Sky diving: traditional parachuting just doesn't sound risky enough, does it? So now skydiving is the name for jumping from a plane and listening to your heart pounding as you hurtle towards earth before you open your parachute at the last moment. Once you've got a few jumps under your parachute you can throw in some extra risks, for example try a 'hook turn'. Dean Dunbar is a participant of extremedreams.com and his first sky dive was in 1998. Since then he's been hooked on the buzz of the extreme, saying: "Every so often I have to go out and do something scary."

Mountain biking: it's been around so long that bikers are no longer satisfied with just going up and down a mountain. Nowadays thrill seeking mountain bikers want a big slope to go down very, very fast. "It's pure mad, downhill ," according to Dean Dunbar. "People go to old ski resorts, take the chair lift to the top then bomb down - amazingly not killing themselves."

Vocabulary

get their kicks - get a strong feeling of excitement or pleasure

exhilaration - extreme excitement

kite - a paper- or cloth-covered frame flown in the air at the end of a long string using the power of the wind

motoring - moving

surf - the foam formed by waves on the sea when they come in towards a shore

an adrenalin rush - a strong feeling of excitement mixed with fear

coastline - the shape of the land on the edge of the sea

cove - a small sheltered opening in the coastline, a bay

clamber - climb with difficulty, using both the feet and hands

pounding - beating heavily

hurtle - move very fast

throw in -add

'hook turn' - a fast turn close to the ground used to land at high speed

hooked on the buzz of the extreme - addicted to the excitement of doing extreme sports

thrill seeking - looking for excitement

bomb down - go down with great speed

3. Extremely Sporty

It's a bank holiday and summer's just around the corner, encouraging some to dust off the tennis racket or rummage round the cupboard for the cricket bat. But traditional outdoor pursuits are not enough for some, so how do extreme sports devotees get their kicks?

Doing sports the extreme way is all about taking an activity and adding a new dimension, an extra challenge. This means taking an ironing board with you when you go mountaineering, or perhaps leaving the ropes at home, or strapping wings to your back when you go skiing.

No list of extreme sports can be all-inclusive as this weekend someone may have been attaching a kite to a wheelbarrow and trying to navigate a rushing river somewhere. Barrowboardkitekayaking anyone? But here are 10 of the most popular.

1. Kite surfing

Attach a kite to anything and you're probably entering the realm of extreme sports. A growing band of enthusiasts have been discovering the thrilling combination of kite, board and waves. And these kites are not the sort you'd mess around with at your local park. They can be up to 17 meters long. Catch a gust and you're motoring - up, down and across the surf.

British Ladies Kite surfing champion Jo Wilson says: "It's always an adrenalin rush. It's unpredictable. You could jump 5ft or 35ft. You never know if you're going to go up in the air, and your heart is just going boom, boom, boom all the time."

Remember she's the British Champion - makes you think about how just how unpredictable kite surfing is for a beginner.

Risk Rating: Your judgement is at the mercy of the wind and waves. A gusty 8/10

2. Coastereering

This is exploring the coastline without worrying about a coastal path or finding a rocky cliffy cove blocking your route. You climb, dive, swim and clamber from A to B.

There are about 15 operators in the UK offering coasteering. Pembrokeshire based TYF Adventure defines coasteering as, "playing in the impact zone where sea water, waves and land come together to create the world's highest energy natural playground. To go coasteering means to put yourself, in the most exhilarating positions, between a rock and a salty place".

Operations Manager Phil Sadler says: "TYF Adventure customers have been known to describe it as 'everything my mum told me not to do down at the seaside', but we think that our definition is best."

Risk rating: Has the tide just gone out? Are those rocks nice and slippery? From 2/10 to a wave crashing 9/10.

3. Mountain boarding

The new sport on the block. It's like surfing or snowboarding but can be done anywhere, anytime, any weather. All you need is a giant skateboard and a hill.

A new mountain board centre in Halifax advertises one of it's downhill tracks as "over 600ft (200m) of pure adrenaline (leave your brains in the box provided at the top)."

Risk rating: You may well leave your brains behind, but don't forget the helmet. 7/10

4. Challenges

Recent years have seen a boom in multi-sport challenges. They're races which combine several sports in events that last days not hours. Even Paula Radcliffe might concede that Hebridean Challenge is extreme.

The Challenge, from July 4 to 8 this year, sees different combinations of team members involved in hill running, mountain biking, road biking, swimming and sea kayaking.

Participant Dean Dunbar of extremedreams.com believes mass participation in marathons has lead to many to search out a greater challenge.

"Some people run a marathon and that's enough for them, others come away from it and think 'I want to do more'," he says.

Risk rating: Highest risk is of all is your friends thinking you're mad. 6/10

5. Bungee jumping

Very, very popular. So much so it's almost an obligatory part of a student gap year or corporate bonding weekend. So can it really be that extreme?

Those in the know add a twist. Forget jumping from a crane and attach your over-sized elastic band to a cable car or a helicopter. Then jump.

Risk Rating: Sits in same insurance group as hill walking, (if you haven't mentioned the helicopter part). 4/10

6. Snowboarding

 Californian surfers looking for a winter sport invented snowboarding in the 70's. Technique on the slope is closer to surfing and skating than skiing. It's young, hip and happening, according to Stephen Northcott, Founder of Extreme Sports Café.

"Even people that will never go snow-boarding love the look of it. And it is not priced out of the market like skiing (which is now the golf of the extreme sports line-up)."

Risk rating: Don't underestimate the power of nature. Two experienced British snowboarders died in April - hit by an avalanche. 7/10

7. Sky diving

Parachuting just doesn't sound risky enough does it? So now skydiving is the name for jumping from a plane and listening to your heart pounding as you hurtle towards earth.

Once you've got a few jumps under your parachute you can throw in some extra risks. Try a 'hook turn' - a fast turn close to the ground used to land at high speed. And yes, of course it's dangerous.

Dean Dunbar's first sky dive was in 1998. Since then he's been hooked on the buzz of the extreme, saying: "Every so often I have to go out and do something scary."

Risk Rating: Dare you exit the plane? Can you land without twisting an ankle? 7/10

8. Cliff jumping

Just what it says on the label. Find a cliff jump and off it - into water. You start at just 3-4 ft above the water, and then progress to 10ft jump, 25 ft and finally 50ft jump. Kit includes helmet, wet suit and buoyancy aid.

Usually from April to October in UK as even extreme sports enthusiasts' bodies can struggle with a sudden dip in wintery Scottish seawater.

Risk Rating: Goes up as you do. 6/10

9. Mountain biking

It's been around so long that bikers are no longer satisfied with just going up and down a mountain. Nowadays thrill seeking mountain bikers want a big slope to go down very, very fast.

"It's pure mad, downhill," according to Dean Dunbar. "People go to old ski resorts, take the chair lift to the top then bomb down - amazingly not killing themselves."

Some of the best rides are in Nepal. Far from being stunned at elite mountain bikers of the world descending on them the Nepalese take it all in their stride.

It's not unknown for a muscular adrenaline junky on an expensive, designer bike to be overtaken by a bunch of waving Nepalese school kids riding second-hand rusty machines. I'd guess there are no child obesity problems in Nepal just yet. Goodness knows what the Nepalese idea of an extreme sport is.

Risk Rating: Avoid ruts and rocks and you may get away without breaking your neck. Depends on your speed. 3/10 rising to 8/10.

10. Base jumping

The BASE in BASE jumping stands for Building, Antenna, Span (bridge), Earth (cliff). Illegal in many countries, and usually done without the security of a reserve parachute.

Stephen Northcott describes BASE jumping as "the ultimate risk".

"You are actually risking your life, much as you try to limit the risk, every time you do it," he says.

Northcott adds that "there is no sure way to guarantee the outcome of the opening of the parachute, you do not have a spare, and invisible factors such as thermals and air movement can cause critical situations to occur.

Risk rating: Anyone arguing with 10/10?