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The triathlon is a tough athletics event, including a long swim, a cycle ride and finishing with a gruelling run. It is an event in which brothers, Alistair and Jonny Brownlee from the UK excel, having won gold and silver at the last summer Olympic Games. Alistair, as always, beat his brother into second place. In some families, sporting rivalry can create friction and destroy relationships, but for the Brownlees, being brothers seems to have helped them push each other to the limits in order to become the very best. They appear to have a happy, healthy, competitive relationship. They live together, train together and compete against each other. For the moment, at least, they seem to accept that Alistair will always be the boss - even in the kitchen!

Another pair of brothers who dominate their sport are the Klitschko brothers, Vitali and Vladimir, champion heavyweight boxers from Ukraine. These two giants are not only incredibly strong and successful boxers but they also both hold doctorates in sports psychology, speak four languages fluently and have a deep interest in social and political issues. They have a good strong and supportive relationship and go to each other’s fights, but they have never faced each other in the ring. Nor are they likely to. The brothers promised their mother never to fight each other and they will probably keep their word. They are, however, fiercely competitive in other fields and often face each other over a game of chess.

It is impossible to talk about tennis without thinking of the Williams sisters, Serena and Venus. They are close in age - only separated by one year - and close in ability. This has fuelled fierce competition between the siblings throughout their long careers in professional tennis. Both have held the world number one position and they have both faced and beaten the other in the finals of international championships. It takes a lot of determination and conviction to be able to put a personal relationship aside for the duration of a match and they get a lot of respect for this. Off court, the sisters are friends and, playing as a team, they have won countless doubles championships together.*1

People keep inventing new sports all the time. Recently, there has been a tendency to come up with the so-called hybrid sports where one sport is a combination of at least two other sports. One of the examples is chess boxing, which first appeared in the science fiction graphic novel Froid Equateur by French cartoonist and storyteller Enki Bilal. The sport looked so interesting that the Dutch artist lepe Rubingh ( 1 ) __ a decision to hold the first chess boxing contest in 2003. 

Since then the discipline has gained a lot of popularity in many countries, and chess boxing events have taken ( 2 ) __ from Los Angeles, USA, to Calcutta, India.

The most amazing thing is that chess boxers must be skilled in the two completely different sports. Boxing has always been a sport for physically strong people, while chess is a sport for intellectually strong individuals. However, chess boxers (3___) in having the two abilities in equal measure.

A full match has eleven rounds: six rounds of chess and five rounds of boxing, with a minute break between each round of chess and boxing. A competitor ( 4 ) __ win the match by knockout or by checkmate as it is in real boxing or chess. 

Nowadays the popularity of the sport (5) _ fast. Chess boxers have their own clubs and organisation and film-makers make films about this very unusual sport.

Every country has its own unique games and Britain is no different. The British enjoy ( 1 ) ___a number of games which are typical of this country but not very well-known abroad. The most common ‘sports’ include cheese rolling, conkers and haggis hurling. Let’s start with cheese rolling, which is a race organised every year in Gloucestershire. 

The aim of the race is to catch a cheese rolling from the top ofthe hill. It may sound quite funny but the people there (2)___. As for conkers, it is often played by children, who drill a hole through a conker, thread a piece of string through it and try to hit the opponent’s conker with their own. 

The winner is the person who breaks (3)___conkers belonging to the other player. 

Haggis hurling comes from Scotland. The contestants throw a haggis as far as they can and they must ( 4 ) ___ sure that their throw is gentle so that the haggis does not break. 

These games may (5)___the impression of being strange elsewhere, but they are certainly not strange in Britain!

Most people feel that the life of a sportsperson is full of glory, fame and money. Few understand what it ( 1 ) ___to succeed in the world of sport. Even fewer have any idea what professional sport involves. 

It’s all about extreme physical and mental effort needed to carry (2)___practising despite injuries and tiredness. Professional sportspeople must stick to a very rigorous regime. 

As soon as they wake up, they work out in the gym and have to (3)___a harsh routine of doing things on time. 

So when they win, get a million dollar cheque and can hear the fans cheering, it’s what these people deserve! It’s time people ( 4 ) ___ that criticising sports professionals for earning lots of money simply isn’t fair!

A few years ago no one knew who Jerzy Janowicz was. Now the whole tennis world is raving about him and sees great potential in this player. In the last few years, he ( 1 ) ___ part in a number of prestigious grand slam tournaments, beating some famous tennis players on the way. 

His love for tennis started when he ( 2 ) ___at the age of five in Lodz, where he was born. 

His passion was supported by his parents, both volleyball players, who have always believed in the talent and determination of their son, even in the hardest of moments when all possible organisations (3)___down their request for sponsorship. Jerzy looks up to his parents and is always grateful for their never- ending support and financial commitment. 

He works hard on and off the court ( 4 ) ___ he can achieve the most in tennis, which we can see every time he plays. He is determined to win and that’s what tennis fans appreciate a lot.