Gymnastics

There is evidence of early forms of gymnastics in the ancient civilizations in the Middle East and Asia. Gymnastics in the form of acrobatics, calisthenics, precision drills and disciplined exercise has been around since ancient times. Tumbling was an ancient art form in China and Asia as well as in Greece and the Roman empire.

The name of the sport "gymnastics" is derived from the ancient Greek word “gymnos" which literally translated means “naked”. In ancient Greece, male athletes trained and competed in the nude. Because of this, women were excluded from the ancient Games, not just as competitors but also as spectators.

Gymnastics was most likely first depicted in Egyptians artifacts. The earliest known physical evidence of gymnastics is found in the art of ancient Egypt, where female acrobats performed for the Pharoahs and the Egyptian nobility. Acrobats entertained Egyptian nobility around 7000 years ago judging by ancient frescoes.

By 500 B.C. the Persians had developed the side horse (pommel horse) as a training devise for their cavalry to learn mounts, dismounts, and swinging movements for combat on speeding horses during battle.

The Greeks built elaborate complexes known as gymnasia for their physical education training. The gymnasium, originally an area for physical training, evolved into a school for training both the body and the mind. There were three types of teachers in a gymnasium: grammatistes, who taught reading, writing and other scholarly pursuits; kitharistes, who taught music; and paidotribes, who were physical fitness teachers. Thus, the gymnasium became a center for the arts, philosophy and literature. Physical training took place in the palestra, which was a square, walled, open-air workout area and even equipped with changing rooms and baths. A variety of activities were classified as gymnastics, including running, jumping, weightlifting, throwing, wrestling, and swimming. Evidently, many exercises were conducted to music.

Philosophers of Greece, like Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates went into the gymnasium and exercised their bodies and debated philosophy to exercise their minds. The attitude of those early gymnasts was a "sound mind in a sound body." With the gathering of young and old alike, the gymnasium was more like a town hall than just a gym.

Among the ancient Greeks, gymnastics probably reached a peak in Sparta. With their emphasis on the military, the Spartans prized activities and exercises that could improve not only physical fitness but also military discipline. In Athens and other Greek city-states, usually only boys received a formal education and took part in gymnastics.

Gymnastics was regarded as training for other sports, particularly athletics and wrestling, two of the main events of the Ancient Olympic Games.

The Romans were a battle hardened people who conquered the known world. After their successful conquest of Greece, they adopted gymnastics as their own, and developed it into a more formal sport. Gymnastic systems designed to give strength for military combat were used extensively by the Romans. Their practical nature turned sport into warfare.

With the fall of Rome and the spread of Christianity through Europe, the knowledge that exercise leads to physical fitness seems to have been lost, along with the ideal of a healthy mind in a healthy body. Gymnastics and acrobatics survived during medieval times through traveling minstrel shows included songs, stories, stunts and tumbling.

The ancient Greek philosophy views the human body as a temple housing the mind and the soul, and the practice of gymnastics contributed to the physical and mental health of this temple and improved the functions of both. Over a period of time, the structured gymnastic, calisthenics and exercises were abandoned in favor of game sports.

Tasks:

I. Form adjectives from the nouns and practise their pronunciation:

Egypt, Persia, Greece, Europe, Asia, Rome, Athens.

II. Explain the forms of gymnastics in English using an English-English dictionary:

· acrobatics,

· calisthenics,

· precision drills,

· disciplined exercise,

· tumbling,

· artistic gymnastics,

· rhythmic gymnastics.

III. Translate the words in the brackets into English:

1. There is evidence of gymnastics (у древних цивилизаций) in the Middle East and Asia.

2. Acrobats (развлекали) Egyptian (богатых и знатных людей) around 7000 years ago (согласно древним фрескам).

3. Athletics and wrestling were two of (виды соревнований) of the (древних) Olympic Games.

4. The gymnasium became (центром искусства, философии и литературы).

5. The Romans (практическая сущность) turned sport into (военное дело).

6. Gymnastics and acrobatics (сохранились) during (средневековье) through (странствующие менестрели).

7. (Спустя года) the structured gymnastic, calisthenics and exercises (были отвергнуты ради) game sports.

8. Philosophers (тренировали свои тела) and debated philosophy to (развивать мыслительные способности).

IV. 1). Form comparative and superlative degrees of the following adjectives:

fit, strong, healthy, active, clever, intensive, young, old.

Дата добавления: 2015-08-03