ЕГЭ: Reading Part 1 #2

(A) Playing sports is a great way to make exercise fun and help children to develop healthy habits. Sports can also help children improve their agility, balance, and coordination. Participating in sports can help build a child’s self-esteem. Studies show that children who play sports work harder in the classroom. Children also learn problem­solving skills and time management skills when they are part of a team.

(B) Late last week BMX legend, Kevin Robinson, made history by flying higher than any human has ever gone on a BMX bike as part of Red Bull Experiment in New York City! Thousands of fans and spectators were on-site to catch all the action. This awesome feat had been a lifelong dream of Kevin’s which until now no one else has ever been able to pull off!

(C) American tennis star Venus Williams has lost her place at the Madrid Open when she was beaten in the second-round part of the contest by Russian teenager Alisa Kleybanova. Williams is the current world number three and her 19-year-old opponent was unseeded so the defeat came as a big shock. Williams said she thought Kleybanova had won ‘by just being aggressive from both sides of the court.’

(D) Skateboarding traces its roots to the seventies but it really reached the peak of its popularity in the mid-eighties to the present when major skateboard manufacturers pro­pelled it to new heights. First, they started with half-pipe and vert ramp skateboarding. As the years went by, the focus shifted to street skateboarding, which brought about a few changes in deck shape and wheel size.

(E) While the majority of scuba diving is recreation, there are those who do it for a liv¬ing as well. Scientific exploration and research is another area with a lot of scuba diving demand. They spend a lot of time in the water watching sea life cycles, and how microor¬ganisms fit the whole underwater environment. There are also others who work in con¬structing underwater platforms that are often used for research as well as offshore oil.

(F) Surfing is a sport which is undertaken by almost every individual in the U.S. This term is often referred to as a surface water sport in which the person surfing is carried along the face of a breaking ocean wave standing on a surfboard. Surfboards can also be used on rivers on standing waves. Some people practise this as a hobby while others be¬come professional surfers.

(G) If you’re interested in snowboarding, you will need to find out which length and width board is best for you. Both of these factors are critical to the success of snowboard¬ing. Be aware that shorter boards are easier to manoeuvre, therefore making them great if you are just learning to snowboard. When it comes to width, it is important to consider foot size when choosing the width of a board.