UNIT 8. A risky business.

TALKING ABOUT EXTREME SPORTS

VOCABULARY
Extreme sports are extremely exciting to do
and often dangerous.

People who enjoy these sports are often

called adrenaline junkies or thrill-seekers.

Here are some other words we often use in

this context:
 Adrenaline: (noun): a substance produced
in the body when you are excited, afraid or
angry. It makes the heart beat faster and
increases your energy and ability to move
quickly.
- The excitement at the start of a race
can really get the adrenaline flowing.
 Adventurous: (adj) willing to take risks and
try new ideas.
- For the more adventurous tourists,
there are trips into the mountains.
 Bold: (adj.) brave and confident, not afraid
to take risks.
- It was a bold decision to open a
business in France.
 Dare: (verb) to be brave enough to do
something.
- Dare to be different!
 Daring: (adj.) brave; willing to do dangerous
or unusual things.
- A daring walk in space
 Risky: (adj.) involving the possibility of
something bad happening, dangerous.
- Life as a helicopter pilot can be a
risky business.
 Risk-taker: (noun) a person who is willing to
do things that involve danger or risk.
- I’m not much of a risk-taker.
 Thrill: (noun) a strong feeling of excitement
or pleasure
- The thrill of catching a really big fish
 Thrilling: (adj.) exciting and a lot of fun.
- A thrilling experience

We usually use the uncountable noun sport in

DO, PLAY, GO… WHICH ONE DO WE USE WITH SPORTS? British English and the plural noun sports in
When we are speaking in general, in British English we usually use the verb do, North American English. However, before
another noun we always use the plural form:
while in American English we tend to use play:
sports fans, a sports stadium.
 Do you do any sport? (British English)
 Do you play any sports? (North American English)
We usually use play for ball sports in which two people or teams compete against each other: play tennis, play
golf, play football, play basketball, play handball, play volleyball, play rugby, play squash, play waterpolo, etc.…
We usually use do for sports which are not played in a team and which do not use a ball: do aerobics, do athletics,
do yoga, do Pilates, do judo, do karate, do taekwondo, etc…
We usually use go for sports and activities that end in -ing: go running, go swimming, go hiking, go skiing, go
surfing, go fishing, go skating, go bowling, etc.
*Practise means to train regularly so that you can improve your skill. For example: practise 3-point shots in basketball.
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 UNIT 8. A risky business.
READING

Here are some other expressions with the verb take:

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 UNIT 8. A risky business.
LISTENING

VIDEO LISTENING

a You’re going to watch a documentary about the surfer

Grace Doyle. How did surfing help her through a difficult
time in her life?

b Watch the documentary again and complete the

information with one or two words.

1. Grace is from a small town in ____________________.

2. She originally trained to be a ____________________.
3. She got interested in surfing when she was young because of her ____________________.
4. Grace has surfed abroad in places such as Central America, _________________ and
_________________.
5. The global surfing business is worth about a ____________________ billion
___________________.
6. Grace thinks that media coverage is one reason why surfing has become ____________________.
7. According to Grace, people are attracted to surfing because it’s ____________________ and
____________________.
8. If you fall off a big wave, you need to hold your ____________________ and
___________________.
9. Grace enjoys the balance between the danger of injury and the chance she might get the
____________________ of her life.
10. In highly competitive surfing, there’s a real risk that you could get ____________________ or
even ____________________.

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 UNIT 8. A risky business.
GRAMMAR: Zero and First Conditionals; Future time clauses
ZERO CONDITIONAL (FACTS or RULES)

The ZERO CONDITIONAL refers to things that are always true or always happen.

If clause main clause

If you practice, you improve.
present simple present simple

You can also use present continuous or present perfect in either clause:

If clause main clause

If you are practicing, you are improving.
If you haven’t practiced, you haven’t improved.

FIRST CONDITIONAL (REAL POSSIBILITIES)

This is the typical FIRST CONDITIONAL sentence:

If clause main clause

If you practice, you will improve.
present simple will + infinitive

The FIRST CONDITIONAL refers to things that will probably happen in the future.

There are many VARIATIONS. It is also possible to use:

 ANY OTHER PRESENT FORM in the if-clause (present continuous, present perfect, present
perfect continuous)

 ANY OTHER FUTURE FORM in the main clause (be going to, future perfect, future perfect
continuous)

If clause main clause

If you are practicing, you are going to improve.
If you have practiced, you will be improving (quickly).
If you have been practicing, you will have improved (by June).

You can also use a modal verb or an imperative in the main clause:

If clause main clause

If you practice, you can / may / might / should improve.
If you want to improve, you must / have to practice every day.
If you want to improve, practice every day! (imperative)

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 UNIT 8. A risky business.
FUTURE TIME CLAUSES

The expressions when, as soon as, before, after, until, unless and in
case are similar to if (grammatically) because they are always followed by
a present tense.

Time clause (any present tense) Main clause

When you are practicing, switch off your mobile.
As soon as you finish practicing, you can relax.
Before you start practicing, make sure you have everything you need.
After you have practiced for thirty minutes, you should have a break.
Until you’ve been practicing for a few days, you are not going to see the improvements.
Unless you practice every day, you won’t improve quickly.
In case you have extra time to practice, take your instrument with you.

Unless means if + not

Unless you practice / If you don’t practice, you won’t improve

In case is not the same as if. Compare:

I’ll take my instrument if I have time to practice. I will only take it if I have time.
I’ll take my instrument in case I have time to practice. I will take it anyway because I might have
time.

In case is also different from in case of + noun:

- In case of emergency, call the police.
- In case of fire, do not use the lift.
PRACTICE

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 UNIT 8. A risky business.
WRITING: For and against

NOTICE the organization of the text:

 TITLE (especially if you’re writing an article)
 Paragraph 1: INTRODUCTION
 Paragraph 2: ADVANTAGES
 Paragraph 3: DISADVANTAGES
 Paragraph 4: CONCLUSION
SOME TIPS ABOUT THE USE OF THESE
LINKING WORDS:

To list advantages and disadvantages

 The main advantage
 The most important advantage Attention!
 Another advantage / Other Another is singular: Another student
advantages Other is plural: Other students
Others is a pronoun (it’s not followed by a noun). Compare:
To add more points to the same topic Some students attended the online class, but other students couldn’t.
 Furthermore, Some students attended the online class, but others couldn’t.
 In addition,
 Besides,
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To introduce an example Attention!

We can also use the expressions such as and like to introduce an example.
 For example,
- Extreme sports such as / like paragliding can be very dangerous.
 For instance,
*Notice that you must say such as.

To make contrasting points

 On (the) one hand, / On the other hand,

Attention!
You can use On the other hand to introduce contrasting information even if you haven’t used On the one hand
before. However, if you begin with On the one hand, you must continue with On the other hand.

 However,

Attention!
The meaning of However is very similar to but. At the beginning of a sentence, we usually use However,
especially in formal texts. Compare:
- It was cold but we went out.
- It was cold. However, we went out.

 Although / Even though

 Despite / In spite of

Attention!
These expressions have the same meaning, but you must be very careful with the grammar structures.
Although and Even though are followed by a clause (subject + verb)
- Although / Even though it was cold, we went out.
- Although / Even though she had a lot of experience, she didn’t get the job.
In spite of and Despite are followed by a noun or a gerund (the –ing form of the verb).
- In spite of / Despite the cold, we went out (+ noun)
- In spite of / Despite her long experience she didn’t get the job (+ noun)
- In spite of / Despite having a lot of experience, she didn’t get the job (+ -ing)
However, if you add the fact that, they are followed by a clause (subject + verb), like although and even
though.
- In spite of the fact that / Despite the fact that it was cold, we went out.
- In spite of the fact that / Despite the fact that she had a lot of experience, she didn’t get the job.

Attention!
To give a reason Because is followed by a clause (subject + verb)
 Because - We didn’t go out because it was cold.
 Because of - She didn’t get the job because she didn’t have any qualifications.
 Due to Because of and Due to (more formal) are followed by noun.
- We didn’t go out because of the cold.
- She didn’t get the job due to her lack of qualifications.

To introduce a conclusion
 In conclusion,
 To conclude,
 To sum up,
 In short,

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 UNIT 8. A risky business.
ANSWER KEY
READING
b You should have ticked 2, 4, and 5.
c 1 110 mph 2 33 3 Dean Potter, Graham Hunt 4 59,679 5 36% 6 Jess Cox 7 Steph Davis
Expressions with take
1 take care of = care for sb / sth / yourself; to be careful about sth
2 take advantage of = make use of sth well; to make use of an opportunity
3 take place = happen, especially after previously being arranged or planned
4 take your time = use as much time as you need without hurrying
5 take into account = consider particular facts, circumstances, etc. when making a decision about sth
6 take no notice = pay no attention
7 take pity on = show compassion, feel sorry for
8 take off = remove; leave the ground and begin to fly
9 take up = learn or start to do sth, especially for pleasure
10 take to = start liking sb
11 take against = to start not liking sb / sth for no clear reason
12 take out = go to a restaurant, theatre, club, etc. with sb you have invited; remove
LISTENING
a 1 What’s the first extreme sport you did? When was it?
2 What other extreme sports have you done?
3 Why do you enjoy extreme sports?
4 Are you ever afraid that you might get injured or killed?
5 Why do you think extreme sports are becoming more popular?
6 Do you think extreme sports are more popular with men than with women?
b 1 Skiing; when I was six
2 Mountain biking, rock climbing, ice-walking, white-water rafting
3 I love taking risks; I love the adrenaline rush.
4 I don’t really think about getting injured or killed.
5 Because they’re becoming more accessible, and there’s much more exposure than before on TV and on social
media. It’s the adrenaline rush that people really enjoy.
6 I think it’s becoming a bit more equal between men and women, but men still dominate.
c 1 after 2 risks 3 part
1 take after sb = to look or behave like an older member of your family, especially your mother or father
2 take risks = to do sth even though you know that sth bad could happen as a result
3 take part in = to be involved in sth
Video Listening
a Surfing helped her to relax and get her mind off her problems.
b 1 Ireland 2 maths teacher 3 older brother 4 Europe, Indonesia 5 hundred, dollars 6 more popular 7 healthy, fun 8
breath, relax 9 best wave 10 hurt, killed
GRAMMAR PRACTICE
a 1 aren’t feeling 2 ’ll have sold 3 have 4 have scored 5 ’ll be bathing 6 won’t get 7 aren’t wearing 8 ’ll catch 9 always
gets 10 won’t go
b 1 I’m going to pack my suitcase before I go to bed.
2 Take your phone with you in case you get lost.
3 I’ll be leaving work early tomorrow unless there’s a last minute crisis.
4 Let’s meet when I’m in London next week.
5 There's a crisis! Please call me as soon as you possibly can.
6 If I’m late tomorrow, start the meeting without me.
7 Lily will have packed some sandwiches in case we get hungry.
8 Dan will be playing football in the park until it gets dark.
9 Then, after we’ve eaten, we could go for a walk.
10 Don’t call the emergency number unless it’s a real emergency.
WRITING
b 2 for example 3 Another advantage 4 Furthermore / In addition 5 On the other hand 6 Although 7 for example 8
Because of 9 Furthermore / In addition 10 To sum up
c To list advantages / disadvantages: another advantage To add more points to the same topic: furthermore, in
addition To introduce an example: for example To make contrasting points: on the other hand, although To give
a reason: because of To introduce the conclusion: to sum up

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EXTRA PRACTICE

VOCABULARY
 https://www.excellentesl4u.com/esl-sport-vocabulary.html
 https://7esl.com/sports-vocabulary/
 https://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/sports.htm
 https://speakenglishwithtiffani.com/how-to-speak-fluently-in-english-about-sports/

READING
 https://test-english.com/reading/b1-b2/world-walker-reading-test/
 https://www.examenglish.com/B2/b2_reading_sport.htm
 https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/blogs/sport/skydiving-amazing-experience
 https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/blogs/life-around-world/cheese-rolling-
extreme-sport

LISTENING
 https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/study-break/video-series/word-
street/extreme-sports
 https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/study-break/video-zone/skateboarding-
heroes
 https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/study-break/video-zone/amazing-
wheelchair-jump
 https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english/ep-191128
 https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/6-minute-english/ep-180531
 https://www.esleschool.com/extreme-snowboarding/

GRAMMAR
 https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/zero-conditional.html
 https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/first-conditional.html
 https://test-english.com/grammar-points/b1/first-conditional-future-time-clauses/
 https://test-english.com/grammar-points/b1-b2/zero-first-conditional-future-time-
clauses/
 Grammar video: https://www.mmmenglish.com/2020/05/07/zero-and-first-
conditionals/

WRITING
 https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/writing/b2-writing/against-essay-
about-internet
 https://test-english.com/writing/b2/for-against-essay-argumentative-writing/
 https://www.cristinacabal.com/?p=7367

NOTE: Some of the activities in this unit have been adapted from material published and
copyrighted by Oxford University Press for the exclusive use of students in this course.

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