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Unusual Sports Caitlin’s Dr Fred Hollows: Rumi and the The Elephant Information Report Swimming Surprise A True Hero Robo-tel and the Blind Men (Informative) Narrative Information Report Narrative Narrative (Imaginative) (Informative) (Imaginative) (Imaginative)

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Unusual SportsPhillip Simpson What Is an Unusual Sport?

A sport is a competitive physical activity. Some sports are very well known and are played by millions of people around the world. Some sports are more uncommon. A sport is unusual if it requires unusual equipment or if it has odd rules or a unique aim. Some unusual sports are played only in specific places. Unusual Sports There are many different archery competitions for Archery children and teenagers.Only Archery is a sport that uses bows and arrows. There are many kinds of archery practised by people all over the world. The most popular form of competitive archery is target archery. Target archery can be held indoors or outdoors. Indoors, the distance to the target is shorter, ranging from 18 metres to 25 metres. Outdoors, distances range from 30 metres to 90 metres. Competitors have 3 or 6 arrowsReview in each round. They have to fire their arrows within a set time. At the end of each round, the competitors retrieve their arrows, and a new round begins. On the targets, there is a series of rings. Each ring Forhas a number value ranging from 1 to 10, representing how many points it is worth. The closer to the centre the arrow hits, the more points the archer scores. The inner ring, worth ten points, is called the “bullseye”. At the end of the competition, the archers add up the points for all the arrows they shot, and the person with the highest score wins. 1 Only

A team competes in the World Women’s Curling Championship. Curling The sport of curling is usually played in places with cold winters, because it is played on ice. It is particularly popular in Canada. In this sport, players push large, round stones along the ice towards a target area, which is called the “house”. Curling stones are made of granite, and have a handle at the top so that they can be grasped. Players wear shoes with good grip, so that they do not slip on the ice. Curling is a team sport. ThereReview are two teams, each with four players. Each team has eight stones. The teams take turns shooting their stones towards the house, and each team member has two shots. The team member who pushes the stone is called the “curler”. The aim of each turn is to get a stone as close as possible to the centre of the house or, alternatively, to knock one of the opposing team’s stones out of the house. The house consists of four circlesFor of increasing size, one inside the other. It looks like a bullseye. Curling stones are extremely heavy, so they move quite slowly. After the curler has pushed the stone towards the house, no one is allowed to touch it. Instead, the other members of the team help to guide it in the right direction by quickly brushing the ice in front with brooms, to make a smooth and easy path. The two players who do this are called “sweepers”. Curling is becoming a more popular winter sport. It has been played at the Winter Olympic Games six times. 2 Caber Tossing The sport of caber tossing is played as part of the Highland Games. The Highland Games are held every year in Scotland, to celebrate Scottish culture. The caber toss is the most famous event in the games. A caber is a long, heavy wooden pole or log, usually made of pine. It is tapered, meaning that it is narrower at one end. Cabers can be many different lengths and weights, but most cabers are about the same size and weight as a telephone pole. The competitor stands the caber upright. They lift the caber and hold it with both hands under the bottom of the pole, allowing it to rest against their body. The competitor then runs forward and tosses the pole end over end. A caber must be tossed so that it flips over and lands on the ground pointing in the same direction that the caber tosser ran. This is called the “12 o’clock” position. The winner is the competitor who lands their toss closest to the 12 o’clock position. How far the caber is tossed is unimportant. Only

A caber tosser lifts his caber before throwing it. Review For

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A yukigassen player skids behind a snow block shelter. Yukigassen Yukigassen (say: yoo-ki-GASS-en) is a snowball-fighting game. It was invented in the town of Sobetsu in Hokkaido, Japan. Two teams compete against each other. Each team starts with seven players in the field. Both teams throw snowballs at one another and try to dodge the other team’s snowballs. When a player is hit by a snowball, they are “out”. The game is played on a big,Review flat court covered in snow. There are shelters made of blocks of snow at various points on the court, which the players can hide behind. Each team has a flag on their side of the court. The aim of the game is to capture the other team’s flag without being hit by a snowball or, alternatively, to get every member of the other team “out”. The first team to capture the flag or get all of their opponents out wins the period. The first team to winFor two periods wins the game. Before each period, each team makes 90 snowballs to throw at their opponents. The snowballs are made by a special machine that can quickly make many snowballs of the same size and weight. Players wear helmets with face protectors. Players can hand snowballs to each other during play, or roll them to one another across the court. People play yukigassen in snowy places around the world. Many countries have annual yukigassen tournaments. 4 Fencing Fencing, or formal sword fighting, is a sport that has been played for centuries. Fencing is an individual sport, and competitors face each other one on one. The objective is to score as many points as possible. Competitors score points by touching their opponent with their sword. Today, the points are recorded electronically, because the touches are often too difficult to see. A tone sounds and a coloured light flashes on the scoring machine when a competitor lands a touch. Fencers must wear proper shoes and gloves. They also wear masks, chest protectors and jackets. There are three different kinds of swords they can use: the foil, the épée and the sabre. The foil is a light, flexible blade. Points are scored with the tip, which must touch the torso area. This area includes the shoulders and the back, but not the arms, neck, head or legs. A foil fencer wears a metallic vest (called a “lamè”), which covers the torso. A touch on the lamè will be detected by the scoring machine. The épée (say: EPP-pay) is similar to a foil, but heavier and with a stifferOnly blade. In an épée match, points must be scored with the tip, as with a foil match, but the entire body is a target. The blade has a spring-loaded tip. When it is pressed down, by landing a touch on the opponent’s body, a light on the scoring machine lights up. The sabre is broader than both the foil and the épée. In a sabre match, both the edge of the blade and the point can be used to land touches. The target is the area from the hips to the top of the head. A sabre fencer wears a lamè that covers the torso from the shoulders to the waist, both arms and the back, which records the points. The blades used in fencing are not sharp, and competitors rarely get hurt. Fencing is becoming increasingly popular with children.Review For

a fencing match

5 Hurling

Hurling is a sport that has been played for over 3000 years. It is 27 Level PM a team sport, played on a large pitch with goalposts at each end. Hurling is played around the world. Players use a stick, or “hurley”, to hit the ball. The ball, or “sliotar”, is roughly the same size as a hockey ball, with raised seams. The hurley and the sliotar are both hard, so players wear helmets. Players can hit the ball while it is on the ground or in the air. A player can use the hurley to pick up the ball and carry it in their hand for four steps. After that, the ball can be bounced on the back of the hand, but it can be caught only twice. Players can also run with the ball balanced on their hurley. Unusual Sports

Unusual Sports Around the World Only Many unusual sports are played around the world. Some of them require unusual equipment and some have interesting rules. They all involve physical skill, agility and mental strategy. Most importantly, they are always fun to play.

Retell this Information Report Read this information report again. Record yourself as you retell the information report. Listen to the recording. Check! Did you remember most things in the information report? Questions about Unusual Sports 1 Why does the inner ring on anReview archery target have a higher value? 2 What was archery used for before it became a sport? 3 Why are curling stones made of granite? 4 In curling, why do the sweepers have to move quickly when they are brushing the ice? 5 Why do Scottish people celebrate their culture? 6 What is a caber? 7 Why do yukigassen players wear helmets with face protectors? 8 Why is yukigassenFor played in snowy places around the world? 9 How would fencing have been scored before the development of electronics? 10 Why is fencing becoming popular with children? 11 Why do people have to be agile when they are playing unusual sports? Vocabulary Replace the adjective ‘flexible’ in this sentence: The foil is a light, flexible blade.

Word Count: 1391 Text Type: Information Report (Informative) Curriculum Area: Health and Physical Education 6 ISBN: 978 0 17 036984 8 (set) For learning solutions, visit cengage.com.au © 2016 Cengage Learning Australia Pty Ltd el 28

PM Lev PM The Black Phan om

Story by Jill McDougall Illustrations by Lesley Vamos

“The BMX Ultra One is the coolest bike on two wheels,” said Finn to his mother. “Is that right?” Mum replied, pulling out a handful of weeds. Finn heaved a super-loud sigh. “It’s affecting my social standing to not have a BMX bike.” He added, hopefully, “You know how important the peer group is to an eleven year old.” Mum shrugged. She seemed more interested in unearthing a dandelion than in The Black Phantom The discussing Finn’s social standing. “So, Mum … do you think I could get a BMX Ultra One?” “Of course.” Only Finn felt a great surge of relief. Well, more a surge of shock, really. He made a mental note to pick an extra big bunch of roses from the garden for Mother’s Day. “And can I get a turbo frame with splatter paint?” “Of course,” said Mum. “And stunt pegs?” Finn added. “Why not?” Mum tossed the dandelion onto the compost heap. “You can have any kind of bike you like, Finn, as long as you pay for it.” “Oh.” Finn sighed, again. Review For

1 Finn found his younger brother, Simon, lying on Finn’s bed when he went into his room. Simon was reading one of Finn’s comic books. “I’m getting a BMX Ultra One,” Finn announced. He pulled his old toy crate out from the corner of the room. Only Simon watched with interest. “Are you planning to rob a bank?” “No. I’m having a mega toy sale to pay for it.” Finn went over and tugged the comic book from Simon’s hands. “Don’t dribble on the merchandise. I can get a couple of dollars for this.” Simon snorted. “That comic’s a train wreck. Or are you going to charge extra for all the rips?” Finn ignored the taunt and emptied his toy crate onto the floor. He was sure some kid would love his stealth helicopter, except … what a pain … the rotor blades dangled uselessly, like broken wings. Sighing, Finn threw the helicopter in the rubbish bin, and picked up his giant Bionic Eye. He held it to his eye and stared at Simon through the lens. A thousand Simons stared back.Review Uh-oh, that wasn’t right – the lens was shattered! “Oh,” muttered Finn. “I forgot that I dropped it at the skatepark.” He tossed the Bionic Eye into the bin, too. At the bottom of the crate, something lay buried in a tangle of headphone cords. It was good old Actionator Man! Finn picked him up and put on a deep movie-trailer voice. “IntroducingFor … the world’s most powerful superhero!” He twirled Actionator Man by one winged boot and … whump! The action figure’s twirling leg flew off, landing in a pile of abandoned socks. “He’s not a superhero, he’s a super zero,” said Simon. “You need to face the facts, Finn. Your toys are junk. Why not mow a few lawns and earn some money?” Finn rolled his eyes, walking over to fish Actionator Man out of the pile of socks. He threw the broken action figure in the bin with the rest of his broken things. He had nothing to sell, which meant his social life at school was over. 2 On Sunday, Pop came over for a visit. “I hear you want a new bike,” he said to Finn. Finn nodded so hard he felt his ears jiggle. “Come outside with me,” said Pop. “I brought something I want to show you.” “Really?” Finn dashed outside, his heart racing. Next to his grandfather’s car, something glittered in the afternoon sun. Finn stopped and stared, amazed. The bike had sleek lines, fat tyres and a curved headlight that seemed to grow out of the front fender. Excitement started to well up in Finn. This wasn’t a BMX. It was better than a BMX. This was the most incredible, the most superior bike Finn had ever seen. Pop had followed him out. “Meet the Black Phantom,” he said, in a hoarse whisper. “It was built in 1951.” Black Phantom. The name suited the bike perfectly. It was a shinyOnly polished black, with red trim and white pinstripes. Everything on the bike gleamed – the handlebars, the spokes, the fenders – even the tyre rims. The bike stood in the driveway as if it owned the space around it.

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3 Pop laid a hand on Finn’s shoulder. “When I was a boy, every kid dreamed of owning a Black Phantom,” he said. Finn was puzzled. This bike would have cost a fortune. “But, Pop, I thought your family was really poor,” he said. Pop nodded, stroking the gleaming fender as if it was made of gold. “Everyone in our part of town was poor,” he said. “Most kids in my street didn’t own a pencil case, let alone a bike.” “So … how could you afford to buy it?” Finn asked. “The Daily News offered a brand-new Black Phantom to the boy who sold the most newspapers in a month,” replied Pop, with a grin. “And you sold the most?” Pop held out his hands, shrugging. “I gave it my best shot. On the first day, I sold three newspapers. Next day, I sold one. The day after that, I sold none.” He shook his head. “People in my neighbourhood didn’t have money to buy newspapers.”Only

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“So …?” Finn asked. Pop rubbed the back of his neck. “It was nothing short of a miracle,” he said. “One morning, all the kids in my street came knocking. They wanted to help me win that bike. After that, my friends got out of bed every morning before sunrise, and helped me sell papers. It was so cold, our fingers were stiff.” He nodded, as if agreeing with himself. “They were a great bunch of friends.” 4 “So you won the bike, Pop?” “We all won it. Every one of us earned it … paper by paper.” He grinned. “Or spoke by spoke.” “Spoke by spoke,” repeated Finn. He gazed at the bike, thoughtfully. The silver fender shone as if it had been polished by a dozen loving hands. “Take her for a spin,” offered Pop. Finn grabbed his bike helmet, fastening it under his chin. He swung onto the leather seat and wobbled down the driveway. When he reached the bike path, he pushed extra hard on the pedals. Whoa. The bike responded as if it had been longing for a bit of action. The spokes hummed and whirred as the air rushed past Finn’s cheeks. Grass and bushes blurred past. Finn rode all the way to the overpass, then gently squeezed the brake lever. Slam! The rubber pads gripped the back wheel like iron clamps. Finn gave a whooping laugh and turned for home. Only

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Pop andFor Simon were standing in the driveway when Finn glided back down the street. He turned in towards them and gently braked. His cheeks ached from smiling. “That bike’s ancient,” said Simon, an uncertain expression on his face. “Actually,” said Finn, “it was built in 1951.” He glanced at his grandfather. “That’s the same year Pop was born.” “Cool,” said Simon. “But it’s not a BMX bike, is it?” “Everyone has a BMX,” Finn said. “No one has a legend like the Black Phantom.” “It’s yours now,” said Pop. 5 Finn shook his head. “I can’t take it, Pop. That bike’s way too good to be just

given away.” 28 Level PM “I see.” Pop scratched at his ear. “What did you have in mind, then?” Finn took a breath. “I’d like to … do odd jobs at your place. I’d like to earn the Black Phantom, like you did, Pop.” He hesitated, embarrassed. “You know … spoke by spoke.” Pop’s smile was slow and warm. “It’s a deal, Finn.” “Awesome!” Finn felt a sense of pride rising in him as he turned to gaze at the Black Phantom, glowing in the afternoon light. Black Phantom The Only

Retell this Narrative Read this story again. Record yourself as you retell the story. Listen to the recording. Check! Did you remember most things in the story? Questions about The Black Phantom 1 What type of bike did Finn tellReview his mother he wanted? 2 What does affecting my social standing mean? 3 What is a peer group? 4 Why did Mum agree with everything Finn described about the bike he wanted? 5 What are stunt pegs on a BMX bike? 6 Why was Pop’s bike called the ‘Black Phantom’? 7 Why did Pop keep the Black Phantom for all those years? 8 Why didn’tFor Finn know about the Black Phantom? 9 Why did the Daily News offer only boys the chance to win the bike? 10 How did Pop feel when Finn said he wanted to earn the bike spoke by spoke? 11 Why is it better to work hard for something special than to be given it? Vocabulary Replace the noun ‘merchandise’ in this sentence: “Don’t dribble on the merchandise.”