10C Hosting the Olympic Games

A Work in pairs. Think of two advantages and two disadvantages for a country hosting the Olympic Games. Give reasons.

B Complete the comments with nouns formed from the words in brackets. Which of the comments provide arguments in
favour of hosting the Olympic Games and which against?

A
Personally, I think hosting the Games encourages a sense of
1
(patriot) and that’s a great boost to a country.

B
The way I see it, we should take into 2 (consider) the financial benefit to local
businesses. Increased trade while the Games are on means their 3 (earn) rise significantly.

C
The bottom line is, the Olympics may be a positive thing for the host city, but what about the rest of the country?
Basically, the 4 (invest) ploughed into the event benefits only a fraction of the population.

D
There’s no doubt about it, the Olympics raises the world’s 5 (aware)
and 6 (understand) of the host country’s culture and traditions.

E
Let’s face it, the 7 (likely) is that the host nation will run into massive debt. No way
is it worth a country putting its economic 8 (stable) at risk, in my opinion.

F
Under no circumstances should we overlook the 9 (degrade) to our local environment
caused by holding an event of this size. A negative impact on our 10 (surround)
is inevitable; increased pollution, more litter, a huge eco-footprint left behind.

G
The way I look at it, it provides a fabulous boost to 11 (tour). Not only do visitors flock to the country during
the Games, but all the positive 12 (advertise) ensures that tourists also come long after they’re over.

H
If you ask me, it’s a 13 (false) that hosting the Games is a good thing. The billions
spent could be far better used helping the country’s charitable 14 (organise).

I
The fact is, the construction of new sporting facilities creates 15 (employ) in the local community
and another big plus is the facilities are there for the public’s 16 (enjoy) afterwards.

C Discuss the following in pairs. Give reasons to support your opinions.

1 Which of the ideas you came up with at the start were mentioned in the comments?
2 What other arguments were put forward?
3 Which of the statements provide the strongest/weakest arguments, in your view?
4 Do you agree or disagree with each of the comments?
5 How would you feel about the Olympics being held in your home town?

Solutions 2nd edition  Upper-Intermediate © Oxford University Press • Photocopiable

 10C Hosting the Olympic Games

Aims  To extend and practise noun suffixes. To recycle phrases

to introduce statements and opinions. To give students the
opportunity to share and justify their views.
Time  15 minutes
Materials  1 handout for each student
• Give each student a handout and tell them to complete task A
in pairs.
• Tell students to complete the word-building task in B. Most
of the words will already have been encountered in the
Vocabulary Builder. If necessary, allow students to use a
dictionary to check the others. Check answers as a class.
Answer Key
1 patriotism 9 degradation
2 consideration 10 surroundings
3 earnings 11 tourism
4 investment 12 advertising
5 awareness 13 falsehood
6 understanding 14 organisations
7 likelihood 15 employment
8 stability 16 enjoyment
• Tell students to decide which arguments are for/against. Check
answers as a class.
Answer Key
For: A, B, D, G, I Against: C, E, F, H
• Give students time in pairs to discuss the questions in C.
Encourage them to use a range of expressions to introduce
their arguments and opinions and to back them up with
reasons and examples. Get feedback from the class.

Solutions 2nd edition  Upper-Intermediate © Oxford University Press