Top 10 Incredibly Dangerous Sports
Read the article and answer the following questions.
You may not remember it, but there was a time when sport had a purpose greater than
entertainment and advertising. Early fencing, wrestling, archery, and pentathlon
competitions trained troops in the practical arts of war. Later, sport refocused to improve
physical fitness and impress women. But the following list shows places where modern
sport has [–1–] into novel death wishes.
A) BASE Jumping
You know, we used to call this behavior “attempted suicide”. BASE jumpers willingly [–2–]
themselves from Buildings, Antenna, Spans, or Earth with nothing but a hand-[–3–]
parachute to prevent “[–4–] trauma.” In this game, there’s no need to keep score: the
winner is the one who DOESN’T DIE. Lucky losers get slammed back into the object they
just jumped off of or break everything they have made of, say, bone. Between 5 and 15
people die each year, according to Harry Parker of The International PRO BASE Circuit. This
is sport is illegal almost everywhere, and with good reason.
B) High Altitude Climbing
Today, about one death occurs for every six successful summits on Everest, and each victim
had to pass [–5–] on the way up. Real mountaineers face every threat you can imagine, up
to and including drowning. Gravity must [–6–] up for its chance to kill you, as hypoxia,
hypothermia, frostbite and pneumonia all have prior reservations. Even a regular injury can
be fatal, as rescue helicopters simply can’t get to you and your buddies may be too gassed
to help. But if you do summit (you’ll probably have to wait in line), keep those glasses on
or you’ll burn up your corneas from excess UV radiation. Kinda defeats the purpose, huh?
To date, 179 out of 1,300 different Everest climbers have died, but mortality rates have
started to decline since 1990.
C) Heli-Skiing
There’s a reason some things are so inaccessible—it’s God’s way of saying, “Don’t be
stupid”. Still, people pay top dollar to be helicoptered (at $500 a pop) to untouched
snowcaps, where they leap onto [–7–] slopes and ski far from crowds but very close to
avalanches. Even the helicopter ride can be dangerous, and many have died [–8–] to
untouched powder (Frank Wells, former president of The Walt Disney Co. died in a
helicopter crash during a heli-skiing trip in 1994).
D) Street Luging
Climb a big hill on an open-for-business highway, lie supine on an elongated skateboard
and roll down. Gather speed and try not to die. That’s going to be difficult because you
have no brakes, you’re an inch from a road surface [–9–] to see what bone marrow looks
like, and you present a visual profile to passing vehicles that’s only slightly larger than a
puddle. Which is what you’ll be if you have anything close to a lapse in concentration or
luck.
E) Bull Riding
Rodeo started as the gymnastics of ranching: a series of highly specific competitions taken
from key aspects of cattle ranching in the Old West. But there never was and never will be
any damn reason to ride a bull: its only practical application is to make you appreciate your
own job—even if you’re unemployed. Straddling 1800 pounds of leaping beef routinely
results in the rider being thrown 10 feet into the air, with a landing cushioned by a mere
inch of dirt and [–10–]. And if you don’t break your jaw, ribs, or collarbone on re-entry, you
still have that bull to worry about (he’s still bitter).
F) Cheerleading
Forget the wimps wearing pads and helmets- the real danger is on the sidelines, where
estrogen and adrenaline combine in one of the newest recognized sports. It has been
estimated that there are over 20,000 reported cheerleading injuries a year, making
cheerleading the most injury-prone sport in the world for women. Many common injuries
include broken legs and [–11–] injuries. Think about it—it’s like diving on land, with easily
distracted co-eds serving as the water. This sport has a lot of catching up to do, safety-wise.
G) Cave Diving
The idea for this sport came as somebody was disposing of a body. Take all the regular [–
12–] of diving (itself a dangerous activity), and add exploring uncharted territory, freezing
temperatures, low-visibility conditions, and cramped quarters. And don’t forget that ticking
clock on your air supply—you can’t just go “up” to breathe (risking “the bends”). On top of
that, it’s still a wilderness experience, and some of the caves actually have wild animals
living in them. According to a recovery team based in San Marcos, there have been more
than 500 deaths from this sport since the 1960s. The risks are so high that experience
affords little protection– many of these victims have been diving instructors and technical
divers. As a result, the National Speleological Society defines a “successful” cave dive as
“one you return from.” Perhaps they should follow that logic and define an “intelligent”
cave dive as “one you don’t take”.
H) Bull Running
The Running of the Bulls (“encierro”) is a “sport” that involves running in front of bulls that
have been let loose on a course of a town’s streets. There are actually several encierros,
but the most famous is in Pamplona, Spain, and it was mentioned in Hemingway’s “The Sun
Also Rises” and “Death in the Afternoon”. The purpose is to [–13–] or herd the bulls from
off-site corrals to the bullring. Any fool over eighteen with more bravado than brains (which
would have included me at eighteen) can participate. Every year between 200 and 300
people are injured, mostly with [–14–] due to falls. Since 1910, 14 people have been killed
in Pamplona’s Running of The Bulls.
I) Motorcycle racing
Motorcycling is the most dangerous motorsport in the world. Just one example is The Isle
of Man TT event, which has a rich 100-year history. But during that time, there have been
over 220 deaths. The drivers in the race are required to maintain their balance while driving
through all types of [–15–] such as rocks and trees, and even bugs on their windscreens.
This is all done while traveling at an extremely high rate of speed.
J) Big-wave surfing
Let’s not get crazy here: nobody’s saying surfing isn’t fun. But any sport with rules for when
a shark enters the field of play is not for those with functioning frontal lobes. Big Wave
Surfing [–16–] the dial to 11 by towing surfers into monster 50 ft waves strong enough to
crush villages. So if the brute force of the wave doesn’t kill you or bury you so far
underwater that you drown, you could still bash your head on [–17–] rocks or fail to avoid
your own board (fickle thing!).
Part A
The article presents a Top 10 of the world’s most dangerous sports, but they are not in the
correct order. Rank the paragraphs in the correct order from 1-10, with 1 being the most
dangerous sport, and 10 the least dangerous.
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
F
D
E
B
J
H
I
G
C
A
Part B
Some of the more challenging vocabulary from the article is defined below. Based on your
understanding of these words, fill in the gaps. Type out the word instead of the letter as you
may have to change the form of some of the words.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
devolved
hurl
deployed
deceleration
corpses
queue
itching
en route
virgin
faeces
spinal
hazards
entice
contusions
obstacles
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
J.
K.
L.
M.
N.
O.
hazard – danger or threat
deploy – to release
faeces – excrement, poop
queue – form a single line
itching – eager, excited
devolve – the opposite of evolve, something that grows worse
decelerate – slow down
submerge – underwater
entice – lure, tempt
obstacle – hindrance
corpse – dead body
virgin – untouched
contusion – bruise
spinal – related to the backbone
hurl – to throw
16.
17.
crank
submerged
P. en route – on the way, during a journey
Q. crank – to turn in order to start an engine
18. Besides being killed, what is one of the risks that BASE jumpers take?
Lucky losers get slammed back into the object they just jumped off of or break
everything they have made of.
19. Why can regular injuries become fatal during a mountain climb?
Rescue helicopters simply cannot get to climbers and buddies of climbers may be too
gassed to help.
20. What are two dangerous aspects of heli-skiing? (2 marks)
People get very close to avalanches. The helicopter ride can be dangerous, and many
have died virgin to untouched powder.
21. Do street lungers have to watch out for traffic? Why?
Yes, street lungers have no brakes, they are an inch from a road surface virgin to see
what bone marrow looks like, and they present a visual profile to passing vehicles that
is only slightly larger than a puddle.
22. Where does bullrunning come from?
Spain
23. Why is cheerleading so dangerous?
Cheerleading leads to many common injuries, which include broken legs and spinal
injuries, with over 20,000 reported cheerleading injuries a year.
24. What makes cave diving so dangerous?
Exploring uncharted territory, freezing temperatures, low-visibility conditions, and
cramped quarters. Cave divers cannot just go up to breathe, and caves actually have
wild animals living in them.
25. How many people have died in Pamplona from the ‘Running of the Bulls’?
Since 1910, 14 people have been killed in Pamplona’s Running of The Bulls.
26. How big are ‘big waves’?
Big Wave Surfing cranks the dial to 11 by towing surfers into monster 50 ft waves
strong enough to crush villages.
Total: __/27