The Olympics may be over, but don’t put your flags down yet
The International Paralympic Committee welcomes you to Sochi, Russia, for the Paralympic Games. I'm sure there are questions, so let's get started with this informative meeting.
What does Paralympic mean?
Think of the word parallel mixed with the word Olympic - next to or with the Olympics. The Paralympics are competitions that take place after the Olympics but in the same location for athletes with disabilities.
What kind of disabilities do the athletes have?
Some athletes have lost limbs due to illness or injury, and others have poor vision.
Paralympic athletes may also be affected by several other disabilities, such as muscle or mental issues. That's why three of our five sports are divided into standing, sitting, and vision-challenged categories. I recommend that you try to watch a little of each category.
How do these categories affect the events?
Standing events can look so much like their Olympic versions that you won't know you're watching a Paralympic event. For the other two categories, special sit skis are used for sitting events, and guides lead vision-challenged athletes. Ice sledge hockey and wheelchair curling are only open to athletes with lower-body disabilities.
Editor's Summary
Today, we have been talking about the Paralympics in Sochi Russia, the same location as the Olympics last month.
What does Paralympics really mean?
Well, parallel, to be along side of, the Olympics.
This is the Olympics for disabled people.
And the disabilities are varied.
Some people have lost limbs while others may not see very well or have mental or muscle problems.
There are three categories for the five sports in the Paralympics.
Those categories include standing, sitting, and vision-challenged.
Info Cloud
Teaching Topic: Politically Correct
p. c. 政治正確
vision-challenged = blind
[too far] vertically challenged = short
Grammar Gym
Standing events can look so much like their Olympic versions that you won't know you're watching a Paralympic event.
... look(s) like ... that you won't know...
- This restaurant's soy cheese burgers look so much like regular cheese burgers that you won't know you're eating a vegetarian dish.
- These hidden cameras look so much like stones in a garden that you won't know you're being watched as you walk around them.
Language Lab
parallel adj.
/ˈperəˌlɛl/
very similar and often happening at the same time
- Parallel statements were announced by both companies.
— used to describe lines, paths, etc., that are the same distance apart along their whole length and do not touch at any point
- The canal runs parallel to Main Street.
disability n.
a condition (such as an illness or an injury) that damages or limits a person's physical or mental abilities
- The program is aimed to help people with serious physical disabilities.
disabled adj.
having a physical or mental disability : unable to perform one or more natural activities (such as walking or seeing) because of illness, injury, etc
- The girl was born physically disabled.
issue n.
problems or concerns
- The main issue in this school is the curriculum.
- Money is not the issue, the right people is.
something that people are talking about, thinking about, etc. : an important subject or topic
- The mayor expressed his personal view on the controversial issue.
category n.
a group of people or things that are similar in some way
- The files were sorted into five categories.
- Teen fashion is a separate category in the designer's collection.
mms://203.69.69.81/studio/20140307baad62c321ed10ed78d86c13d43a26993a6bdfe83b451e315fd8bd51f3e245fbf41.wma
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