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John Millen

The amazing Aquatics Centre
The Beijing National Aquatics Centre, nicknamed the Water Cube because of its hi-tech structure and shape, will host the swimming and diving competitions of the 2008 Olympics.
At present, a total of 42 events are planned to take place inside this amazing state-of-the-art building. The total surface area of the Water Cube covers 80,000 square metres, and it will house  17,000 spectators.
The Cube is  comprised of a steel frame covered by a special blue elastic membrane that allows ninety per cent sunshine into the building. Natural daylight will light the Water Cube for up to nine hours each day.
The external design, looking like a simple box covered in bubble-wrap, is brilliantly simple and imaginative. A large part of the finance for the Centre has come from donations from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, and after the Olympics, the venue will be converted into an aquatics recreation centre for everyone to enjoy.
Questions
1 Which adjective in the text means 'using the most advanced technology available'?
2 Which adjective means 'having the most modern and up-to-date design'?
In the water
Swimming competitions have been held at every modern Olympics since 1896 and, since then, aquatic events have been one of the most exciting features of every Olympiad.
Olympic swimming has changed since the first Olympic swimmers almost froze to death in the Mediterranean Sea and  Paris's River Seine. There was no heated swimming pool for them! Today's Olympic swimming programme is a strictly controlled line-up of freestyle, butterfly, breaststroke and backstroke races over a variety of distances.
Women's swimming was included in the Olympics in 1912, and in 2008,  male and  female swimmers will compete in an almost identical programme of events. Olympic swimming is sleek, fast and exciting, providing spectators with top-class thrills and glamour.
In August 2008, the Beijing Water Cube will  be the  centre for  a thrilling sporting spectacle.
Questions
3 Pick out the adjective that means 'to do with water'.
4 What is a 'line-up'?
a) an arrangement of things or people in order
b) a line drawn on a piece of paper
Seven shiny medals
American swimmer Mark Spitz holds not only the record for winning the largest number of gold medals for swimming in a single Olympic Games, but also for the biggest number of gold medals won by anyone in any event at a single Olympics.
Spitz's record is truly awesome.  He was a brilliant child swimmer and by the age of ten he already held seventeen national records and one world record. At the age of eighteen, he had his eye on winning six gold medals at the Mexico City Olympics, but he disappointed himself by only winning two.
This was not good enough for Spitz and he went to the 1972 Munich Games with extra determination to win his six golds. This was Mark Spitz's moment of glory and he finished the Games with seven Olympic gold medals, an achievement still unequalled by any other athlete.
Questions
5 What is the meaning of the adjective 'awesome'?
a) incorrect
b) amazing
6 What is determination?
a) the intention to achieve what you have decided to achieve
b) the intention ask someone to help you finish something
Olympic Fact File
Fill in the gaps and then copy these sentences into your Olympic Fact File.
1 The Beijing National Aquatics Centre is nicknamed ................................
2 The National Aquatics Centre covers a surface area of ................................
3 It can seat ................................ spectators.
4 Swimming fist appeared in the Olympics programme in ................................
5 Women's swimming events were introduced in ......................
6 ................................ holds the record for the most gold medals won at a single Olympic Games.
7 Spitz won his medals in ................................ events.
8 He achieved this record at the 1972 Games in ................................
Answers
1. hi-tech, 2. state-of-the-art, 3. aquatic, 4. an arrangement of people or things in order, 5. a, 6. a, 7. the Water Cube, 8. 80,000 square metres, 9. 17,000, 10. 1896, 11. 1912, 12. Mark Spitz, 13. swimming, 14. Munich



Wonder of water