The World of Sports

Sports are being played all over the

world. Moreover, great strides have
been made in recent years. In the past,
years often went by before new records
were set. But now records are being
broken at an ever faster pace. Some old
records havent been broken yet but
likely will be broken in the not-toodistant future.
Sports have become a huge
entertainment industry. Millions of
devoted fans attend sports events.
Many more fans can be found in front of
their televisions on the days that their
teams play. Some fans spend a lot of
time and money following their favorite
teams and athletes.
Sports are played in facilities that are
architectural and engineering wonders.
Large, modern arenas and stadiums
have opened in many cities, new ones
are being built, and more will be
constructed in the future.
Millions of dollars are being spent on

sports every year. Modern stadiums are

expensive, and large salaries are paid
to top professional athletes. Who will
pay these costs? Many people believe
that too much money is being spent on
new stadiums and that such large
salaries shouldnt be paid to
professional athletes. Can fans be
expected to support the costs? Tickets
for some sports events have become so
expensive that many fans cant afford
them. Corporate sponsors are
purchasing box seats and season
tickets that are too expensive for the
average fan.
What is the future of sports? Can the
sports industry continue to pay high
salaries and build expensive new
stadiums? Some experts predict that the
costs will become greater than the
profits. This may cause problems for
one of the worlds top entertainment
industries.

New Words
- stride: an improvement in a situation or in the development of something
- devoted: strongly supporting someone or something because you admire or enjoy
them
- architectural: connected with architecture
(- architecture: the style and design of a building or buildings)
- profit: money that you gain by selling things or doing business, after your costs
have been paid
Comprehension Check!
1. T / F
2. T / F
3. T / F
4. T / F
5. T / F

Forms of Passive Sentences

Basic form:

BE-verb + past participle

Ex) Some football games are played on Monday nights.

Passive sentences in different tenses

Tense
Simple present
Simple past
Simple future
Present progressive
Past progressive
Present perfect
Past perfect
Future perfect

Example
The grass is watered every evening.
The grass was watered.
The grass will be watered.
The grass is going to be watered.
The grass is being watered.
The grass was being watered.
The grass has been watered.
The grass had been watered.
The grass will have been watered.

Tenses not typically used in passive sentences

Tense
Example
Future progressive
The grass will be being watered.
Present perfect progressive
The grass has been being watered.
Past perfect progressive
The grass had been being watered.
Future perfect progressive
The grass will have been being watered.

Passive sentences with modals

Ex) Modals can be used in passive sentences.
Ex) Homework should be done by the due date.

How to form

negative passive sentences: place not after the first auxiliary

Ex) Students were not given much homework.

Ex) Bad words should not be said in a classroom.

How to form

questions: invert the subject and first auxiliary

Ex) Is the classroom cleaned everyday?

Ex) Can modals be used in passive sentences?
Ex) Where were you born?

Mechanical Exercise
- Change to the passive voice.
Ex) They chose him.
1. They will choose him.
2. They always choose him.
3. They cant choose him.
4. They have never chosen us.
5. They didnt choose her.
6. They shouldnt choose her.

He was chosen.

Meaningful Exercise
- Use the words in parentheses to complete the sentences.
Make the sentences passive where possible. Otherwise,
make the sentence active. Use appropriate verb tenses.
The masters Tournament, one of the most important golf tournaments, (1)
(hold) every spring. For a golfer, winning the Masters is a dream.
As an infant, Tiger Woods (2)

(like) watching his father practice

hitting golf balls into a net in the garage, so he (3)

putter (a type of golf club) when he (4)

(give) a miniature
(be) a few months old. This

putter became his favorite toy. Something unusual occurred when Tiger was still less
than a year old. Tiger (5)

(stand up) by himself and began hitting golf

balls into the net, just like his father. His parents were thrilled. As he got older, Tiger
(6)

(encourage) to learn to play the game, and he (7)

(give) support through the long hours of practice and exhausting tournaments. On
April 13, 1997, every golfers dream came true for Tiger Woods. At just 21 years,
Tiger Woods (8)

(win) the Masters.

Tigers success has had an astounding impact on interest in golf. Since his win at
the Masters, many young players (9)
golf; many more (10)

(motivate) to start playing

(can, expect) to take up the game in the future.

Perhaps before long, the Masters (11)

players.

(win) by one of these young

Communicative Exercise
- Write a paragraph about your favorite sport. Choose one
sport, and explain the sport with as many passive sentences
as possible. DO NOT write the name of the sport. Use the
sport. End your paragraph with the question What is this
sport?
Example paragraph
The sport is played all over the world. It can be enjoyed individually or with
friends. Special clothes are needed to do the sport. It could be played throughout the
year, but it is especially preferred in summer. It is taken place in the sea or pool.
What is this sport?

Its YOUR turn.