1. Golf balls were made of leather and feathers in the 19th century. They were hand-sewn, round, leather pouches stuffed with chicken or goose feathers and painted white.
Мячики для гольфа в 19 веке делали из кожи и перьев. Это были сшитые вручную круглые кожаные мешочки с куриными или гусиными перьями, покрашенные в белый цвет.
2. Football (which is also called soccer in the USA) is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries, making it the world's most popular sport.
В футбол (который в США называют soccer) играют 250 миллионов человек в более чем 200 странах, что делает его самым популярным видом спорта в мире.
3. The boxing ring is called a “ring” because it used to be round. The spectators used to stand in a circle around the fighters when the sport first became popular.
Боксерский ринг называется «ринг» («кольцо»), потому что раньше он был круглым. Зрители стояли кольцом вокруг бойцов, когда этот спорт впервые стал популярным.
4. At the first modern Olympics, in Athens, in 1896, first place winners were awarded a silver medal, an olive branch and a diploma. Those in second place were given a bronze/copper medal, a branch of laurel and a diploma.
На первых Олимпийских играх современности, в Афинах, в 1896 году победителям первого места были вручены серебряная медаль, оливковая ветвь и диплом. Тем, кто занял второе место, были вручены бронзовая/медная медаль, лавровая ветвь и диплом.
5. From 1900 until 1920, Tug of War was a sporting event at the Summer Olympic Games.
С 1900 по 1920 год перетягивание каната было олимпийским видом спорта на летних Олимпийских играх.
Surely many of you have heard “I’m your mother (father) so I know what is the best for you!”.
But do parents really know what is best for their children? Do they realise what their child is really capable of? For example, they rarely understand how schools work unless they are teachers themselves or have relatives who are teachers. If their child broke a leg they would not try to fix it themselves. They would take the child to a health care professional. So why is it so hard for some parents to take their child to an education professional? Unfortunately, children don't come with a manual - imagine how great that would be! Maybe then parents would make less mistakes. Certainly parents should be part of the decision about the child’s education. It is horrible when parents demand inappropriate programs for their child and not accept the truth that a child with a low IQ should not go to college or university.
I think parents should stand by their children and support them all the time. They should give them love and encouragement. But sometimes parents do not allow their children to follow their own path. Parents want their children to achieve more than they did. They want their children to have what they could not have. So with all these good intentions in mind, they seem to think that they know what is best for their children. Though many times what the parents want for their children is passed off as their expectations for them. For example, they try to dictate to their children that a certain occupation is better than what they want. It is sad that they do not care about what their children really want.
So many children are left with the task of trying to meet the expectations of their parents and not trying to figure out what makes them happy. Children need to be able to make their own decisions. Everyone needs to explore the opportunities and challenges they are faced with and learn from their own mistakes.