Mega Goal 2

Expansion 1 to 3

By "Mazin A.zamil"

Choose the best answer to each question.

Choose the best answer to fill in each blank.

Curling was made an official sport in the Winter Olympics in 1988. When spectators watched the first curling match in the Olympics, many people in the audience did not know anything about the game. They thought that it was a new sport. However, in site of the fact that curling is little-known, it has been around for hundreds of years.

In the sport of curling, a team of players slide stones across the ice to reach a target spot. The stones are made of granite, a naturally-occurring hard rock. Each team throws eight stones. The stones that are closest to the target spot gain points for their team.

The name curling comes from the movement of the stones on the ice. When a stone was thrown, it would often curve, or curl,as it slid across the ice. This game involves more skill and strategy than it first appears. In fact, good players spend so much time thinking about where to throw their stone that curling has been referred to as “chess on ice.” The stones need to be thrown skillfully to land in the target spot.

In the 1500s, curling was a recreational sport in Scotland. Friends and family gathered on frozen lakes, or lochs to play. They used ordinary flat stones that they gathered from the ground. The first curling club was established in Scotland in 1668. The first curling club in the United States was founded in 1830. Today, curling is played in many countries around the world, including Canada, the U.K., the U.S., Norway, Sweden and Japan. Even though curling is an Olympic sport, it can be played by almost anyone.