31
GETTING TO THE TOP
3.3
6
a
Find words or phrases in the article with these
meanings.
1
when you give up something important in order
to get something more important
2
strength
3
something that is much greater than usual
4
the refusal to let anything prevent you from doing
what you have decided to do
5
to make someone different from or better than
other people
6
thinking about something all the time
6
b
Complete the sentences using words or phrases
from Exercise 6a.
1
Salwa Eid Naser was so dominant in her sport due to
her
and mental toughness.
2
Her parents
a lot of
to give her a
good education.
3
Serena Williams says she is a perfectionist and
about tennis.
4
Usain Bolt’s speed
him
from other
competitors.
5
The reporter was surprised by the
of Mike
Tyson’s emotions.
6
Some athletes cannot deal with the
of
sporting success and failure.
GRAMMAR
DEFINITE AND ZERO ARTICLES
7
a
Find the phrases from the box in the article.
the college break the ice the court drive and
determination Boston sports stars the most vocal
7
b
Complete the rules about the definite and zero
articles using the phrases in Exercise 7a.
We use the definite article
the
:
•
when we mention a noun a second time (e.g.
the
question
).
The
may be used on a first mention if it is
when we refer to something unique (e.g.
1
).
•
for superlatives (e.g.
2
).
•
with known things that are local and very familiar
to most people in the context and do not need to be
introduced or explained (e.g.
3
).
•
with certain idioms (e.g.
4
).
•
with countries which include Republic, Union,
Kingdom, States, Emirates (e.g.
the United Arab
Emirates
) and plural names (e.g.
the Philippines
).
We use the zero article:
•
with proper nouns, i.e. the names of people and
places (e.g.
5
).
•
with plural countable nouns referring to things in
general (e.g.
6
).
•
with uncountable nouns referring to something in
general (e.g.
7
).
Ê
Language reference and extra practice, pages 126–149
I
n five athtleƟcs
tournaments in 2014
and 2015, Salwa Eid
Naser entered six
compeƟƟons, finishing
first in five of them
and second in other.
Perhaps most impressive
was in World Youth
Championships in the
Cali, Colombia in 2015.
Tournament took place
during Ramadan so
Salwa had to run the qualifying races without
eaƟng. In semi-final, she finished third in a Ɵme of
52.99 seconds. Final, though, took place on Eid-al-
Fitr and Salwa was able to eat on day of the race.
Her Ɵme of 51.50 seconds was a personal best and
she finished well ahead of her nearest rival.
Salwa was born in the Nigeria but moved to
Bahrain, her father’s country, when she was a
child. In 2014, Salwa won two gold medals at the
Arab Junior Championships in the Cairo but, at
Ɵme, she was sƟll relying on the natural talent.
AŌer those two victories she realised that she
owed her success to her parents and Bahrain
AthleƟcs AssociaƟon and should do everything
she could to repay their faith in her. She found
the new coach, trained hard to strengthen her
muscles and has been breaking personal best
records ever since.
8
Edit the text about Salwa Eid Naser. Find and correct
fifteen mistakes in the use of articles.
PRONUNCIATION
9
3.3
Weak forms of
the
Listen carefully to five
sentences. Is there a definite article before these nouns
in the sentences? Use the context to help you.
1
university
4
tennis players, wrist injuries
2
university
5
tennis players, courts
3
game, captain
SPEAKING
10
a
Work with a partner. Choose the four most
important things you need to get to the top in sport.
Then rank them 1 (most important) to 4.
aggression intelligence stamina patience
mental toughness strength positivity humility
concentration self-discipline
10
b
Work with another pair to explain your choices.
