Page 27 - Reading Success B5

The difficult and beautiful movements of Olympic contestants or performers on
television are some of the most complicated forms of gymnastics. A good gymnast

moves with the speed of an acrobat and the grace of a dancer. The ancient
Greeks began doing gymnastics, and it soon became part of their athletic

contests. People in the modern world did not practice these exercises until the late
1700’s. At that time, more people were moving into cities and getting less

exercise. Friedrich Jahn began the first gymnastic school in Berlin, Germany, in
1811. Germany and Sweden led the return to gymnastics, and the Germans

brought the exercises to the United States.
Calisthenics is the easier type of gymnastics, the exercises you have probably

done at school. They are done to develop speed, strength, rhythm, balance, and
limberness of body. They can be done on the floor or on bars. Jumping jacks,

sit-ups, deep knee bends, and leg-lifts are popular calisthenics. Lifting dumbbells
or clubs is another form of calisthenics.

Heavy gymnastics uses equipment -- horizontal beam, parallel bars, trapezes,
and various ropes. The main exercises done on these are swinging, vaulting,

hanging, and climbing. Swedish gymnastics emphasizes special exercises for
each part of the body to correct defects or weaknesses. Gymnastics is part of the

sports curriculum in schools all over the world, especially in Russia, China and
Japan. Gymnastics is also popular in the United States, where many schools offer

training in it. It is also part of the training of police officers, fire fighters, and
soldiers.

Main Idea

What is the main idea of this story?

a. a brief history of gymnastics and its different kinds

b. European gymnastics
c. popularity of gymnastics in Japan

d. difficulty level of gymnastics

30_Reading Success B 5