Improve your English with an ESL lesson about the 2026 Winter Olympics

• ☐ ☐ ☐ Formula 1 [n] - an international car racing competition [image]
• ☐ ☐ ☐ NASCAR [n] - an American car racing competition [image]
• ☐ ☐ ☐ a torpedo [n] - an underwater missile [image]
• ☐ ☐ ☐ a sled [n] - a small vehicle used to slide over snow or ice [image]
• ☐ ☐ ☐ fabrication [n] - the process of making or building
• ☐ ☐ ☐ maintenance [n] - the process of keeping something in good condition
• ☐ ☐ ☐ headfirst [adv] - with the head going first before the rest of the body
• ☐ ☐ ☐ range between A and B [exp] - be between A and B
• ☐ ☐ ☐ steer [v] - control the direction
• ☐ ☐ ☐ reflexes [n] - quick automatic reactions to something
• ☐ ☐ ☐ a blade [n] - a thin, sharp piece of metal [image]
• ☐ ☐ ☐ a relay [n] - a race in which team members take turns

[n] - noun,  [v] - verb,  [phv] - phrasal verb,  [adj] - adjective,  [exp] - expression

---

1. It has men's and women's divisions.
   Bobsled
   Luge
   Skeleton
   None
   
   
2. It uses a torpedo-shaped sled.
   Bobsled
   Luge
   Skeleton
   None
   
   
3. The sled goes faster than a Formula 1 car.
   Bobsled
   Luge
   Skeleton
   None
   
   
4. There are singles events for both men and women.
   Bobsled
   Luge
   Skeleton
   None
   
   
5. There are two-person events for both men and women.
   Bobsled
   Luge
   Skeleton
   None
   
   
6. There are four-person events for both men and women.
   Bobsled
   Luge
   Skeleton
   None
   
   
7. Athletes go down the track head first.
   Bobsled
   Luge
   Skeleton
   None
   
   
8. It is the fastest sport in the Winter Olympics.
   Bobsled
   Luge
   Skeleton
   None
   
   
9. Its sleds have the sharpest blades.
   Bobsled
   Luge
   Skeleton
   None
   
   

Score:

---

Directions: What expressions from the video have the same meaning as the highlighted expressions in the sentences below?

Instrucciones: ¿Qué expresiones del video tienen el mismo significado que las expresiones destacadas en las oraciones siguientes?

Instruções: Quais expressões do vídeo têm o mesmo significado que as expressões destacadas nas frases abaixo?

지시 사항: 아래 문장에서 강조된 표현과 같은 의미를 가진 표현을 영상에서 찾아보세요.

1. The torpedo-shaped sleds [ achieve, get to ] speeds of up to 90 m an hour.

   [ reach ]

   Show Hide
   
   
2. An entire team is involved in the design, [ construction ], and maintenance of a sled.

   [ fabrication ]

   Show Hide
   
   
3. Speeds typically [ vary ] between 80 and 87 mph.

   [ range ]

   Show Hide
   
   
4. They rely on [ quick reactions ] and body balance to [ guide, control ] the sled.

   [ reflexes ] [ steer ]

   Show Hide
   
   

Directions: Choose the most natural word (only one word) for each blank.

Instrucciones: Elige la palabra más natural (solo una palabra) para cada espacio en blanco.

Instruções: Escolha a palavra mais natural (apenas uma palavra) para cada espaço em branco.

지시 사항: 빈칸마다 가장 자연스러운 단어(한 단어만)를 선택하세요.

• Think of bobsled (as) a combination of Formula 1 and NASCAR racing on ice where the torpedo-shaped sleds reach speeds of (up) to 90 miles an hour.
• An entire team (is) involved (in) the design, fabrication, and maintenance of a sled.
• Competitions for (both) women and men include sleds with two athletes.
• Men also compete in a four-person sled, while women also race in a monobob, (where) one athlete (does) all the work.
• Speeds typically range between 80 (and) 87 mph.
• In luge, both men and women slide (down) a track lying on their backs, relying (on) reflexes and body balance (to) steer the sled.
• Luge is (the) fastest sport in the Winter Games with speeds reaching 90 mph.
• The blades under the sled are also sharper (than) bobsled and skeleton and more difficult (to) control.

---

Directions: Write sentences about the video clip using the words given. You can change the word form or add words, but you cannot change the word order.
( ) = optional   [ ] = necessary

Instrucciones: Escriba oraciones sobre el videoclip usando las palabras dadas. Puede cambiar la forma de la palabra o agregar palabras, pero no puede cambiar el orden de las palabras.

Instruções:: Escreva orações sobre o videoclipe usando as palavras-chave. Você pode alterar a forma da palavra ou adicionar palavras, mas não pode alterar a ordem das palavras.

지시 : 주어진 단어를 사용하여 비디오 클립에 대한 문장을 씁니다. 어형을 변경하거나 단어를 추가할 수 있지만 어순은 변경할 수 없습니다.

bobsled / often / compared / car / racing / on / ice / because / sled / reach / such / high / speed

Bobsled is often compared to car racing on ice because the sleds reach such high speeds.

team / work / together / design / build / maintain / sled

Teams work together (in order) to design, build, and maintain [the/their] sled(s).

athlete / compete / two / person / four / person / event / as / well / one / person / event / woman

Athletes compete in two-person and four-person events as well as a one-person event for women.

in / skeleton / athlete / slide / down / track / headfirst / flat / sled

In skeleton, athletes slide down the track headfirst on a flat sled.

skeleton / include / man / and / woman / individual / event / and / now / mixed / team / competition

Skeleton includes men’s and women’s individual events and now a mixed team competition.

in / luge / athlete / lie / back / and / steer / use / body / movement

In luge, athletes lie on their backs and steer using body movements.

they / can / reach / speed / up / 90 / mile / hour / make / it / fast / sport / winter / game

They can reach speeds of up to 90 miles [per/a] hour, making it the fastest sport in the Winter Games.

They can reach speeds of up to 90 miles [per/a] hour, which makes it the fastest sport in the Winter Games.

1. Which of the three sled sports looks the most exciting to you? Why? Which seems the most dangerous?
2. Which (if any) event would you consider trying?
3. Luge is the fastest winter sport. What do you think is the fastest summer sport?
4. Which three skills or abilities do you think are most important for each event?
   ( balance, courage, mental focus, reflexes, strength, teamwork, something else?)
5. Which countries do you think usually do the best in these events?
   
   Bobsled: Germany, Switzerland, United States, Canada, Italy
   Luge: Germany, Austria, Italy, Latvia, United States
   Skeleton: Great Britain, Germany, Canada, United States, South Korea
   
   
   Show Hide
6. Did any of the countries on the lists surprise you? Why do you think these countries tend to have the most success?